Chapter 78

---

It had been about a month since I got a junior.

I woke up early in the morning and headed to the training room to prepare for today's training. I unlocked the door and opened the windows and door wide to refresh the air. I would go to pick herbs or prepare the equipment during the training. The things I prepared in advance were mainly reference materials. I opened the materials I had prepared and placed sticky notes on the parts we would cover today.

At such times, the memory given to me by the gods comes in handy. Since I can memorize the content of documents I have read once, I can instantly recall where a particular passage is.

--- While I was silently preparing, something suddenly hit my back.

"Senpai, senpai! Good morning!"

"Ah, Iris, good morning."

Iris looked up at me with sparkling eyes. She is very friendly and has been hugging me since the first day of training. It makes me happy to think that she is so fond of me, but to be honest, I sometimes feel at a loss with a junior who is too communicative.

"Hey, hey, is it true that you found the elixir of the spirits?"

--- The topic she brought up was unexpected. I hadn't hidden it, but I had never explained the "elixir of the spirits" to Iris or Basilio. I wondered where she had heard it from, but I nodded honestly.

"Yeah, that's right."

"Wow! Hey, hey, I want to try making it too!"

Iris's arms around my waist tightened. She must have been excited, as her cheeks were redder than usual.

"Iris, if you keep making such selfish requests, Laura will be troubled."

It was Basilio's calm voice that stopped Iris, who had been shouting. When I looked up from Iris, I met Basilio's eyes. As usual, he was holding several documents in his chest. Basilio is very serious and studious. He seems to borrow the same documents from the library after the training that I prepare during the training. I worry that he might collapse from overworking.

"Eh? Basilio, aren't you curious?"

Iris puffed out her cheeks, and Basilio smiled wryly. They looked like a brother being toyed with by his innocent sister. From the outside, it seems they have built a good relationship in their own way.

Still, I thought about Iris's words again. Including the elixir of the spirits in the training might be a good idea. Elvira's self-destruction disease is still under control, but the preparation of the elixir of the spirits is at a standstill. There is a good chance that a new path can be opened through Iris's intuition and Basilio's solid knowledge.

"I'll check with Arnold. Since both of you are excellent, we might be able to do a slightly different training than usual."

Iris cheered at my words. I glanced at Basilio, and his lips were also smiling.

A genius and a hard worker. Though they are completely different, they share a curiosity about new things. I left the two juniors in the training room and went to Arnold's preparation room alone. It was a place I used to visit regularly, but recently, the opportunities to do so have decreased. It might have been a while since I last met Arnold one-on-one in a calm setting. I chuckled, realizing I was a bit nervous. I couldn't keep the two juniors waiting, so I knocked on the door with a burst of energy. "Come in," came the reply from the other side of the door. I entered as instructed, and Arnold was sitting with his back to me.

"Arnold."

"Ampeyre."

Arnold said without turning around.

"Sorry, are you busy?"

"No, what is it?"

"Iris suggested that we include the preparation of the elixir of the spirits in the training... Since both Iris and Basilio are excellent, I think it could be an interesting training, so I would like to get your permission."

Arnold stopped moving his hands when I said this directly. Then he turned around.

"Iris... Ah, it's fine."

Arnold finally looked at me. I was relieved that he gave his permission. If he had refused, Iris would have been visibly disappointed.

"You seem busy."

"Everything is new to me... How is Elvira?"

The moment I asked about Elvira, I could feel my heart beating faster.

Arnold lowered his eyes and answered in a low voice.

"She is stable... For now."

"For now."

I noticed the frown on Arnold's forehead.

"Is there something you're worried about?"

"I've been getting reports that she has been showing symptoms similar to a cold. It seems that giving her the elixir of the spirits stabilizes her for a while."

Symptoms similar to a cold. These are often seen in the early stages of self-destruction disease. Of course, it's also possible that she just has a cold.

--- This change in symptoms cannot be taken lightly. The silence that followed was suffocating.

"..."

That was all I could manage to say.

According to Arnold, the elixir of the spirits is still effective. Even if the current symptoms are caused by a cold, the elixir should be effective against it.

Is it a cold or self-destruction disease? At this stage, it's impossible to tell. That's why we need to find the next step for the elixir of the spirits.

I've been living a peaceful and calm life for the past few months. I wouldn't say I was complacent, but it felt like a bucket of cold water had been poured over my heart.

--- But I don't have time to be down.

"Iris and Basilio are excellent... They might open a new path that I couldn't think of."

I muttered.

Indeed, there is a good chance. Iris, who relies on intuition and has a different perspective from others, and Basilio, who builds on a foundation of overwhelming knowledge. Because they are so different, there is a good chance of a synergistic effect.

"We'll work hard together."

Three heads are better than one. Arnold nodded slightly at my words. His black hair, which had grown longer than before, fell over his eyes, and I thought idly about it.

***

"Iris, Basilio, I got the permission."

"Yay!"

"Thank you!"

Both Iris and Basilio cheered at my report. It was heartwarming to see them look at each other and celebrate. They immediately started preparing for the synthesis. They arranged the synthesis equipment and materials for the elixir of the spirits on the synthesis table. I placed a notebook next to it and instructed them to record the synthesis method step by step. I left the rest to them and had them start the synthesis immediately. Iris picked up herbs as she thought, and Basilio carefully selected herbs by comparing them with the documents.

After a while, after synthesizing a few recovery potions, Basilio left the synthesis table and approached me. More accurately, he approached to sit in the nearby break chair.

"It's not about which is better or worse, but Iris and Basilio are completely opposite."

I stood next to Basilio and watched Iris, who was still synthesizing. She seemed to be so focused that she didn't even hear my voice. Iris is the type who, once focused, can't see anything else.

On the other hand, Basilio checks the documents and confirms things step by step even during synthesis. He often takes short breaks and reorganizes past syntheses.

"Iris is very intuitive, and Basilio is the type who thinks deeply. Because they are so different, they can stimulate each other..."

Basilio nodded deeply at my words.

"That's what I think too. -- Iris, the potion is about to spill!"

Basilio hurried to Iris, who finally realized that the potion was about to spill because she was holding the container at an angle. She laughed, and Basilio also smiled wryly.

They looked like a brother and sister. Initially, I was worried about how things would go, but it seems they are doing better than I expected. I sighed in relief.

***

"..."

In front of the storage room for the elixir of the spirits, I tilted my head.

After several days of synthesizing the elixir of the spirits, we haven't seen significant results yet. However, Iris's unexpected synthesis methods and Basilio's deliberate deviations from the basics have given me surprises and insights.

There might be a breakthrough. No, there must be.

With that determination, I planned to use the elixir of the spirits for today's training. But then I noticed something.

(The number of containers is clearly less than yesterday...)

Perhaps Arnold had also been working on the synthesis after I took some containers out yesterday. I thought about going to Flaria to restock and considered taking Iris and Basilio on an expedition for training.

"A, Laura!"

Basilio was already standing in front of the training room door. He must have been waiting in the hallway for me to open the door with the key.

I hurried to unlock the door and asked.

"Basilio, you're early. Is there something you need?"

"Actually, I have a message from Arnold that I thought I should tell you as soon as possible."

The key clicked, and the sound echoed in the hallway. I turned around. Basilio looked at me with a serious expression and said in a lower tone than usual.

"Last night, after leaving the library, I ran into Arnold... He said he would be away for a while."

I had a bad feeling. Arnold must have left the capital suddenly last night. Was a town attacked by monsters? Or...

Suddenly, the scene from earlier came to mind. The clearly reduced number of containers of the elixir of the spirits.

My heart was pounding, and my fingertips felt numb from tension.

My expression must have been terrible. Basilio's green eyes looked at me with concern. But I couldn't respond, and I just waited for the next words.

"... Apparently, a large fire broke out in the village where the elves live. Fortunately, no one died, but there was significant damage..."

--- A large fire in the village where the elves live.

Could it be... The worst scenario flashed through my mind.

(The re-emergence of Elvira's self-destruction disease caused the fire...?)

Once that thought came to mind, I couldn't think of anything else. The reduced number of elixir containers made sense if Arnold had taken them upon receiving the news.

Basilio continued to relay Arnold's message, but his words seemed to pass through my ears without registering. The fact that Arnold had asked Basilio, a third party, to deliver the message suggested a high possibility that Elvira was involved. Moreover, the urgency of the situation, as indicated by Arnold's choice to ask a chance encounter, suggested he was in a hurry and didn't have time to write a letter or communicate directly.

But, I thought desperately amidst the confusion.

(Even if Elvira's self-destruction disease re-emerged, could it cause such a large fire...?)

I remembered the small flame that emerged from Elvira's fingertips, which had consumed a spirit. If that flame had become more intense...

With the current information, I couldn't know for sure. The uncertainty made me consider the worst-case scenario.

While I was standing there, lost in thought, Basilio gently tapped my shoulder, concerned.