Ch.142Chapter 142 – Journal of a Certain Alchemist

I felt a strange swaying sensation.

Opening my eyes quietly, I realized the carriage was moving.

After arming myself, I stepped outside the room to find no one there.

‘Is Eve driving?’

I moved toward the coachman’s seat and spoke to the communication device.

“Did we already depart, Eve?”

“Oh my, you’re awake?”

Eve’s voice came through the device.

Shortly after, the carriage stopped, the door opened, and Eve entered.

“Good morning.”

“Morning?”

It was getting a bit brighter, but the sun hadn’t fully risen yet.

Dawn would be a much more accurate description than morning.

“Isn’t it still dark? Why did we leave so early?”

“To save time. I asked Beatrice to pack up and we departed.”

Beatrice had been on the last watch.

She probably enjoyed it, since her watch ended earlier and she could go straight to bed.

Still, I was concerned about traveling while it was still dark.

“If you were leaving early, you could have woken me up.”

I said it with regret rather than reproach.

Eve smiled sheepishly.

“I wanted to let you rest a little longer.”

Eve answered with a smile.

“It’ll probably take some time before the others wake up. Would you like to keep me company in the coachman’s seat?”

“Sure.”

Being alone in the carriage didn’t sound appealing, and having someone to talk to would be better.

I was about to follow Eve outside when—

“Yawn… Good morning, Kay.”

“Hmm?”

The door opened, and Seraphina appeared, yawning.

Though she would wake up immediately if roused, she typically slept a lot, so seeing her up at this hour was extremely rare.

While I was staring blankly at this unusual sight, Seraphina looked at both Eve and me.

Then she smiled at Eve.

“Have you been driving the carriage since dawn?”

“It’s good to save time.”

Eve answered with a smile.

For a moment, the two women exchanged silent glances.

Perhaps due to the outside air, I felt a slight chill.

But after a moment, Eve smiled leisurely and said:

“Kay, you’d better rest inside.”

“Huh?”

She had just asked me to keep her company, so I didn’t expect this sudden reversal.

“Are you sure?”

Eve nodded at my question with a smile.

Earlier her smile had been bitter, but now it was relaxed, as if she’d thought of something.

“Since Seraphina is up too, it makes sense for both of you to wait inside.”

“Won’t you be lonely out there?”

When I said that, Eve smiled.

“Actually, I had some things I wanted to think about alone. About our journey ahead and various other matters.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’ll be fine.”

Eve smiled and looked at Seraphina.

“Well then, good luck.”

For some reason, Eve covered her mouth with her hand while smiling at Seraphina.

And Seraphina, also smiling leisurely, covered her mouth with her hand and replied:

“Thank you, Eve.”

They both smiled at each other.

‘What’s going on?’

For some reason, they both seemed to think they had the upper hand over the other, acting with an air of confidence.

‘What were they trying to emphasize?’

I couldn’t understand why they both covered their mouths and displayed such relaxed attitudes.

Somehow, I felt a slight tingling sensation on my own lips.

Fortunately, the inexplicable tension and the slight chill in the air quickly subsided.

“Well then, Kay. Rest well.”

“I’ll take over early if you get tired.”

Eve smiled at my words and headed toward the coachman’s seat.

Then Seraphina approached me.

“Let’s rest in the lounge.”

Seraphina said, pulling me along.

Judging by the tremendous strength I felt, I suspected she would have dragged me by force if I had refused.

After being pulled to the lounge and sitting down, Seraphina took out some medicine.

It was what she had been making last night.

“Since I can’t properly diagnose your condition yet, I mixed ingredients to help with overall fatigue recovery, natural healing ability, and to ease your heart.”

“Sounds healthy.”

I commented as I looked at the medicine Seraphina had produced.

I couldn’t see it clearly last night because it was dark, but now I could see it was a very deep green.

Seraphina handed it to me and said:

“It shouldn’t matter whether you take it before or after meals, so drink it now.”

“All of this?”

“All of it.”

After hesitating a bit, I removed my helmet and drank the liquid.

An incredibly bitter taste rose in my mouth.

“Ugh…”

It was the moment I instinctively tried to spit it out.

*Grip*

“You mustn’t spill it, okay?”

Seraphina said as she forcibly closed my mouth.

With her terrifying strength pressing on my jaw, I was forced to swallow what I had in my mouth.

“Ugh, bleh…!”

“Hehe, you swallowed it well.”

After I finished the medicine and started dry heaving, Seraphina gently patted my back.

With tears in my eyes, I protested:

“This tastes incredibly bitter.”

“I couldn’t help it. I wanted to make it easier to consume, but this was the best I could do with what I have.”

Seraphina said apologetically.

“I don’t know how effective this medicine will be, but it’s better than nothing, so take it every day.”

“Alright.”

Though I said that, I was already thinking about secretly not taking it.

Then Seraphina glanced at me and said:

“If you skip it or forget, I’ll force-feed you from that moment on, okay?”

“…I’ll take it obediently.”

I answered, somewhat alarmed.

How did she know I was briefly considering secretly disposing of it?

Seeing me like that, Seraphina smiled and said:

“Kay, you’re so easy to read through your expressions. When you’re thinking something mischievous, it shows right away.”

“Oh come on, that’s not true.”

“Eve, Chris, and Beatrice all agreed on this, you know?”

Am I really that simple?

“Hahaha, you’re lying.”

“I’m not lying.”

Seraphina said with a smile.

After laughing lightly, I quickly changed the subject.

“By the way, Seraphina. Did your grandmother teach you about all these medicines too?”

“More or less. I’ve added my own arrangements, though.”

After saying that, Seraphina took out a book from her pocket.

It was her grandmother’s journal that she always carried with her.

“Does it contain all the recipes?”

“Hmm… would you like to see it?”

Seraphina handed me the book.

Come to think of it, I had never properly read this journal before.

I received the journal and gently flipped through it.

Unconsciously tilting my head, I asked Seraphina:

“…Is this just a diary?”

“Yes.”

It only contained entries like how the weather was fine, or how a good idea suddenly came during a meal.

As I continued turning the pages, I reached the last page, which read:

“Alchemy requires continuously challenging oneself to discover, think, and find answers on one’s own.”

“That’s my grandmother’s teaching. Discover on your own, think on your own, find answers on your own, and keep challenging yourself.”

Seraphina said with a smile.

“The journal does contain some alchemy recipes, but it mostly records what my grandmother was thinking, what purpose she had in mind, and how she derived her answers.”

Seraphina, seemingly excited, continued with a bright smile:

“Every day, I would examine what my grandmother was thinking and create my own recipes.”

Looking at the brightly smiling Seraphina, I found myself saying:

“That sounds incredibly difficult.”

At my words, Seraphina smiled somewhat bitterly and said:

“Since the recipes aren’t all kindly written out, it is difficult, that’s true.”

She seemed to have experienced quite a few failures, as her expression momentarily showed strain.

But she quickly recovered and smiled.

“She could have written down all the recipes, but she said that would only lead to following recipes without ever surpassing them.”

Seraphina’s voice became slightly hoarse, as if reminiscing about memories.

Still, she continued speaking clearly:

“Rather than teaching all the alchemy recipes, she focused on teaching how to think and develop processes to create what you want.”

“So instead of giving you a fish, she taught you how to fish.”

“That’s a good analogy! Yes, that’s how it felt.”

I was impressed by Seraphina’s words.

In conclusion, everything Seraphina had made so far was created using recipes she had thought up herself.

With only her grandmother’s journal containing simple recipes and insights into her thinking process as reference, she had still managed to properly create medicines and items all this time.

“Seraphina, you’re amazing.”

I thought that sincerely.

Seraphina spoke shyly:

“I still have a long way to go.”

“No way. My guess is that most alchemists probably just follow established recipes.”

Of course, not everyone would simply follow recipes.

Still, most people would likely try to follow the answers already provided.

Not many could create almost everything through their own thinking like Seraphina.

“My grandmother, you know, despite creating many things with alchemy, would periodically try making them using new methods.”

“Why?”

“She believed that’s how you find better methods or much worse ones.”

What a formidable spirit of challenge.

Being an alchemist wasn’t for just anyone.

“She was an incredible person.”

“Indeed.”

Then Seraphina added, as if remembering something:

“She always said alchemy is a continuous challenge.”

“I see.”

I returned the journal to Seraphina.

She smiled for a moment, looking at the handwriting in the journal before putting it back in her pocket.

“To be honest, I’m quite excited right now.”

“Because we’re going to your grandmother’s hometown?”

“Yes. She never told me about her hometown.”

Seraphina spoke somewhat shyly.

“You really loved your grandmother, didn’t you?”

“She was someone I respected.”

Seraphina said with a smile.

“I’m curious about what kind of place it will be.”

+

Several days passed after that conversation.

Since Seraphina’s grandmother’s hometown was located quite far on the outskirts of Count Metis’s territory, we couldn’t reach it in one go.

Fortunately, there had been no attacks from the Emiris Order during that time, though whether they didn’t know our location or there was some other reason, we couldn’t tell.

“Is that the village?”

As we drove the carriage, a fairly large village came into view ahead.

When I asked Eve, who was sitting with me in the coachman’s seat, she nodded.

“Yes. I was thinking we could resupply a bit in that village today.”

I questioned Eve’s statement:

“Food supplies still seem sufficient. Is something else lacking?”

Not only Eve but also Seraphina and I had been checking and calculating the necessary supplies.

So Eve’s words raised some questions.

Eve answered my question with a smile:

“Actually, we have enough, so it’s not strictly necessary. But I was thinking we could replenish what we’ve used so far, just in case.”

“I see.”

As long as we had sufficient transport and storage capacity, having extra supplies wouldn’t hurt.

And we satisfied both conditions.

“It’s fortunate to have a mage with us.”

I was referring to how Beatrice was using freezing magic to maintain the freshness of perishable ingredients.

“Of course, if the village prices are much higher than average, we won’t resupply there.”

For someone who suggested resupplying in that village, Eve didn’t seem particularly insistent on doing it there, which was curious.

If I’m curious, I should ask.

“Do you have another purpose?”

“Yes. I want to gather some information, even if it’s basic.”

I nodded at Eve’s words.

She still maintained a relaxed expression.

“So that’s the main purpose.”

“Yes. But I don’t expect any significant information, so I’ll just gather what I can casually.”

Eve mentioned that this place was quite far from the capital.

Then she suddenly whistled once.

The ox pulling our carriage, Moo, responded immediately.

*Moo~*

With a leisurely cry, the carriage stopped.

“Eve?”

“I’ll drive until we find a suitable inn after entering the village.”

“Inn?”

Eve nodded at my question.

“If we were just passing through, staying in the carriage would be fine, but if we’re staying in the village for a day, not getting an inn would attract attention.”

I nodded at Eve’s words.

Unfortunately, if I attracted attention and my existence became known, it would be troublesome in many ways.

Though it had somewhat faded after encountering people or something similar to people who treated me kindly, I was still branded a heretic by the continent’s largest religious order.

Staying hidden as much as possible was the best strategy.

“Then I’ll go inside.”

“Yes.”

After leaving the coachman’s seat and entering the carriage, Christina peeked her head out from the lounge.

“Oh, benefactor! Is something happening?”

“I was told to hide in the carriage.”

After giving that abbreviated explanation, Christina nodded.

She seemed to understand what I meant.

After heading to the lounge inside and informing everyone that we would be staying at an inn, Beatrice’s eyes lit up.

“Really? We’re staying at an inn? And resupplying too?”

“…Yes, but why are you so excited?”

I asked, finding her reaction a bit suspicious.

Beatrice smiled brightly and said:

“I want to stock up on alcohol and tobacco.”

“I’m not lending you money.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“And we’re also gathering information. This isn’t just for fun.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

Beatrice answered halfheartedly.

Her happy face suggested she was preoccupied with thoughts of alcohol and tobacco.

‘Should I pair Christina and Seraphina with Eve?’

If either of them went with Beatrice, they might end up lending her money after being overwhelmed by her sophistry.

I should discuss the personnel arrangement with Eve.

“Hehehe, today I’ll have a cool drink and some greasy food…!”

‘She’s excited.’

Perhaps at the thought of alcohol entering her mouth.

Beatrice looked extremely happy.