Chapter 27: Cermia, Part 1

I let out a sigh of relief.

The voice I heard earlier, the one belonging to the supposed new assistant, was a woman’s.

I was worried it might be someone from the hero’s party, but thankfully, it was a stranger.

So, thanks to that…

“Who are you?”

“…?!”

…I ended up looking a bit awkward.

Right now, she’s in Deva’s room, talking to him.

“…Anyway… she seemed pretty nice, right?”

You can’t judge a book by its cover, but she was quite pretty, and looked to be around Allen’s age.

Her long, red hair, her polite demeanor… she might be the most normal person around Allen.

It would probably be good to get to know her.

As an assistant, she’ll either be living here or visiting frequently, so I’ll be seeing her a lot.

Creak…

The sound of a nearby door opening. Deva and the woman must be done talking.

Alright, time for me to make a friendly overture.

Thump

“Master, are you done talking… huh?”

“…You…!”

I opened the door, confirmed their conversation was over, and was about to have a separate chat with the prospective assistant, but the atmosphere doesn’t seem very good.

And when the assistant-to-be sees me, she suddenly looks flustered and approaches me, her face so close I can see every detail.

But… ‘you’? She seemed so polite before. Is she dropping the formalities already?

No, more importantly, what’s going on…?

“W-Wait a minute… what is this…?”

“You… you were here before I arrived?”

“Huh…? Ah, yes. I was…”

“You were here first… without saying anything, you were here first, and I…!”

“No, so what’s the problem…?”

‘There was always going to be an evaluation. If they’re useful, I’ll keep them. If not, I’ll send them away.’

Ah, don’t tell me.

I glance at Deva behind her, and he gives me a look that confirms my suspicion before quickly averting his gaze.

“…You…!!”

Yeah, well. She seems like she wants to blame me.

It’s only natural for her to feel that way, since I took her spot. And I just showed up unannounced.

I just have two questions: why is she so worked up about not getting a simple assistant position, and why would she even want to be an assistant at a failing shop like this in the first place?

“Teach me how to make potions…!!”

And a third question: what the hell does that mean?

“What?”

“You’re better than me, right?! So, could you teach me…?”

“Uh, no… even if you suddenly ask me to…”

Ahem.

“…?”

What was that? The sudden declaration of discipleship from the aspiring assistant, and that deliberate, meaningful cough?

Ah, wait, don’t tell me.

“…Please sit on that sofa for a moment. Let’s talk.”

“Well then… I’ll just step out for a bit.”

Deva escapes. I have no intention of stopping him.

I’ll hear everything from this person anyway.

“Th-Thank you…”

I offer her tea, and the aspiring assistant accepts it carefully.

This shop gets so few customers that the guest sofa is used maybe once a month.

But today alone, this is the third person to sit on it.

So many things are happening today.

But now that things have calmed down a bit, what I’m most curious about is…

“How old are you?”

“Huh? Me?”

“Yes. I just… if you’re going to be an assistant or learn from me, I thought it would be good to know.”

A lie.

I’m curious why she suddenly started speaking informally to me after coming out of Deva’s room.

But I can’t just ask, “How old are you that you’re being so rude and informal?” So I’m phrasing it a bit more politely.

But no matter how I look at her, she seems to be around Allen’s age…

“Twenty-five.”

She’s older. It’s okay for her to speak informally.

Well, I don’t know how she found out, but Deva probably told her.

“What’s your name?”

“Chermia.”

“Then, Chermia. Why do you want to learn from me?”

“Deva said so. If I want to be his assistant, I have to learn more under Allen.”

So, he’s the cause.

Is it okay for him to pawn this off on his disciple instead of teaching her himself? And besides, Allen might know, but I don’t know anything about potion making…

“I’m sorry. I have to refuse your request.”

So, I have to refuse. I’m not the kind of person who will good-naturedly accept something I can’t even do myself. No means no.

“Is there… no way…?”

But Chermia continues to plead, her expression desperate, as if she expected this answer.

“I don’t think so. I don’t have the skills to teach others, nor am I a suitable vessel.”

“But…”

“If you want to learn, you should find another potion maker. It would be much better for you to learn from someone more skilled than me.”

“Or, if you just want to be an assistant, you can go to another potion maker. This isn’t the only potion shop in the capital.”

“No, I can’t do that.”

“Hmm.”

Yeah, I thought she’d say that.

Why did she come here specifically? There are many reputable potion shops, yet she came here to become an assistant.

If she didn’t know about other places, or if this was her last resort, she would have asked for a recommendation to a better shop.

“May I ask why?”

“…Deva is my benefactor.”

“Your benefactor?”

Hmm, I didn’t expect that eccentric old man to be called a benefactor.

“A long time ago, my father was suffering from a mysterious illness. No doctors, healing potions, or antidotes could cure him.”

“And Master’s healing potion cured him, is that the story?”

“Y-Yes… I bought it with little hope, almost resigned, but after he drank it, he became completely healthy.”

Well, it’s probably the difference in efficacy.

His potions are abnormally expensive and don’t seem to have a major effect, but they sometimes work wonders in subtle ways.

There must have been some element in it that could cure Chermia’s father’s specific condition.

But…

“Is that the reason?”

“Hmm…?”

“Your father was cured thanks to Master’s potion. You must be very grateful, but does that have anything to do with you becoming an assistant?”

Personally, I’d prefer to receive gratitude in the form of money. And it’s not like Deva was repaying a debt; he didn’t seem to know Chermia.

“After that, I wanted to become a potion maker. But we moved away after that incident… I only recently became independent and came straight here.”

“Hmm…”

Well, that’s a plausible reason.

“So you want to learn from me?”

“Yes…! Is there any way…?!”

Such a desperate look.

Yes, it would be wonderful to learn what you desire from your benefactor.

She was just unlucky that I took her place.

And if that’s the case, then I…

“It’s because of me that you’re in this situation, isn’t it? I’ll just give up my spot.”

“Huh?”

It might be a foolish choice.

No, it is a foolish choice.

 But it’s better than giving useless lessons or crushing the dreams of someone who seems more desperate than me.

I can go somewhere else, but this person achieves her goal by being here.

I’m not a good person, but I’m not necessarily a bad one either.

“N-No… you don’t have to do that. Then I’d feel bad…”

And this person is truly a good person. If it were me, I would have just taken the opportunity.

“Is it that difficult to teach me?”

“Yes. It is.”

“B-But you don’t have to quit because of that…”

But she was complaining about me being here first earlier, so why is she saying this now?

“Th-Then I’ll just watch you make potions and learn by myself. Is that not okay either?”

“It’ll be difficult if you don’t understand the principles.”

“But I do know some things. I’m just weak in practice…”

Is she trying to compromise? But I don’t think I’ll be making potions much anyway.

…No, wait. Maybe I will have to make some soon. Then, as preparation, that condition might not be so bad.

“Well then, alright. Just don’t bother me too much.”

“Yes! Thank you!! What’s your name?”

“Allen.”

“…Huh? That… hero’s party…?”

“Yes.”

It’s understandable that she’s surprised.

They’re praised by the people, and lately, they’ve been the talk of the town for other reasons.

…But right now, Chermia doesn’t just look surprised…

“Th-Then you know that Angeline too?”

“…I know her.”

She seems… angry. Angeline…? Does she have some history with Angeline?

“Th-That person…”

Uh… she seems overly agitated…

“Hey, calm down. What happened with Angeline that’s making you so upset?”

Of course, I agree that Angeline is a fcking b*tch, but that’s from Allen’s perspective.

To others, Angeline probably seems like a nice person.

But if Chermia gets this angry just from the keyword “hero’s party” related to Angeline, then something definitely happened.

“…Right. It’s none of your business. This is between my family and that person… Will you listen?”

Actually, I’m curious.

Nod nod

“Then, it’s an old story. A story from before I became independent.”

And so, a flashback unfitting for a four-drone rush began.