The Greatest Genius Alchemist Of All Time Wants To Retire - Chapter 18 - Incident -
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- Chapter 18 - Incident -
Chapter 18 – Incident –
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Translated by: Xean
Edited by: SevenTails
「How do you know about Proto, Prince Oscar?」
「Fu~fu. I wonder how.」
I was facing Prince Oscar. No, we were actually glaring at each other. Very few people really knew about Proto, and it was only those I believed I could trust. It’s hard to imagine someone would leak it out. As I was pondering, he suggested.
「Let’s be blunt, you know it anyway. I want you to be the symbol of the Mystics.」
「Symbol?」
「That’s right. It’s the Mystics who run this kingdom. Alchemy is certainly a Theorist thing as well, but it’s still just something that humans have assumed on their own. Even you don’t think you’ve arrived at the truth of alchemy yet, do you?」
「That is…」
I’m at a loss for words. It is true that alchemy is a theoretical thing. I’ve developed alchemy by going using logic and theory, but Prince Oscar was right, alchemy was still something unknown. That’s exactly what I’ve described as the realm of the gods.
God. An existence that cannot be proven. There is no proof that there is one, and none that there isn’t. In other words, proof of the Devil’s existence. But apparently, my existence is the closest thing to the God of Alchemy. That’s what a Blue Stellar Alchemist is… to them.
「This world was created by a god, and that god created alchemy, a miracle worker. You are the one who has gone the furthest to the depths of alchemy in this world, Elweed Willis. Come, let’s go together. I know you’ll understand and we’ll help you. You can be engaged to Alice and we’ll also help you with your interests in vegetables. Will you join us as royalty and help us make this country a better place? Not bad, isn’t it?」
「…」
I couldn’t get the words out at the time. It was certainly not a bad deal. With the backing of the royals, my business would definitely boom. It was sure to bring me closer to my dream. From a rational standpoint, I probably should be here to get on board but… my feelings told me otherwise.
A Blue Stellar Alchemist. It is the closest thing to the truth of this world. If you trace it back to its origins, that’s what an alchemist is. Even so, what about my dream if I took this path? Following the path made by others, getting engaged and becoming royalty for the sake of your dreams. I’m sure Alice will have mixed feelings about it. She has always been thoughtful and seriously supportive of me.
In spite of that, what should I do…?
No, I’ve already made up my mind. I should move forward on my own. It’s okay to work with others, but it should be on an equal footing. As it is, I’d be nothing more than a tool to be exploited, a token symbol for this country. I’m a symbol… but I’m also a farmer. I have a dream that I want to fulfill as a farmer.
With my mind made up, I gave Prince Oscar a firm and decisive response.
「… I’m sorry, but I can’t accept that proposal.」
「Ho~o. May I know why?」
「Because I want to achieve my goals myself.」
「I don’t understand… I didn’t think that a being driven by such emotions is a Blue Stellar Alchemist. Is there something else to be worried about?」
「No, there isn’t. I don’t care if I’m a Mystic or a Theorist. I’m just chasing my dream. That’s all.」
「… I see. I understand where you’re coming from. I’m sorry to take up so much of your time today, I hope to see you again in the future.」
「Yes. Now, if you’ll excuse me.」
After that, I left the party and went home to eat with Fii.
Back at home, Fii and I ate dinner together. I guess I was a little depressed, and Fii came over to talk to me, looking worried.
「Elle… did something happen?」
「Ha~a… as expected of Fii. Actually, Prince Oscar invited me to join the Mystics.」
「I knew it. So what did you say…?」
「I refused, that I had things to do. But for some reason, the prince knew about Proto. There’s no doubt that there was an information leak.」
「It can’t be… Do you have any idea where it might have leaked from…?」
「I don’t know. Right now, I don’t believe anything will say it, and… I can’t imagine Fii betraying me.」
「Well, that’s true… I hate those Mystics. They’re always so nitpicky about my marriage… oooohhhh!!! I’m even more pissed off when I think about it!」
「Right. Well, I said no anyway. It’ should be alright.」
We ended the conversation there and parted ways. I had a hard time sleeping that night and ended up waking in circles a lot.
Hopefully, my dreams will help me…
—–§§§—–
「Actually, Rita. There’s someone I want to introduce to you today.」
「…Who is it? Elle-sensei.」
The following day, I was teaching Rita in a seminar. These days, these seminars have been really soothing. Rita’s alchemy has really improved compared to when we first met. If she keeps this up, she might be able to become a Gold Class Alchemist very soon. I’m going to submit an application to the association soon and have her take the test. And just like that, I intended to introduce that guy to Rita now.
「Come on out. Proto.」
When I called him, Proto peeked out of my bag. I brought him to the lab today. Of course, I wanted to show Rita, but I brought him here because I wanted to see if he could communicate with the corns.
「…!!!!」
Proto, as usual, raised his right hand as if to say, “Hey!” Rita’s eyes widen when she sees it.
「Ehh!? Is this that “Proto”!」
「Yeah. That’s the “Proto” I keep talking about. Look, he has just recently been able to walk these days.」
Proto, perhaps hearing my words, strutted and walked on the desk. They were small steps, but he did so without hesitation. Lately, the way he walks was becoming more and more like a human being.
「Ooohhhh! Th-that’ s so~o awesome! I know that he used to crawl around! I was surprised to hear that a homunculus could evolve on its own, but when I saw the real thing like this, I was deeply moved. All of your research results are there.」
「That’s right.」
Rita really is an appreciative person. She always listens to me seriously. I’ve also recently entrusted Rita with the care of the walking corn. When I’m not around, I give her the key to the roof and let her walk them. She was hesitant at first, but then she said, “By all means, let me do it!” So I let her. In the end, the corn liked Rita more than me, so I’ve been leaving it up to her.
「Well then, let’s have the… fateful encounter, shall we?」
I arrange all the corns, from one through four, on my desk. Then, I decided to let them interact with Proto and observe them.
「……!!」
「「「「…!!!!」」」」
「…!!!」
「「「「…」」」」
They were exchanging some kind of gestures. I quickly wrote it down in my notebook. After all, it seems that fully independent artificial intelligences can communicate with each other, no matter what crop it is. Even though they’re two different crops, carrot and corn, they’re communicating well.
And after a while, Proto started shaking hands with all of them. He seems to have been accepted.
‘Hoe~eeeeee. This is truly a “Close Encounter of the Third Kind”! It’s amazing! I must have witnessed a historic moment! (TN: 未知との遭遇, https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/未知との遭遇) (EN: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Close_Encounters_of_the_Third_Kind)
「Ou! That’s right! There’s no doubt about it!」
「You did it, sensei!!」
「Aa! Yes, I really did!」
For a while after that, we made a fool out of ourselves with excitement. But then, I Fii happened to walk by and said, “Shut up!” Fii was pretty scary when she’s angry, so Rira and I just shuffled off and split up.
As I was leaving the academy, I ran into Fii by accident. It’s kinda awkward because of what happened earlier, but I couldn’t ignore her.
「Ara, is Elle heading home too?」
「Yeah.」
「Want to have dinner with me tonight?」
「… Okay. Though, there’s nothing for dinner in my house right now.」
「I don’t have anything for dinner either. Wanna go shopping with me?」
「Sure.」
Apparently, Fii didn’t mind it that much. Thank goodness…
The two of us went to the supermarket to do some grocery shopping, and it was dark by the time we finished. We’re currently on the street on our way back home.
The road we were on now was a place where the streetlights didn’t work very well. It was dangerous for a woman to walk here alone, but at the very least, the kingdom of Canovaria was a safe place, there were rarely any thugs, so there was no need to be so vigilant. But as I was thinking this, I sensed a strange presence.
「Fii, get behind me for a minute.」
「What…?」
「Look closely, it’s a trace of alchemy formation. This paralyzes one’s nerves.」
I look at the alchemy formation and recognize it. In an instant, I managed to disable it. From the accuracy of this formation, the person who set this up was definitely at the Platinum Class. I raised my vigilance to an even higher level than before. If it was just me, I could’ve handled it, but Fii was with me, but I’m not that worried about her since she was strong in her own right.
「I’ve disabled it but the opponent is quite skilled. There are no peculiarities in the alchemy formation. It is going to be hard to trace back the alchemist using just this.」
「… I see.」
Fii and I stared at the disabled alchemy formation. There was an extremely beautiful formation drawn on the ground. Each person’s formation was unique and had its own personality. It would be easy to identify individuals with the help of the association using them. However, this one deliberately erased that particular trait.
But because we’ve seen tens of thousands of alchemy formations, we understand exactly where it came from.
Apparently, Prince Oscar and the Mystics didn’t intend to leave me alone.
「Let’s go home, Fii.」
「… Yeah.」
「I squeezed Fii’s hand and hurried back home.」
「…」
「…」
We ate in silence. After what happened, I couldn’t bring myself to talk cheerfully. Then Fii spoke in a serious tone.
「I’m going to tell my uncle about today. I’ll tell him about it tomorrow.」
「Yes. We’d better ask for the Chairman’s advice.」
「…」
「…」
Then there was silence again. When I looked closer, I saw that Fii’s body was shivering a bit.
「Fii, you…」
「I’m scared. I don’t want anyone to be harmed because of Elle being too good. Elle has been doing his best for a very long time and I’ve never seen anything like this. What the hell was that? What would have happened if Elle hadn’t found out? I’m really frustrated. It’s unacceptable that people would do such a thing. Even though you’re a Blue Stellar Alchemist, you are still a human being. Calling you a god… there’s no such thing.」
As I looked closer, I saw tears streaming down her face. I couldn’t believe she’s looking out that much for me.
「Hey, Elle. Can’t you stay with me tonight? I want to be with you tonight, Elle.」
「… I understand. I’ll stay with you.」
Since I lived next door to Fii, there was no need for me to stay there. It might be normal to think that way, but I wanted to respect her feelings. She told me she wanted to be with me. She was that Fii, who rarely asked for anything like this.
All along, Fii had been doing a lot of work for me. I could see that ever since I started working at the academy. That’s why I wanted to repay her.
「… Hey, are you awake?」
「I’m not sleepy yet.」
We took a bath since then and now we were both in the same bed. I said I’d sleep on the couch, but Fii gave me a disapproving look, so I decided to sleep with her.
We had our backs facing the other’s and I could hear the sound of our breathing up close.
「I wonder what’s going to happen now…」
「I don’t know, but we need to do something about it.」
「But they’re royalty. If you handle it poorly, you can…」
「I’m ready to leave the country if it comes to that.」
「I don’t want, I don’t want that to happen.」
「It’s not really much since my research can be done outside. Environmentally, this country is the best, but there are other countries where alchemy is prominent.」
「That’s right… but I’m going to miss Elle.」
「… Yeah, I guess so. I’m going to miss seeing Fii too, and my family. I guess that’s my last resort.」
「Hey, Elle stay with me the whole time… I don’t want- I don’t want that to happen.」
Fii hugged me from behind tightly. It was a small body. Thinking about it, I’ve been watching Fii work hard for so long that she seems mentally older than she looks. We were ten years apart in age, too. Yet Fii was so small. She was shivering. No matter how old we get, people aren’t that strong. We have to support each other to survive.
I accepted Fii’s embrace as I thought about it.
And the next thing I knew, Fii was breathing in her sleep.
「Su~u… su~u… su~u…」
I turned over and looked at Fii’s face— I saw tears streaming down her face. Really, Fii looked lonely, just like the last time she was drunk. She had grown up in a tough environment all her life, even being called a genius alchemist. The Chairman told me once that she was isolated and didn’t have any friends. At that time, I didn’t think that was the case with her. She was social, charismatic, serious and firm. That was my impression of her during my days as a student, but now that we work at the same academy, I’ve come to understand Fii’s struggles, and I know she’s been working alone for a long time.
That’s why I need to be Fii’s support. I’ll be there for her until the day she finds someone to marry and doesn’t need me anymore. (EN: *coughs*)
I fell asleep with that thought in my head.
I slept well that night. It was as if the previous day’s insomnia was a lie. In my dream, I saw myself selling my crops to the world. That was me in the future. I will get to that place for sure. No matter what obstacles I face, I will get there…