[Eccentric Alchemist, Bern Doyner]― Meet Bern Doyner's disciples. (○)― Meet him directly with Bern Doyner's disciples. (X)-???-???-???

"You know our master?"

Hav blinked in amazement, as if finding it truly strange.

He had never once mentioned his master's name, yet Luca seemed to know, which was surprising.

"I haven't met him directly, but I've heard a bit about him."

"Really? Then tell me! Master hardly ever talks about himself!"

"A-amazing. That there's a noble who knows about master..."

Hav and Moula seemed somewhat excited.

However, Luca did not answer them, only moving the set of potions he had received as a get-well present to the side.

'I need to be careful with my words. I need to coax these guys into taking me to where Bern Doyner is, no matter what.'

In the original story, Bern Doyner never appeared directly. His traces would always surface, helping the protagonist little by little.

Meeting such a mysterious figure was the content of this hint. Naturally, Luca had to act cautiously.

As he was carefully choosing his words, Ottbo made a reluctant face.

"Doyner, you say? Don't tell me it's the Doyner I'm thinking of?"

"?"

"Wow! You know our master too? Our master must be pretty famous!"

Hav looked delighted, but Luca felt a sense of foreboding for some reason.It was because Ottbo's expression was odd.

Luca tried to cover Ottbo's mouth, but perhaps because his injury wasn't fully healed, he wasn't quick enough.

"I don't really know this Bern Doyner person... but if we're talking about the Doyner family I know, they're famous. Because they're a wanted family."

"... What?"

Hav and Moula both wore flustered expressions.

But they weren't the only ones taken aback.

'The Doyners are a wanted family?'

It was the first Luca had heard of it as well.

But soon he understood.

'Come to think of it, I always got Bern Doyner's works from places like the black market. I thought he probably wasn't a completely upstanding person...'

After all, the protagonist had never met him in person, and whenever you least expected it, one of his inventions would pop up somewhere.

"I heard the alchemists issued the bounty. For violating a taboo..."

"......."

Ottbo, noticing Hav and Moula's reactions, shut his mouth.

He probably shouldn't have said it in the first place, but it was already too late.

"......."

"......."

"......."

A suffocating silence. Only then did Ottbo realize his mistake; he made a devastated face.

"... Ahem! Young master, I think you should rest a bit more. Would your friends please return for today?"

"Ah. Ah~ Uhm, y-yeah. I guess we should get going."

"......."

Bella, breaking the silence, issued a polite request for them to leave.

Ottbo tried to dash out immediately, but this time, Luca was quick enough to grab his sleeve.

"?"

"We... should get going too..."

"T-take care and see you next time..."

Moula and Hav left the hospital room with grave expressions.

Unable to escape Luca's grasp, Ottbo looked nervous, stealing glances at Luca.

"......."

"S-sorry, Luca. I messed up again..."

"This taboo violation—what are you talking about?"

Ottbo, worried about what Luca might say, looked blank at this unexpected question.

"That is... I don't know the details, but I heard he was touching on the life alchemy side, which is considered taboo..."

"Life alchemy?"

At those words, Luca pondered something for a moment, then nodded slowly.

"So that's how it is. Good. That's helpful, at least."

"R-really?"

"It would have been better if you hadn't said it in front of those two, though."

Ottbo's face fell a little at that, but Luca was in a rather good mood.

'The Doyner family became wanted due to life alchemy. That's quite a catch. For all that, they're still a reputable mage family, huh.'

It was something never seen in the original.

That alone made it worthwhile.

And now, it gave him a way to persuade Hav and Moula.

'Not bad. If things go well, I really might get to meet Bern Doyner in person.'

As he rapidly organized his plans in his head, Luca noticed Ottbo mumbling to himself in resignation.

"The mood got ruined again because of me. How am I supposed to keep up with people? I still don't get it..."

"Enough with the nonsense."

"Luca..."

Ottbo's face grew emotional, and Luca spoke with disgust.

"What happened to your armored soldier?"

"Oh, that! Luckily, the academy said they'll take responsibility and fix it."

"For free?"

"Yeah!"

"That's truly fortunate."

At Luca's words, Ottbo gave a small laugh.

"It's not entirely free. They said they'll do it in exchange for not telling my family about what happened."

"In exchange for not telling your family, huh."

"They'll probably come to you soon too, Luca. Someone who'll ask that you keep quiet about this."

If word of this incident got out, it would surely be troublesome.

No, not just this incident.

What Martin did last time hadn't even been properly resolved yet.

Three students had died, and the academy probably hadn't fully explained the cause to their families.

And now news would spread that four more students had been seriously injured?

'The academy might have to shut down.'

Hernan Academy wasn't just any school.

It was the imperial face, proudly boasting itself as the continent's best.

And a student had died there?

That alone counted as a major national incident.

Right now, there might even be secret agents from the academy or the imperial family tracking Martin's trail somewhere.

'Even though he's already dead.'

It was a pity he'd left no trace that could be proven.

'I can't just show the Demon Eye I fed to Whistle.'

The moment he revealed it, it would surely be taken from him.

"Oh! And we beat the Archiond group!"

"As expected."

"Haha! You should've seen Vickord's face. He was so humiliated that he lost to me!"

Luca didn't know who Vickord was, but guessed he was probably from the same School of Magic.

As he watched Ottbo's excitement, Luca faintly smiled, and then said slowly,

"Ottbo."

"Yeah? Why?"

"This may be sudden, but... If you stick around me, things like this will keep happening. Are you really okay with that?"

Perhaps because he couldn't completely avoid the grim fate of Luca Traverse, a lot of chaos had already happened in a short time.

And there would be plenty more chaos ahead. Ottbo would get hurt a lot along the way.

But now, Ottbo had a new path.

'With Archiond around, he won't be alone, even if he's not next to me all the time.'

Archiond didn't seem the type to hold a grudge just because he lost in a bet.

If anything, he'd try to fold Ottbo into his circle of 'friends' with something like, "I see you in a new light."

It seemed the Gress and Robette families got along pretty well too.

Archiond could even end up forming a faction later.

If Ottbo joined that faction, he'd be relatively safe even if the Third Prince's group picked a fight later.

Or even before that—if he drew attention onto Luca, the Third Prince's side might simply forget about Ottbo.And one more thing.

'I don't want to lose this guy.'

His first friend. Someone reminiscent of his past self. Maybe even the person who saved him.

After nearly losing Ottbo, Luca's mind had changed a little.

He wanted Ottbo to stay safe.

"Of course! We're friends, aren't we!"

"......."

But Ottbo wore a bright face.

He probably didn't miss the nuance in Luca's words.

At that, Luca twisted his lips.

"Don't drag me down."

"That's, um... I can't really promise that."

"Tsk. I'm going to sleep now, so you go too."

Luca clicked his tongue, pulling the blanket up.

Ottbo gave him a faint smile, said goodbye, and left the hospital room.

But as soon as he stepped outside, his smile vanished entirely.

'So am I... really just a burden?'

Ottbo made a gloomy face, then quickly shook his head.

'No. I can't do this. I have to try harder!'

He had once been frustrated with his lack of progress and given up striving, but seeing Luca had firmed his resolve.

'Next time, I'll definitely be helpful!'

With that determination, Ottbo left the ward.

A few minutes after he'd left, another guest came to see Luca.

Knock, knock.

"So many visitors."

At the sound of the knock, Luca wore a weary expression.

But when he saw who entered the hospital room, he couldn't help but look serious.

― White hair, and a beard as soft as silk.― His face was deeply lined with wrinkles, but was kind and his green eyes shone with intensity.― Dressed in a sharp suit with a fedora, he was the very image of a gentleman.― Though his build was average for an adult man, his upright posture radiated a strong aura.― He was Ethylen Basta, vice headmaster of Hernan Academy.

"It's good to see you, Luca Traverse. I believe this is our first private meeting."

"... Forgive me for not getting up, vice headmaster. I'm not in much shape for proper manners."

"Hohoho, no need. Don't make this old man into a bad person who forces injured students to stand for him."

Ethylen took off his hat, bowed slightly, and sat by the bedside.

"I heard you were gravely injured. They say it will take quite some time for you to recover. Are you all right?"

"A descendant of the Traverse family is not felled by something like this."

"Hohoho, you brothers are alike. Wylde Traverse was also a student who saw many storms, just like you."

Ethylen fingered his hat with a wry smile.

"I suppose I owe you some explanation. We are currently recognizing that the series of incidents connected to you have been caused by the teacher Martin Curves. We've looked into him, but his identity is suspicious—so much so, it's puzzling how he got into Hernan Academy in the first place. His records are heavily tampered with, and a great many investigators are digging into his background. The headmaster himself is personally moving to look into it as well."

"I see."

"It will take some time, but we'll make sure to uncover his true identity and relieve your worries. Until then, I hope you'll make sure this incident doesn't spread to anyone else. Needless confusion only complicates things further."

Ethylen candidly told Luca everything he probably wanted to know: how the school viewed the incident, and how they were trying to resolve it.

'He's even told me what the headmaster is doing. Isn't that confidential?'

Luca felt a little uneasy, but judged that Ethylen was taking the extra step to put him at ease.

"For reference, we've also dispatched a team to the Ataran Magic Stone Workshop, but for some reason, the memory of the earth was vague and we couldn't get any clear information."

"I see."

It could be because of the devil's power.A similar portrayal appeared in the original as well, so he wasn't surprised.

"If you have any further questions, feel free to ask."

Ethylen confirmed, as if checking.But Luca doubted he could extract any more information.As he slowly shook his head, ethylen gave a faint sigh and a wry smile.

"For a student to get hurt like this—it's a grievous mistake on the academy's part. We'd like to make it up however possible. Is there anything you want?"

"I wouldn't have spoken about this to anyone anyway. As you said, it would only lead to more confusion."

"That too, but... as a teacher, I'm simply too ashamed. I want to repay you by any means. Anything at all, tell me if you want it."

Luca couldn't tell if it was out of true remorse or because a silence bought with promises was unreliable, but since he said so much, asking for something seemed wisest.

He pondered for a moment, something coming to mind.

"Would this be out of your own pocket?"

"Of course. I plan to use my personal funds, separate from the academy, for whatever you want. Don't worry—even so, I've worked here long enough that I have means."

"I see."

Ethylen winked, making an "O" with his fingers.Looking at him, Luca thought for a moment, then spoke.

"Is something a bit expensive okay?"

"Hohoho, unless you're talking the bill for an armored soldier repair, it should be fine."

So he personally covered that as well.

"There's an accessory I want to buy..."

"An accessory, you say...?"

"Yes. But it's a little expensive."

Ethylen paused for a long moment before replying with a slightly reluctant tone,

"Is the Traverse family's finances in trouble these days?"

"?"

Apparently, he'd misunderstood something strange.

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】

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