Are You Going to Break off the Engagement and Expel Me at the Same Time? ~I’m an Alchemist Who’s End

Chapter 32: Why don’t you go and cool off?

Evening.

The light coming through the window panes turns orange.

Just as the potion’s effect wears off, the sun sets and the heat subsides.

But it’s still hot.

Iru-chan and I feel sweat pouring off our foreheads.

Then we hear the door open with a bang.

“Good evening, you two.”

“Thomas.”

“Oh, it’s the Lord.”

It was Thomas who appeared.

Iru-chan and I stopped working almost at the same time.

I looked at my watch and saw that it was already after 5:30.

“It’s so late already.”

“Wow, that’s true. I didn’t even notice that.”

Iru-chan didn’t seem to notice either.

Apparently there was almost no conversation from the middle of the study, just a few simple instructions and words about the study?

I guess that’s how focused we were.

It’s normal to lose track of time.

“How’s it going?”

“Hmm, reasonably well?”

“Why the question mark? How did it go with Iru? Did she help out?”

“It was very boring!”

Iru-chan clearly says what she thinks.

Her expression was pure and it was clear that she meant no harm.

Thomas smirked in response.

“Hahaha, but that doesn’t mean it was bad, does it?”

“Yes. It was fun in its own way.”

“That’s enough of that. Can you tell me more about how it went?”

Thomas’s gaze shifts to me.

His gaze is full of anticipation.

“I’m afraid there’s not much to tell. I tried a few things and they all failed.”

“I see.”

“Yes. There is something fundamental missing. I’ve tried to work out some materials, but it doesn’t work.”

“Materials…”

Thomas looks away from me.

There is a stack of books in the direction he is looking.

“I see. So that’s why you’ve been studying literature.”

“Yes, that’s right. I’ve tried almost every combination of materials I could find in the warehouse. I’m focusing on materials from this territory.”

“I’ve been reading all the way through. My eyes have gotten tired too.”

“Thank you Iru-chan, that’s enough for today.”

She closed the book with a bang.

If this had been the capital, I would have searched late into the night until I found the conclusion.

That would have been the natural course of events without anyone telling me to do it.

The fact that I was able to suggest we take a proper break instead makes me feel a little different.

“It’s great when we can finish the work on time.

“That’s just normal. Don’t get so upset.”

“It’s fine for me, you know? I could go on and on like this.”

“It takes some getting used to.”

Thomas shakes his head in disbelief.

Will I ever get used to it?

I can’t imagine that I ever will.

With that thought, I put away the papers I used for research.

I pick up the books I took from the study and carry them back to the study.

With Thomas’ help, I think I can carry them back and forth in one trip.

“I can’t believe you read so much in such a short time,” I say.

“Sister Lia reads books very quickly. By the time I finished one book, she had read five.”

“Five… I’ve heard that number before.”

“Maybe you’re just imagining it…”

It’s not because I’ve worked five times as much as others, is it?

I’ll get used to it.

You just read what you need to read and skim what you don’t need to read.

If you do that, it won’t take you long to read through the whole book.

“If you’ve read so much, haven’t you found some interesting material?”

“Yes, I did. For example, ice dragon teeth.”

“That’s monster material. And you’re talking to a dragon, right?”

Yes. That’s why I thought it was impossible.

No matter how strong Thomas and the others are, you can’t just ask them to take on a dragon.

It’s clearly a different kind of monster than the drake.

I remember the knights in the capital panicking when they were asked to kill one.

“Is there anything else?”

“Well, um… An [immortal flower] makes me curious.”

“I’ve never heard of it before.”

“I’ve never seen such a flower, but I’ve heard that some flowers bloom forever without dying.”

The book did not contain detailed information.

I think it’s half a fantasy, but if it’s real, I want it.

If I can use the part about it blooming forever, I guess I can make ice that never melts.

“But if you don’t know where it is, it’s no use.”

“I guess so.”

“Hmm? I know where the flower is.”

“Hmm?”

Thomas and I paused.

Iru-chan also stopped and turned to look at us.

“Maybe you mean the flower that doesn’t freeze? I’ve heard that it grows on the top of Crystal Valley, north of our territory.”

“Really, Iru, who told you that?”

“From Shizuku-chan. She told me about it the last time she came back.”

“From Shizuku… I see… That makes it more believable.”

Thomas nods and thinks.

Miss Shizuku is an intelligence operative in the area, right?

She’s the one who found the Drakes, so I assume it was her who found the flower too?

I don’t know her directly, so I can only make vague assumptions.

“Then why don’t we go? To Crystal Valley?”

Thomas asks me.

The answer, of course, is—

“Yes. I’m going. If there’s material there.”

“Okay, that’s it! It’s the right time of year, let’s go cool off.”