Alchemists do not need self-cultivation

“Mr. Isaac, I’m not a bad person.”

"Huh? Dietrich? No, it's not." Isaac looked at the face in front of him and suddenly realized something.

“Gilbert Bougainvillea?”

The person in front of me is Dietrich's younger brother, who is in the army.

“It’s so good that Mr. Isaac remembers me. Could you please let me go?” Gilbert said helplessly.

"Oh, I'm sorry."

Isaac was slightly embarrassed and put the pistol back. Violet, seeing this, also put her gun away.

------

At Isaac's house.

Violet brewed two cups of tea and placed them on the table. She then walked to the sofa not far away and sat down. She was still somewhat uneasy. If this person had any ill intentions towards Isaac, she would immediately draw her gun and execute him on the spot.

Isaac and Gilbert, on the other hand, sat down and talked.

"Haha, I'm really sorry, I didn't expect Dietrich's brother to come looking for me," Isaac said first. If it were him, he should have gotten his address information from Dietrich.

"No, that's not true. Please forgive me for disturbing you, Mr. Isaac." Gilbert didn't take Isaac's sudden attack to heart.

"The real reason I came here this time is..."

“I know, you’re here for weapons, right?” Isaac interrupted Gilbert.

“!” Gilbert’s pupils contracted instantly.

Was my intention really that obvious?

"How did Mr. Isaac know that?"

“Your friend told me about him, the redhead, I forgot his name, something like Jacqueline,” Isaac said, taking a sip of tea.

“Claudia Hawkins?” Gilbert asked tentatively.

"Oh right, that's him."

"..."

Gilbert never expected that his close friend had come to see Mr. Isaac first, and that his presence here should only be known to the high command of the army, and that Mr. Isaac was only one rank higher than him, so how did he get the news?

Actually, I was quite nervous when I learned that I was here to see Mr. Isaac. If I angered him by asking him for weapons, he would be ready to collect my body the very next day.

Although he'd heard that Mr. Isaac and his brother were good friends, his brother and the family were completely at odds. And his father…

"Don't be nervous, weapons will be provided to you."

Seeing how nervous the person in front of him was, Isaac promptly interrupted his wild thoughts.

"Um... thank you so much, Mr. Isaac!"

Gilbert was surprised that the other party would agree so readily. He was both delighted and relieved, as it seemed that the task assigned to him by his superiors had been completed.

"However, you'll need to cover the costs yourselves; I don't think I need to elaborate on that."

"Of course, the army won't take your things for nothing."

“That makes things easier. I’ll personally negotiate the price with your commander.” Isaac wasn’t afraid of this kind of business.

"Thank you again, sir. I will definitely visit you to express my gratitude when I have the chance." After finishing his business, Gilbert stood up from his seat to leave. His somewhat gloomy mood after completing the task eased a little.

"Wait, don't rush off."

Just as he was about to leave, Isaac suddenly called out to him.

"Um...is there anything else, sir?" Gilbert was still a little nervous after being stopped by Isaac.

He wondered if this gentleman was planning to back out.

"Look how nervous you are, you don't have any of the air of a descendant of a great family." Isaac teased Gilbert, who was a little nervous. "You are the heir of the Border Earl, can't you show some of the aura of bullying the common people?"

What a terrible analogy!

Gilbert found this person somewhat difficult to understand.

"I was just chatting with you. Aren't you Xiaodi's brother? His brother is my brother too. I can help you if you need anything."

“Mr. Isaac…it seems I’m much older than you.” Gilbert was increasingly unable to understand what kind of nonsense was going on in the head of the man in front of him.

"Age doesn't mean anything. If I were a close friend of your father despite the age difference, you would probably be my godson by now."

"I don't think so..."

Although he really wanted to slap the boy in front of him, he gave up after thinking about the difference in their strength.

"So, do you want to be my younger brother or my son?"

"I don't want to."

The two of them just sat there talking nonsense.

"Speaking of your father, if it were the army that wanted to talk to me, your father would obviously be more suitable, since the two sides have signed an agreement."

“My father…” Gilbert’s mood suddenly turned somber, “He passed away a week ago.”

"..." This is rather surprising news.

The death of a border lord was a major event, yet it wasn't reported in the newspapers.

"The news was suppressed, after all, this matter has a great impact, and we are still in the midst of war."

"Does Dietrich know about this?" Isaac asked casually, though he had left the family, he was still Isaac's father.

“I don’t know, but I should know a little bit.” Gilbert recalled that when he went to ask his brother for Mr. Isaac’s address, his face had been somber.

They've probably already received some information.

After a moment of silence, Isaac put on his coat and went to the door. "Violet, you stay home. Gilbert, you and I are going to your brother's place."

Chapter Thirty-Two: I Heard Your Father Passed Away

Although Violet was very worried about Isaac's safety, she had no intention of disobeying him and obediently responded.

Isaac nodded and said to Gilbert, "Let's go."

It's already quite late.

Isaac and Gilbert walked down the deserted street, the dim lights barely illuminating the road ahead.

"Mr. Isaac, may I ask who the girl is in your house...?"

“Oh, Violet, my subordinate,” Isaac replied.

"A subordinate? So young?" Gilbert was somewhat incredulous.

"Really? I was already killing people on the battlefield when I was her age," Isaac said dismissively.

“Uh…” Gilbert was speechless for a moment.

As they chatted, they arrived at the foot of the Dietfried Mansion.

“By the way, Mr. Isaac, there’s something I’d like to ask you.” Gilbert suddenly spoke up.

"what?"

“I’m afraid my brother is grieving right now, so could you please not use words like ‘death’ or ‘passed away’ when we go upstairs?”

"What?"

"Please!" Gilbert said earnestly.

"……All right."

The two men informed the guards outside, and he immediately went into the mansion to report to Dietfried.

Inside a room in the mansion.

"Colonel Dietfried, Major Gilbert, and Mr. Isaac request to see you!" the soldier reported.

"Coming so late? Never mind, let them in." Dietrich looked unwell and told the soldiers to let the two men in.

Shortly after the soldiers left, Isaac and his companion entered the room.

"Hey, Little Dee, congratulations on becoming a colonel." Isaac casually sat down on the sofa next to him, seemingly quite familiar with the place.

"Gilbert, please make yourself at home. This is your brother's house, so please be at ease."

Gilbert: "..."

Dietrich: "..."

It's not up to you at all!

The two brothers were completely helpless against this scoundrel.

Dietrich spoke first: "You didn't come here just to wish me a happy birthday, did you?"

"Yes, I just wanted to comfort you a bit."

"..." Dietrich was speechless again. Every time he talked to this guy, he felt inexplicably angry.

“I don’t have anything that I need you to comfort me about…” Dietrich said casually.

Isaac: "I heard your dad died."

Dietrich: "..."

Gilbert: "..."

Dietrich felt he couldn't resist pulling the gun out of the drawer and shooting him in the head.

Gilbert kept exchanging glances with Isaac.

"What's wrong? I didn't say those two words you just mentioned." Isaac looked completely innocent.

Gan.

How incredibly stupid of me to even talk to this guy.

Gilbert covered his face, feeling that coming to his brother's place with Isaac was a mistake.

"You already knew?" Dietrich asked Isaac, taking a sip of his drink.

"Pretty much, your brother has already told me."