Alchemists do not need self-cultivation

“Is that so?” Dietrich said as he sat down by the fireplace and drank his wine.

“My father was never happy with me, his son, but he still sent someone like you to protect me.”

This time, Isaac didn't speak, but listened quietly to Dietrich.

"It's so foolish to always talk about the glory of the Bugambiria family." Even as she said this, tears still fell to the ground.

"Isaac, my father is dead, so is his commission still valid?"

"Of course it's effective. Even if the person dies, the contract still exists."

“Is that so?” Dietrich turned to look at Gilbert. “Isaac, can I ask you for a favor?”

"What?"

Dietrich said slowly, "I want you to protect Gilbert next."

His concerns were indeed valid. Losing old Bugambiria was essentially equivalent to Gilbert losing his protection, and the army's high command could easily send him to the front lines.

"Brother, you..."

“That’s impossible,” Isaac retorted directly. “Your father signed the agreement to have me protect your safety, but it didn’t mention your brother.”

"Don't you want to get back to Amestris as soon as possible?" Dietfried suddenly asked.

"..."

"I think you've noticed it too, Isaac. So-called continental wars, wars within a continent, basically take place on land. The main battlefield is always on land."

"Only when the army gains the upper hand can the war end quickly, and your mission can be completed more quickly."

Isaac said, "That's true."

"So, if you continue to protect me according to the contract, Isaac, then you will never be able to intervene in the land battlefield. Moreover, the army is not particularly advantageous at the moment. In that case, your return home will be delayed indefinitely."

By this point in Dietrich's explanation, Isaac had a general idea.

In fact, Isaac had already noticed this when President Bradley sent him over.

The war could have ended quickly if the army had gained a sufficient advantage on the main battlefield, but the president insisted on granting old Bugambiria's request to protect his son, who was in the navy.

This is tantamount to deliberately prolonging the end of the war.

To put it bluntly, they just don't want to go back too soon.

Although one of the mission objectives was to hunt down the traitor, the Copper Alchemist, based on Isaac's previous investigations, Copper was mostly active in the army. However, Isaac had created a tornado at sea, which revealed Copper's activity range to Copper, leading Copper to ambush Isaac at sea.

Although in the end it was a suicide mission for himself.

"That's true, but the contract still has to be honored. At worst, I'll use it to blow up the Northeast Allied Army a few times."

For Isaac, although being slowed down was unpleasant, he would fulfill his obligations under the contract.

“I’m a colonel now, and there’s been no fighting at sea so far, so I don’t need to worry about my safety,” Dietrich said, but Isaac didn’t seem to be swayed.

"So, Isaac, do you remember what you told me when you were on the ship?"

"what do you mean?"

"I'm handing Violet over to you, so you owe me a favor."

Isaac did remember promising to do something for Dietrich.

"If that's what you're saying, then yes, but is it really okay? I'm perfectly capable of helping you with other things."

"That's enough, do you agree?"

“…Fine, I’m scared of you. I promise to protect your brother Gilbert.” Isaac finally gave in. “But don’t forget your father’s contract is still in effect. You must send me a telegram immediately if you have any problems.”

“I understand.” Dietrich didn’t say anything more; for him, the goal had been achieved.

"elder brother……"

Dietrich interrupted him directly, saying, "I know what you're going to say, but now that Father is gone and I've long since left the family, you are the only heir to Bugambilia."

"Whether as the next head of the family or as my younger brother, I hope you can live."

Chapter Thirty-Three: Breaking the Leg is a Good Idea

It was quite late when we left the Dietfried house.

“Mr. Isaac, I’ll head back to my lodgings now.”

“Oh, you can go back now,” Isaac said casually.

When are you planning to return to the front lines?

"This week, I suppose, since I've already completed the task assigned to me," Gilbert said. "But I'll be reporting to Army Headquarters in Layton beforehand."

“Okay, I’ll go with you then,” Isaac said after thinking for a moment.

Now that the mission has expanded to include protecting Dietrich's brother, the necessary preparations still need to be made.

To be honest, protecting Gilbert was much simpler than protecting Dietfried, a naval officer.

All of Isaac's wars were fought on the road, giving him extensive experience in land warfare.

There's nothing we can do about it; Amestress has no sea.

"Speaking of which, where have you pushed your front lines to now? I remember seeing on the news last time that you had driven the enemy out of your lines."

“Um… this…” Gilbert seemed a little embarrassed.

"What's wrong?"

"Are you referring to something that happened more than a week ago, sir?"

“Yes.” Isaac remembered that he was reading the newspaper next to him when he was at the clothing store with Violet.

"Just as we were retreating from the front lines, we received news that the enemy had breached our defenses again, and that we were now locked in a stalemate," Gilbert said awkwardly.

"...Didn't you take any occupation measures after you broke through their defenses?" Isaac looked at Gilbert with surprise.

"The army's top brass said this was a good opportunity and ordered a full-scale attack, which resulted in insufficient rear forces and the enemy directly flanking them from the rear."

It means that too many people were sent to the other side at once, and as a result, their hometown was demolished.

"Damn it, are all the army's high command pigs? Instead of building up defenses and setting up offensives, you're launching a full-scale assault on the land we finally captured? Are you trying to kill us all?" Isaac started cursing.

To retract my earlier statement, protecting Gilbert is no easy task either; with his bunch of idiot superiors, they'll probably be sent on a suicide mission in no time.

“Gilbert, I have a question for you.” Isaac looked at Gilbert with a serious expression.

"...What is it, sir?"

"In order to better complete the task Xiaodi gave me, could I break your legs and then tell the army that you can no longer fight and are preparing to retire?"

“Sir, you’re joking…” Gilbert’s smile was very forced.

"Fine, I'll talk to your commander myself then." Isaac had no other choice but to see if he could make some connections with the higher-ups at the Army Headquarters.

If all else fails, just find another reason to pull Gilbert out of the army.

At worst, I'll break his legs.

Gilbert now felt his legs trembling slightly.

"Okay, let's go home first and see how things go later," Isaac said, heading towards his place.

Gilbert responded and headed towards his temporary lodgings.

The lights were dim at night.

When I got home and opened the door, I found Violet still curled up on the sofa.

"Violet, aren't you going to sleep so late?" Isaac asked Violet as he hung his coat on the living room rack.

“I’m waiting for Mr. Isaac to come back,” Violet said slowly.

"You don't have to wait for me to come back, I won't have any problems," Isaac said to Violet with a smile.

“I’m very worried,” Violet’s answer remained concise and clear.

"...Alright, I'm back now, you can go back to your room and sleep without worry." Isaac patted Violet's head and went back to his room to rest.

I just got home from such a long train ride in Roswell, and before I could even get a proper rest, I had to deal with someone else's family matters and was forced to take on another assignment.

The following week was very simple: I taught Violet to read and write and some other things, then went out for a stroll. Nothing particularly special happened.

I went to some places along the way and completed several of the commissions I had previously accepted.

These commissions are all in Leiden, which is very convenient to get there by train, so Isaac plans to make all the money he can before officially going to the front lines with Gilbert.

When Isaac returned to his residence with the money and Violet, he looked at her and said, "Violet, I have something to tell you."

"Please speak."

"I'm going to the front lines with Gilbert later, which is the combat zone. It's not very safe there, so could you stay at home for the next few days?"

"How long will it take for you to come back?" Violet asked, her eyes filled with worry.

"I don't know, it might take about a month..."

“Please let me go with you!” Violet suddenly said, her voice filled with determination.

“That’s a war zone, not a fun place,” Isaac said helplessly.

"Please take me with you!" Violet insisted, refusing to budge.

Isaac was somewhat surprised. Violet usually wouldn't refuse anything he said, so this situation was a bit unexpected.

But Isaac was pleased, as this was the first time Violet had questioned his decision.

That's more like it. As your future adjutant, you should naturally have the ability to think independently.

Can you tell me why?

“If I’m not next to Mr. Isaac… then I won’t hear his orders, right?” Violet said slowly, her head lowered.

“Uh…” Isaac was speechless for a moment.

“I want to stay by Mr. Isaac’s side forever, so please take me with you!” Violet suddenly grabbed Isaac’s clothes and shouted.

At this moment, Violet was no longer the expressionless doll in Isaac's eyes. Although the metaphor was not quite right, she was more like a puppy afraid of being abandoned.

Looking into Violet's eyes, Isaac sighed.

"Alright, just come with me."