Alchemists do not need self-cultivation

After putting away the two brothers' letters, Isaac opened another letter.

'Isaac, I heard from Ed that you went on a business trip without even saying goodbye.'

Oh, and could you bring me back a prosthetic limb from that country? Preferably from SAC!

It was a very short letter, but you could tell who it was without even looking at the signature.

Winry Rockbell, daughter of the Rockbells.

As one of only two women I know, and someone I'm fairly familiar with.

It's obvious that this girl, who's obsessed with mechanical armor all day, would definitely ask him to bring back some mechanical prosthetics from here.

Prosthetics are custom-made; you can't just wear them whenever you want.

"I'll bring as much as I can," Isaac thought as he opened another letter.

This letter is quite long... Could it be a gift?

I eagerly opened the letter, and a piece of paper fell out.

'Isaac, how's everything going? Everything's going great on my end! You know what? My wife's pregnant! How about we name our daughter Alicia? She'll definitely be as beautiful as her mom!'

Isaac didn't want to read the letter anymore; he knew perfectly well who had sent it.

A whole bunch of photos fell out of the letter, all of them pictures of Hughes with a radiant smile and his wife.

"That bastard is deliberately trying to annoy me, isn't he?"

What does your wife's pregnancy have to do with me?

Without a second thought, I set the letter and the photo aside.

Isaac then opened the last letter.

This letter is quite long.

'Isaac, now I finally don't have to address you as Colonel anymore. Just a week after you left, I was promoted to Colonel by headquarters, which means we're now equals...'

It was obvious at a glance that it was Roy; the words revealed his smugness as he wrote the letter.

“This guy seems pretty cocky,” Isaac scoffed at Roy’s behavior.

However, his letter was not finished.

"Things haven't been peaceful in the East City lately. Two State Alchemists have died, their deaths were gruesome. You're lucky you're out of town, but we're all incredibly busy these days..."

Has someone attacked the State Alchemist?

This is a serious problem. Leaving aside the fact that attacking State Alchemists in Amestris is a grave crime, simply defeating them is an incredible feat. After all, even those State Alchemists focused solely on research possess considerable combat prowess.

Roy's letter also included several photographs.

The photos show how alchemists from different countries died.

"It's horrible, the body is split open... no, it's been dismembered." Isaac looked thoughtfully at several photos from the time of the incident.

Someone capable of disintegrating the human body... Could the murderer also be an alchemist?

However, the letter was still not finished being read.

"There was someone who was still breathing when we arrived. He told the rescuers that the prisoner was looking for 'natural disaster.' I think that's you. Although you're safe abroad, the prisoner might already be looking for you. Be careful."

Looking for himself? He probably has quite a few enemies, after all, the number of people who have died at his hands is as countless as the bread he's eaten in his life. It's not impossible that a few of them are looking for revenge.

However, none of this could affect Isaac.

After putting all the letters away, Isaac lay on the bed staring blankly at the ceiling.

"I didn't even realize it myself, but I still have a lot of friends," Isaac said casually.

In his hometown, there are still people who care about him.

"I really want to go back."

Chapter 48: Advanced Equipment

Three days later, time flew by.

On this day, all the soldiers were fully equipped and ready to march towards the city of Mazig.

Most soldiers wore grim expressions because they knew in their hearts that their survival in the war was uncertain. Although they were fighting to protect their country, who wouldn't want to live?

Of course, some people don't seem serious at all.

That means they were providing support from the rear.

"Huh? Gilbert, what are you doing in logistics?" Claudia was a little surprised to see Gilbert walking with her.

"Mr. Isaac has arranged for me to work in the logistics department..." Gilbert said verbally that it was against the rules, but he still accepted the arrangement gladly.

Better to live a miserable life than to die a good death. Besides, living in logistics is quite carefree.

"That's great, someone arranged such a good position for you," Claudia exclaimed. "I never expected that Isaac would be the commander of this operation."

"To be honest, I was also startled."

"By the way, what's that thick vest you're wearing? And that helmet on your head is different from ours too."

Claudia noticed early on that Gilbert's clothing was different from others.

While everyone else wore simple military uniforms, Gilbert wore a thick vest over his regular uniform, and his helmet was different from the ones issued to him by the military.

“Oh, this? Mr. Isaac gave it to me two days ago, saying I should wear it.”

Gilbert looked at his clothes and recalled that after handing the letter to Isaac, Isaac told him to wait for him at the training ground the next day, saying he had something for him...

--------

two days ago.

"Hey, Gilbert, you're here so early?" Isaac greeted Gilbert, who was sitting in a chair waiting, as he arrived at the training ground.

“Mr. Isaac, it’s almost noon now. Didn’t you tell me to come this morning?”

Gilbert actually left early in the morning after Isaac told him to come to the training ground.

However, when they arrived at the training ground, they didn't see anyone, so they've been waiting ever since.

"In my opinion, anything before noon is morning," Isaac said confidently.

"..."

Without arguing further, Gilbert wanted to know exactly what Isaac meant by giving him.

Isaac then took out a vest and a helmet.

"These two items are for you."

"This is?"

Gilbert looked at the vest and helmet in his hands, puzzled, wondering what they were for.

"Bulletproof vests and bulletproof helmets."

"This is standard equipment in our army..."

“Mine is different, you try it on first.” Isaac gestured for Gilbert to put on the two pieces of equipment.

When Gilbert heard Isaac say that, he obediently put on his vest and helmet.

Once he was fully equipped, Gilbert immediately felt the wonder of the gear.

It's incredibly light!

It was several times lighter than the protective gear issued to me by my own army, and it felt very comfortable to wear.

But can something so light have high defensive capabilities?

"Mr. Isaac..."

Before Gilbert could ask a question, Isaac slapped his hands on the ground, and with a flash of lightning, a rifle appeared in Isaac's hands.

"Gilbert, stand still." He then aimed the gun at Gilbert.

“Wait a minute…” Gilbert exclaimed immediately.

boom! boom! boom!

Before he could finish speaking, Isaac had already fired three shots.

Gilbert had already closed his eyes and was waiting to die when Isaac fired, but he felt nothing except for some tremors in his abdomen.

When he opened his eyes, he found himself standing there unharmed.

"I forged it according to the standards of your country's guns, so its power is just so-so." He disdainfully disassembled the rifle in his hand and looked at Gilbert, who had a completely bewildered expression.

"How about it? Isn't what I gave you useful?"

“…It works well.” Gilbert, being a soldier after all, quickly recovered from the feeling of surviving the ordeal and said slowly.

"I made your bulletproof vest yesterday. It mainly uses materials such as boron carbide, which have low density and high strength. Your guns can't penetrate this vest."

"As for your helmet, it is made of ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene fiber, and it has a glass visor made of composite materials. It is bulletproof."

"These pieces of equipment are what I tinkered with while conducting experiments. I plan to go back and see if I can get the military to fund the distribution of large quantities to me."

Gilbert didn't understand anything Isaac was saying; he only understood one thing.

My current gear is awesome!

"Of course I didn't shoot you in the head just now to test the helmet's defense, because I was afraid it would scare you."

I was scared to death!

Gilbert, holding the equipment Isaac had given him, hesitated for a moment before asking, "Mr. Isaac, weren't I transferred to the logistics department? Why do I still need this equipment?"

"Absolutely foolproof."

“…Thank you so much!” Gilbert could only express his gratitude to Isaac.

He could sense that Isaac was going to great lengths to protect him.

--------

“That’s wonderful, you have a state alchemist who will make equipment just for you,” Claudia said to Gilbert.

"Yes, we should thank him properly after this war is over."