Chapter 31

Yadai stayed behind uneasily.

Reinog and Sara, meanwhile, kept looking back with worried expressions as they left the castle.

Cyrus stopped putting on a stern little face. He relaxed back into his chair, leisurely swung his feet, and took the paper Judas handed him.

"Yadai Ben, the information you had the recorder write down said that you could identify herbs, that you had once been an alchemist's apprentice, and that you had studied some medicinal properties... Do you know how to make medicine?"

Yadai nodded. "A little, my lord."

At Cyrus's command, the servants brought over a basket of plants that had been prepared beforehand and arranged the tools for making potions or ointments on the table.

He said to the somewhat confused Yadai, "There are some herbs in the basket, as well as ordinary plants."

"You need to pick out the herbs and make a potion or ointment from the herbs you recognize. There is no limit to the quantity. This is your test. Begin now."

Yadai stepped forward, looking slightly nervous. "Yes, my lord."

Yadai seemed to have somewhat understood the young earl's intentions.

The reason he was being asked to do this must have had something to do with that master alchemist...

If he could earn the alchemist's approval, Reinog and Sara might be able to live a little more easily.

Having thought it through, Yadai took a deep breath and began concentrating on sorting through the plants.

After a while, he placed the herbs he had selected on the table, but hesitated slightly before beginning to make anything...

There really were herbs Yadai recognized among them, but more had been picked out based on instinct... If he could make more potions, perhaps it would be easier to gain that alchemist's recognition and approval.

But he remembered his former teacher saying that some herbs were perfectly fine when used alone, yet if they were brewed together and given to patients, they could produce harmful effects.

Such as vomiting and stomachaches.

If you did not understand an herb's medicinal properties, you should not experiment carelessly.

Yadai set the herbs he did not recognize aside, then focused on making a potion he was more familiar with.

Cyrus rested his face on his hand as he watched Yadai select the herbs and make the potion, forming his own assessment.

The plants Yadai had chosen from the basket were indeed all herbs, but his selection was incomplete.

There were still some herbs in the basket that he had failed to identify.

Furthermore, Yadai had used a rather limited selection of herbs for the potion, and his movements were slightly unpracticed. Still, the flaws did not overshadow the merits. His grasp of how to use herbs and in what quantities was quite good.

Overall, Yadai's performance was far better than Cyrus had expected.

"My lord, the potion is finished," Yadai said.

Judas took the potion and handed it to Cyrus.

Cyrus said, "This potion can treat insomnia. It calms the mind and helps people fall asleep faster, right?"

Yadai looked shocked.

He could not help asking, "M-My lord, how did you know?"

Cyrus said, "Naturally, because I can make it too. What is there to be surprised about? Close your mouth."

Yadai quietly closed his mouth.

Cyrus stroked his pale little chin and said, "You may go. When you return, remember to tell your friends that starting tomorrow, you will remain at the castle as an alchemist's assistant."

"An assistant ranks below an apprentice."

"I will judge your performance. After a one-month probationary period, I will consider whether to make you a full apprentice."

Yadai was instantly overjoyed. "Thank you, my lord!"

He had not seen the alchemist anywhere, so he assumed their formal meeting would take place the next day.

Afterward, Yadai left the castle under a servant's guidance.

Reinog and Sara breathed sighs of relief when they saw that he had returned safely.

Yadai told them that he would be staying at the castle as an alchemist's assistant.

"Visas is not too far from Komoy Fort. His Lordship said I would get one day off every seven days. Don't worry, I'll come back often."

"Also... Although Cori Moya and his group have already been sent by His Lordship to the quarry, there is no guarantee that no one else here will harbor bad intentions..."

"Reinog, Sara, if you run into danger, go find the soldiers patrolling the city immediately. I don't think they will ignore you... His Lordship does not seem like a bad person either."

Sara nodded obediently.

Reinog said, "Take care of yourself too."

Yadai said, "Mm."

The next day.

Yadai followed a soldier to the castle.

Judas led him to the stairs leading to the attic. "Go up. His Lordship is waiting for you in the alchemy laboratory."

Yadai hesitated. "Steward Judas, please wait a moment. May I ask... is His Lordship the student of that master alchemist?"

Judas smiled. "You will know once you go upstairs."

With that, he turned and left.

Yadai stood where he was and scratched his head. He muttered, "Probably... After all, His Lordship recognized the effects of the potion I made at a glance yesterday."

Yadai climbed the stairs leading to the attic.

The slightly old wooden floor creaked softly beneath his feet. Once he climbed the last step and turned through the corridor ahead, he should reach the room where His Lordship was.

There were no windows in this corridor.

Metal candle holders were embedded in the walls on both sides. They were shaped like three-pronged forks, and faint flames burned slowly within them, lighting only a small area.

Something dark seemed to be lurking motionlessly around the corner ahead.

Yet Yadai did not notice it.

When he was nearly at the corner, that dark thing suddenly leaped up and lunged at him with savage force...

"Roar!"

"Ah—"

Yadai's eyes widened in terror. He was too frightened to make a sound, his mind going completely blank. His foot caught on something, and he fell to the floor.

How could there be a tiger in the castle?!

After Coalball pounced out, he changed direction in midair. His four thick paws landed lightly and silently on the floor, and the tip of his tail curled upward in delight.

"Roar, roar."

Coalball took two steps back, then crouched low before Yadai again, looking ready to spring.

It was the signal that he was about to attack.

Yadai involuntarily backed away...

"Coalball."

He heard the earl's voice. The black tiger before him immediately drooped his ears and lay obediently on the floor.

Yadai could not help looking up.

The young earl was slowly walking toward him, and beside him was another tiger nearly half a man tall.

It was a white tiger with beautiful fur and markings, a sleek body, and an elegant gait.

Yadai turned his head in a daze. Other than their colors, the two tigers looked remarkably alike.

Cyrus felt a headache coming on.

Ordinary tigers generally reached adulthood at two or three years old. Their adulthood then lasted quite a while, followed by the period when they were at their strongest, with tremendous gains in weight and muscle.

Finally came old age.

Coalball and Snowball, whom 098 had given him, were not ordinary tigers. They had long lifespans, and their adult bodies would become enormous.

However, their maturation period was no different from ordinary tigers. They would also reach adulthood at two or three years old.

Coalball and Snowball had now entered a period of rapid growth. They seemed to change every day, and when standing on their hind legs, they were already taller than Cyrus's waist.

The two tigers also had clearly distinct personalities.

Coalball was becoming increasingly lively and mischievous. He liked running all over the place and suddenly jumping out to scare people.

Snowball, on the other hand, was steadier and quieter. He often stayed by Cyrus's side, lazily moving very little.

Cyrus walked over, grabbed one of Coalball's ears, and scolded him, "I told you not to hide here and scare people. Why won't you listen?"

"You will not get any meat at noon today. Going hungry for one meal will help you remember."

"Roar, roar..."

Coalball softened his voice and snuggled into Cyrus's arms to act cute. The next moment, Snowball swatted him away with a paw, then bit Coalball's ear and refused to let him get close.

The two of them tussled with each other and nearly knocked Cyrus off balance.

In the end, he chased them both away to find Judas.

"Come with me," Cyrus said to Yadai.

Yadai pressed a hand to his heart, which had been racing from one shock after another, and nodded as he followed behind.

Cyrus led him through the door and into the alchemy laboratory. "Today is your first day as an assistant. If there are any tools you do not recognize or are unfamiliar with, ask me. I will give you time to memorize where every tool is kept. From now on, it would be best if you did not make mistakes and mix things up."

"Yes, my lord."

Yadai could not help looking around the room's facilities in amazement. After a moment, he hesitantly asked, "My lord, is that master alchemist not here?"

Cyrus turned around in confusion. "What master alchemist?"

Yadai said, "The one who made the ointment..."

He told Cyrus about what had happened in the forest before.

Cyrus suddenly understood and gave an "oh." "I made the ointment. The alchemist you are talking about is me."

Yadai's mouth fell open uncontrollably. He said blankly, "W-What...?"

The expression on his face kept changing. Clearly, the unexpected truth had dealt his heart a tremendous blow.

Cyrus thought for a moment and said, "My father was an alchemist. Before he died, he left behind an 'Alchemy Manual.'"

Few words were needed; the rest was left to the imagination.

At last, Yadai murmured, "So that is how it is..."

Before coming to the castle, he had prepared himself mentally, thinking he might encounter an alchemist with a strange temper and an eccentric personality... Yet he had never expected that person to be the young earl.

Yadai quickly sorted out his thoughts and began familiarizing himself with the various facilities in the alchemy laboratory.

Three days later.

Cyrus sent him to study the detailed process of making papyrus. When he returned, they would need to research a new experiment.

He said, "The raw material for producing papyrus is the stem of the papyrus plant... Once papyrus is processed, it can become paper suitable for writing."

"But paper is fragile and can easily tear when turned."

"Do you think that if other plants were processed through certain methods, it might be possible to create an entirely new kind of paper?"

Yadai hesitated. "I think... it might be possible, but my lord, it will be difficult..."

Cyrus said, "Nothing is difficult in this world as long as you are willing to give up. Try it first."

With me here, what is there to fear?