The West Wind's Destination - Chapter 63
Homun had collapsed.
According to the retainers, he suddenly vomited blood while frolicking in the garden and collapsed.
Moved to the bedroom, Homun’s skin was swollen red in places as if bruised, and he cried out in pain when touched. Although he did not vomit blood while lying down, his complexion was pale.
Neither the summoned mages nor the physicians could find any significant abnormalities. There was no injury or illness. It was certainly not poison.
Aseph tirelessly brought people to examine Homun, but Homun’s condition did not improve.
Magic does not work on the lineage of Vilkanos. This was true for Homun, created as an exact replica of Aseph Vilkanos.
After days of observation, Bea came to an uncertain conclusion.
The homunculus was literally ‘breaking apart’.
And it was because of Aseph Vilkanos.
“What do you mean by that?”
Aseph asked, bewildered by Bea’s explanation. He was taking on all the worry instead of Bea.
“Because the homunculus and you are of the exact same nature. Similar natures try to merge, and trying to maintain equilibrium with you, your magical power flows into the homunculus. Its body cannot withstand it.”
“Because he’s been close to me, this happened?”
“Yes. There was no such issue when you were away.”
And if Homun had been the real son of Aseph, born of mixed blood with another, this wouldn’t have happened. It was a problem exclusive to a clone.
Aseph looked at Homun, who had his eyes closed and was full of guilt. His large hand, intending to soothe the sweaty forehead, stopped. Even small touches caused Homun pain.
It was like a water balloon filled to the brim, ready to burst at the slightest touch.
“Can it be cured then?”
“I’m not sure.”
Aseph grew anxious at Bea’s hesitant response.
Bea was the type to think it better to destroy and rebuild than to fix something already broken. In fact, Aseph knew Bea regarded Homun in that way.
“Bea, this child is not me. A person is a unique entity, and nothing can replace that.”
“……”
Bea did not respond. She couldn’t comprehend the statement.
As Aseph suspected, Bea truly believed that if Homun died, she could simply create another exactly like him. She had been entertaining a similar thought until just moments ago.
Is a person truly a unique entity? Irreplaceable? Not at all.
Just like the claim that human transmutation is an affront to human life, it was a sentiment she couldn’t sympathize with. If human life was so precious, there wouldn’t be so many people abandoned in deserts for a loaf of bread or a sip of water.
There are many humans in the world, and thus, individuals are ephemeral. Why else would slaves be killed without a second thought once their utility was exhausted, only to be replaced by new ones?
Bea’s thoughts did not align with Aseph’s hopes.
She thought she had created a reasonably functional product, but I never expected that the design was flawed from the beginning.
It probably won’t work. It was much harder to repair something broken than to discard it and make a new one. Moreover, Bea lacked the knowledge for this part.
“Alright. I’ll try.”
She said those words solely because of Aseph’s expression.
In the end, just like I was eroded by the charm of Vilkanos, she realized his inefficiency had rubbed off on her.
❖
A failure.
The homunculus was a failure.
Initially thought to be a failure because he was completed in an unintended form, there was hope that he might be somewhat useful as he grew. Now, it turned out to be neither here nor there.
With a short lifespan and consuming both human and material resources for care, it was a burden. Keeping it was only a drain.
A perfect failure.
There were no other words to describe it.
Bea handed a basket of cookies to the homunculus and sat in front of it.
She understood why this failure kept looking for such things.
It was probably because its body was demanding excessive energy to try and heal itself.
For some reason, it was hard to articulate.
“You’re going to die.”
It was something it had to know eventually. Perhaps he had already anticipated it. As the homunculus possessed the knowledge of an adult, it was quite intelligent even aside from that fact.
“Are you scared?”
“I am not afraid.”
The homunculus answered immediately. It chewed on a cookie with chocolate chips, then seemed to find even that too strenuous and put it down.
“…It’s just that the body’s electrical signals will turn off, and the physical activity will cease.”
Bea stared intently at the homunculus’s face. It was a different reaction than usual for such a calm response.
“Why cry then?”
“…Because I thought you would be lonely.”
Loneliness was an emotion that Bea did not quite comprehend.
She had been alone since being abandoned in the desert sandstorm. Even when living with her master and the other alchemists, she slept alone and ate alone. She planned to live many more days alone than she had already lived.
Creating the homunculus and meeting Aseph, being surrounded by people in this mansion, was even more unusual for Bea.
If the homunculus dies prematurely, her research ends. The experiment to create an artificial human would be no different from a failure, and without the homunculus, Bea would have no more tasks here.
It would just be a return to how she originally was.
“I won’t become lonely just because you die.”
“That’s a relief.”
The homunculus sobbed quietly. Even as tears streamed down, it stubbornly continued to speak.
“At least that human is here.”
“Is that a relief?”
“Yes.”
The homunculus, who had once been silent like Bea, became more talkative since arriving here.
“Master, I was made as a clone of that human.”
“Yes.”
“What I think, that human would think the same, wouldn’t he?”
“Perhaps.”
“That’s a relief.”
While speaking politely, the homunculus kept shedding tears. He let them flow without wiping them away, as it would hurt to touch.
Watching this, a tightness formed in Bea’s chest.
