The West Wind's Destination - Chapter 7
❖
The sweet and savory scent wafted through the air.
In a laboratory that handled numerous chemicals, such an aroma was unlikely. So Bea, suspecting that her empty stomach was playing tricks with her mind, opened her eyes.
And immediately, she heard a man’s voice.
“Ah, have you awakened?”
His voice was as soft as a spring breeze.
However, Bea felt a chill run through her blood.
She made a mistake.
She should have killed him as soon as she confirmed he was healed.
For her, to let a stranger into her lab and be this off-guard, just…
As Bea tensely sat up, the man approached with a bowl in hand and sat down before her. The source of that savory scent was the soup he held.
He casually offered a spoonful of soup to Bea.
“You shouldn’t strain yourself yet.”
Bea, not accepting it, pushed his hand away.
“You touched my stuff?”
“I’m sorry. You suddenly collapsed, and you looked in poor shape, so I thought I should make something to eat. I didn’t touch anything important. I gathered the ingredients from the forest.”
Inside the soup floated mushrooms that looked well-cooked. Bea’s diet had been nothing but military rations, so he must have really foraged from the forest. Cooking tools were not hard to find in this lab, at least.
“Please eat. You’ve been quite unwell.”
Despite her vigilance, Bea’s body, starved for days, instinctively accepted the food.
It tasted good. It didn’t seem poisonous.
Swallowing a mouthful, he continued to serve her, tending to her needs.
There were no proper ingredients like grain flour in the lab. At most, there might have been some old cheese, but considering it was hastily made, it wasn’t bad. Bea silently accepted it.
After a while, he said,
“Are you a mage?”
“…No.”
“I thought so. But how did you…”
He frowned, seemingly confused.
It was understandable. Most mages were nobles, remarkable humans who could use magic without any tools—only with the power already intrinsic in them. Among them, the imperial family was born with powerful magical abilities.
Magic was as good as physical power, so mages lived with amassed wealth and high status. They weren’t the sort to hide away and live frugally in such a place.
“The current Emperor… it’s said he can do anything except bring back the dead.”
“So?”
“N-Nothing.”
His glances were full of confusion.
This man was not a mage either. After all, if he were, he wouldn’t treat an alchemist like this.
Mages, hoarding wealth and power, found alchemists – who weren’t born with magical powers but performed acts masquerading as magic – to be thorns in their side. They threatened the long-established hierarchical order.
“What is your name? I would like to repay you for saving me. I will, of course, provide compensation for any items I might have touched.”
Initially, Bea had reacted sharply, fearing he might have tampered with her research materials, but it seemed that wasn’t the case. He had only looked for something edible, not touching any other possessions or research data.
‘Compensation?’
Considering his polite demeanor towards a usually scorned alchemist, he didn’t seem to be a person of high status or wealth. Bea didn’t hold much expectation.
“Rather than that, take off your shirt.”
“Wh, what?”
He covered his chest with both hands as if he was being violated. His thick chest couldn’t be fully covered even with his large hands.
“I need to check if your body has healed properly.”
“Ah, that, yes…!”
He quickly removed his single-layered shirt. His arm movement was normal. His body had been torn open in places, but she had stitched it back together without leaving any scars.
After all, her goal was to create a complete human body, not a patchwork golem, so her research paid off.
His reddish, robust muscles had also attached well. His shoulders were broad, and his waist was slim. His abs cast deep shadows under the lamp light.
In fact, his body was well-trained, making the muscle structure easier to understand. The muscles looked good under the skin, but certainly, they looked better covered with flesh.
“You saved me, without a doubt.”
“…….”
“All those days and nights, straining yourself and sacrificing your wellbeing to save me…”
He looked at her with slightly moist eyes, but Bea was more concerned with how to complete her research than with his gaze.
“Will you not tell me your name?”
“Ah.”
Bea, lost in thought for a while, realized she had completely ignored several of his questions. Still though, she felt no obligation to answer.
As Bea stood up to hasten her future research, he also stood and seemed to follow her.
Turning away from him, Bea spoke coldly,
“Leave now. You’re hindering my research.”
With his mouth opening and closing without a sound, he seemed to have a lot to say, but Bea didn’t hear any of it.
Actually, he might have said something, but she instantly forgot everything since nothing he said interested her.
