The West Wind's Destination - Chapter 8
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The research progressed rapidly. Bea understood why alchemists always sought living creatures for their medical or chimera-related studies.
Although it was her first time directly working on a living human body, just that one instance was enough for her to comprehend its structure.
Especially since it was an adult male’s body, and quite a beautiful one at that, she considered herself fortunate.
‘Master, soon I will be able to make up for my failures.’
After his death, the first emotion Bea felt was confusion. She had never stepped out of her master’s shadow. Every move, every trivial desire, was altered according to her master’s whims.
For Bea, who had only followed in her master’s footsteps, his disappearance was like being thrown alone into a vast wilderness.
Especially since she had failed him in their last battle.
She had fled, failing to protect him. To make amends, all she needed to do was restore his decomposed body back to its original state.
And then…
If she could do that…
Thud!
While tidying up some alchemical formulas, Bea heard a loud noise outside the lab.
Why is that man still here?
She thought she had sent him away, thinking he was no threat. Or rather, she had just let him be.
“I saw the food you were eating seemed lacking, so I caught this for you.”
What he had placed in the lab’s front yard was a wild boar, twice the size of Bea.
“Did you have a weapon hidden?”
“This kind of thing can be caught barehanded.”
Barehanded, he said.
She had let such a threatening person move around unrestrained. This was the first time she hadn’t followed her master’s instructions to suffocate a threat.
‘Should I just kill him?’
That was what Bea was used to.
But before Bea could take any action, he smiled freely and without any hidden agenda.
“Please continue your work inside. I’ll prepare the meal.”
“…….”
She was just about to send him away, but Bea now looked at the large boar and pondered.
How long had it been since she’d eaten meat?
Since her master’s death, she hadn’t really tasted anything. For Bea, consuming food was merely an act of replenishing energy to keep moving. But it seemed Bea, too, craved pleasure. Just looking at his face reminded her of the soup she had tasted recently.
Bea decided to postpone her decision to send him away, curious about how a meat dish, not just mushroom cooking, would taste.
She nodded at him and re-entered the lab to refocus on her research for a while before he called her out again, and Bea was once again surprised.
The table, previously buried under heavy tomes and research materials, was now immaculately clear. Books forgotten after being shelved were neatly arranged in alphabetical order, and Bea’s opened, unattended book was left undisturbed, giving her no reason to be upset.
On the now-clean table, covered with a tablecloth from who knows where, was set for two, complete with candles from who-knows-where burning. Surrounding it were flowers, seemingly plucked from the outside, an arrangement Bea couldn’t comprehend with her logic.
Why would he gather such things? She had collected a few boxes of knick-knacks, but…
Sure, it’s easy to find some salt in an alchemist’s lab, but she wasn’t quite sure what else he seasoned it with. Even so, the meat had no gamey smell and tasted delicious. Just biting into a piece, she could feel the juice spreading through her mouth.
Inwardly, Bea counted how long it had been since she had eaten something she could call a meal.
While they quietly dined, he suddenly asked with a notably more polite demeanor,
“May I inquire which family you are from?”
Perhaps her etiquette with utensils made him think she was of noble birth. Her master, had forcibly taught Bea—a slave—not only alchemy but these manners as well, and they had become second nature to her.
“…….”
Feeling no obligation to inform him, Bea frowned. She was already displeased about letting a stranger into her secluded haven, and now it felt as if he was interrogating her.
He maintained a respectful posture, but something about his rigid stance evoked an odd tension.
“Ah, please don’t misunderstand. You must have a reason for being in such a place.”
Sensing Bea’s displeasure, he quickly gestured with his hands, trying to explain the intent behind his question.
“I was merely inquiring because you possess military items. As you know, in times of war, every prominent family must participate.”
‘Seems he knows quite a bit about the war.’
Observing him, Bea noticed his upright posture and impeccable sense of order.
‘A soldier perhaps?’
That seemed to be the right guess.
Yes, a soldier. Not a mage.
