The Alchemist’s Burden

Rolan stood before the door of Room 402 in the Moonlight Tavern, hesitating to knock.

He had already inquired; the woman named Roxy resided in this very room.

Would she truly help?

As he pondered, the door to the room swung open. A woman with a somber expression peered out.

“I sensed your magic fluctuations a long time ago,” Roxy stated, her voice utterly devoid of emotion. “Is there something you need?”

“Ah…” Rolan carefully chose his words. “Greetings. I am Rolan, the adventurer who appeared in the Loran Forest some time ago. Do you perhaps recall me?”

The woman before him closed her eyes, taking a moment to recall.

“Indeed, your magic fluctuations feel quite familiar, and they match the magic from the Thunderous Ruins back then.” She opened the door wider, gesturing for Rolan to enter. “I understand now. You are the one who saved me.” Moving towards the large bed in the room, she settled onto the soft white sheets, her graceful form creating an indentation. “You’re here because you need something, aren’t you?”

‘She figured it out just like that? I had prepared so many explanations.’

“Cough, cough…” Rolan considered where to begin. “I wonder, what is your research on Mandrake and Rofenia Herb like?”

Mandrake is a raw material commonly used for anesthetics in medical surgeries. During wartime, to accelerate the efficacy of healing magic, doctors and healing mages conducted many combined experiments.

For instance, they would surgically treat a wound first, then cast healing magic. Compared to directly casting healing magic, this significantly sped up wound recovery and improved the quality of healing.

Consequently, Mandrake was widely employed as a wartime anesthetic.

Roxy’s voice paused only briefly before continuing. “Rofenia Herb, on the other hand, is a plant discovered deep within the southwestern mountains. It possesses hallucinogenic and aphrodisiac properties, along with a certain degree of addictiveness.”

As she spoke of this, Roxy’s previously deadpan eyes couldn’t help but take on a strange glint.

“Why are you asking me about this?”

“What if… a very large dose of Mandrake, combined with a potion made from Rofenia Herb…” Rolan gestured vaguely. “And then someone were to drink it? What would happen?”

“How could that be? No one would ever do such a thing,” Roxy countered, shaking her head. “Such a concoction would cause severe damage to the brain.”

“How severe, exactly?” Rolan’s expression darkened noticeably.

“In that case, they would essentially become a ruin of a person,” Roxy explained. A terrible premonition began to gnaw at her. “What exactly are you trying to say?”

Rolan sighed, then recounted Freya’s predicament to her.

“What…?” Roxy gasped in astonishment. “That girl, she actually…” She lowered her head, lost in thought for a long moment, her expression shifting between light and shadow as if wrestling with an internal struggle.

“Do you… have a solution?”

Meeting Rolan’s hopeful gaze, Roxy sighed, a note of resignation in her voice. “While I am deeply grateful to you and that other person for saving me back then, my alchemy skills are simply insufficient to resolve such a situation.”

“After all, the damage these drugs inflict upon the brain is irreversible. Many have faced similar problems in the past, yet very few have ever fully recovered.”

“This particular issue stands as a truly cutting-edge challenge for both the alchemy and medical fields.”

“But…” Rolan stepped closer, clinging to a final thread of hope. “Your teacher is *the* Alchemy Master, isn’t he?”

Roxy’s face suddenly paled. Her hands clasped tightly on her thighs, her body trembling slightly. “Don’t ever mention him again.”

“Huh?”

“I already…” Roxy’s eyes reddened slightly, and her voice slowly grew choked with emotion. She lowered her head, preventing Rolan from seeing her expression. “I no longer have the right to face him…”

Rolan froze, feeling a wave of awkwardness. He knew, however, that he couldn’t agitate Roxy further, lest he trigger more painful memories.

As he wasn’t intimately familiar with Roxy’s temperament, he simply stood in silence, patiently waiting for her emotions to stabilize.

“Mm…” Roxy tried to wipe away her tears with her hand, but they only flowed faster. “Mm—I already… I already…”

Teardrops spotted the hem of her skirt. In that moment, the sobbing woman seemed less like a renowned alchemist and more like a helpless little girl.

‘How completely opposite to her demeanor when I first entered…’

Rolan hesitated for a moment, then tentatively sat beside her, placing a hand on her back. “It’s over now… it’s over,” he comforted. “You are safe.”

“I’m sorry… I’m so sorry…” The girl beside him covered her mouth, unable to stem the flow of tears. “If it weren’t for my arrogance back then, Captain Rhein, who was protecting me, wouldn’t have been killed.”

“If only I had listened to my teacher and guarded my magic staff properly, I wouldn’t have ended up…”

Roxy slumped weakly against Rolan’s shoulder, burying her face. Rolan could feel the fabric of his clothes growing damp with her tears.

“I’m sorry… I’m so sorry…”

Seeing her in such a state, Rolan found himself at a loss.

“What happened back then?” he asked, intending to be a listener this time, hoping it might help alleviate her depression.

“Back then…” Roxy’s hand clenched the bedsheet, trembling with the force of her grip. “Captain Rhein and I went to the Loran Forest to investigate, hoping to find the legendary magic ruins.”

“But I was arrogant, believing myself a Level 20 mage, and constantly disregarded both the Captain’s warnings and my teacher’s instructions…”

“The Loran Forest, it used to be a very ordinary forest, and the monsters weren’t particularly high-level,” Rolan said, gently patting her back, his voice soft and comforting.

“It was… like that before…” Roxy’s tone was filled with profound regret. “But I never expected those monsters to have mutated, to become so powerful.”

“Because I wanted to search freely, I always walked ahead, far from Captain Rhein, who was responsible for protecting me…” She sobbed softly, then continued. “Then, I fell into a Goblin trap. My magic staff was snatched away, my magic sealed, and I was used as a hostage to demand Captain Rhein surrender…”

“Captain… he…” Roxy’s body trembled with fear as she recalled certain images. “He…”

“It’s alright, I understand,” Rolan murmured, gently stroking her back. His steady voice offered a profound sense of security. “This isn’t your fault.”

“No, it was my fault…” Roxy’s regret was profound. “Mister Rhein’s destiny was that of a swordsman. He had already passed the Templar Knight’s assessment; he only needed to complete one more escort mission to be promoted to a great Templar Knight.”

“If it hadn’t been for me… he would have… *sob, sob, sob*…”

‘Templar Knights…’ Rolan mused. Though he wasn’t particularly fond of those associated with the church, after so many years, he had still gained considerable knowledge about both the church and its Templar Knights.

Recalling the Templar Knight’s oath he knew, he spoke in a gentle tone, “Miss Roxy, are you familiar with the Templar Knight’s declaration?”

“Declaration…” Roxy pondered, then responded with some uncertainty, “Born for honor…”

“And to die for glory,” Rolan finished, meeting Roxy’s eyes, attempting to dispel her sorrow. “Mister Rhein died protecting you. I believe he had no regrets. He merely adhered to his creed, as a truly great knight.”

“You…” Roxy stammered a few times, her expression somewhat vacant.

‘Now’s the perfect time to strike while the iron’s hot. This is my chance.’

“Miss Roxy,” Rolan stated with a serious expression. “I promise you, I will do my best to eliminate every Goblin I encounter.”

“As long as you are willing to contact your teacher, and have him cure my… my…” Rolan’s mouth twitched. “My wife’s illness.”

‘Damn it, why does that sound so strange when I say it?’

‘It makes it sound like I have deep feelings for that little Demon Lord.’

“Mister Rolan, you truly are a man of deep affection…” Roxy pulled away from Rolan’s shoulder, her crying ceased, her expression complex.

“To cure your wife, you are willing to eliminate all Goblins…” She repeated the phrase, as if savoring it.

‘Exactly… wait, no!’

‘You seem to have misunderstood me. I said “do my best,” and “that I encounter”!’

Before Rolan could offer further explanation, the person before him began muttering to herself.

“Goblins… Goblins…” Roxy’s eyes filled with venomous hatred. “These Goblins, they should all vanish… only dead Goblins are good Goblins…”

‘Uh… do I still have a chance to explain?’

As if reaching a momentous decision, a slow resolve solidified in Roxy’s eyes. She casually wiped her swollen eyelids, drying her tears.

She rose from the bed and moved to the coat rack, donning her jacket and hat. From a cabinet, she retrieved a magic staff; etched into its hilt was a single phrase: ‘Always be careful.’

“Originally… I had decided never to contact him again.”

She tugged at the long brim of her hat, and when she looked at Rolan again, her gaze had utterly transformed.

“Come,” she said. “I’ll take you to meet my teacher, the Alchemy Master.”