my armed maid

Chapter 103 100: Getting out of the cage

"Rusty Vishers..."

Nolen's face turned ugly when he heard the name.

The person closest to him in this life is Rusty, and the person he hates the most is also Rusty.

It is true that Rusty had the grace to adopt and teach him.

But over the past ten years, as an alchemy apprentice, I had helped Lars refine pharmaceutical potions and complete commissions like an ox and a horse, and my contribution had been enough to repay the favor of adoption.

Moreover, although it was a gift of teaching, Rusty could only lead him to the threshold of alchemy at best.

His true talent and knowledge are not even comparable to those of a senior alchemist. After two years of studying under him, he has basically gained nothing.

If that's the case, that's all. If Rusty is really an enlightened teacher, he can openly admit that his students have reached the level of a teacher.

Then write a letter of recommendation for him and allow him to display his talents in a wider world.

If Rusty had really done this, he, Nolen, could guarantee that no matter what status he would have or what honors he would receive in the future, he would never forget the teacher's kindness to him.

But Rusty didn't do this. He just wanted to maintain his dignity as an elder and teacher. If a student tried to "offend" or "threaten" his status, he would suppress him mercilessly.

Moreover, the suppression methods have gradually gone too far, from initially condoning apprentice bullying and not writing letters of recommendation, to resorting to violence and even poisoning and murder.

After years of bullying, let alone being grateful, he even wanted to spit on Rusty's ashes and say "good death".

Everyone was sighing that he had created a new rune system when he was only seventeen or eighteen years old. He was so talented and talented that his teacher was not ordinary.

To which Nolen could only say: "Bah."

If Lao Deng hadn't delayed him for seven years, he would have become an alchemist in his early teens.

Moreover, after being liberated from Rusty's shackles, I was basically in a state of poverty at that time.

Even the original Rusty's workshop is facing the crisis of being recycled.

In order to compete for the right to inherit the workshop, he was assassinated by another alchemist mercenary knight. If it weren't for the magic weapon "Dueler" beside him, his bones would have been cold.

It can be said that I have been able to reach this point entirely due to my own efforts.

But now Arland suddenly mentioned this name, and hearing his pleased tone, it seemed as if he had received someone's favor and inherited someone's will to achieve his current achievements.

"Huh?" Seeing his ugly face, Arland was stunned for a moment, "Nolen, what's wrong with you?"

"It's nothing." Nolen shook his head, "I'm just surprised that you guys come from the same school. Rusty can't compare with you in terms of knowledge or spirit."

Arland is not only a senior alchemist, but also a director of the Alchemy Society Headquarters. His alchemy talent is truly outstanding.

And Rusty was just an ordinary alchemist who had no place in Flamel and was forced to move to a "backcountry". It was hard to imagine that the two of them actually came from the same school.

"Actually, alchemy talent is no different from extraordinary talent."

Arland shook his head and said, "We are also extraordinary people. Some people can easily become high-level extraordinary people, while some people can only be stuck at the third or fourth level throughout their lives and cannot make any progress.

"This is also true among alchemists. Our boastful theories and casually drawn magic circles are as incomprehensible to ordinary people as the Holy Book.

"This is not a problem that can be overcome by hard work. Just like ordinary people cannot become extraordinary no matter how hard they train, talent is such an unreasonable thing.

“Rusty did have the talent to become an alchemist, but he wasn’t that outstanding, so after joining the apprenticeship together, he was quickly separated by his more outstanding brothers.

“Actually, he and I became apprentices in the same year, but I started training several years before him.

"So... even though I shamelessly called myself his friend just now, I haven't had frequent contact with him since I left school. The last exchange of letters was several years ago."

"Really?" Nolen asked, "Has he mentioned me in his letters?"

"No." Arland thought for a moment and shook his head.

"In the most recent exchange, I remember that there was a plague in Peak City that year. Rusty worked with other alchemists specializing in pharmacy to develop an antidote to the plague, and thus obtained the qualification to take the advanced alchemist exam.

“I can’t remember exactly what the exam topics were that year. Anyway, the advanced qualification exam was still very difficult.

“Rusty had been unable to obtain research results for a long time, so he had no choice but to write to me for help, but by then he was very close to the end of the line.

"I am not specialized in pharmacy, and I cannot achieve breakthrough research results in such a short period of time. I can only roughly write down the ideas for solving the problem in my reply.

“But it was said that he still failed to advance, and Rusty never wrote to me again after that, and I put the matter behind me.

"It wasn't until I saw your resume not long ago that I thought of him again, and I realized... that he is no longer alive."

That’s it, Nolen nodded.

He had read Rusty's diary, so he knew about this. Rusty had indeed written to an old friend of his for help.

Everything is connected.

"You..." Arland hesitated, "Are you not on good terms?"

No matter how dull he is, he can still notice that he doesn't seem to care about Nolen or Rusty... and is even a little disgusted?

"Heh..." Nolen laughed and said mockingly, "I would like to ask, do you really think that my talent and the research results of this new magic circle are related to Rusty?

"He wouldn't want me to fulfill his last wish, and I don't want others to associate me with him.

"Such a family-friendly ending is just the spectators' self-impression. The reality is far more boring and cruel than this."

Arland paused slightly, but Nolen's words really stopped him.

In fact, he also sensed some inconsistency in the master-disciple relationship between Rusty and Nolen.

Because he knows how much Rusty weighs, can he teach a talented student like Nolen, or assist him in researching new magic circles?

This is impossible.

Among other things, Rusty specializes in pharmacy, while Nolen's current achievements are more focused on applied science and magic circle science, which are almost completely opposite fields.

Based on this speculation, could it be that Nolen had learned this skill from someone else?

Or is this all something he learned on his own?

No matter how you look at it, their talents do not match their identities, and the sense of dissonance does not end there.

As long as you dig deeper, you will find that even Rusty's death is full of doubts.

"Can you talk to me?" Arland asked, "about what happened between you and Rusty."

"This is not a past event worth remembering." Nolen lowered his eyes, "I don't want to mention it again."

What's the use of talking about this now? Rusty was dead, killed by his own hands.

Even if there is a good reason, it is not a glorious thing after all, and perhaps this will be used as a basis to criticize him.

"You just said you didn't want people to associate you with Rusty."

Arland said slowly, "But if you really want to completely sever ties with him, you should also change your last name, right?"

In the Roland Empire, surnames are allowed to be changed. A woman will change her surname when she marries a man, and a woman will change her surname when the man marries his wife. Even a family member who leaves the family and sets up his own business can change his surname.

This is not very complicated.

But more than four months had passed since Rusty's death, and Nolen still hadn't done so.

This can't be explained by just "forgot". It doesn't feel good to have your enemy's last name written on paper and be called by others every day, right?

"I just find it troublesome." Nolen said after being silent for a while.

Although he claims to have a clear conscience about his former adoptive father and teacher Rusty, there are some things that cannot be easily let go by simply judging who is right and who is wrong.

Rusty gave him not all painful memories. In fact, in the past few years, he did care about and take care of him, and they also had moments of laughter.

Who is born to be a heinous villain?

"Are you just finding it troublesome, or are you trying to cover it up?" Arlande narrowed his eyes and suddenly said seriously, "Nolen, tell me the truth.

"Rusty...how did he die?"

He had investigated Rusty's death before, and the information showed it was "accidental death."

The specific cause of death was a direct hit by the second-level spell "Explosive Fireball".

There were no traces of engravings on the scene at that time, so the data speculated at the end that Rusty might have been killed by an enemy of a fire mage due to an interest dispute.

However, because no trace of the mage could be found, the murder case was dropped.

From the perspective of the time, this speculation was completely reasonable, but now we may have a different conclusion.

Because Nolen created a new rune system.

With the size of the new magic circle, Nolen could completely hide the new magic weapon and avoid the investigation of the city guards at that time.

And judging from the seemingly unharmonious relationship between the two, Nolen himself seems to have sufficient motives for committing the crime?

For him, it was not only because Rusty was his old friend, but also because he admired Nolen's character and talent very much.

So he wants to know the truth about this matter.

Faced with Arland's questioning, Nolen took a sip of tea expressionlessly and asked sarcastically:

"Cover up... Do I need to cover up? Even if I kill him, what are you going to do? Are you going to report me, or are you going to kill me to avenge your good friend?"

Even if Arland guesses the real cause of Rusty's death, so what? Where is the evidence?

At that time, there was no evidence to prove that he killed Rusty. Just because Rusty was killed by a spell, and he created a new rune system?

This is not rigorous. According to this, all the sins committed by the mage in the future can be framed on the alchemist.

"No, I won't do that."

Arland unexpectedly shook his head and said, "If the murderer is indeed you, I will help you hide this crime."

"……what?"

"Now that the empire is in turmoil, as both are alliance cities with alchemy as the core productivity, Linfeng City and Flamel should stand on the same front and make progress together and overcome difficulties together."

Arland said slowly, "And your existence is the key to promoting cooperation between the two cities. Considering the overall situation, your safety and reputation cannot be compromised, so I will not report you.

"And even if I report you, it won't cause much trouble, right? You are Linfeng City's general staff, and Linfeng City will definitely bury all the evidence against you.

"On the other hand, if the Alchemy Society recognizes you as a legendary alchemist, they won't want this stain on your resume.

"The life of a legend must be perfect."

His analysis was very clear and logical, but Nolen suddenly said: "In that case, is there any need to ask?"

"Of course." Arland sighed, "I know your character after getting in touch with you during this time.

“You rejected Flamel’s invitation just because you were born in Peak City, and even though you had a bad relationship with Rusty, you still kept the surname he gave you.

"You are nostalgic, you have the arrogance of a genius, you don't like calculations, and you are not good at lying. I don't think you would kill your teacher who is like a relative to you for such superficial reasons as profit...

"So I want to try to understand you, and it's hard to keep this secret in my heart.

"If you trust me, I'll be your listener."

Hearing this, Nolen fell into a long silence.

Arlande may be the only person in the world who knows about his relationship with Rusty. If he really needs to find someone to talk to, he is the only one who can empathize with this complicated past.

And what he said was indeed correct. Although Rusty was dead, the impact he had on himself still existed.

He still can't really let go of this past, and he also subconsciously resists others' intimacy with him.

He knew this shouldn't be the case and that he needed a real start.

Rather than holding this resentment that no one understands in your heart, having a listener who understands you can indeed make you feel much better.

And right now, there may be an opportunity for him to completely let go of the past.

"It's a long, but not interesting story."

After a long while, Nolen said slowly, "The first time I met him was at an orphanage in Linfeng City. At that time..."

As he narrated, the memories that had been deliberately buried in his mind were reopened, and scenes resurfaced in his mind like a revolving lantern.

This is not an excuse, nor a confession, but a process of reorganizing his emotions and memories and reaching reconciliation with the past.

The narration process was very long, and Arlande listened silently throughout the process, and encouraged him to continue talking with gentle eyes.

“...He always refused to write a letter of recommendation for me. At that time, he was worrying about his advanced examination topic. In order to prove my ability, I specially helped him complete the research on the topic...

"...I thought I could get his approval this way, but I was wrong. Instead of being grateful, he scolded me unreasonably...

"From then on I finally came to my senses. Perhaps I would never be able to gain his approval, and I would never be able to stand out under him. The relationship between me and him was irreconcilable...

"...Later, on the day I made the new magic device, he poisoned my soup, so I took action.

"But I don't regret it, because I know that this grudge must eventually be settled. Fortunately, in this funny cannibalism, I was the last one to survive."

I don’t know how long he was talking, but Nolen stopped, shrugged and said:

"This is my entire story over the past eighteen years. Well, it's just a ridiculous farce performed by two clowns with flawed personalities, isn't it?"

Arland came back to his senses from this long memory, looked at the self-deprecating smile on Nolen's face, and sighed slightly in his heart.

He shook his head seriously and said: "No, that's not the case. This is not a farce, but a tragedy.

"So don't be so hard on yourself, Nolen. What I want to say to you is...

"You've done a great job."

(End of this chapter)