As much on his own as he could be, Cyril sat in the manarail traveling on the already familiar route. Tigris on one shoulder, Morpho on the other.
Atheris was happily coiled around his neck. It seems she took a liking to being a scarf.
He decided against using Ophelia's carriage in the end. There was no need to bring more attention to yourself by travelling like that to the slums.
After a short ride he walked on yesterday's path, reaching the alley with ease.
Today there was no line in front of the clinic. A shoddily made wooden sign hung on the door, saying, 'Will return tomorrow.'
Cyril briefly glanced at it and entered the makeshift clinic without knocking.
Alvin sat by his table, reading through some notes. Noticing Cyril, he immediately got up and gave him a small nod.
"Follow me," he said, before walking towards a door in the back.
There were no pretenses or small talk, which made it somewhat refreshing for Cyril. He carefully scanned the clinic and followed after him.
In the back was a bedroom, or what may have been a bedroom.
The small, unkempt bed was moved all the way to the side, creating space for a heavy iron cauldron standing right in the center. There was already liquid bubbling inside, the fire underneath it burning.
"How are your grades in Potion Making?" Alvin asked, grabbing a few ingredients off a small table near the cauldron.
Cyril confidently walked forward, assuming a position near the fire pit.
"Good enough."
"...I don't need a lot. Just keep the flames and inject a bit of mana sometimes," Alvin replied, briefly glancing at him.
Cyril silently nodded, standing at the ready.
Without exchanging any more words, the two began the experiment.
Alvin would throw in a few of the common ingredients from the recipe and observe the reaction while occasionally telling Cyril to regulate the flames.
...
Tigris, Atheris, and Morpho all watched from the unkempt bed. Alvin didn't seem to mind them being there.
The process was somewhat harder than Cyril thought. After a few hours of doing the same thing, his back was lined with sweat, even after Rhamn regulated his body temperature. During a rare pause he would cast a spell to clean himself.
Slowly, he got into the flow of things, sometimes moving even before Alvin was able to say something to him. His actions were intuitive, as if his hands knew what to do on their own.
"That's not me."
More than that, there was an unexpected benefit to it. Cyril could feel his understanding of Potion Making increase as the experiments continued.
Alvin would also mumble to himself while fiddling with the cauldron, explaining various theories on what he was doing, be it purposefully or not.
The words were insightful, as if they were answers to questions he didn't know he had on the subject.
These improvements gave him a bitter feeling. He wasn't sure what exactly he wanted to find here, but it wasn't help.
"Who needs this guy's weak teachings? Tell him to shut up!"
Cyril endured the unpleasant feeling.
…
After a few hours of hard work, Alvin raised his hand.
"You can stop. We are done," he said, prompting Cyril to extinguish the flames.
"You did a good job. We finished far faster than I thought we would."
Alvin looked at the notebook on the table with satisfaction, nodding from time to time.
"...Thank you," Cyril replied, enduring the unpleasant feeling these words gave him.
Alvin, clueless to his mood, began putting away his things, further mumbling to Cyril.
"I'll make the pills tomorrow and deliver them myself. Again, thank you. Now I should be able to make it in time."
He moved his head, glancing at the clock on the wall. In the process he noticed the bed placed right under it, as well as the red butterfly, white tiger, and blue snake relaxing on it.
"...Why are they on the bed?" Alvin slowly looked at Cyril, his face blank.
Ah.
It seems he actually minded it. He just didn't notice.
Silently Cyril called over the monsters, collecting them once again.
"I'll be going now," he said, observing the makeshift clinic for the last time.
Without waiting for any response, Cyril walked out of the clinic. The longer he stayed in there, the more uncomfortable he felt, as if he wasn't supposed to be in there.
During his time there he never noticed anything that seemed out of place or strange. Alvin didn't show anything that might've been suspicious.
"That can't be right. We must be vigilant! You were just too focused on the experiment!"
So we'll change plans.
Alvin said something about needing to go somewhere. Cyril didn't try to inquire, as he had a good guess already.
Cyril looked around, found a secluded corner in the alley, and hid there.
After about thirty minutes, Alvin came out of the clinic, a briefcase in his hands. He casually walked in a particular direction, his pace unhurried.
Cyril cautiously stayed hidden, not trying to pursue.
Where is he trying to 'make it in time'?
"It can only be the orphanage!"
Cyril nodded in agreement, petting the tiger on his shoulder.
In the file Ophelia gave him, there was nothing particularly important. But it did mention something about the orphanage.
Every weekend the church visits there to educate the children. That's when Alvin usually visits as well.
"An orphanage is suspicious enough on its own, and now a church is involved? There's definitely something nefarious going on there! Maybe they are performing ancient evil rituals!"
The development of magic made society's old reliance on religion obsolete. As a result, the number of churches in the Empire slowly decreased, and priests are rarely seen these days.
However, there are rumors that the remaining church members were desperate, ready to do anything to regain their former power.
It's worth looking into. Fanatics are always capable of much harm.
Cyril waited until Alvin was no longer in his view before walking out of cover.
Relying on Ophelia's intel, he went in the direction of the Sunflower orphanage.
"Why don't we leave the investigation to someone else? Ophelia would do well, I think."
…I want to make sure of this with my own eyes. Otherwise, I feel I won't believe it.
"That's right! It's way more fun on our own!"
Tigris swung his tail back and forth, observing their surroundings with curiosity. Morpho stayed quiet, twitching her antennae at times to feel traces of Alvin's mana. Atheris was still happily coiled around Cyril, not really concerned with the situation around them.
So, Cyril and the monsters commenced the reconnaissance mission.