Chapter 30
Chapter 30
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 30
Chapter Title: Guest (1)
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After securing the materials, a few weeks passed.
Oliver devoured books from the study indiscriminately, cutting back on meals and sleep as if trying to wash away the shock from that day.
Just like a child ignoring a harsh truth too difficult to accept.
Everyone worried about Oliver's behavior but didn't dare say a word.
For one, his aura was different from usual.
And second, he still handled all the necessary tasks like emotion synthesis and lessons.
Thus, Oliver fulfilled his duties while obsessively poring over books.
And in doing so, he uncovered a few interesting facts.
For instance, the consumable nature of emotions.
Emotions, being energy derived from the soul, came with a sort of expiration date from the moment of extraction.
Special storage methods or black magic could dramatically extend that shelf life, but they inevitably volatilized and vanished or degraded over time.
Shocked by this, Oliver searched desperately for a way around it.
But even after reading nearly every book in the study, he found no solution.
Even more shocking was that emotions remained fluid even when stored inside a person's body, subject to change with the passage of time and surrounding environment.
Despite studying so much about the black magic he'd longed to learn, Oliver felt not joy, but emptiness and loss at these revelations.
How could he put it?
It was like a man who had gained wealth and fame only to realize, on the brink of death, that it all meant nothing.
If emotions inevitably changed over time, didn't that mean the beautiful light he'd seen in the lightning mage and Joseph would one day fade away too?
Oliver silently gazed at Joseph's emotion, carefully preserved in his pocket, feeling an indescribable emotion.
The thought of not being able to keep this hard-won beautiful light forever...
"......"
A sudden thought struck Oliver.
Why had he wanted this emotion in the first place?
Thinking back, it was utterly bizarre. He'd never even considered what to do with it specifically.
Like a child picking up a pretty stone just because it caught their eye.
Grab it and own it first—without a thought to what comes next. Pure instinct.
Oliver finally confronted the question he should have asked from the beginning.
What to do with this emotion?
If he just kept it stored away, it would eventually fade... How could he use it in the most magnificent way?
As he pondered this endlessly, a knock came from the door: knock-knock.
".......... What is it?"
"It's me, Master. Marie. We need to make Filterettes soon... Should we do it ourselves, or will you join us?"
"......"
Oliver fell silent, not answering.
Something... some clue was within reach.
He frantically rummaged through the bookshelves. It had to be here somewhere.
Ah... Moments later, he found the book he'd been looking for.
It wasn't a proper book but a handwritten notebook, yellowed with age, with clear notes on Filterettes.
The true purpose of Filterettes—currently used as drugs—was as a sharing tool to indirectly experience the emotions used as ingredients.
And in red ink: Can multiply the emotion's shelf life several times over.
Oliver glanced at the note, then at the freshly extracted emotion from Joseph.
It felt like he'd finally found the perfect use for it.
After a long silence, Marie called out again.
"...Um, Master? Is something wrong?"
"......No. Nothing. I'll come along."
Oliver visited the workshop with Marie.
Preparations for production were already complete, but he noticed something odd.
His mind had been elsewhere lately, so he'd overlooked it until now.
"Marie?"
"Yes, Master?"
Marie placed a hand on her chest and bowed politely.
"Has our workload always been this heavy?"
Oliver remarked on the greater quantity of cigarettes, water, and emotions than he remembered.
"No, it hasn't. It wasn't this much before."
"Then...?"
"The Filterettes made from the synthesized emotions you created have been a hit. Orders surged over the past few weeks, to the point where the Pharmacist is supplying emotions..."
Oliver scratched his head.
He'd left the organization matters to Marie and Peter while buried in books, never expecting things to escalate like this.
No wonder the synthesized emotions were increasing beyond Anthony and Dominic Families... Well, whatever.
"...Let's finish as quickly as possible."
With that, production began.
With temporary disciples thrown into the mix, they handled the base work, while low-grade disciples took on the rest.
Mid- and high-grade disciples focused on the chemical processing to fully blend emotions into the twice-distilled liquid.
Instead of hands-on work, Oliver observed like in lessons, issuing corrections on the spot.
"Adjust the flame temperature."
"Move the distilled liquid immediately after collection."
"Don't chant it like that—do it this way for better emotion fusion."
The subordinates in charge responded loudly each time, carrying out Oliver's orders.
Of course, one correction didn't make them perfect, but they improved bit by bit.
Thanks to that, production sped up dramatically compared to Joseph's time.
It moved like a well-oiled machine. Once stable, Oliver turned to inspect the finished Filterettes.
Reviews praised their higher quality compared to Joseph's.
Not just from his own group, but even the Pharmacist acknowledged it, so it must be true.
The first puff brought awakening from rage, followed by maternal love and profound peace in the contrast—Oliver's Filterettes.
Oliver realized he'd never tried one himself.
He'd wanted to before, but not now.
Why? Because he wanted his first taste to be from a Filterette made with Joseph's emotion in his pocket.
Oliver pondered how to maximize experiencing Joseph's emotion.
He watched the process but soon shook his head.
No, not that method.
It minimized loss with delicate work, but it still diluted the emotion with water to increase volume.
Oliver wanted to savor it pure, even if the quantity was small.
Making it that way would be an insult to Joseph's emotion.
So how?
Infuse the emotion directly into the cigarette? No, that was tricky.
He needed a medium to bind it and prevent volatilization.
As he mulled it over, a memory surfaced.
The meeting with Anthony and Dominic Families.
To test Oliver, one had drunk a drug: water liquefied with Life Force, infused with Muscle Up chant.
That was it.
Soon after, production wrapped up.
Everyone looked drained, so Oliver offered perfunctory thanks, ordered cleanup and rest.
They joyfully tidied up. Then, Oliver approached Marie.
"Marie."
"Yes, Master?"
"Could you fetch some stored Life Force? Fresh if possible."
"Ah, yes. Right away."
Marie left happily for some reason and soon returned with a test tube brimming with vibrant Life Force.
"Here you go."
"Thanks."
"...If it's all right, could you tell me what you'll use it for?"
"No, you don't need to know."
Cold...? No, objectively, it was just his usual formal tone.
A mix of proper distance and courtesy.
Yet, for some reason, Marie felt profound disappointment and sadness at the reply.
It showed plainly on her face and emotions.
Oliver couldn't fathom why, but then Peter cautiously interjected.
"Master... Cleanup's all done."
"That was quick."
"Ah, yes. We all pitched in. Any further orders?"
Oliver glanced around before replying.
"None. Go rest and enjoy your personal time."
"Understood."
Peter bowed, told the other disciples to leave, and ushered everyone out of the workshop.
As if he knew Oliver had business here.
Marie, however, stood frozen like a statue.
"Marie..."
"Yes, Master. Anything else?"
"No, nothing. You can go."
Marie radiated disappointment again, laced with intense loneliness and alarming obsession.
"Is there... anything I can help with...?"
"No. Nothing at all. Go on."
At Oliver's repeated words, she finally bowed and withdrew.
What to make of it? Signs had shown since he personally taught her black magic, but it felt increasingly severe.
But interest quickly faded; thoughts of Marie vanished into the ether.
Oliver's sole focus now: turning Joseph's emotion into a Filterette with zero loss.
He pulled out a pack of cigarettes he'd prepared, the Life Force from Marie, and Joseph's emotion.
"Hm... No. No good."
Excited Oliver muttered as realization dawned.
Too eager—he'd nearly jumped in without practice.
This method was entirely new; who knew what issues might arise?
Risking Joseph's precious emotion on a dangerous trial run? Foolish.
Oliver grabbed random emotions from the workshop storage.
He opened a test tube of Life Force and practiced on the spot, guided purely by intuition, no theory.
First, he extracted the Life Force.
Beautiful Life Force gathered in his palm; clenching his fist condensed it into liquid.
Then he extracted an emotion and blended it in.
Surprisingly, Life Force mixed far better than processed distillate—like it was meant to be.
Of course. Both were soul-derived energies.
Merging made perfect sense.
Oliver memorized this, further condensing the unified emotion-Life Force.
It bubbled like boiling, forming an essence. He injected it into a cigarette.
"Whew— Whew—"
Blowing on the heated cigarette, he inspected it.
The emotion was preserved almost intact, deepened by fusion with Life Force.
Just like an emotion dwelling in a human body.
Confirmed, Oliver practiced repeatedly: once, twice, thrice, four times... greedily.
Soon, Life Force and cigarettes dwindled. Time for the real thing.
He extracted the last Life Force for vitality, then added Joseph's emotion.
Amazingly, as it blended, that initial beautiful glow reappeared.
Enraptured, Oliver condensed it meticulously.
Not a drop to lose.
Following his fingertips, Life Force absorbed every bit of Joseph's emotion and condensed as before.
Bubbling in midair, it thickened into viscous essence.
Oliver filled the final cigarette.
"Haa... Haa..."
The piping-hot finished Filterette.
Oliver stared entranced, silent.
Thump...Thump... His heart beat slowly; his hand trembled faintly as he picked it up.
Oliver put the Filterette to his lips. He reached for a lighter.
"Ah..."
Too late, he realized he had none.
And Peter knocked, entering.
"Master."
"What is it?"
Emotions surging, Oliver's voice boomed louder than usual.
Peter startled but composed himself.
"Um... We have a guest."
"...A guest?"
"Yes. James from the Pharmacist has arrived."