*****

When the mass outbreak of monsters subsided and peace returned to the royal capital.

In a room at the Alchemists Guild, Zeel, who had led the situation to a serious state, was summoned.

「C-Rank Alchemist, Zeel Voitos. You are hereby expelled from the Alchemists Guild.」

Zeel was stunned, facing the cold stares of the Guild Master and Sub-Master Vanessa.

「Ex-expulsion...?」

Zeel could not hide his surprise at the excessively severe punishment. It was usually unthinkable for a C-Rank Alchemist to be expelled without even a warning. However, seeing the Guild Master, who showed no sign of joking, made it clear this was no jest.

「It goes without saying that by hoarding herbs this time, you caused great confusion in the royal capital. The act that was judged to be particularly malicious was consuming the herbs uselessly without circulating potions to the market.」

If he had merely bought up normal amount of herbs, it would not have become such a major problem. If he had donated the herbs or potions to the Alchemists Guild when the problem occurred, he would have likely gotten away with a severe warning. However, by wasting a large amount of herbs, he involved many people and caused immense damage.

Knights protecting the country went to the battlefield and could not receive adequate treatment. Since the person responsible for the treatments with potions obstructed them, the voices of criticism were great.

If he were a new alchemist, he might have been spared, but as a C-Rank Alchemist with bad rumors circulating in the royal capital, he could no longer make any excuses.

「Originally, we would impose a hefty fine and a demotion. That is, if you were truly an alchemist.」

Hearing the Guild Master's words, Vanessa pulled a potion out of her pocket.

「I had the potion you submitted for the B-Rank Alchemist promotion skill examination analyzed. The result is that your mana was not included. Do you understand what that means?」

「That I'm not recognized as the creator?」

「Close, but no. It means you are incapable of performing alchemy.」

Even hearing Vanessa's words, Zeel could not grasp the meaning. He had never considered that a day would come when he, who was supposed to be a genius alchemist, would be told he couldn't perform alchemy.

「That can't be... I certainly, with these hands, made the potion... the potion...」

「The potion, what? Tell me what you did with the potion.」

The word made would not come out. He remembered making potions alone a long time ago. He had been making potions alone until a few years ago.

But now, it was different. No matter how many times he tried, he couldn't make a potion. He wasn't even sure if the potion he himself submitted was truly made by him.

「It's a rare occurrence, but sometimes people lose their skill if they haven't used it for a long period of time or if their workload is significantly reduced. Usually, we would have to investigate carefully... but one girl easily proved it.」

Saying that, Vanessa pulled out one more potion from her pocket.

「This is the potion Miss Mia submitted as a sample. Don't you think it looks exactly like the potion you were making?」

Hearing the name of the creator and seeing the familiar potion, something huge crumbled inside Zeel.

The rumor about Mia being chosen as the Court Alchemist's assistant, the time Zeel fell into an alchemy slump, and the fact that he couldn't make a potion no matter how many times he tried.

Looking at the two potions Vanessa held, Zeel finally accepted the reality.

That he was not the one doing the alchemy. That he had only been doing a bit of decorative work and boasting.

In the heart of Zeel, who had never stopped believing he was a genius alchemist, only despair remained. That despair was not merely emotional but was also forcing its way into reality.

「I hereby judge that you do not possess a single alchemy skill. We cannot keep such a person in the Guild.」

「W-wait! I am still an alchemist—」

「Give up. Handing you over to the country was decided the moment you turned yourself in. The crime of causing the collapse of medical care in the royal capital is severe, and a punishment will be handed down by the country as well.」

As if to prove the Guild Master's words were not a lie, a knock sounded on the door.

Entering with a dignified presence were several robust knights.

「Zeel Voitos. You are suspected of subversion of the state. Unfortunately, we will have to ask you to answer some questions.」

「S-subversion of the state...? W-why! I didn't do anything!」

「If you want to prove your innocence, tell us why you failed to circulate the potions. For the sake of our comrades who died because they could not be treated.」

Zeel was confused by the sharp gazes of the knights. Hearing the fact that people died because of him made him lose his composure.

「I didn't do anything! I'm not the bad one! The bad one is... Mia! This happened because she's so narrow-minded she couldn't even tolerate me staying out late once! That's right, it's all Mia's—」

The knight pointed a sword at Zeel, who was desperately pleading his innocence, forcing him to silence.

「How dare you pin the blame on her, who put her life on the line in this matter! Even if it were a private matter, it would not be forgiven! We are taking you into custody! Switch the house search to a forced execution!」

「Wait! Wait! I didn't do anything... Guh」

On this day, no one listened to the words of Zeel, who was full of excuses.

If the Alchemists Guild's testimony and the information from the house search were combined, he might be judged as not having the intention of subverting the state. However, at the same time, it would be proven that he was not an alchemist, and he would bear a heavy crime.

An heavy punishment from the country was now unavoidable. The self-proclaimed genius alchemist was reborn as a swindler who brought down the nation and proceeded down the path of despair.