Ch 5: Heisenberg,

The boy ignored the festivities going around him.

Everybody dresses up for the festival but not him. He's wearing a plain shirt and left it unbuttoned at the top, looking casual. His pants aren't much better either. His pants are simple and a comfortable fit and reach down to his hide shoes. The shoes are made from a fairly uncommon hide but are otherwise not any different from others.

He wears a small scarf around his neck. From his outfit, he looks like he comes from a well-to-do family.

The next day is the last day of the festival. So the festival is going in full swing.

He left the shop after paying for his meal. The street is crowded with visiting families. He walked against the waves of people on the road. Eventually, He arrived at a large three-storied building made of wood.

It has been built with spruce wood and has walnut wood decorations. Short, wide windows add to the overall style of the house. The building itself is surrounded by paved ground, with a pool at the backside of the house.

The third floor is smaller than the second, which allowed for a roof garden on one side of the house. The roof is high, triangular, and layered and is covered with grey roof tiles. Two large chimneys sit at the side of the house. Rows of small windows let in plenty of light and air to the rooms below the roof.

The boy entered the building. As he enters the building through the thick, wooden door, he's welcomed by the coldness and aromas, as well as the stench of strange herbs and chemicals. The building looks pleasant, well maintained, and inviting, but it's not like that inside. Inside the building, it felt like a loosely maintained research center.

"Berg! you're back." An old man in his seventies called the boy standing above the stairs to the second floor.

"Ali, you awake!" Berg was surprised to see him. He thought Ali already hit the bed.

"Yes, I couldn't sleep so I am trying to stabilize the Alaf-fin formula." Ali said nonchalantly. The old man was obviously waiting for his return.

"...Hey Berg. I am only thinking about our future but I was wondering if you could treasure your time now a bit more. While I do desire you to become the honest and hardworking adult you're aiming for, this is a very precious time of your youth. You gotta enjoy this time like any other ordinary youth." Ali lectured Berg about his unsuccessful social life.

"I understand. I just like to take things slow. Sorry if I've worried you." Berg explains things half-heartedly. He doesn't like the old man being too friendly with him. But he doesn't show this on his face.

"Taking things slow is also fine." Ali smiled at Berg gently a little but nodded his head. He appreciated the orphan boy very much.

Ali found Berg when he was searching for rare herbs and ingredients in the desert. He came across a boy who was unconscious and badly hurt. He brought the boy with him and let him stay in his house. For some reason, this boy had lost his memory completely, even language. Ali had to teach the boy the common language that people speak. He even gave the boy a new name, Heisenberg, though he likes to be called Berg.

Berg stood in front of his room. He lives on the first floor. The second floor is a lab of sorts. Both Ali and Berg work there.

Ali is a small-time alchemist. He also taught alchemy to Berg. They sell whatever they create in the market. It's not bad being an alchemist. Although the job is tedious and sometimes outright boring. But the pay is very good. Even as a small-time alchemist Ali earns more than an average household.

Ali lives on the third floor. He is a loner. Without Berg, there is nobody in this big house. Ali doesn't have any family too. So it is Ali and Berg being each other's supporting pillar even though they have a strange relationship.

Shaking off these thoughts Berg entered his room and he didn't even change his clothes as he just fell to his bed, Stretching his body and yawning, all Berg wanted was to fall asleep as quickly as possible. But the sound of the ongoing festival didn't let him sleep easily.

Final Day, Festival of Word

A large number of people come and go since morning to the market square, and merchants were shouting to show their merchandise to the passers-by.

'Man, this is so unbelievable.' Berg's voice leaked out as he gazed at the huge crowd in front of him.

Berg came to deliver the healing medicine and other alchemy products. He does this every day. Today is no different except for the road's overcrowded.

''That took way too long today, right?'' asked the shop owner.

"Yeah, the road is totally jam-packed. It was fortunate that I had left for market early, or else I would have surely struggled to endure such pressure." Berg answers the owner. Today this shop bought their products. He already finished the transaction. Now he is wondering what he should do next.

"Ice cream! Ice cream! Buy some now, Ice cream. " suddenly Berg heard someone shouting a long-distance away. He saw a man specifically a magic-user pull an Ice cream stall. He likes Ice cream very much. It has a variety of flavors.

"Oh! you like ice cream, Berg?" asked the owner, full of curiosity.

"Yeah! I like the red berry flavor the most." Berg replied honestly. But then he made a face like he regrets what he just did.

"Then why not buy one? I will pay for it today." the owner was surely excited. Maybe he's in a festive mood as it is the last day.

However Berg shook his head in denial, his face showing an expression of giving up.

"What? What is the problem?"

"I will never get it."

"Huh! Why not?" the owner seems puzzled.

"Because I am cursed, unlucky. Nothing good happens to me. Whatever I want, I can't have it. God likes to watch me suffer."Berg explains why he thinks he can't get ice cream.

"Are you kidding with me, Berg?" asked the owner, disbelieving his words. His eyes looked at Berg as if he was seeing a mental person.

"It all sounds unbelievable, I know that but this is the truth." He thought the owner was angry at him.

"How can you believe something as preposterous as this! This is all in your head. Do you hear me? Look, In order to clear this superstition of yours, let's put it to a test."

The owner suddenly had an idea that he will definitely regret.