Realizing the fact that he misspoke, Gerald quickly came up with an idea.
"I know it's not much, but we are just apprentices, our potion-making skills are not that great. Master can easily make that many potions in a single day. We are still far too incompetent compared to him…" Gerald shook his head as he spoke in a self-deprecating way.
"We bring shame to our master with our inferiority…"
To an outside observer, it would appear like he was genuinely feeling inferior and ashamed. But when the knowledgable miss Emily heard that, she almost fainted.
'What kind of crazy person has time and patience to make 100 Healing Potions per day?! Normal people make only one or two every few hours!'
"Err… Don't worry, I'm sure your skills will improve as time goes on! No need to be so hard on yourself…" She forced herself to keep a gentle smile while speaking through her teeth.
"Tell me, err… Gerald, do you know where your master went? Or perhaps when he comes back? We forgot to speak with him about a few things last time."
Gerald shook his head, "I do not. I remember master speaking something about finding a Phoenix, I think that's why he left… To suddenly just leave right after I lost a hand… I really don't know what's on my master's mind."
He came up with a way to give slight hints as to the nature of his so-called 'master' and losing a hand was actually a great excuse. Phoenix's Blood was one of the ingredients of the Elixir of Life that could regrow limbs.
Although he already knew how to make it, that didn't matter as he was completely unaware of where to find the required ingredients. Even the royal family could only make just a few potions every year, so there was probably no way for him to get his hands on some of them.
But, since the boss of the Golden Pouch, Arthur, and his sister Emily were educated people, they could probably guess the intent. That way they would be under the impression that his teacher was a great man, prepared to search the world to find a cure for his apprentice.
In any case, he could just pretend to be ignorant of such knowledge so he would probably be left alone.
Indeed, after the words left his mouth the expression on Emily's face changed slightly as if she just achieved enlightenment. "Mn, okay… How about I call my servant and he'll take you to your new home. We prepared it in advance so you can move in right now."
"Oh! Thank you, Miss Emily! I'm extremely grateful!" Gerald quickly stood up and bowed with respect and happiness.
He quickly picked up his hand and fixed it to his metal joint once again. Then he followed a servant out of the building and into the city to his new residence.
It wasn't far away so they arrived quickly.
"Here we are, sir! Madam already informed us of the situation. Shall I give you a tour?" the servant politely asked.
Gerald thanked and rejected him at once, "Thanks but there is no need for you to do so much… I'll slowly explore the place at my own pace."
"As you wish." Handing over the keys to the place, the servant bade him farewell and left.
Gerald was honestly shocked by the place, that's why he didn't want the servant to follow him around. The place was huge!
Surrounded by a sturdy wall and a bronze gate, the house inside was almost the size of a mansion! The footprint alone was at least a thousand square meters!
Just the lawn itself was impressive, it had nicely trimmed bushes, and trees and beautiful flowers surrounded the gravel road. The grass was green and nicely maintained and birds were chirping in the canopies of the mighty oak trees on the premises.
At least it appeared to be oak…
The environment that was created inside the stone walls was one of serenity and peace. It was completely the opposite of the riffraff of the city outside.
Looking at the building before him, Gerald couldn't help but smile wryly, "So much for keeping a low profile, people will probably think I'm a son of some noble."
He helplessly shook his head.
Whether it was to show their goodwill or just to test his character, it actually didn't really matter. He could just shamelessly accept it and be done with it.
If they wanted to take it back later, he could maybe act disappointed or heartbroken to convince them otherwise.
Having more people with him made it so much more reasonable for him to keep such a big and lavish residence.
The building was made of light-gray stone blocks with extensive decorations and plantlife, giving it an ancient feeling. It was also quite tall, with a two-story divide, with the ceiling being at least four to five meters up.
If there was something that the mansion didn't lack, it was bedrooms. After a quick check, Gerald found at least five of them and that was excluding guestrooms.
There was also a spacious attic and an expansive underground cellar. It was a perfect place for performing private experiments, be it magic, or alchemy.
After getting himself familiar with the place, Gerald dumped his stuff in one of the rooms and then went to stretch his legs outside.
He didn't notice it before, but the place also had a backyard with a few artificial mountains and a small pond. A few grand trees provided shade near the water and it provided an excellent place for one to relax and let the mind wander.
Flipping out his pocket watch, Gerald glanced at the time, "Hm, It's about time… I should go and get the others."
As he was slowly getting closer to the meeting place, he noticed the people were getting more densely packed on the street.
"Excuse me, coming through!" He squeezed his way past those people when he saw his companions at a corner near the main road.
"Hey, over here," Gerald waved his hand, alerting them to his presence. "What's going on here?"
"Gerald!" The girls ran to him when they noticed his presence.
Xilia shook her head, "We don't know what's happening either. The crowd was too dense so we couldn't explore the city… We decided to wait here to see what all this excitement was about."
"Oh," Gerald mouthed and directed his gaze across the sea of people. He was taller than most and just by standing on his toes he was able to have a clear view of everything.
"Move out of the way! Make space for the Phoenix Knights!" A shout reverberated across the street from the side that led to the city gates.
Immediately people squeezed themselves to the sides, making a path in the middle.
Soon a row of servants appeared in everyone's view. They were shouting and shoving people out of the way so that the horse riders behind them could pass.
It was about twenty people, some wearing iron plate armor, while some wore lavish robes with gold and silver patterns.
At the head of the procession, a young man rode on a black warhorse, clad in ice-blue full-body plate armor. He had long blond hair and a pale complexion making the contrast between him and his mount stand out even more.
Even just his armor differed greatly from the rest, be it in style or the feeling it gave off.
Holding the reins with one hand and his helmet with the other, the man gave off a feeling of unworldly origin.
"Quite handsome…" Even Gerald couldn't help himself but praise the man silently. And he wasn't the only one!
The young ladies in the crowd became unusually excited, almost as if they met their idol singer. Some of them screamed in excitement, while some fainted on the spot, while the more brazen ones tried to get close, only to get pushed back by the servants.
"It's the Phoenix Knights squad commander, Tabbris Northendark! He's already back from the training excursion?"
"By the gods, he's even more handsome than when he left!"
"He looked at me, he looked straight at me, it must be fate that brought us together!"
"Stop dreaming you wench! He obviously looked at me! Yoo-hoo, commander Tabbris! I'm still a virgin, please marry me!"
Many shouts came from the female part of the crowd. While men also had a reverence for the young commander, it was more admiration and respect for his deeds and feats of strength.
Gerald shook at the words of those young women, "Brr, just as I thought, too much fame attracts crazy people!"
"Ah, what can you do? Commander Tabbris Northendark is the most well-known warrior in the kingdom! Of course, some of his admirers would be on the extreme side." It was a nearby middle-aged man who spoke.
He appeared to also be a fan of the young star.
Turning to face the man, Gerald could only inquire further, "Really? How so?"
"You are new here, eh? To not know of his fame, you must be from a small place!" the man shook his head. But instead of turning away, a proud smile formed on his face when he realized he could showcase his knowledge.
"Squad Commander Tabbris Northendark is a son of one of the king's generals, general Razor Northendark! With only twenty-seven years of age, he already reached Silver 1-Rank in strength! His squad, Phoenix Knights is a well-known and respected group of his most trusted friends!"
The man's eyes shone as he was speaking of his idol's greatness.
"Eh? He's so strong? How is it possible for a human to reach Silver?" Gerald asked in disbelief.
'A human capable of lifting 1000kg? Even the highest record on Earth for deadlift was just over half that!' Gerald thought in his mind.
The human body was not made to exert so much force! Going over that threshold, even those genetic freaks that set the records, had to pay the price for doing so. Internal bleeding, torn muscles, and even blindness were an expected result of pushing over such extremes.
'And this guy is capable of doing twice that and he is still alive?' Gerald found it hard to believe.
"This-" The man scratched his head, unsure of how to answer.
"Don't listen to this fool, he knows nothing!"