Hogwarts: From Selling White Peppers to Becoming a God

Chapter 276 The Confession

Nicolas Flamel remained seated beside Perenas's body, just as blankly as when he left.

However, at this moment, he had already used magic to move Perena to the bed, and then sat on the edge of the bed.

He glanced at Quirrell, who was being held by Murphy, but didn't seem very interested. He didn't answer Murphy's question, but instead turned back to look at his wife. "Looking at her like this, I would think she's still alive, just like for the past hundred years, looking at her sleeping, I would have thought she was dead."

"Sometimes, I feel that life is nothing more than this, just barely maintaining movement and thought. We eat very little food every day and gradually lose some of our sense of taste and smell. Our bodies can hardly retain nutrients anymore, our bones become fragile, our muscles atrophy, and we can only move around with this mummy-like body by magic."

"Death is really close to us. We have been friends with it for so many years that even the instinctive fear, sadness and regret have slowly dissipated."

"We were prepared for death long ago," Nicolas Flamel said, "but it's still sad to see her go first."

"No one in this world will ever know what kind of person she was, what she did, her beauty, her kind and gentle character, her wisdom that shone like jewels, or the happy times we spent together. They will all be lost forever, and no one will remember them."

"My soul is too old, like this body, to be moved by anything intensely. I can't get angry, so it's hard for me to feel joy for what you've done."

"But I should thank you for what you did for Perenaar, even though she may no longer need it."

Murphy looked at the dejected old man and was momentarily at a loss for words. "So you don't care about anything anymore? What about the Philosopher's Stone? If you don't care about anything, why did you give the Philosopher's Stone to Dumbledore?"

"Ah, the Philosopher's Stone." Flamel's eyes finally regained a bit of their luster. "If there is anything in my long life that I am still proud of, it is the Philosopher's Stone."

"But actually, it was just because I was lucky. It's a miracle that's hard to replicate and requires a stroke of luck."

"However, yes, I still care about the Philosopher's Stone. I don't want my greatest creation to be used for evil purposes."

"So, what about knowledge of alchemy?" Murphy asked. "You're probably the world's greatest alchemist. Don't you want to leave behind your unique insights into alchemy? Or are you the kind of person who would be smug about hoarding a truth?"

Flamel looked over, and for the first time, he seemed to pull himself out of his own world and take the person in front of him seriously. "What do you want, young man?"

"Your knowledge, your wealth, all your heritage," Murphy said, "are better used by me than left to rot in the archives and Gringotts vaults."

"You're very ambitious," Lemaître said, looking at him. "You don't even try to hide it. You're so energetic. Perenad will definitely like you. We don't have children. She's always loved young people. Sometimes when I see people like you, I realize that I might just be alive, not really alive."

"All our property will be donated to the French Ministry of Magic, the British Ministry of Magic, and Beauxbatons and Hogwarts..." Lemaître said. "We have lived in these two countries for a long time, and if that's what you want, I'm sorry, but this is something that Perena and I have already agreed upon, and I will not change it."

Murphy pursed his lips. "It doesn't matter. Wealth is just a side effect. You may be rich because of alchemy, but believe me, I might be even richer than you."

Nicolas Flamel looked at him in surprise. "So what you want is my knowledge and the Philosopher's Stone."

"My knowledge... in fact, most of it has been gradually made public over the years, and I haven't done any research for many years. If what you want are those past notes and thoughts... you can take all of my books and notes. I originally wanted to leave them to Dumbledore, but he was too busy and rarely had time to conduct alchemical research. I would be happy to see someone inherit this knowledge."

"But I think what you really want is probably the Philosopher's Stone, isn't it?"

"Not bad," Murphy said, not bothering to hide it.

"What do you want to do with it?" Lemaître asked.

"This is a long story," Murphy said, but he still explained, "Initially, I wanted the Philosopher's Stone because I had a disease that caused my cells to divide too quickly, and my body was aging rapidly. I needed an elixir of immortality to sustain my life. However, due to some new research advancements, this has become less urgent. Although the elixir of immortality is still the most convenient solution, it is no longer irreplaceable."

"However, in addition to the direct effects of the elixir of immortality, I am also interested in its mechanism of delaying aging. Judging from your case, it does not involve cell repair, but rather seems to be a form of maintenance. This is different from my current research direction on anti-aging. Further research may lead to a synergistic and enhancing effect."

"To be honest, I want immortality, but not the kind of zombie-like immortality you have. I want true eternal youth, to keep my body in peak condition forever, otherwise immortality loses its meaning. Perhaps your kind of immortality isn't all fun?"

"I haven't felt the joy of life in a long time," Lemaître smiled. "Such ambitious thoughts, just like when I was young. Anything else?"

"Is the Philosopher's Stone's ability to turn stones into gold real?" Murphy asked.

"Through certain rituals, the Philosopher's Stone can indeed turn some base metals into gold; the saying 'turning stone into gold' is not wrong," Lemaître affirmed.

"That's also what I believe is the greatest value of the Philosopher's Stone," Murphy said. "Something capable of material transformation has unimaginable physical value. The energy consumed in turning the impossible into the possible is quantifiable and enormous. Studying the Philosopher's Stone will surely elevate my understanding of magic to a whole new level."

"So, you want the Philosopher's Stone because you're interested in its academic value?" Flamel asked with a slightly puzzled expression.

"That's right," Murphy admitted, "but the elixir of immortality is also very useful to me."

"I understand." Flamel nodded. "I see your determination to obtain the Philosopher's Stone. So, if I refuse to hand it over to you, what will you do?"

"..."

"Guess?"

(End of this chapter)