"Yes, and no. To be honest, I didn't know some of the alchemists aboard that ship until a few days before our voyage."

He tries to remember their names, but many of them are faint now, even if immortality expanded his memory. He wishes he still had that roster, so someone could remember them.

"... Actually, to explain how I came to meet them, I'll have to tell you about the not as pleasant parts of the town. Honestly, it isn't the sort of place I miss."