Another morning spent making potions. Once I finish getting ready, I head to the castle’s distillation room
Corinna-san, the royal court’s exclusive pharmacist, starts her day early. By the time I arrive, she’s almost always already at work. In this world, people generally begin their workday as soon as the sun rises. I follow that custom too, but Corinna-san starts even earlier. Once, I tried coming in at the same time as her, only to be told gently but firmly, to arrive when everyone else does. It seems there’s some task she prefers no one sees first thing in the morning. Something related to a secret technique, apparently; she wouldn’t tell me the details.
When I reach the distillation room, sure enough, Corinna-san has already begun making potions.
“Good morning.”
“Ah, morning. Could you prepare some intermediate HP potions today? The quantity is written on that memo over there.”
“Understood.”
I check the memo as instructed and gather the ingredients for intermediate HP potions. The materials lined up on the table differ slightly from what I learned at the research institute. Several herbs not normally used have to be added. In exchange, the total amount of ingredients is smaller than usual. This is thanks to Corinna-san’s secret recipe. Though “secret” covers many things, she was willing to teach me this particular one.
While I’m stirring the ingredients in the pot, the distillation room door bursts open with a loud bang. Some time has passed since I started work, but it’s still quite early. Wondering who on earth would come at this hour, I turn toward the door in surprise and see a man so enormous that “giant” is the only word that fits. It isn’t just his height that’s overwhelming. He’s… thick. The members of the Third Order of Knights are all muscular, but this man surpasses even them. His upper arms and chest are a full size larger, layered with muscle. Everything about him is so big that the room suddenly feels smaller.
His hair is short and brown, his amber eyes sharp. The color is similar to the director’s, but his hair looks a little drier. I’d never paid attention before, but I realize the director must take good care of his hair. As I’m thinking such irrelevant things, the man speaks.
“Hm? You the old lady’s apprentice?”
He scans the room, notices me, and says that. “Old lady” probably means Corinna-san. She’s taught me a great deal, and the people around us seem to quietly accept me as her disciple, but I’m never sure whether I should openly call myself that. While I hesitate over how to answer, Corinna-san emerges from the inner room.
“You’re awfully noisy for this early in the morning. Can’t you be a little quieter?”
“I’m tryin’ to be careful here.”
“Where exactly? So, what brings you here?”
“Ah… I came to pick up the potions I ordered yesterday.”
“You really think an order placed yesterday evening would be ready first thing this morning?”
“Well, no, of course I feel bad about it… but something urgent came up…”
Glared at by Corinna-san, the man’s voice gradually shrinks. Watching him stumble over his words, he looks exactly like a dog that’s been scolded and is now dejected. I can almost see drooping ears on his head, even though there are none. Corinna-san is petite, but apparently terrifying when angry, so it’s no wonder he shrinks.
That said, her irritation is understandable. The potions he’s come to collect were ordered not just “yesterday evening” but right at the end of the workday. I remember a mercenary coming to place the order though it wasn’t this man. Since no deadline was specified, they would normally have been ready by early afternoon today. And in fact, I’m in the middle of making them right now. But there’s no real problem.
“No helping it, I suppose. Sei.”
“Yes.”
I nod at Corinna-san’s call, then go to the storage shelves in the back and retrieve the requested number of potions. It’s a considerable quantity, so when the man sees me line them all up on the table, his eyes go wide. He clearly hadn’t expected every single one he ordered to be ready.
In these times when medicinal herb shortages are constantly talked about, how do we have extras on hand? The culprit is me.
While practicing the intermediate and advanced secret recipes Corinna-san taught me, I ended up with a surplus. Of course, I had her permission to practice. According to her, “They’ll sell quickly anyway.” So, just like at the Medicinal Plants Research Institute, the distillation room keeps a fair stock of potions “for emergencies.”
“As expected of you, old lady.”
“Hmph. Direct your thanks to Sei.”
“Sei?”
“She’s the one who made those potions, but I guarantee their effectiveness.”
At Corinna-san’s words, the man looks at me again. Feeling his gaze, I introduce myself “My name is Sei” and bow. He walks over.
“Leonhart. I lead the mercenary corps stationed at this castle.”
He extends his right hand. Thinking it’s a handshake, I offer mine as well, and he grips it firmly. Then he flashes a broad grin, says “Nice to meet you,” and slaps my left shoulder hard several times, making me stumble.
“Leo! Don’t manhandle a lady!”
“Whoa! Sorry!”
“N-no, it’s…”
Regaining my balance, I look up and meet his eyes, now filled with panic and apology. He apologizes immediately, so he doesn’t seem like a bad person.
“Really sorry about that. You okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine.”
“Thanks for the potions too.”
I answer with a smile. He looks relieved, says his thanks, and barely waiting for a reply, picks up the box of potions and leaves. The distillation room falls silent again, quieter than ever. He really was a lively one. The room feels even more still now that he’s gone, which only emphasizes how boisterous he was.
Afternoon. Corinna-san has brought me to the vast medicinal herb fields that spread around the provincial capital.
When I traveled here from the royal capital, we passed through wheat fields, but the herb fields lie in a different direction. As expected of a region famous for medicinal plants. The royal palace’s herb garden is large, but this is far bigger. There’s also forest nearby, so while it doesn’t stretch to the horizon, the fields reach almost to the tree line.
The fields are outside the city walls, but according to Corinna-san they’re safe. Monsters almost never appear near the walls, and if they do, they’re extremely weak ones. She says even she could handle those.
In one corner of those vast fields, Corinna-san teaches me about the herbs. A hands-on lesson, in other words. We crouch midway through the field, examining the planted herbs while listening to her explanations.
The herb we’re looking at now is one I don’t recognize. It might be unique to this world. At the very least, I never encountered it back when I was into aromatherapy in Japan. She teaches me its distinguishing features, effects, and precautions when handling it.
“By itself it has no effect, but when combined with other herbs it increases recovery amount.”
“So that’s why adding it to the standard recipe reduces the total quantity of herbs needed.”
“Exactly.”
This is apparently one of the herbs used in Corinna-san’s secret recipe. The versions I used in compounding were dried, so I hadn’t recognized it at a glance. Because it only acts as a catalyst, it isn’t generally considered a medicinal herb.
Once the explanation ends, we both stand to move to the next herb. I stretch a little to loosen my stiff body and a loud voice calls from behind.
“Hey, there you are!”
I turn toward the unfamiliar voice and see a powerfully built man running toward us along the field path. It’s Leonhart-san, the same man I met in the distillation room just this morning.