Dear friend.
I have never wished you were here more than I do right now.
To you, this place would surely be heaven.
As Leonhart-san ran toward us, I looked past him and remembered an old friend of mine.
Please forgive me for the slightly distant look in my eyes. I was just reminiscing about the past.
That friend of mine absolutely loved muscles.
To a degree that words simply cannot describe…
Perhaps they were returning from a monster subjugation, as there were many companions behind Leonhart-san.
Since he mentioned he manages a mercenary group, these people were likely members of that group.
Leonhart-san himself has an impressive build, but the people behind him were certainly not losing out.
What would you call it?
“Gorigori Macho,” I believe.
The area was packed with men of that exact body type.
If my friend were here right now, she would undoubtedly be pumping her fist in the air right beside me.
Without a single doubt.
Translator’s Note
Gori-macho is a Japanese term for a very heavily muscled, “gorilla-like” physique, basically calling Leonhart a gorilla man.
While I was lost in such idle thoughts, Leonhart-san reached us.
As soon as he arrived, he started speaking in a state of high excitement.
“Hey, Granny! Was that potion you gave me this morning a new kind?”
“What’s this all of a sudden?”
“The one I got today was way more effective than usual!”
“Is that so? Well, isn’t that nice.”
“What do you mean ‘isn’t that nice’?! Was it a new one or not? Or was it… could it be you gave me a High-Grade one by mistake?”
“In this day and age, there’s no way I could hand out that much High-Grade potion.”
At Corinna-san’s blunt attitude, Leonhart-san’s shoulders slumped.
By “new kind,” did he mean a new variety of potion?
Regarding the potions I handed out today… those were the ones I made while practicing secret recipes.
She received an order yesterday evening and said they needed them this morning, so I just brought them out from the stock kept in the back room.
Judging by the conversation, the “50% Boost” curse seems to have done its job well again.
“No, really. That effect didn’t seem like a Mid-Grade potion at all.”
“Yeah, he’s right!”
“Even the Low-Grade ones were more effective than usual.”
“I don’t think they were quite as good as the Mid-Grade, but they might have been close.”
As we moved from the field to the path, we were surrounded by the men who had followed Leonhart-san.
They each spoke up one after another about the performance of the potions.
This reaction.
I feel a strange sense of deja vu.
“Didn’t I tell you? I guarantee the effectiveness,” Corinna-san said.
“Come to think of it, Granny didn’t make these, did she?”
Hearing Corinna-san’s words, Leonhart-san turned toward me.
Following his lead, everyone else’s attention focused on me as well.
Being stared at like this is a bit overwhelming.
While I was wondering what to do, Corinna-san stepped in to back me up.
“If you want to call it new, it is. The ones I gave you this morning are indeed Mid-Grade HP Potions, but those are Sei’s secret recipe.”
“Seriously?! Making stuff like that at your age, that’s incredible!”
“Whoa!”
“Leo!”
“Ah, sorry!”
Leonhart-san, having regained his energy, started slapping me on the shoulder repeatedly.
When I stumbled from the impact, Corinna-san’s reprimand flew instantly.
Yes, I’d appreciate it if he’d hold back his strength just a little bit.
When I returned a faint, strained smile, a dejected Leonhart-san apologized again, saying, “My bad.”
Still, a “secret recipe,” huh?
In reality, the potions I handed over today used nothing but the ingredients Corinna-san had instructed.
The only difference would be the magic power I poured in while making them.
Since it seems my magic power is different from other people’s.
If magic power is considered an ingredient, then I suppose in a sense, it really is “my” secret recipe.
However, a secret recipe usually requires immense labor to create even one.
Even more so if it’s something highly effective.
It feels very awkward to call it my secret recipe just because the magic power is different.
Because everything else is the result of Corinna-san’s expertise.
Concerned, I peeked at Corinna-san’s direction, and she raised an eyebrow and gave a small nod.
Did that mean “don’t worry about it”?
Feeling apologetic, I bowed my head slightly so Leonhart-san and the others wouldn’t notice, and Corinna-san gave a grin with just her mouth.
“You’re one amazing person. I’ll be counting on you from now on!”
“Ah, yes.”
It seems the exchange between Corinna-san and me went unnoticed.
After the talk about the potions had its moment to bloom, the boisterous group headed off toward the castle as if nothing had happened.
As I let out a sigh, Corinna-san gave me a pat on the back.
When I turned to her, she had a look on her face that seemed to say, “Good grief.”
“Well then, shall we move on to the next task?”
“Yes.”
Prompted by Corinna-san, I moved on to the next spot where medicinal herbs were growing.
After wrapping up my work in the distillation room, I greated the people around me and stepped out into the hallway.
As I walked toward the room I was borrowing, I saw the Commander coming from the other end.
“Lord Hawk.”
“Sei. Good, I was looking for you.”
“For me?”
According to him, it seems he was on his way to the distillation room in search of me.
“Has something happened?”
“No, I just wanted to talk a little about the results of the regional investigation.”
“I see. In that case… where should we talk?”
“The Knights have a room they’re borrowing, so shall we talk there?”
“Understood.”
As we walked toward our destination, we chatted casually about recent events.
From my side, I talked about what happened in the distillation room.
Being called the “Holy Land of Research,” many of the things I heard from people other than Corinna-san were very educational.
Since I had been introduced as the [Saint] by Lord Klausner, everyone had kept a certain distance at first, but while I was peppering Corinna-san with various questions, they seemed to get used to me.
Actually, rather than getting used to me, it might be more accurate to say they couldn’t stand the urge to hear about the Medicinal Plant Research Institute anymore.
The vibe of the first person who spoke to me was exactly like the Grand Magus when he talks about magic.
And she wasn’t the only one.
Being the Holy Land, it seemed that many of the people gathered here were “pharmaceutical-crazed,” so to speak; their eyes would change color the moment the topic turned to herbs or potions.
Translator’s note
In case you forgot, (I did) the Grand Magus refers to Yuri Drewes, the head of the Magicians’ Guild.
With that first woman as the trigger, the circle of people joining the conversation gradually grew.
The questions varied widely, but I was frequently asked about the efficacy of herbs currently under verification and new potion recipes.
I only answered within the scope of research already announced within the royal palace, but perhaps because information travels slowly compared to Japan, there were findings that hadn’t reached the people in the distillation room yet.
When I shared that information, they were extremely grateful.
Happy to be thanked, I casually brought up the topic of using medicinal herbs in cooking, and as expected, they bit.
I had spoken to the Director about medicinal cuisine before, and their reaction was identical to his.
Corinna-san also seemed interested and asked various questions.
She even mentioned she’d like to try it once, but naturally, I didn’t have the recipes for medicinal dishes memorized.
So, I only spoke about the dishes I made in the Royal Capital and the effects of the herbs used in them.
Even just that seemed to be a fascinating topic for the people in the distillation room.
While answering this and that, I ended up becoming quite good friends with everyone there.
Of course, I took the opportunity to ask my own questions too.
Starting with secret recipes, I was able to gather plenty of other knowledge that would be useful for my research.
I’m truly, truly grateful.
“It sounds like you’re gaining good experience in the distillation room.”
“Eh? Ah, yes, I am.”
“I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself.”
“Oh, no… well…”
Hearing a faint snort of laughter, I looked up and met the gaze of the Commander, who was looking at me kindly.
It seems I had gotten a bit too passionate while talking about the distillation room.
I had been rambling about technical details regarding herbs and potions to the Commander, who isn’t even in that field.
Realizing this fact made me a little embarrassed.
A faint heat gathered in my cheeks.
As I instinctively looked down, the sound of stifled chuckling reached my ears from beside me again.
Author’s note: The manga adaptation will be released tomorrow!
It seems some stores already have it on their shelves.
To everyone who has purchased a copy, thank you very much.
It appears there will be special bonus gifts included with the manga as well.
These are being distributed on a first-come, first-served basis at Animate, Gamers, Toranoana, Melon Books, Sanyodo, and WonderGOO.
I apologize for the delay, but I have posted the details in my activity report, so please check there if you are interested.
Editor’s note: Reminder that the official light novel has been released for this series and that it’s the completed vision of the story by the author localized by a professional team unlike the translated draft version of the web novel you’re currently reading.
Support Yuka Tachibana in writing more stories like this one by buying her novels and helping her pay the bills. If you can’t afford to, put it on your wishlist so you can do so in the future. Don’t like physical books? Buy one and donate it to your local library so future generations can discover this story.