Alchemist Karen No Longer Compromises, Chapter 286

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Chapter Two Hundred and Eighty-Six: Fastest Rescue 2

“Huh?”

His face contorted, Licht glared at Karen with a dangerous look as he protested:

“Karen, monsters aren’t overflowing from the dungeon’s depths. That means Julius is still holding back the monsters—but the fact that he can’t finish them off means it’s bad!”

“You can’t fight a war on an empty stomach.”

“We can eat while walking along the way…! You can eat in the wagon!”

“More haste, less speed.”

While Karen spoke nonchalantly, she quickly began preparing the stove.

Looking down at this, Licht ground his teeth.

“Are you saying you don’t care what happens to Julius…!? I want to reach him while he is still alive!”

“If you went ahead alone, Master Licht, you’d be faster, but you’re waiting for me, aren’t you?”

“I can’t leave you behind.”

Even while trembling with rage, Licht answered Karen’s question.

“I promised Julius. —That I’d protect you.”

“You protect me because you promised Mr. Julius, and because you also promised not to interfere with me, you won’t forcibly drag me along. Really, you’re truly faithful to Mr. Julius.”

“Are you testing me? Because I tested you!? At a time like this—or because it’s a time like this!?”

Watching Karen begin pouring water from a barrel into the orichalcum alchemy cauldron, Licht tore at his hair.

“I’m sorry for testing you! I apologize, so don’t put Julius’s life on the scales!”

“I’m making a potion ‘to advance faster.’”

Karen said while placing the alchemy cauldron on the stove.

Licht gasped.

“…There’s such a potion?”

“I’ll make one.”

“You can do it…”

Whoosh, the sharpness vanished from Licht’s expression.

Since entering the dungeon, though it had only been a few days, Karen had been making potions from any ingredients.

Numerous potions that didn’t fit the framework of existing potions, with effects corresponding to whatever ingredients were brought at the time.

Ingredients that previously only became potions when combined with processed foods like carefully prepared miso or soy sauce had recently begun turning into potions on their own. Karen had surely come to understand something new once again. But she still didn’t know what it was.

That was why she still couldn’t ascend the ranks—but she could make potions. She might be able to make potions with any effect. Licht, too, seeing the results Karen had achieved so far, probably thought “she might be able to make it.”

Karen borrowed several ingredients loaded on the wagon. Potatoes, carrots, and onions she’d brought. Karen considered those the quintessential ingredients for standard curry.

Adding thick-cut bacon to these, she cut the ingredients and tossed them into the alchemy cauldron to make a curry with the most delicious and familiar taste.

After boiling the ingredients, watching Karen add curry roux to the alchemy cauldron, and taking it off the fire, Licht frowned.

“…Hey. Isn’t that a panacea?”

“This panacea is also a seasoning in itself.”

Karen gave an evasive answer and continued cooking.

Licht took out his own appraisal mirror, the same magnifying glass type as Karen’s, peered into the alchemy cauldron, and shouted.

“This is nothing but a panacea!?”

“It’s from here. But for now, could you taste it?”

“As if the taste matters…!”

Though Licht spoke irritably, he still accepted the small plate with a small amount of curry from Karen and put it to his mouth. Even this irritated, he listened to Karen’s words. Contrary to appearances, he was probably the type who couldn’t refuse when asked. And Julius could make requests of him.

Karen carefully observed Licht. He took a bite of curry and was about to spit out some harsh remark—then suddenly, his eyes widened as if noticing something.

“Ah—”

“Have you calmed down?”

At Karen’s question, Licht’s eyes widened in surprise.

The emotion that had clouded his pupils disappeared, and Licht looked down at Karen in a daze.

“…Why was I so terrified?”

Licht’s stern expression softened, and his voice held a firmly calm resonance.

Apparently, he had been dominated by the emotion of “fear.” Now that she thought about it, the knight who had tried to flee to the fifth floor earlier and the other knights’ expressions also seemed colored by fear.

Gottfried especially wore an almost ferocious expression, giving off a terribly unapproachable atmosphere, but apparently that wasn’t because he was dying to kill someone but because he was driven by fear.

From Licht’s confused appearance, Karen realized her hypothesis had been correct.

“A panacea—if drinking a magical potion that cures all status abnormalities calmed that agitation, perhaps that agitation was a status abnormality.”

“Don’t tell me we were… under mental interference?”

Licht’s expression became stunned.

“We haven’t encountered any monsters. But they were there? I never sensed their presence… I didn’t even notice that some kind of magic had been cast on me. Me, of all people. — Are monsters from the lower floors overflowing upward? Or were the monsters simply too weak for me to detect? I want to believe it’s the latter…”

If strong monsters from the lower floors were overflowing, that would mean Julius couldn’t completely suppress the monsters.

To Licht, who held his head, Karen calmly conveyed her thoughts:

“I think it’s the ‘monsters too weak’ option.”

“What?”

“This dungeon originally seems designed to cause mental abnormalities in this cave.”

“Designed to cause abnormalities? How do you know that?”

With eyes sincerely praying for it to be so, Licht’s pupils wavered as he waited for Karen’s answer.

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Alchemist Karen No Longer Compromises, Chapter 285

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Chapter Two Hundred and Eighty-Five: Fastest Rescue

“Help! Help me!”

“Ah, I can hear his voice.”

Though the knight was nowhere to be seen, a scream rang out after a loud gasp, as if he had finally regained his breath.

“Below! There’s something below! Help me! Hurry! You commoners!”

“Oh, found him. Look, can you see him, Little Karen? He’s stuck on that ledge in the shadow.”

Just barely within the reach of light, next to the cliff’s pitch-black darkness.

Gathering magical power in her eyes strengthened her vision. On that slightly illuminated icy protrusion, she could indeed make out a tiny moving figure like a bean. It seemed only his clothes were caught, and his hands could not reach the wall. And at the bottom of the crevasse, which looked like darkness to Karen, there was apparently something.

“Hurry up!”

“If you’re looking for help, calm down!”

For the first time, Urte, who had maintained a respectful attitude toward nobles until now, shouted using informal speech.

But from below, frantic shouting continued in rapid bursts.

Taking out the rope from her pack, Urte said to Karen:

“If you go to help someone in such an excited state, you’ll get caught up in it, so in times like this, you wait until they calm down. Just because you’re asked for help doesn’t mean you should go rushing to help right away, Karen.”

“I couldn’t even climb down a cliff like this in the first place, could I?”

“I’m not talking about right now, I’m talking about someday.”

“But if they look like they’re about to fall unless we help quickly—”

“Then it’s just how it is! It can’t be helped, and that’s the end of it.”

Urte said coldly and looked down at the agitated knight.

“In situations like this, waiting for them to calm down actually lets you rescue them faster than acting in panic.”

“You mean ‘haste makes waste’?”

“Exactly.”

However, it seemed he might fall if they waited for him to calm down.

Karen rummaged through her rucksack.

She took out a bottle of dried herbs she usually put in sachets—her calming magical potion—and held it out to Urte.

“This is a calming magical potion. Can you use it?”

“Oh! Is it the opposite of smelling salts?”

“Yes. It’s an aromatic potion with a calming effect that makes you feel at ease and relaxes your body, but I’m a bit worried that the moment he calms down, the strength will leave his body and he’ll fall.”

“Hmm. Well, if that happens, it can’t be helped.”

Urte grabbed a handful of the dried herbs from the bottle and put them in her pocket. She slung the rope over her shoulder and, knife in hand, descended the icy cliff smoothly without even a safety line.

“Still, nothing happened even when the wagon passed through on the way in. Is this the kind of trap that only activates when leaving the dungeon?”

Sepl chatted with a relaxed spectator’s face.

What Urte was doing probably wasn’t particularly difficult from an adventurer’s perspective.

“Maybe the adamantite was too heavy. Since it’s a magic metal, its properties change when you pour magical power into it, right? Like feeling lighter.”

“Yeah. That’s why it can be made into armor and weapons.”

“But the actual weight doesn’t change, so… it might have been heavier than the wagon.”

“Ugh.”

Sepl grimaced.

“So he fell because he took adamantite out from the sixth floor…”

“The deposit itself might be a trap. In this dungeon.”

A trap that manipulated human desires to ensnare them.

Perhaps the lack of monsters was to make people think it was easy to take adamantite out.

Karen’s spine shivered.

Since dungeons were said to be the goddess’s trials, this should be the goddess’s doing.

When Urte used the calming potion on the knight halfway down the cliff, the shouting man suddenly fell silent.

“Seems like a rather nasty dungeon.”

In other words, the goddess had a nasty personality. Karen felt like she’d known that for quite some time.

—Young Julius had escaped this dungeon with his life on the line.

“Miss Karen!”

Hearing her name called from a distance, she looked up.

Probably because they hadn’t found Karen, Gottfried and Licht had also come to the fifth floor.

“What are you doing!?”

“Sir Gottfried! A knight fell into this hole below, so we’re currently conducting a rescue!”

Gottfried, who came running down the slope as if sliding, looked down at the knight being pulled up from the crevasse opening and nodded.

“I see. It seems our knight caused you trouble.”

“Please don’t worry about it. Right now, we’re companions diving through the dungeon together.”

Gottfried had an unusually stern expression.

His brows furrowed as he looked down at Karen.

“Miss Karen, there’s a possibility Master Julius might be in danger.”

Karen’s eyes widened.

“Master Julius should have already conquered the dungeon by now. It’s taking far too long.”

“…Shouldn’t Mr. Julius be able to conquer about ten floors without any problems?”

“Indeed. That should have been the case, but in reality, that’s not what’s happening.”

“Karen, let’s hurry to where Julius is.”

It was Licht who said this to her.

Licht, with a stern expression, approached Karen. The reason Licht, who had been sticking close to her since entering the dungeon, had disappeared was apparently to consult with Gottfried about Julius.

There was none of the frivolity from when he had approached Karen with that carefree attitude.

“Your worry might have been right.”

Everyone said Julius would be fine, but was that really true? Even if it were, Karen had wanted to go meet him. Karen had many things she wanted to say, but swallowed them.

“—Then I’m glad we came to meet Mr. Julius.”

Looking at Licht’s face, she could see that everything Karen wanted to say was already being internally repeated by Licht himself.

They rescued the knight from the crevasse and returned to the sixth floor.

Seeing the knight bound with a rope so he wouldn’t escape again, his fellow knights pressed Urte.

“What did you do to Elmar!?”

“I merely rescued him after he fell down the cliff.”

Urte put on a top-grade pleasant smile, then respectfully handed over the knight and came back irritably.

“We helped their comrade, and what’s with them? That attitude!”

“Those nobles seem pretty irritated.”

“They must be terrified of the dungeon on the verge of collapse. If that gentleman can’t conquer it, there’s no telling what state the tenth floor is in.”

At Urte speaking in an extremely hushed voice, Sepl nodded.

“Hmph. So they’re all cowards.”

“Shh! Even if it’s true, you’ll be resented if you incur nobles’ anger!”

Urte covered Sepl’s mouth as his voice became too loud.

The knight, freed from his bonds by his fellow knights, hung his head. But there was no sign he would run out to the fifth floor again.

Even from a distance, seeing the knight’s calm state, Karen narrowed her eyes.

“Karen, pack up the luggage. As soon as you finish packing, we’re leaving.”

Licht spoke as if hurrying Karen.

In front of the sixth floor’s cave, the knights who had returned from inside had already finished packing.

Was everyone wearing serious expressions because Julius’s situation had already been made known?

Had the knight who panicked and tried to escape been trying to flee from a dungeon on the verge of causing a massive collapse stampede that even Julius couldn’t prevent?

While looking at Licht’s eyes filled with fear and anxiety, Karen said:

“Understood.”

“If you understand, hurry.”

“But before that, let’s have lunch.”

When Karen clapped her hands and said this, Licht’s eyes opened wide, then immediately after, his face contorted.

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Alchemist Karen No Longer Compromises, Chapter 284

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Chapter Two Hundred and Eighty-Four: Reaching the Sixth Dungeon Floor

“—Did something happen?”

Licht, looking at the sky with a stern expression, muttered this when the group reached the sixth floor in just three days.

The Forest’s Edge Dungeon in Ehlertt, sixth floor.

What appeared immediately after exiting the dungeon’s black gate was a cave gaping open in the mountainside. The fifth floor had been a mountain trail climbing a snowy mountain, and for some reason, hardly any monsters appeared, but the gradient was quite steep, and the riding dragon alone couldn’t pull the wagon.

The knights ended up pushing the wagon, and Karen, who could no longer leisurely ride in it, had gotten down and walked, so her breathing was labored for the first time in a while.

Just as Karen caught her breath and was about to ask Licht what he meant, a knight who had gone to scout ahead in the cave returned and said:

“Knight Captain! This is serious!”

“What happened?”

“Here—it’s an adamantite deposit!”

“What!?”

It was Alban who shouted.

Led by Alban, the knights filed into the cave in a group.

When she noticed, Licht’s figure was gone too.

Left behind, Karen exchanged glances with Sepl and Urte.

“Magic metal deposits are found above the tenth floor of dungeons, in the shallow floors…?”

“No, it’s quite rare. Normally, magic metals like adamantite, mithril, and orichalcum are said to only appear in the deep layers of dungeons.”

“Once Master Julius conquers the tenth floor, this place will quickly become a popular dungeon with adventurers.”

At Sepl and Urte’s words, Karen gulped.

If the current deepest layer, the tenth floor, were conquered once, monsters would stop overflowing from the dungeon’s depths for a while.

If they didn’t conquer the twentieth floor, which would become the next lowest level, monsters would eventually overflow from the dungeon’s depths again—but for several decades, or perhaps even hundreds of years until then, this dungeon would continue to be popular.

If he conquered such a dungeon, Julius would once again claim the name of a hero.

—And yet, Julius, who should have reached the tenth floor already, still hadn’t conquered the dungeon.

There were still no signs suggesting a conquest.

“There’s also talk that when you conquer an unexplored dungeon, the entire sphere of influence of that dungeon becomes the conqueror’s territory, meaning if Master Julius conquers it, you will become the wife of this territory’s lord, Little Karen!?”

“No, if it’s conquered with the lord’s request for cooperation, it should become that lord’s property. Since it’s being conquered under the lord’s name with the hunting festival as the pretext, if Master Julius conquers it, the rights to this dungeon and its sphere of influence should rightfully become Earl Ehlertt’s.”

In other words, the Ehlertt Earldom would become powerful again.

Although she did not belong to the House of Ehlertt, Karen nodded with satisfaction, her thinking now completely aligned with them.

“Haa. They should’ve just conquered it on their own.”

“That would just cause friction with neighboring territory lords. You really don’t know anything, do you?”

“I’ve never even dreamed of trying to conquer a dungeon’s boss floor myself!”

“Is that something to say with pride? …Well, I guess it’s much better than being reckless.”

At Urte’s exasperated words, Sepl laughed carelessly.

Because Sepl knew his limits, he was alive—and Karen’s father hadn’t come back.

Karen nodded deeply.

“Really, knowing your limits is so important.”

“Look, I know this myself, but if you keep saying ‘know your limits’ over and over, I’m gonna cry, okay?”

An adult man about the same age as her father, trying to weaponize tears.

Just as Karen sent him a lukewarm gaze, someone shouted inside the cave.

“What was that?”

“One of the knights’ voices.”

“Maybe a monster appeared! …I should stay here, right?”

“Obviously.”

Sepl and Urte nodded simultaneously.

If something had happened, Karen shouldn’t go.

Since all three agreed, Karen approached the riding dragon.

She’d been told to cling to the riding dragon if something happened.

“Lumi, are you okay?”

“Gyuru.”

The riding dragon Lumi tilted its head, looking at Karen. Though a domesticated monster, being a monster, it was sensitive to the presence of other monsters. Lumi became somewhat restless when monsters appeared. But now it was calm.

Just as Karen was looking at the cave, wondering if perhaps no monsters had appeared, a knight came flying out from inside. It was the knight who appeared the oldest among those led by Alban.

He was carrying a black stone about the size of a pickling weight in his arms.

When he recognized Karen and her supporters, he shouted with a desperate expression:

“I’m going down! I don’t want to be a knight anymore! I’m sick of dungeons, monsters—everything!”

“Ahh, he’s lost it.”

“Yeah, there are always people who go crazy in dungeons.”

Watching the knight yelling wildly, Sepl and Urte had relaxed attitudes.

Karen had also seen people who, having entered a dungeon, became too frightened.

Sepl laughed and said:

“I mean, he’s not going down; he need to go up. To get out of here.”

“Shut up! You’re the crazy ones for being so calm in a place like this!”

The knight shouted at Sepl and clutched the stone to his chest. He was probably pouring magical power into it.

Probably adamantite. It should be terribly heavy, but magic metals felt lighter than their actual weight when magical power was poured into them.

When he found his rucksack that he’d left outside the cave, he stuffed the adamantite into it.

“With this much adamantite ore, I can live comfortably for a while… What premonition? What trap!?”

“Noble sir. When you get back, you should check your magical power density. You might be suited to being a mage.”

“Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!”

People with naturally high magic density are less prone to magical intoxication, but they may become fearful inside dungeons.

Waltride was probably this type too.

In return, those with high magic density were often highly skilled in using magic.

…Though Waltride couldn’t use magic because she couldn’t understand magical theory.

Urte’s advice didn’t seem to reach the current knight either.

“Uncle Sepl, Urte, we have to stop him—”

The knight, who had stuffed the adamantite in his rucksack and shouldered it, turned around at Karen’s unfinished words.

“How dare you bring me to a place like this! You poisonous woman!”

The knight glared hatefully at Karen, then ran toward the dungeon gate connecting to the fifth floor and disappeared.

“We have to chase him!”

“Ah, wait, Little Karen!”

Karen crossed through the gate chasing the knight.

Urte and Sepl also crossed through and came back to the fifth floor’s snowy mountain slope.

The knight hadn’t gone far.

It was an open, steep, snowy mountainside.

With good visibility, they immediately spotted him.

He seemed to be struggling to descend the snowy slope while carrying the heavy adamantite.

And he immediately noticed that Karen, Sepl, and Urte had chased after him.

“I’m not going back!”

“Karen! He’s saying that, so leave him alone. With D-rank level strength, he can easily get back from here alone. There’s no point trying to hold back someone whose eyes have been blinded by greed at the sight of magic metal.”

“Urte’s right, Little Karen. In this dungeon, even an E-rank could make it back. This fifth floor doesn’t even have monsters. All that’s left are the shallow floors above the fourth floor.”

“Even so, it’s a dungeon, isn’t it? When we don’t know what might happen—”

“If you’re going to act selfishly in such a place, you need to be prepared, Karen.”

Intimidated by Urte, Karen bit her lip tightly.

Originally, the knights had not planned to enter the dungeon at all. They had decided to enter the dungeon in response to Karen’s request.

Among them, this man had likely followed along, unable to refuse.

If he had a constitution that made him fear dungeons, just how frightened must he have been?

Karen clenched her fists.

“I dragged him into this… I can’t leave him alone.”

“Little Karen, hey.”

“Anyway, let’s catch him until Sir Gottfried and the rest come back—”

Just as Karen was about to propose discussing what to do with the panicking knight, the man ahead suddenly tilted sideways.

“Waa—AAAAAAHHHHHH!!?”

The knight’s figure disappeared, but his scream continued to be heard while receding.

Sepl grabbed Karen as she tried to rush forward in panic.

Urte went to the spot where the knight had disappeared and said:

“—It’s a big crack in the ice. Looks like his foot got caught in a hole covered by snow, and he fell.”

“A crevasse…!”

Karen gasped and approached the edge of the crevasse, looking down into the pitch-black hole.

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Alchemist Karen No Longer Compromises, Chapter 283

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Chapter Two Hundred and Eighty-Three: Dinner Potion

“It’s only been one day… and we’ve already reached the third floor!?”

Around sunset, when Karen was informed they had reached the third floor before she realized it, she was shocked. Having been absorbed in reading the thesis in a corner of the rattling wagon, she hadn’t even noticed they’d already passed through dungeon gates twice.

Right outside the gate, a dense forest covered in white snow spread before them. Looking at the cold landscape, Karen buried her neck tightly in her coat’s fluffy collar.

“One day per dungeon floor is just an average, or rather, a guideline.”

“I’ve heard that, but I didn’t think it would be this fast.”

“It just shows how strong the knights are. Especially having Master Zenkel come along was a pleasant miscalculation.”

At Sepl’s words, Karen nodded repeatedly with interest.

Thanks to Licht, they were apparently advancing at quite a speed.

But if they were going this fast while carrying baggage like Karen—

“Does that mean Mr. Julius is advancing even faster?”

“Most likely. Honestly, it wouldn’t be surprising if he’d already arrived at the tenth floor and started challenging the boss.”

“Amazing!”

Karen gasped at Urte’s words, but Urte shrugged her shoulders.

“But since the dungeon’s state hasn’t changed, it seems he hasn’t defeated the boss yet.”

“How does it change when a dungeon is cleared?”

“The air changes so obviously that even you would notice immediately, Karen.”

“Wow…”

Would the change in air when a boss on the tenth floor of a dungeon was cleared affect medicinal herbs and other magical plants? Not just magical plants—it might also affect non-magical plants inside the dungeon. If she could witness it, she’d collect samples to take back, Karen resolved strongly.

“So, you’re making dinner for us, right, Karen?”

“What are you making?”

“What I make depends on what you two collected for me.”

The standard style of dungeon exploration was to keep moving while eating travel rations like herb hardtack during breakfast and lunch, then stop at night for dinner and rest.

Since Karen couldn’t wander around the monster-infested dungeon collecting things, she basically left collection along the way to Sepl and Urte.

“I caught a snow rabbit. You need meat during dungeon clearing after all.”

“Meat is important.”

“I got mostly roots. Would’ve been nice to find better stuff, though.”

Saying this, Sepl spread open the mantle he’d been wrapping things in, revealing various root vegetables tumbling out.

“Root vegetables! Given the dungeon’s climate, they’re exactly in season! They’ll definitely be delicious!”

“So when you kept saying you wanted these gathered whenever winter came, it was because of that ‘season’ thing, Little Karen?”

“Exactly!”

“You found quite a haul of vegetables.”

Gottfried suddenly appeared and peered at Sepl’s hands.

“It’s difficult to gather edible plants in Ehlertt’s dungeons.”

“Really? In that case, local dungeons sound difficult to conquer.”

Karen answered in place of Sepl, who had frozen in surprise at Gottfried’s appearance.

At Karen’s words, Gottfried tilted his head.

“As long as you have herb hardtack, food isn’t an issue. Besides, monsters in the Ehlertt territory’s dungeons are relatively easy to hunt, and especially below the tenth floor of the territorial capital dungeon, there are many mineral deposits. With a certain level of skill, it’s easy to earn money, making it popular with adventurers.”

“Little Karen, adventurers exploring the royal capital’s dungeon generally don’t make proper meals either.”

“Come to think of it, that’s right…”

The people who truly needed the crops gathered inside dungeons were those living outside them. The people actually clearing dungeons normally didn’t collect or cook different things to eat every day, but instead ate the herb hardtack they brought in.

“Well then, I’ll get started on cooking—no, compounding.”

“I’ll take care of butchering the snow rabbit for you.”

“Thanks, Urte.”

In addition to the snow rabbit meat, there were carrots, daikon radishes, burdock root, and other things Sepl had gathered… Since they were ingredients in season during winter, perhaps they could be found in this dungeon with its midwinter climate too.

Karen looked down at the ingredients with a small knife in place of a kitchen knife.

“But seriously, this becomes a potion? To my eyes, it just looks like you’re randomly cutting up all the ingredients and boiling them… and I just randomly collected the ingredients too!?”

“It will, Uncle Sepl.”

Karen smiled brightly while taking out a secret tool from her bag.

“Ta-da. Universal panacea base!”

The moment she took it out of the bag, the aroma of curry roux wafted out, and Sepl and Urte looked shocked.

“Why are you making a panacea in a place like this!?”

“That’s right, Little Karen! If you use a panacea now, it won’t work later when you need one!”

“Don’t worry about the cooldown time.”

To the flustered Sepl and Urte, Karen smiled brightly.

“Because all I have to do is break it as a panacea!”

Taking the orichalcum alchemy cauldron off the fire, Karen tossed in the curry roux with a plop.

Sepl and Urte screamed.

“Eek! My monthly salary!? Or maybe my annual income!?”

“Wh-What are you doing! Such a precious thing, you…!”

“Just kidding.”

Karen grinned slyly.

“One of the reasons I came along was that I could serve potion meals to everyone, so I won’t break the potion.”

“Y-You…! Don’t scare us like that!”

“That’s bad for the heart.”

“I heard your conversation, but doesn’t that leave the fundamental problem unsolved? Karen. I’m grateful to be fed a panacea, but do we need it right now?”

To Licht, who had interjected, Karen smiled and returned her gaze to the alchemy cauldron.

She stirred the contents and said:

“As long as I use this curry roux to make curry, each time I make it, it becomes a different panacea, so it’s fine.”

“A different… panacea?”

“Originally, the reason I could heal the Bloodline Blessing of Master Sieg from the Ehlertt Earldom was that I could make potions with the effect of ‘lowering fever’ using various ingredients. If the ingredients are different, even potions with the same effect are judged as different potions, and no cooldown time occurs.”

Karen held the appraisal mirror over the alchemy cauldron where she’d dissolved the curry roux to check, then looked up at Licht.

“This block is a solidified panacea, and if diluted, becomes a small panacea potion. If someone other than me dissolves this curry roux in hot water, it becomes a panacea called ‘minced vegetable curry’—but since I treated the additional ingredients as panacea ingredients, it’s become a small panacea potion of ‘snow rabbit meat root vegetable curry.’”

Karen looked dissatisfied at the appraisal results.

“I thought it would at least become a medium panacea… monster materials are still the bottleneck, huh?”

“Eh, did the snow rabbit I collected cause problems!?”

“No, no, I’m just still inexperienced and can’t handle magical materials well enough.”

Monster materials could be appraised successfully. So she should have about the same level of “understanding” as other people, and with Karen’s current magical power, it should be sufficient, yet she couldn’t handle them as she wished.

And there seemed to be additional factors at play too. Karen had used a magical potion already completed as curry roux panacea to create another panacea. She’d never heard of combining two magic potions, so it wouldn’t be strange if there was a problem there.

She had simply wanted to quickly eat curry using curry roux, and it had become a different panacea. Since this wasn’t a situation she’d anticipated, there were many mysteries for Karen too. If she returned to the royal capital and asked Yuluyana, she’d probably receive some advice.

“In other words, if you wanted to, you could immediately make panaceas that don’t trigger cooldowns?”

“Yes, that’s right. Though we might get tired of curry every day.”

“…So this is what Julius meant when he told me not to stop you.”

“Did you say something?”

“Nothing.”

Looking puzzled at Licht’s response, Karen pulled herself together and stood up.

“Everyone! Today’s dinner potion is complete! A small panacea potion of ‘snow rabbit meat root vegetable curry’!”

“Ooh!”

Though they must have heard Karen and Licht’s conversation, the knights got excited.

“Those who want to eat, please line up with your plates!”

Since Gottfried took the initiative to line up with his plate, Alban and the other knights were acting as quiet as mice.

Having finished serving and eating her own portion of curry, Karen muttered as if savoring it:

“Field research is so fun…!”

“We’re not escorting you for field research though!?”

“Oh, of course, I also want to go meet Mr. Julius.”

While startling the serious Alban who had promptly come for seconds, Karen fired off questions in rapid succession:

“How’s the taste? How’s the effect as a potion?”

“The taste is… delicious. I shouldn’t need the panacea’s effects, but my body feels lighter. But more than that—”

“I’ll give you some extra meat.”

“…”

Karen whispered conspiratorially, then gave the dubious-looking Alban a generous helping of snow rabbit meat in his curry seconds.

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Alchemist Karen No Longer Compromises, Chapter 282

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Chapter Two Hundred and Eighty-Two: Snowy Plains

“Sooooo coooold!”

Upon entering the Forest’s Edge Dungeon, an unexplored dungeon, Karen cried out. The first floor of Ehlertt’s Forest’s Edge Dungeon was a vast snowy plain covered in pure white. It had been cold outside as well, but it hadn’t even started snowing yet.

“The first floors of dungeons in Ehlertt are almost all freezing winter.”

“Miss Karen, you should get in the wagon and cover yourself with a blanket.”

Gottfried spoke leisurely, and Alban immediately instructed Karen to get in the wagon.

“Ugh… there’s no point being stubborn here, so I’ll take you up on your offer…”

Above all, Karen’s steps, impeded by the snow, were far too slow. The knights from Ehlertt proceeded through the ankle-deep snow with practiced strides. They were probably accustomed to walking in snow.

In the outside world, each of them was attended by servants and apprentice knights from their households. But just as Karen had left Petra and Rosine behind, the knights had also brought only themselves into the dungeon. The only one who couldn’t fight was Karen alone.

“Karen, your hand.”

“Thank you, Master Licht.”

Karen expressed her thanks and borrowed Licht’s hand to board the wagon pulled by the riding dragon. The road wasn’t good, so there was shaking, but the tires in this world were made from monster materials and were quite excellent. Despite being a snowy road, the shaking wasn’t bothersome. Karen let out a relieved sigh and looked at Licht walking beside the wagon.

“I never expected even you to come along, Master Licht. You kept saying Mr. Julius would be fine, so I thought you wouldn’t come.”

Licht, who wasn’t worried about Julius, shouldn’t have had a reason to dive into the dungeon.

He glanced sideways at Karen.

“If you’re diving into the dungeon, I’m diving too.”

“…Ah, I see.”

When Karen showed understanding of something, Licht looked displeased.

“I’m curious what exactly you’re looking so convinced about.”

“They say people’s true nature comes out in desperate situations, don’t they? Thinking about it that way, inside a dungeon would be perfect, wouldn’t it? To confirm my true nature, right?”

“Obviously, I came to protect you!?”

“Huh!?”

When Karen’s eyes widened in astonishment, Licht shook his head.

“What are you surprised about? I wouldn’t put you in a desperate situation in the first place. I’d never be able to explain myself to Julius.”

Karen, who had been searching for a blanket among the cargo loaded on the wagon, stopped her hands and stared blankly at Licht.

Seeing her like that, Licht spoke with a bitter expression:

“To begin with, of course, I’m staying by your side to protect you.”

“Eh… Ehhh!?”

“You’re too surprised… Sure, I did want to figure out what kind of person you are, but there’s no way I’d spend every waking moment with you just for that.”

Licht clicked his tongue as he spoke.

“Damn, if Julius hadn’t told me to let you do whatever you want freely, I wouldn’t have let you dive into a dungeon…”

Even while grumbling under his breath, he still intended to stay with Karen. To protect Karen—because Julius had asked him to.

Karen wrapped herself in a blanket she’d pulled out from the cargo loaded in the wagon and muttered while staying warm by herself:

“Master Licht, you really are a good person.”

“Hmph. I’m not doing this because I want you to think I’m a good person.”

“You want to be a good person to Mr. Julius, don’t you? What a good friend.”

If Licht, who was the same rank as Julius, was accompanying them, the safety of this journey was practically guaranteed. Karen felt relieved, and the knights also welcomed Licht’s accompaniment.

His presence apparently didn’t provoke their pride. Diving into a dungeon was that much of a life-risking endeavor.

—There was something she wanted to confirm during this rare opportunity.

Karen picked up a bundle of papers she had pulled out from the cargo along with the blanket.

“…Hm? Karen, what are you reading?”

“A thesis.”

“Do you realize you’re inside a dungeon?”

“It’s rare to be able to read an alchemy thesis about dungeons inside an actual dungeon, isn’t it?”

Karen said while keeping her eyes on the thesis.

“Is that a thesis about dungeons?”

Licht said suspiciously.

The thesis title was "Cultivation of Medicinal Herbs outside the Sphere of Influence." A renowned thesis written by B-rank master alchemist Lacker, sponsored by the Gradlia Marquis household.

As the title made clear, it was a thesis presenting research results showing that medicinal herbs could be cultivated outside the sphere of influence.

Having become B-rank, Karen could now read this thesis. She was even permitted to take out a copied version of the thesis. She had left this thesis in the tent during the monster attack and fled, but it was one of the things she went back to retrieve as preparation before diving into the dungeon.

“It also writes about dungeons. Outside the sphere of influence is said to be an environment similar to inside dungeons, isn’t it? Medicinal herbs grow there just like in dungeons.”

“Yeah. Monsters appear there too.”

“But apparently medicinal herbs can’t actually be cultivated inside a dungeon. The really fascinating part is the section describing the cultivation experiments conducted there.”

Inside dungeons, medicinal herbs sprouted everywhere in abundance. Every herb was fresh and verdant, neither in a sprout state nor grown too much and withered. Always, constantly, every herb remained in the form of fully grown cotyledons, glittering brilliantly.

At the beginning of his research, Lacker focused on one plant growing inside a dungeon and hired someone to monitor that herb to investigate where these herbs came from and where they went. But the medicinal herb being monitored inside the dungeon disappeared as if slipping past the monitor’s eyes.

So Lacker switched to research on herb cultivation outside the dungeon zone. Outside dungeon territory, at the very least, medicinal herbs didn’t disappear and eventually withered. Lacker discovered that the time until withering could be extended by providing fertilizer. He found that magic stones and monster corpses could be used as fertilizer. When the time before withering was increased, the herbs dropped seeds, or the number of herb plants increased. Even so, no one could observe herbs in the process of sprouting; they only noticed them once they had somehow already appeared.

A plant that didn’t grow while being observed.

—Was that truly a plant?

“…Phew. Famous theses really are amazing.”

Karen gulped.

Thanks to this thesis, she felt her understanding of medicinal herbs deepening. She had once written a thesis bearing Sieg’s name while citing this thesis as an example. After boasting so much about it, Karen felt bad toward Sieg because she lacked confidence that her paper had reached this level.

Medicinal herbs. If she spent time inside the dungeon, her understanding of these plants that were the raw materials for healing potions might deepen further. If her understanding of medicinal herbs deepened, Karen’s potions would likely ascend to a higher level.

Licht sighed, watching Karen, her nose tip reddened, absorbed in the thesis.

“Fine, you can do as you like, whether reading your thesis or sleeping. No matter how much you stay alert and watch your surroundings, it would just wear down your nerves and be pointless.”

“Then I’ll read the thesis.”

“The knights are giving you cold looks, though?”

Told by Licht, Karen looked ahead.

The knights walking in front took turns looking back, watching Karen with expressions asking what on earth she was doing inside a dungeon.

She became fearlessly cheerful and spoke loudly enough for them to hear:

“This is the greatest effort I can make right now. I can’t contribute anything in combat or patrols, so I’m deepening my understanding of medicinal herbs. In other words, I’m improving the quality of healing potions. Someday, that effort might save all of your lives.”

“That’s the official reason, right? So what’s the real one?”

“I want to learn everything I can learn as an alchemist during this rare opportunity to dive into a dungeon! But both reasons are genuine, you know? Saying they’re both facts might be more accurate.”

If her understanding of medicinal herbs deepened, the quality of healing potions would improve. It was a fact that if the quality of healing potions improved, more lives might be saved. It was also true that Karen simply found it immensely enjoyable.

The knights turned forward with understanding expressions. Karen looked at Licht with a bright smile, then lowered her gaze to the thesis again.

Watching her, Licht muttered quietly, "You’re too thick-skinned.”

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Alchemist Karen No Longer Compromises, Chapter 281

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Chapter Two Hundred and Eighty-One: Departure Preparations

“Going to the tenth floor of an unexplored dungeon itself isn’t difficult for us as long as we don’t fight the boss. However…”

Alban looked down at Karen with a stern expression. Having apparently shaved and perhaps having washed and slicked back his hair, he looked refreshed overall. The bearded Alban had looked to be in his late thirties, but the groomed Alban looked only to be in his mid-twenties. With his expressions now clearer, his haggard cheeks and the dark circles under his eyes revealed the extent of his mental strain. It was obvious he was deliberately lowering his voice to sound more imposing.

“However, once we must protect someone unable to fight, the difficulty increases dramatically. For us to protect you without a single injury, we need you to follow our instructions, Miss Karen.”

“Understood.”

To Alban, who spoke with particular gravity, Karen nodded obediently.

She was basically baggage. So following their instructions would be the best course of action.

“Monsters seem foolish but are cunning. When they see a group, they target the weak first.”

“They target the weak? That’s clever. But why call them foolish?”

“Even if the opponent is strong, they come at you without fearing death. Even when the difference in strength is clear. What else would you call that but foolish?”

“Ah… It’s like monsters live to die, isn’t it?”

“What?”

“Um, never mind.”

When Karen spoke, remembering her dialogue with the pegasus from some time ago, Alban looked puzzled.

How much of monster ecology had been revealed in this world? At least Alban had apparently never conversed with a monster like the pegasus.

—For someone around D-rank in ability, that was probably normal.

Monsters that understood human language were advanced. Naturally, they normally only existed on the eleventh floor and below. So high-ranking adventurers might know about it.

“I’ve obtained a riding dragon from Lord Helfried. Now we can bring wine with us.”

“Knight Captain…”

“Knight Captain…”

Gottfried, who had seemed busy making preparations, returned leading the riding dragon by the reins with a pleased expression.

Completely unfazed by Karen’s lukewarm gaze and Alban’s astonished stare, Gottfried said:

“Miss Karen, you should ride in the wagon. Monsters target the weak, but those who are too weak are apparently difficult for them to notice. When monsters do approach, stick close to the riding dragon. The riding dragon’s magical power will mask you, making it harder for monsters to perceive you.”

“So you prepared the riding dragon for Miss Karen.”

Alban said with apparent relief.

Gottfried averted his eyes slightly as he nodded, then cleared his throat and spoke:

“This hiding method is said to be effective even after being visually spotted by a monster. There’s a story of an adventurer on the verge of death being chased by a bugbear. After hiding beneath the corpse of a dead forest bear, the bugbear that had been pursuing him suddenly lost track of him.”

“I’ve heard that. There’s also the story that when an overly strong adventurer is nearby, weak adventurers actually become harder for monsters to notice.”

That was why weak adventurers wanted to be near strong adventurers. But from a strong adventurer’s perspective, they would be annoying remoras.

“Normally, however, the weak just get attacked by monsters and die first. Well, remember this for desperate times, Miss Karen.”

“Yes.”

Karen nodded obediently to Gottfried’s words as well.

“We just need to watch the entrance, right?”

“Lady Petra, Lady Rosine, please.”

Karen nodded to Petra and bowed her head to Rosine as well. She planned to have the two of them wait outside the dungeon.

“It seems Sir Alban and the Third Unit members are being targeted by someone. I don’t know by whom or why they’re being targeted, but it would help if you two could block the entrance so that whoever it is doesn’t follow us.”

“If that’s the case, leave it to me.”

“I shall do so too.”

In truth, she was leaving them behind so the knights wouldn’t have more people to protect besides Karen. Although Petra and Rosine were apparently among the stronger young ladies, they weren’t as strong as the knights. In that case, from the knights’ perspective, they would only be subjects to protect.

“If something happens and you consume your potions on hand, please let me know. I’ll take responsibility and replenish them later.”

“Really!? Then cosmetic water! I want soap and face powder too!”

“By ‘something,’ I meant if an emergency occurs… but well, fine.”

To Petra’s frank demand, Karen nodded.

“If you’ll blockade the dungeon entrance, I’ll present you both with a year’s supply of Lady Waltride’s royal seal cosmetics set.”

“A year!? That hard-to-obtain cosmetic!?”

“Ah, I can’t make it all at once, okay? There’s an expiration date, and I’ll make seasonal adjustments, so it’ll be each time.”

“That’s fine! Totally fine! I’ll guard the dungeon gate with everything I’ve got!”

“I shall show you a perfect defense, Lady Karen.”

While Petra got excited, Rosine’s expression became determined.

Karen made sure to tell them just in case.

“You don’t need to defend it to the death, okay? Value your lives.”

“Beauty is more important than life…! Ow.”

When Karen reflexively chopped Petra, Rosine immediately took a defensive stance to protect her own forehead. Rosine apparently belonged to the same category as Petra.

Petra glared at Karen.

“W-What was that for…!?”

“I apologize for being rude to a noble young lady. But I don’t want you saying things like ‘my life doesn’t matter.’ I told you before, didn’t I?”

Now that Karen had become a B-rank alchemist, chopping a noble young lady wouldn’t immediately end everything. Even so, Petra could certainly have reprimanded Karen for it. However, Petra did not scold Karen and instead eventually looked up at her with a sulky expression.

“…True, you need more than just a pretty face to marry a good man.”

“Why are you saying that while looking at me?”

“I’m not saying it’s bad, but if you ask if you’re beautiful, well, not quite. Oh, but your skin is incredibly beautiful…! How frustrating. Despite the shortages, you’re using plenty of beauty potions on yourself, aren’t you!?”

Karen meekly accepted having her face firmly grabbed by Petra.

“I am using them. My face is like an advertisement for my products, after all.”

“Hmph.”

After staring intently at Karen’s face as if displeased, Petra said:

“…You should value your own life too.”

Saying this, she released Karen’s face with a light push.

“I have to receive the cosmetics set as payment. It’ll be a problem if you don’t come back alive.”

Rosine, who had been watching Petra’s profile closely, covered her mouth and tattled to Karen:

“Lady Karen, Lady Petra seems to be worried about you. Moreover, she’s embarrassed about saying something she’s not used to saying.”

“Lady Rosine! Don’t say unnecessary things!”

“I merely thought it would be terrible if there were misunderstandings!”

Looking down at the girls arguing noisily, Karen chuckled and said:

“I’ll definitely come back, so please take care of things here.”

“Leave it to us, Lady Karen. When you return, I would like to discuss business regarding your potions.”

Karen looked puzzled at Rosine’s words but nodded.

“Understood. I’m looking forward to hearing what kind of discussion it will be.”

Creating several reasons to return, reasons to be wanted back, Karen finished preparing for departure.

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