Chapter One Hundred and Twenty-Seven: Successful Creation
“Ms. Karen, it seems the time has finally come for us to discuss alchemy together!”
At night, when Karen returned to the alchemy workshop, Yuluyana was waiting for her. Karen said with a wry smile:
“Master. I’d love to talk with you, but I have to participate in the dungeon investigation, and since I don’t know how long it will take, I need to make a large quantity of fever-reducing potions for the children suffering from the Bloodline Blessing before I go.”
Karen herself had many things she wanted to discuss with Yuluyana for research purposes. But the Gubert Trading Company was obstructing that. However, even if she hadn’t been recommended by the Gubert Trading Company, she probably would have ended up participating anyway for Waltride’s sake, since Waltride was participating.
“Then let’s talk while you make them!”
“It’s… not impossible, but won’t the quality drop?”
“I’ll also teach you how to make various potions that will be useful for dungeon expeditions! Let’s talk! With me!”
Yuluyana really wanted to talk with Karen. For him, alchemy was more important than anything else, and everything else didn’t matter. Karen proceeded with preparations for potion creation while asking casually:
“What do you want to talk about with me, Master?”
“About the ‘understanding’ that became the reason you ascended a step.”
“…How do you know that ‘understanding’ was the reason I ascended a step? Other people think it’s proof that the goddess recognized my protest against the Gubert Trading Company.”
Karen knew such rumors were circulating, yet she let them spread without denying them—because she was angry too.
“Well, you’re an alchemist. When it comes to ascending steps, it’s always due to ‘understanding’ of alchemy. So what exactly did you ‘understand’?”
Yuluyana asked with an excited expression. Karen opened her mouth to answer that question—and closed it.
“…Um.”
For some reason, she didn’t want to say it. Yuluyana was her alchemy master, and as his disciple, Karen should tell him about her alchemical situation and seek his guidance. Even when she opened her mouth, no words came out. It wasn’t that she couldn’t say it. If she wanted to say it, she probably could. The herbs had transformed—into something other than potions.
And yet, that simple fact was something she just couldn’t bring herself to say.
“Hmm. You really did ascend a step through ‘understanding.’”
“Master? Um, what do you mean by that?”
“I think you’ll understand if you think about it a little, Ms. Karen. You ascended a step through ‘understanding’—meaning that ‘understanding’ has enough value to allow one to ascend a step. The goddess is stopping you from carelessly spreading something of such value.”
“The goddess is stopping me?”
“We call it the ‘goddess’s restriction.’ I don’t recommend breaking through that restraint. It means going against the goddess’s will.”
Karen fell silent. And then she immediately opened her mouth about a different matter:
“So that’s why knowledge is kept secret? Knowledge is something that should deepen the more it spreads.”
“I don’t know if it deepens, but I think you’re right with that way of thinking.”
“The access restrictions on reading academic papers as well?”
“Yes. Although there are the goddess’s restrictions, they become looser for documents. The goddess also permits those who absolutely cannot reach understanding on their own to receive help from documents. However, if you try to read documents to gain knowledge beyond your capacity, your eyes will slide right over them.”
“I’m hearing about this for the first time…”
When Karen said this in amazement, Yuluyana grinned broadly.
“It’s a truth of the world that only those who have ascended a step of understanding are permitted to know! Welcome, Ms. Karen. I thought you would eventually come to this side.”
Even though she was busy, Karen nodded in bewilderment, thinking it was good to know this, even if it meant stopping her work. The truth of the world—the world’s secrets. Karen had touched them. That’s why the goddess permitted her to ascend a step.
With the sensation of crossing a great line, Karen shivered. The depths of her chest were bubbling with heat. She wanted to use that heat for something immediately.
“Please try making a healing potion, Ms. Karen. Before making potions for work, let’s accurately measure your current abilities.”
“Yes, Master.”
Karen nodded obediently and began making a healing potion. A healing potion made using herbs that Harald had gathered, following the usual procedure. Yuluyana narrowed his eyes behind his appraisal mirror glasses and grinned.
“—Magnificent, Ms. Karen.”
“No way.”
Karen also hurriedly appraised the healing potion she had created with her appraisal mirror and was speechless for a while.
Herbal Potion
Healing Effect (Medium)
“…A medium healing potion.”
“Normally, to become able to make medium healing potions, one must first find a magical ingredient that resonates with one’s own magical power to amplify the potion’s strength. To think you made a medium healing potion by yourself! Ms. Karen, you are indeed different from other humans in some way!”
After praising Karen unreservedly, Yuluyana looked toward the door with half-closed eyes.
“Which makes it all the more regrettable that you keep someone near who shouldn’t be kept close, wasting time on him.”
When Karen looked in that direction too, Harald was standing frozen by the alchemy workshop door. In his hands was a tray with two cups on it. He had probably brought tea for Karen and Yuluyana, who were doing alchemy until late at night.
“Master, Harald helps me. You must have assistants too, don’t you?”
“Of course I do, but they’re not useless people without magical power.”
“Because he has almost no magical power, I can entrust him with herb gathering! Besides, Harald can do anything that doesn’t require magical power!”
“I think what can be done without magical power is limited.”
When Karen glared at Yuluyana with a sullen expression, Yuluyana sighed and backed down. Yuluyana and Harald were always like this. He was just indulgent toward Karen, so he allowed Karen’s selfishness. He wasn’t accepting Karen’s words. Karen sighed inwardly.
“Harald, give me the tea. I was just getting thirsty.”
“Y-Yes…”
“Thank you for bringing it. This is honey lemon water, isn’t it?”
“Yes. Um, I was taught that it’s effective for fatigue recovery.”
When Harald recited what he had learned from Karen while shrinking back, Yuluyana snorted through his nose.
“That’s only when it’s made into a potion.”
“No, Master. Even without making it into a potion, honey lemon has fatigue recovery effects!”
“Hmm, is that so?”
After giving Yuluyana, who had made the mistake yet responded with feigned disinterest, a sharp glance, Karen took a sip of the honey lemon water—and her eyes widened.
“This… did you put magical power into it while pouring the hot water?”
“Yes. Um, I tried to learn with my body exactly what you taught me, Lady Karen… er, my magical power is small, so I couldn’t put much in… was it bad?”
Without even looking at Harald, who asked fearfully while minding Yuluyana’s gaze, Karen was staring intently at the contents of the cup in her hand.
“Um, Lady Karen?”
Karen took another sip of the honey lemon water, confirmed the clearly different effect on her body compared to when she drank ordinary honey lemon water, then peered at the honey lemon water through her appraisal mirror and gasped.
Karen was more astonished than when her own healing potion had become a medium healing potion.
Honey Lemon Water
Recovers fatigue (Small)
The honey lemon stock was something Karen had made. But that was still just material whose effects hadn’t been determined.
From there, whether to make it into a fever-reducing potion, an immune-boosting potion, or a fatigue recovery potion would be determined by infusing magical power from now on. Even though Karen hadn’t infused magical power, the honey lemon water that Harald had made had become a non-magical material potion.
Why? How come? Karen’s head filled with question marks.
But more than anything, Karen’s eyes filled with tears of joy for Harald’s sake. Being stared at with teary eyes, Harald still didn’t understand what had happened and looked up at Karen with a blank expression.
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