Chapter One Hundred and Sixty-Four: Alchemists’ Dream
“Extermination complete!”
At Therese’s words, Dorotea in particular let out a loud cheer. Irmlinde and Waltride also looked pleased, and Karen secretly pumped her fist as well.
“With this, if we post guards at the entrance, we’ll be able to enjoy the hot spring.”
Hot springs apparently bubbled up here and there throughout the Rock Labyrinth.
After exterminating all the monsters at a hot spring in a dead end, if they posted guards at the entrance to prevent anyone from entering, neither monsters nor people could cross over the rocks—allowing them to bathe safely.
Several dead ends utilized this characteristic and were constantly managed with guards so that even nobles and non-combatant merchants could use the hot springs.
The dead end where Karen’s group currently was was one of the natural hot springs that everyone used and wasn’t managed that way—a place frequently used by adventurers, especially female adventurers, apparently.
“We will stand guard, so please, everyone, relax and enjoy yourselves.”
“What will you lot do?”
Waltride tilted her head slightly at Therese’s words.
“We will bathe later. We’ll split the party in half and won’t neglect guarding you, so we hope you’ll permit this.”
“Of course, I permit it. You could even join us.”
“We couldn’t possibly have men stand guard while Your Highness bathes.”
No wonder Julius hadn’t been visible for a while. He apparently was refraining from even entering this area.
“I see. Well then, I’ll leave it to you.”
Waltride nodded and excitedly entered the rocky hot spring.
Dorotea and Irmlinde followed after her, carrying the bathing supplies they had prepared.
“Lady Karen, won’t you join us?”
“I’m not of a station to bathe together with Her Highness and noble young ladies.”
Honestly, if it were just Waltride, Karen could have entered without hesitation, but she couldn’t be that familiar with Dorotea and Irmlinde. Something was wrong with that… Karen herself thought so.
She took out from her bag what she had prepared at the time when the Jade Droplet adventurers were clearing out the monsters in the dead end.
“Please take these. They’re soap. I’m giving them to you, so please use them.”
“Huh? Are you sure?”
“Lady Karen, we thought you didn’t like our leader?”
Therese’s companions accepted the soaps from Karen with puzzled looks. She handed out the colorful soaps to whoever seemed to suit each color best.
“This is a personal thank you for guiding us to the hot spring that adventurers use, so we could bathe.”
“Are you really sure I can have one too, Lady Karen? I can feel magical power in this—it’s a soap potion, isn’t it?”
“If I gave soap to everyone except you, Lady Therese, it would look like bullying, right?”
Karen said flatly. Therese examined the blue soap in her palm from every angle and said:
“It’s a very beautiful color. But it doesn’t have much fragrance, does it?”
“I thought unscented would be better for adventurers.”
“You’re quite right. Strongly scented cosmetics can sometimes attract monsters in dungeons, so even though noble cosmetics have good ingredients, we can’t really use them. Your consideration is much appreciated.”
The blue soap was a sea-like shade of light blue. Karen had actually wanted to make it a lighter blue, closer to the sky’s blue. But the color adjustment hadn’t gone well—it was a failed product.
Seeing how well the sea-blue soap matched Therese’s ocean-colored hair, Karen couldn’t help but secretly smile at herself, wondering for whom she had really made it.
Karen entered the hot spring as Waltride and her maids left.
Although she felt a bit uneasy about undressing and leaving herself defenseless inside a dungeon, there would still be some time before new monsters appeared. Besides, this eighth floor was known for having far fewer monsters than before. Moving hesitantly, she undressed and placed her clothes, shoes, and belongings a short distance away where they wouldn’t get wet.
Once she undressed, it felt chilly. The temperature felt lower than on the first floor. When she plunged her arm into the water, it was a bit hot. Karen splashed the water on her body, then hurriedly washed her entire body with soap and soaked in the hot spring.
“Ahh…”
With a melting voice, Karen sank up to her shoulders. The water was cloudy and milky white, but it wasn’t dirty. No matter how much adventurers and monsters destroyed the dungeon or stained it with blood, it tried to return to its original form.
So the hot spring here was apparently always in a clean state. It also had a smell she remembered from a famous hot spring resort in her previous life, so this cloudiness was probably the color of sulfur.
“Sulfur, huh…”
Karen scooped the water into her palm and murmured.
In the alchemy of her previous life, there was an era when the materials for the Philosopher’s Stone were said to be "mercury" and "sulfur." The alchemists of the old world believed that beyond ordinary mercury and sulfur, there existed special, mystical versions of them.
They believed that all matter in existence was formed from these two special substances, and by studying every kind of material to extract the ideal mercury and sulfur, alchemists sought to create the Philosopher’s Stone.
It was believed that the best materials for extracting these special elements were silver and gold—silver yielded the special mercury, and gold, the special sulfur.
The process of creating the Philosopher’s Stone was called the Great Work—Magnus Opus—by those alchemists. It was every alchemist’s dream.
“I wonder if it’s really possible to make a Philosopher’s Stone…”
In this world too, the "Philosopher’s Stone" existed as a legendary item. Not as something alchemists could make, but as a gift from the goddess given for conquering dungeons or ascending the ranks—it appeared in fairy tales. In those tales, the Philosopher’s Stone was depicted as a magical stone that could grant any wish.
For example, it could grant immortality, create gold from base metals, or allow one to ascend the ranks and meet the goddess. This world was a fantasy world of swords and magic. The Philosopher’s Stone might truly exist here. In that case… Karen gulped as she stared at the cloudy hot spring water.
“…I’d like to try making one.”
“Making what?”
“Eek!?”
Looking down at Karen, who had screamed when called out to from behind, Therese said with a chuckle:
“I apologize for startling you, Lady Karen.”
When Karen spun around, there stood Therese, stark naked, with a beaming smile.
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