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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 33
Chapter Title: An Unexpected Breakthrough
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“I can’t believe I’m doing this.”
I really don’t want to be doing this, either.
But I can’t just go around injuring people to test a potion’s effects.
If I did, rumors would fly that the Saintess was on a rampage again.
Besides, there’s another reason I have to do this alone.
[Activating skill ‘Blessing’.]
I imbued the potion with my blessing.
A reddish hue tinged the once bright-orange liquid.
This was what I’d been curious about from the start.
If a blessed divine object could ease Lute’s pain, couldn’t it also affect a potion?
Without hesitation, I drank the potion.
It somehow felt smoother going down than before.
And the effect was just as noticeable.
“Wow, this is better.”
The wound on my left forearm, which had been dripping with blood, began to heal at a visibly rapid pace.
It took just over a minute to heal to the point where only a reddish mark remained.
It was nothing compared to the speed of the potions Idella made in the original story, but considering it was a blessing from a Saintess with only 10% of her divine power, the effect was remarkable.
If I used it on a better potion, the efficacy would surely multiply.
“From now on, I’ll just have to bless them all before they’re distributed.”
However, I can’t let Airic find out I’m using my blessing, so I’ll have to do it in secret.
But how?
I stared at the potion, my mind racing.
Hah, I don’t know why I have to lie so much in my second life.
* * *
“This isn’t it either.”
The potion laboratory.
After getting the first sample approved by Saintess Ordel, the production team ramped up their research to improve the potion.
Ordel had told them to take their time, but the alchemists, mad for their research, were cooped up with potions all day.
It was because no matter how much they researched, they couldn’t produce anything better than the potions sold by practicing alchemists.
“It’s infused with the Sun God’s divine power, so it should naturally be superior to an alchemical potion.”
Zenric tore at his hair.
The result was certain, but not knowing the process was driving him mad.
“If I could just find the right mixture ratio for these two ingredients, I could perfect it…!”
“Have you still not given up on mixing those incompatible ingredients?”
Wolfgang, whose face was just as dark and haggard as Zenric’s, clicked his tongue.
“The fact that Amin flowers and Rindal herbs become poison when mixed is common knowledge even to non-alchemists. Isn’t it time you gave up this stubbornness?”
The Amin flower, with its stabilizing properties, and the Rindal herb, with its hemostatic effects, were both common ingredients in potion-making.
But surprisingly, when mixed, they created a potent poison.
So many had died from unknowingly using them together that it had become common knowledge even among the general public.
That was why Wolfgang was so frustrated with Zenric, who couldn’t seem to let it go.
“This isn’t stubbornness. And it’s not me being unreasonable, either.”
Zenric ran a hand roughly through his hair.
“I was once so curious about why those two plants were incompatible that I spent about two years digging into it…”
Wolfgang didn’t snidely ask if he’d really spent two whole years on something so pointless.
For alchemists who couldn’t stand not knowing something, it was a common occurrence.
“If you look at the components themselves, there’s nothing that conflicts. In fact, they’re a perfect match.”
“Really?”
“Yes. The reason it becomes toxic is that if one side is even slightly excessive, the effect becomes too powerful.”
A stronger medicinal effect isn’t always a good thing.
Sometimes, an excess can actually worsen an illness.
“So, if we just get the mixture right, everything will be solved.”
It would require a precise mixture, with the ratio of the two ingredients differing by decimal points.
Honestly, it was no different from grunt work, but Zenric was determined to succeed.
If I can’t even solve a curiosity like this, how can I call myself an alchemist?
Wolfgang sighed at the sight of Zenric clenching his fists.
“…What will you do if you ultimately fail and the Saintess kicks you out? For now, please solve the potion’s performance issue first.”
“Hey! Don’t be such a downer!”
Zenric’s voice rose slightly at the discouraging remark.
“…A-are you two fighting right now?”
Lana, who had been buried in a book in a corner of the lab, asked timidly.
Zenric and Wolfgang, who had become acutely attuned to her voice since the marble-shattering incident, immediately denied it.
“Fighting? I was just expressing my disappointment!”
“I was just worried the Saintess might kick him out.”
As they earnestly insisted they weren’t fighting at all, Lana’s face broke into a relieved smile.
“That’s a relief…!”
We’re the ones who are relieved. We managed to calm her down before she raised her fists.
Zenric and Wolfgang secretly sighed in relief.
“And… the Saintess wouldn’t kick us out just because we failed to produce results.”
Lana said then, her voice uncharacteristically firm.
It was a surprising statement from someone who was usually quite scared of the Saintess.
“…I-I just think the current Saintess wouldn’t do that.”
As Zenric and Wolfgang’s eyes widened, Lana blushed and lowered her head.
Come to think of it, they said the current Ordel had turned over a new leaf.
We’d been warned several times here to be careful, as her true personality was terrifying.
They said she was scarier than Lana, so just how scary could she be?
The two men simultaneously glanced at the marble floor Lana had destroyed.
The repairs still weren’t finished, and the memory of that day came rushing back.
‘If Priestess Lana can do this, couldn’t the Saintess, with her far greater divine power, destroy not just the floor, but a pillar, or even the whole building?’
The thought sent a sudden chill down their spines.
They silently vowed never to mess with Ordel, just as they wouldn’t with Lana.
* * *
“Oh, Saintess.”
I was having tea in the garden with Monica and Victoria when I turned my head.
Zenric was trudging toward us, his face dark and haggard.
“…I thought I told you sleep wasn’t something you do when you’re dead.”
“The research isn’t progressing, so I just can’t bring myself to sleep…”
Seeing his bitter smile, I sighed and patted the seat next to me.
“Come, have a cup of tea and rest a bit.”
Zenric didn’t refuse. He slowly walked over and plopped down. He looked like a zombie.
“Problems are often solved not when you’re racking your brain, but when you’re taking a break.”
I comforted him. In truth, I was in the same boat.
I couldn’t for the life of me think of an excuse for blessing the potions, so I’d ended up idling outside like this.
Still, I wasn’t particularly anxious.
It was the same in my past life when I was tracking murderers. I could never think of a way to catch them while agonizing at my desk, but the idea would flash into my mind when I took a short break to cool my head.
Of all places, it happened in the shower.
I have a heartwarming memory of almost running out naked if my junior hadn’t stopped me.
“So you should also have some tea and take a breather.”
“Yes, thank you.”
Zenric took a sip of the tea Monica had poured for him.
Perhaps thanks to the warm drink, a bit of color returned to his face.
“Come to think of it, I don’t know how long it’s been since I last took a break.”
“We barely get any visitors as it is. If a corpse turns up here, we’re truly done for. Work at a leisurely pace before you drop dead.”
Zenric burst out laughing at my advice.
He’s laughing? I’m not joking, I’m serious.
“I’ll have to do that from now on. Taking a break feels this good.”
Zenric, still believing I was joking, spoke comfortably.
“By the way, what is this tea? It’s my first time trying it, but the flavor really clings to the tongue. It feels like it’s calming my mind, too.”
“It’s a tea made from dried Hias flower petals. They only grow here at the Sun God’s Grand Temple.”
In a Grand Temple where flowers had all but withered away, the Hias flower was the sole survivor.
That’s because this flower can grow on its own with just sunlight and the Sun God’s divine power.
As long as the sun doesn’t disappear, this flower will never vanish from this place.
“It’s a flower that holds divine power, so it brings peace to the mind and body. The perfect tea for someone whose head is about to explode, right?”
“Yes, it is… Huh? Did you say this flower holds divine power?”
“Yup. The Grand Temple of the Great Sea God probably has its own flower or plant that holds divine power, too.”
“That’s right. They have a tree. A guardian tree, I think?”
Monica nodded in affirmation.
“A flower that holds divine power…”
Zenric muttered blankly.
A sudden, immense madness began to radiate from his fatigue-ridden orange eyes.
What the, that’s scary.
