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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 35
Chapter Title: A Breakthrough and a Revelation
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Chapter 35
I’ll admit you’re handsome, but when did I ever say I liked it *that* much?
Don’t make things up.
“If my money runs out and my looks fade, I might be thrown away. I’ll have to work hard to maintain both from now on.”
Unbelievable. It was so absurd I let out a dry laugh.
Of course, it was me who benefited from him having both, so instead of denying it, I decided to change the subject.
“The blessing is gone, but you don’t seem to be in much pain.”
Seeing as you have the energy to keep spouting nonsense.
“Hmm, the black smudges are certainly moving much slower than before.”
I glanced at the smudges swirling around him.
They were more active than when the blessing had been in effect, but it was a vast improvement from when he wasn’t even wearing the holy relic.
Back then, Lute had looked as if he were being crushed by those smudges.
And yet, he never showed it, aside from the occasional tremor in his hand.
He was truly one of a kind.
“Oh, it’s not bad. It’s just that I’ve already tasted the sweetness of a life without any pain. I don’t think I can ever go back, you see.”
Lute caressed the holy relic on his neck and smiled beautifully.
“It seems my body can no longer function without you, Saintess.”
“…”
As a detective, I’d built up considerable mental fortitude and rarely fell for such temptations.
I never imagined I’d come so close to crumbling before a handsome face in my second life…
“…Enough with the nonsense. Just give me the necklace. If you’re in pain, the first thing you should think of is getting a blessing.”
I forced myself to look away from Lute, who was smiling intentionally.
This world had too many beautiful people—not just Lute, but Airic and Seth, too.
And they were all around me.
To live a smooth second life, I needed an unwavering mind that couldn't be swayed by pretty faces. Don’t you have a skill for that?
【AI system is currently analyzing…】
【No significant issues have been detected in the user’s mental state. A mental fortitude update will be scheduled if a problem arises. Please be advised.】
I breathed a huge sigh of relief at the AI’s confirmation.
I could worry a little less about being swayed by good looks.
“Ah, I’d like to, but there’s a problem. People are heading this way.”
Who’s coming?
I turned my head quizzically at Lute’s words.
Sure enough, it wasn’t long before a commotion erupted from outside the door. The voices were familiar.
“Wait, the Saintess is currently with a guest…!”
“Saintess! Please, spare us a moment! It’s urgent!”
The booming voice that cut through Victoria’s attempts to stop them belonged to none other than Zenric.
“Potions! We’ve finally created a potion of marketable quality!”
He came bearing incredible news.
“Now? No, wait a moment.”
I shot up at the unexpected news, ready to rush to the door, but then I stopped.
It was joyous news, but blessing Lute’s body was a much higher priority.
“Oh, I’m fine.”
Lute waved his hand, seeming to have read my thoughts.
“I was hoping to see the potion myself, anyway. The pain is bearable, so don’t worry about me and see to your guests first.”
He did have a point. As a business partner, Lute had a right to inspect the potion.
Still, his pain concerned me more.
“But the blessing will only take a moment, so if you’d just…”
“No. I’ll see the potion first.”
But when he refused so firmly, what could I do?
“If you insist, then I’m sorry, but we’ll look at the potion first.”
I opened the door.
The three members of the potion-making team were standing there, blocked by Victoria, bawling their eyes out.
To be precise, only Zenric was crying.
“Please, come in.”
I patted Victoria’s shoulder, thanking her for her trouble, and let the three of them inside.
They strode in confidently, only to freeze stiff the moment they saw Lute lounging on the sofa.
Lana, who recognized him, went pale in an instant.
“I-I-I’m so sorry! I-I had no idea your guest was the Duke! I truly apologize for the intrusion!”
Bowing repeatedly to Lute and me, Lana shot a sharp glare at Zenric and Wolfgang.
The two men hastily clasped their hands and bowed their heads.
“We’re sorry!”
“We’re truly sorry!”
The pecking order was clearly established.
“This works out well. Let me introduce you. This is Duke Lute Ciel, who will be distributing the potions you’ve created to the public.”
“Gasp! The-the Duke?!”
Lana looked like she was about to faint.
I guess I never explained that part. Airic must not have told them, either.
I scratched my head and turned my gaze to Wolfgang, who seemed the calmest of the three.
“Wolfgang, tell me about the new potion.”
“…”
What, why isn’t he answering?
“Wolfgang? …Where are his eyes focused?”
Confused, I looked again and realized the guy had passed out with his eyes wide open, a calm expression on his face.
What, was meeting Lute that much of a shock? Didn’t he come here on Lute’s recommendation?
I didn’t know the reason, but he was clearly in no state to explain, so I looked at Zenric.
It turned out that the one who had been sobbing his heart out was the most composed of them all.
“Zenric, would you care to explain?”
“Ah, yes. I was hoping I could be the one to do it!”
Thankfully, Zenric wiped his tears and immediately got to it.
He placed a potion on the table in front of the sofa where Lute and I were sitting. It was orange, just like the first sample, but the color was much deeper this time.
“I’ve mentioned it before, haven’t I? That with the right combination, the Amin flower and Lindal herb could produce the greatest effects, not poison.”
“Those two plants?”
Lute, hearing this for the first time, expressed his doubt.
He, too, was apparently well aware that combining those two plants created a potent poison.
“Yes. It’s a fact I discovered after two years of research.”
“Oh, so you finally found the right ratio?”
Zenric shook his head at my question.
“No, unfortunately, I haven’t found it yet. Instead, I found a new ingredient that harmonizes their effects, regardless of the ratio!”
He exclaimed with a vibrant expression, pulling a flower stem from his pocket.
“This is it!”
“Huh, is that…?”
A flower with clusters of orange blossoms, each the size of a thumbnail.
It was none other than the Hias flower, which grew exclusively in the Grand Temple of the Sun God.
“You don’t mean you used this?”
“Yes! The effect was incredible!”
Zenric’s explanation could be summarized as follows.
While researching divine power for the potion-making process, he discovered that the Sun God’s divine power had strong healing properties and harmonized well with other forces without much resistance.
So, he tried adding the Hias flower, which contained divine power.
After countless frantic experiments with Lana and Wolfgang, they found that, as expected, the divine power of the Hias flower neutralized the toxicity of the other two plants.
“Of course, I’ll continue to search for the perfect ratio. Once I find that, what we’ll have will literally be the ultimate potion.”
Zenric beamed, a refreshingly bright smile on his face.
I didn’t think I’d ever seen him look so cheerful.
“So, this has Hias flowers, Amin flowers, and Lindal herbs in it? How effective is it?”
“It’s at least five times better than the sample I showed you last time. It’s good enough to be sold as a prototype.”
Five times better. That was truly impressive.
And if I added my blessing to this?
The effect might be astronomical.
I patted Zenric’s shoulder, my face beaming with joy.
“All three of you have worked very hard. Now that you’ve succeeded in developing a prototype, you’ll receive a bonus.”
“Sniff, Saintess, you’re the best. I will continue to serve you for the rest of my life.”
Deeply moved by the perfect financial therapy, Zenric shed streams of tears. He then patted the back of the still-dazed Wolfgang.
“Did you hear that? We did it! Let’s keep up the good work and pull more all-nighters!”
No, you don’t wait until you’re dead to sleep.
But seeing as even Lana, who had briefly lost her composure, was now smiling slyly, I doubted they would listen. In the end, I let them be.
The three soon left the reception room after apologizing again for the intrusion.
“I was worried because the two alchemists the Duke found for us have completely different personalities from our own, but they’re working together very well now.”
I said to Lute with a smile after seeing the three of them off.
“Thank you for finding such good alchemists.”
“It wasn’t that difficult, actually. In fact, Wolfgang Schmidt was a talent we had been keeping an eye on.”
This was news to me.
“Really?”
“He’s a genius so brilliant that other alchemists refuse to let him into their circles out of jealousy. Well, his rigid and inflexible nature also played a part.”
“Then why didn’t you hire him?”
“The reason I was looking for an alchemist was for my illness. After my falling out with the Great Sea God’s side, they were my only remaining hope.”
It seemed that after trying all the potions on the market to no avail, he had resorted to seeking out unconventional alchemists like Wolfgang.
“But right before I hired Wolfgang Schmidt, I happened to come across an ancient text.”
“An ancient text?”
“Yes. It was an ancient text written about the Holy Relic of Light.”
My expression hardened at Lute’s next words.
