Chapter 43 Poison Potion
After giving Lukas my homemade healing potion, I told Lukas that I had something to ask my mentor, who had just woken up, and asked him to leave first. I hesitated to tell Lukas about Elvira's Self-destruction disease, as it was just my personal feeling without much basis.
My Mentor seemed to have figured out most of it from my actions, as when Lukas left the hut, it was not me who spoke, but her.
"What happened with the Self-destruction disease?"
"...I obtained a rare monster's horn, so I'm currently working hard on synthesizing a new medicine based on it. However, it's not going smoothly."
My Mentor just nodded at my response, showing no particular reaction. As expected, I suppose.
My mentor seemed to intend to end the conversation with that response, but I persisted and took it out of my bag.
"Just in case, I brought something crushed."
I handed over a medicine packet wrapped in powder. my mentor accepted it, immediately transferred it to a transparent container, and examined the powder from various angles with great interest. Her red eyes seemed to sparkle, revealing her curiosity about the new synthesis material.
My mentor is a renowned alchemist, and her celebrated skills are supported by her innate curiosity. When she is interested in something, she delves into it until she finds an answer, truly a "researcher" type.
My mentor naturally smiled when she became interested in the monster's horn as a synthesis material.
――I was planning to ask for help from my mentor from the beginning. If my mentor is interested, things will be easier.
Swiftly, I took out a notebook from my bag and handed it over. It only had a few pages with ink, recording the synthesis method as instructed by Arnold.
"It seems like the main effect is not just the enhancement of other effects. This is a record of the synthesis method so far."
My mentor flipped through the pages of the notebook with interest. Her red eyes were busy following the words on the pages.
"However, none of the healing potions can be prescribed to Elvira... the patient yet."
"After all, the stronger the effect, the more concerns arise about its impact on a young body."
My mentor placed a hand on her chin, lost in thought, and kept stroking her cheek with her thumb.
In the container, she kept comparing the powder inside with my notes, muttering something to herself. Despite feeling hesitant to interrupt my mentor's thoughts, I decided to speak up and convey one more thing.
"Also, I remembered one more thing. It's said that in the city of Flaria, there is a spring rumored to cure a rare disease."
After a few seconds, my mentor seemed to realize its significance and asked, "Is it 'The Drinking Water of the Spirits'?" I nodded slowly in response to the question posed.
"This is something written in the book of legends borrowed from you, Mentor."
"I see," My Mentor responded with a subdued tone. She probably thinks there's no hope. Certainly, without memories of my past life, it would have been difficult to believe in the legend that the spring water labeled as 'The Drinking Water of the Spirits' has the power to cure incurable diseases. However, I know. In 'Last Brave,' there truly exists an item called 'The Drinking Water of the Spirits,' and it had effects worthy of being called a panacea.
――That being said, if I were to explain the reason outright, I would be seen as just a crazy girl. I decided it's not a topic to dwell on too long.
"Oh, Mentor. There's one more thing I'd like to discuss... about poison. Could you tell me about it?"
I forcefully changed the subject.
Poison - it's the complete opposite of a healing potion. It's something meant to harm others. As someone aspiring to be an alchemist, I needed a certain level of knowledge about poisonous plants, but when it came to synthesizing them into poison, it was a bit beyond my expertise.
I only recently started to take an interest in poisons, which are outside my field of expertise. ――I, who possess neither magic power nor simple strength, thought it might be the only means of defense against monsters.
"What's this? Why does my disciple have such dangerous interests?"
"I've encountered monster attacks twice, so I thought I should at least have some form of resistance... but I haven't studied poisonous plants much."
The attacks in the royal capital of Savila and the snowy town of Platonovena.
The moment I started thinking about direct ways to counter monsters was after facing a monster in Platonovena. Back then, I was defenseless. I couldn't use magic or swords, healing potions were useless, I was just an ordinary girl.
Initially, I believed that fighting monsters was beyond the scope of an alchemist. While that may be true, I strongly felt the need to at least learn some self-defense techniques to momentarily distract a monster when the time came, starting from that day.
Unfortunately, I had no talent for swords or magic. So, I wondered what I did have. Finally, I "remembered" its existence.
There should have been an item in "Last Brave" that could be thrown at enemies for a group attack, a poison potion!
I desperately tried to recall how to obtain the poison potion.
In the dungeon, I remember getting items from a treasure chest. Also, I should have bought something from a shady potion shop. And if I put the ingredients into the magic pot Granny gave me, she'll synthesize it for me!
If my memory serves me right. Or if there's no difference between the poison from this world and the poison from "Last Brave." I can synthesize the poison myself.
However, I felt a bit uneasy about doing something outside my expertise alone, so I thought I should go back to basics and ask my mentor for guidance.
"Well, then... here."
My Mentor threw gloves at me. They were made of rough, blackened fabric.
"Touching poison herbs can melt your skin, so I'll come with you. The quality of the poison herbs around here is quite high."
Those were unexpected words.
There are poisonous plants with skin-melting toxicity growing in this area. If a child accidentally touches such a dangerous thing near their home, what should be done?
The momentary distrust I felt towards the adults at Emme Village was quickly dispelled, however.
Anyway, the area where the poisonous plants were found, led by my mentor, was near a steep cliff. It was surrounded by a fence to prevent casual approach. In front of the fence, there was a large signboard saying "Poisonous Plant Area." The poisonous plants inside the fence were neatly arranged, clearly showing human intervention.
My mentor opened the fence and gestured for me to come in. At that moment, I didn't miss the fact that my mentor's hand, touching the fence, crackled with electricity. Perhaps there was magic on the fence too, and touching it carelessly might result in an electric shock.
Following my mentor, I stepped into the enclosure and peeked at my mentor sitting in front of a poisonous plant.
"Look, this one is particularly strong."
My mentor, wearing gloves, flipped through the leaves. The leaves had a poisonous spotted pattern. Clearly a "poisonous plant."
Sitting next to my mentor, I observed as she casually plucked the poisonous plants.
It didn't seem like she was particularly conscious during the picking process. my mentor's way of picking was a bit rough, with some leaves tearing in the process. However, the bag where the picked poisonous plants were stored had a darker color and seemed thicker than usual.
After finishing picking the poisonous plants, we immediately returned to my mentor's house and started the synthesis.
"Since you can be affected by the smell of the poisonous plants, it's dangerous to synthesize without proper preparation."
Open the window and fully open the door, wearing a protective mask shaped like a bird's beak. It's said that the beak part is filled with herbs that neutralize poison.
"Here, try crushing it. Be careful not to let it scatter around,"
Although slightly hindered by the protective mask, I followed my mentor's precise instructions coming from the side. Essentially, the synthesis method was no different for poison and herbs. However, the level of concentration required was significantly higher on my end. If my hands slipped, my fingerprints could be melted in an instant.
Sweat gently beaded on my forehead. In a moment of habit, I tried to wipe it with the sleeve of my white coat, but at that moment, my arm was firmly grabbed. Startled, I looked at my mentor next to me, who had a slightly stern expression and shook her head twice.
Ah, I finally realized. What if a drop of poison had flown into this sleeve cuff and seeped in?
A shiver ran down my spine as cold sweat trickled down.
To calm down my slightly noisy heart, I took a few deep breaths before resuming my work.
The tension hit me much harder than usual, but the time spent on the task itself wasn't much different from synthesizing a healing potion. The poison making turned out smoother than I had anticipated.
"My apprentice never fails to disappoint..."
My mentor glanced at my work and muttered to herself.
Indeed, since the basic process is similar to synthesizing a healing potion, this is like my area of expertise. But now I understand. My mentor's guidance is truly exceptional.
To put it simply, before Emiliana-san started mentoring me, I thought my mentor was pretty hands-off. She only showed me how to synthesize something once, and whenever I asked for help, she'd just hand me a book instead of explaining it in words. I even took her comment about me being a "talented but difficult student to teach" at face value.
It's true that my mentor was hands-off and that I had some talent, but on top of that, she also gave me clear and precise guidance.
I realized now that I was actually a very lucky student.
Glancing over, I saw my mentor smiling at me, despite calling me a difficult student to teach. Her eyes, filled with joy, contradicted her words, and I felt a warm feeling spreading in my chest.
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