Chapter 54 Nurturing Successors
Before leaving the Village, I decided to solve the problem of the absence of a Pharmacist.
At old man Arthur's house.
After finishing breakfast and waiting for old man and the others to leave the house, I consulted with Mercury-san and Tai-chan.
"So, before we return to the capital city, I want to somehow solve the issue of not having a Pharmacist."
"Hmm... Isn't that difficult?"
Mercury-san crossed her arms and expressed her opinion with a serious face.
"Is it really that difficult?"
"Well, of course. Becoming a Pharmacist is not something that happens overnight. To make medicines that cure people's illnesses, you need knowledge of physiology, pharmacy... and lots of other things."
Is it really that difficult...?
"Leaf-kun is receiving a special education from the great Medicine God Asclepius, so it might be easy. But for ordinary people to become a pharmacist, it requires a lot of hard work. Especially for an amazing pharmacist like Leaf-kun, it's not something just anyone can become."
"But, I'm just a regular pharmacist!"
Suddenly, Mercury-san's forehead veins popped out, so I quickly handed her a headache medicine (elixir).
Mercury-san drank it all in one gulp and let out a sigh of relief.
"Anyway, it's impossible to just suddenly prepare a pharmacist. We can't leave a beginner pharmacist who doesn't know what they're doing, it's dangerous."
"That's true!"
Medicine is a wonderful item that can heal people, but if you make a mistake, it can also become a poison that leads people to death.
So that's why medicines need to be carefully made, and I can't just leave the prescription work to unreliable people in the village.
"What should we do, my lord? If you train a pharmacist from scratch, we don't know when we will return to the capital city."
Tai-chan, in human form, said while wagging her tail in a question mark shape.
Even though I saw that heartwarming scene, thinking about what I am about to propose now makes me feel a bit upset.
I didn't want to resort to this method if possible.
Because it was someone I had decided not to get involved with anymore.
"Leaf-kun, do you have something in mind?
Suddenly, Mercury-san said that. Huh, why?
"H-how did you know?"
As expected, Mercury-san chuckled and then smiled.
"I can tell. After all, we spent quite a long time together, didn't we?"
"Mercury-san..."
Thump! My heart bounced a little. What is this?
I don't know. But the fact that Mercury-san understood me made me just as happy as when I received praise from my master.
"So, any ideas?"
"I'm thinking of using that person."
"That person...oh, I see."
"Yeah...that person."
I mean, there is some groundwork there.
Even though that person is basically a beginner, it's not zero.
"What do you mean by 'that person'?"
"There's a pharmacist in this village."
"How convenient. Why don't we just hire them right away?"
...It wouldn't be that easy.
There is some history between me and [her].
I couldn't just follow through with my idea because that history got in the way.
"Leaf-kun, there are many things that we need to deal with. But I will support Leaf-kun's ideas. It's easier to develop a talent from 1 to 100 than to search for someone with potential from the beginning."
...As Mercury-san says.
If we can confirm someone's talent and skip the time spent on selection, that would be the best option.
"If you talk to that girl and feel bad...then just think of the next step. That's all, right?"
"Mercury-san..."
"Don't worry, it will work out. Has anything gone wrong when Leaf-kun has done something before? Have confidence."
...Honestly, I'm not fully convinced yet, but if Mercury-san says so, let's give it a try.
I stand up, ready to leave old man Arthur's house with Mercury-san and Tai-chan.
We headed to a nostalgic cabin.
It was a home where I had spent a long time before.
"I can smell your scent from here, my lord. What is this place?"
"This is the house where I used to live."
It was a cabin I used when I was an apprentice under Master Asclepius.
I opened the door.
Inside, it was a mess.
It was completely dirty and hadn't been cleaned at all.
But it had a familiar scent of medicine... it also smelled like my master.
And the scent of a woman I never wanted to see again.
Suppressing the rising dark emotions, I headed towards the back of the cabin.
There, there was...
"What's with this ghost-like woman?"
Tai-chan frowned in discomfort.
The woman was in the room that had turned into a garbage dump.
With eyes as lifeless as a dead fish, she gazed into the void... that woman was...
"Dokuonna"
My former fiancée and Master Asclepius's granddaughter, Dokuonna.
"! L-Leaf!?"
Dokuonna jumped up and hurried over to me.
Despite almost tripping several times, she made her way to my feet and bowed her head.
"I'm sorry! Leaf! I'm so sorry!!!!"
"...What's all this suddenness?"
"You came here to get revenge on me, right!? Because I've done terrible things to you!"
"Well, yeah. You certainly did some terrible things."
Like making me work like a slave, cheating on me with noble while I was doing my best.
Now, Dokuonna's face turned pale, and she repeatedly bowed deeply.
"I'm sorry, Leaf! Please forgive me! I was stupid! I was foolish! I'll never do anything awful again! Please! I'll do anything! Please forgive me!"
"...You just said you'd do anything now, right?"
"Yes!"
I didn't feel like it. But I thought it was the best thing to do.
"Then, become my sl*ve."
"What, a sl*ve...!?"
"Yeah. A temporary sl*ve contract. Because you'll betray me soon."
What I'm going to have Dokuonna do is important work.
I don't want her to take it lightly.
So, if I'm going to trust her, we have to have a sl*ve contract.
"I-I understand! I'll become Leaf's sl*ve!"
"Yeah, got it. Then, there's a job I want to entrust to you."
"Anything!"
I told her,
"I'll teach you now, so you can become the true Pharmacist of this village."
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