Chapter 169 Right Man For The Job
It's been several days since we started discussing the poisonous fog. Thanks to the help of many people, we've been gradually making progress.
First, we worked on the antidote. Based on the synthesis method that Mentor and Basilio-san came up with, we created the antidote and handed it over to Lukas and the others. They used Wentle-sama's wind powers to test it on the poisonous fog. After hearing the results, we repeated the synthesis process to make it even more effective――
We repeated this process dozens of times, and finally, we got a good result.
'Laura, this antidote looks like it'll work.'
Diona, reflected on the water's surface, smiled as she reported back to us. The empty container she was holding had a label that read "Prototype 32."
I let out a sigh of relief, saying "Good." We've basically decided on the synthesis method. Now, we just need to improve its effectiveness and create a preventive medicine that Lukas and the others can take in advance—the synthesis method will be almost the same as the antidote.
While still in communication with Lukas and the others, I asked Wentle-sama, who was either here or there, unclear.
"Wentle-sama, can you use Akari's powers to envelop Lukas and the others' bodies with the antidote with you?"
'I think that's possible――I did something similar just now.'
The green light orb appeared right next to me.
I was surprised that it was here, but without hesitation, Spirit-sama nodded in agreement, putting me at ease.
'That means we'll be entering the antidote's barrier, right?'
"If you wear the masks that I have prepared, take the preventive medicine, and envelop yourselves in the antidote's barrier, I think you can neutralize even the poisonous fog."
I answered Marta's question, and it seemed like Hero and the others were convinced, saying "That makes sense."
This is a matter of life and death, so it's better to be overly cautious.
"And, I've been thinking about how we can use the monster's favorite food to lure it to the entrance."
'If we can fight it near the entrance, we can respond better even if something happens.'
Julius was the first to react, probably because of his experience as a bodyguard. Behind him, Vake was also nodding vigorously, which made it seem like a good idea to lure the monsters.
"Do you think you can lighten the mask?"
Julius, the leader of the mask lightweighting plan, quickly responded to my question. He carefully approached the water's surface, showing me the "design plan."
'If it's too long vertically, it'll get in the way, so let's try cutting it down and attaching it horizontally.'
(It looks like a gas mask...)
The "design plan" Julius drew looked similar to a gas mask from my previous life.
I'm not talented when it comes to craftsmanship, so I had to leave it to Julius and Rustu's people. It's all about assigning the right person to the right task.
I'll focus on what I can do ―― synthesizing antidotes and preventive medicines. It's great to be able to contribute in my area of expertise, which is what I've always wanted. That's why I've been sacrificing sleep and getting tired over the past few days, but I didn't mind.
Now that we have a plan for the antidotes, preventive medicines, and mask lightweighting, next is ―― confirming the Naraka fruit for luring the monsters.
After cutting off communication with Lukas and the others, I quickly contacted Basilio-san, Iris, and the others.
"Basilio-san, the antidote seems to be effective. Prototype 32..."
'That's great! Let's start improving it right away. And we still need to work on the preventive medicine!'
Basilio-san rushed out of the room after hearing the report. I smiled wryly at his hastiness, feeling grateful from the bottom of my heart.
Meanwhile, Iris, who was left behind, was sparkling with excitement. She had a small, semi-transparent solid cylinder in the palm of her hand. She proudly showed it to me, her eyes shining. Her fingers trembled with excitement, causing ripples on the water's surface.
'Look, look, Laura!'
"What's that?"
'I solidified the Naraka fruit I worked on it with Chelsea-senpai and Lina-senpai!'
――About the Naraka Fruit, Iris had somehow borrowed the power of Chelsea and Lina-senpai, who were in the royal capital. It was surprising, but understandable. After all, those 2 were people Iris could easily consult with, and they weren't the type to refuse when asked for help. Moreover, they were extremely skilled alchemists.
'But, you see, the Naraka Fruit is like this: the more you simmer it, the stronger the aroma becomes, and the scent lasts longer too!'
Iris's words reminded me of the descriptions of the Naraka Fruit written in the literature. It was written that the aroma would become even stronger when heated.
I nodded, and Iris continued with excitement.
'That's right Chelsea-senpai suggested it, and I tried it out. When I simmered it with a synthesized healing potion, it turned into a gel-like substance!'
――Simmering it with a synthesized healing potion was an idea I wouldn't have thought of.
I, who could memorize entire texts, was often bound by the descriptions in the literature. You could say I had a superior, yet narrow-minded way of thinking.
On the other hand, my peer Chelsea had a surprising and innovative idea. Lina-senpai had a flexible way of thinking, accepting her juniors' proposals and trying them out, backed by her knowledge and experience. And Iris was a genius who wouldn't fear failure, trying out anything and somehow managing to shape it into a tangible form. If these 3 worked together, they might just invent an incredible new medicine.
I thought they were a reliable trio.
'That's right! Lina-senpai tried cooling it down, and look, it solidified!'
Iris pointed to the semi-transparent solid on the palm of her hand. It was the solidified Naraka Fruit juice she had been showing me since earlier.
I stared at the pale orange-colored substance, thinking it looked like a candle. ――In an instant, I had an idea.
"Hey, can't we burn that like a candle?"
My words made Iris exclaim, "As expected Laura!" with a cheer. It seems my idea struck a chord with her.
'Ta-da! Here's the finished product!'
Iris proudly presented a solid object, different from the one before, near the water's surface. The pale orange color was the same, but it had grown much larger. It looked more like a long, thin candle than a candle itself. And the biggest difference was ―― a thick candle wick was embedded in the center.
'By sealing it tightly when brewing, the fragrance won't escape. Instead of releasing it all at once, it'll burn slowly, and the fragrance will last.'
By brewing, the fragrance became stronger and condensed, and by burning it slowly, the fragrance would last longer.
What Chelsea, Lina-senpai, and Iris created was, without a doubt, more than I had hoped for.
'Leave the Naraka fruit to me!'
Iris confidently patted her chest. Her expression looked more mature than usual.
――It seemed like I didn't have to lift a finger.
I nodded greatly, deciding to leave everything to my juniors, peers, and seniors.
The mask improvement and Naraka fruit would surely yield better results than expected with reliable people working on them. And so would the antidote and preventive medicine. Honestly, I had only asked for their cooperation and didn't do much myself, which made me chuckle wryly. But I couldn't have achieved these results on my own in such a short time.
Many people's wisdom and power were coming together to help Lukas and the others reach the Demon King. The goal was surely near.
* * *
"Laura, don't sleep."
Someone patted my hand, and my fading consciousness snapped back.
I rubbed my eyes and apologized to the person who had patted my hand ―― my mentor.
"Uu... sorry."
The clock showed it was late at night. Normally, I would have been asleep by now. But my mentor, Marcedes-san, and I had managed to stay awake, working on synthesizing the antidote and preventive medicine.
――After that, the detoxification medicine was further improved, and a preventive medicine was also developed with Basilio-san at the center. The preventive medicine, in other words, is a detoxification medicine that lasts longer. The synthesis method itself hasn't changed much. It's just a matter of mixing in herbs that prolong the effectiveness and promote circulation throughout the body, and with a bit more time, further improvements can be expected, but for now, we've achieved a temporary completion.
It's been about ten days since Lukas and the others were held back. We couldn't afford to spend any more time.
"Let's make something that'll wake us up."
Marcedes-san proposed, and oh Mentor nodded with a loud "That's it!" as if shaking off drowsiness.
"I'll make that super spicy tea I used to make a long time ago."
"Ah! You still drink that?"
Marcedes-san seemed to have some connection to the super spicy tea, but I'd never heard of it. Oh! Mentor must have made it often during her Royal Alchemist days.
Anyway, the super spicy tea is, as the name suggests, an extremely spicy tea. It'll definitely wake us up, but to be honest, I didn't really want to drink it.
"I haven't had it in a while. But now's the perfect time."
Mentor smiled mischievously and stopped synthesizing for a moment to brew the super spicy tea.
When I peeked into the cup, the color was that of ordinary tea. However, the pungent aroma was terrible. It smelled like a bunch of spices had been thrown in.
I looked at ,y Mentor with pleading eyes. She had a merciless expression and voice, saying "Drink up" with a nod.
A few seconds later――I steeled myself and downed it in one gulp. Instantly, my mouth and throat were overwhelmed by the intense stimulation.
"Spicy―― ."
It wasn't just spicy. It was painful. Tears were welling up.
I panicked and added water to the cup, desperately trying to dilute the stimulation and drink it down.
"Ow ow ow――."
Even after adding water, the stimulation was still intense, and my tongue was tingling. What on earth had she put in it?
I glared at my mentor with tears in my eyes, but she was drinking the extremely spicy tea with a completely normal face. Unbelievable. Her tongue must be paralyzed. Is her sense of taste still okay?
On the other hand, Marcedes-san was making a big fuss like me, saying "It's so spicy!" while holding hands with me. As we were making a ruckus together, it somehow became funny, and eventually, everyone burst out laughing.
Lack of sleep, plus extremely spicy tea. My brain must be short-circuiting. It's like I'm in a state of high tension at midnight, and I'm feeling really carefree.
"Look, you're awake. Let's do the rest!"
My mentor said, and I realized it. Indeed, my drowsiness from earlier had completely disappeared. At the same time, the spiciness had also worn off after a certain amount of time.
With a refreshed feeling, I turned back to the synthesis table.
"Okay, just a little more, please."
My mentor and Marcedes-san nodded at my words.
We just need to push through a bit more. We need to make sure Lukas and the others can depart tomorrow, so let's whip our heavy bodies into shape and do our best.
To give it one last push, we restarted the synthesis.
――In the end, we did an all-nighter and synthesized the medicine. As a result of our hard work, an unbelievable amount of antidotes and preventive medicines were piled up in the box, and I couldn't help but praise myself.
Early in the morning, I had Akari, who had transformed into a large wolf, carry all the luggage for me. Wentle-sama was on his way to collect them in the royal capital and Flaria.
"I had Wentle-sama and Akari deliver the antidotes, preventive medicines, and the solidified Naraka fruit extract."
'...Laura, you look pale, but are you okay?'
I forced a smile as Lukas pointed it out to me through the water's surface. I'll sleep as soon as this communication is over. I'm not used to all-nighters.
I watched Lukas and the others examine the contents of the luggage with great interest, adding explanations as I went along.
Those are the antidotes. Those are the preventive medicines, so drink them first. That candle-like solid object is the solidified Naraka fruit extract, so light it on fire――
After I finished explaining everything, Lukas and the other heroes bowed their heads deeply towards me.
'Thank you so much, Laura... for everything in such a short time.'
I shook my head in a panic.
I've said it many times, but all I did was ask for help from others and synthesize the antidote and preventive medicine. It was embarrassing to be thanked so much for that.
"I just asked others for help and synthesized them, so thank them instead."
Lukas nodded greatly. And he narrowed his eyes.
'If you've gotten this far, then it's up to us to do our best from now on. We'll wait for a good report."
――That's as far as we can help.
From now on, all we can do is trust Lukas and the others and wait, I thought with a smile and a nod. I truly believed that they would bring back a good report. Yes, I trusted them from the bottom of my heart.
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