Volume 6, Chapter 35 – The Work of a Magic Apothecary

Today is October 23rd, the day after the subjugation operation in the Southern Forest.

The autumn sky is clear and bright—perfect weather for a stroll or a nap in a sunny spot.

On such a wonderful day, I am diligently making various potions in preparation for a Monster Stampede in the workshop assigned to me at the Second Knight Order’s garrison.

Though I call it a workshop, it doesn’t actually have any special equipment since all I do is perform Medicinal Enchantment on pre-made medicines.

Medicinal Enchantment, a skill of the Magic Apothecary class, is generally understood to be a skill that uses mana to amplify the potency of a medicine.

For example, if it is a healing potion, applying Medicinal Enchantment to a wound salve amplifies its effect, causing wounds to heal as if Healing Magic were being cast.

Its quality depends on both the base wound salve and the Skill Level of Medicinal Enchantment.

The mechanism is similar to Enchant; if the quality of the base wound salve is poor, you won’t get the expected results even with a high-level Medicinal Enchantment.

Conversely, no matter how high the quality of the wound salve is, you can’t achieve effects beyond the limits of your Medicinal Enchantment Skill Level.

Furthermore, the common consensus is that its effect is one step inferior to Healing Magic.

It is generally believed that a healing potion made with Level 2 Medicinal Enchantment is roughly halfway between Level 1 and Level 2 in terms of Healing Magic skill levels.

Up to this point is the kind of information one can study in a library, but it is not entirely accurate.

The following is the result of my own experimentation after becoming a Magic Apothecary: amplifying the power of medicine with mana is only one facet of Medicinal Enchantment.

I am still in the middle of testing, but it seems this Medicinal Enchantment skill possesses the properties of a liquid version of Enchant.

This appears to be the true essence of the skill.

Since the sensation while performing Medicinal Enchantment felt so similar to Enchant, I suddenly wondered what would happen if I used Medicinal Enchantment to imbue an MP Recovery Medicine with Healing Magic.

To my surprise, I created an unprecedented potion that restores MP while simultaneously healing wounds.

I can’t help wondering why no one has ever made something like this before, so I donated about ten bottles to Shishou’s shop as commemorative items.

Well, that’s the story, but in the end, I haven’t been making potions with multiple effects.

The reason is simple: it is far more effective to specialize—healing for healing, detoxifying for detoxifying, and MP recovery for MP recovery.

For instance, if I apply Healing Magic using Level 2 Medicinal Enchantment to a high-quality wound salve, I can create a healing potion with an effect roughly equivalent to Level 3 or 4 Healing Magic.

In other words, it seems as though the wound salve is turned into a potion via the effect of Medicinal Enchantment, and the effect of Healing Magic is then layered on top of that.

Level 2 Healing Magic can only treat minor, non-life-threatening injuries like sprains, bruises, or slight cuts.

At Level 3, one can treat serious injuries such as major bone fractures.

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By Level 4, it becomes possible to treat injuries that are matters of life and death.

If the same result can be achieved simply by using a healing potion, the benefits would be immeasurable.

And so, I continue to devote myself to potion-making.

My goal is 3,000 healing potions and 1,000 detoxifying potions.

By the way, I plan to charge the King 5 gold coins per potion. Referring to the Temple’s fair price list, I decided on 5 gold coins—the midpoint between 1 and 10—since the effects of these healing and detoxifying potions fall between Level 3 and 4.

Once finished, it will come to 20,000 gold coins, equivalent to about one billion yen, but I have a feeling the Monster Stampede will begin before I finish making them.

This is because they consume more MP than I expected, so I can’t mass-produce them that quickly.

Just then, Alois-san and Dr. Bronto came to visit.

“Saint-sama, thank you for your time.”

“What is it, Alois-san, Dr. Bronto? Did something happen?”

“Yes. We wish to consult with you regarding the woman named Marie, whom Saint-sama rescued in the forest the day before yesterday.”

Ah, the woman whose leg had been eaten away and whose body had been covered in terrible scars.

“How has Marie-san’s condition been since then?”

“Yes. It appears that Lady Marie was deceived by a group of hunters called the Crimson White Snake. It seems she was subjected to daily violence…”

“Then all those scars were caused by those people?”

That’s horrible. I wonder if there’s any way to get those people thrown in jail.

“Yes. Therefore, we have come to ask for Saint-sama’s assistance regarding Lady Marie’s treatment.”

“What is it? If it’s something I can do, I don’t mind.”

“Thank you. Then, Dr. Bronto will explain Lady Marie’s condition.”

Dr. Bronto then informed me about Marie-san’s condition.

Apparently, after enduring abuse for so long, her spirit had been broken, and she’d been made to believe that she was the one at fault, even though the hunters were the ones truly to blame.

It sounds like the situation of a domestic violence victim from my previous world.

No, since she wasn’t just beaten but also stabbed with knives and burned with fire, it might be even more gruesome.

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Honestly, how can anyone do such a thing? I cannot comprehend that mindset.

“I see. In that case, it will take a long time for her to recover.”

Alois nodded and got to the main point.

“Therefore, we intend to terminate the exclusive Porter contract that Lady Marie has with the Crimson White Snake. Would you be willing to explain to the Hunter Guild that, in your professional opinion, she requires long-term recuperation?”

“Yes. That makes sense. DV victims should be separated from their perpetrators, after all.”

“Eh? Dee-vee?”

Alois-san asked me back with a puzzled look and exchanged glances with Dr. Bronto.

Oops, the term “DV” doesn’t exist in this country.

I studied psychiatry at the Royal Capital’s library before, and since it wasn’t written there, it’s likely not common knowledge.

I put on a beaming business smile and agreed to Alois-san’s proposal.

“Um, yes. That’s fine. Given the circumstances, I also believe it would be better for Marie-san to undergo long-term recuperation in a place where those hunters are not present.”

Perhaps my business smile had completely fooled him, because he was wearing the exact same expression the customers used to have back when I worked as a salesgirl for Shishou.

“Alois-san? Dr. Bronto?”

“Hah! My apologies. Thank you for your cooperation.”

When I called out to him, Alois-san responded as if he had been snapped out of a trance.

“Is there anything else?”

When I asked, Dr. Bronto answered.

“No. However, we are thinking of having her help out in the Knight Order’s cafeteria while we monitor her progress. It’s an unfamiliar Class, but she has been granted the Class of Assistant Cook by the gods, so we believe that cooking would be the perfect way for her to regain her confidence.”

Hmm? I think I saw that in the Complete Guide to Classes… what was it again?

“I see. Like rehabilitation. I’ll help out as much as I can, then.”

However, since I couldn’t remember the details of that Class, I decided to let it slide.

“Yes. We look forward to your help.”

Having finished their business, Alois-san and Dr. Bronto left my workshop.

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◇ ◇ ◇

Taking a break from potion-making, I went to visit Marie-san in her hospital room along with Chris-san.

Actually, there was a treatment I wanted to try.

“Hello, Marie-san. How are you feeling?”

“S-s-s-Saint-sama! Ah, I-I’m sorry!”

When I spoke to her, Marie-san immediately started acting erratically—trying to stand up while frantically fixing her hair, then, for some reason, trying to dive under her blanket.

Perhaps she was startled because I came to visit so suddenly.

“I’m sorry for startling you. We’re the ones who came suddenly, so there’s no need for Marie-san to apologize.”

I moved to Marie-san’s bedside, took her hand, and cast Calming Magic on her.

“Ah, s-s-someone like me… ah, um, I’m sorry.”

Marie-san kept apologizing, though I had no idea what she was apologizing for. It was exactly the symptom Dr. Bronto had described.

“Hmm… this is quite a severe case.”

At that, Marie-san’s expression suddenly became anxious. I had been observing her expression and had accidentally muttered that aloud.

I put on my beaming business smile and brought up the main topic in a reassuring tone.

“Marie-san. May I cast a spell on you? It’s my first time using it, but I think I can improve your current symptoms a little.”

“Eh? S-someone like me… such a thing, Saint-sama would…?”

“Isn’t it a bit late for that? I’ve already dispelled your cursed collar and healed your leg and scars.”

“Ah… b-but I don’t have any money…”

“Please don’t worry about that. Ah, then, would you mind helping me practice my magic?”

“Ah… ah… yes…”

When I said that with my business smile, Marie-san began to shed tears.

“It’s settled then. Now then, could you look into my eyes?”

As I spoke, Marie-san’s tear-filled eyes gazed into mine.

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“Here I go. Please just relax.”

I then activated Charm.

Using Dark Magic, I imagined gently placing a lid over her painful memories, pushing them just a little farther away, and prayed that she would regain confidence in herself. I sent this into Marie-san, layering it onto the power of Charm via Mana Control.

I came up with this idea based on something Ade had said in the Dragon God Cave.

A Vampire’s Charm skill has the power to twist and manipulate the target’s heart. Furthermore, Dark Magic can act upon the soul and possesses the opposite effect of Holy Magic. In other words, since Holy Magic can cure mental status ailments, Dark Magic should be capable of inducing them.

If that’s the case, it should also be possible to use this method to slightly heal a wounded heart.

This method involves forcibly twisting another person’s heart, and perhaps saving a wounded person this way is wrong.

But I believe it’s far better than being wounded by someone’s cruelty, becoming unable to move, and continuing to suffer forever.

Bathed in my Mana, Marie-san wore an expression of complete comfort,  occasionally letting out small sounds like “ah…”

By the time I finished the spell, Marie-san had fallen into a deep, peaceful sleep.

“Fiene-sama, what on earth was that?”

“I used Charm and Dark Magic to make the memories of the abuse a bit blurry, providing a little help so that Marie-san can regain her confidence and start moving forward.”

“To think that such a thing was possible with Charm and Dark Magic…”

Chris-san muttered with a complex expression.

“I am Shishou’s disciple, after all. If it seems useful, I’ll use even the most hated powers.”

Chris-san looked at me with a solemn expression after hearing me say that so matter-of-factly.

“Besides, I still regret the woman in Illumi City who committed suicide even after I freed her from slavery.”

“Eh?”

“Even though I managed to release her from the Enslavement Curse Mark, I couldn’t save her heart in the end. Ever since then, I’ve kept wondering if there was something more I could have done. Seeing Ade gave me the idea for this method.”

“Fiene-sama…!”

Chris-san was speechless, her eyes wide with shock.

“Chris-san, let’s head back. It’s probably best to let her sleep.”

Urging Chris-san along, we left Marie-san’s hospital room.