Chapter 2: The Potion Revolution

Chapter 2:
The Potion Revolution

 

AS WE TROTTED through the woods, I asked Noela tons of questions.

“So, uh, that was your potion, right? Why didn’t you drink it?”

“It stink. No good. First time bought. Brought with me.”

In other words, she bought it without knowing what it was. Hunh.

According to Noela, a battle between mankind and the Demon King’s subjects had erupted worldwide. However, our location—the Est region’s Kingdom of Granad—was supposedly about as far as one could get from the war’s front lines. Noela had only recently arrived from her town near the battlegrounds, and there was little danger of the demons coming here.

Since I only possessed identification and item-creation skills, that seemed perfect, as far as I was concerned. I’d only just arrived in this strange new world; it would’ve been a bummer to have to worry about the demon armies threatening my life.

Noela held my hand and guided me this whole time. Suddenly, her ears twitched. “This way.”

“Hey…so, uh, can you tell whether monsters and stuff are nearby?”

“Mm-hmm.” Noela seemed to frown for a moment.

I patted her head gently, grateful for her help. She was much shorter than me—probably about 150 centimeters tall, if that. However, she was much larger as a wolf. Man, werewolves are fascinating.

We continued through the woods, eventually making our way to a proper road.

“So, what happened to you?” I asked Noela. “Why’d you collapse like that? Did someone attack you?”

“Suddenly injured. Ran away.”

It was a little hard following her broken speech. Still, I at least parsed that Noela had headed into the woods to look for food, come across a strong monster, and just barely gotten away with her life. Since the enemy attacked her suddenly, it must’ve evaded her senses.

The village we were headed toward, Kalta, finally came into view. It was far smaller than a city, and was more like a one-horse town in the middle of nowhere. According to Noela, she visited Kalta fairly often. Not for work or anything like that, just for day-to-day stuff.

As we entered Kalta, I heard a cute sound next to me.

“Master. Tummy rumble.” Noela professed her hunger shamelessly.

“No kidding.”

I’d have loved to grab a bite myself, but I had no money to speak of. Well, maybe if I sell that potion I made, I’ll earn some fast cash.

I had Noela lead me to a general store and headed over to the manager.

“Welcome!” the man said cordially. “Haven’t seen you around these parts before. Are you a traveler, lad?”

I concisely explained our circumstances. “Erm, that’s about the gist of it. I’d love to sell one of my homemade potions. Think you can take a look?”

“Oh, homemade potions, you say? That’d be a huge help,” the manager replied. “We’ve been out of ’em for a while now. We sold our stock to the military.”

“But aren’t we far away from the front lines?”

“That’s exactly why we sold them, young man. A tiny town in the boondocks doesn’t need potions if the Demon King’s army ain’t coming around.”

He might be right, but what if someone got hurt? They’d need potions.

“Even if we make ’em ourselves,” the manager added, “nobody buys ’em much, so they end up overpriced.”

That made sense. I pulled a bottle from my bag and presented it to the manager.

“Tasty, tasty!” Noela’s eyes glimmered as she pointed at the bottle.

“What’s this, lad? The potion?” asked the manager skeptically.

“Is there something strange about it? What do normal potions usually look like?” I’d seen the potion Noela carried, but it was entirely possible that hers was unusual.

“Hold on,” said the manager, rummaging beneath the counter. “This one here ain’t for sale. I keep it in case of emergency.”

 

POTION (REGULAR): Stops blood loss. Effective on superficial injuries.

 

Quietly, I picked up the manager’s potion bottle. Hrm. That’s the same as Noela’s, all right. I slowly brought it toward her nose; she responded by impulsively fleeing the general store.

“Master, that no good! Stinky. Hate!” Noela shook her head as she peeked in from outside.

The older man frowned at us and shook his head. He must’ve thought we were ignorant or something. “What’re you saying? All potions are like this. They’re bitter, gross, and stinky. That’s just how it is.”

“The laundry’s still not done?” a woman cried. “Dear, what’re you up to?! Come here!”

“Ah, sorry, love! I’m helping a customer! I’ll deal with that laundry later,” the manager replied. He turned to me, grinning. “Pardon me. My wife can be difficult sometimes.”

“Get your butt over here!”

His wife’s loud voice made the manager jump. He turned to face me again.

“Hey, it’s fine,” I told him. “I’m in no rush.”

“Ha ha! Apologies.”

He disappeared into the back. It wasn’t long before I heard loud noises and voices come from where he’d vanished to.

“I always tell you, you’re not making enough money!”

“I-I’m sorry!”

Hell hath no fury like a wife scorned.

Noela came back inside; she crouched behind me, ready to brawl. “Sense battle. Noela protect Master.” She was simultaneously stalwart and adorable.

The manager finally returned with a tired grin, leaning against the counter and shaking his head. He was clearly trying to act relaxed, but he looked like he’d seen a ghost, and his nose was bleeding.

“Ah, perfect timing,” I said, offering him my homemade potion. “Here, try drinking some of this. Trust me.”

“Young man, I hate to tell you, but I’m not a potion fan. They don’t agree with me. Plus, they stink.” Despite the manager’s posturing earlier, even he steered clear.

Noela repeated her opinion. “Tasty, tasty!”

That persuaded the manager to cautiously pick up the bottle. He shut his eyes tight before taking a swig.

“Ah! This is great! Wh-what is this stuff?” he asked with trembling hands. He set the bottle down. “It’s delicious!”

He looked at me as if I were some kind of monster, teeth chattering. The color returned to his face, and his nosebleed stopped. I guess “excellent” potions are a cut above the rest.

“A-a potion that tastes good? I-Impossible! I-It’s a breakthrough!”

“Whoa, now. You don’t have to exaggerate.”

Noela shook her head. “Noela’s master amazing! Breakthrough! Potion tasty-tasty!”

“It’s delectable and easy to drink!” the manager added. “Lad, if this ain’t a breakthrough, I don’t know what is.”

This dude’s seriously getting worked up. I made the thing, and yet he was the one celebrating.

Suddenly, the manager bowed so quickly, he slammed his head onto the counter. Smack!

“I’m begging you, lad, let my store sell your potions!”

“Yeah, of course,” I replied. “That’s why I came here to begin with.”

“I know, I know. Selling such a revolutionary product at a local general store is a waste. But please!” the manager continued.

“Listen to me for a sec! Look, it’s fine,” I repeated. “Seriously. I’m happy to sell you these.”

“Please! We just had our fifth kid, and the family finances are in the red. I might have to shut this store down. Please, sell us your breakthrough potions! Let’s start this revolution together!”

He was really down for the “revolution.” Almost too much, actually. “How many bottles do you want?” The nasty “regular” potions came in fairly small containers. If that’s the standard size, I should be able to make quite a few.

“I’ll put them in these and sell them, if you…” the manager paused. “Wait, are you sure?”

“Master say okay. You not listen,” Noela pointed out.

“Th-thank you so much! What’s your name, lad? I need the name of this revolution’s hero!”

“Kirio Reiji. You can call me Reiji.”

We exchanged a firm handshake. “The revolutionary hero Reiji,” chuckled the manager. “Rolls right off the tongue. Heh heh!”

Buddy, could you please let go of my hand?

I began pouring my homemade potion into the manager’s small containers. My bottle wasn’t full, since Noela drank some earlier, but it still held more than enough liquid to fill twenty-five smaller vials.

According to the manager, regular potions sold for about ten thousand rin. I wonder how much that is in yen?

Seeing me puzzled, he explained. “If you want to stay overnight at the local inn, for example, it runs you five thousand rin. Lunch costs about six hundred.”

Doesn’t seem all that different from yen, actually.

“I’m gonna start advertising this ‘tasty-tasty’ potion’s effectiveness!” declared the manager.

“Oh, before you do that—we should sell this breakthrough potion a little more cheaply than normal potions,” I suggested. “That’ll make it easier for customers to impulse-buy. It’ll help word of mouth.”

“Whoa! Spoken like a true revolutionary!”

We decided to sell the first twenty-five potions for eight thousand rin each, which was under the standard market price. However, I’d receive about two thousand rin per bottle.

Just like that, I’d earned myself fifty thousand rin! Now, I wouldn’t have to worry about food or shelter for the next few days.

The manager ran out to advertise his new product, leaving his wife in charge of the general store. She came over to Noela and me. “Sorry about my hubby.”

Noela crouched behind me. “Master protect. Protect Noela.”

I patted her head, shooting a smile at the manager’s wife. “I’m sure these potions will sell.”

“You have our thanks.”

After chatting with her for a bit, Noela and I exited the store. The manager had kind of gone crazy with excitement, but I would’ve been lying if I said it didn’t feel good to be appreciated like that.

Noela and I ended up going to a big dining hall she frequented, and the two of us grabbed a bite to eat.

The menu was full of all kinds of strange characters, but mysteriously, I had no problem reading any of them. I’d been worried that the dining hall would serve weird foods, but much to my surprise, the menu contained easy-to-eat dishes like teriyaki, pickles, and so on. I could even order soup and bread.

Eventually, Noela and I left the restaurant in search of an inn. Then we heard a ruckus coming from the general store.

What’s going on?

We peeked inside, only to discover men filling the store. I saw farmer-looking dudes, lumberjack types, and lightly armored soldiers—all sorts of people who’d be in danger of getting hurt at work.

“One per person!” the manager’s wife yelled out.

A young soldier exited the store, tilting his head at the potion in his hand. “What a weird-colored potion. I bought one because she said it’d be easy to drink, but… Let’s see, here.” He sipped it. “Whoa! What is this stuff?!”

The young soldier looked as though his eyes were about to pop out of his head. “This is a potion?!” he exclaimed. “For real?! It doesn’t taste like fresh trash!”

Noela simply nodded in quiet agreement.

So, that’s what regular potions taste like. Man, I’m glad I never gave them a try. What kind of recipe would you have to follow to make something flavored like that?

The folks who tasted my homemade potions while leaving the store all trembled on the spot at its flavor.

“This is revolutionary!”

“This potion’s starting a revolution!”

“This is such a breakthrough, it’s a downright revolution!”

Man, these guys really like the word “revolution,” huh? I was pretty sure that the potions would work as my skill described, though, so I wasn’t too worried about “revolution” being hyperbole.

Finally, the manager came and expressed his gratitude. “Thank you so much, lad! I knew this revolutionary potion would sell! Think you could make some more? Folks are asking, and, well…”

“Sure,” I replied. “I’ll bring them over tomorrow.”

“Thank you!” the older man replied, beaming.

If I sold the potions directly to customers, I could’ve made a lot more profit, but it wasn’t like my goal was to get rich. I just needed enough money to be comfortable.

“Do you know where you’re spending the night, lad? Would you like to stay with me and my lot? My house can get a bit rowdy, but I’d love to thank you for all you’ve done.”

“We’ll grab a room at an inn, since I have money from the potions,” I replied. “But thanks! I appreciate the thought.”

And so, Noela and I parted ways with the manager. Since we were two complete strangers to him until today, his willingness to put us up overnight meant that he had a good heart. I hoped this would all work out for him.

“Master, what wrong? Say something?”

“Nah, it’s nothing.”

With a lightness to my step, I began searching for an inn, and my first day in another world came to a close.