Volume 28 - CH 9

When I returned to the inn, Murphy was playing a card game with his members.

「Yoo, Alec, you're back. Looks like you've been pretty busy again too.」

Murphy smiled, his cheeks glowing, and he was in a strangely good mood. It's hard to believe that he was the one who was drinking and curling up in a pipe earlier. Or maybe that was just an act. Damn.

「Well yeah. You're feeling better now that you're going to businesswoman, Murphy.」

「Haha well, don't ask questions like that, brother. Anyway, Alec, I heard you're making potions and selling them at a fair price... but of course, you're going to sell them to us at the same price, right?」

「Don't worry about that. Since you're the senior guest at the inn, I'll respectfully offer you ten of them at a discounted price.」

「Ohhhh, you heard that, boys. Alec's a good guy, right?」

He's a real smooth operator.

「Yeah, he is. Thanks, Alec!」「Thanks a lot!」「We don't have a cleric, so we can't dive dungeons without enough potions, and we're bored as hell.」

Murphy's party members were saying that potions were very important. In a city with so many adventurers, it's no exaggeration to say that they play a role in the economy.

When I went to the kitchen, pots were simmering on all the stoves.

「Oh, Alec. Do you have any empty bottles? We've already run out of the next one.」

Serina, who had returned, said that.

「I brought them from Hans' workshop. There are exactly fifty.」

「「「Yay!」」」

「However, the empty bottle will be delayed a little due to various reasons.I don't think it's going to happen today.」

「Huh? What. I'll beat Hans's ass a little and hurry him up.」

Jouga rolls up his sleeves and starts to head out, but I stop him.

「Stop it, Jouga. Hans is working very hard on this. You can't rush a hard-working craftsman. You don't want any accidents to happen, or for him to get fed up and quit.」

「Ohhh, that's not good, is it?」

「But we're in trouble. If we only have fifty empty bottles, we'll probably have enough herbs left over for this pot.」

「What should we do?」

Fianna ask me, but I need everyone to think about it now.

「We'll figure out what to do together. Anything you can think of, anything at all. It doesn't matter if it's not going to happen, or even if you think it's ridiculous, just say it first.」

This is a technique called brainstorming. It's a method often used in company meetings, but in practice, it rarely works because the boss immediately makes a difficult face and everyone's mouth gets heavy. Well, whatever works for now.

「How about we all have a drink together?」

Lily said.

「Yeah, I guess so. Well, if we don't come up with another idea by dinner, that's fine. We'll have to leave empty the pot, or Ada will be noisy.」

It'll make the party a little healthier.

「Gueh, gueh!」「『I'll take care of the food!』」

Matsukaze and Nene say, well, I'm sure Koobo would love to drink up the bitter herbs.

「How about we take it to the temple, have them prepare a container for it, and hand it out?」

Fianna said with a cleric-like idea. Hmm, that would be good too.

However, the reason adventurers want bottled potions is because they are portable in dungeons and easy to use in battle.

You can take them with you in a canteen, but it could be fatal if you have to open the lid every time you want to drink during battle.

On the other hand, with a bottle, you can throw it at your armor or head, break it open, and let the contents soak into you to recover. It hurts, though.

「I don't think that's necessary, but I'm sure the potion will come out soon.」

Luka says that even if the potion will eventually come out, it's not clear when.

If you're just an adventurer, it's probably easiest to wait like that, but I have ambitions to make this clan bigger. I'm going to gather and increase the number of loli adventurers.

「Hmm~, I'm sorry, darling, but I can't come up with a good idea at the right moment.」

But Saki couldn't help herself. It's a difficult question.

「Hmph. It seems that this is where the party's wise counselor, this genius mage, comes in.」

Letty said to me as she pinched the brim of her hat, held up her rod, and flipped her cloak to pose.

「If you're going to go that far, I'm expecting - no, first tell me what you're going to do, Letty.」

「Hey. That's unconditional adoption. You can count on my wisdom! Alec.」

In your case, it's not a bag of wisdom, it's a box of surprises and a trap. If it's a mad idea, it can't be adopted unconditionally.

「You're quite right. Letty can be a little crazy sometimes, Yup-yup!」

Everyone agrees.

「Kuhh, tsk. I think I'll stop saying that. I wonder what I should do」

She's a pain in the ass.

「Then you don't have to say anything.」

「Hey! Give me a little flattery.over there! Give me applause and an expectant look, come on! Make it exciting!」

「Just get on with it. Whether I'll admire you or not depends on the idea.」

「Hmph. Fine, I'll tell you what. I can use magic to speed up the process of making empty bottles.」

「「「Huh? 」」」「What ......?」」

The place went silent.

「Hmm? Huh? Did I say something strange,That-is-why! It's faster to accelerate them with magic. I think I can get up to about a hundred times faster, so if we can make fifty a day, I can make five thousand.」

「「「What, 5,000 a day!?」」」

「Letty, is that true?」

「Letty, does it make a decent bottle?」

「Ehh? Isn't that the part where you applaud and say, "That's great, Letty, yay!" unconditionally?　Why are you asking questions with suspicion in your eyes?」

That's probably what you do every day do. You're a mage who sometimes does things that make me feel a little uneasy.

「All right, I'll trust you. Now, let's see if you can help Hans with that magic.」

「Okay, leave it to me!」

I took Letty with me to Hans' workshop.

「Heeh, a magic that can accelerate work? I didn't know there was such a thing.」

I'll tell Hans what's going on, but I'm sure it's not a common magic.

「Hmm-hmm, there's no way ordinary people can understand the wisdom of great magic.」

「Murghh, I'm not an ordinary person. Please take those words back!」

「Wait, wait, wait. Now is not the time to be arguing about something so insignificant.」

「What do you mean it's insignificant!」

「That's right!」

They're so annoying.

「Just show me the results. That's how we'll know if you're ordinary people or not.」

「That's what I want!」「All right.」

「So, Letty, what do you want me to do?」

「Just let Hans do his thing. I'll buff the acceleration magic on him. Oh, and I'll accelerate all the time around him, so you'll need a hundred times as much food.」

「Okay, I'll make sure he's well fed. Meena, Ione, I'll leave it to you」

「「Sure」」

I'll send out orders to restaurants and bakeries here and there for delivery and takeout, and have them prepare a hundred servings as soon as possible. The clan members will carry them.

「Now, I'll get to work.」

「I'll have to gather up all the ingredients. So, why don't some of you come with me?」

I left the materials to Saki and set up the production system. The remaining members of the clan were sent to collect empty bottles.

「Then, I'll begin. ......」

When Letty held up her rod, a pale light of magic power began to shine and drift around her body.

「――Day is light, night is darkness. I am the one who ticks the unchanging time and transcends the beat of time and space. The earth begins to turn, beyond the space of a small cord. A false time, a false place, cast a stone into it, and pile up the cats of illusion. The longest overtake the shortest, and turn the waves into blue arrows! 【Summer Vacation Golden Week (Mada Asobi) Game Ends Immediately (Tie) Why and how is (Mon)!】」

As the spell was completed, an intricate magic circle appeared on the floor of Hans' workshop, glowing blue.

「Ooooh! It's fast!」

「It's too fast to see!?」

On top of the magic circle, Hans is working while leaving an afterimage. Empty bottles began to pile up one after another in large quantities at his side.

「Way to go, Letty!」

「Phew. With the magical power of me and the evil gods, this level of magic is a piece of cake. But more importantly, time moves a hundred times faster than normal, so Hans needs to be fed every four minutes. He'll starve to death if you leave him alone, so be careful. Gaha!」

Letty, too, had used up all her MP and fell to the ground.

「Four minutes? You idiot, tell me that first.」

I took out a magic potion from the 【Item Storage】 and gave it to Letty to drink first.

Then I took out the cheese I had saved as a snack for myself and placed it on the desk. The cheese disappeared in a flash, and Hans seemed to have eaten it. I wondered if I should go out and buy some bread right away.

I thought so, but Meena came running back first.

「Master, I've bought bread and milk. I thought it would be better to prepare them as soon as possible, so I bought a small amount.」

「Okay, good job, Meena.」

Meena immediately went back to the store to buy more, and had the clan members carry the empty bottles to the inn.

「Darling, I've stocked up on glass seeds and firewood!」

「Great, good timing, Saki. I'll ask you again soon」

「Leave it to me. Good luck, Hans.」

「Beep!」

He must have said yes, but it was too fast and sounded like an electronic buzzer. I helped him with the firewood.

「Oops, I shouldn't have let Hans do all the work.」

「That's right. We've got to work too!」

The clan memebrs showed their motivation and willingly went about their respective tasks. Those who stepped on the ladder, those who fetched water, those who went in search of empty bottles, those who changed the sheets of Hans' bed, those who prepared a tub for bathing, those who prepared a change of clothes, those who carried empty bottles to the inn, and those who collected medicinal herbs. The sweat of labor and motivation began to gather in the workshop, creating an uplifting and mysterious sense of vitality and unity.

「Oh, no, darling, we can't get the materials until tomorrow.」

As the sun began to set, Saki, who looked as if she had been running around the city looking for them, said under her breath.

「No, Saki, that's enough. How many do you have now?」

「Right, it's about five thousand two hundred and thirty.」

「Then, Letty, break the spell and return to normal time. We'll continue tomorrow」

「Okay, I got it.」

Hans smiled as he wiped the sweat off his face with a cloth after letting Letty break the spell.

「Wow, I've made a lot in just one day! That's a new record for me!」

「Well done Hans, you did a great job. Can you do it again tomorrow?」

「Sure, I can still do it.」

His cheeks are a little puffy and he've lost some weight, but I think He'll be okay.

「But I'd like to have some grilled meat or fish. Also I'd also like some soup. I'm bored with just bread.」

I had prepared some cheese and dried meat, but since he was eating mostly bread, the meal must have become monotonous. It's understandable.

「Well, then, we're going to dinner now. I'll treat you too.」

「Ohhh! Thank you so much!」

The next day, we were still making potions. We worked single-mindedly.

「Alec-san, the priest is going to share the bottle he uses for holy water with us.」

Fianna reported in a lovely voice.

「Oh, that's great!」

「There are other adventurers who have brought us empty bottles.」

「Houh, did you tell them about the production?」

「No, they just said they heard I was collecting empty bottles.」

「I see.」

They don't know what the bottles'll be used for, but I guess it's a sign of Fianna's humanity that they're willing to help.

I'm sure they'll benefit from the lower price of the potion, and I'll be grateful for it.

And a week later...

「All right, We've completed exactly 100,000 potions!」

Saki, who counted up the potions, announced on the crate.

「「「Ohhhh! We did it!」」」

We rejoice and give each other high fives and smiles.

It was a potion that the Black Cat of the Wind had cooperated to create with Hans. It's not just the crates of potions that are piled up. There was indeed a sense of accomplishment and joy that we had all worked so hard to achieve. It was a feeling I had never experienced before, and I was uncharacteristically moved by it.