CH 9

Unsettled by the unexpected news from Gazelle, I looked down at the cobblestone-paved road.

I see……. I didn’t hear any mention of this in “Change the World”, but in reality, if monster attacks were to increase like this, all kinds of aftereffects will crop up one after another. It brought home to me how naive I still am about the situation. 

Then suddenly, I felt something warm on my head. I looked and saw Gazelle’s large palm softly patting my head as if to comfort me.

“Don’t look so gloomy. It’s going to be all right. That’s what we, the Knights are here for. If we work our asses off from here, public safety will improve in no time.”

“……yeah, you’re right.”

When I nodded, Gazelle broke into a hearty laugh. 

His face reflected a strong conviction that he and everyone else would protect the weak, that they are here to protect the lives of those who don’t have the means to fight.

I raised my face which had been downcast.

That’s right! I can’t become discouraged either. The reason I asked Gazelle to bring me all the way to the castle town in the first place was because I wanted to come up with a plan to avoid the demise of the Blackwing Knights. I must learn from Gazelle’s determination and take a step forward in my own way.

As he mentioned earlier, Gazelle and I are now walking in a shopping district in the castle town that is reserved for the nobility. Both sides of the wide street are lined with stores, and although there is a fair amount of people coming and going, I did not get the impression that it was noisy. The shopkeepers were calmly talking to the customers, and there was no shouting.

If I were to use a Japanese analogy, this shopping district would be similar to Ginza in Tokyo. The shopkeepers standing in front of their stores and the people passing by are all somewhat refined and aristocratic.

………But they really are aristocrats!

The madam with her maid we just passed by looked like she was of a very respectable status at first glance!

I’m getting worried now. Is it really safe, shopping in a place like this? It’s not only a question of money, but also about whether I can enter a store without feeling self-conscious. 

Still, as expected of the royal capital, it is a very prosperous place. When I first came to this kingdom, my first stop was on a pirate ship, and my next stop was a fishing village and then a farming village on the outskirts of the kingdom.

Litzheim City, the capital of the kingdom, is incomparable to those places.

On either side of the main street are three-story buildings with mortar walls in a variety of colors: white, reddish brown, gray, and light green. The streets are lined with evenly spaced, gold-plated exterior lights. The lights are not electric, but are said to be powered by magic. When the sun goes down and these exterior lights shine, the cityscape will look even more fantastic with the colorful buildings illuminated by the lights.

From what I could see, most of the buildings seem to use only the ground floor as storefronts. According to Gazelle, the second floor and above are occupied by employees, people of nobility who became independent, and members of the Knight Orders who do not wish to move into the barracks and rent rooms. 

“Are there members of the Blackwing Knights who also live in rented rooms?”

“Yeah, there are. Most of them are married or living together with their girlfriends. It’s…… not always convenient to live in the barracks.”

Gazelle’s words were a bit vague, but even I could see the hidden meaning in his words.

Ahh, I see. You have to share a room in the barracks…… so it’s inconvenient if you have a partner, yeah! 

While discussing such things, we walked down the street to the store we wanted to visit. There were many hardware, footwear, and clothing stores in this area, and the store I was looking for seemed to be a long way off.

After a twenty-minute walk from the carriage stop, we finally arrived at our destination.

It was a three-story reddish wooden building with a sign that read “Ingrid’s Perfume”. The store was filled with an overflowing aroma that wafted down the streets.

“–This is the perfume shop in the castle district. There are a few others, but is this place good?” 

“Yeah, it’s fine. …..can I go inside?”

“Of course. That’s what we’re here for.”

Gazelle opened the door to the store and I entered with trepidation.

It felt cool inside, and the light fragrance of flowers wafted through the air. 

From the looks of it, there were no customers other than us. Well, I’m glad there weren’t many customers. I’ve never been in a perfume store, even back in the previous world. Besides, I’m not here because I’m interested in perfume.

But today I’m accompanied by Commander Gazelle, one of the most handsome men in the Blackwing Knights! If I had a handsome man in tow, I can proudly waltz into a store like this, one that is frequented by normies! Amazing!

“Welcome, what can I help you with?”

While I was trying to be as calm as possible, I was unexpectedly approached by a clerk. 

Oh, no. Store clerks talk to you in this world too……!

Crap, I want to turn around and go back really freaking bad!

The person who approached me and Gazelle was a girl with glasses and moss-green hair tied in a braid. She had just been sitting at the counter in the back of the store. Over her neat dark green one-piece dress, she was wearing a spotless white apron. She was probably in her late teens.

“Sir, what can I help you with today?” 

“Hi. I have something I need to make an order for.”

“By that, do you mean……a customized perfume refinement?”

The store clerk with glasses sparkled at my words. Seeing the smile of a pretty girl up close for the first time in a while, I feel comforted.

“Yay! It’s been a while since I’ve had a customer who’s asked me for a customized order…… I’m a lucky girl today!” 

Or so I thought, but then the store clerk with the glasses started to say something that made me feel uneasy.

Your first customer in a long time? It, It’s true that we are the only two customers in this store……

Anyhow, as long as they can use the skill “Refinement”, it’s all good in my books. Let’s get back on track.

“Customized perfume refinement means……. you’re an alchemist?” 

“Yes! But I mean, uh, I’m embarrassed to say that some of the perfumes here are my own concoctions.”

“So that was the case. You must be very skillful to be able to perform such superb refining already, even though you are still so young.”

“N, no! I’m not even halfway there! Compared to my grandmother, I still have a long way to go!”

The store clerk, a girl with glasses, waved her hands in front of her face in a flustered manner. Somehow I felt further comforted by the store clerk who was beginning to show her true colors. 

The word “refinement” that the glasses-wearing clerk and I were talking about is a unique skill used by alchemists, one of the professions in the game “Change the World.

Judging from her use of the word “refinement” I guessed that she was an alchemist, a profession in the game.

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……Although there is a skill called “refinement” in this world, potions and elixirs did not exist.

Or maybe I should say, “they do not exist yet”.

That is because the main character who will be summoned to this world will be the one to develop them.

Therefore, for now, alchemists who can use the “refinement” skill generally deal with items related to entertainment, such as perfumes. 

On that note, the “refinement” skill is even used to make perfume, huh? They don’t make it by mixing or refining or anything. I guess when magic is too advanced, anything can be done by magic first……

“Actually, it’s not perfume that I want you to make. It’s something else.”

I motioned with my eyes to Gazelle, who came along with me, and asked him to come over. Gazelle was holding an ingredient in a paper bag – a glass jar filled with the nectar of the drainflowers we had defeated in Tomi Village the other day.

When I asked Gazelle to bring me here, I explained in advance that I wanted to experiment with making an elixir called a “potion”, but he still seemed skeptical. 

As proof of this, he was staring at the glass bottle with a suspicious look on his face.

It’s possible that Gazelle didn’t get the idea because I was terrible at explaining, but let’s leave that aside.

What we’re trying to do here…… is to develop the first “potion” in the Magical Kingdom of Litzheim.

In a world where the protagonist has not yet been summoned, there were no items such as potions or elixirs to restore energy. 

Therefore, I decided that it would be too late to wait until the main character is summoned to develop the potion. Because the main character develops potions only after the Blackwing Knights’ destruction event occurs.

In other words. My strategy was: “Let’s develop potions ahead of schedule in preparation for the Blackwing Knights’ destruction event!”

The reason why I said “first in the Litzheim Magic Kingdom” rather than “first in the world” is because potions were apparently commonly circulated in this world several hundred years ago. However, the manufacturing method was lost after a war or something happened later on, or so I heard.

The reason why I keep using vague words like “apparently”, “something”, and “or so I heard” is because I have a very hazy recollection of the details of the game’s setting. 

The main storyline of “Change the World” is as follows.

The main character is summoned as a savior through a ritual performed by the king and the sorcerers of this world.

The hero befriends the prince and princess of the castle and the sorcerers.

They become friends with the Blackwing Knights. 

The town where the Blackwing Knights are staying is attacked by monsters on a large scale. The Blackwing Knights, who served as sergeants to help the people escape, are destroyed.

The survivor of the Blackwing Knights, either Gazelle or Felix, works with the protagonist to rebuild the partially-destroyed city.

The city is in a semi-destroyed state and there are many injured people, but the number of healers is not enough to keep up with the treatment. While searching for other treatment methods, the protagonist finds a description in an old book in the castle’s library that says, “Injuries can be cured with an elixir called a “potion”.

In search of a way to manufacture the potion, they head for the ruins in a neighboring country. 

There, they get solicited by the prince and princess of the neighboring country, and by a suspicious man in a black cloak (who was very clearly the resurrected Demon King, thank you very much).

After successfully developing a potion, they return to the Magical Kingdom of Litzheim.

Due to the development of the elixir, they were crowned as a savior.

The events and choices they have made up to this point will lead them to either “Defeat the Demon King” or “Coexist with the Demon King”. 

If they didn’t have an encounter with a mysterious man in a black cloak in a neighboring country (very clearly the Demon King), the game will force the protagonist to enter the “Defeat the Demon King Chapter”!

–That sums it up.

Hence, if I develop the potion in advance, the survival rate of the Blackwing Knights may increase in the event of a large-scale monster attack.

As I was putting together the narrative and my future goals in my mind, the bespectacled clerk in front of me blinked her eyes. 

She asked, “Are you refining something that isn’t perfume ……?”

Seeing the look on his face, I decided to explain what I wanted her to do.

“How do you always go about refining perfumes, Ms. Alchemist?”

“Ar, are you referring to me? Let’s see…… I use the magic skill, “refinement” in front of the items I want to combine. Depending on the type of perfume, it may be necessary to chop or crush the ingredients beforehand.” 

“I see.”

I tried to sound as normal as possible when answering, but inwardly I immediately thought in panic, ‘Huh? Was it necessary to chop and grind the ingredients first? What were we supposed to do in the case of potions?’

We, well let’s give it a try first. As they say, trial and error is a good thing. Luckily, the ingredients for the potion are not that expensive. But when it comes to elixirs, the difficulty of obtaining the ingredients and the price shoots up!

“Ms. Alchemist, I want you to make me a potion, not a perfume. However, the fundamentals should be the same as those of perfumes and other concoctions. For the ingredients, I have the nectar prepared, but do you have any yuza grass and cassion flowers? 

“Ye, yes, sir. We have both in stock.”

The glasses-wearing clerk nodded as I pointed to a glass jar filled with nectar. I looked at her and smiled.

“Then, I would like you to make it for me. Even if you fail in the “refinement” process, I will buy all of them. First things first……”

◆ 

–After the 10th refinement, we finally created the potion that I knew.

Man, I really underestimated the potion-making process. There seemed to be a lot of subtleties involved in the chopping and measuring of ingredients, and I had to ask the glasses-wearing clerk to remake the potion ten times before I could get it just right.

After about the fifth time, when I failed and a black liquid formed, I thought to myself, “Maybe what I’m doing is a waste of time? Will reality ever work out the way the game is supposed to?” I was drenched in a cold sweat inside! 

But since it worked out, I’m really really glad. I was wondering what I was going to do when the bespectacled clerk and Gazelle both paused for a while with stunned expressions on their faces when they saw the finished potion.

As a test of the potion’s efficacy, I took the potion and used it on my left arm, which had been injured by the drainflowers the other day. When I applied the clear emerald green liquid to the cut that had almost healed but was still burning and tingling, a faint glow appeared and then vanished without a trace. When I rubbed the area where the wound had been, there was no scar left anywhere, and I was even a little impressed.

Afterwards, we also tested it on some scrapes on Gazelle’s arms, and it worked on those as well without any problem. The potion emitted the same faint turquoise light and erased the scars without leaving any trace.

“Damn, it really got made…… Not that I doubted Takumi’s claims, but…… I didn’t think we could really make such a groundbreaking item.”

“oh……oh my god.”

Following Gazelle’s words, the store clerk with glasses murmurs with dazzled eyes.

“This thing is impressive. If this can be mass-produced, it will completely change the way we fight monsters. And even in regions where there are not enough healers, many people can be saved if we have this……” 

“Oh my oh my oh my, oh my oh my oh my.”

Gazelle mumbles in amazement as he looks at his now clear arm, and the store clerk in glasses was in a midst of complete disarray as she incessantly repeated “oh my oh my oh my oh my”.

Was this really that big of a deal? I made it because I thought it would help the Blackwing Knights.

But thinking back, this “potion development” event helped to solidify the main character’s status as a “savior,” so I guess it’s quite a feat when you think about it. 

“………………”

……was this really okay to make at this point in time?

Uh…… I mean, it should be fine, yep.

Because even if the potion development event was gone, there are still many events left, such as “having the prince or princess of the castle fall in love with them” and “fighting together with the Whitewing Knights to defeat the dragon”. There should still be plenty more events where the hero becomes the savior of this country, yep. 

Therefore, if there was no problem for the protagonist, it would be a question of whether it’s okay for me.

Somehow, no one has ever asked me about my past, or where I used to live. But surely Gazelle and everyone else will start to question this, right?

How did an illegal immigrant-looking person like you, or rather, an unmistakably illegal immigrant like you, know how to manufacture such a thing? A, at least I’ve got Gazelle to vouch for me as a guarantor for now, but……

Not good. I was too focused on how to break the Blackwing Knights’ destruction flag that I hadn’t thought at all about why I knew how to make the potion. Should I just say that I learned it from my father in Hawaii? 

As I was racking my brains trying to think of an excuse, Gazelle put his hand on his chin and began to speak.

“……Looks like a few more trials will need to be run. Young lady, I’m sure you already understand, but please don’t tell anyone else about this potion incident.”

“Ye, yes! Of course!” 

Gazelle looked at the store clerk with glasses and asked with a serious expression, and she nodded her head repeatedly.

“My bad. I’ll bring the vice commander of the Blackwing Knights and our healer tomorrow, so can you help us make the potion again? Since we’re going to have to rent out the store, I’ll make up for those sales.”

“Oh, that’s okay! Our store has lost a lot of customers to a new competitor, so we haven’t been very busy lately!”

Gazelle’s shoulders buckled as the bespectacled clerk said it so matter-of-factly. 

“……are you really going to be okay? Ah, well, if it’s alright with you, young lady, I may ask you to become the exclusive alchemist for the Blackwing Knights.”

“What?! M, me!?”

“To make potions, it seems like we need an alchemist’s ‘refinement’ skill. From what I’ve seen, you appear to be very skilled, so you’re more than welcome to join us.”

“Oh, oh my goodness gracious heavens lord……Me as the Blackwing Knight’s…………wait, the distinguished sirs are from the Blackwing Knights!?” 

“Now you realize?!”

For a while, Gazelle and the glasses-wearing clerk chatted happily, but decided to call it a day for now on the potion-making process. Tomorrow, in the presence of other members of the Blackwing Knights, we will be making and experimenting with the potions again.

Although we found out that this potion has the effect of treating human injuries, they intend to closely examine the extent to which it does so, and so on. 

…… right. In other words, there is nothing more to do today.

And if there is nothing left to do, Gazelle and I need to go back.

“So long, young lady. See you tomorrow.”

“Ye, yes, Gazelle-sama! I look forward to working with you tomorrow!” 

Nodding at the spectacled clerk who was bowing respectfully, Gazelle and I left the store together.

It was already dark outside.

Although light purple clouds were billowing only in the direction where the sun had set, they were gradually fading into dusk. In a few moments, darkness would fall completely.

“……” 

“……”

Gazelle and I walked in silence, not saying a word to each other.

The gold-plated lamps we had seen earlier were beginning to light up. In fact, the number of people coming and going may have increased as the weather became cooler than in the daytime.

Gazelle and I walked down the street together, avoiding people and sometimes getting avoided by them. 

Contrary to my expectations, he did not ask me anything.

Wh……why?

Why isn’t he asking anything? I mean, you must be wondering just how I knew how to make potions, right?

Especially since Gazelle is the leader of the Blackwing Knights…… Maybe after returning to the barracks, he, Felix and Iris will surround me so that I can’t escape, and then Interrogation Time will commence……. 

Come to think of it, the continuation of the previous questioning from the three of them hasn’t even taken place yet……

Could it be that we are going back to the barracks so that I can be interrogated about my past state of estrus and paralysis, and now this latest potion incident at the same time?

If, if that’s going to happen, I might as well just talk to him while I still can!

O……okay. I’ll be the first to broach the subject. I can’t stand this mood anymore. 

……There’s a saying in the world that you have to “beat around the bush to get the snakes out”, but I’ll forget that for now!

I made up my mind and quietly called out to Gazelle.

“Gazelle, you’re not going to ask me anything?”

“……Well, I’ve got a load of questions I’d like to ask you. Like where did you get the idea of making potions this time?” 

Of course. Anyone would be curious about that, yup.

Then, is this what it really is Do you plan to go back to the barracks and start Interrogation Time after this?

“But if you don’t feel like talking, then you don’t have to.”

“Huh?” 

Gazelle’s unexpected words make me stop in my tracks.

Gazelle also stopped, looked back at me, and gave me an ever so gentle smile.

“Everyone has secrets that they can’t tell even to their closest loved ones. So, whenever you decide to open up, you can tell me.”

“Gazelle……” 

“Besides, it’s not like you did anything illegal this time, either. If this potion making process gets off the ground, the knights and vigilantes will have a much wider range of possibilities and will be able to fight monsters much more easily, you know? Then wouldn’t that be more of a benefit to Litzheim?”

It was a voice that warmly enveloped and melted away my anxiety, which had been piling up like a snowball. The sound of his voice made my body go numb.

Our……our Commander is too manly!

His magnanimity is tremendous to the max ……! Man, when I was playing the game, I remember thinking, “All the Knight Commanders of Litzheim are so cool! They all seem to be different types,” but I stand corrected. 

Our Commander is the coolest, far better than anyone out there!

“Thank you. Gazelle’s words have always lifted my spirits.”

I expressed my honest feelings from the bottom of my heart.

Then he patted my head with his palm. Gazelle, you really like to pat people’s heads, don’t you? Well, it feels good to be patted by Gazelle, so I like it a lot, too. 

“So…… I need to consult with you on that. Whose idea will it be to develop the new potion?”

“Nn? What do you mean?”

The truth is, it pains me greatly to be asking this of Gazelle, who has always listened to my every whim, but! 

“I can’t explain where my knowledge originates from when people ask me. It’s not that I can’t put it into words, but…… I don’t think anyone would believe me if I told them.”

Looking at me who was awkwardly looking away, Gazelle nodded his head as if he had understood something.

“I got it……In other words, Takumi doesn’t want it to be known that he is the originator of the idea, I see.”

“That’s what I mean.” 

“……If you want, you can pretend that I did the inventing. If it’s for Takumi’s sake, I’m sure Felix will also cooperate, so we can pass the word that ‘I collaborated with Felix in researching ancient documents and succeeded in developing the item’ to the higher-ups. But…… that would mean we’d be taking credit for Takumi’s work.”

“That’s fine. If it makes Gazelle and the others become more valued, then I’m more than happy with that.”

“Takumi……you’re not very ambitious, are you?”

No – because it wasn’t my idea originally! 

I just did it exactly the way it was made in the game. ……No, not even close to that…… I only took down a few drainflowers, but the rest were all taken care of by the Blackwing Knights. The Blackwing Knights did the work of extracting materials from the bodies of the drainflowers, too. In addition, the alchemist did the important refining work for me………… When I think about it this way, I didn’t actually do much at all

In fact, if I were to be recognized for this amount of work, I would feel so guilty that my stomach would churn. Yup. By all means, let Gazelle and Felix take credit for this. I hope they give you a raise in wages or something!

“……But then again, I never thought that I would be able to witness in person such a great invention.”

“Sorry you had to come all the way out here on your day off.” 

“I’ll do whatever it takes to be there for you. Besides, it was fun to walk around the city with you like this. We should come again, and if possible, take Felix with us sometime.”

“……Mn. Thank you very much for today, Gazelle.”

Gazelle’s crimson hair shines brightly like a flickering flame against the faint light of the lamps in the backdrop of the cityscape at dusk. His golden eyes narrowed as he gazed at me, and I thanked him with all the gratitude I could muster.

​​Hash:

“In Japan, the name Ginza is synonymous with old wealth, foreign luxury goods, powerful businessmen and well-heeled ladies who lunch. Many of the original branches of Japan’s best-known and most opulent department stores are located here. (https://trulytokyo.com/ginza/)”

「はわわわわわ」 “omg panik (in a cute, girly way)” so I did “oh my” or a variation. Let me know if anyone has a better suggestion to render it.

“Should I just say that I learned it from my father in Hawaii?” 

In case anyone didn’t get this reference, it’s from Detective Conan, making fun of how the main character knows the most random skills like flying a plane and excuses it by saying he learned it when he went to Hawaii with his dad.