CH 105

“Ahh…”

I stifle a yawn while entering the building next to my tent, the Kagero Institute.

Last night I went along with Kalin and we celebrated Harold’s recovery.

The prized bottle that Kalin brought out was pretty strong, but thankfully it was no match for my own prized potion that can break apart any poison.

I was used to staying up all night in my previous job, but I’m still sleepy.

It’s not like I don’t have a potion to take away my drowsiness, but I’m worried about its side-effects, so let’s not use that just yet.

“Master Rust! Good morning!”

I hear as soon as I enter the Kagero Institute.

“Shellrule. Good morning. You’re here early. I thought I was going to be the first one here, but you’ve beaten me.”

“You remembered my name… Yes, I was curious about the condition of the materials.”

I walk around the room checking the condition of the materials we prepared yesterday.

I haven’t eaten breakfast yet, so I eat a grass brick and wash it down with a stamina potion.

“What is that, Master Rust?”

“Ah, sorry. Where are my manners? This is my breakfast, a portable ration and a stamina potion.”

Shellrule’s eyes are fixated on my portable ration.

“Do you want to try it?”

I break off the bottom part of the portable ration and hold it out to her.

“Can I!? I will!”

She takes it and immediately starts eating it.

“Its taste is stronger than I expected, but I could get used to this bitterness and sourness…”

“I can give you the recipe so you can transmute it yourself if you want to.”

“Uwah, that would be great! But are you sure about that? I mean, this is what I feel by just eating it, but this feels very convenient because of how nutritious it probably is. And it probably keeps for a long time, so it would be great for an army ration, wouldn’t it?”

Other provisional members of the Kagero Institute arrive as we have this rambling conversation.

The last one to arrive is Halhammer, and his face looks a little red.

I sneakily hand him a spare detox potion.

“Sorry Rust. Thanks.”

He then gulps it down.

“Buah. This stuff works.”

Halhammer looks around the room with a more crisp expression.

“Ah, everyone’s here. The chief, the advisor, and the provisional members.”

“Thank you. Well then everyone, I’m counting on you again today. The materials we prepared yesterday have all come out well, so we will be continuing on from where we left off yesterday. Let’s all focus so we can finish this today.”

We get to work after my light greeting.

I look around at everyone for a bit, and then take my new scroll and start working on the final part.

◆◇

“It’s done!”

The provisional members all finished the jobs assigned to them, and I give this the finishing touches.

And then, it’s done.

I put away the scroll I had active, and a round of applause breaks out from the provisional members.

“Incredible.”

“Yes, he handles magic elements like a god.”

“Is he really human, activating multiple scrolls and working on multiple magic circuits at the same time?”

The provisional members start murmuring.

I get up and look at them, and they all become silent.

“Good work everyone. This is the first transmuted product of the Kagero Institute, and we finished it sooner than expected thanks to your efforts. Now let’s test it and…”

I’m then interrupted by Ahri opening the door and rushing in.

“Master Rust! The enemy’s march has suddenly sped up! They will be here soon!”

The enemy is quickly approaching.