CH 65

His name was Teima-san.

His wife’s name was Haruki-san.

As he had told me, I ran a clothing store in the west of the town.

The store was closed due to these circumstances, but when we arrived, a beautiful woman greeted us.

“Hello. You’re Teima-san’s wife, right?”

“Yes. And who might you be?”

She was perplexed by our sudden visit, unaware of the situation.

Yes, she still didn’t know.

About the passing of her beloved.

I felt a desire not to convey the news.

Upon hearing Teima-san’s last words, I could imagine that the time they spent together must have been filled with happiness.

This imagination was surely not wrong.

Because his last moments were filled with kindness.

It was unimaginable that his partner hadn’t moved on from it yet.

But that’s why I had to tell her.

The words that I had received.

Teima-san’s last words that he left for me.

“I-haa… I have something important to tell you.”

I explained the situation to her.

Our situation was simple, but I took a long time to tell her about Teima-san’s passing.

Put emphasis on my words and try to convey them as they are.

And…

“I see… He said that?”

“Yes.”

Tears streamed down Haruki-san’s face.

Even though she tried to smile, she couldn’t contain her overflowing emotions.

I knew she would cry.

I thought I was prepared for it, but seeing her sad face in front of me made my heart feel like it was about to burst into tears.

“Thank you… very much.”

“Huh…”

“He was in a state where he couldn’t even speak. I am happy just hearing his last words.”

She said that with a smile.

Expressing her deepest gratitude while shedding tears.

Her kind words reached my chest, which I had lamented about not being able to do anything.

“Please do your best, okay? I will do my best for him too.”

“…Yes, definitely.”

I will definitely do something so that no one else will have to face an unwanted separation like the two of them did.

I have only one thing to do.

◇◇◇

Upon returning to the Transmutation Circle room, I quickly took out all the necessary materials and arranged them neatly on the desk.

While inspecting each material, I began to organize my thoughts.

“The potion from earlier had some effect. But it didn’t solve the underlying issue. In other words, this sickness has symptoms similar to a cold but is actually entirely different…”

I spoke out loud, but I wasn’t addressing anyone in particular.

By vocalizing my thoughts, I repeated them over and over in my mind.

“Fevers and fatigue are just secondary symptoms… No, what if the cause is something else entirely? Maybe it’s not a bacterium or virus.”

If the cause of the sickness is linked to a monster, should I wait for the return of His Highness Ash?

But I don’t know when he’ll come back, and waiting might result in more victims.

People are suffering while I’m contemplating.

I need to move forward, even if it’s just a little.

“Fusaki-kun! Could you go to the town’s pharmacy and get some herbs for me? I’ll leave the list here.”

“Understood! I’ll be right back!”

“Thank you. Yuren-kun, I need your help with the transmutation. We’ll divide it into steps.”

“Got it. But I can only handle up to a certain step?”

“Yeah, that’s enough for now.”

As long as the efficiency increases, we can move onto the next step.

Despite the limited information, let’s try a few patterns that we can test for now.

The bare minimum is to extend the effect time of the all-purpose potion.

Previous potions had some effect, but they were temporary and caused major backlash.

That burdened the patients’ bodies and minds.

By lengthening the effect time, we can alleviate some anxiety and give them some freedom even if the symptoms progress.

“I’ll try thirteen patterns from now on.”

“Oh, it’s just Aria… No, it’s nothing.

Yuren-kun probably wanted to tell me not to push myself too hard.

But he kept his mouth shut.

He realized that I wouldn’t stop even if he said those words.

I’m sorry, Yuren-kun.

But don’t worry.

I always consider my own well-being too.

If you want to help someone, make sure you’re safe first.

Remember the obvious.

If I collapse, everyone will be in trouble.

So I try my best in the nick of time to prevent that from happening.

“Next pattern!”

“Got it!”

“I’ve got the materials! If we need more, I’ll go get them.”

Everyone worked together in unity to perform transmutation.

We trial and errored.

We tried all available patterns.

Although it’s bad for sick people, they have to be test subjects sometimes.

Healthy people are useless.

We tried the finished potion without consent or refusal.

Without failure, there’s no success.

Just repeat the process.

That’s all we can do.

And just like that, time flew by.

Five days later.

His Highness Ash returned from the monster hunt.