Chapter 3: The Alchemist Teacher
He was out of breath… did he run here?
“Are you alright? You’re the customer who came earlier at noon, right? Please sit on that chair. I’ll bring you some water.”
“Haa, haa… yeah…”
I went to the kitchen in the back of the shop to get some water and handed it to the handsome knight.
“Here you go, some water.”
“Ah, thank you…”
The handsome knight gulped down the water in one go.
“Phew… thank you for the water.”
“Sir, was there something wrong with the potion you bought?”
“Ah, about that potion… its effect was amazing! The pain… it disappeared! There’s no numbness either!”
“I see… I’m glad it suited your body. Hehe.”
I replied with a smile.
Huh?
He bought the potion to ease old pain, right?
It’s normal for the pain to go away, though…
“So, I rushed back because I wanted to buy another one today.”
“Huh? It’s better not to drink them consecutively. Please take it after the pain returns.”
Doesn’t he know that drinking potions back-to-back isn’t good for the body?
“I usually drink dungeon-made potions, but they only reduce the pain by half and don’t last even three days. But when I drank the potion from here, the pain disappeared completely! It’s unbelievable!”
The knight spoke with sparkling eyes, but
“Huh? Even dungeon-made potions don’t remove your pain?”
Just how severe was his injury…
“Yeah, that’s right. This is the first time a potion has completely removed my pain, so I’m really happy. Hehe. I’d like to thank the alchemist who made this potion. Are they here?”
The knight said with a smile, but this feels like it could be troublesome…
Sorry, Teo.
“Um… my teacher is currently in a dungeon. I’ll let him know when he returns.”
“In a dungeon… I see. Then I’ll come back another day to express my gratitude. Young lady, could you sell me all the potions you have?”
Eeeh?!
You just said one earlier, and I didn’t make that many!
“As for homemade potions… I have three.”
I only display three in the shop.
I have a few more in my bag, but I want to keep those for emergencies.
Besides, if I sell everything, my regular customers won’t have any left.
“I’ll buy all three!”
“Thank you very much. Please make sure to drink the potions only after the pain returns.”
“Alright, understood.”
The knight didn’t bring any empty bottles, so I sold them at full price, but he happily left one gold coin and said to keep the change.
It seems the knight is quite wealthy.
Today’s sales were the highest ever.
Alright, once I close the shop, I should make more potions.
Hehe.
◇◇
Three days later, in the evening, Teo returned from the dungeon.
“Alice, I’m back!”
“Teo! Welcome back. You look pretty worn out…”
He didn’t seem injured, but his hair was messy and his gear was dirty.
I went up to him and cast recovery magic “Heal” and purification magic “Clean.”
“Oh, thanks! Alice, I’ve got souvenirs for you again today.”
“Souvenirs?! Thank you, Teo!”
When I looked at them, there were herbs and bluish-purple… magic grass!
Amazing!
That’s an ingredient for magic potions.
As the name suggests, a magic potion restores the magical power—MP—inside the body.
“Teo, there’s magic grass! Isn’t it okay not to sell this? It could go for one gold coin.”
“Yeah, you can use it to practice making magic potions.”
“I can’t use something worth one gold coin just for practice! But I’m really happy. I’ll make one once my alchemy skills improve a bit more.”
Since magic grass deteriorates easily, I put it into my bag with time-stop.
“I’m going to make dinner now. Will you eat too, Teo?”
“Oh yeah! I’ll eat. Alice, make some snacks to go with the alcohol too.”
“Okaaay.”
Using magic, I quickly prepared the meal.
Teo had already taken out alcohol from his item bag and started drinking.
Glancing at him, I arranged the finished dishes on the table.
“The food you make, Alice, tastes better than anything at restaurants!”
“Hehe. Thanks, Teo. Not bad for a nine-year-old, right!”
I know he’s flattering me, but it makes me happy when Teo says it’s delicious.
“Oh right, Teo! The other day, my first customer bought a homemade potion. And when he drank it, it worked really well, so he said, ‘I want to thank the alchemist.’ And then I said… ‘He’s in a dungeon right now!’ So, Teo, I’m counting on you!”
“Pfft—!”
Teo spat out the alcohol he was drinking.
“What did you say?! You’re the one making the potions now, Alice! And here I thought you were just acting cute… you pushed it onto me?!”
Eeeh?!
Even though he always likes it when I act cute…
“Geez, that’s messy. Sorry, Teo. It just seemed like a hassle…”
“Hm? What kind of guy was he?”
While wiping up the spilled alcohol, I answered.
“Hmm, a man around twenty wearing a white knight uniform, with a really pale complexion, but blond hair and beautiful blue eyes… a super handsome knight!”
“Ah… that sounds troublesome… probably a noble.”