Chapter 4: Sir Elliott
The next morning, Teo still hadn’t woken up.
It’s nothing unusual, but I’ll just say he’s tired from the dungeon after such a long time.
I set aside Teo’s breakfast and put it into the wooden box.
Then I restocked the medicine that sold yesterday, opened the shop, and decided to make medicine in the workshop using the materials Teo brought back.
Today, I’ll make healing salves and potions.
Clack, jingle~ jingle~
Ah, a customer.
“Welcome!”
As I called out and went from the workshop to the shop, that handsome knight was standing there.
He looks a bit better today.
“Excuse me, has the alchemist teacher returned?”
Uwaa… what should I do?
Is it okay to wake Teo?
“Yes, he returned yesterday. He’s still asleep, but I’ll go wake him.”
“No, I’d feel bad about that. I’m the one who came unannounced, so may I wait until he wakes up?”
Eh…
I can’t say “that would be a problem,” so I answered with a smile.
“No, I’ll call him. Teo… my teacher just has trouble waking up, so please have a seat here.”
I had the knight sit at the table beside the counter and hurried to Teo’s room on the second floor.
“Teo, wake up! Teo!”
“Mmm… Alice… what’s wrong?”
“Sorry for waking you, Teo. The handsome knight I told you about yesterday is here. Please wake up!”
“Mmm… haaah… alright…”
I pulled Teo’s hand and led him downstairs.
While he handles the knight, I’ll prepare his meal…
I guess I’ll even bring out alcohol for him this early.
“Fuaaah… yes, what do you need?”
Teo rubbed his eyes as he went out to the shop and spoke to the knight.
I went to the kitchen in the back and listened in.
“Alchemist, I apologize for disturbing you while you were resting. I could not sit still without expressing my gratitude, so I came to see you. I am Elliott Phillips, vice-captain of the First Knight Order. Ah, please call me Elliott.”
“Huh, Phillips… the marquis family!? Ah… Sir Elliott, is it…”
A marquis family!
If I remember correctly, among nobles, they rank just below the royal family and dukes.
Uwaa, this could be bad if we make a mistake.
Teo scratched his head.
“The potion you created is truly remarkable! Even dungeon-made potions could not completely remove my pain, but this one made it disappear instantly, and there’s no numbness either! It has been four days since then, and the effect still continues. It’s unbelievable… it’s a miracle!”
The knight’s excitement is really high…
I served tea to both of them and listened to their conversation nearby.
“Sir Elliott, I’m Teo. Just call me Teo. So a pain that couldn’t be cured by dungeon-made potions disappeared with ours… hmm, it must have suited your body very well.”
“Yes, Teo! It’s been three years since I’ve been free of pain, and thanks to this, I can finally sleep soundly at night. I don’t know how to thank you… I would like to continue purchasing it regularly!”
““Three years!?””
Teo and I looked at each other in surprise.
So his pale complexion was due to lack of sleep…
Not being able to sleep because of arm pain at night… that’s awful.
“Yes, during the recent stampede, I was cursed, and as you can see, my right hand has become useless due to pain and numbness.”
“Ah, that stampede…”
When the handsome knight removed the white glove on his right hand, his hand was… completely black.
From there, black and purple… vine-like marks twisted and extended up to around his elbow.
“Uwaa! That curse… did you have a saint take a look at it?”
Seeing his painful-looking hand, I couldn’t help but speak up.
“Yes, even the saint at the church could not lift this curse. At first, the pain subsided, but after receiving holy magic several times, it stopped working and numbness began to appear. The mark has also been spreading…”
After that, Sir Elliott said he started drinking dungeon-made potions.
That makes sense.
If even after paying a huge donation the pain doesn’t go away, potions are cheaper and always available.
“Since even the saint could no longer suppress the pain, I thought it was inevitable that potions wouldn’t remove it either…”
He said that whenever he heard of a potion with good effects, he would try it to see if it worked better than dungeon-made ones.
Potions differ depending on the alchemist, after all.
“So the pain comes from a curse… not being able to remove it with potions is tough.”
“Teo, can curses be cured with medicine?”
“Hm… it depends on the monster, but if it’s something like a disease-type curse or status ailment, it can be cured with medicine. But if even a saint can’t cure it, then ordinary medicine would be difficult.”
“I see…”
That writhing black-purple mark…
Did it stop responding to the saint’s holy magic because it spread?
“I have not given up. I am using my connections to search for an elixir. And also for someone who can use holy magic stronger than the saint in the royal capital.”
“An elixir and a great saint? Both are a tall order…”