Chapter 61

While we wait to see how the conflict between the knight's order and the adventurer group develops,

after leaving the adventurer guild, I tidied up the equipment for delving into the dungeon and the spoils of battle, and was relaxing at home when a visitor arrived.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Viola. Is this the residence of Mr. Theodor Gartner?"

A dwarf woman greeted me with a bright smile. She was about my height, but a fine adult.

"Yes, I'm Theodor."

"Um, I've come as a messenger from Mr. Alfred. He would like you to come and see the workshop."

"Huh? Is the workshop already built?"

"It's still under renovation, but the potion preparation equipment is already set up."

"Hmm, then let's go take a look."

I had gathered the necessary raw materials. I had been planning to buy the equipment for potion preparation on a day when I wasn't delving into the dungeon, but Alfred had said he would prepare it.

"So, I'm going out. What about everyone else?"

I asked the people inside the house.

"I have to prepare dinner. Um—will you be back by then?"

Grace tilted her head slightly and asked.

Well, that's a given. Grace's cooking is delicious. I wouldn't be so crude as to settle for street food like skewers or grilled shellfish.

"Sure, I'll definitely be back."

Grace smiled happily at my response.

"What about Ashley?"

"She has a training session with Ms. Sheila in the garden until Ms. Rosetta arrives."

"Even after delving into the dungeon, she's working hard..."

"Thanks to Mr. Theodor, she's in good form."

Perhaps due to the circulation of qi or the leveling up in the dungeon, Ashley is in good health. She can use a healing spell, so she's quite energetic in her studies and training.

The training is in the form of sparring. They just hit each other with wooden sticks wrapped in cloth, but with opponents like Rosetta and Sheila, it must be quite intense.

Grace—because it's hard to control the force—can't participate in such sparring, which seems to make her a bit sad.

"It's been quite interesting and challenging lately. She's started to read my movements and time her attacks."

Sheila, who was cooling off by a bucket of ice columns she had made and listening to Ilmhirld's lute, said this. If she can keep up with Sheila's movements, that's quite something.

So, Sheila will spend some time at home and then return to the western district with Ilmhirld. If that's the case, I might as well go.

"Sorry to keep you waiting."

I loaded the necessary luggage onto the carriage and headed to Alfred's workshop with Viola.

"What will you be doing at the workshop, Viola?"

"Me? I'll be doing all sorts of things. Blacksmithing, sewing, and more. I was about to set out on my own when Alfred asked me to work at the magic technician's workshop."

Viola rolled up her sleeves to show me.

I see. So she's the workshop's in-house blacksmith. Being able to work with both metal and leather, she must be quite versatile. Prince Albert seems to have been making steady preparations.

"In that case, we'll be colleagues, I guess."

"Exactly! Looking forward to working with you!"

In my case, I'll be more like a test pilot involved in the adjustments.

Alfred's workshop is in the eastern district, close to both the school and my house.

It's a large property, but it's still under renovation, with materials piled up in the yard.

Alfred was in the yard with a girl, explaining something to her. When he noticed me and Viola getting off the carriage, he smiled.

"Hey, I've been waiting for you. Welcome to the Brightwell Workshop."

"Thank you."

"This lady is my friend, Feila."

"Nice to meet you."

Alfred greeted us cheerfully and introduced the girl next to him. The girl, called Feila, greeted us by pinching the hem of her skirt. ...Well, to put it bluntly, she's Ophelia in disguise. She's wearing a matching disguise ring with Alfred.

So, the Brightwell surname appears here.

"Well, my personal life has been a bit chaotic. I've been busy lately, so I couldn't make much progress on the workshop, but I've finally made some headway. Some equipment is still under renovation, but the blacksmith's forge and potion preparation equipment are ready. Could you try them out and give me your feedback?"

The royal castle must have been busy with the excavation and translation of ancient documents, and Alfred must have been stressed out, unable to make progress.

Alfred led us to a room in the house.

Scales, mortars, glass bottles, glass tubes, a stove with a large pot, and display shelves... it seems to have all the necessary equipment.

"Then I'll start using them right away. Would you like to watch the process?"

"Is that okay? Isn't it a secret or something?"

"No. Even if you know the method, you need a stable supply of materials, and some steps are quite difficult to imitate."

The magical processing part of the potion is done with a magic circle, so there's no worry about someone copying the incantation. The materials can be gathered during dungeon runs, and the sales route is simple—just bring them to the adventurer guild. If they don't sell, I can use them myself. It's quite relaxed.

Now, about the potions... Healing potions to heal wounds, magic potions to restore magic power, physical potions to restore stamina, and resistance potions with effects similar to magic spells—there are many types.

Some require more effort to process, and improving quality can be challenging, but the biggest problem is the recipes and gathering the necessary materials.

I know some potion recipes from the start, and with the herbs I can gather in the Twilight Forest, I can make several types of potions.

I'm not a production specialist, but being able to mix potions myself allows me to gather materials on-site, and memorizing recipes and acquiring basic skills is quite convenient.

So, from the many types of potions, which ones should I start with... I think magic potions would be particularly profitable.

I've done some research, and they don't circulate much in the market. It might be because the process is limited to those who can mix them, not just the recipes.

I crushed the herbs I had gathered and the materials I had bought in a mortar in the specified proportions.

At the same time, I infused the materials with a sufficient amount of magic power using a mixing spell. If I can't do this, I would need to use a large amount of tiny magic stones, which would increase the cost and reduce the profit margin.

Therefore, magic potions, despite the demand and price, don't offer much profit to the producers.

"You can use a magic circle at this age...?"

"Yeah, he's the rumored demon slayer."

"Whaaat?"

Viola's eyes widened.

By the time we finished talking, the preparations were complete. All that was left was to boil the mixture in clean water on the stove until it changed appearance and was complete.

Since this was just a test run, I didn't need to use the large pot. I put a small pot on the fire and waited. While making sure it didn't overflow, I decided to tell Alfred about the conflict with the knight's order.

"---I see. So there's friction."

Alfred scratched his head, looking troubled.

"There were issues with the adventurers who caused the trouble, but there was also a general negative perception due to the Greg faction. Lady Mercadia said she would try to prevent it from happening again, but if the Greg faction is left unchecked, I think more problems will arise. I don't think she can handle it."

Greg, despite his faults, is still the deputy leader. Mercadia is probably lower in the hierarchy.

"That's a valid point. Can the adventurers be controlled?"

"If the adventurer guild issues a notice, I think they will behave to some extent. Regardless of their feelings towards the knight's order, no one wants to actively create trouble with them."

Listening to the story, Mercadia seemed to be a fair person.

She probably returned to the guild to talk about it because she thought it would be easier to resolve the situation in a public place like the guild rather than inside the dungeon.

The troublesome part about Jasper is that he tried to take advantage of the adventurers' resentment to push through his own mistakes. He probably caused a big fuss and then retreated when the wind turned against him.

"Greg is anxious because Lord Chester left."

"Was Lord Chester that important? He's just a knight, no matter how skilled."

"In this case, Lord Chester's relationships were important. He was a favorite of Princess Rosamary."

"Princess Rosamary, the second princess?"

"Yes. Through Lord Chester, he had access to her. But now that he's gone to the dungeon, the princess seems to have no use for Greg. The surrounding nobles are basically fickle."

I see. That's a matter of life and death. Greg tried to use me to undermine Chester, but now that Chester has left, the foundation is shaking.

"So, he wants to gain recognition by achieving something in the dungeon."

"Exactly. He lacks charisma, so he might be trying to create another young knight as a hero."

Alfred laughed, but suddenly his expression turned serious.

"Um, I want to apologize to you now."

"What for?"

"I'll try to bring it to Prince Albert's attention, but Prince Albert and Princess Rosamary and Greg don't get along well."

"I see."

In other words, the relationship between Rosamary and Prince Albert is not good.

Prince Albert himself has little influence in the palace. He's not directly affected, and it's not a matter of his own people, so it's difficult for him to directly oppose them.

"This time, I just shared the information. If the guild warns the adventurers, the situation might change."

While we were talking, it seemed the potion was ready. I took the pot off the fire, and a thin purple liquid had formed. Once cooled and bottled, it should be a marketable magic potion.

"It looks good. I plan to increase production and stockpile or sell healing potions."

Healing potions are in high demand, but entering the market later won't be profitable. However, stockpiling them can be useful in emergencies.