Chapter 29

"Amelia's power is real."

In the office the day after Amelia enjoyed a dinner of weeds, Oscar spoke to Logan with barely contained excitement.

Seeing Oscar sit up straighter than usual, Logan said,

"…Is your back better?"

"Yes. The pain of recent days seems like a lie now. It reminds me of my active days."

"You're still quite active now."

As Oscar demonstrated by moving his waist in all directions, Logan calmly commented and then placed his hand on his chin.

"Indeed, it's remarkable. Amelia's power is."

By yesterday, Logan had already received a report from Oscar about the events.

From Amelia's actions in the backyard to the incident with Oscar's back pain.

When he heard that she had instantly made medicine from the weeds and flowers growing around, he found it hard to believe at first. But Logan, who had known Oscar for a long time, knew best that Oscar was not the type to lie about such things.

The undeniable evidence that Oscar's back had completely healed in just one day sealed the deal, confirming her alchemy skills as genuine.

Truly, seeing is believing.

And this situation meant that Oscar had one more problem to deal with.

"…How much profit do you think this medicine alone could bring in?"

"Well, I can't even imagine. There are already medicines for back pain, but the effects are different. I've taken a few myself, but Amelia's medicine is in a different league."

"It's not just the effect… there's a more fundamental issue."

"Overwhelming ease of production, right?"

"Exactly."

The price of a product changes significantly based on the cost of production.

If the cost is high, the price on the market will be high, and if it's low, the price will be low.

This is a very basic principle.

While the field of pharmacology has made great strides in the past few decades, with new drugs being continuously released and entering the market, many are still expensive and not very effective.

In such a situation,

A medicine that can cure back pain, a common ailment among the elderly and those who sit for long periods, in just one night, can be easily made from plants growing around.

Unless some unscrupulous merchant deliberately raises the price, it will be provided at a very low cost.

If such a thing were to circulate, it would not just disrupt the market.

Logan held his head.

"The Haggle family was hiding such a talent… It's a national loss…"

The Haggle family probably didn't know.

The money-grubbing Haggle family would never have let Amelia's skills go unused if they knew about them.

Even if not, if she had studied at a proper educational institution in the capital or a research institution instead of in the countryside, she might have advanced modern pharmacology by decades.

Logan felt an indescribable frustration.

(No, there's no point in dwelling on the past. The issue is…)

The handling of Amelia's skills in the future.

How to use this ability in the future, or whether to use it at all.

It needs to be carefully considered.

This is something that needs to be discussed with Amelia as well.

As someone who serves the country, Logan personally wanted Amelia to fully utilize her abilities and advance the pharmacology of our nation… but he had no intention of using her for profit. He wanted to respect her will.

"About the Haggle family…"

Oscar's tone of voice, directed at Logan who was deep in thought, had changed.

Logan recognized the emotion in his voice.

"Information about Amelia's time at her family home has come in. It's from a former maid who worked for the Haggle family. She seems to have connections with the current maids, so the information is likely reliable."

Several reports were laid out in front of Logan.

As he picked them up and read through them one by one, a certain emotion began to light up in his eyes.

It was the same as Oscar's: anger.

– Bang!!

Logan's fist slammed down on the desk.

A teacup, half full, rattled.

"…Are they kidding?"

The report, which had flown up from the impact of his fist, contained words that were too terrible to look at: "abuse by parents," "imprisonment in a shed," "bullying by maids."

"Yes, exactly."

Even the usually calm Oscar could not hide his anger.

Logan took a deep breath to calm himself, then crossed his arms and thought deeply.

After a while, Logan stood up.

"Let's put the discussion about Amelia's skills on hold. First, we need to align our understanding of her personal issues."

"I agree."

"The facts are all in place. Now we need to talk to Amelia directly."

"Understood. Should we push the remaining tasks to tomorrow?"

"I've finished all the paperwork for today."

"Oh, you managed to get through it. Your work speed has visibly improved over the past few days."

"Feeling unusually good. Maybe it's thanks to the tajarin Amelia gave me."

"That's it."

"There's no other explanation."

After finishing the rest of his tea, Logan put on his coat.

"Please handle the guests scheduled to visit today."

"Understood."

Oscar bowed respectfully and saw Logan off, who left the room with larger strides than usual.