Chapter 216 : Chapter 216
Chapter 216. Making a New Potion
Something is wrong.
Something is very, very wrong.
Armandy felt that the situation was taking a strange turn.
First was the incomprehensible behavior of the 9th Prince.
Leon Silvert Cretian, who was always dignified, noble, elegant, and the perfect royal himself.
To Armandy, a magic supremacist from a noble background, Leon was truly the royal most suited to be the next Emperor.
Even his Ability was impeccable.
Dragon’s Blessing!
Isn’t it the best Ability for becoming a mage?
Since he possessed both overwhelming Magic Power and magical talent.
Such a 9th Prince had been showing strange behavior recently.
He was tailing the 8th Prince, clumsily collecting information, and hiding and glaring as if he were trying to hunt the 8th Prince.
It was behavior the usual 9th Prince would absolutely not do.
That wasn’t all.
The 9th Prince, who was a perfect idol, showed a strange appearance, but Armandy was also placed in a strange situation.
Different from his intention, he kept being framed as a follower of the 8th Prince.
‘Where did it go wrong?’
Armandy tore at his hair.
With the situation like this, his chest felt stuffy to the point of going crazy.
If he could follow his heart, he wanted to confide in someone, anyone, and become free.
‘But to whom?’
The problem was there was nowhere to confide.
He was on a secret mission, and above all, he had no friends.
That was right.
Armandy had no friends…….
Armandy had not needed friends throughout his life until now.
To Armandy, who entered the Mage Tower from a young age, magic was everything in the world.
Those he mainly conversed with were only his parents, master, or the elderly researchers of the Mage Tower.
Because of that, conversation did not flow with most peers.
Since he didn’t converse, his social skills also gradually hit rock bottom.
After leaving the Mage Tower, he entered the Ability Management Bureau, and since he mainly took on solo tasks in the secret intelligence agency, being alone became even more comfortable.
As a result, he came to have not a single friend to share personal stories with.
‘No. There is a comrade, isn’t there?’
In that instant, a word to replace friend came to mind in Armandy’s head.
Comrade.
Although he had no friends, there was a comrade tasked with a similar mission to him!
Although he hated to admit it honestly, it seemed only Pirenzo, a comrade in the same situation, could understand him at least.
Armandy was conflicted for a long time.
Whether to go to Pirenzo or not.
Eventually, in the early evening, Armandy headed to Pirenzo’s quarters.
Frustration had won over embarrassment.
“What would that bastard say…… I’m getting angry already.”
Thinking of Pirenzo, who would surely giggle asking why he didn’t solve it with that great magic of his, anger flared up.
Should I go back?
……No. I am the desperate one.
Armandy knocked on the door of Pirenzo’s quarters with a resolute expression.
KNOCK KNOCK.
“Who is it?”
“It’s me.”
CLICK.
“What is it, Armandy?”
The door opened and Pirenzo appeared.
He had a strangely relaxed appearance.
“What brings you here? Ah, come in for now.”
Simultaneously, there was a smell wafting out strongly from inside the room.
Armandy ended up covering his nose at the smell making his head throb.
“What is this…… did you drink alcohol perhaps?”
“Shh. Don’t you know bringing alcohol into the Academy is prohibited? Watch your mouth. The flying golems are listening.”
“What is this state for someone who knows? Did you forget you’re a professor!?”
The way he spoke was quite a spectacle.
When Armandy burst out in anger, Pirenzo quickly ushered Armandy into the room and shut the door promptly.
“Why speak like that. Here, come in and sit. You have a drink too.”
“Do you know what the situation is right now! You crazy……!”
Armandy, who was about to start a bombardment of nagging, discovered a figure sitting behind Pirenzo.
“……Prince?”
When Armandy recognized him, Radel raised his hand in greeting, glad to see him.
“Armandy, you came too. That worked out well.”
In front of the two, bottles were plentiful.
Various types of alcohol were contained in the bottles.
It was a scene where one could guess what kind of time Pirenzo and Radel had spent sitting at the table.
“No, on earth…… what are these bottles……?”
“The Alchemy midterm assignment this time is making a new potion. While making it, I made a bit of a mistake, you see. Alcohol ended up being made.”
At Radel’s shameless words, Armandy was dumbfounded.
“……Who makes alcohol by mistake?”
“That’s what I mean. Isn’t it quite fascinating?”
Saying that, wasn’t he shrugging his shoulders nonchalantly.
Armandy clenched his teeth tight to suppress the urge to scream.
He doesn’t think saying just anything will cut it, does he……?
* * *
First-year Alchemy major midterm alternative assignment.
Making a new potion.
Making a potion that had never appeared in the world yet was the key.
Anesha, an Alchemy major, said that for the assignment she did in her first year, she developed a potion that makes cute sounds when drunk.
“A new potion…….”
Radel pondered what potion to make, then looked at the display case in his workshop.
Prototypes he had made to figure out the alcohol Dwarves like last time were placed there.
It meant there were various types of alcohol.
From wine to distilled liquor, cloudy rice wine, and even infused liquor.
At a glance, they looked like ordinary large-capacity potions, but in fact, everything contained in the bottles was alcohol.
“I ended up making too much. What do I do with all that.”
The alcohol was aging well inside the display case of Radel’s workshop.
He couldn’t drink it all to get rid of it with the status of a minor either.
It would be troublesome if drinking it caused issues in daily life.
Wasn’t this a world without hangover cures?
“Wait…… hangover cure?”
Radel thought it was a decent idea even after saying it himself.
Something called a hangover cure did not exist in the Empire.
A world where the concept of relieving hangovers didn’t exist yet.
Wouldn’t it be a huge hit if made properly?
“Just in time, the number of mouths to feed in the territory increased too.”
Radel recalled Chariot’s letter from a while ago saying the Meteor Shower Knights and Lizardmen were joining forces to cultivate new potato fields.
To feed and clothe all of them, there was no choice but for him, the Lord, to earn more money.
‘Ingredients like Hovenia dulcis are common in the Empire too, so if combined well, a decent item might come out.’
Radel, judging that the marketability was sufficient, entered into the development of a hangover cure from then on.
As a result of modifying an existing fatigue recovery potion recipe a little and varying the ratio several times, a usable prototype came out.
But wouldn’t he have to drink alcohol to know if this was truly effective?
He would only confirm the true efficacy if he tested it after becoming dead drunk.
‘But I can’t drink alcohol with the status of a minor.’
Hold on.
Thinking about it, there was no need for him to drink it personally.
A person with the status of a legal adult.
A person inside the Academy.
A person capable of human experimentation existed near Radel.
Radel immediately packed the prototype and alcohol bottles into his space expansion pouch.
And knocked on the door of his quarters.
KNOCK KNOCK.
“Who is it?”
“It is Radel, Professor. I have something to give you for a moment.”
“Pardon? The Prince has something for me……?”
The door opened, and Pirenzo revealed himself, puzzled.
He was the figure who would become Radel’s test subject from now on.
* * *
DING.
[Target’s affinity has surpassed 10.]
[Target’s affinity has become 20.]
Pirenzo’s affinity rose.
It happened naturally as they conversed with Pirenzo, whose mood seemed to have improved to the fullest due to the alcohol.
Armandy had a displeased expression until the end but couldn’t beat Radel and accepted the glass.
‘I told you my status is an Academy student. I am troubled if you do this.’
‘Even if you are a student, you are an adult. What does it matter?’
As a result of testing the hangover cure by dragging even Armandy in, the prototype was successful.
‘……What did you put in?’
It was to the extent that the flustered Armandy asked about the ingredients.
Although a little time was needed for the effect to kick in after drinking, it was an efficacy acknowledged by both Pirenzo and Armandy.
When it became time for the Alchemy major class, Radel went out holding the prototype.
Other first-years also brought new potions one by one for the assignment presentation.
Tunia showed interest in Radel’s potion.
“What is that?”
“Yeah. It’s a potion that makes you sober up quickly if you drink it after drinking alcohol. It’s called a hangover cure.”
“It is new. If it goes well, the professor might suggest getting a patent.”
“I wish that would happen.”
Professor Cailin had raised the students’ motivation by saying he would write a recommendation letter for a patent if they submitted a decent potion.
Alchemy majors were students with dreams of making money by creating their own potions or items.
Because of that, their attitude toward the midterm was different from other majors.
Because if this assignment caught the professor’s eye, official sales might be possible.
“They say there was even an incident where a potion patented during midterms last year sold out in a week at the Marcellent shopping district.”
“Really?”
“I heard it from my direct senior too. I’m so envious.”
There were also first-years whispering legendary anecdotes of major seniors who had pulled off midterms splendidly.
“Tunia, what potion did you make?”
“A potion that strengthens presence. I made it for the Dice Shop new recruits.”
She said she made it specially for the Dice Shop new recruits whose presence wasn’t revealed no matter how hard they tried.
The explanation was that drinking this had effects of making the voice clear, the eyes bright, and movements larger.
“Although the duration is less than 30 minutes, the effect is certain.”
“Seems decent? What recipe did you reference?”
“Awakening potion.”
As expected of the acting president of the Dice Shop, it was a bold recipe choice.
To try and awaken the spirits of new recruits with a potion that strengthens presence.
If they drink that, wouldn’t the new recruits have no choice but to work harder?
Radel felt like he learned a thing or two from Tunia.
“Who is next? Bring the potion here.”
Professor Cailin called the next student with a lukewarm expression.
‘There is nothing fresh. Everyone is monotonous.’
Since they were still Academy first-years, even if they made potions, the effects were minimal or many were modifications of existing recipes.
‘Did I expect too much?’
It was when Professor Cailin was about to empty his mind.
Radel, who was next, held out the hangover cure in front of him.
“Professor, this is a potion called a hangover cure.”
“……Hangover cure?”
Professor Cailin quickly scanned the recipe submitted with the potion.
If it was an alchemist of Cailin’s level, he could grasp the rough efficacy of the potion just by looking at the recipe.
A feeling came that this would work.
‘What is this? This potion reeking of money?’
A healthy complexion returned to Professor Cailin’s lukewarm face.
Only now had an assignment worth looking at properly appeared.
“Exactly what effect does it have?”
“It is a potion that helps you sober up quickly no matter how much alcohol you drink.”
What? No matter how much alcohol?
At Radel’s explanation, Professor Cailin rejoiced, but there was also a person whose face hardened conversely.
It was precisely Leon, who was next in line.
Leon crumpled his face without realizing it while listening to Radel’s explanation.
‘I knew he was a vulgar guy, but surely…… did he even touch alcohol as a mere royal?’
To openly violate Imperial Law after becoming a royal!
Once again, Leon’s misunderstanding was deepening…….