Chapter 41 : Chapter 41
Chapter 41. Not a Failure
There was an unmistakable trace of mockery in Sylvia’s voice.
Logaris did not mind Sylvia’s attitude.
Instead, it seemed to stir in him a certain desire to demonstrate his work.
Logaris picked up the crystal bottle and began to explain.
“I made it according to the formula of the Fountain of Youth, but it cannot keep the user eternally young. From that perspective, it is indeed a failed product.”
A look of “I knew it would turn out like this” appeared on Sylvia’s face.
She was already preparing to ask Logaris to leave.
“But,” Logaris continued without pause.
“It possesses a recovery ability that no healing potion currently in existence can achieve.”
Logaris paused briefly and added in a calm, emotionless tone, as if he were simply reporting research findings.
“According to the preliminary results of my divination spell, as long as the soul and consciousness have not completely perished, after taking it—whether applied externally or consumed internally—severed limbs, shattered bones, and even… a heart that has been pierced through can all return to their original state within a few minutes.”
“To put it simply, as long as the soul has not dissipated, no matter how badly the body is destroyed, it can be restored.”
The breathing of Grayson, the financial steward, stopped.
Grayson was neither a mage nor a warrior.
He was a civil official responsible for managing finances.
But even he understood what such an effect meant.
If… if soldiers on the battlefield possessed something like this…
Then the casualty rate of the Northern Legion would fall to an unimaginable level.
It would become a legion that would not die.
Sylvia’s expression changed instantly.
She suddenly straightened in her chair.
The weariness in her silver-gray eyes vanished completely, replaced by the sharp gleam of a predator that had spotted its prey.
“What about the cost?”
“Where do the materials come from?”
“Can it be produced on a large scale?”
Sylvia fired off a series of questions.
The instincts of a ruler immediately made her realize the military value hidden behind this potion—value powerful enough to overturn the balance of a war.
But Logaris' answer was like a bucket of icy water dumped over her head.
“The cost cannot be calculated.”
Logaris gently shook the bottle.
“The core material is Dragonblood Stone. I found it in the Dragon Ruins. Not just the Northern Territory—perhaps the entire Astrelia Kingdom cannot produce a second piece.”
“So it cannot be mass-produced.”
With a single sentence, the flame that had just ignited in the Council Chamber was instantly extinguished.
The excitement on Grayson’s face froze and then collapsed.
The light in Sylvia’s eyes also dimmed rapidly.
Sylvia understood.
A “divine medicine” that could not be mass-produced, no matter how miraculous its effects, was only a drop in the bucket for the Northern Territory’s current crisis.
It could not repair the treasury that was riddled with deficits.
Nor could it equip an entire army.
At most, it could save a single person’s life at a crucial moment.
Its value was great, but it was not what Sylvia needed most right now.
Sylvia’s interest vanished completely.
“I understand.”
She turned her attention back to the glaring deficit reports on the table, her voice returning to its previous indifferent tone.
“Is there anything else?”
Such a fall from expectation made Logaris feel that his research achievement had been denied as never before.
It was like a child eagerly presenting his proudest sandcastle to an adult, only for the adult to glance at it briefly and casually say, “Oh, I see.”
Logaris' competitive spirit was completely ignited.
You think this thing is useless?
Fine.
Then I will tell you exactly how “interesting” it truly is.
“It also has a small side effect,” Logaris said quietly, his voice echoing through the Council Chamber.
Sylvia did not even raise her head.
While rapidly signing documents with a quill pen, she asked absentmindedly, “Does it shorten the user’s lifespan, or does it turn them into a mindless monster? If that is the case, then even its value as a strategic military asset would need to be reassessed.”
In Sylvia’s understanding, a potion that defied nature like this would inevitably come with an equally terrifying side effect.
“Neither.”
Logaris walked to the long table and placed both hands on its surface, leaning forward as he looked down at her.
“After the user’s body fully recovers, their physical form will temporarily regress to childhood—roughly between six and sixteen years old.”
Sylvia’s hand stopped in midair while signing.
The tip of the pen left a dark ink blot that slowly spread across the parchment.
Sylvia finally raised her head.
For the first time, those silver-gray eyes—usually as calm as a still lake—revealed pure, undisguised astonishment.
Beside her, Grayson’s mouth hung open as if he suspected his ears had malfunctioned.
Regression… to childhood?
Logaris was very satisfied with their reaction.
He continued in his scholarly tone.
“The body becomes smaller, but the user’s physical strength, total mana, and soul strength do not change at all.”
“This state will last for approximately…”
“Three days.”
The Council Chamber fell into a long and strange silence.
Sylvia was no longer looking at the documents, nor at Logaris.
Her gaze was completely fixed on the transparent green potion on the table, which radiated a faint aura of life, as if she intended to see through it entirely.
Returning to childhood for three days… would that not be a form of rejuvenation?
Sylvia’s fingers began tapping lightly on the smooth tabletop.
Tap.
Tap tap.
Tap, tap, tap…
The rhythm gradually accelerated, as if she were calculating something extremely complicated and extremely important.
In Sylvia’s mind, one image after another flashed past rapidly.
In the royal capital, those old men lying on sickbeds—bodies already decaying—who relied on the most expensive potions and the healing spells of high-ranking priests to barely prolong their lives… yet still held the kingdom’s power in their hands, capable of shaking the market with a single sentence.
Those old dukes.
Those aged marshals.
Those merchants whose wealth rivaled entire nations.
They possessed everything—wealth, power, reputation.
The only things they did not have were time and a healthy body.
If…
If they were told that there existed something capable of freeing them from their withering bodies and allowing them to experience three days of “rejuvenation”…
Even if that experience was only physical…
What kind of price would they be willing to pay?
How great a price?
Thinking of this, Sylvia carefully chose her words and looked back at Logaris.
“Logaris, I mean… is it possible that…”
She paused for a moment, as if suppressing her excitement.
“…returning to childhood is actually its true and only primary function?”
Sylvia extended a slender finger and gently tapped the bottle.
“As for that little healing effect, perhaps it is merely an additional side benefit.”
Logaris said, “Huh?”