-2-PerfectPotion
Shouji, who grew up in the town, Errorknife, was originally a diligent child.
Ever since he was little, he worked in a sewing factory cutting fabrics during the day, and he was the young boy who served food to custors in a local bar by night.
At the ti he started growing into a more masculine body, he hated his mother, who constantly indulged in alcohol and used violence after getting drunk. As if Shouji was trying to escape from that, he went to a school for swordsmanship, and asked to be made a pupil.
It wasnt like he had a special interest in swordsmanship.
The reason he chose a swordsmanship school was just because he heard that he will be able to eat full als being in an armys infrastructure.
However, he had talent.
He was blessed with a robust body with high physical capabilities.
On top of that, he was a hungry hard worker.
He quickly distinguished himself from the rest of the pupils enrolled at that school. His fighting techniques, whether they were used towards humans, or demons, had earned him high grades.
Additionally, a title was bestowed upon Shouji by the priest there who served the gods- The title given to him that was determined by his own individual ability wasYuusha[i]of Inspiration.Thus, taking on everyones expectations around him.
The title of Yuushais given to one in tens of thousands of people.
It was usually decided at birth for the ones who were chosen.
His origin of birth from the slums did not even matter because of the extent of the honor he proved.
The seniors of the school were already no match for him. Even the experienced knights, Shouji made nothing of them, as he was endowed with great talents. He was on cloud nine.
He followed by winning nurous martial arts competitions and he was even capable of defeating superior demons that normally require a whole troop to defeat on his own.
At the end, he was appointed as a dragoon in the imperial guard unit that was directly under the kings command.
Then, he entered the territory acquisition war campaign as a knights apprentice. Even in a situation like that, his battle achievents were stacked high.
His na was honored on official bulletins, and he was fully revered by the populace with thundering applauses.
Although he was living in the dorm, as he had no one supporting him from behind the scenes, he still received fancy letters sealed with beewax from high-class looking people.
They were invitations to the upper society. There were no other ways for soone with the background of a commoners birth to enter the gentleman-class other than having established ritorious war services or by having big success as civil officers.
Shouji was a young man enveloped by the lights of the glamorous world. When his eyes t with the stunningly beautiful won who glanced at him, his heart almost stopped.
He was happy always being spoke of as the swashbuckler[ii]who ca forth; the hero everyone yearned for, in the songs sung by Bards[iii].
Thats why As soone with a mindset like any ordinary person in the world, it would be strange if he did not beco conceited from all that.
I am loved by destiny.
The gods and spirits are on my side.
Therefore, I should act a little more freely.
Then, thedevilfell at the zenith of his life.
At so point during the war, he unintentionally got a commanding officer killed. On top of that, the other party had ties with royal blood.
As a commoner, it was an unforgivable act he has committed.
But, considering the circumstances at a ti of war, and the nations good will, he was done after serving 3 years in the royal prison.
However, Shouji has lost the path to climb in ranks.
He was shown signs of dislike from every authority; he couldnt even join a decent union to work as a simple laborer.
There were no rchants who would not care about the feelings of the nobles.
Especially the big ti rchants who lead the unions.
The ex-convict, Shouji, was like a sewer rat hoping to live his life while avoiding peoples eyes.
He really wanted to cross over to the enemys country where they speak a language he doesnt understand, but as if he wasnt miserable enough, he was stuck with the strong sense of patriotism he developed from serving in the army. Moreover, he was confident that he was loved by the god of violence, but he was not confident that he was loved by the god of wisdom.[iv]
In the end, he returned to his hotown, living in obscurity as a broken man defeated in life.
There is a huge cauldron inside the alchemists workshop of Percibells Atelier.
Its purpose is for the mass production of dicine such as potions and the sort. It exists for the sa reason as a pizza oven in a pizza house.
While humming a song, Shouji got on the top of a scaffolding platform, and round and round he spun the stirring rod inside the bubbling cauldron.
In that cauldron is where the corpses of the beastn who were killed are being boiled, with the remains of blood and oil floating on the surface; the impression given by this scene was truly a grueso one.
Nn nnnuu
anwhile, on the dirt floor, inside the workshop, Percibell, who was left on the reddish-brown floor was starting to regain her consciousness after fainting.
Putting one hand on her head thats buzzing, she tries to raise her upper body while groaning.
Noticing the uncomfortable feeling surging from between her legs, she timidly put her hand under her skirt. A pair of panties that is drying after getting soaked in her holy-water. It was badly wet when she touched it with her fingers. She slled her fingers casually, made a face of embarrassnt after making an ugeeee~ sound, and took a deep breath.
Youre finally awake
Fuwa?! W, What are you doing?!
She was suddenly called out to. Then, her shoulders shook as she realized the voice ca from Shouji.
While blushing, Percibell raised her voice as if she was trying to hide her sha.
Shouji gave her a suspicious look, wondered if she witnessed the silly series of acts that he acted out a second ago, but without even turning around, Shouji gave a simple explanation.
Im lting the corpses, then dumping them in the sewers to destroy the evidence of murder
Ah. I..I see T..These kinds of things, dont they bother you? Not thinking about the future, it looked like you impulsively killed them
At that mont, that was the only thing that could be done. Im going to make use of the materials here
Next to the feet of Shouji are vials laying all around in a disordered manner.
After giving a glance to those items, Percibell raised her finger.
Ah, if..if thats the case the silver-chromate acid that onii-san dropped in certainly has the effect of lting human bones but the bottom of the cauldron will also lt. At..at this rate, the cauldron will break apart before you finish lting
Shouji suddenly stopped his hands.
He had used his half-baked knowledge of dealing with corpses to deal with this; it would be bad if this was handled poorly.
You can use other chemicals to neutralize and disassemble them. Would you like to give you a hand?
You know how to handle corpses?
If its just lting them I can do it
Percibell stood up and took a one-liter round-bottod flask from the storage shelf, turned the lever of a distilled water tank and filled the flask up exactly with running water.
Using a stand to hold the flask in place, she put an alcohol lamp under it. Then, from the racks underneath the table, she took out materials such as bottled powders and bottled plant roots from a bag, and placed them on a scale.
After she finished asuring the materials, she used a mortar and grinded them up finely.
Then, she mixed up various powders, and put the finished materials into the flask.
A series of operations was perford without a hint of clouded judgent.
Shouji was feeling impressed with his arms crossed, and kept on observing Percibell.
She is a small girl, but she cant be just a salesclerk.
When she put a star-shaped tablet into the flask, it made a popping sound and smoke ca out.
Percibell avoided the suspicious-looking purple-colored steam with a frown.
She observed the chemical solution that ca out, and then nodded as if shes satisfied with the result.
She approached Shouji while cowering, and then handed the flask over to Shouji hesitantly.
Shoujis look of being half in doubt can be seen through from the transparent glass while he was receiving it. Then, he threw it into the cauldron with a glugging sound.
In a mont- the number of bubbles that had been floating on the waters surface increased severely. It wasnt from boiling. It was so kind of chemical reaction.
Sparks scattered as new sparks ford, so Shouji jumped back a step.
In a few minutes, the bubbles settled down. When he peeped into the waters surface that still had sparks flying out, he saw the insides of the cauldron had turned into sothing resembling a black and white marble pattern.
Looks like milk coffee
Ah, youll die if you drink it, so dont you dare
A light cautionary warning ca out.
The joke didnt get through, but the bones that were floating have all disappeared.
As one would expect, every man knows his own business best.
Youve really helped out
Er..Ah. Ietto Youve saved as well
Percibell was surprised to receive those straight forward words of gratitude; she put her hand behind her head and was like heheh while embarrassed.
However, she imdiately woke up with a hah startle. She quickly rembered that she was going to be sold.
As if she wanted to say Im scared, her eyes got teary as she cowered.
Shouji walked by the frightened Percibell, and went to take a break at the veranda down the corridor.
While putting on airs, he looked around as if Percibell, whos still standing still, isnt even there.
Shouji thought to himself about why she isnt running away, but he stopped.
He was able to make a prediction after thinking about it. If she hasnt decided to run from this gangster looking man in front of her eyes, perhaps she is a good-natured person whos still thinking of paying back her debt in so way or another.
Shouji was going to take all the money she had but he felt it would have been too pitiful for this little girl.
The WazzuBrothers is a beastman organization that hunts in this dirty town, Errorknife. From such a company that is familiar with the concept of making dirty money, it makes really curious to why you chose to borrow money from them
Y, Yes Well, I was borrowing from various places, and before I knew it..it had snowballed on
Now then, as I also took a quest from the underground guild, I must get them the 200 thousand iidols[v]
Two hundred thousand iidols is approximately the amount an adult man makes in a month of work.
It really wasnt a big deal. Its just petty change. The fact that Shouji buried those two n over such a petty amount of money made Percibell even more afraid, to the point she could chatter her teeth in fear.
Can you pay back the two hundred thousand iidols? Ill let you go if you do
About that.. II. have a debt of 5 million iidols..Money is very.
How much do you have on your hands?
About three hundred iidols.its nothing more than a childs allowanceI have already sold all the potions and magic tools I can sell from the store To be honest, I think Ill be a holess girl tomorrow
You.. Are you going to lose both your job and ho at the sa ti? Thats seriously hilarious
Uuuu. a heartless reality
Feeling depressed, Percibell dropped her shoulders, and she looked gloomy as if there were dark clouds over her.
Shouji lightly hit her knees.
I understand the circumstances. I am not demonic to the extent of those beastn. I wont tell you to do anything inhuman like to work in a whorehouse
The..Then is it okay for to not sell my body?
Putting both her hands together, she forces out a smile as if shes trying to get on Shoujis good side, and tilted her body slightly sideways. Its sothing girls do when they try to win a mans favor.
Shouji also broke into a bright smile.
I also just learned of this recently, that there is sothing called life insurance in this world. Its an efficient and convenient product. I dont know the details, but if I make it look like an accident when a horse-carriage runs you over, I get a lot of money
Thats much worse than selling my bodyyyyy!!!!
All that was needed from her was to sign the docunts. Shouji pulled out bunch of folded up papers from his pocket, but she refused by shaking her head intensely.
It beca a scenario for her to choose from either to beco a prostitute- or die.
The forr choice would be obviously better for anyone unless they are advocates of chastity.
Then, lets think about this in another direction. There is an easy job of licking assholes of perverted bastards that pay loads. Well, its sothing that I never done before, but its probably sothing like licking a toilet. If you try hard and harden your mind for so ti, it shouldnt take that long
Wa, Waa.. That, thats not easy at all! Thats like not even being treated as a human at all!
Percibell was gasping deep breaths from receiving too much stress after getting too worked up.
Then, she folded her arms and looked the other way with a dissatisfied pout on her face.
Its a behaviour of a selfish spoiled child who is trying to get the other party to compromise with her.
Understanding that this little girl is getting carried away, Shouji warned her in a monotonous voice.
Itd be best for you to rember what happened to the guys that get in the way of my business. I dont mind if the milk coffee in the cauldron increases
Wauuu! J, Judging from the rest of the things in the shop if its ten thousandprobably, I can still get that muchI think
Lend a communication stone. Id like to call a consignnt shop nearby Just to be sure that I heard it right, are there any strings attached?
Etto..g..go ahead and do you an like strings with price tags with them?
Strings attached points to stolen goods in street slang.
Its aningless for him to worry about it since she had no idea what he ant.
Percibell takes out a communication stone from her pocket, and nervously handed it to Shouji.
A communication stone is one of many types of magic stones that have been circulating around the world.
Shouji rubbed the cross-section of the communication stone, and connected with a force field that reached to the outside.
If you tap the stone with your finger just like that, various colors will flicker in response to the refined magic power born from the person using it.
By choosing the unique combination of colors, it will connect you to the other party you want to get in contact with.
There are flaws to such a product as well. When the distance is too far between users, or if the flow of magic was disrupted, the line will not connect.
Hello. Yo, its , Quik. Ah, partner. Thats right. No, its not a big deal. Thats it. A debt managent. No, I did not do that kind of thing. I didnt kill soone like that, it wasnt a bloody story. Haha, dont say stupid things. I have always done a clean job. Because having trust credibility is the most important thing. When conflicts occur, its my belief to solve it by discussion first. I believe in the power of peace and love. I got it. The address is
Percibell had half opened eyes during the hypocritical conversation of Shouji, but she made an offer to Shouji after he had finished his conversation.
Ano.. Would you like to clean up the workshop?
The laborers are coming, you dont have to do anything. Soon, youll be selling everything. Then, were going to break off. Its good enough if I can get the share I wanted
In order to identify and choose the items with the most monetary value, Shouji looks around Percibells workshop in great detail.
The glass made experint tools have been polished well, but the flasks and test tubes have traces of cracks which have been reinforced, and the tal fittings of the asuring scales were rusted.
Close to the service-doors, the most demanded potions material bags were placed on the ground empty, with nothing in there but dark, discolored soil.
They should have been there until recentlyprobably werent composed properly.
The store front is all neat and tidy, except Shouji knows that the internal condition of this place is in very bad shape.
As for you being an alchemist, looks like thats it for you
Percibell hung her head down, as she was shocked from those sharp words.
I know that.But, this is grandmas precious store It beca like this from my lack of abilities. Even if everything is completely sold to soone else, I want to keep it neat and in good order
Do I have no choice but to move?
Percibell talked about her own past while cleaning the dirty floor with a broom. It was probably to prepare her ntally before she has to leave.
Originally, this store belonged to her grandma, who is an alchemist from the previous generation.
While helping out with the store, Percibell developed her own interests in alchemy, and beca the stores heir.
Her late grandma was an alchemist who was skilled enough to have received a patent.
Needless to say, potions are mysterious miracle drugs.
There is a wide variety of thods to manufacture potions and there are many various types of potions as well.
If you are able to create new miracle drugs that get approved by the Alchemist association, and spread its compounding formula for the world, you can have various kinds of rights. However, there were only a limited few who had those rights among all the alchemists.
In that sense, Percibells grandma was very lucky.
The special potion which repaired the small tears in nerves showed such strong sales, even if the store was managed sloppily, there was enough inco to get by.
Percibells grandma was enthusiastic about her granddaughters education, but she never taught her how to run a good business.
If the patent expires, their source of inco will collapse with it as well.
In the first place, it would be crazy to do business in a deserted area outside of the business districts.
The likes of a no na alchemist who used up all of her inheritance money from the previous generation, is nothing but a slly bum.
Nowadays, alchemy workshops are progressing in chains, every place isnt old fashioned like this one. Its easy to open the doors and get in, and a brisk clerk will be tending to the custors enthusiastically
Naturally
Shouji, who is seated cross-legged on the veranda down the corridor, agreed.
Its a common story of a second generation business owner who failed in managent and goes bankrupt.
Percibell, who has been continuously receiving blows, wiped her tears with two of her fingers.
Uwaaa! Even though our confidence in the quality of our product was all we had!
As long as you have the recipe and materials, anyone can put it together. If you have the ti to complain, you could service the custors half-naked and they would be happy
If I could do that sohow, I would have done that long ago!
You have motivation that doesnt go anywhere
Shouji got up from the spot he was sitting at, approached the cold-room that is in the corner of the workshop, and opened the door.
He thought that if she was so confident in the quality to insist, he would want to see it for himself with the remaining products.
The cold air generated from the rocks of ice set up on the walls surface inside the cold-room rushed by his cheeks. Shouji quickly squinted his eyes. The products seed to be preserved in good condition. The proof of that is no matter which bottle, they were all shiny. Goods coming from alchemy workshops that have no idea how to preserve them would have a dull color to them.
Even if Percibell had no talent for managing a business, her alchemy skills were not rusty.
Its common sense to properly refrigerate the finished products. Potions are made with herbal dicines where freshness is the core.
Although they can be stored in room temperature as well, they will deteriorate as they age.
The fluids inside did not contain any impurities; it shows that there were no precipitations during the compounding process.
Shouji scans over the different types of potions with different colors.
The color white indicates that its the recovery-type that heals the damage of the body.
Blue is the spirit-type that replenishes mana.
Green is the strengthening-type that improves sensory organs and muscular strength.
Yellow is the transmutation-type that changes the disposition of sothing.
Red is the attack-type that is used to deal damage to enemies.
Potions are roughly classified into those five colored categories.
And what captured Shoujis eyes inside this rich and colorful chamber is a potion that had a beautiful color just like fresh snow. Perhaps it was still in the experintal stage, as it had a marking on the round-bottom flask, with a wide difference in the intensity of light to the other potions.
Tilting the round flask sideways, a track of liquid can be seen inside the glass. It was wet with a rich density.
Pefect Potion
It clearly says on the label.
There are three basic classifications of potions for the white colored series of potions, the lesser-potions, middle-class potions, and greater potions. This should be one of the unique recovery types of potions that had not been released to the public, but he had not seen anything that emitted such a sacred white glow before.
Shouji took the potion with curiosity, and removed the cork.
First, he put a drop on his finger and tried licking it.
Up until this point, Shouji was careless.
He thought it was going to be no big deal, all bark and no bite.
He was just going to do a taste test with a small amount.
However- his tongue burned.
A destructive shock penetrated his brain. His hands started shaking. His eyes went against his will. His body was burning up. It was as if he was caught in a hallucination of being wrapped in flas.
His visions were shaking violently. He could not even stand up from the pleasure, he felt so high like he could fly.
UooooooooooOOOOO, Ki, Ki, Kiku ja nee ka!
His heart was as noisy as getting hit by a hamr. His veins pulsed violently. His nerves awoke.
He could feel a large amount of energy born from sowhere and it circulated inside his body.
Hot breaths ca out from his mouth.
He tried to analyze the composition of the potion while pacing back and forth without aning, but it was no use. It was the taste of a profound miracle drug. Even one type of it cannot be fathod.
At the end, he couldnt control his urges, and looked up at the sky.
This is goood shit. God damn! Amazing..Shit! Holy shit! This is the first ti I have encountered such an amazing thing! This is so good! The guy who made it is a completely fucking amazing bastard! He must be much crazier than I am.! Ive never drank a recovery type potion that had such ultra high degree of purity!
Ah.Ah, er, t..thank you..tthat was made by .
Percibell gave an unexpected answer, but as if it didnt get through to Shouji, he was wildly staring at the perfect potion without batting an eye.
If you can see the beauty of it, you can see that its a fascinatingly beautiful color.
A recovery type of potion with high purity that has the color of pure white.
This pure, untainted miracle drug; it wouldnt be weird if this is what the goddess in heaven drinks.
OoooOhh! So good Wonderful Oii!!
Suddenly, the astonished Shouji stood in front of Percibell.
He placed both his hands on the small shoulders of hers.
Hot breaths of excitent from Shouji ran past the cheeks of Percibell. There was a feeling of weirdness from being stared at by Shoujis sparkling eyes in silence. The young girl staggered as she tightened her body.
Why didnt you sell this?! Mass produce this! It definitely will make you money!
NNoo, its not like that.. Th, that story is an embarrassing one.. That potion was a bit too strong compared to the rest of the recovery type potions so the Alchemist association did not approve
Who is it that I need to kill? Give a na. I will kill that person for you
S..Sorry. but without the association and to be frank, without the materials also it would just be an illegal thing. Aha if we go too far to pursue alchemy it will be bad in the end that was also one of the reasons I have this debt.. I did sothing like that after all, yup
The law. Thats the word I hate the most. That makes sick. No, wait We just have to work around that. Thats it. Actually, that will work even better. My head has beco clear. This can be done as a business
Shouji took his hand off Percibell, and went into thought while stroking his chin.
A powerful potion that is illegal. Certainly, it has an effect to it that shouldnt be going to waste.
This taste. This potency. This purity. A product of miracles.
There is no doubt that the potion addicts on the street will have a different look in their eyes as they yearn for it.
In order to calm down, Shouji put his hands into an herb bag that contains the materials of the potions from the cupboard.
Clenching his teeth, he thought in his mind to relax. Then, by consuming a kind of leaf that has another type of magical power, he thinned out the purity of the perfect potion.
Ah, dear custor
Ring ring, the bells at the entrance rang.
Shouji grabbed the hands of Percibell, who was honestly going out to welco the guest, and walked towards the entrance through the corridor.
Opening the door, they see five subordinates accompanying a rchant in his pri of life.
Behind them was a horse carriage that was covered up.
It was Bodhi and his goons from the consignnt store that Shouji called earlier.
Yo, partner. I ca to collect the goods. Is there anything thats worth so money?
Bodhi showed his familiar business face, and showed a familiar fake smile.
Despite that, Shouji, who is taller, looked down with a cool-headed expression.
What are you talking about?
No, you are the one who called out. Its okay if you dont want to talk about it, please put the goods inside
I have no idea what you are talking about. Co back another ti
Shouji tried to play dumb with a face feigning ignorance in an attempt to drive them away.
If he could get a hold on the perfect potion, there was no need to do this bean sprout type of business.
Naturally, the unsatisfied Bodhi canceled his smile and went into a fit of rage.
Huh? Dont fuck around! I was told there was work to do here, and went through all the trouble of getting my n together. You want to go back empty-handed?
Sssssshut it! You want to kill you all? Huhhh?! You want your whole crew dead here?
At the sa ti Shouji shot out those threats, he threw a fist right at Bodhis nose. He didnt do that because he was high from the potion, and it was no act either. Shouji was serious.
Bodhis front teeth were crushed, and his nose broke with a cracking sound.
Drool and blood splattered out onto the ground as he fell with his arms and legs stretched out like the letter .
Bodhi already lost consciousness with the first hit, but Shouji kept on kicking his flank and went after him one kick after another. The mans back was floating in the air.
Why, why do you annoy to this extent?! I told you to leave! Why didnt you listen to what I say! I dont get it!
O, oi, stop it!
Youre a terrible bastard! A Sick bastard! You are no partner of mine! (Shouji)
As if hes trying to deal the finishing blow, Shouji stepped on Bodhis face with the bottom of his shoe.
In this downright heartless scene, the rest of the goons tried to recourse to force.
Shouji noticed the signs from the n around, and glared at them with vicious eyes.
Shut up and die!!
The goon who stretched out his hands around Shouji had arm muscles like armor. However, Shouji hit his hard abdon with a tornado-like kick as he spun around.
The goons feet lifted off the ground and he was blown off flying by the vigorous force of the kick- he crashed into the soil wall next to Percibell at the doorway with a strong impact. The man, who is covered in a cloud of yellow dust and blood coming out from his head, reached out to Percibell for help with a trembling hand before his head sank.
It was pretty obvious, but the other four people were suddenly terrified from the violence.
They understood that this was different from the usual opponents they faced, and they stayed distanced while being apprehensive.
It was violence of overwhelming power. It was like they saw the aspect of an evil spirit, like an Asura.[vi]
They did not understand more than anything else, as to why he was so angry.
They only ca here because he called them.
Clean up this garbage quickly and get lost! You hear ! Do not call your partner a second ti so easily! Unless you want to be dead!
Frightened from Shoujis roars of anger, the four goons turned their backs and left with pale faces.
Shouji was staring at their backs as they left. When he confird that they have completely left, he found Percibell by the doorway, who had fainted with bubbles coming out of her mouth.
She is soone with a frail heart who had wet her pants again, but Shouji did not mind. He carried her by grabbing the neckline of her dress with one hand, without paying any attention as she dragged on the ground.
[i]a brave, a man of valor, a hero
[ii]aswaggeringswordsman,soldier,oradventurer;daredevil.
[iii]A Bard is defined as a professional poet and singer, as among the ancient Celts, whose occupation was to compose and singversesin honor of the heroic achievents of princes and brave n.
[iv]This could be taphorical as if hes saying he was unsure if he was smart enough to learn a new language, will find out as we go on.
[v]iidol dollars in that world
[vi]a mber of a class of divine beings in the Vedic period, which in Indian mythology tend to be evil and in Zoroastrianism are benevolent
Reviews
All reviews (0)