The Elixir Recipe

Selena set down her teacup the moment only the two of us remained in the drawing room. As the acting head of the household and mediator, she let out a soft chuckle.

Of course she would have. I shrugged my shoulders.

“No need to make an enemy out of a noble, right?”

“That’s true. Still, even if it was the smart choice, it’s hard to hide how disappointed I feel just watching from the sidelines. I know full well that ten gold isn’t nearly enough to earn the favor of people like them!”

She covered her mouth and laughed heartily. It was the laugh of a genuine rich young lady. Naturally, I ended up grinning like an idiot too. This girl really had a way with words.

‘Connections with nobles who feel indebted to you are worth more than ten gold.’

I had cut the price of the Elixir in half after someone offered twenty gold. At first glance it looked like a loss, but it really wasn’t. Why? Just think about it for a second.

Suppose I had given ten gold to complete strangers like Minerva and Primor out of nowhere. Would they have formed the same level of trust with me that they have now? The answer was a hard NO.

Ten gold was nowhere near enough to buy genuine friendship or favor from those Romania-rich ladies. They were far too wealthy and far too stubborn.

‘But what if I had squeezed ten gold out of them instead?’

Primor might have let it slide since she seemed to buy the Elixir half out of gratitude. But Minerva would have definitely lowered her opinion of me. No matter how rich someone is, they hate wasting money. Even someone who throws around a hundred thousand won without blinking won’t pay a hundred thousand for a thousand-won ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠fish-shaped pastry.

To maintain healthy connections, sometimes you had to accept a small loss that wasn’t really a loss. Besides, when you thought about it, more than half of the forty gold I managed to wring out of those nobles came from the power of networking.

Anyone who acts like they’re obsessed with money has a hard time earning favor no matter what world they’re in. I had to think about the future. Those ten gold were a poisoned chalice. You don’t run into a mafia mansion with an open vault and run off with the gold bars. Thrilling phantom-thief antics were best left at one time only.

Maybe that was why Selena had gently scratched at the regret I was feeling while also highlighting the benefits of my decision. Praise could make even a whale dance, but giving clever, calculated praise was incredibly difficult. Yet Selena pulled it off as easily as breathing. How could anyone not like her after that? It was the praise technique of a true merchant.

Even though I knew it was flattery, it still felt good, so I kept grinning. Selena laughed along with me for a while before asking seriously.

“But are you really okay with this? From the way you were reluctant to sell it, it seemed like that Elixir was meant to be a spare.”

“Ah, that’s fine. Because I have this.”

When I pulled out a rolled-up piece of parchment from my pocket, Selena’s eyes sparkled with curiosity.

“Parchment? Hehe, what could it be this time? I’m already getting excited.”

She tilted her head, eyes shining with delight. In this world, writing something on parchment meant it held considerable value. After all, paper was common here. And since the parchment I held was brand new, it implied the information inside was equally fresh. She must have been dying to know what it was.

I answered in my best refreshing, handsome-guy voice.

“It’s the Elixir recipe. Though about thirty percent of the content is missing.”

“……Pardon?”

Three seconds. Two seconds. One second.

Selena stared at me with a dumbstruck face, doubting her own ears, then shot up from her seat.

“Whoa, keep your voice down.”

I waved my hand like I was trying to calm a rampaging boar in response to the exact explosive reaction I had expected. But Selena shook her head wildly like a bull that had just seen a red cloth waving right in front of its nose.

“The drawing room is perfectly soundproofed so there’s no problem at all!!!!!!! More importantly, is it real?! Is it really, really that thing!!!!!!”

“Yes. It’s the recipe. But like I said, parts of it are missing.”

I set the parchment down as I spoke. This recipe had come from one of the books that once belonged to Diabolo.

‘It was encrypted, similar to a diary.’

It might have been a cipher that was popular during the ancient civilization period. After all, anything considered cutting-edge in that era usually converged on one method. Just like how most ramen shops buy commercial sauce and dump it in. The mass production of Elixirs had also taken place during the ancient civilization era, so it wasn’t strange at all that an encryption boom had occurred around that time.

“How can you be so calm?! I feel like ants are crawling all over my neck and spine right now!!!!!!”

“Hehe. I was the same way until yesterday.”

I gave a sly grin to Selena, who still couldn’t sit back down. The day the Hermeion Guild received Diabolo’s books, I had been making research plans with my wives about the diary when I wondered if there might be something amazing hidden in the other books too.

‘And I really did hit the jackpot.’

A recipe hidden inside an encrypted book that no one had noticed! The text on this parchment was a copy of the deciphered contents.

I stretched my shoulders with a relaxed air.

“But wouldn’t it look pathetic if the person trying to propose a deal starts huffing and puffing with excitement over their own product?”

“──Did you just say… deal?”

The atmosphere around Selena changed in the blink of an eye. It was a magnificent transformation, like a warrior who had been playing with a puppy on the street suddenly getting ambushed. The moment this golden goose stopped being someone else’s business, her merchant-like focus kicked in. She too was a master of her own domain.

“Yes. It’s not the kind of business I can handle alone, is it? Something like this should be shared with the most capable and trustworthy person I know.”

I spoke like a perfectly innocent, good-natured person with zero malice. Why had Diabolo been so obsessed with the Elixir even though he possessed this recipe?

All three were correct. He had probably planned to blend into noble society, turn this recipe into a business, and use it to heal the body that black magic had ruined.

‘He might have also wanted to mass-produce Elixirs to expand his influence within Immortalis.’

Wasn’t that what the unicorn black mage had ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠tried to do? That guy had probably caused all that mess in the Underground Tower just to secure a few Elixirs. Making Nefertiti into a golem’s power source had likely been another goal, but anyway.

High-grade potions like this were literally life-saving water for black mages whose bodies were rotting and being eaten by insects while still alive. If he became an Elixir tycoon, he would rise in the organization as easily as the kid who brought a Nintendo to school instantly becoming popular.

“That is… a truly excellent decision.”

Anyway, that was that. The moment I proposed a joint venture, Selena let out a low, whispering laugh. It was a smile that sent a chill down my spine. It wasn’t ominous or scary, but it felt exactly like a carnivorous beast trembling with ecstasy after discovering delicious prey.

“As expected, my judgment was correct. I always thought that Nord would one day bring me something big like this.”

Selena’s eyes narrowed like a smiling fox. The young merchant radiated a gaze that was both seductive and cunning. Why does it feel a little erotic?

“But… oh my? Wasn’t it just yesterday that I taught you how to write a contract, Nord?”

She placed a finger on her chin and tilted her head. She caught on to that already? Her senses are ridiculously sharp.

“Hehe, does this mean I got my nose cut while sleeping with my eyes open?”

“Don’t put it like that. I’m not a thief.”

I grinned and played dumb. It wasn’t like I had known things would turn out this way from the start. I only discovered it after coming back with the forty gold and finding the book had been delivered. I hadn’t planned it.

“Yes, honestly that doesn’t really matter. An Elixir workshop business! What a wonderful phrase!! I will make sure this succeeds!!!”

Selena skipped all formalities and answered straight away. Yeah, that kind of pretense didn’t suit us anyway.

“Then let’s write up a contract regarding the recipe transaction!!!!! Write down what you want!!!!! We’ll adjust and combine our wishes!!!!! And create a contract that everyone can agree on!!!!”

“Sounds good.”

I answered readily, and from then on things moved like lightning. While I was scribbling away at the contract in the drawing room, Selena dashed out like a bolt of lightning and didn’t return for a full hour. She was probably gathering people outside for a strategy meeting. Giving the other party time to think was basically putting a noose around my own neck, but I wasn’t nervous at all. I simply waited for the right moment.

‘Connections are important, but even between friends, any deal involving money needs to be handled with absolute precision.’

Even if Selena thought highly of me, she wouldn’t agree to a contract that put her at a loss. Instead, she would craft the most profitable contract possible without damaging our relationship. She was the biological daughter of a master merchant whose stage was all of Romania. She would definitely manage that much.

That was why I had also come prepared so I wouldn’t get pushed around.

‘Today’s real transaction isn’t the sale of the Elixir. It’s this.’

Of course, I felt a little sorry for Larilura, who was probably outside sniffling and waiting for over an hour. But hey, I finished the deal in ten minutes. Can’t my dear husband’s sincere effort earn a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠little appreciation?

Since I had an hour to kill while waiting, I also read the letter Minerva had written. True to her style, it was filled with nothing but the main point. A single double-sided page.

‘I’m not going, you crazy woman.’

Working under that auntie would probably cause hair loss worse than mandatory FM special forces service.

Just as I folded the letter and put it away, Selena returned to the drawing room.