Uncomfortable Cohabitation (5)
I spent my days immersed in alchemical research.
I left the Black Iron well alone — it still terrified me — and finished combining every piece of silver-bearing iron I had on hand.
The tobacco leaves still needed time to dry, so I left them be. I tried a few more experiments with the evening primrose, but never managed to find a working formula.
"They say the testing on the elixir's effects is finished."
"Is that so?"
The elixir made from poppies. I had wanted to try it myself, but Sister Mary had confiscated it. She had insisted the temple would analyze and test it for her, and she had taken it with her. Apparently the results were in.
"How did it turn out?"
"They say it's an excellent painkiller — none of the hallucinations typical of Perfever."
"Oh…"
I really ought to write this down properly.
"There truly were no side effects?"
"So they claim. Even so, I told them not to overuse it, just in case."
"Good call."
A reasonable confirmation of its safety was enough. Medicine was never meant to be swallowed recklessly in the first place — proper dosage was the only sensible approach. Overdosing just to hunt for side effects would have been pure stupidity.
And as time passed, Priest Daniel and Young Master Maximilian grew closer. With three women in the mansion and only one other man, Daniel had clearly been struggling. Sharing that burden and spending time together seemed to have given him some breathing room.
Even now they were sparring hard outside. My sister was a capable fighter and more than a match for him, but she was still a woman — he couldn't exactly go all out against her. With Daniel, another man, there was no need to hold back or walk on eggshells.
I rummaged through the storeroom in a comfortable dress. After wearing skirts long enough, the shame had faded and only the convenience remained. There were still a few things to mind when I moved, but aside from that, nothing snagged or restricted me — it was surprisingly free.
"Julian, you're going to get your clothes dirty."
The moment I carelessly bent my knees, Sister Mary's scolding flew my way. Mildly annoyed, I carefully tucked the skirt back toward the crook of my knees so it wouldn't drag on the floor.
I had once argued that a little dirt hardly mattered — laundry would take care of it — and gotten thoroughly chewed out for it. When she asked if I had no sense of shame or propriety, then sighed that I seemed to lack any concept of chastity at all, I found myself being careful without even meaning to.
Apparently, presenting yourself that carelessly could give men the wrong idea, or something of the sort.
"Yes, yes."
Come to think of it, even my sister — who seemed so oblivious and unlikely to care about such things — moved with a natural grace of her own. Whether that was the power of habit or the fruit of proper upbringing, I couldn't say.
"Ah… the evening primrose is wilting."
I had put off using it because I still had no idea how to combine it properly, and now it was slowly dying. Or had it already died, and was simply drying out?
"What if we dry it thoroughly and brew it as tea?"
"I don't know…"
Better than throwing it away, maybe? Or should I try combining it again? I had already exhausted every scrap of knowledge I possessed, and the results had been underwhelming. Progress on a new Attunement Agent was stalled, and even experiments with things like slime cores had ended in failure.
"It should keep a few more days. I'll just leave it."
Who knows? Maybe a brilliant idea will hit me tomorrow.
I tidied the storeroom in a rough sort of way and decided to rest.
"Julian?"
Priest Daniel came trotting over with a book in his hands. He had grown familiar enough by now to call me by name instead of Saintess.
"What is it?"
"Well… I was reading an alchemy book, and something occurred to me."
When did he start reading books? Wasn't he sparring with the young master? Then who's outside? Is Maximilian sparring with my sister?
"What are you curious about?"
The basic principles had apparently struck him as something close to miracles.
"Why haven't you released any of it?"
"Pardon?"
"I saw the recipes. I saw the effects as well. There were a great many things that could be released right away."
So he was asking why I was holding them back. I smiled — a little slyly, I think. At least, I believed it was sly.
"Because I don't have a reason to release them yet, I suppose."
I couldn't tell how Daniel took that, but he suddenly lowered his head. A faintly sorrowful look crossed his face.
"You don't trust the church, then. Because of its past failings."
Oh… that was roughly in the right neighborhood. I was worried that releasing them would spread word of my existence. Rumors had already started circulating recently. If the church suddenly began distributing revolutionary goods, people would dig up the old stories and declare those rumors true.
"Well, I also thought it was still too early to announce anything."
When I first made soap and leather, I had considered spreading them immediately. I abandoned the idea because it didn't feel like enough. I had decided to find a wider range of formulas and reveal them all at once. The reason had changed since then, but…
"It's different now. You know about the rumors, don't you?"
Daniel looked faintly angry.
"Yes. I'm well aware."
"The church called them baseless speculation, but… what do you think would happen if something like this suddenly started circulating?"
"I couldn't say."
Does he really not know? He almost certainly does.
"People would decide the rumors of a saint appearing in the church were true."
Daniel's shoulders sagged, and he nodded.
"That… does seem likely."
"No matter how carefully we guard the security, alchemy will leak eventually. So before that happens, I want to discover as many formulas as I can and release them all at once."
"I will follow your lead."
Whether Daniel agreed or not hardly mattered, so long as he didn't get in the way. Still, I could at least offer him this much.
As I passed, I gave his stomach a light pat.
"I'm counting on you."
Outside, my sister was dripping with sweat. Maximilian barely had a drop on him. Was that the effect of Marrow Cleansing?
"You've come out, my lady."
Maximilian had been frowning in deep thought, but the moment he saw me, his face lit up and he came over — for all the world like a big dog wagging its tail.
"Yes. You're not even sweating?"
"Indeed. Ever since I took the elixir Miss Julian gave me, I've been like this."
Marrow Cleansing really is something else…
"Is something the matter?"
"Just… nothing in particular."
There wasn't much to do, and capital life was already starting to bore me.
"Are you finding life in the royal capital dull?"
"A little? It's too peaceful."
I couldn't speak for the lower districts, but up here in the upper city everything was far too quiet. No thieves roaming about, no major incidents. If I tried adventurer work, all that was available were odd jobs barely above part-time labor.
And somehow Maximilian was sharp enough to read my mind. How did he know what I was feeling?
"Haha. I felt the same way when I was living in the capital."
It was the kind of worry that only came from having too much free time.
"In that case, why not visit the Adventurers' Guild tomorrow?"
"I'm not sure there will be any commissions worth taking…"
Should we go?
"We could take something a bit farther out — get some fresh air while we're at it."
"That doesn't sound bad. What about you, Sis?"
I asked my sister, who was catching her breath and resting.
"Whatever Yuli wants."
"Really? Then we're going."
I stood up at once and turned on my heel.
"M-Miss Julian?"
"I'll go tell Mary and Daniel as well."
Maximilian called after me with a note of desperation, but that wasn't important right now.
I headed straight for the kitchen and found Sister Mary.
"What is it?"
Mary, who had been boiling water, reacted the moment she saw me.
"I'd like to go to the Adventurers' Guild tomorrow."
"The Adventurers' Guild?"
"Yes. I've been a bit bored lately. I thought I might try some adventurer work."
"That sounds fine. Go ahead and enjoy yourself."
Hm?
"We're all going together, though."
Sister Mary's brow furrowed.
"Julian. You need to tell me about things like that at least a few days in advance."
Uh… well. Faced with her reaction, I stood frozen in place.
"And what if the commission runs long?"
"That's…"
"The alchemical materials would be a shame, but we could dispose of them if we had to — or perhaps use them even spoiled. Food ingredients, however, are another matter entirely."
"W-well…"
"You are aware that the storeroom currently holds enough food for five people for several days, yes?"
I had watched her shop, so I more or less knew, yes…
"Are you truly going out tomorrow?"
"I-I at least want to visit the Adventurers' Guild…"
I was only going to take a commission if something decent was available. I had no intention of grabbing just anything.
Sister Mary let out a long, heavy sigh.
"If Julian says she's going, the men will happily tag along."
She meant Maximilian and Daniel, I supposed.
"And they'll take whatever commission you point at, no questions asked."
"Th-they wouldn't go that far… would they?"
But they probably would. If I said something looked fine, they would agree on the spot.
"Emma will follow without a second thought, of course."
My sister absolutely would…
"And no matter what I say, it'll come down to a majority vote."
I did have an impulsive streak. And it was true that Maximilian agreed with whatever I said. Daniel was starting to show the same tendency, so the odds of things playing out exactly as Mary described were high.
I hung my head. Every word of it was right.
"I'm sorry…"
"Still, at least you didn't drag everyone out on the spur of the moment. That's something."
When I told Priest Daniel, his reaction was about what I expected.
"Of course I will accompany you. Please don't worry. The equipment I managed to acquire is a bit lacking, but it will serve."
His sword was a cheap one, and his shield was a mix of copper and iron — but he insisted the basics were covered and told me not to fret.
"You're going out first thing tomorrow?"
"E-even if we go, I want to think carefully before accepting a commission."
Sister Mary's words kept echoing in my head. I couldn't just throw away alchemical materials, so I had to be careful…
"It would be ideal if there were something we could finish in a single day."
"Th-that's it! That sounds perfect!"
A day trip would mean none of Mary's worries would come to pass.
Right! Tomorrow, we would take a commission we could finish and return from in a single day!