Alkimas Workshop (2)
The potion shop had a strangely laboratory-like air about it. Flasks of every color, sealed beneath cork stoppers, lined the shelves in quiet ranks.
It wasn't long before the clerk who'd rushed outside returned with two people in tow: a woman with disheveled hair and a drab robe, and a man who looked to be her escort. I knew who the woman was at once.
Scarlet.
I hadn't particularly intended to meet her, but here we were. A customer willing to purchase an item worth three platinum coins — it was only natural the proprietor would come out herself.
And the man... her younger brother, I supposed. I already knew Scarlet had one. Unlike her, he'd taken the path of the sword rather than alchemy, bolstering the workshop's martial strength. At that level, he was a considerable fighter.
Scarlet spotted me, strode over, and launched straight into an introduction.
"Scarlet Artima. I run this workshop."
Her eyes were haggard, her voice worn thin with exhaustion. No surprise there — even in the game, she'd been written as someone half-mad with alchemical research.
"I've heard. Do you truly intend to purchase a Scarlet?"
I knew it was the name of the potion, but it still sounded oddly off. I nodded.
"Is the full amount due in advance?"
"No, just half as a down payment. I actually came to explain the potion's effects..."
My eagerness to buy without asking a single question must have struck her as strange; she gave me a peculiar look.
"If it's not too forward, might I ask where you're from?"
"Do I have to say?"
"Not necessarily, but it would put my mind at ease to know who I'm dealing with. This is, after all, an item that contains the essence of my secret art."
Fair enough. She was probably worried I was tied to some dangerous organization, or that I'd been sent by a rival workshop. Anyone willing to casually drop three platinum coins wasn't your average customer. I considered for a moment, then answered.
"I'll tell you when I pick up the goods."
"Understood. Let me at least offer you some tea. Please, have a seat."
She let the matter drop without much fuss and led me to a sitting room in the workshop's main building. I'd only come to look around, and somehow it had come to this. Over tea, I listened as Scarlet explained the potion.
"It's fundamentally a healing potion, so the regenerative effect is exceptional. If not too much time has passed, it can even reattach a severed limb. Internal organ damage can also be repaired to a degree just by drinking it. Of course, pouring it directly on the wound is far more effective."
"Can it regenerate a severed body part from scratch?"
Scarlet looked at me as if I'd said something absurd.
"That would take something on the level of an Elixir, I should think."
Elixir was the collective name for the continent's most legendary panaceas. In other words: don't talk nonsense.
"How long does it take to fully mend a broken bone?"
I asked because I wanted to compare it against my Super Regeneration. Scarlet answered.
"It depends on the location and severity, but a fractured finger typically heals within a minute. An arm or a leg takes at least several minutes. Of course, the bone has to be properly set first, or it'll heal crooked."
As expected, my Super Regeneration was far superior.
"As for additional effects..."
I drifted into thought as her explanation continued. Scarlet was an exceptional alchemist. I didn't know exactly how skilled she was right now, but in the game's story, her secret art had produced a panacea that, while not quite an Elixir, came remarkably close. She might not be there yet, but she was a talent with the potential to reach those heights. There was nothing to lose by keeping a connection.
In the game, Scarlet's first appearance had come alongside the collapse of the Alkimas Workshop. The Velia Merchant Group, coveting the workshop's potion-crafting capabilities and Scarlet's secret art, had employed every dirty trick in the book.
The northern trade routes of Enrok are practically all under their monopoly, weren't they?
I'd asked Ploto, the head butler, and gotten the full picture. However storied a workshop Alkimas might be in the capital, it was hopelessly outmatched by the Velia Merchant Group in capital, connections, and just about everything else. If the future I knew played out, Alkimas would be half-absorbed by the merchant group, its hands completely tied. And originally, as the story progressed, the player's efforts would restore the workshop's independence...
Now I can just handle it myself.
With the power I currently held, it would be trivially simple.
The explanation finally wrapped up after covering detailed usage instructions and precautions. As we concluded, I asked Scarlet,
"How long does production take?"
"At least a month. However..."
She hesitated, then said,
"To be honest, I already have one completed Scarlet on hand."
I tilted my head. Hadn't they said they didn't pre-make the premium potions? She explained the circumstances matter-of-factly.
"I received a custom order from the mayor of Dartmad not long ago, but the deal fell through at the last minute."
"Why?"
"He got caught in a corruption scandal — stripped of office, and every last asset confiscated by the Lord's Castle. It blew up right in the middle of the transaction, so even the down payment was seized during the financial investigation. I was left with leftover stock and no idea what to do with it."
Ah.
"So I can give you the finished potion right now, but if you'd rather not take a pre-made one, I'll brew a new batch."
"Does the potion lose potency over time?"
"Unless years have passed, I can guarantee there's not the slightest drop in efficacy. On my honor, and the honor of this workshop."
I nodded.
"Then I'll take that one."
I accepted so readily that Scarlet looked surprised.
"I'm grateful, but are you truly all right with that?"
"You didn't have to tell me any of that, and you still asked what I wanted. I have no reason not to trust you."
If she'd just wanted to offload the inventory, she never would have brought it up. She could have handed it over a month later and claimed it was freshly made, and who would have known?
The transaction was completed on the spot. A moment later, Scarlet returned with the potion. The bottle was sealed inside an elegant wooden case. I paid three platinum coins, took the potion, and left the workshop with her seeing me off.
"You did say you'd tell me where you were from once you received the goods."
Ah, right. I had. I looked at Scarlet steadily, then said,
"We'll meet again soon enough. I'll save it for then."
Scarlet looked puzzled, but she nodded.
Leaving the shop, I walked down the main street and took the potion back out of its case to examine it. A crimson liquid sloshed inside the glass bottle. I had no use for potions anymore — my body didn't need them. I'd paid an outrageous sum for this purely out of curiosity. Money was something I had in rotting abundance, after all. And even if I never used it, Ashel might need it someday. I could think of it as stocking an emergency supply.
I'd like to see the effects firsthand, though...
I was walking along with that thought when a desperate scream rang out from somewhere nearby.
"Help! Someone, please!"
I looked toward the sound and saw two ragged boys. One was struggling to support the other, shouting at the top of his lungs. Blood dripped from the wounded boy's abdomen — a stab wound, by the look of it. The people passing by either ignored them or clicked their tongues.
"What's all that racket?"
"Been brawling since morning, looks like. Back-alley parasites."
...Ah. So that was it. Listening to the callous remarks, I pieced together the situation.
The boy doing the supporting wasn't uninjured himself. His strength gave out, and he collapsed to the ground. Even then, he wrung every last scrap of voice from his throat.
"He's my little brother! If anyone has a potion, please, I'm begging you! I'll never forget this kindness as long as I live, please...!"
Someone sneered.
"Is that brat insane? Who the hell would waste a precious potion on some dying beggar kid?"
Not a single person reached out in response to that desperate cry.
Watching the scene, I caught sight of Ashel's face. Her usual expressionlessness had cracked — a rare thing. She was looking at the boys with something like pity.
Come to think of it, Ashel had a younger sibling too.
A sibling who had died right before her eyes during Seintea's invasion, cut down by the Spear Saint, one of the Five Stars. That was the backstory, as I recalled it. So this scene would cut even deeper for her.
Ashel glanced at the potion in my hand. Then our eyes met, and she flinched. She seemed to have something to say — her lips worked soundlessly — but in the end she said nothing, only biting down on them.
This is so damn frustrating.
I clicked my tongue and started toward the boys. I was going to help them regardless of Ashel. Precious as this potion was, it wasn't worth more than a human life. As I drew near, the boy who'd been screaming himself hoarse looked up at me.
"Set him down. I'll treat him."
I uncorked the bottle and slowly poured the potion over the wound. The older boy watched in a daze. The crowd around us had gone quiet. Flesh knit together in an instant. The bleeding stopped, and the gash that had looked so deep vanished without a trace. I hadn't even used a tenth of the bottle, and the effect was every bit as remarkable as Scarlet had described.
"Nngh..."
The younger boy, who'd been barely conscious, blinked his eyes open. The older one, who'd been frantically checking on his brother, finally burst out in a tearful cry.
"Th-thank you! My lord! Thank you so much...!"
I stood and turned away from the boy still crying out his thanks. Walking on with Ashel, I said,
"Ashel."
"Yes, my lord."
"Did you think I'd begrudge them a potion like this? Or that I considered their lives unworthy of saving?"
She didn't answer.
Ashel wore an expression I'd never seen on her before.
"...Yes. I will."
A silence stretched between us, and then she spoke again.
"Thank you. For helping them."
The words came out stiff, painfully awkward. She seemed to know it too — she gave a small cough after speaking. I chuckled inwardly. I might have been imagining it, but the gulf between us felt just a fraction narrower.
"Who on earth was that, sister?"
At Thein's words, Scarlet shrugged.
"I haven't the faintest idea."
"Frankly, I'm a bit concerned. Anyone who pays that kind of fortune on the spot..."
"Well, from the way he talked, he'll be back soon enough. We'll find out then."
Of course, Scarlet was just as curious about his identity. The way he'd treated three platinum coins like pocket change, without so much as a contract. Even a typical magnate or high noble would struggle to pull that off. There were people who flashed gold as a prelude to business negotiations, sure — but nobody insane enough to flex in platinum. At that point, it wasn't even showing off anymore.
Black hair, golden eyes, a human man...
Where had this person even come from? It occurred to her he might not even be from Calderic — perhaps someone from another faction entirely. Thein muttered,
"Come to think of it, there was a rumor that the Seventh Lord who arrived in the city yesterday is also a black-haired human man..."
The two of them fell silent and stared at each other. Then Scarlet snorted a laugh.
"Don't be absurd."
"Haha, of course not. It just popped into my head, that's all."
A Lord visiting a workshop in person? It would be more realistic to guess he was royalty from some Neutral State.
Her thoughts drifted naturally to the Seventh Lord, and a shadow crossed Scarlet's face. Whoever the new Seventh Lord might be was secondary. The real problem was the Velia Merchant Group. She knew perfectly well that the only reason the merchant group hadn't pulled any major schemes until now was the acting Lord's thorough regency. But that was over now, with the new Seventh Lord's accession. It was only a matter of time before the merchant group bared its teeth at the workshop once more.
No point hoping for mediation from the Lord's Castle.
The chance that a Lord would take even the slightest interest in a dispute between a mere workshop and a merchant group? Not a chance in hell. And if the Lord was indifferent, the castle's high officials would naturally side with whoever could fatten their purses more — the Velia Merchant Group.
Scarlet sighed. Memories of being hounded by the merchant group just a few years ago came flooding back. The responsibility of being both workshop master and head of the Artima family weighed heavy.
"If only I could just focus on alchemy research without having to worry about any of this."
Thein looked at her with somber eyes as she muttered the complaint. As a member of the family himself, he knew the situation was grim.
"Please don't worry too much, sister. The merchant group will be too busy watching their step for now to try anything right awa—"
That was when it happened.
Knock, knock.
"Come in."
A retainer entered with a dark expression.
"What is it?"
"The head of the Velia Merchant Group has come to the workshop in person. He brought Vark with him."
"...!"
"He says he wishes to hold a formal discussion immediately, to coordinate both sides' positions."
Scarlet let out a hollow laugh, incredulous.
"He shows up without so much as a word of notice, and he wants a 'formal discussion'?"
"What shall we do, my lady?"
"Summon all the elders. We might as well hear whatever nonsense they have to say."
It was a threat in all but name. She couldn't simply ignore it. Her words were calm, but a deeper worry had settled over her face. The merchant group was moving far faster than she'd expected.