Chapter 15
Chapter 15
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 15
Chapter Title: Unexpected Enlightenment
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Aren prided herself on being a diligent person.
Early to bed and early to rise, starting the day with light stretching to loosen her stiff shoulders, followed by some reading.
Opening the shop to greet customers, then diving into potion research in her spare moments.
That was the everyday routine of Aren, the mage—and she didn't find it bad at all.
But lately, a wind of change had blown into that routine.
A person far more diligent than she could imagine was staying at her house.
"Ugh, I'm tired."
Aren yawned and glanced at the alarm clock by her bedside.
5 a.m. Time to get up.
'Today, I'll start another fulfilling day.'
Aren resolved herself like that.
She folded her blankets, rubbed her eyes, and stepped out of the room.
"Good morning. You're up early."
As she exited the room, she spotted Leon.
The guest she had invited into her home.
Her benefactor.
"Leon, you're already up too—wait!"
"Hm? What's wrong?"
"Your clothes—why are you shirtless?"
"I always go without a shirt when I exercise. But I'm wearing pants, so I figured it wouldn't be an issue."
His bare upper body came into Aren’s view.
Sweat poured down like rain, and his sweat-soaked muscles revealed sharp contours, exuding a raw masculine appeal.
She pretended to cover her eyes with her hand, but she took in the sight all the same.
She'd known he had a good build just from a glance, but for someone like her with no experience with men, it was a shock beyond imagination—for better or worse.
She leaned toward the positive side regarding that physique, but she didn't show it.
"Please put something on quickly. I don't mind, but customers will be coming to the shop soon, and I don't think showing them that is a good idea."
"Understood."
Leon followed her instructions and slipped on the shirt he held in his hand.
The sweat-drenched fabric clung to his body, accentuating his muscles even more.
Aren quietly stared at the scene.
"Um, Aren?"
"Ah, it's nothing. Anyway, we're about to open the shop—mind helping out?"
"Sure."
Leon Star.
The diligent man had woken up before her again today, starting the new day ahead of her.
...
Aren opened the potion shop early in the morning, but customers were scarce.
'No customers today either.'
No, it was a total flop.
Other potion shops had lines forming, buzzing with people, while her place was dead quiet.
Aren knew it too.
This was entirely her fault.
No matter how effective a potion was, if it had side effects, people wouldn't touch it easily.
It was no different from selling defective goods.
Knowing that, she'd hand them out in the plaza as a form of promotion.
But it had backfired instead.
Record-breaking losses.
But she didn't care.
If she was out of money, she'd just keep researching without it.
If she'd planned to give up, she'd have packed her bags and left the city long ago.
What she wanted was to create legendary potions—this level of crisis wouldn't break her will.
With time to spare, she decided to practice making potions in the meantime.
And conveniently, she had someone helping with the research right by her side.
"Should I put this here?"
"Yes, please."
Aren nodded at Leon's words.
He effortlessly carried heavy loads of potion ingredients like herbs and glass vials.
"Sorry to ask you to handle this too."
"It's no big deal. Don't worry about it."
"You lent me money for ingredients and now you're hauling stuff—this is a huge deal."
Aren's potion shop was short on materials.
And Leon, knowing that, had readily lent her the money.
Thanks to him, she wouldn't face the disaster of running out of supplies anytime soon.
Aren let out a sigh of relief as she looked at the piled-up ingredients.
She inwardly vowed to repay this favor next time.
'Though it feels like the debt's piling up.'
"You're helping me out in so many ways."
"You think so? I'm not really thinking much of it. I'm just helping within my means."
"I see."
"You're not annoyed by it, are you? I feel like I might be meddling a bit much."
"Lending money and doing the favors I ask for—how could that be meddling?"
Leon was devoting himself to her almost endlessly.
Aren was grateful for it.
Continuing her research alone had been no easy task, so his help eased her burdens.
"I'm truly thankful. Thanks to you, my research is making some progress."
"Gathering materials, carrying them, experimenting—it's no small feat. Aren, have you ever thought about hiring an assistant? I hear other mages all have them."
"I can't afford one. Ah, how about you become my assistant, Leon? I could treat you really well."
"I appreciate the offer from you, mage, but I'll have to pass. More importantly, what kind of research are you doing?"
"The usual—experiments to reduce potion side effects, even a little. Here's hoping it works."
Potion ingredients were expensive and hard to obtain.
It wasn't an exaggeration to call them worth their weight in gold.
Well-made potions could save lives, so people bought them anyway.
She wanted common folk to enjoy those benefits too.
That's why Aren was working to create potions using alternative ingredients that mimicked the originals' effects, aiming for equal or better performance.
"The ones you gave out in the plaza."
"Yes, but they're unfinished. I need to eliminate the side effects entirely or make them negligible, and that's not easy."
This wasn't for the black market; she had to prove a certain level of reliability.
But every method she'd tried so far had failed.
'Is there really no way?'
Honestly, she was losing confidence.
She hadn't achieved any real results yet.
She worried this time would just waste materials and produce a bunch of failures too.
"I'm no expert on potions, but if you'd like, I can offer some advice."
"You, Leon?"
'Wait a minute!'
Aren's eyes lit up at his words.
'How did I forget this?'
Come to think of it, when he'd drunk the potion in the plaza, he hadn't suffered much from the side effects.
Maybe he knew some special method.
"Do you have any ideas?"
"I don't think you need to make the potions perfect."
"Tell me more."
"Side effects happen because impurities form during the brewing process. And you're trying to solve it by making perfectly pure potions, but that's tough."
He was right.
The reason mainstream potions didn't use her ingredients was precisely because they left too many impurities.
Her potions were viscous or opaque instead of clear like others, and no filter could change that.
"So, let's try a change of perspective. Instead of relying entirely on the brewing apparatus, bring in outside help."
"Like what?"
"The person drinking it. No filter beats the human body."
"But our bodies can't expel all of it. Unless we drill holes in ourselves, it's impossible."
"Exactly. So why not create something to act as those holes? It'd be easier than perfect potions and good as a stopgap."
It was an approach she'd never considered, buried in her potion research.
'Instead of removing the side effects from my potions, research ways to make drinkers resilient enough to handle them unharmed.'
It wasn't fully formed yet, but this unheard-of method ignited her mage's thirst for challenge.
"I'll give it a try."
"Good thinking."
And so, for the first time, she dove into research on the human body rather than potions alone.
...
'Will this do it?'
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Aren has gained new inspiration thanks to your advice. She expresses her gratitude for your help in the research. Affinity increases by 5. Affinity... Watching the Affinity steadily rise, I could feel Aren solidifying her trust in me.
When I'd saved her life risking my own, I'd been a bit disappointed it hadn't gone higher, but maybe because it had climbed once, now even small acts of kindness boosted it easily.
Already up to 25.
Halfway to unlocking the next Affinity System feature.
It said something about psychological status, so I didn't know exactly what it was, but I'd find out soon enough.
All I had to do was keep at it with anticipation.
'Aren's working hard too.'
I secretly watched her throw herself into the new research.
She'd probably see results soon.
This was the method she'd first discovered in my past life.
Through countless animal and human experiments, she'd realized it was more efficient to adapt the consumer's body to handle impurities than to remove them.
She'd pushed forward with those tests.
Even I had filtered out the impurities from the potion she'd given me thanks to being her guinea pig.
Aren wouldn't resort to such inhumane methods, but she'd come up with her own innovative approach.
'You got this.'
I believed in her skills.
When the genius alchemist-to-be finally succeeded in selling her potions, I'd ask her to treat me.
For now, I'd keep helping her from the sidelines.
I rolled up my sleeves to assist with her research.
"Breaking news! Breaking news!"
The shout came from outside right after.
"Phasis is back! The Golden Wing Guild just returned from the Labyrinth!"
A loud commotion erupted outside the shop.
Aren and I stepped out to see what was going on.
Others had already gathered, drawn by the rumors.
"Phasis took down a Wraith Knight?"
"Heard he wiped out every one prowling around this time."
The news of the Golden Wing Guild's high-tier explorer returning from the Labyrinth was spreading like wildfire across the city.
"Let's go see!"
Aren, who'd been waiting for this news, grabbed my hand and urged me to hurry.
I followed her into the crowd.
"Wooah!"
"Phasis! Phasis!"
Everyone waved at a man riding past on horseback.
He had the look of a classic pretty boy, wearing a necklace symbolizing the Golden Wing Guild's emblem. He raised a white mana stone in his hand, proving he'd avenged his guildmates.
"Now our comrades can rest in peace."
"Yeah, probably."
Honestly, I didn't care for this atmosphere.
With Aren beside me, I just went along with it.
Mourning fallen comrades should come first, not turning the slaying of their killers into a celebration.
Still, I couldn't help but smile.
The time had finally come.
Phasis's return meant the blockade was lifted.
I could finally start exploring the Labyrinth.