Chapter 131
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 131
Chapter Title: Potion Ingredients
-----------------------------------------------------------------
It's still too early to say for sure. After healing Rio, I called in the flustered Jeanne, then summoned one of the demonkin who still hadn't recovered from his injuries.
"You called for me, Master?"
"Yeah. How's the injury you got from fighting those heroes before?"
"It's nothing for you to worry about, Master. I'll be back on my feet in no time..."
"How is it?"
Did he think I was asking just to hear that it was fine or no big deal? No, I'm asking about the actual injury.
"W-Well..."
Realizing my intent a bit late, the demonkin extended the arm where he'd been wounded. The flesh was torn away so badly that the bone was visible, and all they'd done was disinfect it roughly and wrap it in bandages.
'And he calls this no big deal.'
I'd probably be screaming in agony and might even go into shock if it were me. Is this average for demonkin?
"We're short on potion stock, so..."
Ever since I'd taken the witches under my wing and started receiving various potions from them, but the potions in this world weren't as convenient as I'd expected.
For starters, they're incredibly difficult to make. I'm no expert myself, but from what I've heard, potions require rare ingredients and go through finicky purification processes. Those processes are so complex that most beings can't even dream of attempting it.
The witches under me can make a few only because their race has a natural knack for distinguishing plants and instinctively grasping mixing ratios when crafting things.
Even those potions don't instantly heal wounds when drunk—they just boost regenerative ability to some degree.
"Of course, there are potions that dramatically spike regeneration for short-term wound healing..."
"But you're out of stock?"
"Yes. The witches sell every batch they make to dungeon merchants at high prices to make ends meet, and we took all their stockpiles this time..."
So that's the situation. The ruins are overflowing with injured for now.
On top of that, medicine hasn't advanced much—probably because potions exist, or maybe it's a demonkin trait—there aren't even any dedicated healers. So...
"Heal him."
"...Huh? Master, isn't that woman a saintess?"
Ordering Jeanne, whom I'd brought along, to treat the demonkin turned him into an unwitting lab rat, his eyes twitching in shock. This demonkin was one of the werebeasts we'd absorbed from the alliance. Having fought humans for ages, he knew full well that holy power was poison to demonkin.
"M-Master! Did I do something wrong? Or did that saintess bewitch you or...!"
"Shut up and take it."
No point in explaining at length—they won't get it until they experience it themselves. I shoved Jeanne toward the injured demonkin. She hesitated for a moment before sprinkling holy power over his wound just like before.
"Gaaah! You crazy human! So that's why you bowed to Master so obediently... Hm?"
The moment white light burst from Jeanne's hand, the subordinate—who'd cursed at her and squeezed his eyes shut—didn't feel the expected agony. He cracked one eye open and checked his wound.
"...Ooh? The wound?"
"What...?"
The other demonkin watching from afar were equally stunned. Seeing the treated demonkin perfectly fine, the others—who each had their own injuries—cautiously approached and got healed by the saintess one by one.
"It's healed! Healed!"
"Those human bastards... They've been hogging something this good all to themselves!"
The demonkin getting treated, and even the saintess doing the treating, were all bewildered. In this bizarre situation where holy power healed rather than harmed demonkin, I pulled up Jeanne's staff info window, which I'd glossed over before.
[Passive]: All action efficiency rises when acting on player orders, but autonomous judgment falls.
[Compassionate]: All stress and negative effects reduced. However, efficiency falls if wounded are nearby.
[Delusional]: Occasionally lost in delusions.
[Healing Expert]: Points spent to recover all staff [Status] halved.
[Pure White Power]: Can recover other staff [Status]. Gain small points when recovering others.
[God's Proxy]: All incoming damage greatly reduced. Immune to [Poison], [Contamination], etc.
[Miracle]: Can use 'Miracle'.
*No equipment or contaminated area restrictions.
*Cleaning in same area gradually adapts to tasks/environment, boosting all efficiencies up to +20% max.
Excluding the presumed Seven Deadly Sins sleeping in the ruins, she's my first innate 5-Star staff member. The welcome sight of 'Human' as her race greets me first in the staff window, followed by a dazzling array of talents befitting a 5-Star.
'Hm.'
One of the [Talents] in Jeanne's staff info window caught my eye. [Pure White Power] allowed her to recover other staff members' [Status].
Maybe that's why her holy power can heal the demonkin in these ruins?
'Should I test it later on other demonkin who haven't been staff-approved?'
If I'm not careful, a demonkin could melt from the saintess's holy power, so next time I capture hostile ones alive, I'll experiment. Maybe ambush the dungeon merchant when he shows up?
"How much can you use that power?"
"Minor wounds are no problem—I can heal as many as needed. Severe cases too, given enough time. If there are too many, I'd need to use 'Miracle'..."
"Miracle, huh..."
The saintess's signature ability, prominently listed in her [Talents]. But I advised against using it. From what I'd heard, even miracles couldn't be spammed.
"Normally, I used it once per quarter at the temple's regular events for the sick. Never more than that, but since it leaves me utterly drained each time, quarterly... so maybe once every 3-4 months is my limit."
Shame. I was dying to know what a miracle looked like. Apparently, it heals permanent disabilities untreatable by normal holy power and even regrows lost body parts.
"Is Miracle only for healing?"
"Pardon? No... Back at the temple, the priests decided how to use it..."
Plus, miracles make the impossible possible—not limited to healing, with various applications. Jeanne had only ever used it for healing as instructed since childhood, so she didn't know other methods...
I'm looking forward to it. Who knows? Miracles seem godlike—maybe they could enable my 'return' somehow?
Of course, I haven't even seen one yet, and she won't test it on me.
"Good. Hold off on cleaning for a while and focus on treating the wounded."
"Yay... Ahem. Got it."
Pretending otherwise, she'd clearly been bored with endless cleaning and showed no aversion to healing demonkin—in fact, she seemed thrilled. Does saintess healing regenerate blood too? Could feed Erzsebet a ton then.
Once I assigned her to healing, the demonkin—who'd initially distrusted the human—started coming to her one by one.
They'd have obeyed my orders anyway, but seeing those treated emerge unscathed convinced the wounded to seek her out voluntarily.
'Yeah. Gotta have a healer.'
Satisfied that a gap was filled, I notified the witch—who'd been visiting daily lately—that she could cut back on potion deliveries.
"R-Really...? Th-Thank goodness."
'Hm.'
Seeing her sigh in relief like she'd been saved pricked my conscience a bit.
After the hero clash, recovery was top priority, but with potions from the witches as our only means, I'd been pressuring them aggressively to produce more.
And I'd even sent Pandora to straight-up ask if she could see the dungeon core... Yeah...
'I was a bit thuggish.'
"Thank goodness. Truth is, making that bulk order depleted all our stockpiled ingredients..."
Hearing she'd been stressing over not meeting our potion quota made me feel guilty, so I asked the witch,
"Ingredients, huh... What do you need? If it's herbs or plants, we can grow and supply them."
With dryads and high elves here, we could cultivate any herbs easily. But the witch shook her head at my offer.
"No, thank you kindly... We've got our own long-cultivated herb methods, so plants aren't the issue. It's a different core ingredient..."
"Core ingredient?"
Come to think of it, I'd heard potions needed finicky ingredients but never specifics. What could it be? Fantasy cliché like troll hearts?
"Yes. Pure water with mana extracted."
"...Huh? Water?"
But her answer missed my guess wildly. The most vital rare ingredient was 'water'—she even sighed about it.
"I get water's needed, but core ingredient?"
"Ah, yes. It's not just any 'water'—the mana must be extracted. Even normal river or groundwater has trace mana."
Using mana-laden water in alchemy tangles the ingredients' mana into a mess. For a potion to fully absorb each ingredient's properties and mana, the base water needs mana extraction first, she chattered.
"Everything in the world naturally holds mana, and extracting it is so tricky that making them is incredibly hard..."
"......Yeah."
Whether she thought I was listening sympathetically or just got excited about her specialty,
The witch—who'd been timid before her boss(?)-like self—rattled on enthusiastically about potion-making and how tough mana-free water was. Meanwhile, I glanced at the tool in my hand.
[High-Pressure Cleaner (Lv. Max)]
...Could it be?