Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 176: Gold Pass
Our conversation continued until breakfast was nearly over. At last, I asked about something that had been bothering me.
“Brother, how’s Cain doing?”
“Cain seems to be doing well. I don’t know why, but apparently he’s trying to increase the number of swordsmanship tournaments next year from once a year to two or three times. He’s gathering support from the members of the swordsmanship club.”
“I see.”
“Julius, do you have any idea what Cain is doing?”
Oh, there it was: Brother Alex’s usual smile that wasn’t really a smile. What should I do? Should I be honest? Cain would probably say sooner or later, “Julius told me,” so I might as well explain it first.
“Actually, Brother…”
I told him what had happened. I hadn’t meant to stir Cain up. He hadn’t shown any interest in the student council, so I had only been trying to get him to think a little more seriously about the future. Whether the message had actually got through was another matter.
“I see. I’m grateful that Cain has become interested in the student council as well as martial arts, but after hearing why, I’m beginning to worry a little about the academy’s future. Well, I won’t be there by then, so I suppose I could say it won’t be my problem anymore.”
Hmm. Was he worried that the Royal Academy might turn into a martial-arts academy? Apparently that would be a problem. In that case, there was only one thing to do: build up a rival faction.
“Maybe you should start supporting the academic, magical, and artistic factions now.”
“Yes, that’s true. I know that, but how did you come up with something like that?”
“Huh? I’ve heard all sorts of things from my friends, so I’ve gained a broader perspective.”
I laughed, ha ha ha. Maybe that had been a mistake. It was rather strange for a child who hadn’t even attended the academy to be thinking about factions and cliques.
Brother Alex stared at me for a moment, then seemed to remember something and spoke to a servant. The servant immediately returned with a single golden card.
“Julius, the royal-castle entry permit I mentioned the other day has arrived. Here it is. If you show this, you’ll be able to enter the castle without going through the usual formalities. It’s extremely important, so don’t lose it.”
“How important is it?”
“Well, apart from you, the only people who have one are members of the royal family.”
I didn’t like the sound of that at all. I wanted to hand it straight back. But without it, a carriage bearing the royal crest would keep coming to collect me. I wanted to do something about that before the rumours became even worse.
“Please keep it safely in your possession.”
“Also, with this you’ll be able to access all the facilities in the castle, so use it wisely.”
“Yes, Brother.”
How in the world had things come to this?
The Gold Pass was extremely effective. I travelled to the castle in the House Heine carriage and headed for the entrance reserved for high-ranking nobles. I showed them the Gold Pass. The guard was startled. I went straight through. It was very fast.
It attracted attention, though.
Next time, instead of going through immediately, perhaps I should deliberately take my time and pretend my belongings were being inspected.
The carriage stopped at the designated carriage stop, and I headed towards the Royal Magic Pharmacists’ Corps. No one came to collect me because I’d firmly told them yesterday not to. Even so, I could feel worried gazes following me.
At this rate, it might actually be better to have someone come and collect me. I could ask for just one person. Though I was sure that would lead to an argument over who got to do it.
As we’d discussed yesterday, the next few months would be a training period for making magic potions. That meant I could make other medicines more or less freely while supervising everyone. Since colds seemed to be going around, I might as well make a cold remedy. If I made it very sweet with syrup, children would be happy to drink it.
“What would you like us to do today, Julius-sensei?”
“Let’s review the process while making elementary healing potions, and if there’s time, try making antidotes as well. Both are useful magic potions to keep in stock.”
Everyone seemed satisfied with that and began working together. I would make my own medicine while keeping an eye on how everyone else was doing.
Cold remedies could be made from medicinal herbs and antiseptic herbs. Their composition was similar to an antidote, but both ingredients could be used in smaller quantities. I was thinking of adding honey or syrup as well.
What I really wanted to add was royal jelly and make it into a nourishing tonic, but unfortunately royal jelly didn’t seem to be known here. Maybe I should go looking for some in spring. There might be something similar in a killer-bee nest.
As I smoothly compounded the cold medicine, a thought occurred to me. Pneumonia began with symptoms similar to an ordinary cold. If a child caught it, it could become life-threatening. Shouldn’t I also make a magic potion that worked well against lung disease?
For that I needed poison-moth scale powder. I wondered if I could find some in that icehouse-like material store.
“I’m going to the icehouse.”
“Julius-sensei? If there are any materials you need, I’ll get them for you.”
“No, that’s all right. Everyone, please continue practising. Even if you’re getting used to the work, don’t neglect any individual step. Always give your full attention to what’s in front of you.”
“Yes, Julius-sensei.”
Exactly. Once you became too accustomed to something and unconsciously started cutting corners, you would never know what had gone wrong when a batch failed. I made one quick circuit of the compounding room to be safe, then headed for the icehouse.
The servant stayed close behind me, so I wasn’t alone. The attendant Brother Alex had assigned me was clearly no ordinary servant. He was probably some sort of covert operative. A ninja, basically.
“Lord Julius. Will you be using the icehouse?”
“Yes. Let me have a look inside.”
“Of course. I’ll turn on the light.”
The soldier responsible for the icehouse switched on the light. A slightly cold breeze drifted out through the open door.
Yeah, I still thought this icehouse was no good. It needed to be cold. There was no point unless the temperature made you go, “Whoa, that’s cold!”
I moved around the icehouse, checking the ingredients. Come to think of it, I’d never asked what materials were stored here. Surely someone was keeping track of them. If so, taking anything out without permission would be bad. I’d ask about it later.
As we’d discussed yesterday, there really were enough materials left for two more Panacea attempts. Their quality was dreadful, but that was still much better than having nothing. Eventually, I wanted to replace the materials used for the advanced healing potion and strong antidote with higher-quality stock. That alone should make the finished magic potions much easier to drink.
Hmm. There were some materials I didn’t understand at all. A kappa’s hand? What in the world was that used for? Oh, there was even an armadillo shell. So armadillos existed in this world too?
Amid all those discoveries, I found the poison-moth scale powder I was looking for and returned to the compounding room.