Kays Translations

Chapter 130: Transformation Potion

　Having received permission to make a transformation potion, I immediately set about making it. I returned to my room and checked the ingredients I needed

“Moonbutterfly scales, distilled water, killer bee honey, hair, and matured Chigo berries. I have distilled water and matured Chigo berries. Good thing I secured the matured Chigo berries.”

　Moonlight butterflies, whose scales can be collected, appear only on nights with a full moon. Moonlight butterflies themselves are not that rare, but they are bound to appear on a full moon. However, the full moon is just three days away. I can’t afford to miss this day.

　And then there is killer bee honey. It would be better to ask for this at the Adventurers’ Guild. Killer bees build their nests in holes, so it should be relatively safe to collect honey by throwing in a numbing ball. Oh, it would probably be faster if I went and got it myself.

　I have hair. I touched my head to make sure. It’s all right, there is no problem.

“Let’s start with killer bee honey. I need to prepare the numbing beads.”

　I took advantage of the fact that my father had given me permission to make the potion and holed up in the compounding room, even though it was almost bedtime. Of course, Mother found out and was furious. Apparently, a servant who was making his nightly rounds had tipped her off.

　

　Well, it was my fault for staying in the compounding room until witching hour. I’m sorry, I got carried away.

　The next day, I rubbed my sleepy eyes and finished my morning watering routine, then headed for the knights’ quarters. I had only one purpose. To gather friends to go on an adventurous journey with me.

　As soon as I arrived, I was immediately surrounded by knights with eyes like the loyal dog Hachiko. The knights had already been dispatched to guard the horse races, so there were fewer of them than usual.

“Good morning, Julius-sama.”

“Good morning. I have come today to ask a favor of you all.”

“Anything you want!”

　Oh, everyone’s eyes are sparkling and dazzling from the morning. Is it really that great to be asked to do something for me? My face feels a little tight.

“I’m thinking of going to pick up some killer bees’ honey, but could you come with me?”

“That’s …….”

“You mustn’t do that, Julius-sama.”

“Lionel.”

　Lionel, who had arrived late, chanted a little wait call. I guess I can’t go myself after all.

“Julius-sama, please consider your current situation.”

“Ah.”

　That’s right. I’m trying to get Lionel to disguise himself as me and use me as a decoy,  but what is he going to do if I act like bait from this stage already? This means I can’t go anywhere deserted for a while. I can’t go into the woods or anything like that.

“ I’m sorry, you’re right. Well then, I need you to collect some killer bee honey. Use these numbing balls.”

“In that case, I’ll come with you.”

“I’ll come too.”

　“Me, too,” said several young knights. The fact that they were in the knights’ quarters means that they must have the day off today. I’m sorry to ruin such a precious day off with my orders. I glanced at Lionel. Lionel must have sensed this, because he said,

“Today will be  a special mission day. You’ll have another day off later.”

“Thank you!”

　Lionel is indeed a man I can count on. You can count on him. I immediately asked him to bring me a map of Mount Claire. Thankfully, there is a nest of killer bees there. I firmly told Mira to stay away from it because it is dangerous.

　Of course, the people who managed the mountain already know. Or rather, I was the one who told them.

“There’s a killer bee hive there. It looks like it’s been there for a long time, so there must be honey there, too. I don’t think the killer bees will be far behind, but be careful just in case. Take some recovery medicine and antidote with you.”

“Okay. That’s very generous of you.”

“We’ve got numbing balls, so we should be okay.”

　Lionel also gave his seal of approval. This is going to be fine. I could leave it to him with peace of mind. After that, I taught them how to pick them so that they could bring them home as fresh as possible. This was perfect. No corners were left unturned.

“Now all I need is the moonlight butterfly scales.”

“Moonlight butterflies?　I’ve seen them in the meadows along the Toradel river”

　Lionel has his hand on his chin. As expected of a knight commander, he seems to know information about the location of the Margrave Heine territory, monsters, flora, and fauna.

“Oh, that’s great information. Moonlight butterflies appear on full-moon days, so I want you to collect their scales for me, but it would be bad for me to go there, wouldn’t it?”

“That’s not good. I’ll make the arrangements. But I have never heard of moonlight butterfly scales.”

　Lionel nodded his head. I suppose that’s true. The old lady didn’t seem to have used it, and I’ve never seen it in the Potions Guild. Maybe it’s a material that the magic potions masters of this world don’t know about.

　The way to collect them is not so difficult. If you flutter the caught moonlit butterfly on a piece of paper, you should be able to get a beautiful scale that shines like moonlight. All you have to do is collect them, put them in the anti-degradation bottles I had prepared, and bring them back to me.

　When I explained it, Lionel and the others seemed to understand.

“In that case,  we would need a good number of people.”

“Moonlight butterflies are safe, so there’s no problem with going with a small number. However, it might take some time. That’s right, let’s make a butterfly net to increase efficiency even a little.”

“butterfly nets?”

　Lionel looked doubtful. Come to think of it, I’ve never seen a butterfly net. I’ve never even heard of catching bugs, for that matter. Perhaps no one does anything like catching insects.

　How were they going to catch them if they didn’t have insect nets?　Oh, maybe they were going to kill them by slashing them with a sword?　As expected, I don’t want the number of moonlight butterflies to decrease. I explained about the insect net I was going to make and firmly asked him to make sure to let the moonlight butterflies he caught go. This would prevent the moonlight butterflies from resenting me.

TL: Hachikō was a Japanese Akita dog remembered for his remarkable loyalty to his owner, Hidesaburō Ueno, for whom he continued to wait for over nine years following Ueno’s death.

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