Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 145: Sustained Mana-Restoration Potion
The little wetland descended into mild panic.
That was understandable. A giant monster had suddenly appeared in what had been a peaceful marsh.
“…Julius, you aren’t imagining something troublesome again, are you?”
“Huh? Of course not!”
From the perspective of the wetland’s inhabitants, the turtle must have looked like an enormous monster. The residents were fleeing in every direction.
“Ah, catch that red frog! Be careful, it’s poisonous. Put that yellow frog in a separate bag.”
“Y-yes, my lord.”
The knights hurried to catch the ingredients.
Hey, handle them more carefully!
Their freshness will drop!
Ahh, this is a mess. This is exactly why I wanted to do it myself.
“That lizard’s tail is an ingredient too. Don’t forget to collect it.”
“Y-yes, my lord.”
Everything was in complete chaos.
I told them I could do it myself.
Somehow, we managed to secure the ingredients I needed.
As for the quality… well, you could probably imagine.
At least they had only just been caught, so they were still fresh.
“Hmm. This reaction…”
“What is it, Julius?”
“Mandragora.”
“Man… dra… what?”
Apparently, the legendary ingredient mandragora was growing nearby.
I wanted it.
A patch of vigorous vitality carrots grew around it, almost as if they were disguising the mandragora.
I wanted those too.
“I’ll go and pick it right away—”
“Wait, wait, wait! That’s far too dangerous!” Brother Cain interrupted. “So that’s the thing that occasionally kills creatures around here.”
“Um, I’m afraid we have no idea what you’re talking about,” one of the knights said with a bewildered expression. “Could you explain it in a way we can understand?”
Apparently, the knight had never heard the legend of the mandragora.
I gave a simple explanation.
“They say that if you hear a mandragora scream when it’s pulled from the ground, you’ll die.”
“That’s far too dangerous. I can’t permit it.”
“I agree,” said the Lake Spirit.
“What?!”
Treasure was right in front of me, yet they rejected the idea outright.
There shouldn’t have been any problem if I used Silence, a spell that prevented the target from making sound.
I tried to persuade them, but the knights dismissed the idea with, “There’s no such magic.”
What was I supposed to do with that?
“All right, then I’ll demonstrate it. If you really lose your voice, you’ll have to admit I’m right. Silence.”
“…! …!? …!!”
The knight appeared to be desperately saying something, but I couldn’t hear a thing.
The other knights gradually turned pale.
The palest of all was the unfortunate knight I’d chosen as my test subject.
“Well? Do you believe me now?”
The knight nodded vigorously.
Naturally.
If he shook his head at this point, he might have worried I’d leave him like that forever.
Once I’d made sure everyone understood, I cancelled the spell.
“With this, we can collect the mandragora without hearing its voice.”
“…That may be true.”
No one argued any further.
Even the turtle was speechless.
We didn’t have time to waste, so we immediately headed towards the spot.
A cluster of plants with nearly identical appearances grew there.
“Please collect those vitality carrots too. But let’s start with the mandragora. Silence.”
The mandragora twitched when the magic struck it.
Perhaps it realised it had been discovered.
Yes, you’ve been discovered.
When I tried to pull it up myself, a knight stopped me and said, “Just to be safe,” before moving me farther away.
After confirming that the rest of us were at a sufficient distance, the knight pulled the mandragora from the ground.
Naturally, there was no sound.
“See? There wasn’t any problem, right?”
“That’s true, but…”
For some reason, the knight looked about ten years older than when we’d started.
Apparently, this assignment was putting him through a great deal.
Ah.
Was that my fault?
The knights who usually escorted me would probably just say, “Here we go again.”
It was probably only a matter of getting used to me.
I was sure these knights would get used to it during this trip too.
Having safely obtained the mandragora, I returned to Brother Cain in high spirits.
“You took a long time, Julius. I was about to send someone to check on you.”
“I’m sorry. I found a valuable ingredient, so I went to collect it.”
“A valuable ingredient?”
“Yes. This!”
I proudly showed Brother Cain the freshly harvested mandragora.
It resembled a carrot split into two at the end, with an eerie face on it.
Brother Cain’s expression immediately twisted.
“Julius, you mustn’t show that mandragora to Mother, Rosalia, or any other woman, all right?”
“I-I know. Come on.”
He really seemed to hate it.
As soon as we returned to the inn, Brother Cain repeated the warning with a smile that reached only as far as his eyes.
I never knew he could smile like that.
He looked just like Father, Mother, and Brother Alex.
“So, can you make the magic potion with tools available here?”
“Yes. There won’t be any problem.”
“Hmm. How reassuring.”
The turtle narrowed its eyes and nodded.
Naturally, that was a lie.
There was no way a town focused mainly on selling souvenirs would have proper equipment for compounding magic potions.
But I had the Laboratory skill.
Claiming that I wanted to concentrate alone, I took over one of the small rooms.
Then I immediately began making a magic potion from the ingredients we’d gathered.
Finding mandragora growing nearby had been an unexpected stroke of luck.
I’d originally intended to make an elementary sustained mana-restoration potion, but with this ingredient I should be able to make an advanced one instead.
If I used that, there would be no need to throw elementary mana-restoration potions into the lake.
As time passed, the Lake Spirit’s mana should gradually return to normal.
I tossed the mandragora into the space created by Laboratory.
It was immediately cut into small pieces and simmered in distilled water.
I applied pressure and high heat to extract the mandragora essence thoroughly.
The colour looked quite good.
The mandragora had been on the small side, but it should still provide more than enough useful material.
Next, I thoroughly dried the yellow frog mucus, lizard tail, and shed snakeskin before grinding them into powder.
Once that powder was dissolved into the mandragora extract, the potion would be complete.
I reduced the mandragora extract further to concentrate it, then added the powdered ingredients.
The result was a thick, dark reddish-brown liquid.
No matter how I looked at it, it looked exactly like poison.
Advanced Sustained Mana-Restoration Potion: High quality. Continuously restores mana. Effect: High. Duration: Long. Tastes like raw, grassy carrots.
Now all I had to do was make the turtle drink it, and the mission would be complete.
…Would the Lake Spirit actually drink this?
Next time I made one, I’d add apple and honey as secret ingredients.