Chapter 404: The House of Marquis Mulan

The carriage, having picked up speed, soon arrived at the village. The knights still seemed to be fighting near the village. As soon as the carriage was stopped inside the village, orders were given immediately.

“Lionel, we’re fine here. Go provide support right away.”

“Understood. You all, I’m leaving the rest to you.”

“Yes! Even at the cost of my life, I will protect you!”

Hmm, the knights’ resolve is heavy. But I suppose this is normal. Will I ever get used to it? Watching Lionel and the others head toward the commotion, I stepped out of the carriage. Nero stopped me.

“Julius-sama, what do you intend to do? You must not leave the carriage.”

“It’s fine. I’m not planning to go toward the commotion. I was thinking of preparing some potions. There might be injured people.”

“I will assist as well.”

“Kyuu!”

It seemed that Fabienne and Mira would also help. Hearing that, Nero and the others got down and helped too. By the time we had finished preparing, it seemed the situation had been resolved. Lionel and the others returned.

“Julius-sama, we have exterminated all the monsters that attacked this village.”

“Good work. What kind of monsters were they?”

“Forest Wolves.”

“Forest Wolves, huh? That’s a bit troublesome. The villagers might find them too difficult to handle.”

“Is that so?”

Fabienne furrowed her brows in concern. She probably didn’t know much about monsters. The other three seemed to understand, as their expressions grew serious. Forest Wolves were more troublesome than goblins.

“Goblins use weapons, but their movements aren’t that fast. However, Forest Wolves are quick. They also coordinate with their pack when attacking. Fighting multiple of them alone can be difficult.”

“Julius-sama, you know a lot about this.”

“W-Well, yeah. I read about it in a book.”

Fabienne looked at me with admiration. Of course, I couldn’t tell her that I learned it from the game’s tutorial, so I just gave an ambiguous smile. Nero, Giles, and Christopher seemed to already know what I had just explained, as they nodded in agreement.

“Lionel, I believe there are injured people. Distribute the potions to them. Please check.”

“Understood. I’ll do so immediately.”

With that, Lionel and the others left again. I’ve been making the knights run around quite a bit. Once this is settled, I’ll make sure they get some proper rest.

Once we were fully prepared to distribute the potions, everyone returned. It seemed there were only a few injured people who needed them. The potions were quickly delivered.

“Julius-sama, the village chief wishes to thank you.”

“Me? Not Lionel and the others?”

“Yes. It was you who gave us instructions and decided to distribute the potions, was it not?”

Well, that may be true, but the ones who actually acted were Lionel and the others. As for me, all I did was float the carriage and prepare the potions for distribution. Was I really the one who should be thanked?

As I was thinking about this, a white-bearded man, escorted by knights, approached us.

“This is the village chief. Thank you for saving us. And for the precious potions as well… I don’t even know how to express my gratitude.”

“Please don’t worry about it. We didn’t use that many potions. More importantly, are potions really that rare?”

“Oh, yes, they are. Ever since the monster outbreak, obtaining potions has become even more difficult. Even the herbs that used to grow around the village have been completely harvested by adventurers.”

There were probably medicinal herbs growing in this area before. Herbs have healing properties on their own, so the villagers likely used them to treat minor wounds.

It seems that the shortage of potions is worse than I had imagined. That also means the damage must be spreading over a wide area. I’m not sure if this was mentioned in the letter my father received, though.

I asked the village chief for permission, and today we decided to stay in this village. It seems that the village will be providing our meals. Apparently, it is a token of gratitude from the villagers. Since they were offering, we decided to accept their hospitality without hesitation.

“It seems that the magic potion you provided is becoming a hot topic, Julius-sama.”

Lionel, who had gone out to gather information about the village, said this as soon as he returned. When I asked for more details, he told me that people were saying they had never had a magic potion so easy to drink before.

Hmm, it looks like the beginner-level healing potion made using the method I published still hasn’t spread throughout the country.

“Could it be that the Mulan Marquisate is still using the old version of the beginner-level healing potion?”

“That might be the case.”

“What about the royal capital? Now I’m curious. Maybe I should check when we stop by on the way back.”

The royal capital must have already adopted it. After all, the royal court’s magic pharmacists must be working hard on it. Still, it takes time for new techniques to spread to the countryside. That might be one of the reasons why we were summoned by the Mulan Marquisate. They probably want us to introduce the new magic potion formula to their territory.

The next day, we left the village and hurried on our journey. We were running a little behind schedule. The Marquis of Mulan might be growing impatient by now. To speed up our travels, I made the carriage float slightly as we moved forward.

This time, I had properly adjusted it, so just by looking, no one would be able to tell that the carriage was floating. Fabienne didn’t say anything, but I could tell she was pleased. Ever since the carriage stopped shaking, she had been in a good mood.

Since it also prevented soreness from the bumpy ride, I preferred it this way too.

At last, we arrived in the Mulan Marquisate. It serves as a key hub for trade in the east, though I heard that its territory isn’t particularly vast. There are only a few towns within the domain, yet it generates considerable tax revenue and is quite wealthy.

“Julius-sama, the Mulan Marquis residence is in sight!”

As Lionel pointed ahead, a white mansion came into view. We couldn’t help but gasp at its beauty.

So, this is Caro’s family home. It’s enormous and stunning. If someone told me it was a royal villa, I wouldn’t doubt it for a second.

Previous chapter | TOC | Next chapter