Kays Translations

Chapter 476: Emily-san and John-san

The audience with His Majesty the King had ended. It seemed that preparations to begin compounding the magic potion would be made immediately.

Officially, the arrangement was called “Technical Instruction in Magic-Potion Compounding from the Spencer Kingdom,” and we were formally invited to the Kingdom of Raven as state guests.

It looked like we no longer needed to sneak around the royal castle. From now on, we would be moving out of the royal family’s private quarters and into the main part of the castle.

To be honest, I was relieved. Even with Sister-in-law Daniela there, staying in the private quarters of another country’s royal family was mentally exhausting.

Our relocation was carried out as quickly as possible and completed that very day. We were now closer to Nero, Lionel and the others as well.

“Julius-sama, it seems you’re going to be busy from now on.”

“That’s right. Things have gone in a completely different direction from what I expected when we left the House Heine estate. Still, I don’t think deepening our ties with the Kingdom of Raven will be a bad thing. It looks like we’ll be staying longer than planned, though.”

“Wouldn’t it be a good idea to send letters to Rosalia-sama and Mira-sama?”

“Good idea. We speak every day, but perhaps I should write a letter to Lady Fabienne too.”

As soon as I said that, Nero brought me some stationery. I decided to write a love letter to Lady Fabienne. I had never written one before, but now I could ask Brother Alex and Sister-in-law Daniela for advice. This was my chance.

Still, wasn’t this room a little too luxurious? Not only was it spacious, but it even had a chandelier and a private bathtub. The furnishings sparkled, and the blue carpet beneath my feet was wonderfully soft.

This was definitely the sort of room reserved for important visitors from other countries, wasn’t it? Ah, come to think of it, we were important visitors from another country.

I spent the rest of that day writing the love letter. I hadn’t expected it to be so difficult. No wonder I had never written one before. Brother Alex, who used to write them almost every day, truly was amazing.

The next morning, someone came to collect us immediately after breakfast. Apparently, all the preparations had been completed while we were taking it easy the previous day.

Brother Alex, Sister-in-law Daniela, Nero and Lionel all accompanied me to the compounding room. They were my designated guardians, so to speak.

Princess Sophia guided us there.

“This is the royal castle’s compounding room.”

“It looks as though no one is here. Is it all right for us to enter?”

“Of course. Two magic pharmacists will be arriving shortly. They are both highly skilled and trustworthy. They are responsible for compounding the magic potions consumed by members of the royal family.”

Magic pharmacists exclusively responsible for the royal family, huh? They ought to be trustworthy. I would teach them how to compound the antidote, and they could then pass the method on to the other magic pharmacists. That way, my name would never need to come up.

Just as Princess Sophia had said, the two magic pharmacists arrived shortly afterwards. Their names were Emily-san and John-san. After a brief exchange of introductions, I immediately began teaching them how to compound the antidote.

“Julius, is it all right for us to watch from here?”

“It’s fine. There won’t be any foul smells or anything that irritates your eyes.”

“I-Is that so? Then I suppose it’s fine…”

Apparently, Brother Alex had once watched our grandmother, a highly skilled magic pharmacist, compound a potion. It probably brought back unpleasant memories. With both Sister-in-law Daniela and Princess Sophia present as well, he must have feared that something disastrous was about to happen.

When they heard my explanation, the two magic pharmacists looked utterly stunned. Well, that was understandable for people unfamiliar with the method. This confirmed that the Kingdom of Raven was still producing foul-tasting magic potions. Perhaps I should teach them how to compound elementary and mid-grade healing potions as well. That would surely prove useful in the future.

The compounding proceeded smoothly. Emily-san and John-san were both extremely skilled and mastered the method after a single attempt. That was only to be expected of royal court magic pharmacists.

The two of them stared blankly at the antidote they had just compounded.

“This is the antidote? It looks completely different…”

“It really does. Teacher, may we taste it?”

“Er… There appear to be enough ingredients left, so why don’t you?”

“Yes, please!”

With that, the two of them shared a single bottle of antidote and began drinking it. Before I knew it, they had started calling me “Teacher.” It seemed I had acquired two more disciples.

They recognised the difference after a single sip. Their eyes widened and their mouths fell open. Their lips moved as though they were trying to speak, but no words emerged at first.

“It’s sweet! This is completely different from the antidotes we’ve made until now!”

“It isn’t bitter at all. Teacher Julius, could you possibly be a god?”

“I’m not! This is… Let’s say it’s a new method developed by the royal magic pharmacists of the Spencer Kingdom.”

“Huh?”

“Wait…”

“Ah…”

The first to react to my lie was Sister-in-law Daniela. Brother Alex then tilted his head. Come on, you two…

Princess Sophia let out a small sound and covered her mouth with one hand, as though she had realised what I was doing.

Emily-san and John-san seemed to understand as well. They gave me serene, almost enlightened smiles. I was grateful that neither of them said anything further.

An awkward silence followed, but I decided to set it aside for the moment. There were still other things I needed to teach them.

“You’ve learned how to compound the antidote without any problems. Next, let’s move on to elementary and mid-grade healing potions. With those, we’ll be able to help many injured people.”

“You’ll teach us those as well!? Teacher really might be a god!”

“A god!”

“No, I’m not.”

Good grief, things were becoming rather complicated. Still, I couldn’t stop now. I had better finish teaching them and return home before matters grew even more chaotic.

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