Chapter 29: The New Potion
“I-I think… it’s done…”
In Merlin’s hands rested a small bottle filled with a pale, sky-blue liquid, its surface catching the light and shimmering faintly.
“Could it be… another new potion!?”
“Yeah… if it worked, that is…”
“Wow!”
Denis’s eyes sparkled with excitement, and Merlin held the potion out to him with a tentative, almost shy gesture.
“Huh?”
“Try it… there shouldn’t be any dangerous side effects…”
“M-me?”
“…S-sorry… did you not want to?”
“No, no, it’s fine! Actually, I’m honored that you’d trust your assistant with this!”
Denis eagerly accepted the potion and, without hesitation, downed it in one gulp. Though he looked like a girl, there was a surprising streak of bravery in him.
“Not bad… the taste isn’t unpleasant. But what… exactly does this do?”
“Well…”
Merlin then presented a wooden bucket, brimming to the top with clear water.
“This…?”
“Put your face in it… you should be able to breathe underwater…”
“I-I got it!”
Denis closed his eyes and plunged his face into the water with a splash.
(Amazing… I can really breathe!?)
Cautiously, he opened his eyes under the water and was stunned: everything was perfectly clear, as if the water weren’t even there.
“A potion made from Air Grass… an aquatic potion… with this, life underwater could be almost the same as life on land…”
“This is incredible!”
“Thanks to Geo, of course… Air Grass normally only grows at altitudes of several thousand meters. It’s practically impossible to obtain otherwise.”
Air Grass naturally releases air into its surroundings, enabling certain creatures to survive in the thin atmosphere of high-altitude environments.
“This could be the next big hit, just like the Ice-cooling Potion!”
“Yeah… but… for now, I’ll only sell it to the Shifa group…”
The Ice-cooling Potion had become wildly popular among adventurers, especially because it was extremely effective for exploring volcanic regions—and available exclusively at Merlin’s shop.
While the Aquatic Potion had similar potential, Merlin intended to keep it off the shelves for the time being. Maintaining the unique friendship that granted access to the rare Air Grass was far more important than immediate profit.
“Still… how does Geo even manage to get something this rare? He’s not even an adventurer…” Denis wondered aloud.
“….”
As Denis tilted his head, Merlin quietly nudged the bucket to the side—but Denis noticed immediately.
“Merlin? What are you plAniing to do with that water?”
“….”
“What are you going to do? Please don’t just throw it away! I-I can take it and dump it myself if you want!”
As Denis tried to grab the bucket,
“Throw it away? Absolutely not!”
Merlin’s eyes snapped open wide, and she shouted, fierce and fiery.
“I’m going to use it for tonight’s dinner!”
“What are you talking about!? No, just throw it away! And don’t even think about slipping that potion bottle I drank into your pocket!”
“No… this is going to be a family treasure!”
Amid their loud, chaotic bickering, a clear chime rang out.
Someone was at the door.
“W-who’s here…?”
“Take this!”
Splash!
Before Merlin could react, Denis had overturned the bucket. Water spilled everywhere.
Amid the distressed wails of his employer, Denis seized the now-empty potion bottle.
“Merlin, are you okay?”
“I just heard a scream out here!”
Peering into the workshop from the shop, Shifa and Anii’s voices carried concern.
“Soaked?”
“And Merlin is crying?”
“W-welcome! What brings you here today?”
Denis forced a calm, normal tone toward the two, trying to mask the ridiculous chaos that had just unfolded.
“Did something happen?”
“Oh, nothing at all! Please don’t worry!”
It was far too embarrassing for them to know about the absurd argument just now, so Denis deftly changed the subject.
“Anyway, we’ve got a new potion ready.”
“Really?”
“Yes!”
And so, the diligent assistant began explaining the effects and uses of the Aquatic Potion, undeterred by the mess around them.
◇ ◇ ◇
“Niinii~”
“There, there… eat as much as you like.”
“Ni~”
Milk had an insatiable appetite. When he was first born, he’d been fed milk, but now he voraciously devoured solid food. He probably ate far more than I ever did.
As a carnivorous cat, his diet consisted mainly of meat and fish harvested from the garden.
“Onii-chan, hasn’t Milk gotten bigger again?”
“He’s eating a lot, after all.”
“Seriously… I don’t even think this is the size of a normal cat anymore.”
“R-really?”
He had been barely twenty or thirty centimeters long at birth. Now he had grown to over fifty, maybe sixty centimeters. Too heavy to hold comfortably.
Fangs had grown, claws sharpened—this was no ordinary cat.
Well, technically, he wasn’t a cat at all… he was a magical creature.
“Niinii~”
Yet, he was completely attached to me, entirely harmless. He rolled over, exposing his belly, begging to be petted. Absolutely adorable.
“All right, there we go.”
“Niinii”
I stroked and caressed his soft, warm body. It was unbelievably soothing, completely relaxing.
“Ah, I want to pet him too!”
“Grr!”
But he still didn’t fully trust Sena.
“Ugh, it’s unfair… he’s only attached to you, Onii-chan.”
Pouting, she recalled something.
“Oh, right, Onii-chan. Starting today, we’re heading to the underwater area.”
“The underwater area?”
“Yeah. It’s a place no one’s managed to explore yet.”
“You mean you’re actually going there…?”
“Because of you, Onii-chan.”
…Because of me?
“Well, as long as Shifa is there, it should be fine… but be careful, okay?”