Chapter 155: If I Could Use Appraisal

“My name is Leon. Let me hear yours.”

“I’m Brent, leader of [Sword and Shield], based in Randol.”

“Your employer is dead, so your contract has ended. I can’t leave this mess here, however, so you’ll help me clean it up. I’ll compensate you generously.”

“I’ve heard the rumors about you, but this seems dangerous. Honestly, I don’t want to be involved.”

“I happen to carry something like this. This is Count Radcliffe’s territory, correct?”

“Yes. Werner, the territorial capital, is back the way we came. Are you planning to go there?”

“I was returning to Lynas when I saw the attack and came to help. Please forget what you saw afterward.”

“You mean the part other than the killing?”

Good—he was careful not to say it aloud. He passed.

“Exactly. Anyone who talks will merely be thought insane, and you don’t want to make an enemy of Duke Barland.”

“What were those things?”

“You’ll live more comfortably without knowing. Make sure your companions keep quiet too.”

“That’s fine, but what are we doing with the carriage? Some of us can barely walk.”

The interior was scorched and waterlogged, but there was no choice except to carry the injured inside it.

“There’s no driver.”

“One of the dead men was the driver. None of us knows how to handle a carriage.”

I see. We would have to lead the horses.

“The injured will have to ride in the burned, soaked carriage. The healthy men can lead the horses.”

“Are you really going to Werner?”

“Yes. This identification from Duke Barland is genuine, and I know how to handle matters in a way Count Radcliffe can’t interfere with. Besides, with this many witnesses, I can’t pretend nothing happened.”

“They call you the Breeze, but you’re rather outrageous.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

When we turned the carriage around and started toward Werner, the onlookers cried out, then stopped when they realized we weren’t fleeing. As we passed, questions flew at us from people driven by fear and morbid curiosity, but I ignored them.

Our progress was slow, yet the travelers who had been held up didn’t attempt to overtake us. They followed quietly, their desire to see what happened next painfully obvious. I didn’t care.

At Werner’s entrance gate, I went ahead alone and entered the noble passage. A wary group of guards rushed over, but I presented Duke Barland’s identification and said, “For complicated reasons, I assisted a carriage belonging to Zandra’s Mariens Trading Company—now Mariens Shop—but a problem arose. I would like to pay my respects to the local lord, Count Radcliffe.”

Because I had entered the noble passage openly and presented Duke Barland’s identification, the guards couldn’t treat me arrogantly. A man who appeared to be their captain asked to examine it, so I handed it over.

After a thorough inspection, he asked about the people with the carriage. I explained that I had met them on the road and they were helping with the cleanup. Once he confirmed both pieces of identification, I asked him to contact Count Radcliffe. A horse was immediately brought out, and a messenger galloped away.

We waited beside the gate for quite some time. Eventually, a carriage arrived with guards, and a man wearing something like a frock coat stepped down.

“If you’re Lord Leon, may I examine your identification?”

I handed him the duke’s identification and my guild card, whereupon he requested one more document.

“And you are?”

“I’m Müllersen, butler of the House of Count Radcliffe.”

After he returned Duke Barland’s identification and my guild card, I gave him the royal identification. He placed it on his palm and murmured something. When the royal crest appeared above it, he nodded.

“My master wishes to hear your account. Would you be willing to come to the mansion?”

I asked him to wait and gave two gold coins each to Brent and the other six members of [Sword and Shield], buying their silence about the spirits.

“I’m going to meet Count Radcliffe. If anyone questions you, you may discuss everything except what you saw the spirits do.”

“May we truly accept this much?”

“Even if you speak of the spirits, no one will believe you.”

“Right. They would only think we were insane.”

“So the duke’s identification really was genuine. As expected of Leon the Breeze.”

Leon the Breeze. Marco the Bluff, the man who had first called me that, had died only moments ago, but I merely smiled and said nothing.

The carriage passed through the main gate and stopped beside the entrance. Beyond the fully opened doors, I could see a complete line of maids. Müllersen descended first, bowed, and announced:

“My lord, Count Radcliffe, awaits you in the salon.”

Müllersen guided me into the salon, where a formally dressed man waited with two younger men whose faces closely resembled his.

“You’re Lord Leon?”

“My name is Leon. Thank you for permitting this sudden visit.”

“I understand some trouble occurred beyond Werner.”

“Yes. I rescued a carriage being attacked by wild beasts, after which its guards attacked me. The passenger was the man who succeeded the Mariens Trading Company—now Mariens Shop—in Zandra. As soon as he learned I was Leon, he ordered his men to attack, so I counterattacked and defeated them all. Several adventurers hired in Randol were present, but they were innocent, so I asked them to help transport the carriage and bodies to the east gate. Since the incident occurred in your territory, I came to inform you.”

“The Mariens Trading Company—Mariens Shop, you say? The royal family previously issued a notice concerning them.”

“I’ll report the matter to Chancellor Brighton. Could I ask you to dispose of the carriage and bodies left beside the eastern entrance gate?”

“If they were criminals who attacked Lord Leon, there’s no difficulty whatsoever. Leave it to me.”

Excellent. Even if rumors spread about the disturbance on the highway, Brent and his companions wouldn’t be interrogated.

The two men behind the count watched me with interest. Since they resembled him, they were probably his heirs. Both nodded at his words, so they would likely handle the cleanup.

I had no intention of staying long. I obtained a written acknowledgment concerning Rofman Mariens, told the count that I would report to Chancellor Brighton, and took my leave.

Having Count Radcliffe himself see me off was intimidating, but I gave his butler, Müllersen, a Golden Goat as a parting gift and departed from the front entrance.

Count Radcliffe and the others watched Leon rise into the air and disappear into the eastern sky.

“So that’s the man from the rumors. As the notice stated, he still carries identification showing that he serves Chancellor Brighton.”

“Even as a member of the dragon-subjugation force, receiving treatment equivalent to a count is remarkably generous.”

“Don’t misunderstand. In the recent war with the Holtland Kingdom, his actions enabled our overwhelming victory. Duke Barland offered to make him a count, but I hear he refused immediately because titles held no interest for him. Later, he delivered the ceasefire agreement to Holtland’s royal castle, where another disturbance occurred, and Holtland ultimately yielded.”

“I’ve never heard that account…”

“Naturally. Rumor has raced ahead of fact, leaving no one certain what’s true. What I just told you reportedly came from the dispatched ambassador’s report.”

My departure had been delayed, and the sun seemed likely to set before I reached the royal capital, Leclerc, so I landed in a meadow and spent the night. Shortly before noon the next day, I landed beside the royal castle’s service gate. Guards rushed over, but after showing my identification, I entrusted them with a letter for Chancellor Brighton and immediately departed.

I had given Count Radcliffe a Golden Goat as compensation for his trouble, but this incident had occurred because the punishment of the Mariens Trading Company—now Mariens Shop—had been too lenient. I therefore brought no gift for the chancellor. He could deal with Mariens Shop’s final cleanup.

I flew directly to Lynas and reached the roof of my house before dusk.

“Welcome back! Did you find them?”

“Impossible. If they were easy to obtain, we could buy them from the Adventurers’ Guild. I’ll find them eventually. More importantly, how’s the magic-water production going?”

“Probably well. Appraise them for me.”

She pointed toward the large bottles arranged on a shelf against the wall. There were more than ten.

[Appraisal — Mana: 31] [Appraisal — Mana: 36] [Appraisal — Mana: 28] [Appraisal — Mana: 33]

When I reported values ranging from twenty-eight to thirty-six, she was delighted that they qualified as high-quality magic water.

“Leon, arrange them from highest to lowest mana.”

“Why? I just said every batch is more than sufficient as magic water.”

“It’s a matter of feeling. When I make high-quality potions, I want to use water containing as much mana as possible.”

“Then infuse each batch three or four times.”

“I already tried. The batch you said measured thirty-six is one of them. I infused mana three and four times, but eventually I stopped feeling any response.”

“Then separate the batches infused once, twice, and three times. If you want an intermediate strength, mix equal amounts of a low-mana and high-mana batch. That should produce appropriately balanced magic water.”

“Oh, I see. If I mix equal amounts measuring eighteen and thirty-two, I should get something around twenty-five.”

“I can’t guarantee it, but that’s probably what will happen. More importantly, you soak herbs in magic water to extract their components, correct?”

“Yes, but is there a problem?”

“You time the extraction of the herbal components, right?”

“Of course. Even with tea, quickly pouring in hot water produces a different flavor from extracting it slowly.”

“For example, when making headache medicine, do you measure the ideal extraction amount—or rather, the ideal time? I’m sure you do, but if you could use Appraisal, would you not be able to prepare the best possible potion from ingredients at their optimal state?”

“For a headache potion?”

“I’m not telling you to make a highest-grade headache potion. I mean that Appraisal could reveal the necessary quantities and timing. As a result, even two potions for the same headache could differ dramatically in effectiveness. You would also use fewer ingredients and save money.”

“So you want me to practice with the Appraisal spirit’s help.”

Exactly. Then you wouldn’t need to rely on me, I replied silently.