Chapter 39
Wearin denied reality.
“…Okay, I won’t pry. You’re protecting me, right?”
No, it’s really alchemy homework.
With a bit of external use.
Sigrin tried to explain, but Wearin, looking deflated, seemed to want to believe there was a grander purpose.
Her tension eased, and her friends grabbed the cart’s handles, trudging back the way they came.
What were they expecting?
Sigrin pouted, gathering the materials.
Luca sidled up, chuckling, and nudged her shoulder.
“Mafia, no drug deals, huh?”
“It’s alchemy homework, I said!”
“Miss… But why, of all classes, alchemy? Just curious…”
“Huh? Now that you mention it, that’s weird. Super suspicious.”
“No, no! I didn’t say suspicious! That’s Luca’s opinion!”
“Whatever, think what you want. I give up. I’m trash.”
Sigrin seemed a bit hurt, so Luca, carrying a load of materials, spoke soothingly.
“Oh, right. Ebenkera’s a relatively clean Mafia. Sorry for the misunderstanding. Where should I put these, Princess?”
“…Third floor. We can’t let Bilha drink them thinking they’re juice.”
Sigrin said, watching Bilha try to eat a Water Elemental Orb.
“Makes sense.”
Apple and Luca coaxed Bilha, took the materials, and carried them to the third floor.
✦ ✦ ✦
It had been a while since returning to Angel’s hideout.
It seemed many experiments were conducted here, with scales, beakers, and other basic equipment on display.
Equipment borrowed from Angel was already set up.
Now, all that remained was making the potion without failing.
Sigrin placed the borrowed library book and alchemy textbook on a stand.
Let’s see…
When the distilled water starts boiling, add 10g of dewdrops in 2g increments…
Bubble, bubble.
Drop, drop, drop, drop, drop.
Using a thick syringe, inject 20g of Lower-Grade Fairy Powder into each Water Elemental Orb…
Sigrin watched as the Fairy Powder created a golden swirl inside the orb.
The swirl grew, filling the orb, then turned into a misty haze.
Sigrin placed the golden orbs into the distilled water one by one.
Since Water Elemental Orbs are toxic, they deal damage, and Spirit Sprout Dewdrops heal. The Fairy Powder and distilled water act as surfactants.
Pop!
With a small explosion, a golden Pacify Potion was created.
Sigrin took out an experimental synthetic beast, “Mimo No. 1,” provided by Angel.
-Mimo, mimo.
The single-celled beast flailed its tiny, non-functional limbs, making sounds.
Mimo No. 1 was experiment-friendly, lacking self-awareness or nerve cells, so it felt no pain.
Sigrin fed the potion to Mimo No. 1.
‘Eye of Ether.’
As it consumed the potion, the Ether swirling inside Mimo No. 1 dispersed, leaving only a minimal amount.
Did it work?
Before she could finish the thought, all the Ether in Mimo vanished, and it died.
She hadn’t expected success on the first try, but it was harder than anticipated.
She felt even more grateful for Wearin bringing so many materials.
Sigrin took out another Mimo No. 1.
Being hermaphroditic and fast-breeding, they doubled if left alone briefly.
-Mimo, mimo, mimo.
Pop! Pop! Pop!
Explosions echoed from the third floor all night.
✦ ✦ ✦
Failure is the mother of success.
Sigrin finally succeeded in making the Pacify Potion!
She gasified it and stored the gas in an item called “Gaslakin’s Lung.”
Making the potion was hard, but gasifying and storing it was easy.
Sigrin tucked the Pacify gas into a subspace case and exhaled.
Time to get to work.
Two weeks had passed since her punishment.
The final session of the first Cardia Hunting Grounds raid class was approaching.
So, Sigrin prepared another late-night operation.
Assassin’s outfit, mask, and a robe to hide the subspace case.
Fully geared, Sigrin entered the hunting grounds through the doggy door on the back path.
Let’s see… The Cardia Beginner Hunting Grounds have two emergency shelters, right?
The first was across a valley called “Spirit Rift,” where the territories of Wisps, Spirit Sprouts, and Pebble Golems overlapped.
The valley wasn’t deep or wide, so crossing was easy.
The other was a small “Quartz Cave” inside the Pebble Golem territory.
It was once a Pebble Golem dungeon that had vanished.
She considered asking Luca, Apple, or Bilha to join her but gave up.
Bilha?
He slept so deeply it was like a coma, making it hard to drag him out at dawn.
Apple?
Too timid. She had a bad feeling Apple would cause trouble.
Luca?
The most reliable, and she wanted to ask him, but…
[Why go through the trouble? You’re strong. I’ll gather the beasts, so wipe them out~]
[Last time was just luck; I’m not that strong.]
[Oh? Wanna fight again?]
She feared the conversation would go that way. Though they’d grown closer, you never know with people.
Reluctantly, she went alone.
Rustle, rustle.
The sound of grass brushing her toes echoed.
Since no Ether flowed through Sigrin’s body, no beasts could detect her.
This made going alone better.
Thus, Sigrin reached the Spirit Rift without incident.
She crossed the valley with her shoes on.
Beyond was a cave-like space marked in Angel’s notes.
Its entrance was covered by giant tree leaves like a curtain.
Here was Sigrin’s plan:
Alright, use the beast lure to draw beasts into the cave, block the entrance, and release the Pacify gas.
Sigrin took a deep breath and chugged a mid-grade strength potion bought in Midriba.
A potion that lets even ordinary people lift boulders! Supposedly lasts 20 minutes.
With this, even her frail self could move nearby rocks to the entrance.
“Urgh…”
She moved a boulder with her whole body. Exhaustion from staying up all night drained her further.
Sweat pooled inside her mask, and the discomfort was indescribable.
Damn it, I don’t usually curse, but getting good grades is freaking tough!!
“Argh…”
20 minutes, they said! 20 minutes! 20 minutes! Supposed to last 20 minutes!
The potion’s effect faded before she felt it for two minutes.
Her body was weaker than even an average person’s.
“Mask!”
A voice came from behind. Sigrin, gripping the boulder, turned with a fierce glare.