The Otherworld Conquest Method of a Reincarnated Porter Chapter 17

Medicines and Potions

「A court ball and dinner party in the royal capital, you say?」

Ugh, I so don’t want to go. I am going to run away when I come of age and become a porter, so I don’t want to have any unnecessary friendships or ties with the children of royalty or high-class nobility.

「Yes, Kars-sama. His lordship and madam will also be in attendance. Kars-sama will only attend the ball. Kars-sama will depart on the twenty-fifth of this month, but madam will depart ahead of you, and his lordship’s departure will be delayed due to his duties.」

「Old man, will Lily be coming with us, too?」

「No, this court ball is meant to be an introduction and a marriage interview for Kars-sama, so we will have to ask Lilicia to stay behind.」

「A marriage interview, you say? Are we going to look for my marriage partner there?」

「Not necessarily. The candidates for Kars-sama’s fiancée have pretty much been decided. The rest depends on what kind of job they will be granted with when they come of age. Even if you are not fated to be with them and do not end up getting married with them, interactions with the children of royalty and high-class nobility will surely serve as sustenance for your future. It is also about networking.」

Well, be it my attendance or marriage, I guess my opinion has nothing to do with it, huh.

「Got it. I’m gonna bring Alma and Mion as my attendants, alright? I want to practice my skills even while I’m staying there, after all.」

「I understand. Let’s do so.」

If you don’t have anything fun to do, all you have to do is make one. I am going to act separately from my parents, so I guess I will just have to enjoy myself in the carriage and at the inn.

◇ ◇ ◇

 Every day, I practice in the way of the sword and spear with the knights in the morning and strive to acquire skills with Mion in the afternoon. I don’t go to school. I have already learned what I need to learn at school through my private tutor, and now I take the books I need from the library in the mansion and read in my room. This is to gather the knowledge I will need when I run away and live on as a porter once I come of age.

The knowledge I will need most in the future will probably be about medicine manufacturing. In this world, medicines are made by leeches (archaic doctors) from herbs and a number of other plants that grow wild in forests and labyrinths, using medicine manufacturing skills. Medicines range from those necessary for the daily lives of ordinary people, such as cold remedies, to those useful for adventures, such as medicines to restore stamina and magical energy. What caught my attention was that anyone can make medicines, even if they are not a leech, as long as they know the manufacturing method. If I could successfully make a large quantity of medicines to restore magical energy myself, I should be able to work efficiently as an adventurer. The problem is that leeches do not teach their medicine manufacturing technique to anyone. Well, there is no such a good-natured person who would teach the seeds of their trade to others, but I could not take advantage of my position to obtain the manufacturing method. There are some books on medicine manufacturing in the mansion, so I have copied them, but they basically contain information on ingredients and lack information on specific manufacturing methods and compounding proportions. As I thought, knowledge on medicine manufacturing is necessary. Let’s try asking the knights who actually use medicines, shall we?

◇ ◇ ◇

「Kardek, do knights usually use stamina restoration medicines or magical energy restoration medicines made by leeches?」

Today is the day for my third labyrinth exploration. My guards are always replaced, but the leader is always Kardek.

「No, Kars-sama. In general, we do not use them. The medicines made by leeches are low in efficacy but high in price. On top of that, they are so bitter and astringent that it would even appear in our dream, so even if they were effective, we would not want to take them except in an emergency.」

「I see. Only for emergencies, huh. Are the same true for adventurers?」

「Those with financial resources, such as gold-rank adventurers, seem to mix large quantities of monster honey into their medicines. Since monster honey by itself has the effect of restoring magical energy, it is expensive, but as they do so, it seems to turn into a very effective medicine. In general, I believe ordinary adventurers do not use medicines.」

「Hmm, then is there basically no way to recover magical energy?」

「Although they are more expensive than medicines, there are instances where potions are used. They are limited in number, so they are rarely used unless there is an emergency, though.」

「Are potions different from medicines?」

「Potion is only obtainable in the labyrinth. When taken, they have the effect of instantly restoring stamina, magical energy, or curing poison. Red potions restore stamina, blue potions restore magical energy, green potions cure poison, yellow potions cure all status abnormalities, and gold potions restore stamina, magical energy, all status abnormalities, and even heal partial body loss. Purple potions restore your youth.」

「There are such convenient items, huh. Are they difficult to obtain, as expected?」

「Yes, red, blue, green, and purple potions are divided into low, medium, and high grades, respectively. For medium-grade potions, I have only seen a couple of them, as for high-grade potions, I have never seen even a single one. They are something that can only be obtained by adventurers who dive into the labyrinth’s deep stratums. Gold potions are monopolized by royalty and high-class nobles, so they never appear on the market.」

If it is my father Marnus, who has abundant financial resources, he would buy them even if he has to spend a large sum of money. By all rights, the adventurers who dive into the dangerous labyrinth should be the ones in need of potions, but there must be many nobles who wish to keep high-grade potions on hand for their own protection. Besides, there is even such a thing as a rejuvenation potion, huh. I bet the ladies of high-class nobility would buy them in droves, so adventurers who could go deep into the labyrinths would probably find them very profitable.

Compared to them, beginner adventurers have it hard. The other day, for instance, when I explored the labyrinth to limit of my strength, the result I earned was only worth about one large silver coin. Assuming that it was equal to around 10,000 yen if converted, you would have to divide it among three or four people in your group. Moreover, since the stamina consumption is immense, it is not like you can dive into the labyrinth every day, and even more so if you get injured.

Today, too, as we engage in such a talk, we head to the labyrinth by carriage, meet up with Satie, the porter, and begin our exploration.

We enter the labyrinth and descend the stairs. Near the stairs, three parties are sitting down to rest. After walking for a while, we encounter another party as we arrive at a small room. They are in the middle of fighting against a fanged dog.

「You fool! What are you thinking fighting it head-on? One of you take your shield and hold the front, and the other two of you go around to its sides or rear. It doesn’t matter even if it takes a while, but at any rate, make sure to not get hurt, okay? One low-grade red potion is worth two small gold coins, you know?」

An older adventurer is instructing three young adventurers. Each of the three has a wooden shield and an iron sword. The one acting as a shield is holding down the fanged dog well, and the two who have moved to its left and right are slashing at the fanged dog’s back and belly. One fanged dog is lying at the feet of the older adventurer.

After a while, the fanged dog goes down. Its body is covered with wounds, so I don’t think the fur will be worth selling. The three boys are completely exhausted, but they are raising a shout of joy.

「Don’t let your guard down! Just because it’s down doesn’t mean it’s dead, you know? Make sure to finish it off.」

The boys stab at the fanged dog in a fluster. Sure enough, it seems to be still alive, and resists violently even while falling down. After a while, it seems to die finally.

「Alright, drain the blood and carry the body. I’ll take you to the watering hole and teach you how to dismantle it. Be sure to learn it one tries, okay?」

When the older adventurer says so, the boys put a knife to the throat of the fanged dogs to drain their blood, and lift up the two dead fanged dogs. They look heavy. The older adventurer is walking away, so they hurriedly follow him.

「He must be their mentor.」

「Mentor? Kardek, what is that?」

「Yes, Kars-sama. It refers to those who guide newbie adventurers and teach them the basics of being an adventurer.」

「I see. A mentor, is it? True enough, having a senior adventurer teach you how to defeat monsters, how to carry yourself, how to dismantle monsters, and how to identify sellable materials would surely be pretty helpful. Satie, were you also taught by a mentor?」

「Yes, if you join the Porter union, you will be taught by a senior from there. It is a matter of luck whether ordinary adventurers will be able to learn from a mentor or not. It’s free of charge, so not many people are inclined to do it, after all.」

「It’s free of charge, huh. Then, does that mean that that senior adventurer from before is doing it out of the kindness of his heart? Even though he should’ve had his own livelihood to take care of, I don’t think it’s something your ordinary adventurers can do.」

「No, that man is probably an iron-rank adventurer. I believe that as a condition for promotion to Bronze-rank adventurer, there is a need for him to guide a number of newbie adventurers.」

「I see… A condition for promotion, huh. In any case, mentorship huh, how wonderful. It will reduce the fatality rate, and as these newbie adventurers sell a lot of magic stones and materials in the future, it will also enrich the territory’s economy. Maybe the lord should consider actively supporting this endeavor.」

How wonderful, Kars-sama. Satie looks at me with eyes that seem to say so. So cute. As I thought, I was right to bring her along. The knights, on the other hand, make no comment at all. Well, even if they do think it is the right thing to do, they probably cannot interfere with the lord’s policy as his subordinates, huh.

After walking again for a while, the smell of blood starts to fill the air. I feel sick and my heart starts beating faster. I also start to feel nauseous. A person is lying face down on the ground, and a darkness cat is biting the nape of his neck. When it notices us, it raises its body and threatens us. Blood is dripping from its mouth, and a chill runs down my spine.

If I go and rely on Kaldek here, I bet I would end up making a habit of running away.

「I’ll take care of it. Stay back.」

Readying the shield on my left hand, I set the sword in my right hand at the ready in overhead position. I would like to conserve my magical energy. I apply just a little body enhancement. The darkness cat lowers its body and comes running toward me. Assuming half-standing posture, I close my distance with the darkness cat in an instant with instant step and push up its body from below using my shield. The darkness cat, which has charged at me with the thought of being the one on the offense, must have never expected that I would close the distance between us in an instant. It is easily bounced into the air, showing its belly.

Just before the darkness, which is flying through the air, falls to the ground, I slash it in the throat with my sword. As the defenseless darkness cat suffers an attack on its vital point, its life is forfeited.

「Satie, dismantle the darkness cat.」

Saying so, I turn the fallen one on his back. When I do an appraisal, I find that he was a 14 years old, level 2 warrior. The equipment consists of crude cloth clothing and he is bare handed. He has completely breathed his last.

「Satie, what do you do if you find a dead body in the labyrinth?」

「After a while the dead bodies will be absorbed by the labyrinth. The belongings of the dead bodies belong to the finder. If possible, you are supposed to take their adventurer’s cards to the Adventurers’ Association, but most people do not do that in order to avoid any trouble.」

「Hmm, he may have a family waiting for his return. Satie, if it is not too much trouble, can I leave it to you?」

「Yes, I go to the association regularly, so I will bring it along with me.」

I retrieve the adventurer card hanging around his neck. It is wooden.

「As I thought, a wooden card. He is an apprentice adventurer. Most likely, after coming of age and obtaining his job, he entered the labyrinth without any sorts of preparation. If you were alone, you would normally acclimate yourself with this line of work while doing chores for a party of veteran adventurers, but he probably didn’t manage to find himself a party.」

It must have been bad luck. I do feel sorry for him, but I do not sympathize with him. In this world where life is cheap, it is something that occurs all the time, so if I worry about every single of it, let alone exploring the labyrinth, I will not even be able to take care of my livelihood.

「Alright, let’s go.」

We continue our exploration. Today, we meet quite a lot of adventurers’ parties. Let’s try going a little deeper, shall we?

Notes

25

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