Chapter 119: To Von Grund’s Territory (4)

“……”

Hours had passed since the carriage set off. Night had fallen, draping the world in darkness, yet the atmosphere inside remained unchanged from before departure.

Jessica, her expression sour, mostly stared out the window, occasionally glancing at us.

Meanwhile, Hori kept her head down, eyes fixed on the floor as if motion sick. She remained statue-still except for occasional twitches.

The air was thick with anxiety and tension, making the carriage far from comfortable.

While bearable for a short while, the thought of this continuing until we reached Count von Grund’s territory began to give me a headache.

“Um…”

I considered suggesting a game to lighten the mood, but then realized I’d never played such games with friends before.

Unable to think of any suitable games for three people or what might be fun, I closed my mouth again.

“Um… what is it?”

“…Nothing.”

After that brief exchange, the carriage once again filled with silence.

As this silence stretched on until sunset, I almost wished for a barbarian attack or the carriage catching fire – anything to break the monotony.

I was about to stand up and perform some Baldo, thinking it might change the atmosphere, when suddenly:

“Hey…”

Surprisingly, it was Hori, who had been silent with her head bowed, who spoke up.

“Sh-should I switch seats with you?”

“…What?”

Confused by her words, I looked at Jessica. Her face reddened as she spoke in a sharp tone, seeming upset:

“It’s not like that, so be quiet!!”

“What are you talking about? What’s not like what?”

When I asked this, Jessica just glared at me with sharp eyes, refusing to answer.

Whether it was my imagination or not, the tension in the carriage seemed to ease slightly after this exchange.

“Haah…”

Jessica sighed and turned to face forward, which she’d been avoiding until now.

Though the carriage wasn’t small, her warm breath tickled my nose due to our close proximity.

“…It’s Hori, right? I remember Ian introducing you before. I thought it was just a joke at the time…”

As she said this, Jessica gave me a meaningful look.

“What? You mean you forgot who Hori was this whole time?”

“It’s rude to Hori, but back then I just thought she was some poor girl you’d captured…”

From Jessica’s words, you’d think I was some bandit harassing a kidnapped woman.

Ironically, if anyone was the victim here, it was me, not Hori.

Unaware of these circumstances, Jessica turned to Hori and asked:

“You’re an academy student too, right? Which department?”

“Ah, I’m in the Alchemy Department! I got into S class in the recent promotion exam!”

“S class…?”

Something about this seemed to bother Jessica, as she suddenly frowned mid-sentence.

“What’s wrong? Why the frown all of a sudden?”

“Oh, no… It’s just that I remembered an unpleasant rumor about the Alchemy Department circulating among the nobles.”

I didn’t know what rumor Jessica had heard, but I had a feeling it was likely the unvarnished truth. Evidence of this was the bead of cold sweat now trickling down Hori’s cheek, her smile from moments ago vanished.

“What kind of rumor?”

“It’s nothing too serious. Just that there’s a commoner student in S class causing trouble.”

The details of the rumor painted a picture of a commoner student with poor classroom behavior, always sleeping during lessons, yet with grades so good that teachers couldn’t touch them.

When assignments were given, this student would space out for a while, then, as if mocking others’ efforts, complete the task just in time with superior results.

The other students could only watch tearfully as this person took first place, their potions far surpassing others in quality.

“Apparently, when other students tried to intervene, they couldn’t do anything because the troublemaker was backed by some count. Could it be…”

“So you’ve been whining about having no friends after pulling stunts like that?”

“…Rumors are always exaggerated. Those stories must be malicious interpretations from people jealous of me…”

“Any other rumors I should know about?”

“…I heard this student has a strange belief, only making potions with severe side effects except for class assignments.”

“Exaggeration my ass!”

I smacked Hori’s head, causing her to tremble with teary eyes.

“…You were bleeding an unusual amount when you were kidnapped before, weren’t you?”

“Huh?”

Jessica’s voice suddenly turned ice-cold, startling me. She glared at Hori from the corner of her eye and continued:

“At first, I thought you’d injured an internal organ or had your chest cut. But… thinking back, you weren’t cut on the chest, and there were no convincing marks on your abdomen.”

“If you’re asking if I coughed up blood from a potion, then yes, that’s what happened. I really thought I was going to die.”

“That wasn’t my fault, it was the headmaster’s!! I had adjusted it to a reasonable level!!”

“You wouldn’t have this problem if you didn’t add side effects in the first place.”

“No, without side effects, there’s no motiva-“

-BANG!!

The carriage suddenly shook violently. Turning to see what happened, I saw Jessica’s fist embedded in the carriage wall.

There was no energy manipulation in her punch, and the carriage was sturdy enough not to be pierced, but it was enough to shake the whole vehicle.

If anything, I was more worried about Jessica’s fist after hitting such a solid carriage.

“W-what’s wrong? Are you suddenly jealous because Hori and I are getting along?”

“Is this really the time for jokes? You said you almost died!! So why do you keep drinking these potions?!”

“I drink them because I can’t win without them. Would I drink something like that if I could win without it?”

As much as I hated to admit it, unlike the perfect technique of Baldo, my physical body was still developing.

No matter how perfect my Baldo was, I couldn’t defeat possessed individuals who had lived hundreds of years longer than me without the potions.

“The intentional side effects are annoying, but given how effective they are, it’s a necessary trade-off.”

“…Intentional side effects? What do you mean by that?”

“W-well…!!”

Hori, recalling how violently the carriage had shaken earlier, seemed hesitant to speak.

“It’s… it’s my personal belief that potions granting great power should have proportionate risks… Eek!”

As Jessica gripped her hammer, exuding a murderous aura, a terrified Hori grabbed my arm and pushed me forward like a human shield.

For some reason, this angered Jessica even more. She infused her hammer with energy, causing it to emit a golden glow.

“Those who play with people’s lives tend to find their own in danger.”

“I-It’s not just for fun! I only make doping potions that I can take myself!!”

Despite her excuses, Jessica showed no sign of listening. The energy in her hammer only grew more intense.

“Jessica, calm down. This isn’t something to get so worked up about, is it?”

“If this isn’t worth getting angry about, then what is?! And you’re no better!! You’re the one drinking these potions, Ian. You should have stopped her, either by persuasion or force!!”

“Why bother persuading when it’s easier to just give up?”

Persuasion only works on somewhat reasonable people. Hori wasn’t the type to listen to words or fists.

And this was something I realized later, but there was actually one reason why the potions needed side effects.

“A reason? What could that possibly be?”

Jessica crossed her arms, lending an ear as if to say “let’s hear it then,” while Hori listened with eyes full of expectation.

The next moment, as the words left my mouth, both their expressions began to contort.

“…If there were no side effects, people would say I won because of the potions.”

“…What did you just say?”

Think about it. I’m already using Baldo, the pinnacle of human wisdom and the strongest technique.

Now imagine if someone like that also used potions that greatly enhanced physical abilities without any risks?

If future historians learned of this, I’d be labeled as a petty man who barely survived using Baldo and doping potions despite lacking real skill.

“To prevent such a disaster, side effects are absolutely necessary for doping potions.”

“…You’re out of your mind. You’re doing this idiotic thing because future historians might underestimate you?! Even if a hundred or a thousand years pass, there will never be a world where people say you won because of Baldo!! So stop this foolishness and drink normal potions!!”

“No.”

“Nnnggh…!!”

After glaring at me for a while, Jessica turned away sharply, saying I could do whatever I wanted, even if it killed me.

Jessica, who had lived in a world where Baldo was despised as a lowly assassination technique, couldn’t understand. But soon, a singularity in swordsmanship would come, where everyone would recognize the true value of Baldo.

‘It’s coming… The Baldo singularity will definitely come…!!’

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