Chapter 6 – The Worst Crisis of the Alchemist’s Life

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“…No milk? Why?”

“Young lady, you’re quite behind on the news, aren’t you?”

“…What happened?”

The dairy farm owner looked at me with drowsy eyes, then spoke as if doing me a favor.

“Haven’t you heard that milk baths are trending among nobles these days? Of course, they wouldn’t leave our high-quality milk alone!”

So… those bastards swept up all the milk for their baths, and now there’s none left? These… these damn nobles! This is why I hate them!

I tried to calm my boiling insides.

“When will this trend end?”

The owner shrugged and replied.

“How would I know? I suppose it’ll end when the noble folk get tired of it?”

“…That won’t do.”

As I muttered while chewing my lip, I felt the owner’s gaze. He looked at me with uncertain eyes, then spoke.

“Young lady, are you perhaps… running an errand for Lord Astarote?”

After thinking briefly, I answered yes. Since I had already introduced myself as a disciple to Claudia, there was nothing to hide. For the time being, it seemed better to remain as Astarote Asha’s disciple.

“Oh my! You should have said so earlier! Of course I’ve set aside some for our regular customers. It’s about time he would come, and I was just getting worried since he hadn’t shown up.”

“…Really? But how did you know?”

“Because in this area, he’s the only one who wears clothes like that.”

“Ah…”

I’m sorry. I was curt with you because I didn’t like how friendly you were, but when I return to normal, I’ll apologize and—

“So what’s your relationship? This?”

Before I could finish my thought, the owner unfurled his pinky finger from his fist and wiggled it.

Canceled.

“Of course… my master certainly has a good voice, a handsome face… ah, and he’s tall, but that’s not it.”

“Oh… I see… so he had a disciple…”

Why are you making such a disappointed expression? I didn’t say anything wrong, did I?

“Ah, anyway, please give him my regards.”

“I will.”

As I turned to leave after paying and dividing the box with Cecile, the owner clapped his hands as if he’d forgotten something.

“Ah, and I forgot to mention!”

“Yes?”

“I managed to set some aside this time, but it might be difficult next time.”

“Why, why is that?”

“Aw, you know!”

The owner made a circle with his thumb and index finger and smiled brightly. So… he’s saying it’s because of money?

…That’s understandable.

Though it’s devastating, I can understand if it’s about money. Anyone who knows the value of a single coin can weigh its importance.

I can’t help feeling indignant, though.

Sometimes when things like this happen, I miss home.

But I still don’t want to go back. I couldn’t anyway, not with this body.

“I’ll let him know…”

“Be careful with that heavy load!”

“…Yes.”

This time I truly said goodbye and departed. Beside me, Cecile was carrying a box, with a large, fully packed backpack hanging from her back.

“Cecile, isn’t it hard for you?”

“This much is fine. Why don’t you give me the box as well?”

“…No, that would be too much.”

“Is that so?”

“Of course.”

When I first suggested going shopping, I wondered how much I could carry with my changed body, and indeed, I couldn’t carry much. Cecile solved that problem.

Cecile could easily carry weights that would burden a grown man.

…Despite not being much different from me in size.

It’s unfair.

“Are we going home now?”

“Yes. With this much, we shouldn’t need to go out for a while.”

“Yes!”

Cecile, who answered energetically, was wearing a dress. Though it was somewhat rugged as I had chosen something cheap and durable, her appearance made up for it.

“Lady Asha! Your new clothes suit you well!”

“Ah, yes, you think so?”

“Yes! Now I don’t think it will get hard anymore!”

“Don’t, don’t say such things outside!”

“Is that so?”

“Yes… it’s our secret.”

“A secret?”

“Yes.”

“I’m happy!”

“…Right.”

In truth, I was also wearing a dress similar to Cecile’s. Though I had thrown a gown over it.

There’s a perfectly valid reason for this.

The clothing store lady said she’d give it cheaper if I bought this. At my age, I was more attracted to the words “cheaper” than “it suits you well.”

Anyway, I wouldn’t need many clothes since the only outing I had planned was the date with Claudia… and if it saved money, I could wear a dress dozens of times.

Originally, I had been walking around the house without underwear, just a shirt and a gown. So feeling shy about wearing just a dress was quite a newfound sentiment.

“…Let’s hurry.”

“Yes!”

People’s stares are a separate matter.

Anyway. After safely finishing our shopping and organizing the purchased items, the sun was already setting and darkness was approaching. Looking back on the day… The first memory that came to mind was being locked in the bathroom frantically touching my crotch.

Discomfort came before the recollection of pleasure. The feeling of not being in control of my body was… the worst. To avoid experiencing such a thing again, I needed to know the cause.

But first, I had dinner with Cecile. As evening came, my appetite returned somewhat, and I grilled the meat I had been saving. Seeing Cecile enjoy meat for the first time made me feel good. After filling our stomachs, we moved to the workshop.

It was a somewhat awkward time to start working, but isn’t that the privilege of working from home?

“Cecile, please finish making the potions you couldn’t finish earlier.”

“Yes, Lady Asha.”

The problem starts now.

Basically, if an ingredient’s effects aren’t already known, you have to experience it directly to know its effects. This is a world with swords and magic, but convenience-oriented magic like emotion magic doesn’t exist.

Which means.

To verify if Cecile’s semen has such effects, I need to experiment on someone.

Me? Absolutely not.

Then… Cecile?

That doesn’t sit well with me either. Of course, if I asked Cecile, she would… comply without complaint, but in a situation where effects are somewhat predictable, putting myself in her shoes, it’s quite unsettling. If I were a native of this world… I might have done it without hesitation, but I’m not.

Come to think of it, Cecile’s existence itself was a bit special.

From my prior research, I don’t believe there were cases of… that area becoming enlarged like that. In fact, homunculi themselves… aren’t commonly made. No, these days they’ve nearly fallen into disuse.

Not only were the ingredients expensive, but the procedure was extremely complex. That’s why most people chose to employ humans rather than create homunculi. Unless you were someone like me, most homunculi now existed only in books as historical references, with little meaningful information available.

“Should I seek advice from my master…?”

…That’s on hold for now.

It’s not that urgent yet. Come to think of it, it’s been… quite a while since I even sent a letter of regards. But I believe he’ll understand. He’ll think it’s because his unworthy disciple was too busy.

And I actually was busy.

I opened the preservation box and looked at the beaker containing Cecile’s semen, then took out the Alraune materials next to it. Hoping that tomorrow’s me would come up with a clever solution.

I’m definitely not just putting off work until tomorrow.

“Lady Asha.”

“Yes?”

Somehow Cecile was already by my side. Judging by the materials still visible on the table over her shoulder, it didn’t seem like she had finished her quota yet.

“What is it?”

“Well… there’s a strange smell coming from around Lady Asha.”

“A strange smell?”

“Yes!”

There’s nothing particularly strange though.

“Is the smell coming from here?”

I shook the neatly packaged Alraune petals. Cecile’s red eyes focused like a cat following a toy. Finding her cute, I shook my hand a few times, during which the cloth wrapping the petals came loose and some petals fell out.

Multi-colored petals ranging from light pink to red showered down. Realizing my mistake, I tried to gather them.

“Cecile, could you pick up the ones that fell in front of you?”

“Yes…”

Cecile’s expression as she answered seemed somewhat… dazed.

“Cecile?”

“Yesss… Lady Asha.”

“Is there a problem—”

Cecile was approaching me with the Alraune petals in her hand. She twitched her body with a somewhat dreamy expression. And… her clitoris was in a state of major erection. It was protruding as if it might pierce through the dress I bought her today.

“What, what’s going on?”

“…?”

Cecile had a face of not understanding, still with dreamy eyes. Then she blinked, her once-white face turned red, and her breathing began to roughen.

…By all appearances, she was intoxicated by the Alraune petals.

But… that shouldn’t be… possible?

Alraune petals contain components that make males go into heat. Therefore, I had painstakingly obtained them to neutralize and create an aphrodisiac, essentially something like Viagra, for sale. Sexual potency was a significant matter in any world.

To the extent that I thought selling this could raise money for the now-expensive milk.

I admit I handled it carelessly. However… Though I hate to admit it, I was currently in a female body, and Cecile also had a female form, so I thought there wouldn’t be an issue.

No, there shouldn’t be an issue. As proof, I’m perfectly fine, aren’t I?

“Ah, Laady Aaaasha… my, my body feels strange… it’s, it’s hot, and, ugh, hii.”

“Just, just wait a moment.”

This shouldn’t be happening.

But, but it’s not a major problem. I just went shopping and also obtained Alraune honey to neutralize it, so it should be fine.

As I hurriedly opened the storage box to find the ingredients, Cecile pressed her body close to me. Before I knew it, Cecile’s hot rod, which had emerged into the world, was poking and prodding against my waist. Even through the fabric, its presence was distinct.

Cold sweat ran down my back.

“Ce, Cecile, move away!”

“Laady Aaasha… Laady Aaasha…”

This is bad. She’s not listening. Pushing her away wasn’t possible either.

…Unfortunately, Cecile was stronger than me.