Chapter 118: To Von Grund’s Territory (3)

Upon returning to the mansion, my first destination wasn’t my room or Hori’s, but her workshop tucked away in a corner of the estate.

Once the academy schedule ended, Hori would hole up in her workshop, only emerging for meals and baths.

Recently, she’d at least started sleeping in the mansion after being told to, but she still spent most of her day cooped up in that workshop.

“I’m coming in!!”

I shouted loud enough to be heard inside and barged in, roughly throwing open the door.

A loud crash followed, and Hori burst out, coughing violently.

“Cough!! Cough!!”

Curious about the earlier crashing sound, I looked to where Hori had emerged from. A pink puddle on the floor was emitting a light pink gas.

“What’s that?”

“Ian!! Don’t breathe that in, it’s dangerous!!”

Hori quickly covered her mouth and nose with a handkerchief and tugged at my sleeve. We hurriedly left the workshop.

After putting about 10 meters between us and the workshop, Hori removed the handkerchief from her face and took a deep breath, looking relieved.

“What’s the deal with that?”

“That’s a dangerous poison that causes respiratory distress if inhaled. It’s a tricky substance that vaporizes immediately when it escapes from a container with shape-fixing magic…”

Why the hell was this kid making such things in someone else’s house?

More importantly, if she was experimenting with such poisons, did that mean I might’ve ended up drinking it soon?

“…I’ve got a lot to say, but first, pack your things. We need to leave quickly.”

“Huh? Leave? Where are we…”

“To Count von Grund’s territory.”

Hori, still unaware of the situation, stared at me with a puzzled look.

But when I explained what had just happened, her eyes widened, and a childlike smile, reminiscent of a kid on Christmas Eve, spread across her face.

“I-I’ll get ready right away!! I’ve just finished improving the medicine I gave you before, and I have so many other concoctions I want to test!!”

“Great, but shouldn’t we wait a bit? The smoke hasn’t cleared yet, right?”

The workshop was still filled with the pink smoke from the broken special container, and it looked like it would take at least several dozen minutes to dissipate completely.

However, Hori, seemingly forgetting her own warning from earlier, raised her handkerchief again and said nonchalantly:

“Oh, it’s fine! I’ll just hold my breath and quickly grab what I need!!”

“Don’t be stupid. Go to your room and pack some clothes. It’ll take quite a while to get there.”

Even with Silence using energy manipulation to run, it was still a considerable distance to Count von Grund’s territory, so we needed to prepare multiple changes of clothes.

Hori couldn’t easily let go of her attachment, staring longingly at the smoke-filled workshop before gritting her teeth and rushing back to the mansion.

I followed right behind her and ordered the maids to prepare clothes.

They were originally servants employed at the Ponpon family’s house, but at my request, a few butlers and they had been living here for the past few weeks.

A moment later, as I received the bag of clothes the maids had packed from my room, Hori also emerged from her room with a large bag full of clothes.

“The medicines!! I need to pack the medicines!!”

Watching Hori dash off with her large bag, spouting those words, I couldn’t help but sigh.

Worried she might do something stupid in her haste, possibly entering before the smoke had cleared, I quickly left the mansion.

Sure enough, Hori was standing in front of the workshop, her bag set aside, preparing to enter the still smoke-filled room with her handkerchief over her mouth.

“Hey!! Stop right there!!”

Just before she could enter, I barely managed to grab her collar and pull her back. Sighing, I placed my hand on Shadowstrike’s hilt.

‘I don’t want to use Baldo for something this stupid, but…’

Still, there was no other solution unless we called a wizard right away.

“Hah…!!”

Carefully controlling my strength to avoid damaging the windows or equipment inside, I drew my sword dramatically, creating a strong gust of wind.

With a whoosh, the wind pressure from the Baldo blew the smoke out through the windows.

“I’ve cleared most of it, but there might still be some left, so be careful when you go in.”

“Okay!!”

Saying this, Hori covered her mouth with the handkerchief and darted into the workshop like a thief.

She came out with a small amount of what looked like medicine, set it down, then went back in for more.

After repeating this about eight times, there was a pile of medicines on the ground so large I wondered if it would all fit in her bag.

Astounded by the massive amount of medicine piled on the floor, I asked Hori, who was wiping sweat from her brow with the handkerchief she’d used to cover her mouth:

“Are you planning to open a pharmacy when we get there? Why’d you bring so much?”

“They say the more medicine and side effects, the better!! I packed a lot just in case!!”

“Who the hell says that?”

“Besides, if there’s a fierce battle, my medicines might come in really handy…”

Seeing her face flush as she imagined the scene, I guessed she was planning to promote her medicines on a grand scale once we arrived.

“Just to be clear, make sure you properly explain the side effects when you give these to other people.”

“Of course! I know that!”

Among the pile of medicines were not only doping drugs but also several recovery potions. While these were far superior to those sold in the market, they weren’t as groundbreaking as the doping drugs.

On the bright side, the recovery potions didn’t seem to have any notable side effects, making them safer to use.

“By the way, can’t you make a potion that heals all wounds when drunk?”

“Well, if I had the ingredients, I could make anything, but in cases like fractures, carelessly using such a potion could cause the bones to heal incorrectly.”

She also explained that for injuries caused by magic, it was impossible to predict how the mana in the wounded area would interact with the ingested potion, making it unfeasible to create a game-like potion that healed all wounds just by drinking it.

After loading all the medicines and potions into the bag, we headed to Jessica’s mansion with Silence. There, a luxurious carriage and Jessica were waiting for us.

Jessica wasn’t wearing her usual uniform or dress, but a snow-white plate armor. Perhaps because of this, her golden hair seemed particularly striking.

“You’re already in armor?”

“…It’d be too late to put it on after encountering enemies. The journey won’t be safe.”

True to her words, it would take at least a few weeks to reach Count von Grund’s territory, so it wouldn’t be strange to encounter barbarians along the way.

“But you’re not wearing armor?”

“I hate how stuffy it feels.”

The swords of weak enemies couldn’t pierce my skin when covered with energy manipulation, so armor was pointless.

Conversely, for truly strong enemies I needed to be wary of, they’d cut through both armor and my body, so dodging was the only answer.

“Well, that’s fine, but… what about her…?”

As Jessica glanced at Hori standing beside me, Hori flinched and hid behind me.

Why was she suddenly scared of a mere count’s daughter when she had no problem confronting Marina before?

“I told you earlier, didn’t I? That I was going to get Hori. Weren’t you listening?”

“I-I was a bit flustered then… But thinking about it now, isn’t it a bit strange to bring someone who’s neither a swordsman nor a wizard…?”

“Well, that’s true. But I promised to show her how I fight using her medicines.”

“Fighting… Is it some kind of test for the medicines?”

While that was part of it, it was mostly to satisfy Hori’s perverted tastes.

Of course, explaining that would complicate things, so I didn’t bother adding more.

“Something like that. But is this luxurious carriage okay? It seems like it’d be an easy target.”

Of course, I didn’t mind if it meant more Baldo practice opponents, but even that gets annoying after a while, like flies endlessly drawn to a flame.

The carriage, as white as Jessica’s armor with golden decorations, was so lavish it looked more like a large work of art than a vehicle.

It was like wearing clothes made of gold and spending a night in the slums.

“It’s the opposite. Because the carriage is so luxurious, thieves and the like won’t dare to attack.”

I was about to ask what she meant, but then I remembered this wasn’t Earth and let out a gasp of realization.

In this world, most nobles were either mages or swordsmen skilled in energy manipulation.

While not all nobles were like that, it was easy to assume that anyone casually riding such a lavish carriage was of quite high rank.

“So you’re using wealth to show your power and scare off the small fry?”

“Exactly. Sometimes fools who don’t know their place do attack, but such idiots are easily dealt with.”

“I see your point.”

We loaded our luggage onto the back of the carriage and slowly climbed aboard.

For some reason, I got the feeling Jessica glared slightly at Hori as we boarded the carriage.

—