Chapter 126: Reform or Chaos – 3

Chapter 126: Reform or Chaos – 3

“……Who is this? Christie?”

“…Chief Mage of the Knight Order.”

“Could you please explain why such a person is here?”

“‘Person’? I’m a pretty well-known person, you know?”

It hadn’t been long since the last guest left… Ah, of course, that’s also because I was holed up in the attic making potions, but anyway, it hadn’t been long, and another person came.

……And a very noisy one at that.

Of course, judging by her attire and demeanor, she was clearly no ordinary person, but perhaps because I had met both the Saintess and the Hero yesterday, I was less impressed.

*Aren’t you getting desensitized no matter who you meet or get involved with?*

‘Honestly, at this point, I’m pretty desensitized. …Of course, except for that crazy bitch Elena.’

Thanks to the Saintess, it was confirmed that Elena was the Pope’s biological daughter and possessed prophetic abilities.

…And also that she was interested in me because I didn’t appear in any of the futures she saw.

I also had a gut feeling that she would show up and cause trouble around this time.

“Anyway, she’s definitely cute! I never thought I’d live to see Christie being so flexible!”

“…Call me Commander outside.”

“See! She’s usually such a stiff person, isn’t she? But strangely, whenever your name comes up, she becomes incredibly flexible!”

“Seris. That’s enough. Isn’t it obvious from her expression that she clearly dislikes it?”

Anyway, this was my first impression of the Chief Mage of the Knight Order who suddenly showed up.

…Noisy. Very, very, very noisy.

She talked a lot and had a high-pitched voice, but it wasn’t a mage’s vocal volume; it was clearly a knight’s vocal volume, giving commands across an entire battlefield.

“Oh, sorry, sorry. I’m a bit lively, you see!”

“…You’re aware of that?”

It was a remark tinged with a bit of annoyance, but somehow, the other person seemed to have taken it very differently.

…I felt like my energy was already being drained without doing anything.

“……Christie, no matter how I look at it, she’s too cute. Look at that slightly pouting yet prim expression! You’ve been seeing this all by yourself until now?”

“I’ll say it again, call me Commander outside, and she clearly dislikes it, so please restrain yourself… Haa.”

“Oh, come on. What’s wrong? Let’s just be casual. Anyway, where’s the person we came to see?”

“…She’s right in front of your eyes. To formally introduce her, this is Seris. As you heard, she’s our Knight Order’s Chief Mage… but she has a slight flaw in her personality, so be careful.”

I wholeheartedly agreed with the point about a flaw in her personality.

No matter what, she was a stranger, but her reaction was excessively exaggerated.

…And she clearly looked like she wouldn’t listen to a damn thing. In a way, she seemed quite similar to the personality of that useless Hero who was now dragged off to the Holy Kingdom by the Saintess.

*’From a stranger, I feel a very familiar sensation, don’t I?’*

‘It seems I’m not the only one who feels that way.’

The Holy Sword, which I had casually tossed on the floor because I didn’t know where to put it, also agreed with my opinion.

If the Hero was a lazy bum who wouldn’t listen to a damn thing, this one felt like she wouldn’t listen to a damn thing and would cause trouble outside.

“Eh? This kid is the one who makes those potions? I naturally thought it would be a very old master artisan!”

“……I never said that, though?”

“No! Logically speaking, even if I don’t know the principle of how those potions are made, the mana control involved was incredible!

That level of mana control is a realm that only people who have dedicated their entire lives to magic can achieve, you know?”

“Then what are you, who says that?”

“Me? I’m a genius, of course!”

“Then isn’t that the answer?”

“……What answer are you talking about?!?”

I was suddenly treated as a mana control genius, but unfortunately, my request for correction was neatly ignored.

Instead… this person named Seris stuck close to me and stared at me intently.

“No, um… could you explain the situation first?”

“Ah, simply put, the Chief Mage of the Knight Order came to verify the potions you’ll be supplying this time, Lucia.”

“…Couldn’t you have told me that first?”

“……She’s just so frantic, you see. I’m sorry. Anyway, could you bring some potions? Even just a few if you haven’t finished them all.”

“I don’t know how you knew, but I just finished them all.”

As I went up to get the freshly completed potions, I clearly heard Seris clinging to Christie and chattering away.

She probably thought she had lowered her voice a lot, but the problem was that it was the volume of a normal person’s voice.

“Hey, hey, what’s up? You’re even saying sorry?”

“…You’d better be prepared to be dragged to the training grounds when you get back.”

“Wait, wait, wait…! J-Just this once…”

“No such thing.”

……Hmm, it seemed Christie would take care of the punishment herself.

Christie is indeed the most reliable.

***

Seris, who was examining the various defensive potions I had completed, let out an exclamation of awe.

She was the Chief Mage, and her skills seemed solid, as she roughly guessed the effects of the potions just by looking at them.

Perhaps thinking it was an interesting subject, her playful smile and voice mostly disappeared, and she looked quite serious.

“…Amazing. If we use these, we can drastically reduce casualties in the Imperial Army.”

“To what extent do you predict?”

“I don’t know about injuries, but casualties… I think they’ll be reduced to at least less than half of the original. These potions provide enough defense to turn fatal attacks into mere injuries.”

Well, they were potions I put a lot of effort into, so it was a natural result.

There would be no instant deaths or fatal injuries from most monster attacks.

…Of course, it only means they’ll make being hit less painful and less fatal, not that they provide absolute defense.

“…Commander, shouldn’t we kidnap her? These are real treasures!”

“Don’t even think about it. You’ll just get yourself hurt.”

“Eh? No matter what, aren’t you underestimating me too much?”

“……The Holy Kingdom’s inquisitors failed to capture her, didn’t they?”

“Uh… maybe I am more easily underestimated than I thought?”

For a moment, at the word ‘kidnap’, I almost activated the ‘Alchemist’s Treasury’, but thankfully, Christie stopped her well.

…Well, even without potions, the Holy Sword casually tossed next to me could also be good armament.

By the way, as expected of Christie, she’s good at blocking that strange nonsense…

“And, she might become our ducal family’s new duchess someday, so we can’t do that.”

“……Christie? Didn’t you give up on that?”

“The duchess position offer is always open, Lucia. Father would like it too, you know?”

……Hmm, correction. She also has a subtly obsessive side.

Actually, it’s a level that’s too embarrassing to call obsession, but anyway, there’s something there.

*’What on earth have you done to be connected with the Knight Commander, the Saintess, and even the Hero, who are all pillars of a nation?’*

‘You tell me. That’s why my body never gets a break.’

Right now, I had to go to the Holy Kingdom, and I wondered what this sudden detour was all about.

No, of course, if I go to the Holy Kingdom, I’ll be out of contact for a while, so it’s right to hand over the potions to Christie… but…

…I had a gut feeling that something troublesome was going to happen.

“Ahem. Anyway! The test results show these are potions made with very precisely controlled mana, and they’re very suitable for military use, Commander.

……In fact, they’re not just suitable; their performance is excessively good.”

“That means…”

“It means a huge amount of work might come in soon! Heh, isn’t that good news?”

“I, I’m going to be away for a while…? Christie…?”

That ‘huge amount of work’, both intuitively and experientially, clearly meant not just enormous compensation, but also enormous physical fatigue.

In other words? It meant another collapse was imminent.

Somehow, my stamina, which I never felt lacking in battle, always felt insufficient when making potions.

“It’s okay. We also have to negotiate with the Holy Kingdom about these potions anyway. We have to accompany them as escorts for the Empire’s diplomatic envoy.”

“…So you’re going to the Holy Kingdom?”

“That’s right? Is there anything you’d like us to get for you in the Holy Kingdom? Just say the word, and we can get it.”

“It’s not that… but after the negotiations are over, please don’t come back immediately; I’d like you to stay in the Holy Kingdom for about a week.”

…I wondered why the Chief Mage suddenly came to inspect my potions, but it seems the Empire intends to formally declare the use of potions to the Holy Kingdom.

If the potions are deemed useful, they’ll probably actively use them during the war.

And whether it’s good luck or bad luck, Christie and her Knight Order companions are heading to the Holy Kingdom.

It couldn’t be a better backdrop for exposing the problems of the inquisitor faction with the Saintess and pointing out issues in the Holy Kingdom.

“A week? It might be a bit difficult to drag it out that long…”

“Please, unnie. Something that will help the Empire will definitely happen within a week.”

“No matter what, a week is… hmm…”

“Oh, come on, unnie, you can do it, can’t you? You’re the Empire’s youngest Knight Commander, and your skills are amazing!”

“Well… if you say so, Lucia.”

Fortunately, asking Christie wasn’t too difficult.

…I felt a little bad for taking advantage of her so much, so I should make her a useful potion later.

“Wow… ‘difficult to drag out a week,’ my ass. If the Commander said it was dangerous to return immediately, she’d wait over a month. She just wants to hear ‘unnie’ so much… *cough*!”

“……Quiet.”

……Hmm, maybe I don’t need to give her anything?