Chapter 40: A Potion That Makes You Feel Good – 4

Chapter 40: A Potion That Makes You Feel Good – 4

“…Anyway, if you make anything that dangerous in the future, you have to come to me, got it?”

“Ugh, fine, Christie, I get it.”

……Unfortunately, my excuse that it had a pain-relieving effect and I was researching it for use as a painkiller didn’t quite fly.

After all, Christie was the Defense Force Commander.

“But who should I sell it to? I’ve already made the potion that makes you feel good, so I can just sell it, but….”

“Oh, you don’t actually have to sell it; you just have to pretend to. Our side will make contact.”

“That’s a relief. Even so, selling this undiluted solution as is feels a bit… heavy on my conscience.”

“The person buying it isn’t a law-abiding citizen anyway, so you don’t need to feel that way. Besides our person making contact, if you actually sell it, it’ll definitely attract attention, which is good.”

“…Would a weakened prototype be helpful? Give them a weakened potion for a trial, and then sell it.”

I said that, but to modify this ‘feel-good potion’ into a ‘pain-relief potion’ anyway, a dilution process was necessary.

……And, there would be countless failures in that process.

In fact, even making the potion I was currently holding resulted in numerous failures.

If my body hadn’t been strengthened, wouldn’t my arms have been paralyzed by muscle pain by now?

“…Lucia, your face says you desperately want to sell the potion you just made.”

“B-but! My house burned down, and I can’t make any other potions, so I have no choice! With the current ingredients, I can only make this kind of stuff….”

“That’s why I told you to just join our family as an adopted daughter. Why go through all this trouble?”

“……Still, I don’t want to.”

Adopted? What kind of terrible fate would I meet?

…I quietly swallowed those words. Christie wouldn’t know anyway.

She only knew that there was an attack targeting me before, but she didn’t know that I was the victim of it.

And…… that the Imperial Family, whom she so revered and was loyal to, would assassinate Christie as soon as they rose to power thanks to Christie and the Ducal family.

She wouldn’t know any of it.

“Stubborn. Anyway… be careful. Our side will give you a mask that can cover your voice and even your face, but it’s still dangerous.”

“…Just covering that won’t be enough, I think.”

When I said that, Christie’s gaze naturally fell on my hair.

My mint-colored hair, which could be described as distinctive.

“This will actually be fine. It’s such a rare color that they’ll think it’s a wig or a disguise.

 And, they wouldn’t even think that someone distributing this kind of drug would be a girl like you in the first place.”

“A girl…… Well, usually these kinds of illicit dealings are done by strong men.”

“Why do you look like you’ve lost something…?”

“It’s your imagination. I just wish I were as strong as Christie.”

That was a lie; I just felt like it was hammered home again that my body and gender had changed.

…I’m slowly getting used to this body and women’s clothing now, but…… it still feels strange when it’s hammered home that my body changed in such a way.

Of course, if you think about it, it’s my fault, but I like my changed body as much as my previous one.

Honestly, in terms of appearance, I got a ridiculously good buff, so gender is just a minor thing.

Anyway, I’m not interested in marriage, so I don’t need to worry about whether I prefer men or women.

……Still, mentally I’m still a man, so it’s unlikely to happen, but if I were to date, a woman would probably be more suitable.

“…Christie, are you busy?”

“Huh? Suddenly?”

“Just… if you don’t have anything else to do, I was thinking we could go out and hang out sometime later.”

“……I’m a really boring person, you know.”

“Well, that statement alone was the third funniest thing I’ve heard this year.”

Of course, Christie said that, but she seemed to be agreeing, judging by her faint smile.

…Why I suddenly made this suggestion, well.

I guess you could say it was to give my still-male mind the experience of a date, and my now-female body the experience of a picnic with a friend.

“Then I’ll deliver the equipment later. Get ready.”

“You’re not trying to stop me anymore?”

“…If you say you’re okay with it, stopping you would be disrespecting you. But if I ask one more time… it could be dangerous, are you really going to do it?”

Christie said something incredibly admirable, though I don’t know where she learned it.

She clearly wanted me not to participate in this operation.

But…… from the perspective of someone who knew what kind of trouble this drug organization would cause in the future,

And from the perspective of someone who had become an Imperial citizen and had to worry about the Empire’s future… I had no choice but to participate in this operation.

Furthermore…… my responsibility was clearly involved in how Christie’s situation turned out like this.

There was an attack because of my existence, and because of that, the entire Defense Force was on high alert.

Because I, the victim, didn’t appear, things got more complicated, and they received this Imperial order.

I could just pretend not to know and ignore it, but…… I don’t particularly want to live like that.

In this new world, no, even including the previous world, I didn’t want to treat the life of my only remaining friend in such a way.

“If I don’t do it, Christie will be in trouble, right? Then, of course, I have to go. Oh, but you have to pay me properly! I need to eat to live!”

Therefore, I had no hesitation in participating in this operation.

Well… what’s the worst that could happen, die again?

…And, I’m already a body that died and came back to life.

***

After Christie left, I didn’t continue the work of changing this ‘feel-good potion’ into a ‘pain-relief potion’…… instead, I went to the market.

Christie had given me some money as she left, telling me to at least eat properly, so it was to buy groceries.

Honestly, I hadn’t had a chance to cook properly since coming to this world, and I thought it might be a good opportunity to try it.

*You’re quite relaxed. You might be caught up in something very big.*

‘There’s nothing I can do anyway, is there? You wouldn’t want me to just keep boringly improving potions, would you?’

*…My position?*

‘I don’t know for sure, but it seems like the System wants me to get involved in some kind of incident and keep doing something, right?’

At my words, the message paused for a moment.

…Even an AI, thinking and pausing, is just like a human.

*Well… that’s the company’s position. I, however, am against it because I think you’ll be in danger.*

‘Unexpected? What, do I get a penalty if I die?’

*I wonder how you see me, but I’m genuinely worried. …In other words, I’ve grown fond of you.*

‘What, you…… you secretly liked me, didn’t you? You kept being annoying, so I was going to beat you up if we ever met, but I guess I’ll just beat you up a little.’

*……I hope we only meet like this in the future. A punch from that body would probably hurt quite a lot.*

I was about to reply to that, but… I couldn’t.

A familiar face, one that never ended well, appeared.

Black hair like the night sky, and contrasting blue eyes like the deep sea.

…A woman with a dark, cold appearance.

And…… she was standing exactly where I used to sell potions.

‘…I haven’t seen her for a while, but why? Even after I ran away like that?’

*…It’s Elena. And she looks like she’s waiting for you.*

Since the person on my ‘Danger Level 0’ list appeared, I walked straight to the other side of the market.

…No, I intended to walk.

For a moment, I forgot that my hair color stood out very well from a distance.

I also realized at the same time that Elena’s gaze was already… directed towards me.

Since Elena would follow me anyway even if I ran away… I just chose to go to her.

…Because I wasn’t as powerless as before.

***

“Long time no see, Lucia.”

“…I don’t think we parted on good terms.”

“Oh, that? Last time… um… I’m sorry about that. I didn’t intend for that to happen.”

As expected, Elena spoke to me as soon as I approached.

…Somehow, the eerie feeling I got from her seemed to have doubled.

“And, I moved my business. I don’t sell there anymore. I just came to the market for something today.”

“Is that so? You’re kind, Lucia.”

“……I just said that because it was pathetic to see you standing there.”

Nevertheless, Elena kept smiling. 

……That she looks so normal is the scariest thing.

She’s probably planning to lead a shadowy organization and bring down the world even now.

“Anyway, I won’t be able to come for a while after today. The drug addicts in the back alleys are rampant.”

“……Drug addicts, you say.”

“Oh, of course, I wasn’t talking about Lucia’s potions, so don’t worry.”

I could tell from Elena’s smiling expression as she said that.

This person… was planning to do something against the ‘organization’ that was currently distributing and dominating drugs.

Perhaps… Christie’s carefully prepared plan could be completely shattered.

“Then, it seems you’ve had some trouble with the ‘organization’, Elena.”

“Oh, you’re calling me by my name?”

“…Just answer the question.”

At those words, Elena chuckled and opened her mouth. And……

I heard something completely unexpected.