Chapter 30: Making Potions After a While

Several days have passed since Shirley selected a task for me, and I successfully completed it. My physical condition hasn’t shown any particular decline, and I feel fully restored to my usual self.

Most of the C-rank requests are extermination missions, and the income is significantly higher compared to regular requests. The rewards for completing these missions are quite substantial, and with the increased price of materials at my elevated rank, my financial situation has been rather comfortable lately.

However, this shift has led to fewer visits to the forest, and unfortunately, I haven’t had the opportunity to craft potions at all.

Well, potion-making is purely a hobby, and since magic can be used as a substitute, it’s not really necessary. But once you start making them, you do want to pursue it further. Sometimes, I can’t sleep thinking about what would happen if I did that before going to sleep.

By the way, yesterday, Roniel came to see me. He patiently waited in front of the guild, and when I wondered what was going on, it turned out he came to thank me for opening the highway.

After multiple investigations into the ogre’s appearances, it appears that no additional ogres were found, and all the monsters on the highway were eliminated, leading to the lifting of the blockade.

He somehow knew about me and that I defeated the ogre. Merchants are indeed quick to catch wind of things.

Now that the highway is secure for travel, he’s planning to leave this town. It was a short time, but he helped me in various ways. As a thank-you gesture, I gave him the potions I had and he gladly accepted them.

It seems he had entrusted the escort duty to Ryuk again after all. I didn’t see Ryuk during the extermination mission, though. I wonder where he was?

He did come to visit me while I was recuperating in the infirmary, though.

Anyway, Roniel set off on his journey. I hope we can meet again somewhere.

Now, today, I’m thinking of not taking any requests and instead making potions after a long time. Once I get an idea, I can’t help but be overly curious, and it distracts me from everything else.

As usual, I leave the gate early and head towards the spring in the forest. It’s been a while since I’ve taken this particular route, and, as expected, there are a lot of monsters.

I use water blades against those detected by the detection magic. This forest has quite a few monsters, too. I’ve encountered them every time I come here, so I’ve gotten used to it, but it’s still remarkable.

Having reached the spring safely, I begin crafting potions, occasionally glancing over at Aria who is energetically leaping towards the water.

I picked medicinal herbs along the way, which I unknowingly had turned into a routine. Daily habits are indeed important.

I continue with the mixture,using a mid-tier potion I bought at the tavern as a reference.

The ingredients themselves are not complicated. Besides the medicinal herbs, I use mushrooms with stamina recovery effects. However, the tricky part is the timing of combining them.

Even with the use of 【Appraisal】, achieving the intended effects is not easy. Is it a matter of timing or perhaps the quantity? Regardless, I persist in trial and error, attempting the process numerous times.

Midway through, I continue with the crafting despite monster attacks, and before I know it, evening has arrived.

But I believe I’ve made some progress. In my hands, I hold a small vial containing a minute amount of a mid-tier potion.

The breakthrough was surprisingly simple. By making gradual changes to the quantity and adjusting the infusion timing, I accidentally stumbled upon the right ratio.

It seems I had been adding too much water before, which might explain why the effects weren’t manifesting. By reducing the water amount, I finally obtained these few drops.

I’d like to increase the volume, but it still seems a bit weak. Diluting it further might reduce it to the level of a low-tier potion. I haven’t achieved the perfect balance yet.

Nevertheless, a breakthrough has been achieved. With continued fine-tuning, I should eventually be able to craft mid-tier potions.

Phew, coming here to make potions after a long time was worth it.

I’d like to make more, but I should probably head back soon; it’s getting dark. After a quick tidy-up, I start my journey back.

As I exit the forest, I notice children collecting medicinal herbs. It seems they are getting ready to go home.

Oh, come to think of it, this sight is nostalgic as well. I wonder how Lars is doing?

As my gaze shifts, I make eye contact with a slightly smaller girl – was it Cyan? – assisting Lars. Lars widens his eyes in surprise and then rushes toward me with an astonished expression.

“Hey! Are you alright?”

He approached me with such force that I instinctively stepped back, anticipating a collision, but he tumbled right in front of me.

Ouch, that looked painful.

As I tried to say something, he quickly got up and grabbed my shoulder. His grip was quite strong, his fingers sinking into my shoulder.

“Um, well…”

“How many days do you think have passed since then?! I was worried!”

Although it was a child’s strength, it surprisingly hurt. I was about to protest, but he responded with a more intense expression than my feeble attempt at protest.

Apparently, he had been worried about my abscence since the day of the extermination mission.

Well, I did spend a few days in the infirmary after that, and even after recovering, I only took extermination missions and didn’t go into the forest at all, so there was no chance for him to see me.

Seeing his almost teary face made any anger I had disappear.

“I’m sorry. I couldn’t come here for a while.”

“I heard you got injured! Are you okay?”

“Yes, I’m perfectly fine now.”

“Phew, that’s a relief…”

“Oh, it’s you, Haku!”

Heaving a sigh of relief from the bottom of his heart, he stroked his chest.

Other kids gathered, seemingly having rushed over at some point, and one by one, they expressed their relief at me being safe.

Though we were somewhat acquainted from previous encounters, having people genuinely concerned about me like this is quite heartwarming.

“Thank you very much. I’m fine, I’m sorry for making you worry.”

“Wh-where have you been all this time?”

“I’ve been taking extermination missions.”

“Huh!? W-well, I guess you could handle them, but…”

He became increasingly flustered, mumbling something, his expression showing puzzlement.

Well, Lars is cautious and usually doesn’t take extermination missions. I understand his sentiments. But, because of my rank increase, I can only take these now.

“My rank went up, so I couldn’t take regular requests anymore and had no choice but to take extermination missions.”

“Your rank went up?”

“Yes, to C-rank.”

“C-rank!? …You’re really something, after all.”

Even I am surprised by reaching C-rank. Actually, I wonder if it would have been better to smoothly progress to D-rank. The sudden increase makes it difficult to accept regular requests.

It’s not all drawbacks, but the abrupt jump is a bit perplexing.

When a child asked to see my guild card, I showed it to them, and everyone started praising me.

Since Lars is the one who manages these kids, they are probably all F-rank, maybe E-rank at best, so C-rank is likely quite unusual for them.

“Even if I don’t protect you, you can handle things on your own…”

“Huh?”

“Nothing! Anyway, I’m just glad you’re safe.”

I couldn’t quite catch what he said, but I understood that he was genuinely worried.

I should have come a little sooner, perhaps. I completely forgot.

Afterward, we returned to the town together, parted ways at the guild, and I went back to the inn.