Fizz—!
Please, let it work on the first try…!
As the fading currents subsided, the glow of the magical tool slowly dimmed.
With a trembling heart, I opened the lid and took out the final product.
A small emerald-green pill that was no bigger than a thumbnail shimmered beautifully in the light.
“…It worked!”
“Oh, is it finished?”
“Mhmm.”
Kiana eyed the pill in my hand with curiosity.
“…This one looks pretty unusual. It’s smaller than I expected, and I’ve never seen a green pill before.”
“Well, the ingredients were nothing but herbs. It’s a bit different from regular pills.”
“Hmm~ So? What exactly does it do?”
“…That’s a secret.”
“What? You little—so that’s how you wanna play it? Fine, I’ll just eat it myself and find out!”
…Please, for the love of everything, don’t.
I barely managed to keep the pill out of her reach and checked its condition.
The quality isn’t bad. I swapped out a few ingredients, but this is decent enough.
Still, taking just this one wouldn’t have much of an effect.
The original recipe required two pills to be made.
Only by consuming both could I fully receive the intended benefits.
But I can’t make the second one without a key ingredient.
The Tricolor Fruit of the World Tree.
The Tricolor Fruit of the World Tree referred to the three types of fruit that grew on the giant tree rooted in the elves’ territory.
It was the key ingredient needed for the second pill. So it was an absolute necessity for the recipe.
Of course, that fruit was difficult to obtain. Not just for imperial citizens, but even among the elves themselves.
Unless I wanted to make an enemy of the elves, stealing it is out of the question…
Besides, as a student attending the academy, I had no way to travel to the elves territory in the first place.
One might think this made the pill completely useless, but fortunately, there was one way to acquire the missing piece without having to make it myself.
…They must have enrolled this year, right?
They weren’t playable characters, but like Kiana Edenweiss, they were major figures who frequently appeared in the game’s storyline.
Among them, two students, one representing the beastkin and the other the elves, should have entered the academy this year.
And both of them were people I had crossed paths with in the past.
They were among the few I had parted with on good terms.
At the very least, if I asked for a favor, they might be willing to help.
It’s been a while since I last saw them… I’m a little nervous about how they’ll react.
I had promised to visit often, yet I never went back to see them. Not even once.
…Could this be a problem?
***
After alchemy class ended, the final lesson of the day, “Basic Auror Manipulation”, began.
A perfect chance had come to use the pill immediately after making it.
“…….”
Crack!
I tossed the green pill I had made earlier into my mouth and chewed.
The distinct bitter taste of herbs spread across my tongue.
I sat cross-legged, closed my eyes, and focused my mind.
Immediately, a powerful reaction erupted from the core located in my lower abdomen.
“…Ugh!”
The pain was far greater than I had expected, and I bit down hard on my lip.
Due to the pill’s effects, the aura contained within my core began to surge violently.
It felt as if something was pounding the inside of my stomach with brutal force.
.
.
.
Minutes passed as the pain akin to my organs twisting persisted.
Once the core finally settled down, I tried using my aura again.
…Hmm, the pathway does seem noticeably wider.
The channels through which aura flowed throughout my body had expanded significantly compared to before.
It was a clear proof of the pill’s effect, but it still wasn’t enough.
The foundation was laid, but the amount of aura required to reach the intermediate Expert level was still far from sufficient.
Seriously, what a useless body.
Forming circles and a core had been easy thanks to my prior experience.
However, my body had trouble properly absorbing both mana and aura, making standard training methods far less effective for me.
If I had possessed an ordinary body, I would have easily reached the higher Expert level by now.
Letting out a sigh to shake off my disappointment, I clenched my fist and drew upon my aura.
Oh, still… I can definitely feel the difference.
Judging by the amount of aura concentrated in my fist, the maximum output I could unleash at once had increased significantly.
If I fully absorbed the effects of the pill and took the remaining ones as well, reaching intermediate Expert might not be just an empty dream.
A satisfied smile naturally formed on my lips at the sense of accomplishment.
“…Hm?”
As I finished meditating, the sound of murmuring voices filled my ears.
I opened my eyes and turned my head toward the source of the noise.
– Whoa, that’s crazy.
– Did she really reach intermediate? At our age?
– What’s her name? Which family is she from?
Something unusual seemed to have happened.
Aside from a few students who had been given free time, the rest were gathered around the professor.
Focusing my gaze on the crowd, I spotted a familiar figure.
Riley?
Amid the group stood a girl with neatly kept blue hair.
She was receiving guidance from the professor, and at the same time, all the students’ attention was fixed on her.
“Hoo…”
“Riley, congratulations! Reaching intermediate Expert at your age is truly remarkable!”
“Thank you, Professor.”
The professor clapped his hands. He sounded genuinely delighted as if it were his own achievement.
By sheer coincidence, she had shattered a major barrier that had been blocking her since the very first class.
So, she’s already at intermediate Expert too.
Recalling our encounter at the entrance ceremony, I couldn’t help but feel a bit unsettled.
While I was happy about her growth, a part of me found it difficult to celebrate.
The stronger she became as a swordsman, the closer she inched toward death.
In this world, there existed something called “Heart Demon”.
One of the countless deaths that had tormented her in the game.
It was an illness caused by excessive strain on the body during the process of accumulating aura and mana.
She was obsessed with getting stronger and had always succumbed to her Heart Demon’s relentless drive for improvement.
Archenemies are a problem, but this… this is even more of a headache.
Her Heart Demon was an inevitable fate.
That was why, when the time came, someone had to be there to make sure she didn’t die from it.
What if she ended up training alone somewhere isolated, and her Heart Demon struck her?
…Damn it, this is seriously exhausting.
It felt like my responsibilities were only piling up.
I still needed to prepare for the first episode coming up next week.
I had to keep an eye on Seria and Aria, whose overload phases had arrived sooner than expected.
Not to mention monitoring Ren, whose hero’s side effects were worsening…
Back in the game, it had been hard enough to keep even one character alive.
Yet here I was, trying to handle far more than I could realistically manage.
Suppressing my growing anxiety, I let out a sigh as I watched Riley being showered with congratulations from the other students.
***
Once the day’s academy schedule had come to an end—
Most students either returned to their dorms or spent their personal time in the campus facilities.
But for me, such luxuries were nothing more than a fantasy.
I had someone to find. Someone I needed in order to get the remaining ingredients for the pill.
Ciel… where the hell is she?
I had searched nearly every place a High Elf like her might go, yet I still couldn’t find any trace of her.
Since she wasn’t a playable character, it was difficult to pinpoint her location after classes ended.
I wiped the sweat from my chin and made my way to the last place she might be.
Clatter—
As I opened the door and stepped inside, a vast, open space unfolded before me.
It was a training facility provided by the academy for its students.
Given the natural affinity of elves for archery, I vaguely recalled seeing her practicing with her bow here from time to time.
I wandered through the facility, glancing around just in case.
But contrary to my hopes, there wasn’t even the faintest trace of another person.
I let out a deep sigh of disappointment and was about to leave…when it happened.
“Hey.”
A voice suddenly called out from behind me, startling me enough to make me whirl around.
And standing there was someone I hadn’t expected to see at all.
“Are you here to train too?”
“……….”
“……….?”
When I didn’t respond, she tilted her head slightly with a curious look in her eyes.
Her ash-gray hair swayed gently drawing my gaze.
“…Ren.”
Ren Aizel.
The very same person I had sparred with not long ago was standing here before me.
Up until just moments ago, she had been glaring at me as if she wanted to kill me. But now, for some reason, she was staring at me with an expression completely devoid of emotion.
It was as if she were meeting me for the first time.
“Do you know who I am?”
“…Yeah.”
“…Mm, sorry. I don’t know who you are.”
“……….”
It felt as if my blood had turned cold.
One of the side effects that came with being a Hero….among them, memory loss was definitely included.
…Shit. This isn’t good.
First the Saintess, and now Ren. An unexpected complication had arisen yet again.
I had considered the possibility ever since our sparring match, but I hadn’t expected it to happen in just a matter of days…
The sudden turn of events sent my thoughts into disarray.
“Want to spar with me?”
“…With me? All of a sudden?”
“You came here to train, didn’t you? And there’s no one else here to spar with me.”
She meant it.
Not because she wanted to kill me, her archenemy, but simply because she was looking for a sparring partner to train with.
She could say something like that only because she didn’t remember me.
…Yeah. This was seriously fu*ked up.
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