Narrator's POV
The Kingdom’s city of E-Rantel is situated at the border between the Baharuth Empire and the Slane Theocracy. Since it is protected by three layers of city walls, it is known as the Fortress City due to its appearance. The zones between each layer have their own unique characteristics.
The outermost walls are used by the Kingdom’s military and have all the necessary military armaments.
The innermost wall houses the administrative zone. This zone has its own warehouses for food and is heavily protected by soldiers.
The zone in between these two areas is the residential area for civilians. When you hear the word city, this is the zone that matches it.
Of the several plazas within this zone, the biggest one is called the Central Plaza. Lots of people set up shop there, laying out all sorts of vegetables, spices, and other merchandise.
In the lively crowd, a shop owner shouts loudly in an attempt to attract customers. Elderly housewives and merchants haggle over the price of fresh ingredients; youths are enticed by the fragrance of juicy, barbecued meat kebabs.
This plaza is incredibly lively during the day; the noisy and crowded atmosphere carries on until sunset. But two figures leaving a five-story building put an end to the rowdy atmosphere.
Every eye in the plaza is drawn to the duo as they stand motionless.
One of them is a short female teenager between fourteen and sixteen, already with some generous curves to her figure. She has pale skin, which contrasts with her long, flowing, obsidian-black hair that extends down to the backs of her knees. She wears a traditional red and white miko uniform adorned with a blue, glowing gem on her chest. She carries a wooden wand decorated with many zigzagging white paper streamers called shide; this type of wand is called an ōnusa.
Her most distinctive feature, however, is the white bandage blindfold covering her eyes, making everyone believe she is blind. Despite this, she possesses a beauty leaning toward the cute side that cannot be denied. She has an aura of purity and innocence that makes one instinctively want to protect and pamper her.
Her partner is of an indeterminable gender, since there are simply no visible signs to determine it.
Some people in the plaza mumble: “Dark Warrior.”
Indeed, that person is wearing elegant full-body armor decorated with purple and gold markings. The face cannot be seen through the thin slit in the helmet. Under the red cape on his back, two large swords can be seen, complementing the style of dress.
The 'dark warrior' looked around and took the first steps, followed closely by the 'blind miko'.
The crowd starts to murmur as they watch the backs of the two figures fade into the distance. They are surprised by the rare sight they have just seen, yet feel no fear or wariness toward the duo.
The reason for that is that the duo exited the building belonging to the Adventurers' Guild, an association for people who hunt monsters for a living. Observant people had also noticed small copper medals hanging around their necks.
The duo attracted attention only because of the young lady’s beauty and the strikingly cool armor of her partner.
They walk silently on the narrow road.
The water pools in the tracks of carriages reflected the sun. The road itself is made from sand and mud, showing that it is not as good as those paved with stone and is hard to walk on. It is easy to slip and fall, but the pair’s balance is excellent and their walking speed is almost the same as if they were walking on a stone-paved road.
Fortunately for the blind miko, her sandals seem to protect her pristine white socks from the mud and dirt on the ground.
In reality, the dark warrior and the blind miko are none other than Ainz and Lydia in disguise. It's their way of going on an adventure outside of Nazarick under the excuse of gathering intelligence personally.
The Guardians were against the idea of letting them go alone, and Ainz, feeling guilty about imposing his will on them, was even ready to accept an escort. But Lydia openly expressed her desire to go with only Ainz, leaving the Guardians no choice but to accept.
Thus, they are left to their own devices to play around while simultaneously gathering more information on this new world, without the need to keep up appearances in front of an NPC.
As a disguise, Ainz simply used armor and weapons created by spells, while Lydia shapeshifted into a young woman; but as she couldn't hide the glow of her eyes, she opted for a blindfold.
Her miko outfit and staff are part of one of the many sets of cosmetic outfits that were offered to her while she was still in YGGDRASIL. The blindfold is an addition she created; it has the ability to completely block her sight despite her high level. She designed it this way to force herself to watch her surroundings through the Eye of Heimdall and thus train in keeping it active all the time.
For now, she doesn't use the Eye of Heimdall with a long range, giving herself time to get used to sensing everything around her without losing focus.
The two of them walk silently side by side until reaching a small tavern scouted beforehand. Neither of them can read what is written on the signboard, but they recognize it nonetheless.
Dusting the dirt off their shoes, they walk inside the tavern. Ainz takes the lead as he walks in first, opening the double doors with both hands, and Lydia follows closely behind.
Lydia's POV
Almost all the windows are closed, giving the inside dim lighting. Not that it changes much for me, as I'm blindfolded and using the Eye of Heimdall, even if I perhaps should turn it off just for when we are inside the tavern. This place is filthy.
The interior of the tavern is spacious; the first floor is the dining area with a counter. Two cabinets are placed behind the counter, with a few dozen wine bottles in them. The door next to the counter probably leads to the kitchen.
At the corner of the dining area is a right-angled stairway leading to the second floor. According to the receptionist at the Adventurers' Guild, the second and third floors are guest rooms.
The place is full of people—adventurers, I presume, given their appearance and gear. They all turned to look at us as we entered, making me hide behind Ainz, as the atmosphere feels hostile.
Both Ainz and I pause at the entrance, not because of the hostile gazes, but rather at the unexpected filthiness of the place. Despite being warned beforehand, it is still a shocking sight for the two of us, especially after living in Nazarick.
Even if Nazarick has its filthy places, this filth is different. There are scraps of food all over the floor and unknown liquids; weird stains on the walls; a mysterious cube-shaped item molding in a corner...
After observing this much, just at the entrance, I stop using the Eye of Heimdall, making me completely blind, but it's better than witnessing this any longer.
"Looking for a room? How many nights?" asks a man I assume to be the bartender, perhaps the owner as well.
"We want to stay for one night," replies Ainz in a slightly muffled voice because of the helmet.
"Copper medal. Communal hall will be 5 copper coins per night. Oatmeal with vegetables will be complimentary; one more copper if you want meat. The oatmeal might be replaced with bread several days old," the owner answers crudely.
"If possible, I would like a double room," requests Ainz.
The owner snorts. "There are three taverns used exclusively by adventurers, and mine is the worst of the lot... Do you know why the people at the guild introduced this place to you?"
"I don’t know; please enlighten me," replies Ainz calmly.
The owner seems to get angry at Ainz's words. "Use your brain! Or is the inside of that flashy helmet empty?" he nearly shouts angrily.
I take a small step back in surprise at the sudden anger of the owner and retreat a little more behind Ainz.
Ainz, on the other hand, doesn't seem to react much, given the audible surprise in the owner's next words: "You have guts... Most of the adventurers staying here have copper or iron medals. Even if you meet someone for the first time, you can form an adventuring party if your abilities are around the same level. That’s why my place is best suited for you to find teammates matching your current abilities..." the owner explains more calmly.
"You can sleep in a room if you want, but you won’t get teammates without using the common grounds. If you can’t form a balanced party, you will be dead if you fight monsters. Rookies without comrades will advertise themselves in a crowded place like this. I will ask for the last time: do you want the communal hall or a double room?" asks the owner.
"Double room. I will pass on the meal," replies Ainz once more, uncaring about the owner's concern.
I hear the owner click his tongue. "Brushing off my goodwill... Or do you think you are something special and your flashy full-body armor isn’t just for show? Never mind, one night will be 7 copper coins. Payment in advance, of course," he explains, increasing the price in irritation.
I hear Ainz's footsteps as he starts walking forward, so I follow behind. But he quickly stops and I hear him sigh tiredly.
I use the Eye of Heimdall to understand what's going on. Of course, I make sure to limit the range so as not to see the place more than necessary.
Ainz stopped in front of an extended foot in his path.
The man who extended his foot is a bald man with a dirty scarf around his neck, with his sleeves rolled up to show off his muscular arms marked by several scars that look to be from teeth and claws.
His look is somewhere between a brute and a beast; scars can clearly be seen on his face as well.
The man shows an annoying smirk. The other men at the table do the same, staring at Ainz with some of their gazes landing on me behind him.
The owner and the other customers stay quiet and don't interfere. Everyone appears to be indifferent, but they are actually paying close attention, probably expecting to see a good show.
Ainz sighs softly in irritation and gently kicks the foot away.
The man, waiting for this action, stands up. Because he isn't wearing armor, the bulging muscles under his shirt are easily visible. His adventurer tag hangs around his neck, swaying with his every move. It is similar to the one Ainz and I wear, but this one is made of iron instead of copper.
"Hey, hey, that hurts," he complains mockingly. As he stands up, the metal parts of his gauntlets squeak as he clenches his fists.
The man is just as big as Ainz; they stand a bit too close for a brawl and glare at each other.
Ainz fans the fight on: "I see. My field of vision is rather bad because of my helmet, so I didn’t see your leg in front of me. Or maybe I didn’t notice your leg because it was too short... That’s my reason; would you forgive me, please?" Ainz asks, his tone as composed as ever; not a single trace of remorse can be heard in his voice.
"Bastard," the bald man replies, angry at Ainz's nonchalance and insult.
His gaze then lands on me, standing a little farther back behind Ainz. His anger subsides, and instead, a mocking grin forms on his face.
"You are an annoying fellow... but I am a generous man. I'll forgive you if you lend me that woman for one night," he declares arrogantly.
In response, I simply tilt my head lightly to the left in confusion.
Why would he want me for a night? Am I forgetting something? I feel like I'm definitely forgetting something.
Ainz lets out a cold chuckle as he moves slightly to the side to cover me from the view of the bald man.
"What are you laughing at?" asks the man, frustrated at Ainz's reaction.
"Nothing. It's just that you said a classic line befitting a mob villain, which made me laugh. Don't worry about it," he replies casually, not even taking the situation seriously.
"Huh?" The man's face is turning red from anger now.
"Oh, before we start, I wanted to ask: Are you stronger than Gazef Stronoff?"
“Huh? What are you talking about?”
"I see; I can tell from your reaction. I don’t even need to use my strength to play with you—fly."
Ainz grabs the man’s chest and lifts him up in an instant.
The man doesn't have time to dodge or resist, shouting "Whoa!" in surprise.
The man’s legs kick vainly as a wave of shouts and gasps comes from the crowd. Ainz tosses him away.
The man nearly hits the ceiling as he flies in an arc and hits the ground heavily.
The man lands on a table, breaking it. Not thanks to Ainz's strength or the man's weight, but rather because of the poor quality of the table itself.
I deactivated the Eye of Heimdall so as to not see another disgusting thing from the wall or the floor by accident.
I hear a woman scream in shock and fright right as I stop using the Eye of Heimdall. She screams as if a calamity just happened.
Ainz, seemingly ignoring the woman, begins speaking to the man's companions. "So, what do you guys want to do? Can you come at me together to save me some trouble? Wasting time on this is stupid," he taunts coldly.
The two other men, understanding the meaning of Ainz's words, hastily apologize, "Ah? Ehh! Our friend has offended you! We are very sorry about that!" I could almost hear them lower their heads in apology.
"Okay, I’ll forgive you. It didn’t trouble me too much, but make sure to compensate the owner for the table," he instructs tiredly.
"Definitely. We will compensate the full sum," replies one of the two men desperately.
Just as we are about to leave, a woman's voice stops us. "Hey, hey, hey!"
I turn towards the woman despite my current blindness, and I assume Ainz does as well as the woman begins speaking once more.
"Look at what you have done!" she screams at Ainz, probably pointing at something.
"What is the matter?" asks Ainz, audibly confused.
"Huh? You don’t even know what you did?" I hear the woman mumble in confusion.
"Because you threw that man there, my potion—my precious potion—broke!" she explains angrily, her voice shaking as if she's about to cry.
"It is just a potion..." replies Ainz, trying to calm her down. And I can only agree with him; unless it works differently in this world, a potion is something you can buy pretty cheaply.
"I skip meals in order to save money for it. I just bought that potion today, but you broke it! No matter how dangerous an adventure is, that potion would’ve kept me safe. But you have shattered this pious hope of mine and still show me such an attitude? This is infuriating," she explains, her voice trembling in frustration.
To defuse the situation, I reach out with my right hand inside my large left sleeve to discreetly create a [Minor Health Potion]. I then hand the potion to her, or at least, where I believe she is based on her voice.
"Here. I'm sorry for my friend. Will that be enough?" I ask softly. My voice is barely above a whisper in strength, yet I can clearly be heard in the silence of the tavern.
"Lily..." Ainz grumbles softly. "You don't need to do that."
"Huh?" I turn my head to where his voice is coming from. "But we are the ones who broke it, aren't we?" I ask.
"No. I am the one who broke it by throwing that man; you don't need to do anything. And besides, we are not the ones who initiated this situation to begin with. If she wants her potion refunded, she should be speaking to those men," he explains patiently, like a father to his daughter.
There's no way people who stay in this tavern have enough money to pay for a potion if this woman had to skip meals for it. And she needs to be reimbursed either way.
I let out a sigh and turn back to where I think the woman is once more and raise my hand with the potion once more. "Will that be enough?" I ask again.
I wait for a bit, as the woman doesn't respond immediately. I then feel the potion being taken from my hand and the woman saying, "Yeah, everything's good." She sounds a little more unsure than before.
After that, I hear Ainz sigh before walking away towards the counter, probably to pay the owner, so I follow him silently.
I hear Ainz handling a pouch of coins and the owner saying, "Here are 6 copper coins as change."
He must have paid with a silver coin.
The owner then continues, "The first room on the right, up the stairs, you can store your luggage in the chest behind the bed. You don’t need me to remind you not to approach the rooms of others carelessly. It would be troublesome if a misunderstanding occurs, but that’s not a bad way to get others to know you. You look like you can handle any situation; just don’t give me any trouble."
"I understand. Please prepare the minimum necessary equipment for adventurers. We lost our stuff, and the guild told us you would prepare them for your customers if we asked," Ainz replies and requests.
The owner replies after a short pause, "Yeah, got it. I will prepare it before dinner. You need to ready your money too."
"Sure. Lily, we are leaving," he calls out as he walks towards the stairs.
I pause a little before turning to where I believe the owner to be and give a small bow of the head. "I'm sorry for the damage," I apologize before catching up to Ainz without waiting for a response from the owner.
Narrator's POV
As the two figures disappear on the stairs of the tavern, the companions of the man thrown by Ainz hastily cast a healing spell on him. Their action is like lighting a fuse, and the tavern becomes rowdy again.
"Seems he is as tough as he looks," the man healing his companion speaks up.
The bald man replies, "Definitely. That arm strength is too powerful; how did he train to reach that level?"
The third one chimes in, "No weapons other than the two big swords on his back; he must be confident."
Another of the patrons of the tavern speaks up, "Why did this have to happen again... now there’s another person who’ll surpass us immediately!"
Other similar conversations break out all around the tavern as everyone discusses what they just witnessed. In reality, what just happened was an elaborate test to assess the new adventurers and determine their worth, be it as rivals or companions.
Everyone in this tavern has gone through the same trial at their beginning. But Ainz is the first to pass it so easily.
Others start discussing the blindfolded girl with a character as sweet as an angel from their warriors' perspective. Her appearance and apparent blindness don't make the other adventurers look down on her; quite the contrary, it ignites their curiosity. As the companion of the armored man, she must also be quite powerful in her own right.
Those are the general sentiments concerning her floating around the tavern.
As everyone keeps talking to one another, the owner walks up to Brita, the red-haired woman who received the potion from Lydia.
"What potion is that?" he asks with a dull expression on his face, yet some curiosity leaks out of his voice.
"Who knows?" Brita asks herself as much as she answers the owner's question.
"Hey, you don’t even know? Didn't you accept it because you knew the price of this potion?" the owner asks, confused.
"That’s impossible; I’ve never seen such a potion before. Didn’t you come here to take a look as well because you hadn’t seen this before, old man?" retorts Brita casually, examining the red potion in her hand.
The owner, rather than answering, continues, "Can this potion really compensate you? Your potion breaking is a fact, right? This one might be cheaper than the one you bought."
"That might be... This was a gamble, but I am confident I came out ahead," Brita answers confidently.
"What makes you say that?" the owner asks.
"A feeling," she replies, barely paying attention to the owner.
"I see..." is the owner's only response to Brita's confidence.
"I have never seen a recovery potion with such a strange color; it might be a rare item. If I had hesitated back then and asked to be paid with money instead, it would have been the same as leaving the tiger’s den empty-handed. I’ll get it appraised tomorrow and find out how much it is worth," she explains.
"Oh, I will foot the appraisal fee. Not just that, I will even recommend a good place for you," offers the owner.
"Old man?" blurts out Brita in confusion. She knows that the owner, even if not a bad guy, isn't a charitable guy either.
"Hey, don’t give me that look. I just want you to tell me the effects of your potion," the owner explains after seeing the look on Brita's face.
"Is that what you were planning?" she asks, skeptical.
"It’s a great deal, right? And with my connections, I can introduce you to the best pharmacist, that Lizzie Bareare," adds the owner, shocking Brita.
The reason for Brita's shock is that Lizzie Bareare is the best pharmacist in all of E-Rantel, and perhaps even the entire world. Faced with that offer, Brita can only swallow her skepticism and accept.
Lydia's POV
The door of the room closes with a creaking sound.
I reactivated the Eye of Heimdall to take a look at the room.
There's only a small table by the wall with a wooden chair and two wooden beds with attached chests on each side of the room. Nothing else. The room feels quite sad and empty.
I know that it's a cheap inn, but still. Or perhaps I've gotten too used to living in Nazarick?
At least the room is cleaner than the entrance.
"Being an adventurer isn't as fantastic as I imagined." I hear Ainz speak up beside me, so I turn my attention to him while walking to one of the beds and sitting on it.
"It feels more like being a glorified mercenary than anything else," I add.
After all, the receptionist at the guild explained that our job was basically to take missions that are mostly about fighting. And that's about it; nothing really exciting, such as exploring the unknown. Adventurers just fight monsters, and occasionally, bandits or criminals.
I shake my head to focus.
"Sooo... what's the plan?" I ask curiously. "Do we just play around? Gather more information about this world? Or a bit of both?"
He turns his head to look at me before answering after a short pause. "A bit of both. Our primary goal is to learn as much as we possibly can, but nothing's stopping us from enjoying ourselves in the process. Also, don't forget, as long as we assume the roles of adventurers, I'm just Momon, and you're Lily."
"Yeah, yeah." I raise a hand dismissively. "You don't need to remind me; I know."
I see him casting a [Sound Barrier] on the walls and the door, so I straighten, as he surely wants to talk about more serious things if he puts up a barrier.
"I got new information not long before we started this mission," he begins.
"Anything I should know?" I ask, as he must have a reason for bringing it up.
"Yes. Not only did I discover just how powerful we are compared to the norms of this world, but also some other... rather confusing things," he explains.
In response, I just tilt my head to the left, silently urging him to continue.
"In short, humans can't really cast spells above the 3rd tier. Those who do are called heroes, and even the most powerful of heroes cannot cast spells above the 6th tier. Monsters capable of using spells above the 5th tier are also extremely rare," he elaborates.
"Does that mean the average level of this world is around 10 to 30, with a peak around 50 to 60?" I ask, confounded, after doing a quick mental calculation.
"Yes, and from what I gathered, even level 30s are quite rare. So the average is more like level 10 to 20 at most," he clarifies.
I stay silent for a few seconds, processing the information. "Isn't that too weak? Or are we too powerful?" I eventually ask.
"In my opinion, this world is too weak. But perhaps it is a bit of both simultaneously. However, what bothers me are also the legends about heroes and gods in this world," he adds.
"What do you mean?" I ask in response.
"Well, first off, I have a few reasons to believe that those legends speak of real people who existed in the past—including gods. While heroes might be just some really powerful natives, gods, on the other hand, might be players from YGGDRASIL who came to this world the same way we did," he explains.
"Wait, wait, wait!" I interrupt. "How come they came to this world before we did if they are players of YGGDRASIL?"
"I don't know. But there is something even more confusing," he pauses. "There is also a goddess worshiped by monsters and demi-humans whose title is the Mother of Monsters." He pauses again, but before I can come to any conclusion, he continues: "Her name is Lydia Evie Hart," he concludes, stunning me.
"Huh?" I blurt out in pure confusion.
No way... That's... what?
"What? How?" I ask weakly, in pure confusion.
"My guess is that someone from YGGDRASIL spoke about you in the past," he offers.
"Is this what made you assume that players from YGGDRASIL arrived in this world in the past?" I ask.
"Mostly, yes," he replies. "There were also a few other hints, but nothing as big and obvious as this one," he adds.
"I see... So what should I do? Should I hide my name? I assume that I don't have the best reputation in this world," I ask.
"I don't know. I'll think about it. For now, we'll just gather more information and adapt to the situation," he replies. "Right now, we are just the adventurers Momon and Lily. Also, that goes without saying, but don't cast anything above the 3rd tier unless it's an emergency."
I do a military salute. "Yes, sir," I reply playfully, mentally shoving away all confusion I had from his revelation. There's no use thinking about it too deeply while we know so little about this world.
He nods. "We are going back to the guild tomorrow morning to take our first job. Our goal will be to rise through the ranks; hopefully, it won't be too long."
"Yes!" I reply, still saluting playfully.
He walks back towards the door; once in front of it, he turns his head back towards me. "I'm going on a tour around the city, perhaps even visiting the famous giant cemetery. Wanna come along?" he asks.
"Yeah, sure!" I reply excitedly as I jump out of bed and walk to his side.
Narrator's POV
It feels as if the air itself has been dyed with colors as Brita enters the pharmacist's shop.
The air inside the shop contains the odor of unknown medicines and herbs. The bell hanging on the door chimes frighteningly loud in the otherwise silent shop.
After the smell, Brita is greeted by the sight of what appears to be a guest hall with two benches in front of one another rather than a shop like the rest of the pharmacies on the street.
She then hears a voice coming from someone she hadn't noticed before. The voice sounds masculine, but also too young to be that of a man.
"Welcome!" the boy calls out as she enters. He wears ragged work clothes with plant sap stains that emit a smell almost as strong as the building itself. His face is half-covered by his blond hair, making it hard to judge his age, but his height and voice indicate he is quite young.
Brita recognizes the young man almost immediately.
"Mr. Nfirea Bareare?" she asks, just in case she might have assumed wrong.
"Yes, that's me," he confirms with a nod, then asks, "How may I help you?"
"Ah, right. Please wait a moment," replies Brita as she takes out the folded piece of paper given to her by the owner of the tavern and hands it to Nfirea.
Nfirea opens the letter and reads it, giving him some context as to the reason for Brita's visit.
"I see... so that's it. Would you please show me the potion?" he asks.
She takes the mysterious potion out of her bag and hands it to him. He lifts it to eye level, even though his eyes are covered by his hair.
He brushes his hair aside, revealing his very pleasant features underneath. Brita couldn't help but think that many women might be enamored with him in the future.
After taking a good look at the potion, he nods several times to himself before turning to Brita. "Sorry, but it is not convenient to speak here; can we change the place?" he requests, to which Brita nods and follows him into a messy room full of working equipment.
On the table are flasks, test tubes, distillers, mortars, beakers, alcohol lamps, scales, eerie pots, and other things. The shelves on the wall are filled with numerous herbs and minerals.
A unique, pungent smell lingers in the room, giving the impression that it is harmful to the body.
The person in the room stares at the two sudden intruders.
She is an elderly lady with totally white, shoulder-length hair, whose hands and face are full of wrinkles. Her overalls have more green stains than Nfirea’s, giving them a strong smell of grass.
Nfirea addresses the old lady when he enters:
“Granny!” he calls out.
"What is it? No need to be so loud; I can hear you. My ears are still fine," she replies grumpily.
"Quick, take a look," he urges his grandmother, unbothered by her attitude, as he places the potion on the table.
Taking the potion Nfirea gave her, Lizzie’s intense gaze gives Brita shivers, as if she is facing a powerful veteran.
That is no illusion. Pharmacists have to use magic while creating medicine; the more famous the pharmacist, the higher-grade spells they can use. That is why Lizzie, the best pharmacist in E-Rantel, is stronger than Brita.
"This potion..." she begins, her eyes widening in shock before turning her gaze toward Brita with an almost suffocating intensity. "Did you bring this here... the legendary potion?" she asks, before turning back to the potion without waiting for a response. "No, could it be... the Blood of God?" she mumbles, before turning back to Brita once more. "Hey, what potion is this?" she asks.
"Eh?" is the only sound Brita could make in this strange situation.
The old lady turns back to the potion after hearing the unhelpful response. "Impossible... for a potion like this to exist. Where did you get it from? Some ruins?" she asks, turning her gaze once more to Brita.
"Eh? Erm, no, that is..." Brita tries to formulate a response but is overwhelmed by the unexpected enthusiasm of the old lady.
"What a slow girl. Just answer my question: where did you get this! Did you steal it? Hmmm?" she asks again, unsatisfied by the lack of answer to her questions.
Brita's shoulders start to tremble in shock. She didn't do anything wrong, but she still feels like she's being lectured.
"Granny, stop scaring her," Nfirea intervenes.
In response, Lizzie turns to her grandson. "What are you talking about, Nfirea? I am not frightening her... right?" She turns to Brita at the last part, though her gaze hadn't lost any of its previous intensity, making it quite intimidating and causing Brita to hastily nod her head in hope of placating the scary old lady.
Nfirea wants to make the argument that she is indeed scaring the poor girl, but gives up before even voicing it.
Under Lizzie's intense gaze, Brita begins explaining how she got the potion in the first place: "Erm, this was given to me as compensation by someone."
"Huh?" Lizzie's eyes turn serious. "It is so valuable..." she mumbles.
"Wait a minute, Granny. If I may ask, Miss Brita, who gave it to you? Why?" asks Nfirea, after hearing Brita's explanation, to which she simply replies that it was from a mysterious blindfolded girl in a miko outfit.
Lizzie’s wrinkles deepen after hearing that.
"...Did you know that there are three types of potions?" she begins, then continues without giving her time to respond. "The first is made using only herbs. This type shows its effects slowly, and it will only strengthen a human’s base ability. Its effects are minimal, but it’s cheap. The second is made from herbs and magic. This kind of potion shows its effects more quickly than the first one, but it still needs some time. If there is time after a battle, most adventurers will use this type of recovery potion. The last type are potions created with nothing but magic. They are made by injecting mana into alchemic liquid. The effects of this kind of potion are immediate, but they are very expensive. Now, which type is the potion you brought? I can’t see any herb residue, so it should be a potion made with magic. But—" she pauses, taking a blue potion and showing it to Brita.
"This is a basic recovery potion. Notice the color difference? During their creation, recovery potions will always turn blue, but yours is red. That means the production process of your potion is different from normal recovery potions. Simply put, this potion is extremely rare and could revolutionize potion-brewing techniques... maybe it’s a little difficult for you to understand what this means," she explains.
Once she's done explaining, she casts her spell on the red potion: "[Item Identification], [Detect Magic Enchantment]."
After the two spells, Lizzie's expression turns into pure shock and glee. "Kukuku... Fu hahaha!" she laughs almost maniacally. She then raises her head, revealing a crazy and terrifying smile.
Brita is shocked at the sudden change, standing motionless without being able to utter a single sound or move a finger.
"Kukuku! Just as I thought! Look carefully at this potion, Nfirea! This is the ultimate form of potions. Right here! We pharmacists, alchemists, and everyone related to potion creation have been unable to reach this ideal stage even after a long period of research!" she explains to her grandson, cheeks flushed in pure excitement. Even her breathing becomes haggard as she pants nonstop.
She moves the potion to Nfirea's face and asks, "Potions will deteriorate. Isn’t that right?"
"Yes, of course," he replies.
Compared to Lizzie’s excitement, Nfirea’s tone is very calm, but Brita notices that his expression shows hints of excitement.
She didn't know why the two of them are so excited, but she feels she has been dragged into a major event. The potion she brought along made the strongest pharmacist so excited.
"Potions made by using only magic are created with alchemical fluids. These fluids are made using minerals as a base before they’re changed via alchemy, so it is natural for them to deteriorate over time! That’s why we need to cast [Preserve]," she begins her lecture, mostly for Brita. "That’s how it was before this moment," she continues as she turns her gaze to the red potion once more.
Brita finally understood how valuable the potion that was casually handed to her is, and stares at it in shock.
"This bottle! This potion! This red potion! Not deteriorating even without preservation magic, this is the perfect potion! No one has done this before! According to legend, the real recovery potion is the blood of the gods," Lizzie explains with an immeasurable amount of excitement as she shakes the potion, making the red liquid inside swirl inside the small bottle.
"Of course, that’s just a legend. There is an inside joke among pharmacists that the blood of God is blue," Lizzie continues. "This might be the real Blood of God!" she exclaims, her hands trembling with excitement.
She then turns her gaze to Brita once more. "You came to find out the effects of this potion, right? It’s equivalent to 2nd-tier recovery magic. Ignoring the rarity and the intangible values, its price is 8 gold coins. By the way, if you add the intangible values, the potion’s price would be high enough to kill for," she explains.
Brita's whole body starts to tremble in shock at the numerical value. The potion she spent a whole month saving to buy cost barely more than a silver coin. And a potion that might be who knows how many times more valuable has just been casually handed to her in compensation.
Not only does it make her fear Lizzie's intense gaze, which makes it look like she's waiting for an opportunity to steal it, but it also creates some doubts in her heart.
'Just who was this girl, and why did she give me such a valuable thing as if it were nothing?'
Interrupting Brita's line of thought, Lizzie makes an offer: "Do you want to sell it to us? I will give you a good price; how about 32 gold coins?"
Brita's eyes widen even more at the proposed sum. It's more than she, as a silver-rank adventurer, ever saw in her whole life.
Yet, she hesitates, unsure if it really is a good idea to give away the potion, even for so much money.
Watching the hesitation on Brita's face, Lizzie shakes her head and proposes another plan...