Chapter 32
Light novel: Episode 32
Manhwa: Chapter 14
“……”
“……”
“……”
I shut my mouth.
So did Wolfgang and Zenrick, who had been arguing non-stop as if they had motors in their mouths.
Crack, crackle.
Was it just me, or did the sound of the marble splitting on the floor sound like a desperate cry for mercy?
“…Uh.”
Zenrick and Wolfgang looked down, their faces pale as a sheet.
The shattered marble extended right up to just centimeters from their toes.
Had it gone even slightly further, their feet would’ve been pulverized too.
A shiver ran through me, my body trembling instinctively.
“Holy…”
At that moment, a chilling voice that was hard to believe belonged to Lanal echoed.
“In this sacred grand temple, who gave you permission to speak so vulgarly…?”
Lana lifted her head, which had been bowed low.
Between the curtain of her long silver hair, her vivid green eyes gleamed menacingly.
This is really getting scary…
“In this temple that should remain quiet and pure… you dare raise your voices and argue?”
Who was it that said Lana was timid again?
She radiated such an overwhelming presence that she instantly silenced two men with pretty intense personalities.
“When you have differing opinions, you should bring your heads together and coordinate, not shouted at each other to prove who is better. Do I need to teach you that?”
“……”
“……”
“Aren’t you both grown men? Even the young acolytes working here in the temple would understand better than you two.”
“Uh—”
“‘Geniuses’? Adults who can’t even agree on a basic point are no geniuses. I’m honestly worried our acolytes might now think being a genius means being the most insufferable person in the world after seeing you two.”
…Wow. How brutal.
Those words would wound the pride of anyone who had lived their life as a self-proclaimed genius, yet neither of them could say a word in protest.
Well, looking at the marble floor that had been smashed to pieces, I guess they wouldn’t dare to have any complaints…
“You really are amazing, Priestess Lana. I was about to call the Saintess over since I thought things were about to explode but looks like you handled it just fine,”
After saying that, Monica then whispered to me.
What’s that supposed to mean?
“Oh, you didn’t know Priestess Lana is one of the temple’s discipline officers?”
Discipline officer? That timid girl?
“Well, I guess since most people in the grand temple are pretty gentle, it usually doesn’t show. But she has no mercy when it comes to outsiders.”
So, according to Monica, this is what happened.
Lana is extremely efficient with her use of divine power, and so she excels not just in healing but also in body enhancement techniques.
For example, before I became the Saintess, there was once an outsider who tried to scam the temple but Lana caught him and beat him up on a rainy day until he was covered in mud.
“It’s a good thing that Priestess Lana is more interested in researching potion recipes, otherwise the Captain of the Holy Order would have recruited her as a holy knight long ago.”
“……”
She’s that formidable?
What the heck. That’s terrifying.
So that’s why Airek trusted Lana so much.
I stared blankly at Lana, who now felt like she was harboring a demon on her back.
“Well then, what do you two have to say for yourselves?”
Lana scolded them like a preschool teacher talking to rowdy children.
Zenrick and Wolfgang, who had been silently staring at the floor with their hands clasped together, timidly opened their mouths.
“…We were wrong.”
“We’re sorry.”
Their answer was perfectly appropriate, and the preschool-teacher-like Lana beamed with satisfaction.
“It’s so nice to see you two admit your mistakes! Now you finally seem like real adults!”
I couldn’t hold it in any longer.
“Pffft—”
“Ah, S-Saintess!”
As I burst into laughter, the three of them finally realized I was there and turned to look at me.
Lana’s face flushed a deep red.
“I-I’m sorry! Um, I mean, the floor… I-I’ll pay for the damages!”
“No, the repairs should naturally come from the temple’s funds.”
Compensation? As if.
Thanks to her, the temple has now secured two alchemists with very colorful personalities, so it was actually a gain.
Besides, the 3,000 gold coins Lute gave as a deposit were still intact.
I hadn’t offered it as a donation.
We still needed to kick off the potion business, and more importantly, I was planning to renovate the entire grand temple.
“I just dropped by to see how things were going…”
I slowly looked over Lana, Zenrick, and Wolfgang.
“Yes, there’s no need to worry.”
Now that I’d witnessed Lana’s combat potential, I was sure they’d behave.
Catching the meaning in my tone, Zenrick and Wolfgang wore sorrowful expressions.
See? If you’d just behaved from the start, you wouldn’t have had to witness that nightmare. They only have themselves to blame.
Sure enough, after that day, the shouting in the potion lab significantly decreased.
They still bickered, but now it was just the usual kind of disagreement that naturally came up when working together.
Thanks to that, two weeks after the day of Lana’s overwhelming display of power was revealed to the team—
Our first sample potion combining divine power and alchemy was finally completed.
“Ooh, that came out quick.”
I looked at the sample that the potion-making team nervously brought.
A clear, orange liquid swayed inside the bottle.
“Heh heh heh. Didn’t I say I was a certified genius? I worked hard, I really did.”
Zenrick grinned, though his dark circles hung down to his chin.
“…Did you stay up all night? What happened to your face?”
Now comfortable enough to speak casually with them, I asked. Zenrick gave a thumbs-up and shouted energetically.
“Since you’re offering overtime pay, I had no reason to refuse—I mean, worked hard!”
That wasn’t an invitation to burn yourself out for a few extra coins…
The ridiculous part was that Wolfgang was in the exact same state.
“…Wolfgang, you too?”
“The longer I work, the faster I can complete the samples. Why would I decline?”
A textbook answer but judging by the way Zenrick snickered beside him, it seemed money was his main motivator too.
I turned to Lana, who looked relatively better off. Still unable to meet my gaze, she bowed her head deeply.
“Looks like you at least got some sleep, Priestess Lana.”
“…A-actually, I-I also stayed up all night w-with them…”
Really? She doesn’t look that bad for someone who pulled an all-nighter.
“It’s th-thanks to divine power…”
So she basically cast healing on herself while working all night. Wow.
Are they all that desperate for money? I hadn’t expected them to go this far…
“…Health is important, so make sure to get some sleep. And don’t skip meals.”
“I didn’t! Meals are free, so I’ve been eating on time!”
…Is that really something to be proud of?
As Zenrick declared it proudly, I shook my head in disbelief.
After our light greeting, Wolfgang began explaining the potion.
“After conducting our initial research, we found that the compatibility between divine power and alchemy is surprisingly good.”
“Really?”
“Yes. Since it’s something that hasn’t been attempted before, there wasn’t any prior research to reference. We had to go through a lot of trial and error. It was… genuinely enjoyable.”
Wolfgang smiled with satisfaction, and Zenrick nodded in agreement.
“It was so exciting every time I corrected an error through research.”
Both of them let out eerie little chuckles at the same time. It really did seem like they had fun.
They say all alchemists are mad scientists, and it might just be true… Even though their personalities are polar opposites, they were equally obsessed with research.
“That said, I’m not completely satisfied with the results yet, so I don’t think we can sell it right away. We wouldn’t even be able to cover the cost of the materials.”
“At its current strength, it can only heal a minor cut.”
Yeah, no one’s going to buy that.
“Still, we brought it to show you that it’s possible. We’re confident that with more effort, we can produce something far better than ordinary alchemy potions.”
“All right. Good work, all three of you.”
What I said wasn’t just empty words. Even though it was their first attempt, it was truly amazing that they had achieved such quick results.
“Phew, thank you!”
But for some reason, rather than celebrating and being happy at my sincere praise, the three of them just looked relieved.
Their faces said it all. They must’ve been worried I’d scold them for creating a useless failure.
Maybe even the alchemists have heard the rumors about me…
Even if I told them I’m not that kind of person, they probably wouldn’t believe it, so I let it go.
“I’ll have the kitchen prepare something special. Eat well and get some rest today. You’ve all worked hard, and I’ll be counting on you going forward.”
“Y-yes, ma’am!”
Lana bowed deeply and wobbled as she left the reception room.
Zenrick patted her on the back with a cheerful expression, and Wolfgang pinched his side, scolding him for being rude.
After nearly twenty days working together, they seemed to have grown quite close.
Now that we had a sample, it was time to put my plan into action.
I took the potion and stepped into the bathroom, making sure to avoid Victoria or Monica seeing me.
Standing in front of the sink with a paper knife in my hand… I probably looked like a madman.
But since it was something I absolutely had to do, I sliced the tip of my finger with the knife. Blood began to trickle out.
After checking the wound, I took a sip of the potion.
“Tastes pretty decent. This must be Zenrick’s idea.”
Some potions are apparently infamous for tasting horrible, but the self-proclaimed genius of applied alchemy must’ve thought of that too.
“Ooh, it’s actually healing.”
Not long after, the wound began to close.
That said, even though it was shallow, it healed slowly and didn’t fully disappear.
Well then, time for the real experiment.
I first checked the blade of the knife and then… made a deep cut across my forearm.
SoundlessWind21’s Notes:
The latter part of Ordell trying out the potion by harming herself is skipped in the manhwa.
If there are any errors, whether it be grammatical, spelling, translation, or website-related issues, feel free to let me know. (´◡`) Anyway, thank you for reading!