Chapter ss7
There is a medicinal herb garden neighbouring the Medicinal Herbs Research Institute .
There were plots for researchers to grow and maintain their own plants .
On a fine day, I was looking after my plot when a shadow was cast from behind me .
The shadow indicated that the person had a parasol, so it wasn’t a researcher .
Who the heck is it?
I turned around and saw someone I knew .
“Liz!”
“How do you do, Sei . ”
I couldn’t hide my surprise when I saw Liz smiling with a parasol in hand .
I’ve only ever met her in the library, you know .
Oh yeah, didn’t I invite her here a long time ago?
I’m sure it was when I first met her .
“Welcome . I’m surprised you came . ”
“You told me to come if I was interested in herbs . So I took you up on your offer . ”
“I did . It’s a bit weird to stand around here and talk, so why don’t we go inside?”
I walked with Liz to the research institute .
Even though I’d said the garden was close to the research institute, it was a bit far .
But I think it’s pretty close if you walk and talk .
“Oh, were there any herbs you wanted to see? I’ll show them to you . ”
“I am interested in herbs, but there’s something I want to ask you about your cosmetics . ”
“Cosmetics?”
“Yes . The cosmetics you made last time were really effective . But…” My face twitched when I heard what Liz had to say .
Actually, cosmetic products made from the same recipe as mine is being sold at a company in town .
A long time ago, when I shared my cosmetics with Liz, it became popular amongst the ladies at her academy because it was so effective . It became so popular amongst the ladies that they requested that I sell the cosmetics .
So in response to their request, I gave the recipe to a company in town to make and sell .
It’s hard for me to make the amount they’d requested after all .
Since the company was selling the cosmetics, Liz also bought it from there .
However, after she’d started using the cosmetics she’d bought from the company, she hadn’t gotten the same effects as when she’d used mine .
‘They use the same recipe, so why are the effects different?’
She was curious about this, so she came to the research institute today .
I have a good idea of why this had happened .
It’s because of my accursed 50% increase .
For some reason, the potions and food I make are 1 . 5 times more effective than the ones others make .
I call this mystery ‘my accursed 50% increase’ .
And this curse is also active when I make cosmetics .
The difference that Liz was talking about was without a doubt, my accursed 50% increase .
But, I didn’t know if it was alright to tell her about it .
It seems safer to discuss this with Director first .
I feel bad, but I’m going to change the topic .
I’ll talk about it with her in the future .
We arrived at the research institute, and I showed her to the parlour .
I was afraid of showing her the laboratory because there was confidential information there .
“I’m going to get some tea . Do you dislike herb tea?’
“No, I like it . Thank you . ”
“Okay, wait here . ”
Herb tea is herbal tea .
Liz might be used to drinking tea, but I don’t have expensive tea .
But, we do have some for guests .
People liked herbal tea depending on their preferences, so I asked her for confirmation, and it looks like she’s okay with it .
I got Liz to wait in the parlour as I went to the kitchen to make tea .
There was always hot water in the kitchen so that people can make tea any time they want .
So, I finished quickly .
After the pot had warmed up, I discarded the old hot water, and put fresh hot water and herbs into the pot . This should be done once when I get back to the parlour .
I put the pot of tea, cups and tea cakes onto a tray and returned to the parlour . Liz was waiting for me while staring blankly out the window .
“Sorry for making you wait . ”
Liz noticed me when I entered and smiled .
She’s adorable .
I felt warm and fuzzy from her smile as I put the cup in front of her and poured her some tea .
“Oh? I can smell a lot of herbs in this . It smells good . ”
“Thanks . I tried to make a blend . ”
There was herb tea in this kingdom, but people drink it as medicine and not for enjoyment .
For that reason, if one were to drink a blend with various herbs, the emphasis would be placed on the medicinal properties and not the taste and aroma .
In short, it wasn’t delicious .
It was hard to blend the herbs, so they would only drink tea with one type of herb if they were to use it in place of regular tea .
I’ve only started blending recently .
Today’s blend is chamomile, rose and rosehip .
I was recreating a blend I’d seen in Japan .
This blend was good for dry skin .
When I told her this, she got excited .
“I know that the effect is like medicine since it’s made from herbs . But, I didn’t know that it was good for beauty too…”
“It’s not limited to tea . Aren’t there any food that is said to be good for your skin?”
“I’ve never heard that before . ”
I see .
Speaking of which, Director listened eagerly when I told him about medicinal cooking .
He said there was no such concept in this world .
I wonder if those ideas never developed because they have potions in this world .
“Wait, are there also no potions for beauty?”
“Potions for beauty?!”
Liz’s eyes widened in surprise .
She has a strong interest in topics related to beauty . Is it because she’s a young girl?
“Do you know about any potions like that?”
“I do, but it’s not a potion . It’s just similar to a potion . ”
“Can you make it?”
“I don’t know . ”
I know of something called cordial .
It’s commercialised now, but it was initially made at home .
It was easy to make . I’m sure you just have to simmer water, herbs and sugar in a pot .
I can make it here too if I have the ingredients for it .
I told her, and she said, “I want to drink it . ”
I decided to deliver it to the library at a later date since it was difficult to prepare right now .
Then, I delivered the cordial to Liz three days later .
When I met Liz at the library, she was overexcited .
“Sei! The thing I drank was amazing!” She’d forgotten that she was in the library and shouted when she saw me .
She seemed overly excited because she was full of smiles .
Luckily there were only the two of us in the library . If other people had been here, then they would definitely frown upon her .
Liz was usually careful not to behave like this . The effects of the cordial must have been really dramatic for her to forget herself and shout .
I saw the effects with my eyes and could see why she was excited .
The cordial I made showed dramatic effects once drank, so you could probably call it a potion .
It didn’t have much of an effect on me probably because I was using my own cosmetics, but when I gave it to the female researchers, the results were enormous .
The researchers’ skin was horrible because they immersed themselves in research too much, but their skin recovered straight away after they’d drank it .
Their skin became smooth and shiny .
Their bad complexion also got better straight away, and their cheeks were pink, and their lips had colour on them again .
The effects were so drastic that the other researchers, who were there, stopped what they were doing and just stared in amazement .
I’m sure this effect is related to my accursed 50% increase .
But I still don’t know if my pharmacy skills are causing the effect or if it’s my cooking skill .
So I couldn’t call this a potion .
If it wasn’t medicine, then would it be a nutritional drink?
After that, I lost to Liz’s demand and cordial was commercialised .
Beauty really does make women go crazy .
It was my first time seeing Liz get that excited .
Incidentally, she forgot about the cosmetics matter because of the cordial, but she’ll probably bring it up again in the future .
I’ll check with Director on how to tell her about it before I see her again .
Translator Blushy
Editor: Sam
No Comments Yet
Post a new comment
Register or Login