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“THE Colossals have retreated to their forest,” Renge told me as he came into my chambers at Deshmel, tiredly slumping onto the table as he sat down.
“They live in forests, huh…?” I mused as I brewed more of my heat rash potion.
For now, the threat to the Mythical continent was averted. Thus, we returned to Deshmel, and I went back to making potions. I had a list of things that needed to be made for sale in the commercial block, and I was beginning to start work on stocking my new store.
Tonics and salves were always in high demand, so I knew I’d need to keep a good stock of medium-grade tonics. I couldn’t man the store myself at all times, so I’d need to hire a clerk.
Thinking of all this, I wrote down everything I’d need for my new shop. Then I looked down at Renge, resting on the table. He looked exhausted.
“Want some tea?” I offered.
“Only if you make it…” Renge mumbled.
“Hehehe… Coming right up,” I said, satisfied.
I threw some lumber into the stove and lit it up to boil some water. Then, as I looked for the tea leaves, I spotted some unfamiliar dried leaves.
What’s this…? Oh, right! I made some herb tea a while back!
There were lots of medicinal herbs here that didn’t exist in my old world, so the only utility herbal tea had here was to taste good. This meant I could use herbal tea to further popularize some of these herbs.
For now, I could turn Duana, Solan, and Blade leaves and Moon Rule and Lilith petals into tea. I took out some Duana leaves and used them to make tea for myself, while pouring Renge a cup of ordinary tea.
“Eeew! What’s that smell?!” Renge bolted upright and exclaimed, repulsed.
“Does it smell that bad? I made myself tea from Duana leaves.”
“Huh…? You can make tea out of Duana leaves?!”
“Well, uh…I’m trying to see if it works…? I used Appraisal and it said it’s non-toxic. The question is just how it tastes…”
“Right…that’s the most important part.”
“I’ll be checking that now. And if it’s nasty, I’ll try to improve it so it’s tasty, healthy, and pretty!”
I took a sip to taste it. But—
“Urrrrrp!” I screwed up my face in disgust.
“How is it?” Renge asked.
“Bitter! Really bitter. Way too bitter…” I said, coughing.
This is really bad! Tea’s supposed to be bitter. But this is too much. I’ll have to rethink how I make it to mask the bitterness…
“Are you all right?” Renge looked at me, concerned.
“Yeah… It’s bitter, but it should be good for the body.”
“I respect your desire to improve. But don’t go too far.”
“I’m not going too far! I just need to rethink how I process the leaves. Maybe I need to dilute them in water or boil them to get the bitterness out before I dry it. Hmm…boiling them might take out their nutrients. Maybe I should bake them…?”
“Whoa… Do you really have to go that far to make them less bitter? Is it worth it?” he asked, sounding skeptical.
“Let me try! I want to… I mean…everything’s finally back to normal.”
Every time I looked up at the sky and saw that it was blue again, I felt relieved. I’d spoken to Nakona about this, but it was still hard to believe how close we’d come to the end of the world during the Sugula crisis.
It just…didn’t feel real. We were so caught up in just getting through life that we’d thought the end of the world had nothing to do with us. But that wasn’t true. Our hearts just tried to look away from the reality before us.
That’s why I stopped planning what I’d make for dinner the next day and stopped researching medicine that humans could make, too. I’d thought it didn’t matter. But looking back on that now, it felt like I’d reached a dead end. I’d just…given up on making new things. It’d felt pointless since, even if I made something new, the world was doomed anyway. I’d already resigned myself to that fate without even realizing it…until Renge…
“With the Sugula gone,” I smiled, “we can think of tomorrow and the day after… Thinking about it like that…it makes me want to make new things. And it’s all thanks to you, Renge.”
“Huh…? No, I…ummm…” Renge stuttered, taken aback.
“I’m serious,” I beamed. “Making new things is a challenge I enjoy. And now Dad and Lico are getting married and Fort Deshmel’s about to become a proper town. Everyone’s doing new things. Now that the Sugula’s gone, they can all…think of the future.”
“The future…”
“Yeah…our future, too.” I whispered those words, to which Renge looked surprised for a moment, but then smiled.
“Yes…you’re right.”
“Yeah. What are your plans for the future, Renge? Is there anything you’ve been meaning to do?”
“Well…I never considered that.”
“Figuring that out is your goal, then.”
“Yes, I suppose… The future, huh…? I really never considered it. The Kaguya with a Will of Its Own is now defeated and can never exist again… Mmm…”
I poured myself a new cup of regular tea and sat across from him. Watching Renge seriously contemplate the future made me happy.
Thinking of the future…our future…is true bliss.