Chapter 16:
Gratitude for the Panacea
WITH THE FINISHED PANACEA in hand, Noela and I rode Griffy to the Hautbeauxs’ home in the neighboring town. Mr. Hautbeaux came out to greet us.
I showed him the freshly made panacea. “I made this from rare materials, including unicorn horn shavings. I’m pretty sure it’ll cure your wife’s illness.”
He bowed his head to me repeatedly. “Thank you so, so much, Mr. Kirio!”
“Mr. Hautbeaux, it’s too early to thank me.” His words would all be pointless if the treatment didn’t cure his wife. Please work, panacea!
I visited Mrs. Hautbeaux’s bedside, explaining the panacea’s effects.
“You did this for me…?” she murmured.
“I got your daughter’s request in my request box,” I replied. “How could I have ignored it?”
I opened the panacea bottle, and Mrs. Hautbeaux drank its contents. For a moment, she seemed to glow internally, the way a bottle glowed when I finished a new product.
“Any improvements?” I asked.
“I’m not entirely sure, but I think I do feel a bit better.” Mrs. Hautbeaux smiled. “Also, that panacea was delicious.”
“Master’s medicine tasty taste,” Noela said proudly.
“I figured I might as well make it taste good.”
“Medicine usually tastes terrible!” Mrs. Hautbeaux replied. “I see your products are different, though.”
She’s a lot more talkative than before.
Beside me, Mr. Hautbeaux listened to us, weeping.
✦ ✦ ✦
When I was ready to head home, Mr. Hautbeaux told me that he hadn’t seen his wife talk so much in years.
“She should be all right now,” I told him. Please, please, please work!
“The town doctor will visit the day after tomorrow to assess her. Would you mind being there, Mr. Kirio?”
“Of course not.” Promising to return in two days, I hurried back to the drugstore.
✦ ✦ ✦
Noela and I visited the Hautbeauxs’ home two days later, only to find that the town doctor—an older gentleman—had begun his examination already.
“How’s your cough?” he was asking Mrs. Hautbeaux.
“I still get it now and then, but it doesn’t keep me awake anymore.”
The doctor tilted his head to the side. “How about fevers or fatigue?”
“None at all. I feel much better!”
“R-really? That’s fantastic!” He cocked his head the other way, confused.
“I’ve also taken to walking around our home,” Mrs. Hautbeaux added. “I assumed constant bed rest was no good.”
“W-walking?! Isn’t that painful?”
“Yes! My muscles are quite sore afterward. I’ve gotten out of shape!”
Noela tugged my sleeve. “Master. Master.”
“What is it? You sure look happy.”
“Master’s medicine! Success! Duh!” Noela wagged her tail cheerfully.
Mr. Hautbeaux informed his wife that Noela and I had arrived. She and the doctor turned toward us.
“Your medicine’s working wonders,” Mrs. Hautbeaux told me. “Thank you so much, Mr. Pharmacist!”
“Pharmacist…?” Wide-eyed, the doctor faced me and asked, “Are you from Kalta?”
“Uh-huh. I run Kirio Drugs.”
“Wh-what did you prescribe her?! Her coughing kept her awake, and her fevers were awful—forget being able to walk around! I swore she had less than six months!”
“I mixed a panacea and got her to drink it.”
“A panacea?” The doctor’s eyes narrowed skeptically. “What, did you buy a unicorn horn or something?”
“No. A unicorn let me shave some of her horn off.”
“A unicorn allowed that?! Absurd! They seldom show themselves, and they hate humans!”
He doesn’t believe a word I’m saying.
“Most doctors ask an adventurer to get them a unicorn horn at least once,” the town doctor continued. “But I’ve never heard of anyone succeeding. And you claim you made a panacea from that?”
“You don’t have to believe me. Anyhow, I’m not a doctor, so I can’t accurately judge Mrs. Hautbeaux’s recovery. The rest’s in your hands.”
With that, Noela and I left the room. The Hautbeauxs’ daughter, Aisha, chased after me.
“Master. Little girl following.”
I waited for Aisha to catch up, curious, and she handed me a wildflower crown. “Mr. Pharmacist, Wolfy…thank you.”
“You’re quite welcome. It was my pleasure to fulfill your request.”
“Fierce battle with unicorn. Noela protect Master!”
Shadowboxing, Noela showed off her courageous deeds to Aisha. Whoosh! Whoosh!
Yeah, right. You got scared and hid behind me.
I placed the flower crown on Noela’s head. “Ah! Looking good!”
“Groo!” Noela’s ears twitched, responding to a noise behind us.
Then, Mr. Hautbeaux came running after us, breathless. “Mr. Kirio, please wait! I must give you something as thanks—anything! Just name it, and I’ll do whatever I can!”
Noela and I looked at each other, then back at Mr. Hautbeaux. “That’s fine,” I assured him. “Noela and I were already rewarded. We don’t need anything else. Right, Noela?”
She nodded passionately. “Garroo!”
Mr. Hautbeaux looked utterly confused, but we said goodbye again and headed home.