Chapter 12:
Bodybuilding with the Red Cat Brigade
DOZ, THE RED CAT BRIGADE’S vice-captain, lowered his voice as he put in his order. “Reiji, pal… I want the goods.”
“Um… Doz, I’ve said over and over that you can ask for these out loud. They aren’t black market items.”
“But who knows what the rank-and-file guys would say if they found out I bought ’em?” Doz protested. I guess he had his own troubles to deal with.
Also, for the record, he was asking for power potions. Unlike standard potions, they contained tons of additives to promote muscle gain. They pretty much had the same effects as protein supplements. When I first developed power potions, they were so potent, they basically transformed Mina and Noela into female bodybuilders. The effects turned out to vary from person to person though. They wouldn’t turn most customers into meatheads.
“Why would it be so bad for the others to see you?” I asked as I got Doz’s order together. Nothing about buying power potions seemed odd to me.
“Bro…” Doz sighed. “Well, it’s all my fault. I acted all high and mighty about my physique with some weaker mercs.”
“Ah…” I said. Doz was a tough-looking dude. He was bulkier than ever now too since he was drinking power potions regularly ever since learning about them. “Did you really have to go and do that?”
“Nope, I didn’t. You’re right,” Doz replied. “It’s just… My muscles raised my confidence. I got a big head.”
“I see…” How does that connect to him buying these in secret though?
“The guys couldn’t stand me talkin’ down to ’em anymore,” Doz continued. “They started liftin’ weights a lot.”
Now I saw the big picture. “You’re worried that they’ll discover power potions and bulk up like you did. You’d lose the upper hand.” Up till now, nobody else from the Red Cat Brigade—in fact, no one besides Doz—had purchased any power potions.
“Exactly,” Doz said. “It’d be fine if just one or two of ’em did that, but most of ’em started trainin’ hard thanks to my attitude.”
In short, and to my surprise, bodybuilding beyond the usual training had now become a trend among the Red Cat Brigade. “But that can’t be a bad thing, can it? After all, you guys guard the town.”
“I can’t afford them showin’ me up!” Doz protested. “Think about my position!” Doz was Annabelle’s second-in-command. I could see why he wouldn’t want to look weaker than his underlings. “Please, bro! At this rate, I’m doomed!”
“I hear you, but…” I thought for a few moments and had an idea. “Uh, how about this?” I suggested, snatching a bottle of bigger-biggest liquid off the shelf.
“What’s that?”
“The name says it all. It makes you bigger.”
I never put the bigger-biggest prototype on sale after I made it since I didn’t find a good use for it. The product’s effects depended completely on how much you consumed. Once, Vivi became massive after drinking some.
“Mm… That ain’t what I’m lookin’ for.”
“Yeah, I guess not.” I figured as much, but I honestly hoped it’d work anyway. I finished readying Doz’s order and handed him his usual number of power potions.
“I’ll be back.” Doz’s giant body practically rocked the drugstore as he left.
Being second-in-command comes with its own problems, huh? I reflected.
Just after Doz left, Peel showed up. He looked…beefy. Peering at him, I rubbed my eyes a few times. Wow, this weight-training wave even hit a weak little shoemaker’s son like that.
“Long time no see, Master,” Peel said.
“You don’t need to call me that anymore.” How long does he plan to draw out this master-and-student thing? “Man, you’ve sure bulked up.”
“Yup! It’s all thanks to training hard.”
“So, what’s up? Felt like saying hello while passing by?”
“Nah. I’m here with a bit of a request, actually.”
Oh boy…
“Could you create a treatment to help me build muscle?”
Gah! I knew it! This was my chance to sell some power potions, but Doz wanted to keep those secret from the rest of the brigade. And since he just confided that in me, it was hard to recommend power potions to Peel right now.
“You’re a peerless alchemist, Master. I know you can make me something!”
I already did, to be honest. The power potions were literally sitting on a shelf beside me. “Well…”
I pretended to hesitate, trying to think of a way to work all this out. If Doz’s underlings found out about the power potions, they’d bulk up even more and give him grief. Yet Peel, a Red Cat Brigade member, wanted to bulk up just like Doz had.
Hmm… Although Peel’s muscles stood out, he was pretty fair-skinned compared to me. Ah! “Would you be okay with just looking strong?”
“Looking strong, huh?!” Peel reeled backward. “Wh-what do you have for me, Master?!”
“You won’t actually be stronger than now, all right?”
“I don’t mind, I don’t mind!”
I’ve got him hook, line, and sinker. “Okay, then. Since you want to bulk up so badly, I’ll create something.”
“Thanks very much!”
“Wait a few minutes, okay?”
I called Noela in to watch the drugstore, then entered the lab and got to work. Doz’s pride and position had complicated things a little, but given Peel’s request, the boy might still like this stuff.
Sun Friend: Blocks UV rays, safely producing a deeper suntan. Moisturizes skin.
A tan was a big part of looking macho. Bodybuilders were always tanned, right? When I pictured suntanned skin, it had a way “stronger” vibe than pasty skin did. And Sun Friend’s ingredients included sunblock, so even people with sensitive skin could make use of it.
It was time to bring Peel the new product. I heard him talking to Noela in the store. “I’ll get real tough thanks to Master’s prescription, Li’l Wolf!”
“Groo? Tough?”
“Yeah! Master’s making me something right now.”
If he got Noela’s hopes up, it’d be a hassle. I sped up to correct him immediately. “This product’s just going to make you look strong, Peel.”
“I don’t care if it’s for show!” Peel insisted.
Seriously?
“New product make look stronger?” asked Noela. Thanks to Peel’s nonsense, Sun Friend intrigued her too.
“Um…beastlings can’t use it.”
“Werewolf! Can’t mix up, Master!” Noela pouted.
“Sorry, sorry.” I pushed her puffed cheeks back in. I couldn’t help teasing her as her reactions were adorable.
“It’s done?” Peel asked.
“Yeah. But remember, it just makes you look strong,” I emphasized. “To use it, spread it over your body and hang out in the sun. That’s all.”
“Really?” Peel looked uncertain.
Noela did too, and she tilted her head. “Groo?”
“Let’s try it, shall we?” I suggested.
I had Peel take off his shirt. Beneath it, his biceps, abs, chest, and shoulders were ripped. Doz was clearly correct that bodybuilding was popular with the mercs.
“Garoo! Macho!” Noela attempted to flex her muscles, which were barely visible.
“Heh heh! I worked hard for these.”
“All right. Here you go.” I began spreading Sun Friend over Peel’s back.
“Much obliged.” He squirmed a bit now and then.
Is this guy seriously ticklish?
“M-Master, I can’t… The way you’re touching me is so…”
“That’s enough,” I said. I had Peel apply Sun Friend to the front of his torso and told him to step outside. He’d get enough sunlight to be a tanned macho man in no time. “Well, Peel? Any changes?”
“No… But my body… It’s hot!” Peel stared at his hands. “This is how it feels to grow stronger, isn’t it?!”
The dummy thought he’d awakened some new power. “No! You’re hot because of the sun, you dolt. You’re just getting a tan!”
“Suntan make stronger?” Noela looked puzzled.
The little fluffball was likely to mislead Peel, so I again explained, “You’re just getting a good tan. It won’t make you stronger, but it feels tough, right?”
“Groo?” Noela still didn’t seem to understand. To be fair, I didn’t completely get it either. But there had to be a reason macho types tanned for competitions and all, right?
“I can’t tan, Master!” Peel protested. “My skin stays all red for days!”
“No worries. Sun Friend’s designed to prevent redness.”
“R-really?”
Peel rolled over repeatedly, letting the sun toast his front and back much faster than normal. Every time I blinked, his tan had deepened even more. By the time he stood up, he was a completely different shade. Those are Sun Friend’s results, huh?
“I can tell that I tanned, but I’m not burned. I don’t feel overheated at all. How do I look, Master?” As Peel smiled, his white teeth stood out like crazy. It might’ve been hard to see him somewhere less brightly lit.
“You’re nice and tan, I’d say.”
“Tan look strong?” Noela still seemed confused. Peel flexed his muscles in response.
“Groo?! Look strong! Arroo!”
“Oh my God!” Even Peel was stunned.
“All that changed was your skin tone, but your muscles do stand out way more,” I mused.
It was a simple before-and-after. He’d looked buff in the first place, certainly, but his fair skin had made his musculature hard to see. That wasn’t the case anymore. Now, he seemed utterly jacked, although Sun Friend alone didn’t build muscle.
“Thanks so much, Master! Now I can finally rise above Doz and the other veterans!” Nodding away, Peel excitedly carried the Sun Friend out of the drugstore.
Given how different Peel looked, Doz would be in for a shock. Man… He’s gonna realize I helped Peel. To prepare for that, I made another bottle of Sun Friend just for Doz.