There was nothing I could say. The only thing I had gained today was knowledge that Lucia was a popular girl.
My Sounding Stone vibrated. As always, it had terrible timing. Did Franz know this mess was my fault? Well, it wasn’t my fault, it was, if anyone’s, the Sword Saint’s. But everything had been resolved smoothly. There wouldn’t be any more curse troubles. Even I wouldn’t step on a land mine once I knew they were ahead of me! And what even was a “thrall potion”?!
With a small sigh, I activated the Sounding Stone. The first thing I heard was Franz’s yelling.
“Thousand Tricks! I heard what happened!”
“Oh. You know about that? Don’t worry, we won’t have any more curses or whatever giving us trouble.”
“Hey, one mome—”
“I’m busy now, so I’m cutting it here. Later.”
I looked down at the Sounding Stone. I waited for a moment, but it didn’t vibrate again. I guess he gave up.
I’m sorry, Franz. I’m just a bit tired. Don’t worry. I’ll make sure there’s no more trouble.
“Sitri, you’re in an awfully good mood,” I said.
“Well, of course I am,” she replied. “It’s my turn next!”
Even from a sideways glance, I could tell how high her spirits were. She was twirling around with each step.
I’m afraid you won’t get a turn. You’re my best friend, I owe you lots of money, and I don’t want to make you sad, so there’s nothing I can do.
“You’re going to come with me to apologize later!” Lucia said.
“Yeah, I know. You’ve done a lot for me, and as your brother, I need to have my act together! I’m your brother and all!”
“That’s right.”
After all, being her brother had pulled me out of the fire.
But at the moment, I had to worry about Sitri. If I didn’t deal with this potion matter very carefully, I’d have to do a lot more than just kowtow. Forgetting to do things I had meant to do was a very bad habit of mine.
I walked into my office. Even though it was off-limits to hunters, Lucia and Sitri followed me in as though it was perfectly natural.
Without actually saying anything, Sitri implored me to hand over the potion. Lucia had probably followed us with a malcontent look because she had sensed something was up with Sitri. Our Alchemist was intent on badgering me until I gave her the bottle. Normally, I wouldn’t be able to win in a battle of wills against her. I’d figure that I could trust my dear friend and hand her the potion.
But I still hadn’t forgotten how she had clung to me while pretending to sleep.
“Wait here a moment,” I said.
Let’s deal with this before I forget.
I made them wait in my office while I pressed the mechanism and headed for my private quarters. This was a space designed so I could live in comfortable seclusion. There was, of course, my Relic collection and my bed, but there was also a refrigerator, toilet, bathtub, and sink, all hooked up to plumbing.
With a long stretch, I entered my private space and placed the potion on the desk. Then my eyes fell on the fridge next to my bed. I opened it and pulled out a bottle of strawberry milk. The almost-expired cake had been given to me, but the milk was something I had bought covertly, because my sweet tooth was a secret.
I poured a glass of it and returned the bottle, then compared it with the eerily named potion on the desk. As expected, the two hues were identical, and so were their scents. Could this really be such a dangerous potion? I found it pretty hard to believe. This thing was apparently called “Strawberry Blaze,” which I guess was because it smelled like strawberries. There sure were a bunch of odd potions out there.
Experimentally, I brought the water bottle close to my lips, but then one of the rings I was wearing started to heat up. It was Red Alert, a ring that could detect approaching danger. It couldn’t have been reacting to the milk, which meant the potion was clearly hazardous.
I didn’t think Sitri would use it for evil, but it still was a dreadful potion that had destroyed a few nations. It was too risky to give it to Bad Sitri.
Sorry, but the Thousand Tricks is going to learn from those who came before and ditch this potion.
Without hesitating, I dumped it down the sink. The liquid that looked and smelled just like strawberry milk swirled around as it went down the drain. Just to be sure the potion would never come into contact with my skin, I filled the bottle with water and rinsed it thoroughly.
What a relief. Zebrudia had been saved. All I had to do was apologize to Sitri. The only thing I had done was dispose of a potion, but I had the sense of a job complete.
I stared at the metal water bottle. I thought for a moment. My eyes darted between the strawberry milk on the table and the water bottle. Nonchalantly, I picked up the cup and carefully poured its contents into the freshly washed metal bottle.
I did a double-check and saw that the liquid rocking around the bottle was indistinguishable from the stuff I had just gotten rid of. The only difference was that the Relic on my finger wasn’t giving me any warnings. What sort of potion was identical to strawberry milk?
As I stood there, Lucia and Sitri came down, probably tired of waiting for me.
“Krai, are you not done yet? Hm?! Wh-What are you doing?!”
“Ah, this is, uhhh—”
Sitri dashed up to me when she saw the cup and water bottle in my hands. When she noticed the contents of the water bottle and the traces of strawberry milk in the cup, she looked at me with horror.
“There’s a bit less. D-Don’t tell me. Did you drink some?!”
“No—”
“This is bad. We need to make an antidote, and quickly. You drank so much of it undiluted. Worst-case scenario, you could end up a puppet of flesh, only capable of taking orders—”
“Huh?! Siddy, what was that?!”
Sitri was losing control. The blood had drained from her already pale skin, and tears were welling up in her eyes. Panicking, she was almost cross-eyed. If someone as calm and composed as she was losing it, the potion must have been crazier than I had realized.
Sitri grabbed the water bottle from my hands and said to Lucia in a fretful voice, “I-I’m going out! I’ll do whatever I can to make an antidote! Lucy, look after Krai!”
“Ah, wai—”
Before anyone could stop her, Sitri flew up the stairs. I didn’t even get the chance to say anything. All I had been able to say was “Ah, this is uhhh” and “No.” In those days, Sitri was organized, but you’d be surprised how scatterbrained she had once been. I guess that part of her hadn’t actually been fixed, just subdued.
Lucia was looking around wildly. With her lack of information, I couldn’t blame her for finding this incomprehensible.
“I told her I didn’t drink it.”
“Mm-mmm. Brother, do you feel all right?”
Now that you mention it, I feel a little weary. So yeah, nothing out of the ordinary.
I went to the refrigerator and poured myself a cold glass of strawberry milk. I gave my ring a cursory check to make sure it was safe, then took a drink. The sweet scent of strawberries mingled with the aroma of the rich milk. This was it. This was strawberry milk. But how had a pro like Sitri been fooled?
“She’s off to make an antidote for strawberry milk,” I said.
For a moment, Lucia looked at me silently, her gaze turning just as icy as her professor’s.
“Perhaps we should go after her?” she said.