But when asked, “Did your master use the same herbs? Can you say these herbs won’t be affected?” he’d been at a loss. Without asking, he couldn’t really know.
“Like I said before, it should be fine.”
“Should isn’t will be. You aren’t completely sure! You have doubts yourself! Are doubts allowed? Medicine can be harmful. What if this dish causes a reaction and the result winds up hurting someone?”
“…………That seems highly unlikely.”
“Yeah, maybe so. But to be absolutely sure, we’d have to make every kind of medicine and double-check. And even if we did, the change might be minor enough that we wouldn’t even notice! But after days or weeks pass, the change could become much more significant. Then we go use it on someone in critical condition and the changes wind up killing someone it should have saved.”
His reasoning was perfectly sound.
Ainz had no basis to make clear declarations against any of these hypotheticals. He could not defeat this argument.
And what Ainz did know was stopgap knowledge. How was that supposed to compete with the wealth of knowledge a true master had? If either Baleare had been here, they’d likely have made swift work of things.
But he couldn’t afford to back down.
Especially given the potential involvement of the tongue he didn’t have.
“Then you just keep doing it your way. I’ll take the raw data back to the city and follow up on your suggestions to investigate things.”
Ainz rattled all this off before the apothecary could say anything else. Only a fool would let his opponent fire back. Ainz was a fool and frequently got hit with return fire—or shot in the back. Mostly by Demiurge.
“There are more apothecaries in the city. With their help, we can make a lot of medicine rapidly. And there are all sorts of races, so I can borrow the help of apothecaries from those races to ensure it’s safe for all.”
The master looked a bit disgruntled. These medicines were passed down from generation to generation in his tribe and considered trade secrets. He likely wasn’t thrilled about them being shared with that many people. Ainz sympathized. Albeit less concerned about vested interests than sharing knowledge with those who might prove a threat to him.
Ainz did not actually intend to do anything he’d claimed. It was simply a rationale he’d concocted to get through this impasse.
Ainz’s friends had taught him well.
The true value in knowledge came from monopolizing it.
If he shared the knowledge he’d gained here with anyone, it would be with the inhabitants of Nazarick.
“If you’ve got no arguments, Master, let’s proceed.”
The apothecary looked less than pleased by this assault. But he didn’t have a decisive argument, so he shrugged and went back to putting herbs on the dish.
He moved fast. It was not easy for Ainz to play his part and take notes.
Perhaps that was the goal.
If he finished his side of things and Ainz still wasn’t done, then he’d have an excuse to jeer. Less because he was trying to get through a job he didn’t like than payback for having argued him down.
Not so fast, buddy.
Sure, Ainz wasn’t as fast as a professional apothecary. But he had spent the last few days performing the same basic tasks repeatedly. He wasn’t about to call it quits now.
Getting fired up, he threw himself into his work.
When the herbs came his way, he put the appropriate weights on the scale, relying on applied experience to get it right on the first try. If he didn’t have time to write things down, then he’d just have to pound those numbers into his mind. Ainz was not exactly a brainiac, but it wasn’t like his short-term memory was completely lacking.
When Ainz got faster, so did the master.
Neither spoke a word. They focused purely on their tasks. If anyone else had stopped by, they would likely have been shocked by how fast the two of them were going.
But…that’s the fun.
As he learned how to make the medicine, he considered the effects of it.
This medicine doesn’t do that much. But if we combined it with other things…there could be some synergy.
Yggdrasil had been a game with an immense wealth of data, and players had loved nothing more than finding new ways to gain an advantage. Ainz—or Satoru Suzuki—had been but one of them.
And medicines Yggdrasil lacked, made with this world’s original techniques—they had potential.
Compensate for the weaknesses with magic items rather than spells…but that would take time. It needs more zip…
They’d first have to investigate whether synergy was actually possible. But the potential for new methods and techniques got him excited.
I should have looked into this sooner. Ainz pictured Nfirea’s face. I have the connections. He’d tell me more if I asked…
But Ainz had been focusing his study time on other matters. He’d left acquiring knowledge of this world’s techniques to Titus, et al.
Honestly, I’m not capable of running anything, let alone a nation. I’d be better off putting myself in the research department. That’s what I like doing anyway…
He’d had vague thoughts along these lines when he’d first started learning here.
If Satoru Suzuki had actually had a good brain—Ainz’s skull was thoroughly empty—perhaps he could have learned both. But that had not been the case. And so he was devoting his efforts to a field he was ill-suited for—and that was arguably a complete waste of time.
I’ve thought about fleeing my duties before. But this isn’t that. All of us have a place we’re meant to be. When I get back to Nazarick, I should tell Albedo I’m transferring…but what then? Would that not be a betrayal of the NPCs’ trust? I’m the guild master; I’m calling myself Ainz Ooal Gown—is that any way for me to behave? What would…the others say…? Ah!
The apothecary master’s hands stopped—and with it, their competition and Ainz’s line of thought.
The master had turned to face the door.
Ainz had been about to grin triumphantly but quickly hid that, following his seven-day-master’s gaze. There was no one there—so he listened instead.
There was a commotion in the distance. It didn’t sound urgent—at least, not like a monster attack or serious injury.
“You’re the last arrivals from the city?”
“Mm? Uh, yes, we should be. I don’t know of anyone else headed here. You mean…?”
“Yeah, I do. This is what it’s like when someone arrives—and it’s a newcomer. If it was a neighboring dark elf, it wouldn’t sound like this. Might be an elf.”
Could it be someone from Nazarick?
No, Ainz dismissed the thought. If they wanted to get in touch, they’d send a Message. It was hard to imagine them just popping by. But if this was an elf, he had an idea.
“An elf merchant?”
“Could…be. But…this feels different. Well, not our problem. If it was, someone would come to fetch me.”
He seemed to be trying to convince himself. He turned back to the table.
“Let’s keep going. I’m sure your teacher told you the potency of many brews diminishes the longer they take.”
He was going much slower than a minute ago, but this didn’t last long. A dark elf villager burst in, out of breath.
“Mango!” the interloper yelled. Then he saw Ainz and slowed down. “Oh, and Fior. Sorry to interrupt.”
Everyone in the village knew Ainz was making regular visits here. But whatever was going on had made that fact slip his mind.
“You apologize to my provisional disciple but not to me? What’s the meaning of this?” the apothecary grumbled. He didn’t take any real offense. He was scowling but clearly toying with the man.
“Ah, sorry, Mango. I’m interrupting your work.”
Mango Gilena—that was the apothecary master’s name.
The apologetic dark elf glanced at Ainz once more but remained silent.
“Uh, if I shouldn’t hear this, I can leave?”
“No, that’s not it; it’s just… Mango, an elf came to visit. Apparently, the human country near the forest is attacking us.”
He glanced at Ainz again.
“Ah, in that case, I can promise it isn’t my country. This is likely the Theocracy—they lie between the woods and my home. I’d heard they were at war with the elves.”
The dark elf looked relieved.
“Well, the elves want us to send troops. They’ve got other villages to visit, so they’ve left already, but the elders called a meeting to decide what we should do.”