46 — The Ultimate Secret Medicine (Cheap)

“Viscount Assen… every day… to Eisha’s place…”

“I see.”

I listened to Ururu’s report while sitting in my chair.

That opening report nearly made me go limp, but I endured without slouching—using the full strength of an Overlord.

“What were the two of them like?”

“…Normal?”

“…I see.”

Maybe asking Ururu about this kind of thing hadn’t been the right move?

No—her usual reports were very easy to understand, but on this matter… yeah, it was a bit like that…

Still, if Ururu described it as ‘like this,’ that probably meant there was no problem. Probably.

I was worried that the next time I saw Viscount Assen, he’d start calling me ‘god (King of Einheria)’ or something… no, that wouldn’t happen. The object of worship clearly wasn’t me—it was Eisha (little girl), if anything.

“If anything happens, let me know immediately.”

“…? Yes.”

Ururu didn’t seem to understand very well, but she still nodded.

Well, with Eisha, there was no chance it would become something truly serious… and I’d only talked to Viscount Assen a little, but he didn’t seem like a bad person… so it would probably be fine. Probably.

“The former Yōntsu Territory… had calmed down… rebellion… seemed unlikely.”

“Hm. Seems Karmos handled it well. What about Viscount Assen’s territory—was it okay?”

“It wasn’t in chaos… but… because there was no successor… the upper ranks were… panicking.”

“We should return Viscount Assen as soon as possible, but…”

I couldn’t exactly say, ‘Your lord has been thoroughly done in by our High Archbishop’…

Still, he didn’t seem irresponsible, and I felt like he’d come back to his senses if we talked about his territory… Wait, did she say there was no successor?

Huh? Viscount Assen looked like he was a decent age… unmarried…? No, it could just be that he hadn’t been blessed with children. That was possible, right? Nobles were probably strict about succession stuff.

Also—shouldn’t you not go to war without settling the succession question…?

“And… the Ground Dragon? Still… wasn’t there.”

“I see. Keep investigating that. The Ground Dragon’s existence is probably certain. But if even the diplomats’ investigations haven’t found it, then it’s definitely not around here right now. And the Ground Dragon seems to fly… we have to stay vigilant, since there’s no telling when it might fly back.”

In Yōntsu Territory, the Ground Dragon’s flying form had reportedly been seen many times, so it wasn’t plausible to claim it didn’t exist.

“Understood… lastly, the capital… gathered fifteen thousand troops.”

“That’s quite a number. Ten times Karmos’s force. As expected of a national army—different scale.”

“…And… the neighboring territory… Harekukku Territory… three thousand.”

“Hm… so they’re attacking from two directions. No other territories are attacking?”

“The others… were fortifying their own lands… and the border.”

“The border, huh…”

I couldn’t quite tell how dangerous the Lumoria Kingdom considered us… At least, it didn’t seem like they knew our base was in a dragon’s lair… If they did know, could they send a coalition army from neighboring countries?

Or maybe they’d leave it alone—like ‘don’t poke the god you don’t want cursed’… but the Lumoria Kingdom would probably still come at us with everything it had.

Whether eighteen thousand was a lot or not… I needed to ask Karmos.

Still, it wasn’t a problematic number for us. Our main war kids could each command more than twenty thousand troops.

Even a two-front attack was easy to handle… but I’d take command for the battle against the enemy’s main force.

Thinking about what came next… I still needed to get used to war. I didn’t like that, but.

“Do you know when they’ll finish preparing?”

“…Probably… about half a month. The muster… was done… but supplies… were behind.”

“Supplies?”

“They increased troop numbers… from the initial plan… and… the commander changed… the Lumoria King… became supreme commander.”

“The king himself is taking the field?”

“Yeah…”

Why? Normally, a king wouldn’t come out in this situation, right…? From their perspective, this was probably just something strange happening in a corner of the realm—not an existential national crisis.

And anyway, were there situations where a king had to appear on the battlefield?

Unless the king himself was exceptionally skilled at war—or one of those famed heroes—the risk outweighed the benefit… No, no matter who it was, stepping onto a battlefield meant risking death.

Even if they won, if the king died, it’d be hard to call that a victory.

Sure, the king’s position would be the safest spot in his own formation—and if the battle reached the point where the king could be harmed, then there’s no way they could win anyway.

Using “the king is present” to raise allied morale was a valid tactic… but weighing effect against risk… yeah, the risk still won.

Also, they should have plenty of information about the fight at the territorial capital.

What they probably knew about us was… three thousand troops and the existence of a hero named Arandor. And they likely knew Karmos had joined our side.

Hmm. If Arandor’s info hadn’t been accurately conveyed, then with a six-to-one troop advantage, the king might decide to participate… maybe?

“Fels-sama… Lynferia… returned.”

Even though the door hadn’t been knocked yet, Ururu announced Lynferia’s arrival.

A few seconds later, there was a knock, and Lynferia’s voice came through.

“Fels-sama. I have brought Karmos with me.”

“Enter.”

At my words, Lynferia and Karmos came in. I’d called him because I figured I’d have questions—and he arrived with perfect timing.

Lynferia looked as usual, but Karmos seemed a little gloomy… or was he just tired?

“Karmos. I had some things to ask—are you all right? You look pale.”

“Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. However, there is no issue. I simply feel my stamina declining a bit with age.”

“I see… sorry. I’ve worked you too hard.”

“N-no. I myself have found it extremely fulfilling, and I ended up forgetting to eat and sleep…”

Karmos smiled as he said it, but… that sounded incredibly black-company, didn’t it…?

Still, I understood that Yōntsu Territory stabilizing depended on him working hard… Well, let’s say that’s just how this differed from a profit-seeking company.

And besides, it was a good chance to test something I’d been curious about.

After deciding to use Karmos as my test subject, I spoke to him in a mildly admonishing tone.

“Karmos. I understand there are many parts you want to fix now that the environment has changed, but if you break your body, it’s all for nothing.”

“Yes, my apologies.”

“But it’s also true there’s no one who can replace your work. And I understand the concern that delays in your work could cause major problems. So…”

I opened the desk drawer, took out a small vial from inside, and set it on the desk.

“This is called a potion. Do you know it?”

What I took out was the classic RPG staple: a stamina-recovery item, a potion.

Depending on the game, it might be medicinal herbs, first-aid medicine, gummies, or whatever… but ‘potion’ was basically the standard.

“A potion? I’ve never heard of it… is it some kind of medicine?”

“Exactly.”

From Karmos’s puzzled look, it seemed potions didn’t exist around here… I’d assumed they would, since this was a sword-and-magic sort of world, but if they didn’t, that was even better.

In Sword and Legions, I remembered potions being described as restoring vitality and healing wounds.

Unfortunately, ever since coming to this world as Fels, I hadn’t even gotten small injuries, and I didn’t get tired either. It was very convenient… but it meant I couldn’t test the potion’s effect.

For reference, this potion could be bought at the general store for fifty mana stones. The recovery amount was unimpressive, so in normal gameplay you almost never bothered buying it.

The development department could make it too, but crafting items took several turns, and there was a limit to how many items you could craft—there was no reason to waste a precious slot on something like a potion.

The potion I’d just pulled out was something you occasionally picked up in monster battles; after many repeated runs, they’d piled up. In other words, warehouse clutter.

“This potion has the effect of healing wounds and restoring stamina. Would you try it, even if you think I’m deceiving you?”

“Y-yes, sir. I will accept it gratefully.”

I told him with the clear intention of “drink it right now,” and with a slightly tense expression, Karmos took the vial.

It was fine… the taste wasn’t a problem. I’d tried it myself once—odorless and tasteless, no different from water—and it hadn’t upset my stomach afterward.

Unless that was only thanks to Fels’s absurd defensive power, Karmos should be fine too.

Watching Karmos tilt the vial and drink it down like he’d steeled his resolve, I thought, you don’t have to worry—it’s not disgusting or anything.

“…”

Karmos finished it quickly. He seemed slightly confused that there was no strange taste—maybe there were some truly awful “tonic medicines” around here? Well, medicines tended to taste bad in general.

“Well? Karmos?”

“Y-yes. A little… hm?… th-this is!?”

At first Karmos looked uncertain, but mid-sentence he suddenly shouted.

W-was he okay?

“…What happened?”

“N-no… this… this is the potion’s…”

Karmos murmured blankly while staring at the empty vial in his hand.

Yeah, I got that it did something—could you explain what, please…?

Maybe my feelings showed, because Karmos hurriedly opened his mouth.

“M-my apologies, Your Majesty. The fatigue I felt earlier has vanished as if it were a lie. And also…”

He cut himself off and moved his body experimentally. Was it like stiffness easing up? Or an old injury no longer aching?

“The aches in my joints… even my lower-back pain has been cured…”

“Hm. Good.”

Could age-related joint pain like that… be cured permanently? Or would it return after a while? We’d need to observe.

“As for stamina as well, it feels like I’ve just had a full night’s sleep, and I can confidently state I could work all day without issue…”

No, you don’t need to “confidently state” that…

Also, right after saying “I can work all day,” please stop looking at me with a “surely you mean—!?” face. That is not why I gave it to you.

Giving someone an energy drink and going “now you can work without sleeping, right?” would be beyond black-company!

“Karmos. A potion restores physical fatigue, but it does not restore mental fatigue. Taking proper breaks is the most efficient way to work.”

“Yes! Thank you very much.”

“Good. By the way, about that potion… if it were something you could buy with money, what price would you consider reasonable?”

“If I were to buy this potion? For a medicine with effects this extraordinary… many would gladly pay one hundred—no, even two hundred gold coins for it.”

“I see…”

Crap… I had no idea what a gold coin was worth… Also, weren’t we supposed to mint our own currency…? Wait, that’s bad—what do I do?

Right now, we were probably using Lumoria’s gold coins… but if we’re calling ourselves a nation, we need to create something like Einheria gold coins, don’t we?

Oh no—gotta consult Ilmitt ASAP.

“By the way, in the Lumoria Kingdom, what is the value of one gold coin?”

“For townsfolk, it is said that one gold coin is the amount needed for a family of five to live for one month.”

That meant one potion equaled enough money to live for over fifteen years.

That’s insane!

“Two hundred gold coins for a potion is too expensive, isn’t it?”

“It is not! That dull, constant lower-back pain vanished completely! This refreshment… when was the last time I felt it—decades ago! And my shoulder stiffness and knee pain are gone as well… A medicine like this… the kingdom—no, the whole world would never stop demanding it!”

Karmos spoke with more passion than I’d ever heard from him. The only time I’d heard him this fired up was… maybe when I first told him there was a castle in the dragon’s lair.

“Your Majesty is still young, so you may not understand the suffering of elderly people like us… but health is something that cannot be replaced by anything! If people can obtain it by paying money, most will spare no expense!”

“True, health matters. But… two hundred gold coins still sounds excessive, doesn’t it?”

At least, to produce this… Let’s see—five people produced fifty mana stones in a month, and you could buy a potion with that.

A family of five needed one gold coin per month to live, so… the cost of one potion was basically one gold coin.

“Is it…?”

“If you look only at material costs, this is something like one gold coin per bottle.”

“W-what!? Th-this miraculous medicine for one gold coin…”

Karmos looked downright terrified… even more than when I’d talked about slaying the Ground Dragon.

“I was thinking of selling this potion cheaply as a source of national revenue, but seeing your reaction, I may need to rethink it.”

“…Yes. This potion’s effects are too extraordinary. If you do sell it… I recommend you avoid selling it cheaply for the time being. Also, you said earlier that a potion can heal wounds—what level of wounds can it heal?”

It healed two hundred HP. That wouldn’t mean anything to him…

“Ururu, Lynferia. Do you know what kind of injuries this potion can heal?”

“Cuts, bruises, and simple fractures could be treated.”

“Limb loss… was impossible.”

When the two answered, Karmos’s face grew serious.

“…So it has effects comparable to healing magic. In that case, there are issues with the Church, and selling it cheaply could become an extremely troublesome problem. Healing magic is managed under the Church’s guidance, and a medicine with equivalent effects would…”

“The Church, huh…”

Religious politics… Just hearing it sounded like a solid lump of trouble.

“Understood. I’ll take Karmos’s advice into account. We can’t afford to increase complications at this stage. You have my thanks, Karmos.”

“Yes! I am honored by your words!”

This had nothing to do with the main issue, but it was good that Karmos had tried the potion.

If I’d asked my war kids for their opinion, we’d have started selling it immediately without a second thought…