Weiss And Leopin (10)

The alchemist woman was covered in smoke like a thick fog and a mysterious veil.

Her expression could not be seen, but an alluring smile had been on her lips the whole time.

With the manicured fingertips of an adult, despite how young she should still have been, she indicated the two medicine bottles.

“Nfufu. The purple potion and the green potion… If you drink down even one of them, I will tell you about the mushroom. It does not matter which of you drinks it… You may even drink them together.”

Then she continued as though carefully explaining it to them.

“If you drink the purple potion, you will probably forget the mushroom’s location right after I tell you. If you drink the green potion, you will learn the mushroom’s location, but you will be bedridden. The mushroom’s season is almost over, so you will not be able to go pick it until next year.”

At that teasing voice, Leopin once again lost his patience.

“No way…!? Why do we have to do that!? Don’t be mean and just tell us!”

“Anh, this is not me being mean. I am determining whether you are men worthy of opening my heart to. Normally, I would take my time with this, but I am specially speeding it up for you.”

“Then I’ll drink it!”

As Leopin stepped forward, Weiss cut off his thoughts.

“Wait, Leopin. Do not rush. Think carefully.”

“There’s nothing to think about, is there!? If I drink the potion, she’ll tell us about the mushroom!”

“Which one do you intend to drink?”

Perhaps Leopin had not thought about it at all, because after hesitating with, “That’s…”

“The purple potion! Once she tells me the mushroom’s location, I’ll make sure I never forget it no matter what, and tell you, Weiss!”

“More willpower talk, then. There is no way you can drink a potion with a forgetfulness effect and still refuse to forget through sheer willpower.”

“That’s not true! If I seriously try to remember, then surely…!”

“You were made to eat the mushroom and forgot what was more important to you than anything else. Surely you have not forgotten even that?”

“Guh…!”

“You have already lost your memory once. On top of that, if you drink a concentrated potion with a forgetfulness effect, there is no telling what will happen.”

The alchemist woman, who had been watching the exchange between Weiss and Leopin, laughed in a voice like a bell being rolled around.

“Nfufu… A man already refined, and a man still rough-hewn… It is like a diamond and a raw gem clashing against each other…”

Weiss’s theory left no room for objection, but Leopin did not look convinced.

“But I have to drink it! Because this is something I started!”

“Do not say that. The person Leopin holds dear is also dear to me.”

Weiss placed his hand on Leopin’s shoulder and told him with sincere eyes.

“So I will drink it. If something happens to me, I will leave the rest to you.”

“N-no way…!?”

Weiss turned back toward the alchemist woman and reached for the potions on the work desk.

“This is my choice…!”

…Grab…!

What he seized made everyone widen their eyes.

Astonishingly, it was both the purple and green potions…!

The woman’s lips were colored by shock.

“Huh…!? Don’t tell me…!?”

“St… stooooooooooooooooooop!!”

Before Leopin could stop him, Weiss downed the two potions he had grabbed in one go.

With enough force to bend his back, and with enough force that it overflowed from his mouth, he drank them all down.

And then,

…Bam!

He slammed the empty bottles onto the work desk.

Then he announced to the trembling lips before him.

“…This is my answer…!”

Weiss raised his wet lips into a grin.

“H… how… how did you know…?”

“You said it yourself, did you not? That it was a ‘riddle.’ Since it was a riddle, I thought there had to be a correct answer.”

Weiss let out a breath and wiped his mouth with a handkerchief he took from his pocket.

“And you also said this. ‘If you drink down even one of them.’ If even one is acceptable, then both are acceptable too.”

The woman let out an ecstatic sigh. “Hafuuuu…”

“Yes, the green and purple potions… If you drink both potions, their effects cancel each other out… That is why you neither lost your memories nor collapsed.”

The woman leaned back against her chair, as though savoring the afterglow of supreme pleasure.

“Nfufu… You are the first to solve this riddle… The men until now never even drank them… Very well, I will tell you anything…”

“No, just tell me the mushroom’s location and habitat. That is all I want from you.”

“Ahan, how cold… Well, fine. The mushroom is called ‘Amnesia.’ Its habitat conditions are extremely limited, so it is a rare mushroom. Around here, it only grows on Mother-Forgetting Mountain.”

“I see. Sorry for disturbing you.”

Weiss quickly turned his back on the woman and tried to leave the tent.

Leopin, who had been standing there stunned, suddenly came back to himself and followed after him.

A voice called “Wait” to their backs.

“Diamond-san… Raw Gem-san… I feel as though I will meet you two again somewhere. At that time, you may both have become wonderful men. Wonderful enough for me to gift you my lips, perhaps…”

The woman blew them a kiss, as though paying in advance.

“Because… both of you are men I have acknowledged… right?”