Chapter 44: Exclusive Pharmacist The next morning.
I had breakfast with the Klaussner family in a smaller dining room than yesterday.
I confirmed my seat with Klaussner-sama and it was decided that I would meet the exclusive pharmacist immediately after breakfast.
Pharmacist-san worked full-time at the castle in a room called the distillation room.
The potions used at the castle were made in this distillation room.
I walked through the corridor guided by Klaussner-sama.
The distillation room was on the first floor.
Klaussner-sama knocked on the door when we arrived at our destination and it opened.
I went inside and the room had a faint smell of medicinal herbs.
There were several shelves fitted to the walls of the distillation room and the room was narrow. There were jars filled with medicinal herbs and tools for making potions on the shelves.
There was a table in the middle and there were tools laying on top of it.
There was another room at the back of the distillation room and I could see the entrance.
There were a few people in the room and they were all working.
Everyone noticed that Klaussner-sama had entered the room and nodded in greeting. Their hands never stopped working.
Klaussner-sama didn"t say anything either so this seemed to be their normal greeting.
I tilted my head as if asking where is the person I want to meet, and Klaussner-sama turned towards the back and called out, "Corinna."
"Oh my, isn"t it the Master. Something the matter?" A white haired old lady came out of the back room while answering Klaussner-sama.
Her back was slightly slouched and she was shorter than the head maid.
Because of that, while she wasn"t fat per se, she did give off the impression of being tiny and round.
But contrary to her impression, she was hale and hearty and felt like she would be strict to those who work for her.
"This is the【Saint】from the Royal Palace, Takanashi-sama."
"My name is Sei Takanashi."
"How polite, I am the pharmacist of this castle, Corinna."
It couldn"t be helped that I had mixed feelings about being introduced as the【Saint】.
My feelings showed up on my face and I smiled awkwardly.
But Corinnsan didn"t seem like she minded it and returned my greeting.
Corinnsan looked at Klaussner-sama as if she was asking him what he wanted after we finished our greetings.
"Takanashi-sama also makes potions and she said she wanted to meet you when we were talking about you, so I brought her with me."
"Is that so?"
"Mhm, if it"s alright with you then could you please tell me about medicinal herbs and potions?"
"I don"t mind. I was just about to make today"s potions. Let"s talk while I"m making them."
"Thank you very much!"
Fortunately, Corrinsan was just about to make some potions.
I was happy that I could watch the best pharmacist at work.
I"ll definitely be able to learn something.
Klaussner-sama left after he introduced me because he had other work to attend to. After he left, Corinnsan took medicinal herbs from the shelf and began working.
"Are you making Intermediate HP Potions?"
"Yes, I am. You"re very knowledgeable."
"No, I just memorised it by chance since I make a lot of Intermediate HP Potions myself."
I concluded this from the ingredients and it looks like I was right about her making Intermediate HP Potions.
However, did I imagine it when I saw Corinnsan"s eyes flash for a moment when I said I make it a lot?
It was just my imagination.
I stared at Corinnsan but she was busy making potions.
She was very skilful.
I wouldn"t expect anything less from her.
Corinnsama talked about the medicinal herbs she was using and about potions while she worked. Her hands never stopped moving.
She continued making potions while talking and inhaled when she finished the fifth vial.
She looked tired.
Oh right, normal pharmacists could only make 10 vials of Intermediate Potions a day, right?
I had completely forgotten this fact because it was normal for me to make heaps of potions at once.
So, isn"t Corinnsan still quite an excellent pharmacist because she could make five consecutive potions?
"Would you also like to make potions, Takanashi-sama?" Corinnsan herself asked me if I wanted to make potions while I was thinking about her.
Is it alright for me to use the workshop when I"ve just been introduced to her?
Maybe, she"ll teach me how to make potions?
"Is it fine?" Corinnsan nodded while smiling when I asked in confirmation.
My heart filled with expectations as I wondered what she would be teaching me and I started making potions like usual.
Corinnsan stared at my hands.
The first vial of potions, the second vial and then the third……
I made potions one by one but Corinnsan didn"t say a thing.
Is there nothing wrong with the way I make the potions? If she won"t say anything then I won"t either, but I got a little worried.
The sixth vial, the seventh vial, the eighth vial……
She didn"t stop me so I thought it was fine and kept on making more and more potions.
Then her face crumbled when I began making the 10th potion.
"Are you still making more?" Corinnsan said as she looked at me in amazement.
She was really surprised since she even dropped honorifics.
"Yes. I always make twice this much." Corinnsan laughed in amazement when she heard what I had said.
"Huh? As expected of you."
Was it better for me to stop at the 5th vial?
I laughed back troubled and she said while smiling, "No, I heard that the【Saint-sama】liked to make potions, so I thought it was just an extension of your hobby, but it"s far from it. You"re quite good at it."
"Mhm…… Thank you very much."
"In that case, you"ll be able to follow the conversation even if I talk about things in more detail." Corinnsan said while smiling and my eyes sparkled.
Perhaps she"ll tell me about the secret potion?
I looked at Corinnsan with expectation and she guessed what I was thinking and dismissed it.
"Don"t be in a rush. We"re starting from the basics."
"Yes."
Corinnsan smiled wryly probably because she could tell that I was a bit disappointed from my expression.
"Well then Takanashi-sama, let"s start with the practical uses of Basic HP Potions."
"Yes. By the way, could you stop calling me Takanashi-sama? Just call me Sei, because you"re the one who would be teaching me."
"Is that fine? Then, I"ll call you that."
It was creepy to be called Takanashi-sama now that she"s dropped all honorifics.
Likewise about honorifics too, I wanted her to talk to me normally.
She was the one teaching me after all.
I asked Corinnsan to treat me the same as everyone else and she agreed because it was easier that way. After that we talked about a lot of things.
I helped Corinnsan with potion making while she taught me about herbs and potions on the day I didn"t have to go on subjugation.