Chapter 10…
Making an Improvised Potion
Kuna, having decided to help the man, immediately built a hearth nearby.
Unlike a distillation pot, this was just a simple pot without any magic circle engraved to assist magic.
In order to stabilize the fire, she first needed a hearth.
Building a hearth was something she had grown used to during her life in the forest.
Kuna gathered suitable stones and stacked them on flat ground. By creating a vertical passage for airflow and a horizontal opening for adding firewood, the hearth was quickly completed.
She prepared tinder using debris from inside her shoes and dry twigs.
If she used fire magic, the tinder would quickly burst into flame. While transferring the fire to thicker branches, she placed the pot on top of the stones.
Inside the pot were already scattered crushed medicinal herbs and kibana.
The pot itself served as a substitute for a mortar, and a picked-up branch served as the pestle. She peeled the bark from the branch and washed it thoroughly with magical water, so hygienically it was barely within acceptable limits.
She poured magical water in generously using water magic.
The stirring tool—again—was just a thick branch picked up from nearby. ……and so on.
This was an improvised potion-making process in the middle of the forest. There were many limitations.
(Guruguru, guruguru—)
Stirring the contents with the branch-turned-spatula, she poured in her magic power.
At the same time, she occasionally added more branches as fuel to adjust the fire. The difficulty was higher than usual, but she focused intensely and pushed through.
Meanwhile, the wolf sat beside the man, silently watching Kuna.
—About ten minutes later.
“…It’s done. Intermediate potion.”
“Phew,” Kuna said, wiping sweat from her forehead with her sleeve.
She had learned the recipe from Madeli, but this was her first time actually making it herself.
After letting the potion cool, she tasted it.
It was a thick, viscous liquid. Because medicinal herbs and kibana were mixed in, the color was not green but a deep blue.
The difference in taste from normal potions was due to the kibana, and also because she used juice squeezed from safro fruit for seasoning.
“…Ah, sweet…”
But that wasn’t all. The cut on her wrist from the grass earlier healed in an instant.
Looking down at it, Kuna tilted her head slightly.
“…Seems like it succeeded?”
She let out a breath.
Even her usual beginner potions were dismissed as failures and ridiculed, so she hadn’t expected to succeed at a more difficult recipe.
But more than joy, she felt unease—given the man’s condition, an intermediate potion alone didn’t seem like enough to fully restore him.
“But for now, this is the limit.”
In any case, she didn’t have the ingredients for a high-grade potion, and with her skill, it was likely impossible to make one anyway.
Since she had no small bottle, Kuna borrowed the man’s water flask.
She emptied it by turning it upside down, then held the pot with both hands and poured the freshly made potion into it.
Then she approached the man.
Thanks to him being propped up against a shrub, it was relatively easy to make him drink. There was no risk of choking.
She forced open his mouth and poured the potion in.
“Here, drink.”
She said that while making sure he had no choice but to swallow it.
A strange “gobble” sound was heard, but judging from his throat movement, he was properly swallowing.
(Good, good. Progressing smoothly.)
Worried about whether the healing amount would be sufficient, she decided to make him drink all of it.
She went back and forth between the pot and the man several times. By the time both were empty, the man still hadn’t woken up, but his breathing had become much steadier.
The major wounds likely wouldn’t heal immediately, so she planned to use healing ointment on them.
Fortunately, the forest was rich in medicinal materials. It would take time, but combined with the man’s recovery boosted by the potion, he should recover in a few days.
However, as Kuna looked down at him, she suddenly widened her eyes in shock.
“…Wait. The wounds… are gone?”
She hurriedly lifted his clothes to check—but indeed, the injuries that had spread across his face, shoulder, and abdomen were completely gone, as if they had never existed.
(Did I really just make it that well?)
Even so, it didn’t seem like injuries that an intermediate potion could heal…
But if it was healed, then all was well. Kuna casually removed the cloak hanging on the man’s body.
When she turned around, she felt a somewhat accusing gaze from the wolf.
“Don’t look at me like that. I’m not looting him or anything. I’m using this as a towel.”
As if explaining herself, Kuna soaked the torn cloak using an upturned leather water flask.
She had no shortage of water. Losing a little drinking water here wasn’t a big loss.
Kuna wiped the man’s dirty face and body.
As she wiped away the blood, she finally realized he was a remarkably handsome young man.
Brown hair with a hint of gold.
Strong eyebrows. A refined nose bridge. Thin lips. His eye color was still unknown since they were closed, but he was an astonishingly good-looking man.
If he stood up, he would likely be so tall that Kuna would have to look up painfully just to see his face. His well-built, muscular body showed he was well-trained. He was probably a fairly capable adventurer.
(As for age… maybe a little younger than my brother?)
Remembering Dolf’s arrogant face made Kuna’s hands press a little harder.
The man frowned. Kuna’s nails were digging into his skin.
“Ah, sorry,” she muttered quietly.
(That’s right… before putting out the fire, I should’ve made soup too.)
Of course, it would have been for herself.
Safro fruit was delicious, but she was starting to crave a warm meal.
Now that she had a pot, she decided she would definitely make soup tomorrow. Naturally, she already considered the pot hers.
After finishing wiping him, she put his clothes back on him.
The surroundings had grown dark. Looking up, the sun had already completely set.
She had lost track of time while concentrating. Fatigue now covered Kuna’s entire body.
As if it had been waiting, the wolf approached and crouched nearby, seemingly telling her to place the man on its back.
Kuna, being small, managed to lift the man under his arms and place him onto the wolf.
Dragging his long legs along, the wolf slowly walked toward a small cave.
Following behind, Kuna filled the man’s empty water flask with water from the stream.
By the time she caught up, the man was lying inside the cave where no sign of life could be felt. She placed the water flask beside him.
Exhausted, Kuna squatted down.
She spoke softly to the wolf circling around the man.
“Thank you.”
The wolf tilted its head in confusion at her words.
But it was a sincere expression of gratitude from Kuna’s heart.
To help someone in trouble—that was something obvious.
Something she had completely forgotten… something a pharmacist should naturally do.
“I almost stopped being a pharmacist…”
Kuna, who had been forgotten by everyone and needed by no one.
But if she ignored someone suffering in front of her for her own sake, she could no longer be called a pharmacist.
“Because of you, I remembered something important.”
The wolf gave a soft rumbling sound deep in its throat, as if responding to her.
“But I’m not working for free. Now how am I supposed to get compensation from this guy?”
『…………』
With a disappointed sigh, Kuna was looked at by the wolf with an exasperated gaze.
