Sixty-eight: Preparations, thorough as ever.

"Alright, before we head out, I’ll hand these out."

I pull a leather water pouch filled with stamina potions from my spatial storage and pass one to each of them.

Evah frowns, holding the pouch like it’s suspicious.

"I’ve got water already, and I can conjure more with magic..."

"It’s not water. It’s a stamina potion."

"...Huh?"

Evah bounces the small pouch up and down.

"Is that all there is!? How many potion bottles’ worth is in this thing!?"

"Who knows? Maybe twenty full bottles’ worth. Drink it like water if you want. No problem."

"Huh?"

"I can make more anytime. Use it like regular hydration. Oh, and don’t worry—no poisoning."

"Wait—is this a legendary-grade stamina potion!?"

Why are you surprised?

Any adventurer in this town should be used to this kind of thing.

I was still frowning when Raidock cut in with a wry smile.

“Evie, when you first came to the adventurer’s guild in this town, you got a forced quest, right?”

“Yes. Training inside the guild.”

“Yeah. New adventurers get a mandatory full-day training session. You can’t work here at the guild unless you take it. And in that training, drinking stamina potions is mandatory.”

“Wait… you’re telling me they actually made you do that?”

Raidock hadn’t known that himself until now.

“Yeah. Regular use of legendary stamina potions cuts adventurer death rates sharp. But newcomers? They’ll pass on buying emergency-grade stamina potions, even if it’s cheaper than market price. They think they’re safe. Stupid, really.”

I get it.

I’ve been a broke adventurer long enough. Wouldn’t even think about buying stamina potions on emergency rations, not even if they’re cheaper than market price.

“That’s right. So the guild had to pull a stunt—gave out jobs where the stamina potion effects were actually noticeable. Bonus: it lets everyone in town see how strong the adventurers really are.”

“Ah. I see.”

“Raidock, what’s the connection between you and this potion…?”

“All stamina potions consumed in this town, and every single one bought by merchants—Craft makes them all himself.”

“……”

Evie blinked several times, then her mouth fell open wide.

“Hahhhhhhh!? All… all of them!? Is that really true, Craft!?”

“Yeah. Got Leifan to make a special alchemy cauldron. Honestly, I’d be screwed without it.”

"Seen a few caravans in town, but wow—how much is that!?"

"There's a little trick to it."

"A trick?"

Hearing "trick," Eva's expression actually seemed to ease up a bit.

"Stamina potions made legendary grade don't degrade. But when selling, we pack 'em in regular potion bottles."

"Ah, right… the wagon's cargo was just boxes full of potion bottles, wasn't it?"

"Yeah. We could also sell 'em in water skins or barrels, but then everyone'd just buy 'em all up, endless."

"True. If I were a merchant, I'd just buy as many barrels as my wagon could hold."

"Yeah. Happened before. Then production just couldn't keep up, honestly."

That damn Akindoo buying up everything without end.

"So we stopped selling barrels and switched to bottles. Just the right size to hold comfortably."

"Wouldn’t they just transfer the contents into barrels again?"

"I thought the same thing."

"Wait—?"

"Turns out it was Kyle who came up with the idea."

"Kyle-sama?"

"Yeah. At first I didn’t get it, but Kyle said it. We tried it anyway—boom, instant hit."

"...Why?"

"I asked one of the traders who deals with Akindoo. He said, 'I feel safer when potions are in bottles.'"

"So even if they know it won’t spoil, they’re uneasy unless it’s in a sealed bottle?"

"Exactly. We’re used to it, but Eva’s probably uneasy with potions in water skins."

"Yes. Honestly, it’s… ah."

Yeah, that's it. Kyle nailed it right there. The potion bottles were made by the craftsman who came to this town, but since Leifan’s checking the quality, it’s hard to just toss them out. Kyle got that far, you know.

」

...You're young, but you're something else, huh.

Yeah. Kyle’s something else.

Maybe because the illness lasted so long, he understood suffering. He saw others clearly too. True ideal lord material. Kyle said he’d never take over as marquis. But imagine how wonderful that would be if he did.

That’s the thing—stamina potions can be made in bulk anytime, no alchemy cauldron needed. Don’t you dare hold back, drink up.

"Even though adventurers get this potion at a discount, I can't help but hesitate when they say you can use it as a substitute for water..."

Leifan stepped forward with a grin, yanking himself around Eva’s back with a sudden lunge.

Taller than her, it looked more like he’d launched himself.

“Eva-san, don’t worry! The cost is ridiculously low! We have to set a price because of market rules, but it’s basically free!”

“Honestly, we’re paying for the potion bottles just to keep the artisans stable and make a profit.”

“Yeah, yeah! So go ahead, use it all you want!”

“Right! Like this! ……gah—”

“……Jitarou. I didn’t mean you should waste it, you know?”

“W-What? I was just trying to calm Eva down…!”

“Ahh, I get it, I get it. But keep it reasonable, okay?”

“Yessir!”

“Really, you’re handling this well.”

Watching me and Jitarou trade words, Eva seemed to finally understand.

“Still… you’re even better than the rumors said.”

"Not even close to matching Master Javir’s skill, but still..."

I kept handing over another water skin and small vials, talking as I did.

"Huh?"

Eva’s eyes widened again at the growing pile of supplies stacked on her arms.

"What’s this?"

"These are Healing Potions, and this is Sharpness Oil. This one here is a Mana Potion. You’re a mage, so you’ll want these, right?"

"H…huh?!?!"

For some reason, Eva looked utterly horrified.

Meanwhile, Camille, the younger daughter, silently tucked the potion away with a blank expression. Marilyn just said "Thanks!" with genuine gratitude. So maybe Eva was just unusually expressive.

It’s just the standard kit I’m handing out to the Kendal siblings...

"Leifan. You’ve been acting a bit off lately, huh?"

I tilted my head, and Leifan offered a weak, tired jab in return.

Thought you'd be happy it's handy, but...

It's built into the budget, really.

I shifted my mindset and picked up the journey prep again.

Slung a shoulder belt over my robe.

This belt holds potion bottles. My bottles are different in shape from the ones sold in shops or handed out to everyone. Made like test tubes—easy to grab and toss on command.

Leifan came closer, eyeing them.

"Craft, how’s the new potion bottle?"

"Pretty good. Got a bit of a quirck, but I’ve practiced enough to handle it now."

"Good to hear."

Raidock, curious about our exchange, leaned in to look at my bottle.

"Anything different from before?"

"Huh? Yeah, looks the same, but I had it upgraded pretty well."

"Ah. Good. Tell me what you changed."

"That's for when you use it... a surprise."

"Your little tricks usually go way past common sense. Makes me nervous."

"Harsh way to put it, huh."

"Guess that's just how Craft usually acts."

"...I don't get it."

"Craft's brain just goes off the rails sometimes, y'know!"

"Air Burst!!!"

"GYAAAH!?!"

The compressed air exploded, blasting Jitarou backward. He flew all the way to the nearby wall, then stood up again with a cheerful "Ow, that hurt!"—completely unfazed. The group stared, stunned.

Since when did Jitarou get so ridiculously tough?!

"Anyway, let's start over. Leifan. You really okay with this?"

Hey, Raidock. Why're you asking Leifan?!

"Yeah, I'm fine. I made it myself. Not dangerous at all!"

If Leifan says it’s fine… then it’s okay, I guess.

You all…

Craft-san, what do you usually do?

Just a regular guild worker, nothing special.

I answered Eva’s question straight up—and suddenly, everyone, including the three sisters, gave me the stink eye.

No idea why.

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