Chapter 24
The Cheat Pharmacist Commits to Results
While I was relaxing in the living room after closing shop, I could hear Noela and Mina’s voices coming from the bathroom .
“Noelsan … … my THAT has gotten a little not so good…”
“Before, didn’t have . Mina, squishysquishy . ”
“St-, please don’t touch it~”
What are they doing?
“Master . ”
With her hair still wet, Noela came leaping out at me .
There’s the pleasant scent of soap .
“Hm? What is it?”
“Mina, got fat . ”
“Eh?”
I looked at Mina, who came out after Noela, but I can’t see where she’s gotten fat .
Even if I stare hard at her, I don’t think that’s the case at all .
Mina tilted her head as she wiped her hair with a towel .
“What is it, Reiji-san?”
“Noela, what are you basing that on?”
“Master, here, look . ”
Approaching her, Noela completely flipped the hem of Mina’s onepiece dress to the sky .
Naturally, her panties were completely visible .
Grab; Mina pressed down her overturned hem in a panic .
“-Whwhwhwh,why did you flip it, Noelsan -”
“I was thinking, wanted to show Master . ”
“Showing him is wrong-”
“Not Mina’s panties . Different . Showing him Mina’s squishysquishy stomach . ”
“Don’t show him that either!”
So Noela flipped her skirt to show me her stomach?
“Noela, you said Mina got fat, but I can’t see it at all?”
“Really~?”
With a floaty, giggly look, Mina beamed .
“Master, wrong . Mina, hiding a lot . ”
When Noela poked Mina’s stomach, Mina’s shoulders fell in a slump .
“…Yes . It’s a sad story; I am hiding a lot, Reiji-san…”
She’s a ghost, but she got fat .
That said, because Mina can materialize, she can have weight fluctuations?
“Can you get fat as a spirit?”
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“That’s right . Frighteningly, I’ve been spending most of my time materialized recently, so I think it’s because of that…”
“Mina can’t leave this place and doesn’t exercise, so it can’t be helped, huh?”
Noela and I often walk in the forest to forage for herbs, so we probably haven’t had any problems with lack of exercise .
“Reiji-san . ”
Mina looked at me with a rare, serious look .
“I want to be thin . ”
“I see, so you’re going to diet … good luck!”
When I gave her an energetic thumbs up, Mina tapped her index fingers together, looking like she had something difficult to say .
“Uum, Reiji-san . If it would strike your fancy … … you know, there’s medicine? If you could make it, I’d be really happy ~, something like that…?”
Mina glanced upwards as if to check my complexion .
Diet supplements, huh…?
If it’s something to help lose weight more easily rather than become thin, then it looks like my Drug Discovery Skill can make it .
But you know …
“What is it, Reiji-san?”
“I don’t think there are any shortcuts to dieting, you know? Steady effort . I think that’s what will work . ”
“I,I know … but you know, ‘To lose weight easily,’ that’s the eternal theme amongst all women!”
Mina gave a fervent speech with her fists clenched .
“Right!? Noelsan!”
“Noela, can’t-get-fat type . ”
“Noelsan is a traitor-”
Wag, wag .
While wagging her tail, Noela made a smug face in front of Mina .
Ahem; Mina cleared her throat once .
“There are other exceptions like Noelsan, but … pretty much everyone yearns for it! And so, if you make it, women will buy it like crazy -! And so, to test it out, wouldn’t that be me? I will take the medicine and get thin . Absolutely . I will definitely show you I will lose weight . ”
Isn’t she even more worked up than before?
“I get it, I get it, if you’re going to say so much, I’ll make it . ”
“Yay! Reiji-san, thank you so much-!”
Exploding with happiness, Mina hugged me .
Noela fidgeted, and then she also hugged me .
“I will wait for it without sleeping!”
“You’re anticipating it too much . ”
Smack; I gave Mina’s head a chop .
In the end the person herself has to put in effort or it won’t work, but does she get that?
When I peeled the two off me and went to the medicine room, Mina followed along .
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“I shall help . ”
“Mina has Mina’s work to do, right? Like leftover housework or something . I’ll leave that to you . ”
In exchange, Noela followed me into the medicine room, and when I began to work, she plopped herself on my lap, laid down, and quickly fell asleep .
She grasped her fluffy tail, fresh out of the bath, and the sound of her sleep-breathing began .
“You didn’t have much of an intent to help …”
With a bitter smile, I moved my hands .
I boiled down herbs that had been dried and stored and extracted an ingredient called kuchikun .
Afterwords, I put in the flavor of flowers and fruits to make it easy to drink, and as usual, with a shake of the bottle the medicine was done .
“Alright, done . ”
[Kuchikun Juice: Kuchikan extract promotes metabolism . It becomes easy to burn fat .
You need to continue drinking it, so I made one weeks worth for now to store it .
I tasted a mouthful, and its flavor is good so I’ve made a juice that won’t be difficult to drink .
“All around good reviews . ”
“- – Is it done!? It’s done, right?! Yay!”
Mina came running and grasped a bottle in her hands .
That Mina; she sure came in with some amazingly nice timing .
I bet she was watching the entire time outside .
“If I just drink this, I’ll become thin, right?”
I explained this and that, but it doesn’t seem like most of it entered Mina’s ears .
“I understand, I understand, you need stead effort, yes . … . . With this, Noelsan will stop squishysquishy-ing me . ”
Mina swigged today’s portion of juice and made a satisfied humph through her nose .
I can’t see where she’s fat enough to want to lose weight so much .
Poke poke; I touched her stomach .
There’s a squishy feeling .
“Hyaan-!? Wh,why are you touching me-!?”
“Sorry, sorry . Is it really to the point you have to go on a diet? I think it’s fine to be a little squishy, though . ”
“It’s no good . That squishiness, it’s already out . If you let it go, it will evolve in blubberiness, after all . ”
Is that how it is?
I prefer a little squishiness over skin-and-bones, but that might be different from Mina’s ideals, I suppose .
After that day, Mina drank one bottle of kuchikun juice every day according to my explanation .
This time, rather than medicine, it’s more like a health supplement .
That’s why the effect will differ between people .
Actually, I’ve also been secretly drinking the kuchikun juice .
If it’s just to that degree then I can also give it a bit of a try, and I think it’s better to have more sample subjects .
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I passed the week normally, and my body had a little change .
I feel like some of the bit of flab around my stomach is gone .
I don’t have a scale so it’s hard to tell, but I wonder how it is .
“Noela, what do you think?”
I took off my shirt and showed Noela, and she nodded up and down .
“Different . Master, a little thinner . ”
“Th,that so? Really?”
“Juice, amazing . Master, worked hard . ”
Pat pat; Noela patted my head as a reward .
It’s not like I was trying to lose wait, but I’m happy that there were results .
I’m part of the group that doesn’t believe in anything that says, ‘Just do x/y and you’ll lose weight,’ like this .
But this time, it might be okay to believe it a little .
I wonder how the main one, Mina, is doing .
“Mina . How are the results of the juice-? I had a little bit of an effect . ”
“Really-?! Congratulations! If that’s the case, I should most definitely have results as well!”
Mina had a pleased look on her face .
Noela lifted a finger to investigate and poked Mina’s stomach .
“How is it, how is it, Noelsan?”
“I’ve been passing the days as usual without thinking about it much, so I don’t know how much I’ve lost at all-”
Noela silently shook her head .
“No change . ”
“Eh–”
Mina’s face went white .
She went rigid with no expression, as if she’d just been told she only had three months to live .
Noela touched Mina’s stomach .
“Squishysquishy . ”
“Nooooooooo! Why, why – Reiji-san lost weight, so why was it just me -”
Mina looked at me tearily .
Oi oi, is it something you have to cry about …?
“Even though it’s supposed to be a juice that makes you lose weight…”
“Nono, I told you over and over, but that’s not what this juice does . It only helps you lose weight . Ah … perhaps -”
That Mina; if she was reassured that she’d lose wait, and was snacking between meals - .
Underneath the sink is a shelf where we put the treats that our customers give us as thanks and whatnot .
Opening the small door, half of the 10 boxes of sweets are missing .
“Oi, Mina . You’ve been eating the sweets, right?”
“I,it’s not just me! No,Noelsan also, Noelsan was eating them with me!”
Zoom; Noela ran off .
I wasn’t mad, but it seems like she thought I was .
“Look here; I’m not mad the sweets are gone . … … I’m made that you were snacking between meals on a diet . ”
Ain’t gonna lose weight like that .
On top of staying inside all the time, she was snacking without a care .
“I,I want to lose weight easily…”
“Mina, you’re underestimating dieting . ”
“Uuu…”
That said, I don’t really know much about diets either .
“Do you seriously want to lose weight?”
“Yes, I want to lose weight!”
“Alright . Mina, you can’t go outside so … do muscle training . And also, snacking between meals is prohibited, na?”
“Waaaaah… . ”
“You’re serious about this, right-!? Is your passion towards losing wait only worth that much!?”
“I,I’ll work hard-”
And with this and that, another week of drinking juice began, together with a light muscle training menu that didn’t push her too hard .
And of course, there was no snacking .
Noela also helped with the muscle training, and that stoic (so the person herself says) week ended .
Noela investigated by poking Mina in the stomach with her index finger .
“… … Squishysquishy, gone . ”
“ – Alriiiiiiiiight! I did it, I did it, Reiji-san, Noelsan-!”
Grasping Noela and my hands, Mina began to spin in a circle .
The person herself was really happy, but I just replaced the daily exercise bit with muscle training and had her stop snacking .
Which means, as expected, if it’s to that degree, the juice has a definite effect .
“Congrats, Mina . ”
“Thank you so much, Reiji-san! It’s thanks to that juice, and you who made it, Reiji-san!”
If she’s that happy about it, then it was correct for me to have made it .
– But two weeks later, disaster struck .
“Mina, squishysquishy . ”
“Noooooooooo!? Agaaaaaain!?”
… . Looks like she rebounded .
As I thought, the most important thing is steady, repeated effort .