Chapter 5
Giving Energy to the Carpenters
Paying a suitable amount of money, I had the town’s carpenters convert part of the house into a storefront .
bangclangclunk, rattle, rattle .
bangclangclunk, rattle, rumble .
I can hear those sounds coming from the entrance .
It doesn’t seem like it would be such a large-scale project, so they said it would be done in a week .
“Reiji-san, I’ve brought tea, you know-?”
As I was in the medicine room manufacturing new medicine, Mina came bringing me three peoples’ worth of tea .
“Aa, thanks . ”
Noela, who was peeking at what I had in my hands with great interest, twitched and her ears stood upright as she looked at Mina .
“Master, Master . A girl I don’t know, is here . ”
“Well yeah, she’s here – huh? You can see her?”
Nod nod, Noela nodded her head up and down with all her might .
“Oh that’s right, Reiji-san . I had forgotten to tell you, but I haven’t used the power I’ve been gathering for these several decades, so I’m capable of gaining substance for long periods of time- . ”
As she spoke while smiling, Mina poured tea into the tea cups I had just bought .
“Noela . This girl is called Mina, and she’s something like a ghost?”
“Understood . ”
No she doesn’t .
“I’m going to show you proof, okay-? – Whew . With this, Noelsan shouldn’t be able to see me . ”
“!? Disappeared . ”
Even though she’s there like normal, Noela can’t see her at all .
“And how about this?”
“Came out . ”
“And how about this?”
“Only an arm . Weird . ”
Mina and Noela seem to be having fun playing around, so I left the medicine room and went to see the status of the renovations .
I don’t need it to be too big, so I didn’t think it would take this long, but I can’t see where they’ve made any progress .
“Um – how’s the progress?”
When I had said a few words, the working craftsmen all lifted their heads .
“Ku, Sir Pharmacist, i,it’s as you can see . ”
The one standing up unsteadily is Gaston-san .
He’s the one who’s been a carpenter the longest in this town, and his weakpoint is that he’s over 80 .
As for 80 years, that’s a super-long life .
Even though he stood up, he’s hunched over at a 90 degree angle, and his head is at the level of my waist .
He’s moving his mouth like he’s smacking his lips, and his eyes seem to be buried in his wrinkles .
He’s quite the grandfatherly carpenter, but it seems he’s a legend that the other carpenters respect .
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It would be good if he doesn’t injure himself .
Y,yeah, I’m a bit worried .
Although it might be rude to be so worried about a pro like this .
All the other carpenters besides Gaston-san are also getting up there in age .
The youngest of these senior carpenters is in the 60s .
This is like that, and if we do that~, with a trembling finger pointing shakily, Gaston-san gave me an explanation .
“And so, if it’s like this, would it be impossible to do in a week?”
“Ha? What did you saay?”
“Is! One week! Impossible! To finish! The renovations!?”
“Aa, aa, see, as for my wife, a long time ago~”
I didn’t ask about your wife .
“That’s right, she was a stolen woman, see . ”
(left ambiguous as to if he stole her away or she was stolen away from him)
Eh, what!? Who did from whom!? I want to know!
Munya, munya, Gaston-san moved his mouth leisurely .
“… … Like you can see, I can’t move like I could in the past ~ so this is taking more time than I thought, Sir Pharmacist . My wife, it all started with a one-night stand, see . ”
“You’re mixing up your work discussion and your tales from the past! … Eh? A one night stand?”
I,I’m way too curious .
“And so, my limitation is that I get tired so quickly . Everyone’s getting up there in age, I believe~”
“Aa, so that’s why the work efficiency won’t go up …”
The other carpenters, without caring for their honor, nodded at me .
For people who have only done one type of work all this time, it must be frustrating that they can’t work like they used to .
“I’m grateful to Sir Pharmacist . You’ve made sooo many potions that had been sold out all over in town . And they are even so delicious, you can’t believe they exist in this world . Thanks to that, we can do our work without worrying about injuries . ”
That’s right; the other carpenters also nodded their heads .
“That’s why we want to do what we can for you, but … no matter what, you can’t beat old age…”
So they get tired right away…
Even if it’s just temporary, I wonder if I can make a medicine that will help them forget about age .
Ah . If I can make a potion, then can’t I also make THAT?
Simply saying, “Don’t push yourselves too hard,” I returned to the medicine room .
I flipped through the few reference books on plants that I had bought .
“Master, what are you doing?”
“Hm, there’s a medicine I want to be able to make . ”
When I pull together the completed image in my head, it seems that I’ve become able to understand which ingredients I’ll need .
The Drug Discovery Skill is really convenient .
There aren’t photographs like there would be in modern reference books, but I confirm the names and where they grow .
They seem to be herbs that grow in the area .
“Reiji-san, the tea seems to have gotten cold, so should I refill your cup?”
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“Thanks . But right now, I’m going out . ”
“Is that so? Then have a nice trip~”
“Un . I’ll leave the house to you . ”
“Of course~”
While listening to Mina’s cheery voice, I completed preparing a complete set of tools and left the room .
Together with Noela, who’s the one in charge of scouting for the enemy, we went out towards the usual forest .
There are three types of ingredients I have to harvest to make the potion .
After that, I have to go to town to by oranges, honey, and ginger .
No matter how I think about it, it’s like making THAT .
When I had all the ingredients in hand, I returned and immediately shut myself up in the medicine room .
Pretty soon, Mina poked her head out .
“Welcome back, Reiji-san, Noelsan . What would you like for lunch-?”
“I’ll have it later . ”
With her tail wagging side to side, Noela was watching the work my hands were beginning to do with great interest .
“Noela also, later . ”
“It’s no good if you don’t eat when you should, you know-? Shall I make something easy to eat?”
Mina, who seems to enjoy taking care of people more than I thought, headed towards the kitchen while humming .
According to the way to make the potion, I grind and strain, then mix a small amount of juice from the orange and ginger with a little honey together with it .
“Master, what are you making?”
“If it works, it will be a fun one . Will you fill a bottle with water for me?”
Carrying the bottles I had stocked, Noela went to draw water .
I gave her my thanks, put the blend of strained juices in the water, put the cap on, and shook it .
Swish swish swish swish - .
The water in the bottle glowed with the usual pale light .
[Energy Potion: Effective for restoring fatigue, a potion with an awakening effect . The effect is dependent on individual differences . ]
“—I did it!”
“Did it? Did it?”
I tried drinking it to test it out .
“-N! Nnnnn!”
“What is it, what is it, Master?”
I,I want to say it . **and vigorous!1 – I want to say it .
(a slogan for a popular energy drink)
The taste is pretty much the same .
That energy drink that I liked in that world .
I’m a little dissatisfied that there’s no carbonation, but despite that, it’s delicious enough .
“Noela too, Noela too . ”
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“It will startle you if you’re not used to drinking it, so just a little bit . ”
I put a little into a spare bottle and gave it to Noela to drink .
“!?”
Pomf- . Noela’s hair stood on end as if it was accompanied with that sound . Her eyes were bulging and swirling around .
“Master, amazing, tasty taste, amazing! Right now, I could fly . ”
“Stop that . ”
Noela ran noisily around, slide between my legs, climbed up on my back, and jumped off; she’s completely full of energy .
“Reiji-san, I’ve made sandwiches- . With these, you can eat while you work, right?”
Mina, carrying a plate of sandwiches, came over .
When she saw the energetic Noela, her eyes went wide .
“Thanks . I’ll have them later . And also, can you watch after Noela?”
I picked up one of the ham and vegetable sandwiches .
Un, delicious .
“Yes, that’s fine … but what’s wrong with Noelsan?”
“It looks like she has too much energy . ”
“Haa…” Mina tilted her head while blinking .
I split up the energy potion into small bottles .
Taking five of them, I headed to where the carpenters are .
“Here are some refreshments; have them if you’d like . ”
I distributed them one by one, and everyone stared at it suspiciously .
Ah . … their sight has deteriorated (I assume) .
“What’s this weird liquid?”
Gaston-san asked me on behalf of everyone else .
“It’s just a little drink that makes you energetic . … It’s not that it definitely makes you energetic; it might be more accurate to say it ‘makes you feel energetic . ’”
Hm; snorting a bit, Gaston-san suddenly chugged the small bottle down .
“Houn-!? –”
Letting out a strange voice, Gaston-san froze .
“How is it? The taste might be a bit stimulating … It’s technically supposed to have a fatigue recovery effect and wakening effect . Although it may differ from person to person . ”
Gaston-san, his body shaking, took one step at a time .
When he did so, his terribly hunched back slowly straightened at each step until it became straight .
“… Darwin’s theory of evolution? Aa, no, I shouldn’t be messing around . Gaston-san, how is your back?”
Gaston-san didn’t hear me as he muttered, “This is, this feeling is –“
“Aaaaa… HaaaaaHAAAAAA“
I rubbed my eyes .
There’s a glowing vapor coming from Gaston-san’s body .
Eh . What is this?
Look, something’s coming out!
His sheer will is seeping out!?
“I remember from half a century agooooooo!”
BANGBANGBANG – CREAKCREAKCREAKCREAK – CLANGCLANGCLANG - .
Gaston-san just started working at super high speeds .
“W,wait a second, are you alright!?”
“What a foolish questioooooon, FUWAHAHAHAHA!”
“Hasn’t your personality changed!? … My eyes can’t keep up with your movements –“
The youngest carpenter, in his 60s, patted my shoulder .
“You think you can see him, right? But that is all – afterimages . ”
“Afterimages!?”
“ … These movements – it’s the Legend in his golden years . ”
“… The Legend I looked up to as a brat has been revived . ”
“The Legend continues-“
Everyone opened the small bottles and chugged the energy potion .
“Um… it’s better if you don’t drink it all at once…”
“ “ “FUOOOOOOO! With this kind of job, we’ll finish it off in no time!” ” ”
“Your personalities really have changed!”
“Kuku … finally, the time has come, the time to release the seal on the dark dragon in my left hand –“
“One of you has awakened in a completely different manner!?”
With a vigorous, menacing aura2, the grandpa carpenters worked hard .
As a result, the renovation that should have taken a week was finished in just one day .
Thanks to drawing out their energy, they aren’t dodderingly working but vigorously working .
All of them said it was fun for them to feel like they were young again .
The construction ended sooner than expected so it seems like I can open shop more quickly than I expected as well; everyone was also having fun doing the job .
It’s really great that no one lost out on anything .
U-n, even so, it’s probably way too effective . That energy potion .
At the end, with his tools in his hands and his back stretched tall, Gaston-san looked back at me with a cool face .
“Call me again if you need anything, ‘kay?”
No, like I said, your personality changed way too much .
**hatsuratsu! – Genki hatsuratsu, basically meaning energetic and vigorous, the slogan of oranamin c . I vaguely thought about switching it with “Red Bull gives you wings,” but I dunno how internationally well known red bull is . ‘The ZUGAGAGAGA representation was appropriate for them’, aka the zugagaga sfx should be drawn to show the menacing and vigorous aura .