GILF Hunter

Chapter 494: 494 Time to water...

Rin, who had been out for a while, opened the door and entered the room.

’Right. It’s time to water it...’

The flowerpot where she had planted the mysterious seed brought from the labyrinth. It was time to give it water.

Since it was an unknown seed, she didn’t know the proper watering cycle, so she was just giving it water once a day.

She had heard that growing plants was usually more difficult and complicated... but since it grew inside that labyrinth where no sunlight enters and no rain falls, she figured it wouldn’t die just because she watered it a bit often.

Rin, who entered the room with a water bottle, paused when she noticed something strange.

’...?’

The appearance of the flowerpot on the table next to the bed had changed since the morning.

To be precise, something had sprouted from the pot.

It had been quite some time since she planted the seed and started watering it, so it was about time for a sprout to appear.

However, it wasn’t a sprout that had grown... a flower had suddenly bloomed.

Nothing had been there when she woke up this morning, yet this had happened in just a few hours.

’Wh-what is this. Did someone plant this as a prank?’

She had heard there were plants that grew incredibly fast... but wasn’t this beyond the level of fast growth?

Flustered, Rin carefully picked up the pot and examined the flower closely. But there was no way Rin, who had zero knowledge of plants, could figure out what it was just by looking at it closely.

’Hmm. Well, I’ll show it to the Captain when he returns.’

Since Ian was currently out, she couldn’t ask him right away.

Having no choice but to postpone bringing it to Ian, Rin tried to put it back in its original place.

Just then, the door opened and someone stepped inside. It was Mika.

Mika noticed the pot in Rin’s hand and asked.

’Oh? What’s that? A new flowerpot?’

’No. It’s the one I’ve been growing... I just saw it, and this suddenly bloomed.’

’...It grew in a single day?’

’Yeah. Do you know what kind of flower this is?’

Rin held out the flower in front of Mika, but Mika couldn’t tell what it was just by looking at it either.

’Wait... let me look it up.’

Saying that, Mika pulled out one of the dictionaries she kept in her bag and began searching for plants with characteristics similar to the flower in the pot.

’It doesn’t seem to be here...’

’I saw that book last time too, isn’t it just a normal plant dictionary? Since it’s something the Ent uncle gave us, there’s no way it’s a normal plant.’

’Hmm, is that so?’

It was a fairly plausible argument for Rin’s opinion.

’Ah. Maybe it’s in here.’

Mika pulled out a new book from her bag and opened it. It was a book Rin knew very well, as it was one Mika had always carried around since her rookie days.

’You still carry that? Isn’t that the quack magic book you bought in town back then?’

’Quack? This has been so helpful until now.’

Before becoming a mercenary, it was a magic book she had purchased from an old bookstore with the money she had saved while leaving her village.

Although the magical knowledge within it was too complex and high-level for her to fully understand yet... anyway, the knowledge contained was extraordinary.

It was a book filled with various records in a haphazard manner, but she remembered there were notes on a few plants at the back.

Mika, flipping through the pages of the book, froze.

’Oh...’

’Why? Is it in there?’

’....’

It was.

For a while, Mika silently looked back and forth between the illustration in the book and the flowerpot.

’What is it? Show me too.’

’W-wait a minute.’

Mika hurriedly closed the book to hide the flower’s identity.

Then, after glancing around the room to make sure no one else was there, she asked Rin with a serious expression.

’Hey, Rin. Did you show this to anyone else?’

’No. I just saw it too. You walked in right after I did.’

’Th-then, can I take this?’

’What?’

Hearing Mika’s request, Rin shook her head and refused.

’I should show it to the Captain first. We don’t even know what it is.’

’I’ll tell the Captain myself! It’s because I’m in a hurry!’

’Uh, o-okay.’

Seeing Mika’s expression as she spoke with such intense momentum, Rin absentmindedly gave her permission.

It was right to show it to Ian first and ask what to do, but...

Well, it’s not like Mika would do something petty like stealing expensive materials. She probably really needed it for something.

Rin thought she was doing this because she didn’t want to lose out to Louise or Emilia.

If this mysterious seed were something vital, she wouldn’t have handed it over so easily, but truthfully, in Rin’s eyes, Ian didn’t seem to care much about it either.

In the first place, when they entered the garden, he just told her to bring whatever.

Seeing as he hadn’t asked how it was growing or checked on it since it was planted... Ian likely forgot about its existence after handing it over to Rin to grow.

Given Ian’s personality, if this were important, he would have consistently checked if it was being raised well, but he hadn’t.

Mika took over the entire pot and covered it with a cloth to hide the flower. Then, almost as if running away, she slipped out of the room and headed toward the laboratory.

She felt sorry for Rin and the Captain... but she planned to reveal its existence later.

Ian had said she could use anything in the mercenary group if it was needed for research.

If she only had this, then probably everything she needed was complete...

Now, the rest was up to luck.

＊ ＊ ＊

’Finally...’

And around the same time.

A historic moment had also arrived in Louise and Emilia’s laboratory.

It was the moment Emilia dropped a single drop of chemical into a flask.

A blinding light erupted from that flask.

’Wh-what!’

Louise, who was next to her, instinctively asked, but even without an answer, it was obvious what it would be.

...An explosion!

And a core experiment failure on Emilia’s level at that.

In other words, a massive explosion...!

Louise immediately activated a protection spell. it was an emergency protection spell installed in the lab.

Explosion accidents during experiments were like daily life for an alchemist.

When an anomaly occurred, a reaction speed faster than thinking with one’s head was essential.

To have become a top-tier alchemist meant that one had survived until then.

’What are you doing.’

’What do you mean ’what’, it’s dangerous, so back up further inside...’

’It’s not a failure, it’s a success!’

’Success?’

Emilia stood still in front of the flask with no intention of dodging. Louise only then poked her head out from behind the shield.

The flask was emitting a faint glow.

’That stupid recipe actually succeeded?’

’Of course it’s a success. Since I used this many of these materials.’

’It’s for real... it’s stabilized.’

Louise murmured with a dazed expression.

Louise had also seen Emilia’s theoretical data, but frankly, it was a ridiculous recipe.

However, after pouring even more ridiculous materials into it, it actually succeeded.

To put it simply, for example.

Developing a potion could be described as climbing a 100-meter cliff.

The standard way is to use all the means and techniques one knows to install structures one by one that can overcome it, but...

Emilia had created a human who could jump 100 meters and leaped over it.

Louise, coming out after dispelling the protection magic, stared blankly at the flask emitting a faint light and asked.

’This... what are you going to name it?’

’Hmm, let’s see, this turn’s order is...’

After pulling out a notepad from her bosom for a moment, Emilia attached a memo she had just scribbled to the flask.

- [Emilia-M171]

’Done.’

’Are you serious...’

It was the most insane action in the entire production process so far.

＊ ＊ ＊

’You’ve finished what you were researching?’

’Yeah. It’s this.’

Emilia pulled out a flask and handed it to Ian.

Inside the small bottle, a mysterious white-glowing liquid was sloshing around.

Ian cautiously accepted it.

’This is...’

’When ingested, it reacts with individual mana to stimulate the production of Cotylops regeneration factors...’

Right after Emilia’s explanation began, Louise immediately cut in.

’Stay still. How can a normal person understand if you lay it out like that?’

An alchemist slightly more socialized than Emilia.

Louise stepped forward and gave a simpler explanation to the sponsor, who was almost illiterate in professional alchemy.

’It’s a medicine that treats human mental damage.’

’It treats mental damage?’

’Yes. Probably... theoretically, everything perfectly.’

Ian checked the information of the item held in his hand.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

[Mind Elixir]

- Legendary Item

- Removes all negative traits and quirks possessed by the target

: This effect cannot be blocked or neutralized

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

’Is this... for real?’

’I still don’t know either. How something like this succeeded.’

Ian was also inwardly shocked. Not because of the item’s effect, but because he was surprised by the fact that this was made at all.

Could this... be something made through alchemy?

It was an item that could only be obtained in designated areas through limited means. When it appeared through production, even Ian couldn’t help but be flustered.

It was a legendary discovery.

However, this didn’t belong to Ian.

Although he had supported most of the materials and that likely played a very large role in its completion...

In the end, it was sponsorship.

Since the recipe belonged to Emilia, this result also belonged to Emilia herself.

Of course, since he was the sponsor, he had priority rights regarding various interests arising from this.

’How should we calculate the shares?’

’Huh? No. I don’t need it.’

Emilia pushed it back toward Ian.

’Here. I’ll give you the finished product.’

’This... all of it?’

’I have a few samples in the lab, so that’s enough. This should be useful enough in the labyrinth, right?’

Could it be described as... just ’useful enough’ in the labyrinth? Ian took it and nodded.

Emilia spoke to Ian as if in exchange.

’Instead, regarding the recipe.’

’Ah. Exclusive rights to the recipe?’

’No, I’m going to register it with the Guild.’

The guild Emilia was talking about referred to the Alchemists’ Guild. Sending the recipe there to register it was virtually the same as making the recipe public.

The recipe is an alchemist’s unique right.

In the first place, this was a recipe Emilia had been researching independently. Whether she made it public or not was entirely up to Emilia’s whim.

However, she wasn’t keeping the recipe a secret or being guaranteed exclusive production rights with Ian’s help... but making it public to the guild.

Louise seemed quite flustered as well, as if hearing this for the first time.

’Registering it with the guild? What if someone copies this?’

’Let them copy it!’

Emilia had already written the letter to be sent to the guild in advance and pulled it out to show it.

Ingredient Recipe.

- High-ranking Spirit Essence

- Shadow Flame

- Crystallized Anomaly

- Emilia-E99 Compound

- ...

Louise was speechless as she read it. Since she had seen it from the side, she knew all the ingredients, but seeing them like this, every single one was a ridiculous material.

In other words. This was... a display of power.

Even if the recipe were made public, this was something no one could ever reproduce. Not unless they personally entered the labyrinth and brought those materials.

To obtain these materials from the market and reproduce them... in Louise’s opinion, it would probably take 10 years.

Emilia intended to show off the fact that she had created this by perfectly handling materials that no one had ever used.

She wasn’t the type to brag about recipes usually. But very rarely, it was an action she took when she succeeded in developing a recipe she truly liked.

’Then I’m going to go mail this letter, okay?’

’Ah... yes.’

Her interest in the finished product had already vanished. Emilia fluttered the letter and left first.

’Every city with an Alchemists’ Guild is going to be turned upside down...’

Louise immediately followed behind Emilia.

Emilia would probably start touring from the Labyrinth’s Alchemy Association, and she couldn’t miss such an interesting sight.

Ian, who was left alone in the office, looked down at the item he had suddenly acquired.

...He had planned to try and get this later, but he never expected it to fall into his hands so unexpectedly like this.

Where to use this. Ian, who was suddenly faced with a dilemma, fell into thought.

It wasn’t something he needed right now.

The time to use it was far off, and he had already made plans to separately obtain the item he would use at that time.

A legendary potion that wasn’t in the original plan, which he could use at will.

...In that case, who would be the best person to give this to?

Ian, having made a decision, called his secretary and spoke.

’Please set up an appointment... with Mr. Chris from the Mercenary Guild.’