The alchemically crafted potions, starting with the basic potion, have a set recipe—but the more effective ones are made from original recipes unique to their creators.

As for how the ingredients in those recipes are chosen, there are several factors, one of which is said to be the compatibility between the ingredient and the user’s magical energy.

It’s something like… extracting the magical essence from the material, or infusing it with magic… apparently, some mysterious technique is required. And to perform that efficiently, compatibility comes into play.

That said, there’s no need to do every step alone.

While the final touches do need to be done by the maker themselves, having someone to extract the magical essence or someone whose magical energy is compatible with the finalization process handle each part allows the whole process to become far more efficient.

An alchemist’s workshop is made up of such people, and these roles have been passed down for generations.

You could call it a school or a lineage… it’s kind of fascinating.

Anyway, the work Fiora asked me to help with the other day was that kind of task.

That said, it’s not like my magical energy happens to be highly compatible with Fiora’s, or that I’m particularly skilled in magical manipulation or anything like that.

It’s because I can use the snakes’ vision to extract magical essence.

Normally, essence extraction is done using tools, but apparently, I’m able to use those tools much more efficiently.

“Hmm hmm~”

And so, humming a tune to myself, I start pulling out herbs, ores, and monster bones from the box on the desk and line them up.

When I focus power into my eyes, I can see the magical essence remaining in each material.

By using a tool that combines something like a magnet and a thermometer, and infusing it with magic, I can extract the magical essence—but if this step is done poorly, it can negatively affect the final product’s performance.

I can tell at a glance, but normally, this task is done carefully over a long period.

It doesn’t really require any special skills, and honestly, as long as you have enough patience, anyone can do it. But since alchemists are more like the elite class, they tend to avoid these kinds of tedious tasks. So, unless it’s a workshop like this one where the person in charge carefully selects the personnel, workshops in the city apparently always struggle to find people for this kind of work.

But since high-value materials are being used, you can’t just put out a random call for help in town either.

Veteran adventurers or mages with solid skills are trustworthy, and they might even be able to sense the magical essence inside the materials based on intuition gained from experience—but it’s rare for those kinds of talented people to be doing menial work at an alchemist’s workshop…

That’s why, in order to stabilize the potion supply within their territory, some people have apparently built entire towns functioning as production bases, including material gathering.

One of the researchers here, whom I’ve gotten to know over the past few days, told me that.

“…Hmm?”

Even while lost in thought, I continued the work without error, steadily making progress—before I knew it, the box was empty.

A small mountain of materials had piled up on the desk.

I checked each one again as I put them back in the box just to be sure, but my work was flawless.

After putting everything back, I called out to Fiora, who was working in the back, to let her know I was finished.

“Fioooora~ I’m done with this. Is there more?”

“…That was fast. That’s all for today.”

Fiora replied with wide eyes.

“I see… I might actually like doing this kind of thing.”

Well, I was thinking about stuff the whole time, so it wasn’t exactly a mindless task—but still, being able to do something while zoning out like this isn’t too bad.

Come to think of it, most of my past work involved environments where a single mistake could mean death. This kind of work over the past few days felt refreshing in comparison.

I enjoy and like adventuring, but maybe this kind of thing suits me too.

“Maybe I could even make a living doing this…!”

“You might have the talent for it… but I’d get scolded by the madam.”

Fiora said with a laugh.

◇

Now then, it’s nighttime.

I was hanging around with the usual group in our usual lazy way.

Elena had returned to the mansion, and since I hadn’t gone hunting, I didn’t have much to offer in terms of conversation. Lately, Seriana, Teresa, and Fiora have been the ones talking, and I mostly just nod along.

“Is Sera not getting in the way?”

“Not at all. Thanks to her, I’ve been able to focus on my own work too. It’s been a big help.”

“That’s good to hear. How’s the progress coming along?”

“The materials are about ready, so it might be time to put in an order with the craftsmen. How’s the work going in the church district?”

Etcetera, etcetera…

Yeah.

Tonight’s conversation is pretty serious.

The task Fiora mentioned refers to the adjustment of materials and tools used for the magic circle surrounding the memorial.

It’s an important job in its own right, but in a way, it’s more of a side task—not her main responsibility.

Her main job right now is potion production.

She doesn’t directly make them herself, but rather oversees the process. I’m not sure how helpful my contribution really was… but well, it seems like it was useful in some way.

————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Sera ・Blessing・【Hideout】+1 【Prayer】 【Mira’s Blessing】 【Wind’s Garment】

Blessed Item・【Floating Orb】+1 【Shadow Sword】+1 【Scarlet Bee Needle】 【Fairy’s Eye】 【Dragon’s Lung】 【Amber Sword】 【Danrem’s Thread】 【Serpent’s Tail】 【Ankle Bracelet】 【Amber Shield】 【Purple Wings】 【Red Sword】 【Monkey’s Arm】・8 cards

Seriana・【Area Detection】・【】・0 cards

Elena・【】・【Green Fang】 【Amber Sword】・4 cards

Alec・【Power Strike】・【Red Shield】 【Fierce Horned Trumpet】・10 cards