“Are you going to create a room through alchemy?”

Zeke’s question caused Mei to pause the hand that was petting Robo and reply, “No, not at all.”

“First, we’ll make stairs.”

“…Those are some fancy stairs,” Zeke commented.

“Right? They’re really extravagant.”

If it were a door, it might be possible to use more readily available materials, but there was no recipe in the book to confirm such a method.

“For now, I’ll look into it. If I can’t find anything, I’ll consider other options.”

There wasn’t a strict necessity to expand the space, but Mei thought it was worth trying anyway.

Zeke and the others accepted Mei’s request without hesitation.

Since finding Yggdrasil wasn’t an absolute condition, and even if they couldn’t locate it, they’d still be rewarded with Mei’s supreme-grade potions, they had no reason to refuse.

Rather, since they could accept other requests while searching for Yggdrasil, for Zeke and the others, it was essentially a matter of accompanying Mei as she explored the forest.

On top of that, Mei was surprisingly strong despite her appearance.

“Great! Then the next time you head out to explore the forest, please take me along,” Mei said cheerfully.

“Shall we pick you up at that house in the forest?” Zeke asked.

“Yes, please… It’s about time for the weekly Seven-Leaf Clover to appear, so let’s all gather as much as we can!”

In the garden left by the Witch, Seven-Leaf Clovers would appear once a week. Harvesting them would mysteriously double the yield for twenty minutes.

Since the harvested items in the magical garden would regenerate by the next day, Mei typically didn’t make a point to seek out Seven-Leaf Clovers in her daily life.

Even when she occasionally found and picked them, the sheer volume of materials was often too overwhelming to gather completely.

“I’ll just keep the golden fruits and eggs for myself. The rest, everyone’s free to take.”

Mei decided to suggest that arrangement to Zeke and the others later.

“That’s amazing! Could we also harvest Shangri-La and Fairy Wings again?”

Hearing about the harvest, Cloud the pharmacist leaned forward eagerly.

“What? Such materials exist here?” Victor, the Merchant’s Guild master, turned pale upon hearing about the legendary materials.

Steeping Shangri-La flowers in honey produced an elixir of youth, while Fairy Wings were a cure for eye diseases.

The Merchant’s Guild frequently issued requests to the Adventurer’s Guild for these materials, but they were almost never obtained.

That’s because Shangri-La was a flower that bloomed atop high mountains inhabited by harpies, and Fairy Wings, true to their name, only grew in secret realms where fairies lived.

Both were regarded as mythical flowers, nearly impossible to obtain.

“Ah…”

Cloud quickly clapped a hand over his mouth, realizing he had said too much, but it was already too late.

Zeke and Alex looked to the heavens, lamenting Cloud’s blunder.

However, Mei, oblivious to their reactions, cheerfully carried on as usual.

“Oh, speaking of which, thanks to Cloud, I’ve added new recipes for medicines using Shangri-La and Fairy Wings. Look—moisturizing cream and eye drops!”

As she spoke, Mei pulled out two small glass containers from a silver bracelet adorned with a heart-shaped pink sapphire and a wing-shaped pattern etched beside it.

It was obvious that these, like the potions Mei made, were exceptionally potent.

Zeke and the others focused intently on the tiny containers.

Mei tilted her head in confusion, unsure why they were so fixated.

“Are moisturizing cream and eye drops that unusual?” she wondered.

But given that moisturizing cream was dubbed the elixir of youth and wasn’t commonly available on the market, it did make sense.

Satisfied with her reasoning, Mei handed the moisturizing cream and eye drops to Victor, who seemed eager to appraise them.

While Zeke could also appraise them, Victor, being the Guild Master of the Merchant’s Guild, was better suited for detailed assessments, so Zeke deferred to him.

“Mei, you called this a moisturizing cream, but what kind of effects did you have in mind when creating it?” Victor asked.

“Um, it makes your skin more hydrated, smooth, and bouncy.”

Since Mei was still young, she hadn’t used moisturizing cream herself, but she recalled hearing such claims before.

The alchemy recipe was labeled “Moisturizing Cream,” so its effects were likely as described.

“This cream indeed hydrates the skin, but that’s not all,” Victor declared, adjusting his silver-framed glasses.

Zeke and the others murmured a small “Figures,” their gazes distant.

Nothing Mei made was ever standard. Surely, this too contained some extraordinary effects.

“And those effects are…?” Zeke prompted.

Victor closed the glass container tightly and announced solemnly, “Rejuvenation.”

“I’ll buy it!” Evelyn interjected immediately, her composure slipping.

She quickly placed a hand over her mouth, realizing she had spoken out of turn, but her genuine desire was evident.

Having dedicated her life to work, Evelyn was now reaching the age where maintaining youthful skin became a pressing concern.