Chapter 97: Honey And Elixir I (1/2)
「What's that~?」
I was caught by Maria the moment I got back to the camp.
She stole one of the elixirs that I was carrying.
She's got a bad habit of stealing things. I'll have to scold her about it.
「It's an elixir that restores magic power. It tastes extremely bad and is dangerous, so give it back」
「It just so happens that I'm out of magic power, so I'm going to drink it」
「Oh, hey!」
Hmm, wait.
Maria is fine with eating salmiak licorice. Maybe……
「Gulp」
With childlike abandon, Maria drank the elixir in one go……
「Blerghhh」
……then retched it all back out.
With a thump, Maria slumped onto the plain.
「I'm sorry I was ever born」
「Are you okay?!」
It was hopeless. Her face was ghastly.
Putting the elixirs down on the plain, I held Maria in my arms.
「Anyone~」
I called out for help.
Rana came over.
「Oh, welcome back. You're back early」
「Sorry, Rana. Maria has collapsed, so please take care of her」
「Oh, what happened to you, Maria?」
「I stole something bad and drank it, then got struck down」
「Well, that's……」
Leaving Maria with Rana, I turned to retrieve the elixirs.
「Onii-chan, what are these?」
「They're elixirs that restore magic power. They taste very bad, and Maria just collapsed from drinking one」
My sister fiddled with one of the elixirs.
In her own way, this one is also curious in a troubling way.
「Come to think of it, Ea……」
「Hmm, what?」
「Have you heard of the name Gunmerry?」
King Lutz had mentioned something about the beastkin to the east. My sister used to hunt with them in the past. There's a chance that she might know something.
「How nostalgic. Where did you hear that from?」
「I heard it while I was in the city. What kind of people are they?」
「There's a song that's been passed down from generation to generation among the beastkin tribes in the east. It's often used to make the beastkin children cry. The song goes like this」
My sister started to sing in a clear voice.
The more you hit them, the more Gunmerrys you'll get♪ The more you burn them, the more Gunmerrys you'll get♪ The more you drown them, the more Gunmerrys you'll get♪
Gunmerry, neither arrows, nor swords, nor magic works♪
Gunmerry, creatures that never die♪ Gunmerry, creatures that eat anything♪
Alone, it can't do anything, but with two, they attack wild beasts♪ With three, they build a home♪
When there are four, they hunt pigs ♪
No one really likes it when there are five♪
When there are six, they have a grand party♪ When there are seven, they're in a great mood♪
Once there are eight, there's a sense of disquiet♪ Once there are nine, they're at odds with one another♪
When there are ten, they all hate it♪
When there are eleven, they hate it even more♪
When there are twelve, they sharpen their weapons♪
Gunmerry, they'll kill one another♪ Gunmerry, they'll kill until just one remains♪ Gunmerry, there’s only one left♪
Gunmerry, goes to sleep peacefully♪
Next time it wakes up, it'll run amok♪
It’ll go on a rampage that knows no bounds♪
Jagshank, the hero troubled by this♪ Jagshank, the hero of beasts♪
Sealed itin the depths of the forest♪Sealed the Gunmerry♪
Gunmerry♪ Gunmerry♪
Never wake it, the Gunmerry♪
The next time it wakes up, it’ll multiply more and more♪
Gunmerry, creatures that eat anything♪ Gunmerry, creatures that eat even children♪
If there are a hundred, they'll wither the forest♪
If there are a thousand, they'll ruin the country♪
If there are ten thousand, they'll destroy the world♪
Gunmerry♪ Gunmerry♪
Gunmerry♪ Gunmerry♪
If that song holds any truth to it, those guys are super dangerous, aren't they?
On top of that, they're not in the forest, but in the city.
Is the Adventurers' Guild aware of this?
「Oh, it's been a long time since I sang, so I'm parched」
「Ea, that’s――?!」
My sister popped the cork off the bottle and took a gulp of the elixir.
「Obufuu」
She spewed it back out and fainted from the agony.
Already, two people had fallen victim to it.
Carrying the limp Ea in my arms, I went into the tent and laid her down next to Maria.
「Dear, what on earth happened?」
「It's because of these elixirs」
I handed the elixirs to Rana.
She's a cautious person. She won't easily――
「Eurgh」
For some reason, she drank it without pause.
「This tastes pretty awful, doesn't it?」
Rana made a face while clutching her mouth.
It seems that she had the sense to not drink enough of it to lose consciousness.
「Yeah, but before that, why did every single one of you drink it?」
「The taste is awful, but it smells just like honey, so I couldn't resist」
「What? The smell?」
I took one of the elixirs and smelled it.
Amidst the strong medicinal smell, there was the faintest hint of sweetness that smelled like honey. It was so faint that I wouldn't have noticed unless I was looking for it.
「Sorry, Rana, please look after the two of them. I need to work on making this drinkable」
「That sounds difficult. Good luck」
「Thanks」
Leaving Rana to take care of them, I worked on improving the elixir with Makina and Yukikaze.
I've never had so much trouble with a dish ever since coming to the alternate world.
「I've given up on making it taste good. First, we need to at least make it something that can be drunk without taking damage」
『Souya-san, Makina and Yukikaze aren't omnipotent』
『That's right』
「It's at that level, huh?」
It's currently 15:00.
We've tried all sorts of things.
We’ve tried mixing it with various seasonings, stewing it with ingredients, freezing, frying, and even distilling it.
It was all for naught.
It tastes bad.
The bad taste is too strong.
This elixir tastes really bad no matter what we try.
At times like this, it would be great if I could think of a good piece of advice from some culinary teacher, but as a hobbyist, I have no one like that.
And the A.I.s, my final hope, have given up.
I'm completely at a loss for what to do.
「Hmm………………we're stuck, aren't we? This request, I'll go back out of it tomorrow」
『Ehh~』
『Ehh~, indeed』
「This is beyond the scope of possibility. This elixir is too much for humanity」
『But, Souya-san, will you be able to abandon the request so easily?』
「No idea. It's that Guild President, so he might harass me incessantly about it」
『It can't be helped. ………Just this once! Makina will go to the Demon King for advice. Please prepare something to give as a gift』
「Alright, I'm counting on you」