“…Hmm.”
Lloyd chewed on the sedative, feeling impressed.
His mind calmed, but without slowing down his thought processes.
It was undoubtedly a well-balanced sedative.
“You made it in gum form to extend the duration, right?”
The alchemist, who had been glancing nervously at Lloyd, suddenly brightened at his recognition.
“Y-You’re the first person to notice that! Yes, exactly! With sedatives, the efficacy is important, but so is the duration. If the calm state suddenly disappears, it can make things worse than before. So, to extend the duration and stabilize the effect, I used gum base with Artysol leaves and…”
The boy’s eyes sparkled as he explained, overjoyed to meet someone who understood.
His enthusiastic explanation seemed endless.
‘Does he have no friends?’
Lloyd swallowed his rude words.
Come to think of it, he didn’t have any friends either.
Anyway.
“…But if you add alum powder here, you could reduce the side effects even more. People are usually afraid of ingesting metals, but some metals actually have medicinal properties and aren’t harmful. Of course, they can cause addiction, so…”
Thanks to the boy filling the air with his voice, Lloyd had a moment to think.
Marlio’s (he looked around and found a name tag that said ‘Marlio’) alchemy skills were definitely extraordinary.
His skills were certainly impressive, as evidenced by the various items shining on the workbench, including some high-level magic scrolls known to be difficult to craft.
“Oh! This one here helps efficiently manifest spatial magic…”
…And, true to his skills, he had the tendency to over-explain, but still.
This piqued Lloyd’s curiosity.
With skills like this, why was Marlio running such a small workshop? He could surely have a large one, perhaps even in a multi-story building.
“…The moment you tear a scroll is critical! If you do it too quickly, the magic circle distorts, and the output isn’t right. But since people are always in a rush when using scrolls, they rip them fast. I designed this one to prevent that…!!!”
Now sounding almost like a salesman, Marlio’s voice had grown louder.
‘Isn’t he going to lose his voice at this rate?’
Remembering the boy’s earlier quiet tone, Lloyd shook his head.
“Marlio.”
“So when you tear my scrolls… Yes? Oh… yes!”
So engrossed was he in his speech that Marlio stared blankly at Lloyd when interrupted.
Then, his face suddenly turned red.
“S-Sorry. I got carried away.”
“No, it was interesting.”
“R-Really?!”
“Yeah. But let’s continue this later.”
“…Okay.”
Marlio’s voice returned to a whisper, though he seemed slightly more confident now.
Thinking this was the perfect time for a question, Lloyd asked.
“With your skills, you’re a more than capable alchemist. Why is your workshop so small?”
Marlio hung his head.
“Well… There’s someone who won’t let me sell my good products, saying I need to follow business ethics.”
“Won’t let you sell them?”
“Yeah. They say they can’t sell their own products if I do… Sometimes they even come here, wreck the place, and force me to buy their materials.”
“Forced sales, huh?”
“Ever since I refused to make drugs for them, they’ve created some weird debt, so now they harass me.”
Lloyd frowned.
That sounded just like a gang.
“Is it another workshop?”
“I don’t think so. They didn’t smell like copper. Ah! Alchemists usually smell like copper because it’s used in so many materials.”
“Then it’s probably a trading company.”
“A trading company?”
Lloyd nodded.
The only ones who could compete with alchemists were other alchemists or trading companies.
‘This smells fishy.’
Lloyd had a feeling this was connected to the backers of Easton he was searching for.
“Do you have any detailed information?”
“Not much… but it was a woman’s voice. She always wore a hood, so I never saw her face.”
A woman from a trading company, huh?
There were too many potential suspects, yet the information provided also helped narrow down the possibilities.
On another note.
“Have you considered reporting this to the patrol or the Inspection Department?”
The scolding came out naturally, but Marlio shook his head.
“In Easton, no one helps the weak. It’s a city where power rules.”
Marlio glanced out the window.
Debt collectors with menacing expressions stood outside, armed with all sorts of heavy tools.
Yet no one paid them any attention—not even the patrols.
‘A city of the strong devouring the weak.’
Every small town has its unique atmosphere, and Easton’s seemed to revolve around power.
Lloyd recalled a memory—a figure who had groveled as soon as they were defeated.
After some thought, a sly grin spread across Lloyd’s face.
“So, basically, if I’m incredibly strong, I can take control of Easton, right?”
This could work to his advantage.
Thinking things through often led to more complications and headaches.
The simplest solution was usually to exercise force or magic.
– Whoosh.
Lloyd lightly circulated mana through his circuits.
He felt no resistance even when handling mid-level magic.
“Marlio.”
“…Yes?”
“Are those debt collectors outside collecting debts legally?”
“Well… the interest has doubled the principal in just a year. It’s been two years now.”
As expected.
“If I chase them off, can you give me a discount?”
“O-Of course!”
Jingle.
A bag of gold coins fell in front of Malio.
“This… this much?!”
“From now on, prioritize making sedatives. It’d be great if you could enhance their effects even more. This should cover the principal, right?”
Lloyd pocketed a few coins from the pouch, then stepped outside.
— Creak.
“I’ll protect your workshop.”
◆
“…”
When Lloyd returned to the research institute, Princess Yulia greeted him.
She was glaring at him with sharp eyes.
‘It’s creepy.’
Lloyd maintained a neutral expression, bowing his head slightly as he tried to enter his room.
But Yulia blocked his path.
Lloyd tilted his head in confusion.
“Is something wrong?”
“We need to talk.”
The number one phrase any man dreads hearing from his girlfriend, but coming from his direct superior? It was the worst of all.
Lloyd was reluctantly dragged into Yulia’s office, like a cow to the slaughter.
— Thump.
Yulia closed the door and let out a sigh.
“Lloyd, be honest with me.”
“…Yes.”
“Did you get into another fight?”
That was the Princess’s question.
Lloyd rolled his eyes.
He felt like a mischievous elementary school student who was being scolded by his mother.
‘Not exactly.’
He was about to deny it when a thought struck him.
“…Just a little skirmish with some debt collectors outside an alchemy workshop.”
It wasn’t much of a fight. He’d simply tied them up, just as he had done with Karl and Hector, given them a stern warning, and paid off the workshop’s debt and principal in one go.
He had also warned them not to return to his territory.
That was all there was to the story.
“It wasn’t anything too intense, honestly.”
“I hope you refrain from that kind of thing in the future.”
Yulia said firmly.
In that moment, she looked every bit the princess of the Estrid bloodline.
Lloyd couldn’t help but ask a question, though.
“Why?”
“You’re my strategist, Lloyd. And a strategist shouldn’t rely on brute force. I need you to honor our agreement.”
He understood her point.
But what intrigued Lloyd was something else.
His use of force ultimately benefited Yulia as well.
Her explanation didn’t quite satisfy him; she was clearly holding something back.
He silently observed her, waiting for more.
Soon, the Princess spoke again.
“…You might not realize it, but.”
“Yes?”
“Every time you use your power, the dormant force inside you begins to stir.”
“A force…? Do you mean Ortega?”
“Yes.”
It was then that Lloyd recognized the expression on Yulia’s face.
It wasn’t annoyance; it was concern.
Yulia, with her Arcane Eyes, was the exact opposite of Ortega.
She likely had an unparalleled sensitivity to anything related to Ortega.
“Are you saying that every time I use force, Ortega grows stronger?”
“It’s not exact. But when you fought off the thugs who came to our research institute, and even now, I can sense your energy changing, however slightly. It’s like a faint red tint spreading.”
“…I see.”
Lloyd hadn’t noticed at all.
It wasn’t that he was insensitive—his body was actually extremely sensitive.
Which meant…
‘Ortega must be very cunning.’
It was likely that Ortega was subtly maneuvering to take over his body, careful not to alert him.
Yulia’s blue eyes shone with concern as she continued.
“It’s not that I don’t trust you. I’ve grown… fond of you, and I believe you can resist Ortega, but…”
Fond of him?
She casually dropped a surprising comment as if it was nothing.
“That’s why I’m worried. Can you manage it?”
Worry.
It’s been a long time since he heard that.
Thinking about it, who had ever worried for him?
Lloyd nodded quietly.
He felt warmth for a moment.
“Excuse me, I have a request!”
Their first client had arrived.
