Chapter 52……………………………………..
After finishing a long and productive discussion, Rin wiped her forehead with a satisfied expression.
“Alright. At this level, the café plan is perfect!”
“Yeah! I can’t wait for when mocktails are officially added to the café menu.”
Satisfied, Rin tucked the memo pad—densely filled with plans—back into her pocket and turned her gaze elsewhere.
Right. Lores grass.
Seeing the pile of Lores grass that had already grown enough and been neatly pulled out for research reminded her of something she’d wanted to try making.
“Julien. Should we try adding this Lores grass to a mocktail too?”
“Lores grass? I heard it’s incredibly bitter. Would that be okay…?”
At Rin’s words, Julien picked up a clump of Lores grass—roots and all—and stared at it thoughtfully, muttering in concern.
“Mmm. Apparently, if you process it properly—extract it well or mix it right—it has an amplification effect.”
“Huh? This weed has that kind of effect?”
“Yeah. It was written in Mom’s research notes.”
“Ohhh! As expected of the Great Archmage.”
The moment Rin mentioned her mother—the famous archmage—Julien immediately accepted it, now studying the Lores grass with curiosity while thinking about how to combine it with a mocktail to bring out its effect.
Rin herself didn’t yet know how to extract that specific property from the Lores grass, but she planned to research it using the potion formulas hinted at in her mother’s notes.
If she could isolate that effect alone, she could apply it in many different items she had in mind.
“I want to research it more too… I want to make a mocktail that makes you super healthy. Kei said something like that before.”
“Huh? Me?”
“Yeah. You said you felt a surge of energy after drinking my mocktail.”
“Oh—right. That’s true.”
It wasn’t something made up. Knight Kei nodded seriously, not his usual laid-back self.
Rin pointed at Kei and said to Julien,
“I don’t know why, but everyone said they felt energized. So I thought, why not make something like that on purpose? Like a mocktail that makes knights stronger.”
“Isn’t that more in the realm of potions than beverages?”
“Nope. If mocktails are alcohol substitutes, then this would be health alcohol.”
Rin, who had even consulted a dictionary to find the perfect name for drinks meant to replace alcohol, confidently raised a finger.
“And if it has an alcohol-like name, those knight uncles who only like booze will actually drink it.”
“Ohhh. I see.”
Watching the kids nod in agreement, the nanny Julie mentally bonked the heads of all the sinful drunkards she knew.
“Ugh…”
Kei groaned softly, unable to refute Rin’s flawless logic.
Julie’s cold gaze stabbed painfully into Knight Kei.
“Right, Kei?”
“Our kids… I’m sorry the adults aren’t good role models.”
“Huh? Why are you apologizing all of a sudden, Kei?”
Rin tilted her head in confusion at Kei, who bowed his head on his own, then quickly turned her attention back to her interests.
Alright. I’ve got plenty of Lores grass.
Firmly deciding to develop a health drink using this valuable herb she had secured, Rin let out an excited snort.
Hair-growth tonics were completely outside her expertise, so she’d have to wait for a specialist—but recovery potions were included in her mother’s research records. If she experimented based on those, she could probably make something good.
If she could properly extract the amplification effect, she could even mix it into her daily medicine.
Then her health might improve exponentially.
Clutching the Lores grass tightly, Rin raised her arm high into the air.
With this, I’ll get healthier—and our knight order will get healthier too!
We can do it! Health!
As Rin shouted the slogan, something sparkled faintly in her hand.
Ah—come to think of it. Did that kid deliver the drink properly to his sister?
Seeing Julien muttering “Lores grass, mocktail” alternately reminded her of something related to the kids’ mocktail.
The younger sibling who had taken a kids’ mocktail home to his older sister—saying it would help her stay awake even during nap time at the awakening ceremony.
I bet his sister drank it happily too. I wonder how she reacted.
Since a cute little brother had brought it, she probably enjoyed it even more.
Not knowing how the mocktail was actually used, Rin didn’t think much further than that.
***
The mansion of the Elepha family—elephant beastkin and a prestigious lineage of scholars.
“Th-this is… what on earth…?!”
Late into the night, surrounded by thick books while pondering her research topic, Athina—the eldest daughter of the Elepha family—clutched an empty bottle and trembled violently.
“My head feels… clear. What is this? The letters look sharper somehow?”
Her bloodshot eyes—strained from days of nonstop reading—sparkled as she scanned the text.
The drowsiness that had weighed down her eyelids moments ago was completely gone.
Feeling her mind clearer than even during the day, Athina hurriedly grabbed a quill and began scribbling.
“A theme—an incredible research theme is coming to me! Uoooo!”
Prrrrrr!
Letting out a joyful elephant trumpet, she piled up countless sheets of parchment filled with writing.
The next morning, after a night of scholarly frenzy—
Bang!
With dark circles under her eyes but a sharp, lucid gleam in her gaze, Athina kicked open the dining hall door.
As the family stared in shock at the unexpected appearance of the eldest daughter—who had been skipping breakfast due to busyness—Athina strode straight toward the youngest.
Holding up the potion bottle that had enabled last night’s incredible results, she asked the still-sleepy youngest sibling,
“My adorable baby sibling. Do you have more of this? Where did you get it?”
“Potion…? Umm. Some kind of tail? They said it was a drink.”
“A drink?! This is practically a magic potion!”
“Unni, keep it down. You’ll scare the kid.”
The second sibling scolded her for raising her voice so early, then tilted their head at the sight of Athina cradling an empty bottle like a treasure.
“What even is that?”
“This is… this is miraculous spring water bestowed upon me by the god of scholarship.”
“What?”
Has she finally lost it from too much research?
Ignoring the skeptical stare, Athina raised the empty bottle high and proclaimed dramatically,
“From now on, every laboratory must stock this potion! This is the elixir that will save all researchers!”
At first, the family stared at her like she was insane—but true to their elephant beastkin nature, most of the Elepha family were scholars. After drinking the bottles the youngest handed out one by one, they quickly joined Athina’s praise.
“This is it! With this, I can do all-night research without losing focus!”
“She’s right—this really is a lifeline for scholars! It drives away sleep and has an awakening effect? A miracle drink!”
“Where—where can we get more of this?”
In a place Rin never expected, demand for her mocktail was exploding.
***
Unaware of the sudden commotion elsewhere, Rin enjoyed another peaceful morning.
As soon as she woke up, she spat out a mouthful of black blood refreshingly, washed her face thoroughly, had breakfast with Uncle Theo, and even drank three full cups of medicine afterward.
Today was also a day Theo would train with her.
“Uncle, Uncle! You remember today, right?”
“Hm?”
“…You forgot, Uncle? You promised to train with me.”
“Of course, of course. I remember.”
After pretending not to know and seeing Rin look genuinely disappointed, Theodore replied with an apologetic smile.
At his confirmation, Rin immediately brightened and grinned happily. Watching her fondly, Theodore stood up, wiped Rin’s mouth, and spoke.
“But today, we’re doing a slightly different kind of training.”
“Hmff?”
Rin asked through squished lips as his large hand wiped her face.
“We’ve been practicing swordsmanship in the training grounds so far, right?”
“Yeah. I’ve been striving to become the strongest.”
Recalling Rin’s sword posture—which was, realistically, still hundreds of steps away from ‘strongest’ once he set aside his fond bias—Theodore paused briefly before continuing.
“…Today, we’re going to learn something a little different.”
