Episode 8
Count Quineardel was the head of the prestigious Quineardel family, and at the same time, the owner of the largest apothecary in the kingdom.
They said that ever since his academy days, Count Quineardel had been exceptionally talented in herbal studies. He often said that medicine shouldn’t be something only nobles could afford—there needed to be medicine for ordinary people.
Using the pharmaceutical methods he had researched throughout his youth, he opened a shop that sold medicine at much lower prices. Naturally, he gained overwhelming support from commoners.
Now, Joseph had inherited that reputation and was running the shop himself.
On the surface, everything seemed to be running smoothly.
But that couldn’t possibly be true.
There had to be something wrong somewhere.
“And that’s why I need Cain.”
I briefly considered borrowing the power of the Duke of Haven’s household, but judging by how deeply Eden despised Joseph’s very existence, that seemed impossible.
“So I’ll have to lure Cain out.”
The royal family…
Things were getting bigger and bigger, but strangely enough, my heart felt stirred.
I gently picked up the heirloom left behind by Count Quineardel and carefully flipped through the worn book. Neat, elegant handwriting filled the pages.
Every line had been written by hand, with so much care that not a single part could be skimmed over.
I could practically feel Count Quineardel’s sincere and diligent personality through the pages.
“I’ll make sure Erpin survives, Father.”
As I read about the method for creating sleeping agents, I strengthened my resolve once more.
Standing in front of Dante’s laboratory door—which now felt familiar—I raised my hand.
I’d been here several times already, but today, for some reason, knocking on this door made me unusually nervous.
Still, I had no choice.
After taking a short, steady breath, I knocked.
“Magician, it’s me.”
Knock twice on the old door, wait a moment, and it opens—revealing Dante on the other side.
Just like always.
Hearing my voice, Dante casually opened the door and looked at me with his usual indifferent gaze.
Then, unusually, his eyes shifted past me—
Bang!
He slammed the door shut.
“I knew this would happen.”
I sighed while staring at the tightly closed door.
When I turned around, Kaiden was standing there with a miserable expression.
Honestly, I was the one who wanted to cry.
“I told you not to come until I talked to the magician first.”
“I didn’t even realize I was following you…”
“At this rate, I’m worried I’ll lose his trust because of you.”
“Then what do we do now?”
That was my question.
It had been a while since I’d felt this stressed, and my head was pounding.
“Magician… could you open the door, please?”
I knocked again, but there was no response.
I worked so hard to earn his trust… and Kaiden ruined everything.
The headache worsened. I held my head with one hand and knocked again with the other.
“Magician, I’m really sorry I brought Kaiden. I know you don’t like people. I never meant for things to—”
Damn it.
My vision started spinning, and my legs were giving out.
It had already been quite some time since I met Dante, but I still hadn’t learned how to properly use mana. My body was still unreliable.
And I still had so much to do.
Pushing aside the thoughts making my head hurt even more, I lifted my hand to knock again—
But suddenly, all the strength drained from my body, and my arm dropped limply.
“Magician…”
I’m really at my limit now.
That was when
Click.
The firmly shut door opened.
Because I’d been leaning against it, I lost my balance and fell forward.
“W–Wait—!”
“Lady Erpin!”
I heard Kaiden shout my name from behind.
My body went completely limp. Images flashed through my mind—possessing Erpin for the first time, searching for Cain’s name in the ledgers—
Is this… a life-flashing-before-my-eyes moment?
No—no! I don’t want to die like this!
I squeezed my eyes shut, bracing myself for the pain.
But then
Something lightly touched my forehead.
…Huh?
It didn’t hurt.
Actually, instead of pain—
It felt warm.
Soft.
Comforting.
It doesn’t even feel like my body hit the ground…
Dante’s low voice sounded right beside my ear.
“Are you alright?”
My eyes flew open.
Instead of the hard floor covered with a red carpet, I was in Dante’s arms—warm, solid, and very much alive.
“Ah… thank you.”
Since Dante didn’t like people, I should’ve hurriedly pulled away—but my body still wouldn’t cooperate.
And strangely, he didn’t seem bothered at all.
“Why did you bring him all the way here?”
…No, it wasn’t that he didn’t care.
He was more bothered by Kaiden than by me.
I forced my lips to move and answered.
“It wasn’t my intention.”
“Lady Erpin!”
Kaiden’s desperate voice rang out, but honestly—survival came first.
I couldn’t afford to completely lose Dante’s trust now.
A deep sigh brushed past the top of my head.
Before Dante could speak, I hurriedly cut in.
“What if you use Kaiden as an assistant?”
“…Not necessary.”
“Then at least let him help take care of me. Your test subject keeps collapsing—aren’t you worried?”
By now, I could finally support myself, so I quickly put strength into my legs and stood up.
“Thank you for catching me.”
“I don’t need an assistant.”
Dante answered firmly, still holding me steady until the very end.
He’s more stubborn than I thought.
If I didn’t settle this now, Kaiden would definitely keep pushing to meet Dante again later.
I smiled gently at Dante.
“Kaiden is very interested in ancient mana. He’s the one who introduced me to you after finding out I possess it.”
Dante ran a hand through his hair irritably.
His tightly furrowed brows showed just how tense he was.
After a moment of thought, he let out a short sigh and finally nodded.
“Alright.”
Then he added quickly,
“Only when I call for him. Understood?”
“Yes!”
This was huge progress.
Kaiden wouldn’t bother him unnecessarily anymore—and since he got what he wanted, he’d probably behave even better.
A satisfied smile spread across my face.
“Come in… you too.”
Kaiden nodded repeatedly, looking deeply moved—probably too emotional to even speak.
The moment I entered Dante’s room, I dropped into a chair.
I didn’t know when my strength would give out again, so I needed to be prepared.
It seemed to be Kaiden’s first time inside the room. He kept looking around nervously, lips pressed together.
Ignoring him, I spoke to Dante.
“Magician, in the book you told me to read before, it said ancient mana has strong healing properties. Is that true?”
He replied with an annoyed expression, clearly displeased by having multiple people in his space.
“Yes.”
“Then that applies to me too, right?”
“Most likely.”
His replies were sharper than usual, but I continued anyway.
“It’s not limited to healing mana, is it?”
Dante’s eyebrow twitched.
He hesitated, lips moving as if he wanted to answer but couldn’t.
Following his gaze, I saw Kaiden.
It seemed he didn’t want to talk with Kaiden present.
In the end, Dante sighed and spoke.
“Ancient mana is closest to primordial mana. It reacts purely and powerfully to any type of magic. Each person manifests different abilities, but healing magic is the most basic form of ancient mana.”
In simpler terms
‘The weakest character from the original world becomes a potential genius mage in another world?!’
That explanation went straight into my brain.
“Then… could the potions I make be more effective than the ones made by other mages in the Mage Tower?”
“Possibly. I’ve never seen it myself, but theoretically, yes.”
So this is something like
‘How an ordinary noble girl became a master potion maker’.
I struggled to suppress the grin trying to reach my ears.
“Then please teach me how to make magic potions!”
I pulled out the pharmaceutical book left by Count Quineardel and opened it.
“They say if you pour mana into a regular medicine, it becomes a magic potion. Please teach me how to do that.”
Taking the book from me, Dante replied,
“It’s not particularly difficult, but…”
His voice trailed off as he became completely absorbed in the book. His eyes soon shone with pure interest.
Kaiden quietly stepped closer and peeked over Dante’s shoulder. His eyes sparkled too.
“This is incredible.”
Dante exclaimed with genuine admiration—so pure it almost felt childlike.
“Is the author of this book your father?”
“Yes. He left it to me.”
“It’s astonishing that an ordinary person could conduct research at this level. I’d like to meet him.”
“That would be difficult.”
“Why?”
“My father passed away a long time ago.”
Kaiden froze, completely unsure of what to do.
Dante clicked his tongue in disappointment—not at the death itself, but at the fact he couldn’t meet Count Quineardel.
“The methods written here allow top-quality results using easily obtainable ingredients. Making the medicine itself isn’t difficult. There’s only one thing you need to learn.”
Dante opened his palm.
Blue light gathered above it, forming a glowing sphere.
“How to use mana.”
That—
Was the only way for me to survive.
