“Armand-sama, was it really fine not to wait for the alchemist to finish her work? We could have gotten our hands on a lot more of that dirt.”

“It’s fine. You saw how well-made the dirt was. A single batch attracted enough monsters, so why would we wait for more?” In a dimly lit room, a man and a woman with horns conspired, hidden away from society. “How many times do I have to teach you this lesson? This is why you’re never going to climb up in life. When things are going well, you gotta be bold and seize the opportunity! There’s nothing to lose. The only way to fuck up is by being an idiot and not taking what’s right in front of you.”

“Thank you so much for your advice.” The woman bowed.

“So? How are the soldiers reacting? Are they gone yet?”

“The news of Rocky Ridges being surrounded by monsters has arrived, but they haven’t departed yet. They’re gathering forces here in the capital before making a move.”

“They still haven’t fucked off? We’ve got work to do here. Don’t you have a town to go save? These humans don’t have what it takes. They gotta be bolder. If I waited for the alchemist to finish her job, I would get killed. They would kill me for taking so long instead of getting me promoted. And rightfully so!”

“Apparently, having their town surrounded by monsters didn’t create as big of a commotion as we expected. They were able to maintain the situation under control somehow.”

“Annoying pests… Speaking of which, how are the guys from the alchemists’ guild?”

“They’re still cooperative, but they’re playing dumb. They’re claiming they don’t know the alchemist with the ability to remove.”

“Are they just stupid? After how much support we’ve given them, I know they’re not going to betray us. So what? Do they not know their own talents? Are they that incompetent? They can check each other’s skills now, so why haven’t they found the guy yet?”

“What can you expect? They are humans after all.”

“Why do we even have to bother with human alchemists? This is our technology. I say we just kill the Savior! Screw this stupid game!”

“You know that wouldn’t solve anything. Are you interested in facing Velvet’s people?”

“I know I know. Why does she insist on protecting humans despite her father’s wishes? It doesn’t matter. The plan’s progressing smoothly. I’ll leave Velvet for someone else. I’m gonna go check on those alchemist pricks again. Continue looking into the princess’s planned trip. If she’s really traveling without fast travel, that will be our chance to snag her. I don’t care if it’s a trap or how many of us die. As long as we can take her out of the picture, we’ll be able to do whatever we want with this country.”

“Understood, Armand-sama!”

----------------------------------------

“The Torn Violence Potion is named after that legend. It’s named after the Violence Witch.”

“Violence Witch?” That name sent a chill down my spine. That’s not a name I’ve heard before. It’s not something from the game. It has such a strong impact that it’s not something I see myself forgetting.

“Let me start from the beginning. The story of the Torn Violence Potion takes place around a thousand years ago. During the time of the previous hero. There was once a village that was being attacked by monsters and was fated to be destroyed. To protect the village, the army dispatched a small group of soldiers tasked with killing all the monsters. Unfortunately, the monsters proved stronger than they could have imagined. After narrowly fending off the monsters’ attacks for multiple days, the soldiers were exhausted, and all hope was lost. However, before the village was destroyed, a wandering alchemist showed up and he told the worn-out soldiers he would sell them a potion that would solve all their problems.”

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“That alchemist was the Violence Witch?”

“What? No, you silly. The witch isn’t an alchemist, and she was already dead at that time. This takes place after the hero killed her. Where was I…? The alchemist showed up, sold the Torn Violence Potion to the soldiers, and left. The soldiers then drank the potion, thinking it was just a normal strength potion, but they ended up losing their minds. They went on a rampage and attacked everything in sight. In the end, the village was destroyed by the soldiers sent to protect it. The Torn Violence Potion got reclassified as a madness poison, and became known as a taboo everywhere in human territory.”

A madness poison? Can’t say I like the idea of losing my mind… Why did Ririna bring this up? How is that potion gonna help us?

“My father used to be a high-level alchemist before he got married, and he’s the one who told me this story. Well, an exaggerated version of it… I liked it so much when I was younger that I ended up spending a lot of time studying the Torn Violence Potion. No one knows what happened to the alchemist afterward. But I couldn’t stand the idea of an alchemist being the bad guy, I had to correct his mistake. I was determined to remove the madness effect from the Torn Violence Potion, and after many years, I found a way.”

“…” I see… If she’s bringing up this potion over a regular strength potion, it must mean its potency is much higher. It’s unusable with the madness side effect, but if she’s really able to remove it… It may give us the extra edge we were looking for.

“That was the story… It was just an idea, though. Even if I say I can remove the side effects, that’s not exactly trustworthy… I know how crazy it sounds. This is the Torn Violence Potion we’re talking about. I knew you wouldn’t agree…” Ririna shifted around her seat nervously. My lack of immediate response, combined with the silence of the forest, made her feel awkward.

“It might work…” Depending on how much that potion increases my strength, it might be enough…

“Huh? Are you serious? You’re fine with it? You’re not afraid of the potion? You trust it? You may have never heard about it, but it makes you lose your mind, you know?! It’s dangerous!” Ririna was warning me, but she was smiling excitedly.

“Well, it’s not that I trust the potion—I trust you. You said you can remove the madness effect, right? If it’s not gonna make me lose my mind, what’s there to be afraid of?” I get what she’s saying. There’s no guarantee that Ririna can actually make a safe Torn Violence Potion, but that doesn’t matter. I trust Ririna, and from the way she was talking, it will be fine.

“I- Iroha… I- I…” Ririna was so surprised that she stood up. Her eyes were glistening. Her body shook for a moment before she leaped into a hug. “Thank you, Iroha! I- I won’t let you down! I promise!” Hey! What’s this all of a sudden!? I thought we were having a serious conversation on how to solve a serious problem! She’s seducing me now? It’s working! She let go of me and sat down after a deep breath. My face was still red, but I was able to regain my composure. Her chest… Mhmm…

“W- why are you able to remove the madness effect from the potion? Can anyone do that? Or are you some kind of prodigy?”

“No! Not at all… I’m just a normal alchemist. It’s just a matter of perspective. I actually can’t make a Torn Violence Potion without the madness effect. What I can do is make it so that it doesn’t affect a specific individual. Everyone else tried to make a change that worked for everyone, and that’s why it didn’t work. Making a potion that only works for one person is really inefficient, so no one bothered to even try it, except for me. Ahahaha…”

“No need to beat yourself up. At least it’s coming in handy now.”

“You’re right. All my hard work might actually bear fruit. But first, I’ll need to run some tests on you. It’s nothing too complicated, but I need to know what to do to make the madness not affect you.”

Tests huh? I wonder what’s she’s gonna do… “Okay… What do you want me to do?” I have mixed feelings about this. Ririna opened a notebook and a book she always carried with her. Then she rummaged through her stuff, and after mixing a couple things, she handed me a small flask with a colorless liquid.

“Start by drinking this.” So I did. And nothing really changed. It didn’t taste like anything, and I wasn’t feeling anything strange. “What color did that taste like?” Color? Taste? That’s not how senses work…

“Uhmm… I don’t know… Is this a joke?”

“I don’t joke about my alchemy. Just tell me the first color that comes to mind. If you close your eyes, you’ll see it.”

The first color that comes to mind? “Red…” It tasted like red…

“The same as your eye color?”

No… Not that pastel red… It was stronger and more vivid… “It was brighter, stronger, more vivid… It was red red.”

“Okay…” Ririna scribbled down something. “Do you feel warmer?”

“Not really…?”

“Hmm… Finally, I’m gonna need to touch you a little bit. Can you relax your body?” She approached me and grabbed my left hand with both her hands. “Nope…” She’s touching me now… Oh… Control yourself, Iroha… This doesn’t mean anything… She let go of my hand and went up to my arm. “It’s not here either…” She touched my shoulder, but she didn’t find what she was looking for. After taking a step back, she flipped through some pages of her book, looking for an answer. “That means… Excuse me, Iroha.” HEY! She’s grabbing my right boob! What the hell? Is she checking my heartbeat?! No, that’s the wrong side. The hug from earlier now this? It has to be on purpose! She’s into me! I don’t get this! Why now all of a sudden?! “… Springy…”

“Wawawawa- Don’t say that!” I pushed Ririna away in a panic. Why the hell is she blushing? Wasn’t this part of the test? No way! Is she actually into me? Am I going crazy? I didn’t know Ririna was the type to take advantage of a situation like that…

“Sorry sorry… It was just a joke. You seemed a little tense. I needed to understand the type of magic that flows through your body and where your core was.” Really…? On the right side of my chest? Wouldn’t it normally be where the heart is? Wait… It’s probably not just an excuse. That’s where the VISS Driver is. At least that’s where it feels like it is…

“These results are really interesting, Iroha. It’s like you’re not from this world. How strange… Ahahaha!” Yeah, that’s because I’m not! What kind of tests were those? Why are they so perceptive? “Last question! Do you like strawberries? We got strawberries at home, and I can use them for the potion’s flavor.”

“Uhmm… Sure… I guess…”

“Good! You’ll get to be the first person to drink a safe Torn Violence Potion that tastes like strawberry then. I’ll need my equipment to make the potion, so I’ll have to sneak into the fast-travel station at some point.”

“Are you gonna be alright? Don’t get yourself caught…”

“I’ll be fine. Don’t worry about me. I promise I’ll make you the perfect potion. Thanks, Iroha, for trusting me. I really appreciate it.” Ririna had the warmest smile I’ve ever seen on her face. My heart’s pounding. What kind of mood is this? She’s so precious… I won’t let her die, no matter what.