I Shall Survive Using Potions! Volume 2

by Funa

  Everyone present agreed with Kaoru’s idea. This was a suggestion from the girl who the Goddess Celestine had not only said she owed a great debt to, but had called a most important friend. Even if Kaoru was just a normal girl, it most likely would have been unanimously approved as well.

  It was hard to tell if the pope and everyone else from Rueda were even breathing anymore...

  Celes had lost all interest in them by this point and turned to speak to Kaoru.

  “I know you probably haven’t done anything since you just arrived, but do you think you’re going to have a good time here?” Celes said with a smile.

  “I’ve already been here for a while, Celes! Your sense of time is all outta whack! I’ve gone on tons of adventures already, and I’ve been having plenty of fun!”

  “Oh, really? Then I wonder if it’s all right to give the other god my first report on how you’ve been doing.”

  “Uh... Sure, I don’t see why not? If you wait too long, I’ll probably end up dying of old age or some sorta freak accident here...”

  “There’s no way that would happen! You tell the funniest jokes, Kaoru,” Celes said, giggling.

  Did I really say something that funny? Kaoru wondered to herself.

  “Then I’ll just take a peek at the records and see what I can fill him in on. That should let me know about all the adventures you’ve been having, too.”

  Records? What records? Is she talking about that one thing? You know, the thing where, like, everything in the world is recorded? What was it called again...the Acai-Stick records? Has that been keeping tabs on me all this time?

  Kaoru was getting somewhat freaked out just thinking about it, so she decided to stop thinking altogether.

  “Then I guess I’ll get going now. Make sure to enjoy yourself, Kaoru!”

  “Oh, wait! About Rueda...”

  She just forgot about it, so don’t remind her now!!! everyone in the plaza screamed together on the inside.

  “Only some of them are bad people, so it’d be unfair to punish everyone there because of what happened. I know you must be busy doing your thing, so I’ll take care of it for you. Think you can leave it to me?”

  “Oh, really? Then I’ll do just that. If you see anyone else doing something bad, just do whatever you need to take care of it.”

  “Roger that! Good luck getting along with the other god.”

  “Ehehe~ I’ll give it my best shot!”

  And with that, Celes disappeared into thin air.

  “““W-We’re saved...”””

  “I know what you were all thinking back there, but if I just let Celes leave like that, she could’ve ended up bringing down divine punishment to who knows where! She may have ended up taking down this country as well, so that’s why I had to make sure and remind her!”

  Everyone nodded at Kaoru’s explanation, since they knew she was exactly right.

  In the end, it wasn’t certain what was going on with the reparations and the Holy Land of Rueda—pardon, just Rueda, now. Since the delegation who was supposed to be representing the country were now rendered useless after what had just happened with Celes, there was likely to be a coup there soon enough. They technically hadn’t done any sort of damage to Balmore, so at most they’d have to pay for the food used to take care of their prisoners. That was why no one seemed particularly concerned about what to do with them.

  Since the delegation from Rueda had left without doing any negotiations, the clergymen that Balmore had captured remained locked in their cells until several months later, when their relatives petitioned for their freedom. Negotiations with Aligot, on the other hand, had proceeded smoothly. After agreeing to pay back their reparations in installments, they wrapped up negotiations for the release of their prisoners, meaning they’d be able to go back to their own country right away.

  The representatives from the other countries were going wild. Aseed, Brancott, and the other participants who’d traveled so far from countries further inland were deeply moved at the chance to see and hear the words of the Goddess Celestine in person. What she’d talked about went beyond their wildest dreams, for better or worse. And that wasn’t to mention them finding out the girl with unparalleled knowledge and the power to make potions with miraculous abilities also happened to be a friend of the Goddess.

  She was an incredibly valuable girl, and they knew it. But if they tried anything funny to get her, their entire country would be wiped off the map. She was the friend of a goddess who’d destroy a country just for calling her down for no reason. If they tried doing anything to harm her—no, if they did anything to even slightly put her in a bad mood, there was no telling what Celestine would do to them. They’d leave her be, and maybe try asking her for small favors. That should probably be the most they could get away with.

  For now, each of the representatives agreed to the suggestion of new trade deals with Balmore with the promise of sending delegates from the country to seal the deal sometime in the near future. After deciding countries facing the sea should begin building ships while those that weren’t would focus on speedy delivery for health potions, the meeting was adjourned. Everyone gathered there was finally on their way back to their own countries.

  Chapter 16: A Few Years Later

  The years passed by. Kaoru was still the same height, standing at 157 centimeters tall. She was 158 centimeters when she was twenty-two, so this didn’t really come as a shock. Kaoru had thought she was already this tall when she was this age back on Earth, but was a bit crestfallen to find out that it was all in her head. If 157 centimeters made her look like a twelve-year-old in this world, then 158 centimeters was probably the average for thirteen-year-olds. It could barely be called a change at all.

  Kaoru was only thinking of the average height of people in Japan when she asked Celes for her new body, so she only had herself to blame for that. The people around her already realized that this was about as far as she was going to grow. But Kaoru still held out hope, telling herself that Westerners all loved smaller girls—and also making sure to shove the word “lolicon” deep into the corners of her mind.

  Aligot used the designs Kaoru had given them to create a whole new breed of ship, establishing a new sea route to the undiscovered treasure island of resources to the west of them. They’d focused their efforts into their trade route along the coast, and they were making steady progress into establishing themselves as a maritime nation.

  The design Kaoru had offered them was a model ship she’d created using her potion powers, as usual. It was one of the earlier versions of wooden vessels meant for exploring the open seas. For some reason, the goddess figurehead the empire attached to their boats looked younger than Celestine. The faces they had were definitely cute, but the look they had in their eyes could only be described as “harsh.”

  The clergymen of Rueda had lost their standing as leaders of the country, and the vast personal fortunes they’d built up over the years was seized by the newly established government. After managing to bring the country relatively under control, they sent a proposal to Balmore asking to be annexed into the kingdom, to which Balmore accepted. They were allowed to be governed by their own citizens rather than Balmore’s aristocracy, and were treated as an extra territory of the kingdom.

  Maybe they’d proposed annexation because they wanted to guarantee the future of their small country after losing their status as the chosen people. Or maybe they wanted to be a citizen of the same country as Kaoru, since she was a being on the same level as a goddess... Either way, Balmore wasn’t going to question their decision.

  Even if Aseed didn’t stand a chance compared to Aligot, the new island was about the same distance away for them as it was for Balmore, so they began focusing their efforts on shipbuilding as well. Not one to take this lying down, Balmore threw their hat into the ring too. They became Aseed’s rival as both raced against each other for seafaring superiority. Roland came asking for Kaoru’s help, but she refused to give an
ything outside of what she already had for both countries. It wouldn’t keep things interesting if she did, after all.

  Speaking of Roland, he’d become engaged to none other than Francette, the protector of the Goddess. She was the recipient of a divine blade and became a heroine who saved the country, so there were no qualms about the difference in their social statuses. There was no one who could oppose who royalty was allowed to marry or not; on the contrary, the entire country welcomed the idea.

  After the proposal, Francette had come before Kaoru to swear undying loyalty to her. While Roland seemed like he was getting up in his years now, Francette didn’t seem to have changed a bit. Kaoru felt like she’d get told to look in a mirror if she tried bringing it up with Francette, so she’d never tell Francette that, though.

  Brancott was beating themselves up over letting a huge catch like her get away. They’d learned that a girl with the power to create potions had appeared at one point in the territory of Baron Runie. Without a doubt, that girl had to be the friend of the Goddess herself, Alfa Kaoru Nagase.

  Though both sisters were inside Brancott at one point, they’d slipped through their fingers after being driven away by other people’s greed and, frankly, stupid decisions. Just thinking about it, she had to have traveled through half the peninsula to reach Balmore, which meant she’d pass through Brancott on her way there. There was a good chance she’d have settled down there. In fact, the members of the Hunter’s Guild in Baron Runie’s territory even said the girl was planning to do so at one point. If the incident at the restaurant she worked at in the capital didn’t come to pass, she might have stayed there for good. It was something those on the Brancott side would regret for the rest of their days—and the same went for the countries on the continent as well.

  Balmore wasn’t only the production location for the miraculous healing potions, but whose development as a country had exploded in recent years. The other countries wanted the girl responsible for spurring that growth and who created the potions, the one who was said to have the same powers as the Goddess Celestine herself—but they wouldn’t dare try and do anything rash. Aligot had faced a crushing defeat trying to do just that, while the once influential leaders of Rueda had fallen from power. Not to mention the words Goddess Celestine had spoken that day:

  “If you see anyone else doing something bad, just do whatever you need to take care of it.”

  Who knew what sort of punishment constituted “whatever” by a goddess’s standards... But one thing was for sure: no one wanted to find out for themselves. They were hoping, however, to invite the girl over at least once for some advice on what to do to further develop their own country.

  As for Balmore...

  While they may have been a step behind Aligot when it came to shipbuilding, they were still putting up a good fight. They’d already built smaller prototype versions of ships for traversing the open sea, and were currently working on the construction of their first large-scale version of the same type of ship.

  They’d also begun introducing crop rotation and the use of fertilizer as part of their farming techniques. It was just about time for the first cycle of crops to be finished from the test fields, and the results were more than clear enough to officially incorporate this strategy into their agriculture.

  As well, Fearsome Fran and the other four grim reapers served as Roland’s personal guard—the group who’d protected the country together—were all hailed as heroes. Roland included, they were a group of six warriors who’d caused more than 40,000 of the Aligot Empire’s troops to flee in fear. There was no one who could hope to stand a chance against the five knights who’d received the blessing of a goddess, though the four former imperial guards had made sure to return the swords they were granted back to Kaoru. It wasn’t like they were true vibroblades or anything, but just normal swords that happened to be extra sharp and much sturdier (though they were definitely on another level than your average blade).

  Roland’s sword, on the other hand, did have the high-frequency vibration function, so Kaoru actually had to make sure to take the sword back from him. She wasn’t planning on letting anyone but her einherjar Francette have one like that. It looked like he had no intention of giving it back to Kaoru, so she had it stashed it away using her Item Box’s storage function.

  Roland didn’t take it well. There was plenty of complaining on his part after Kaoru had confiscated the sword, something along the lines of, “Why was I the only one who didn’t get a sword?! It’s not fair!”

  Kaoru was forced to explain how royalty receiving a sacred sword was actually an incredibly big deal, and it wouldn’t only cause Balmore’s relations with other countries to get worse, but it might even make King Serge seem even less relevant. Roland finally seemed to settle down after she told him there was a good possibility people would start calling for him to take the throne instead. Even after the lecture, he immediately assigned the four imperial guards who received sacred blades to work under him as his personal guard, alongside Francette.

  Did he really want a sword that badly?

  It was the first time she’d seen the usually calm and collected Roland throw a tantrum like this. A grin crossed her face, as if it actually came as a bit of a relief that she knew even someone like him could act like this as well.

  Kaoru had quit her job at the Maillard Workshop after the peace talks wrapped up. After everything that happened, she had much more on her plate to deal with now that made it harder to work at a small workshop like theirs. Tears in their eyes, everyone begged her not to go, but her hands were tied.

  She had already prepared a replacement, however: Lolotte, an eleven-year-old (when she took over) who happened to be a member of the Eyes of the Goddess. She’d always looked after the other children in the group, and had a certain “motherly” personality to her. Kaoru assumed she would be the perfect girl to take care of the five adult-sized “children” at the workshop, and it turned out her intuition was right on the money.

  The “cuisine” back when the kids lived in the rundown house was downright awful because they lacked the proper ingredients and seasonings to make anything decent for themselves. Now that Lolotte had proper cookware and everything she would ever need, she had plenty of chances to let her cooking skills shine. Cooking duties for the Eyes of the Goddess had been handed down to Lucy, another girl from the group Lolotte had trained up herself. All the girls who were small and frail due to malnutrition back then had grown up to be lovely young women as well.

  Then there was Emile, the leader of the Eyes of the Goddess. He and Belle, the girl who threw herself into the well before, were getting along quite well these days. There was only a four year gap between them, so he wasn’t a lolicon or anything.

  News of the battle at the well had spread across the country, and figures made in her image were placed near wells after she became known for protecting them from any evil. She became so popular that offers to adopt her started to come in from all over, and some good ones at that. But Belle had refused them all, choosing to stay with everyone else instead. She never talked about why she did that, though. Kaoru could only offer a wry smile knowing that the girl who had worked so hard to throw poison into the well became known as a protector of them.

  Cedric, the oldest son of the Lyodart household, had gotten married. His fiancée was the aristocrat girl Kaoru had spoken to back during the courting ceremony. Kaoru was overjoyed to hear that, and would come over to visit her every once in a while. She acted much sweeter now compared to their first meeting.

  Achille seemed to have given up on Kaoru, and now had his sights set on Lolotte instead, which had earned him Kaoru’s great displeasure: “Are you fine with any girl as long as they can cook for you?!”

  Business was booming with the Abili Trade Company. The potion trade was still doing great, of course, but the other new products Kaoru had suggested were a huge hit as well. This was due to her reputation practically guaranteeing they would sell.
>
  Now that everything had finally calmed down somewhat, Kaoru had realized something: I don’t have any potential husband material...

  And just like that, Kaoru suddenly found herself panicking...

  I’m already halfway through my marriageable years, but I don’t have a boyfriend, or even someone I would want to go out with. All right, what single guys do I know right now...

  King Serge: Pass!

  Achille? Have fun getting along with Lolotte, damn it!

  There’s Hector, the boy from the Earl’s household who Francette used to work for. He was thirteen when I first met him, but he’s grown up into a fine young man since then... I’ll put him on hold for now.

  Allan back in Brancott, but things might get hairy if I marry someone from another country now, so I’ll pass. The prince over there is pretty annoying, too.

  Who else... Is that it...? That’s all I got? Even if I played along with the idea of going with Hector, he’s the successor to the household of an Earl, and he’s younger than me, too...

  Oh crap... Am I screwed?

  I was a bit shaken up over the predicament I found myself in. As I absentmindedly staggered through the town in a daze, a middle-aged man suddenly jumped in front of me—a dagger in his hand.

  “It’s your fault... It’s your fault the Holy Land was destroyed. We lost everything! DIIIIIIE!!!”

  It all happened so suddenly I didn’t have the chance to react. The man rushed forward, his blade finding its mark as it plunged directly into my chest.

  Chapter 17: Spreading the Family Genes

  “Huh...?” Kaoru stood in a daze as she stared at the dagger that had pierced her chest...mostly because it didn’t hurt at all.

  “Huh?” The man found himself with the same dumbfounded reaction as Kaoru after seeing she was unharmed.