I Shall Survive Using Potions! Volume 1

by Funa

  What family does she belong to? Or is she a princess from some country attending undercover? Those eyes definitely make her seem like she would let out a high-pitched, derisive laugh someone of that stature would let out...

  The party stayed dead silent. Everyone watched as the girl walked directly toward where Viscount Lyodart and Cedric were seated...then took a right and headed for the food corner.

  The viscount’s head dropped in pure shock. She’d just blown right past them all. Everyone’s heart stopped all at once when they saw her begin happily (and haphazardly) piling food onto her plate.

  Her dress is going to get dirty!!!

  Several maids practically flew over to her, taking the plate away from the girl and asking what she wanted so they could get it for her. Taking the now full plate back, the girl looked like she was in heaven as she dug into the food.

  Sound finally returned to the once quiet party, and a swarm of boys had formed around her, ready to try and talk to the girl. However, it was basic manners not to talk with someone who was holding a plate of food, and none of them were able to approach as she showed no signs of stopping her personal all-you-can-eat buffet.

  And boy did the girl just keep on eating. The group of men were restless and fidgeting, each one ready to fight for the chance to talk with her first.

  The girl glanced over toward the men, then finally set her plate down on the table.

  N-Now’s our chance!!!

  Right when the boys scrambled at the chance to be the first one to talk with her—

  “Thanks for inviting me, Achille!” the girl announced with a smile, staring straight at the third oldest son of the Lyodart household.

  “K-Kaoru...?” Achille barely managed to reply, his mouth agape.

  What’s going on here? That girl knows Achille somehow? But even though I’m curious, I can’t just butt into the conversation... I have to fulfill my duty as host of the party.

  Viscount Lyodart suppressed his urge to rush over to his son and begin interrogating the boy for all the details.

  Cedric was dying to know what was going on as well, but he was stuck in the same position as his father and couldn’t leave his seat at the host’s table. He had to stay there so they could both greet the various families and potential wives who came to see them.

  Just who is that girl, and how does she know Achille??? the two thought.

  “Would you be kind enough to introduce this young lady to us, Sir Achille?” the group of men surrounding Achille asked, urging him along.

  It would be a cinch to approach her if she were alone, but if the girl’s family, friends, or acquaintances were in attendance as well, it was an unspoken rule to have them introduce her to the men instead.

  “R-Right... This is Kaoru.”

  There wasn’t anything else he could say besides that. She couldn’t say her family name since she was only a commoner, and there wasn’t any way he could tell them she was the housekeeper for his workshop. If he tried introducing her like that when she was wearing such a dress and jewelry, they were liable to tell him to quit screwing around.

  Achille was at a loss for what to do—which was when Kaoru came to his rescue.

  “My name’s Kaoru, and as for my family name... Let’s just keep that a secret for now, please.”

  Their suspicions Kaoru was here incognito were all but confirmed by the fact that she was hiding her name. Judging by the way Achille was acting, they came to the conclusion the two were no more than acquaintances at best, and the scramble to be the first to talk with her was on once more. They made sure not to ask about where she came from, and no one here was rude enough to ask how old a lady was of course.

  “Do you happen to have a significant other you’re engaged to, Kaoru?”

  “No, not yet. It’s a tradition in our family for us to find a gentleman ourselves, you see.”

  The excitement of the group was reaching a fever pitch as they saw Kaoru gently smile at them. Their ages ranged from early to late teens, some a little older than that, and some even older. There was definitely a wide variety of men around her.

  “How do you happen to know Achille?”

  “He’s one of the first friends I made after coming to this country, and I’m indebted to him for what he’s done for me. He even eats my cooking and tells me it’s delicious.”

  She wasn’t lying.

  Though the gathering hadn’t thought there was anything special between Achille and the girl, they were all on high alert now that they’d heard she’d make home-cooked meals for him. She was even casual enough to address him without using any titles...

  “You can cook?”

  “I can. I’d say I’m pretty good at it too. When I heard they’d be serving a feast at this party, I asked Achille to let me come as well so I could compare it with my own country’s dishes.”

  So that explains why she was digging in earlier... thought the flock around her. In reality, Kaoru just wanted to stuff her face after seeing the spread here. She’d always been raised with the idea of getting her money’s worth out of all-you-can-eat buffets after all (though it hadn’t cost her a single coin to get in to the party).

  “W-Well, then you should come to a party at our estate as well! You could try a whole assortment of our best dishes there!”

  “Well our head chef used to work at the royal palace, you see...”

  “But in our family...”

  What followed was an almost endless stream of invitations for Kaoru to try their various households’ cooking and join their parties.

  Achille couldn’t say a word to her. He was shaken after witnessing this new side of Kaoru, a girl who didn’t seem like a commoner in the slightest.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, thank you kindly for coming today!”

  Viscount Lyodart’s voice echoed throughout the party venue, signaling it was time to begin formal introductions. The group surrounding Kaoru couldn’t just ignore this, so they scattered and headed toward the front.

  After thanking the guests for taking time out of their schedules to come to the party, the viscount touched upon some of the recent happenings in the kingdom before finally introducing the main focus of the occasion, Cedric. He also made sure to talk about his second and third sons, as well mentioning that Cedric and Achille specifically were still without their own fiancées. When he did, he sent a quick glance toward Achille and the raven-haired girl standing next to his son.

  After the introductions and speeches were finished, the conversations from before started up once more, and the same gaggle of guys from before were heading back toward Kaoru. This time, however, there was an entirely new wave of people forming.

  “Hey, Achille, what are they all doing?”

  A flood of girls were making their way toward the viscount and Cedric, each one of them holding something in their hands.

  “O-Oh, right, them. Those girls are heading over to see my brother and give him gifts. It’s sort of a way of telling him to ‘remember my name, please’ by doing that,” Achille answered back, finally able to get a word in with Kaoru. “Anyone who’s already married, going to be married, or in a relationship with someone won’t go though.”

  “Huh? You didn’t tell me about that.”

  “That’s because it doesn’t have anything to do with you, right?”

  Kaoru sank deep in thought after hearing that.

  Hmm... All right, change of plans: I’m going up there!

  “I’ll just go and say hi as well then!”

  “Huh? Wait, what? What are you... Wait, you can’t! Don’t go!”

  The color quickly drained from Achille’s face as he desperately tried holding me back, but I nimbly slid my arm from his grip and headed toward the host’s table. I scanned the room as I did, checking to see which of the servants here matched the description of the person Achille was telling me about earlier.

  By the time I made it to the front of the room, the line of girls had stretched out pretty far. It lo
oked like everyone had the hots for the oldest son... I wonder why?

  “Oh my, are you going to meet with Sir Cedric as well?”

  After I took my place in the back of the line, the girl just in front of me spoke up. She had golden blonde pigtails done to look like two spiraling drills that curled down toward the floor, and she really gave off that “rich aristocrat girl” vibe.

  “It appears you don’t have anything to present him with though, doesn’t it. Are you planning on greeting him empty-handed?”

  It was hard to tell if she was throwing shade my way because I’d been the center of attention for all those guys earlier, or because I’d stumbled into a battlefield where all the girls here were vying for Cedric’s attention.

  “Oh, that’s all right. No need to worry about me,” I said with a casual reply.

  “Oh, is that so? By the by, I’ve heard girls who have dropped and broken their presents would do things such as kiss the hand of the person they met with, or give them permission to call them by a pet name in lieu of gifts,” the aristocratic girl said before turning back around with a “hmph.”

  That was probably her giving me advice since it looked like I didn’t have anything to give Cedric.

  W-Wow... She’s actually a really nice girl.

  Each girl in line would hand Cedric their gift and chat with him a little before switching with whoever was next. The amount of them left gradually dwindled, and it finally came to be Kaoru’s turn, who was waiting at the end of the line.

  “Wait, you’re...”

  Cedric couldn’t hide his shock at seeing the raven-haired girl from before, especially since he wasn’t expecting her to come to see him.

  “So you’re not my little brother’s girlfriend?”

  “I’m a friend of Achille. He’s a very nice person.”

  “A nice person, huh. Haha...”

  Cedric gave a feeble chuckle, feeling a bit sorry for his little brother, while Viscount Lyodart let out a strained laugh from beside him.

  “Thank you very much for inviting me today. I wanted to take the chance to meet Achille’s father and older brother, so I ended up in line as well.”

  “Speaking of my little brother,” Cedric said, glancing at a very pale Achille, “it looks like he’s about to keel over at any second...”

  “Anyway, I didn’t want to line up without having anything to give, so, without further ado...”

  Though she said that, it didn’t seem like the girl had anything on her, and it wasn’t like she was going to give him any of the jewels laden in the accessories she wore.

  “Do you think you could call Calvin here?”

  “What...?”

  Cedric was rendered speechless after hearing the last words he ever expected to come from the girl’s mouth.

  Calvin was one of the guards assigned to protecting Cedric, but also his sparring partner for training in swordplay. Cedric looked to Calvin as an older brother and a friend.

  One day, Cedric had managed to shake free of the vassal in charge of watching over him, and went off to recklessly hunt on his own. He was eventually set upon by a graybear, and Calvin stepped in to protect him, taking on grievous wounds in the process.

  Calvin lost the ability to use his left leg because of the incident, which meant not only could he no longer fulfill his role of guarding Cedric, but he couldn’t take on work as a soldier or hunter either. In fact, there weren’t really any jobs for a man with a lame leg who only had a talent for wielding a sword. But even if he’d lost his ability to work as a swordsman, there was no way Cedric could just drive him away when it was Cedric’s own foolish actions that caused Calvin to lose his future in the first place. The viscount had no intention of abandoning the man who injured himself protecting a a noble’s son either.

  Because Calvin wasn’t able to freely use his leg anymore, he was kept on as a servant instead. He’d considered retiring on his own if he couldn’t be of use to the family employing him. However, he began thinking of ways he may be useful if he stayed on as a servant, like blending in with the other workers to fend off thieves and intruders in the event of a home invasion, or becoming a shield to protect those he served should it come down to it. That was how he built up the determination to work as a servant instead.

  To Cedric, though, it was a constant reminder of his guilt and self-loathing over what had happened. And now, this girl was telling him to call Calvin here and show everyone just how foolish he’d been.

  “So...” Cedric grimaced. “You want me to call Calvin...”

  “Yes, please do.”

  It was impossible to tell if the girl knew about the suffering Cedric had gone through. She merely stared straight at him, never breaking eye contact.

  Silence...

  No one was able to make a sound in the dead quiet of the room. Even Viscount Lyodart couldn’t help but hold his tongue.

  “Calvin, come here!” Cedric ordered, finally breaking the silence.

  A servant slowly approached Cedric, dragging his left leg along as he did.

  “Ladies and gentlemen!” Kaoru shouted, addressing the partygoers. “Here stands Calvin, a man who stood between Cedric and a graybear to protect his charge.”

  Murmurs of admiration filled the room. There weren’t any nobles who hadn’t heard the story of how Prince Roland used his body as a shield to save his little brother, the now current king. Hearing of someone who did essentially the same thing deserved their respect and commendation.

  “But because of his injuries, he was no longer able to fight.”

  Cedric’s face twisted in anguish at her words, but Calvin didn’t seem to pay it any mind.

  Kaoru then took a wine glass that wasn’t being used from the table.

  “Here before you stands a man who was faithful enough to sacrifice his own body to protect the son of the man he serves, and the viscount has kept him in service to show gratitude for that loyalty. Anyone who thinks they are at all worthy enough to receive the blessing of the Goddess, please raise your right hand!”

  Everyone present did so; there wasn’t a single person here dense enough not to. Who knew what people would say if they didn’t.

  “Next, reach out and face the palms of your hands toward this glass!” Kaoru thrust the wine glass she held in her right hand into the air. “Everyone, pray for the blessing of the Goddess!”

  The guests all turned their palms to the glass, going along with the mood in the room. The moment they did, a red mist began forming a few centimeters above the glass Kaoru still held. As they partygoers looked on in astonishment, the mist gradually came together to form red droplets of liquid, eventually turning into a sphere that plopped down into the wine glass with a soft, splashing noise.

  “Here, Calvin,” Kaoru proclaimed, her voice ringing out loud and clear throughout the room. The other guests couldn’t make a sound, their ability to speak overpowered by the shock and awe that gripped them.

  She held out the glass to him, but Calvin was frozen in place.

  “Ah... Ahh...”

  Kaoru walked over to him, taking his hand and having him take the glass. “Drink this, please.”

  With trembling hands, he brought the glass to his lips and downed the red liquid it held. Then...

  “It’s...moving... I-It’s bending just like it could before...”

  At first, he only tried gingerly moving it, slowly putting more and more strength into his movements as he kept testing his leg. Eventually, he even began jumping up and down on it.

  After trying out moving his leg to his heart’s content, he turned toward Cedric. “Haha... I can move it! Now I can accompany you to the mountains or the fields, and we can train in swordplay again... I... I can protect you, again!”

  The rest of his words were overtaken by sobs as he broke down crying. Cedric ran over and embraced him, tears streaming down both their cheeks.

  “Calvin! Oh, Calvin!”

  Tears welled up in the eyes of those watching, touched
by the display. Voices tinged with emotion could be heard throughout the room, spurred on after seeing the powerful bond between master and servant. They praised the benevolent Goddess of this world for the miracle they witnessed today, offering up prayers to her.

  They turned their eyes toward the raven-haired girl who acted as the messenger who’d brought about the first miracle from the Goddess in decades—but the girl was nowhere to be found.

  Johann Abili was in a corner of the room at the party, wine glass in hand and basking in the emotions overflowing throughout the room.

  Well, wasn’t that something...

  He’d already seen the effects of the girl’s medicine before, but he was still surprised by the events that had transpired all the same. Not to mention the luxurious gemstones she was wearing that not even a big-name merchant like himself was sure he could get together on such short notice.

  Just who is that girl anyway... Wait, what am I saying?! She has to be an angel sent by the Goddess, no doubt about it...

  There was a single glass bottle stored inside Kaoru’s Item Box. The jewel-encrusted hair ornament attached to the lid and the necklace laden with gems wrapped around her neck had already been taken away, making it look nothing more than a cheap glass medicine bottle.

  “You will have the power to create any medicine with the exact effect you imagine it to have, in any container you are thinking of.”

  There wasn’t anyone at the viscount’s party who’d been present for the miracle that happened months ago in the royal palace. If there were, they’d have noticed right away that this was almost the exact same thing that happened back then. That said, anyone important enough to be able to sit with the king while they held an audience would be too high a standing to bother themselves with attending a viscount’s party. They were all getting on in their years as well, and didn’t have any children who were old enough to not have been married already. On top of that, after he’d been blessed with the miraculous “Tears of the Goddess,” Prince Roland had asked the temples and other aristocrats not to pry into the knight Francette and the other members of the Adan family who had spoken with the Goddess. This strict regulation over the information meant there were very few who knew about the miracle that had taken place.