IACGD 46

Chapter 46

“…You knew?”

“You weren’t planning on hiding it, were you?”

From the very beginning, Zephyrus had kept a wary eye on Airit.

Even if he had suspected it, not showing it would have been understandable.

But what was this reaction?

Airit stared directly at Clemens, as if to say, Were you really going to try to hide it?

Zephyrus’s gaze also shifted to Clemens, silently asking, Why pretend not to know when you clearly did?

Clemens chuckled softly, pressing herself against the wall to escape the intensity of the two piercing stares.

“Whether it’s suspicion, interrogation, or excuses, just have a proper conversation.”
“…You always manage to speak naturally only at times like this.”
“I’ll admit it.”

Zephyrus let out a faint sigh.

“Seems like your lack of sleep is showing in your emotions these days.”
“Can’t sleep? Need a sleep fragrance…?”

Her expression seemed to silently add, Even though I’m already busy.

“No need. I’ve tried it already, and it didn’t help much anyway.”

Pressing his brow firmly and releasing it, Zephyrus returned to the original topic.

“Anyway, the physician already knew, so we should give him the chance to speak first.”
“Yes… well.”

Airit, looking slightly reluctant, pulled an old book from his satchel. The book looked like it could crumble at any moment, yet surprisingly, there wasn’t a single torn page.

“An herb cultivation journal?”
“Yes. I had a companion who studied herbs and medicine with me.”

Crea. She loved herbs just as much as Airit did.

Even though she could manifest magic and become a mage, she continued researching herbs passionately.

It wasn’t that she had a particular goal in mind at first.

In an age when nearly all herbs in the world had been catalogued, a young heart simply wanted more new herbs to exist—and the process itself was fascinating for both of them.

After Crea became a mage, it became even more interesting. She could revive dying herbs in unsuitable environments, maximize their effects, or experiment with growing methods.

Of course, it didn’t end well in the end.

“A mage, huh? Did the medicine you made this time contain magic?”

Airit snapped back to focus at Zephyrus’s question. Zephyrus looked confused.

“I was informed that there were no traces of magic.”
“You confirmed it, then.”
“Of course.”
“Yes. It’s only natural that no magic appears.”

Seeing Zephyrus’s furrowed expression, he continued to explain.

“Your Highness has surely examined the medicine. Do you know what those who develop medicine care about the most?”
“No.”
“Removing impurities.”

Herbs don’t contain only beneficial components. Filtering out harmful elements or things that react poorly when consumed together is essential.

“For someone without magical affinity, consuming magic is dangerous.”

Therefore, magic is considered an impurity. Even if Crea had continued refining herbs to create magically imbued ones, no magic would have been detected in the medicine.

“That said, it doesn’t mean this medicine was made from magically imbued herbs either.”
“So… what are you trying to say?”

Seeing Zephyrus and Clemens confused, Airit handed them the book again.

“You’ll understand roughly once you read it.”

Zephyrus glared at the book, hesitating to even touch it as though it were repulsive, then drew back repeatedly.

“Because it’s so old? Shall I read it to you?”
“Not that.”

Airit smirked slightly, prompting Zephyrus to cut him off coldly.

“What if it falls apart?”
“It won’t.”
“Then I’ll open it!”

Clemens didn’t hesitate and opened the book. Zephyrus’s breath caught briefly, then returned to normal once he saw the book was intact.

Suppressing a smile, Clemens began reading aloud.

“First, Buru. Traditional method: sunlight, water, fertilizer, soil. Cultivation improvement: grown in darkness without a single ray of light, using water from hot springs infused with a dragon’s breath.”

Originally, Buru’s medicinal effect was a mild fever reducer. The improved Buru’s effect was not just to reduce fever—it heated the body. Notes recorded that test mice had died from elevated body temperature.

“This is early on, before Crea became a mage. Around the thirtieth attempt, the results seem to appear.”

Clemens carefully turned the pages according to Airit’s instructions. The book remained intact, and she suddenly exclaimed in realization:

“This is magic!”
“Yes. Crea enchanted it. She didn’t want her own records to disappear.”
“Of course. Next one, please.”

Thirty-second entry. The next herb to improve was Jinshien. It helped alleviate pain and warmed the body. Its flowers could only be used after years of growth in a shaded area.

“Minimum growth is five years, which made it expensive. We wanted to reduce that time.”

The physician who raised them wasn’t wealthy, so the goal was to repay the value of cultivating Jinshien.

To accelerate the energy-intensive growth of Jinshien, he cast magic on the soil, enhancing nutrients. Additionally, the roots were expanded to absorb nutrients faster.

“The results were peculiar.”

The Jinshien that should have bloomed did not. Instead, strange formations appeared on the roots. Odd, but when fed to mice, they became excited.

The mice also reproduced successfully. In the end, it generated profit.

Hearing Airit’s follow-up, Zephyrus thought for a moment and asked:

“…Could this method be used in the North?”

Refining herbs meant altering their growing conditions. Herbs that normally thrived in sunlight and fertile soil could potentially be adapted to different environments.

With greenhouses and the ability to improve plants, one could essentially get double the yield from the same effort.

Of course, results might not always be as desired, but even one success could mean cultivating food in vast fields instead of just greenhouses.

Zephyrus asked with hope.

“No.”

Airit’s answer was firm.

“For starters, no mage in the North has mastered such magic.”

Most of Crea’s magic concerned herbs, cultivation, or farming. Even among those skilled in domestic magic, few had expertise in agriculture.

It was easier to use artifacts. Mages generally weren’t interested in farming, which didn’t generate profit.

Still, Zephyrus didn’t completely abandon hope.

“One herb is enough.”
“Moreover, refined herbs cannot reproduce.”
“Ah.”

If herbs couldn’t reproduce, expecting food crops to do so was overly optimistic.

Useless if they couldn’t reproduce. He quickly gave up on impossible hopes.

“I see. So, which herb was used in this medicine?”
“Check the fifty-sixth entry.”
“Alright, let’s see. Fifty-sixth, Marizona.”

The fifty-sixth entry seemed to have been difficult, with many corrections visible.

“Marizona is originally addictive. The goal was to remove its addictive property. We hoped for an herb like catnip—non-addictive, but mood-enhancing.”

It failed completely. Contrary to intention, a tasteless, odorless herb with even stronger addictive properties was created. What made improved Marizona frightening wasn’t just that. Typically, addictive herbs induce euphoria; this one made people feel as if they would die without it.

“Mixing other things could create withdrawal symptoms if not consumed,”
“I see.”
“Even death if it isn’t taken for a certain period.”
“You contacted us because there’s a solution, right?”
“Yes. But the ingredients are difficult to obtain.”

In the North it was normal, and in the Empire it was still quite challenging.

“The Guildmaster will manage to get the ingredients somehow. So Tay isn’t really in danger, right?”
“Before the antidote is ready, at least he can take the medicine. Quantity will have to be limited though.”

Zephyrus was roughly convinced. Making Marizona didn’t require a magical device.

Cut the mature Marizona root, place it in the snow, then cover the frozen root with hot soil and water thoroughly. The root would regrow, signifying successful refinement.

This method could be used by any mage, not just Crea. That’s why the refinement method could not be made public. Addiction is easy; antidote is hard.

“So that’s why you asked to heat the soil!”
“Yes. Shall I list the ingredients?”
“What for? Just write them down and send them. Harbi will be informed too.”
“Very well, I’ll proceed accordingly.”
“Wait! Physician, I have a question too.”

Clemens stopped Airit as he was about to leave.

“What is it?”
“It seems you’re not going to get close to this person anymore. Why?”

Airit responded quickly:

“Because they’re obsessed with herbs.”
“Who, the physician?”

Clemens asked swiftly. Airit paused, then answered:

“Of course, I mean Crea. I just like herbs, I’m not obsessed.”
“So you can’t get close to someone like the physician?”
“I don’t get close to obsessed people.”

Clemens tilted her head but nodded. It wasn’t important—just curiosity. She was just wondering how obsessed with herbs Airit really was compared to Crea.

After Airit nodded and left the room, Zephyrus called out to Clemens.

“Uncle, there’s something you need to do to catch Nerhi.”