*****

「What's wrong? Why the sudden request for potions?」

Although I invited Vanessa-san into the workshop, her atmosphere today was different from usual. Her usual gentle demeanor was gone; she was tense and sharp.

「This morning, there was a mass outbreak of monsters in the Eastern Forest, and the Knights’ Order went to intercept them. But it seems the situation is not favorable.」

「It's unusual for such strong monsters to appear. I heard the current Knights’ Order is quite strong.」

Since my father is working hard to train young knights and my older brother is also active in the Knights’ Order, I have the opportunity to hear various information. Therefore, monsters strong enough to overwhelm the current Knights’ Order should not inhabit the area around the royal capital... or so I thought.

However, I couldn't believe Vanessa-san, with her serious expression, was lying.

「Students from the Magic Academy left for an expedition practice in the Eastern Forest two days ago and got caught up in it. Never mind just defeating the monsters; they need to balance searching for and protecting the students, which makes the situation quite dire.」

Having suddenly heard such a serious matter, I couldn't hide my confusion.

It's not unusual for monsters to attack people. That's why the Knights' Order moves, or requests are put out to adventurers, to exterminate them. Of course, the Alchemists Guild and the city alchemists also cooperate with the extermination by creating potions. But right now, we have the problem of the herb shortage at the wholesalers...

「So, the request to make potions means...」

「It's because severely injured Knights' Order members are being transported to the capital. If we don't act quickly, both Knights' Order members and students will continue to die due to a lack of potions.」

The mere fact that the freedom-loving Vanessa-san was working so seriously suggested the situation was quite dire.

Normally, to prevent such a situation, the Magic Academy makes meticulous preparations by requesting cooperation from the country in advance. But if the current situation exceeds even that...

The knights transported injured to the capital are only a fraction of the casualties. It can be said to be a prelude to a large number of injured people arriving soon.

As if to confirm that, Lord Clein, with a grim expression, was biting his lower lip.

「Does a case like this ever happen?」

「It's rare, but not impossible. Some exceptional event must have occurred, causing the scene to fall into chaos.」

「A mass outbreak of monsters... indeed. I hope they have enough supplies.」

「They should have embarked on the expedition practice carrying sufficient potions to protect the students' lives. However, I can surmise they lost them due to some kind of trouble. If they were attacked by a mass outbreak of monsters, the situation wouldn't allow them to use potions.」

Indeed, the search for students suggests they were scattered and running away. The fact that the Knights’ Order has casualties might be the result of a reduction in combat power due to forming smaller squads. The fact that Vanessa-san did not try to deny any of this only added more credence to the story.

「It sounds like a serious situation.」

「Frankly, it's the worst. If we hadn't run into a herb shortage, we wouldn't have to worry about this.」

「Are you referring to the alchemist who hoarded all those herbs?」

「Exactly. Because he also had a contract with the Knights' Order, the wholesalers had no choice but to sell him the herbs. And yet, it seems he failed to deliver the potions to the Knights' Order, so supplies are severely lacking.」

I had heard about the herb shortage, but I can't believe the potions hadn't reached the Knights' Order. The Knights' Order contracts with many shops, so it's rare for them to head out to exterminate monsters while lacking supplies. Considering that the monster breeding situation must have been that bad, it makes sense that Vanessa-san is so anxious.

Come to think of it, when I worked at Lord Zeel's shop, he signed a large contract with the Knights' Order, but I wonder if that was okay. Surely, he delivered... right? Judging by the delivery period, it sounds like Lord Zeel couldn't make them, but that can't be...

「Anyway, we need any usable potions we can get right now. If you have any leftover materials, I'd like you to hurry and make some... but it seems difficult after all.」

Vanessa-san glanced at the pile of herbs on the desk. They were the poor-quality materials I bought from the Adventurers Guild, and if made into potions normally, they would only result in mediocre quality.

Well, that's if you made them normally...

「We will prepare a certain amount of potions here, so could you prepare for their transport to the front line?」

「I appreciate the sentiment, but mediocre potions would only cause confusion on the battlefield. You know that if you keep using potions repeatedly in a short period, the effect gets weaker, right? Unless the quality is above a certain standard, we can't transport them.」

「I believe that problem has been circumvented here.」

Lord Clein picked up a few of the new potions we had made up to today and handed them to Vanessa-san. The number was only twenty bottles. Although they were highly effective, it was still a small amount.

「I will vouch for the quality. All these potions were made from the materials right here. It is possible to make a few more if needed.」

Hearing that they were made from poor-quality materials, Vanessa-san seemed doubtful and began to appraise the potions. Then, having judged them to be of high quality, she started smirking oddly.

「Hmm. You got yourself a good assistant.」

「I see you noticed. This is Mia's achievement.」

Eh?! W-wait a minute!? We only accidentally figured out the method... Besides, Lord Clein was the one who made that potion!

「I knew it. She's interesting.」

I'd be troubled if you accepted that!

While I was too surprised to speak, the fact remained that this was an emergency, so Vanessa-san turned away.

「I've asked the other alchemists to produce Middle Potions. I need the two of you to buy us some time until they're ready.」

「Eh? What do you mean by buy us time...?」

「I need at least four more sets. To be honest, it was really tough since everything seems to be scarce everywhere. I'll buy them back at a high price later, so please help out.」

Watching Vanessa-san rush out of the room, I thought: Never readily agree to a request from Vanessa, no matter the circumstances.

「It took even Lord Clein an entire day to make one of those sets.」

「If we concentrate solely on potion-making, we should be able to make about two sets between the two of us before a major incident occurs. Though generating potions continuously will be quite taxing.」

「Although it can't be helped... hmm, it seems we have no choice but to do it.」

This time, it wasn't Vanessa-san's fault. It was the first time I had ever seen her rushing around the capital so seriously.