*****

「Obaba-sama? Why are you here?」

Obaba-sama, who had abruptly entered the workshop, placed a small box on the desk. It was just an ordinary box of sweets. Despite the emergency, she had no sense of urgency whatsoever.

「Heeheehee. I just came to share some sweets. Oh, don't let your guard down. With such an unstable mana deployment, you’ll lose consciousness right away.」

「E-even if you say that, I don't know how to control it...」

「That happens when you try to multi-deploy with paltry mana. Increase your mana output.」

I was already consuming a lot of mana just to forcefully deploy the mana field. Please don't give me unreasonable orders!

「Well done. I'll praise you for that.」

「Th-thank you... Though I'm a little dizzy.」

I strongly wanted to complain that an apprentice alchemist shouldn't be made to do something so reckless. I had just been told by Lord Clein not to push myself, but since I was the one who volunteered to do it, I had no one to complain to.

「I never thought you'd actually deploy the Demonic Field on your own.」

「But what I heard was different. Wasn't it supposed to be an advanced deployment of the Formation skill?」

「It wasn't just me, but most people only heard the rumors and don't know the details. The only one who knows is the person right here.」

She was giving such precise advice, so I had a vague feeling about it. I never imagined that the person known as the 「Demon Alchemist」 would be Obaba-sama.

「Heeheehee. I merely melted the soldiers' weapons and armor on the battlefield once, and that's how people started calling me that. A demon-like power, they called it.」

While I was terrified, I also felt I understood why her personality was so warped, as that must have been an era when countries were fighting so fiercely that alchemists were dragged onto the battlefield.

「I thought 「Divine Alchemy」 was still too early for you, but is this potion the cause? To think you actually created an 「EX Potion」 on your own. It's a rare item that hardly circulates in the modern era.」

I knew it wasn't a regular potion, but so it was this kind of special potion... Since Lord Clein didn't know about it, and Vanessa-san didn't either, it must truly be a rare item.

No wonder it was so hard to make—the moment I let my guard down, my legs suddenly lost strength, and I nearly collapsed.

「Are you alright, Mia?」

If Lord Clein hadn't noticed immediately and supported me, I would have fallen to the floor and lost consciousness. This was not the time to be talking about the Divine Alchemy skill. We had to make as many potions as possible.

「I'm fine. More importantly, let's hurry and make the potions. I should be able to make them smoothly now.」

Leaning on Lord Clein's shoulder, I managed to stand up and face the desk. When I reached for the potion bottle to resume making the potion, Obaba-sama stopped me with her hand.

「Don't be reckless. Your mana will barely last three more minutes. If you try to make a potion, you'll pass out in ten seconds.」

Obaba-sama also knew that we were running short on potion materials. If she could also use Divine Alchemy, the story would change, and she could make them instead of me... but that was probably an impossible request. I didn't think the elderly Obaba-sama could withstand the burden of Divine Alchemy.

「If the potion creation becomes this easy, I can make two bottles in ten seconds.」

「Listen to me. Divine Alchemy is the alchemy that draws out the extreme potential of a substance. Conversely, even you can tell now that the burden on the caster is immense.」

「I'll be fine. My mana will just be depleted; I won't die.」

The staredown with Obaba-sama ended in an unexpected way. Lord Clein grabbed Obaba-sama's hand and pulled her away. I didn't know if he thought I would do it anyway or if he simply understood my intentions. At the very least, he would understand that this was the only way to resolve the current potion shortage.

「Mia, you deploy the Formation Field to improve the potion's performance. I will deploy the Blending Field, which will reduce your burden by that much. That is the compromise.」

「...Understood. Please do that.」

「Kaaaah! I taught you to accept people's kindness, didn't I?!」

I ended up incurring Obaba-sama's wrath, but I didn't think she was truly angry. I felt like she was genuinely worried.

「I'll bring you three boxes of kusa mochi (mugwort rice cake) next time, so please forgive me.」

「Hmph! That won't be enough to put me in a good mood! Make it three boxes!」

With Obaba-sama's permission somehow secured, I held a potion bottle in one hand and concentrated solely on the formation work.

I didn't know how long I could last. After all, I knew better than anyone that I had almost no mana left.

Just a little more. My role was to maintain the Formation Field for ten or even twenty seconds longer, creating an environment where Divine Alchemy could continue to be used.

The rest was up to Lord Clein to make the potions.

Thinking that, I poured all my effort into creating the potions.

I can still do it. Just a little more... she thought.