Frontier Magic Pharmacist

Chapter 2: Margrave

　Time passed and I turned three years old.
Until now, I’ve been busy learning how to walk and learning words.

　Thanks to the fact that I didn’t receive the cheat ability to speak the language from the start, I think I grew up like a normal child.

　This meant that my family was never suspicious of me.

　Over the course of three years, I found out a few things.
My name is Julius.
I’m quite a handsome boy with dark brown hair, which is my father’s heritage, and dark eyes, which are my mother’s.

　The family he was born in is Margrave Heine Frontier.
It was a large house with a military role, defending the north of the Kingdom of Spencer.
It is somewhat similar to the civilisations of European countries.

　I was born the third son of Margrave Heine Frontier.
I have one younger sister.

　There were a lot of servants in the mansion, and although my father took over, my grandparents also lived with us.

　And his grandmother is, to his surprise, a Potions Master.
Is this luck, or is it better to say that it was set up by the godess to happen from the very beginning?

　Anyway, it was convenient for developing magic potions.

“Grandmother, what are you making?”

“Oh, Julius, are you interested? Here, you see, I’m making a restorative.”

　Grandmother gives a gentle smile.
A murky green liquid is simmering in her hand.

　I desperately held back my desire to scream.

　The gunk! If you cook it so hard, the herbs will release a terrible bitterness.
Stop it!

　But whether she knew that or not, the old lady cooked it further.
If heated for a long time, the restorative effect diminishes.
Drying, pulverising and then quickly extracting it with hot water is the basis for making a highly effective recovery medicine.

　Oh, it’s messed up.

“Grandma, it’s not good to boil it down so much, is it?”

“Hohoho, what an interesting thing to say.
Restorative medicine is made like this.”

　What is that, and who taught it to you? I want to question whoever taught it to her for an hour or so.

　Hmmm, I still don’t think the child’s opinion is going to be listened to so easily.
I guess I’ll just have to wait until I’m a bit older.
I had to reluctantly withdraw.

　If recovery potions made in that way were available in the world, there would be no one left to use magic potions.

　Perhaps the gods felt the same as I did.
That’s why she asked me to do it.
Along with an ominous prophecy…….

　From that day onwards I decided to start reading books on magic potions.
As my grandmother was a potion master, there were many books on potions in the Margrave Heine Frontier’s magnificent library.

　However, I soon ran into a problem.

“It’s too difficult to read…”

　There are many words that I don’t know exactly.
As might be expected, children’s picture books alone do not seem to be sufficient for language knowledge.

　Worse still, those books have no illustrations at all.
They have black text that seems to fill the pages.
I lost all interest in reading them.

　You can tell at a glance.
This is probably saying, “Don’t read this book.”

“I wish there was a magic potion book for beginners.”

　I looked for it with faint hopes, but could not find it immediately.

　One day, at the dinner table, my mother asked me with a smile.

“Julius, it looks like you are looking for a book.”

　The servants must have heard that I was doing something in the storeroom.
Maybe they think I have a promising future.
After all, I’ve never seen my brothers using it.
Maybe they have teachers and don’t need to read books.

“Yes.
I’m looking for a book on potions that even I can understand.
……”

　When I said that, my mother’s face tightened.
It was not only his mother’s face.
Father’s face and grandfather’s face were also tight.
Only Grandma was smiling.

　What is this reaction? It is as if a taboo has been touched.

“Yes, I see.
Julius, it’s good that you’re so studious, but you need to have lots of fun now.
And don’t read books about Potions without permission.
You have to be a Potions Master to read them.”

　She told me to stop, as if to admonish me with a serious look on her face.
Apparently, my mother is afraid that I will take an interest in potions.

“Julius, I will teach you how to make magic potions when you grow up, so you have to endure until then.”

　The old lady said with a smile on her face.
Grandmother seems to be in favour of it.
But other than that, it’s the opposite.
But the rest of them are against it.
This must mean that magic potions have some kind of problem.
This needs to be investigated.

　What on earth is going on with magic potions in this world? Come to think of it, I’ve never seen any magic potions.
Is it all put together somewhere?