The Herbal Brew Expert

So warm... My body feels so light...

Where am I?

Raphtalia slowly regained consciousness from an endless, pitch-black nightmare, but the unfamiliar sensations her body received from the world outside filled her with inexplicable fear. She did not dare open her eyes.

Beneath her was no longer the hard, cold iron floor of a cage, and the covering over her was no longer a damp, stiff rag that offered no protection from the cold. The air no longer carried those foul, bloody odors... It felt as though she lay among soft clouds, her whole body soft and weightless, with even the air carrying a faint, pleasant fragrance.

The light outside was bright yet gentle. It passed through the thin blanket covering her head and fell on her tightly closed eyelids, lending a little warmth even to her darkened vision-as though she had escaped the confines of her cage and reached a world where she could feel safe.

Am I... about to die?

That was the only explanation Raphtalia could think of. She could not even imagine how she might escape that hell. Perhaps there was no way out other than death...

What is the world after death like?

Her mind had not fully cleared, but she seemed to have already accepted that she would die, and the sudden urge to look around popped into her head.

Yet she was afraid from the bottom of her heart. She feared that everything she felt now was only a hallucination before death. If she opened her eyes, the dream would end, and she would find herself back in that cold, dark hell-at least let her experience something nice before she died...

"Bruce, be careful! That medicine is for the little one too. Don't spill it!"

"Brother Chuan, does your medicine really work...? It doesn't seem very reliable to me. Why don't we go buy some proper medicine from the pharmacy instead...?"

"How dare you! You dare say the medicine I made isn't proper? This is premium stuff certified by the pharmacy itself-the kind they'd pay a fortune to buy! You want a master herbalist like me to get medicine from a pharmacy? How am I supposed to show my face after that?"

Two unfamiliar voices came from outside, apparently arguing about something. Raphtalia's ears twitched in fright, and she squeezed her eyes shut, instinctively curling into a tight ball.

The people outside...

Who are they?

They were Chuan Wenwu and Bruce.

After leaving the weapon shop, the two had gone to an inn, rented a room, and settled the still-unconscious Raphtalia inside.

Since he did not trust anyone else, Chuan Wenwu had bathed Raphtalia himself. Fortunately, he had plenty of experience helping Bruce bathe, so washing the unconscious child had gone very smoothly, without making the patient swallow too much water.

Then he had dried her hair, changed her clothes, and laid her on the room's large bed to rest.

After that, Chuan Wenwu began figuring out how to improve the raccoon girl's health-since she was still bound to him as his slave, he could view some of Raphtalia's status information.

Panic disorder, cold (moderate), fever (moderate), hunger (severe), stomach ulcer, dehydration (mild), weakness (moderate), malnutrition (moderate), anemia (mild), slight poisoning...

A whole string of negative conditions hung in her status panel like stacked buffs, as though she were trying to earn the "Mad Cocktail" achievement. Yet he could not find even a single beneficial effect among them.

None of them was fatal on its own, but together they had left the raccoon girl so frail that a slightly stronger gust of wind might blow her away. The fact that she had survived this long almost seemed proof that some god was secretly protecting her.

While leveling up in the forest earlier, Chuan Wenwu had collected and unlocked quite a few shields in the "Mushroom" series, gaining the basic medicine-making skill. Combined with the medicine-quality bonus built into another shield, every potion he brewed came out above common quality-the so-called "green, uncommon" grade.

So he prescribed treatment for each condition-quite literally. With his potion compendium, he could brew a specific remedy for every negative condition listed in Raphtalia's status panel.

After washing Raphtalia and putting her to bed, Chuan Wenwu had started brewing medicine. Whenever he finished a pot, he ladled some out and set it aside to cool, then started on the next pot.

Once the portion he had set aside cooled enough, he had Bruce carry it over and feed it to Raphtalia. They worked together seamlessly, pouring nearly two pots of medicinal broth into her in just a few hours-Demi-Human constitutions were truly astounding.

But perhaps because Chuan Wenwu's crude treatment method resembled feeding a pig, even Bruce, who had always trusted him implicitly, began to have doubts. He strongly recommended that Chuan Wenwu buy medicine from a proper pharmacy instead.

Chuan Wenwu scoffed at the suggestion, because he could monitor the patient's condition in real time.

He had already cured her cold, fever, and poisoning, and the dehydration was gone as well. Her hunger and weakness had dropped to mild. After this whole vat of restorative medicine, her remaining moderate malnutrition ought to drop to mild too. Most of the other conditions would improve with rest and recovery afterward.

Still, did all Demi-Humans eat this much? Ever since Bruce had evolved into his current form, every meal had cost at least one silver coin. This tiny raccoon girl had a belly full of medicinal broth and was somehow still mildly hungry.

Chuan Wenwu rubbed his chin thoughtfully, but soon brought his attention back to the present. Holding up the large bowl, he urged Bruce, "Quit dawdling. Hurry up and feed this to her. Be careful, and don't spill it..."

Bruce looked at the medicine bowl Chuan Wenwu offered him, which was as large as one of his own hands. He opened his mouth, then stopped himself.

Forget it. The boss must have his reasons. He wouldn't hurt this poor kid, anyway.

With that thought, he sighed and prepared to continue feeding her the medicine...

"Boss!" Bruce suddenly shouted, his eyes widening like brass bells. "Brother Chuan! This kid... I think she's awake!"

"What? Don't move. Leave it there-I'll do it!"

Sensing an enormous figure approaching her, Raphtalia curled up in fear and clutched the bedsheet with both hands, desperately pretending that no one could find her if she hid like this.

But Bruce's thoughtless shout shattered that fantasy, and her body shook like a leaf beneath the bedding-what would she have to face next? Glimpses of the hell she had suffered under her previous master flashed before her eyes, and tears slid down her cheeks unbidden.

"That's strange. Why is she holding the blanket down so tightly?"

An unfamiliar young man's voice reached her, accompanied by a large, powerful hand that grabbed the bedding. No matter how desperately Raphtalia clung to it, she could not resist.

Whoosh!

The bedding was thrown back. Bright sunlight streamed through the window onto the bed, dazzling her so much she could barely open her eyes. At a loss, she could only curl up helplessly and wait in terror for her unknown fate-

"Hey, are you all right? Can you understand me? How are you feeling now?"

A tall figure stood with his back to the sunlight and gently reached out a helping hand to her.