Translator: P411

Editor: Lilia

Read at Watashi Wa Sugoi Desu!

Chapter 163 – It’s Not a Game

[ Dispel High Potion: Rank C. A potion that can lift a cursed state. Can’t lift complex curses. ] 

This must be it.

This was the one I’d been looking for.

The reason why the rank was C was probably because the ranks of the fire liquor and cure potion were high.

My pharmacist job and potion-making level had increased as well.

There was still quite a bit of fire liquor left in the opened bottle. A bottle of it would be enough to make five or six bottles of potions.

Excited, I decided to try experimenting with making the potions this time by mixing each ingredient one by one.

Which should I put first?

This time, I put fire liquor first, heated it, added cure potion and then holy water, and finally, let it simmer.

[ Dispel High Potion: Rank D. A potion that can lift a cursed state. Can only lift simple curses. ]

“It’s different from before… I guess it means I shouldn’t put fire liquor first? But anyway, what’s the difference between simple and complex curses!? How are they categorizing them!? I need to carefully check those books that describe different types of curses the next time I go to the library!”

I regained my composure after a round of shouting and got back to work again.

I tried adding the ingredients in different orders, at different times, and in different amounts, until there was only one bottle of fire liquor left. The final products were three bottles each of rank C and D. 

I took out a piece of paper and noted down not to let the alcohol burn off. 

And if there’s less holy water, the rank would go down.

I wish I had more fire liquor. I wondered if there was fire liquor with high alcohol content around here… but I’m still a minor, so it’d be difficult to buy them in the first place. Should I go ask Vidello-san or Blossom-san?

Anyway, I put my finished Dispel High Potion into my inventory, decided to go to the gate tomorrow to ask about the alcohol, and logged out.

[ “Yuuta. Could you send me more fire liquor?” ]

[ “Sure. But what will you give me in return?” ]

When I tried asking Yuuta, not hoping for much, I got two messages back from him.

But I couldn’t follow up instantly.

If he’s gonna ask for tarts again, I would surely be out of piera fruit. 

[ “…What do you want?” ]

[ “There’s so much I want but… Let’s see, right, how about information? Sometimes you really come across some frighteningly rare information, you know? Like that stone statue.” ]

[ “Rare information? In exchange?” ]

[ “Yep. A top secret. A pretty amazing one. You have one, right?” ]

[ “Hm… well, it’s not like I don’t have one, but…” ]

The thing that Yuuta wanted, I had too much of—so much that it’s kinda troubling—and I got lost in my thoughts. In a way, trading information was way more difficult than trading things. 

Yuuta, who had developed a sudden interest in the information, and I promised to meet after school. I stared into space and thought about what to tell him.

There was so much top-secret information that should never be put on the noticeboard, and I had to sort out all of it before my appointed time with him. Which ones were suitable for him to know and which ones were dangerous enough to be unsuitable? But I kind of knew that Yuuta would keep whatever I said to him to himself, so I didn’t have to worry too hard about that.

Even so, I still couldn’t bring myself to tell him about that one thing that Vil-san told me just yet.

Was it because I was still half-convinced, or was it because it was a dream-like story that seemed absurd? But, the one thing I would believe in was what Vil-san said about how he would do his best for Vidello-san. Not a single idea of what I should do came to my mind after that time, so I kinda knew I didn’t want to tell Yuuta that yet. I wondered how I should stand by Vidello-san’s side. That would be one of my challenges. There was also the problem that we technically couldn’t understand each other. 

After school, I went home with Yuuta for the first time in a while. He was coming to my house, so we both immediately headed there. Yuuta’s mother was at home, so it would be bad if we made a ruckus at his home. But at my house, my parents were still at work.

With the plan set, we bought some drinks on the way home and Yuuta immediately started relaxing in my room.

“So, what’s the top secret info?”

“I don’t know which one is okay to talk about.”

“You have that much info with you?!”

I averted my eyes from his amazed gaze. I didn’t have that much, just a few, really. 

“Which one do you prefer? The sort of info that you have to keep a secret even from your ‘Takahashi and his Merry Men’ members, some encouraging topic, or something else that would make you feel disgusted just from hearing it. “

When I made an ambiguous mention of a topic about curse lifting, Regalo-san, and the Church, he had a frown on his face. 

“Wow, I want to hear them all. What’s the exchange rate of that information? As a standard, we’ll set one tart equivalent to ten fire liquor bottles, please.”

“The first one can’t compare to the tart, it’s way more dangerous. The second one is also quite important info so it’s the same as the first one or a bit higher. For the last one, it’s fine with just one bottle, and I might even add advice as an extra.”

“Wow, the last one smells of scum behavior. Then, I’ll start with one bottle of fire liquor.”

He held up one finger, and I started explaining about the current state of the Church. I included the amount the person had to pay when they got cursed. Well, this really wasn’t that much of a top-secret info, but my petty revenge. For the main top secret info, I told him about the contents of the book in that library with the hidden contents. I explained in detail about how to find that book, too.

“…Wait, how’s this info only amounting to one bottle of fire liquor?! …And what part of this was about scummy behavior?!”

“You see, it’s about the Church. I personally don’t want to get involved with the Church and there’s little to no trace of the Church at your location. So I guess it’s not that important.”

That secret book gimmick was a sight to behold, but the contents were not something to laugh at. Come to think of it, I wondered if that librarian knew. If she knew and put it there, then the library might be one of the places I needed to be cautious of.

“Then what about the advice?”

“You’ll need to learn the ancient magic language. That book from the library, the place where I got the advanced dispensing kit before, and the stone statue, the instructions were all written in the ancient magic language, so whatever major event pops up, there’s definitely the ancient magic language as a key to solve it. The stone statue-san also said that ancient magic language was now handed down only to elves and beastmen. If you are somehow able to learn it, you might be able to discover something interesting.”

“…I’ll think about it. But when you say it like that, I feel like I’ll miss out a lot if I don’t learn it.”

Ah, but judging by the gimmick of that book, the contents were probably the result of what had happened within these 15 years. It was because when the Demon Lord was still around, the Church wasn’t that bad yet. And there’s a question of who wrote those ancient magical languages, and for whom? By any chance, had the ancient magical language been secretly passed down in the Church? No way, right? It might probably be the work of someone who caught up with the Church’s scheme and hid the real meaning using this clever method using the ancient magic language in order to inform others… Hmm, specifically those who understood ancient language. Maybe.

A slightly scary thought crossed my mind, but I forced myself to change my thoughts as Yuuta urged me to continue. 

“Next, give me the top-secret one.”

“Thanks for your continued patronage. It’s connected to the first story about the Church. The owner of the Magic Shop in Quattro where I took you before had turned his back on the Church.”

This fact was quite important to me as I knew of Regalo-san’s abilities, but apparently, it wasn’t so for Yuuta. He had that puzzled look.

“That person seems to be good at reading people’s thoughts and foreseeing the future. I often had shivers when he read through my thoughts. Such a person decided to abandon the Church, so it means that there’s no future for the Church. And in addition, he said he would be our ally.”

“Your ally? Does that mean he’s on the players’ side?”

“No, no. It’s not related to players.”

“Now I’m more confused than ever!”

I guessed so. I gulped down my drink. After clearing my throat, I continued.

“The details from here would be a topic you have to keep as a secret from other members for now, but to put it simply, currently it’s a situation where it’s the prime minister and gatekeeper group plus me vs the Church.” 

“Huh?!” Making a dumbfounded sound, Yuuta also gulped down his drink in one gulp. 

And then, like a drunk, he slammed the empty bottle on the floor.

“Kengo, you, what are you trying to do?”

“I’m planning to make an item and spread it through the world to pick a fight with the Church. Ah, this will be an extra charge.”

“Anyway, just continue.”

So he was planning to buy everything after all.

With his urging, I told him about the most top-secret one.

“I made an anti-curse potion. A potion that can lift curses. Once I finalize it, I’ll give it to the prime minister to spread the formula to the pharmacists of that world and have it made widespread, thus eliminating the purpose of the Church. And that shopkeeper became a member of this cause. So never tell this to your party members. The moment this info leaks out, it’ll become an all-out war with the Church.”

“…..”

Yuuta, who had fallen silent, stared at me.

“I don’t think revising the ADO game will work. The game’s concept is [ Freedom ], so what you’re trying to do is change the ADO world by imitating internal politics in the world of the game, right? Are you doing this out of curiosity or are you actually serious?”

“There’s no such thing as game revision in ADO. And I’m serious.” 

“Kengo, you know this is a game, right?”

Yuuta said this slowly as if to interrupt me.

Then, he looked straight at me. Yuuta might be thinking I was too deep into this game and I knew he was worried about me.

I knew he was somehow trying his best to show me the reality of this situation as he knew about my situation with Vidello-san more than anything else. 

I also looked straight back at him so as not to lose to him.

“Such a real-looking world isn’t a game.”

I said it in a joking way so that he wouldn’t pick up the truth in my words. I wanted him to know just a little bit of the truth. That world was the same as our world but with a different foundation. I wondered when I would be able to tell him this truth. Vil-san, please do your best! I had to think about what I should do, too. But for now, I focused on what was in front of me.

“I know you treasure the people there, but please do remember that your world is here.”

“I know.”

I replied with the same answer to the same question as before but with a different feeling this time.

He looked back at me with a straight face while the corners of my mouth raised into a smile, but then he let out a sigh and scratched his head, saying, “Then, it’s fine.”

“I understand you have things you can’t tell me. But, for now, let’s enjoy ADO. I’ll send you fire liquor, but it depends on the situation. If you are able to make that anti-curse item, sell me one of those. I’ll brag about it to the hero.”

“Okay. Oh, I’ve already made a prototype, but I still can’t verify which types of curses can be lifted yet. If the item doesn’t lift the curse, I have no choice but to seek out the Church, so that’s why it’s difficult to check its effectiveness.”

“Trying to do something reckless again. Damn, why am I not with you when there are interesting things going on around you? Don’t mind about the item. Just let me have a taste of it too. That sounds interesting.” 

Hearing his words made me smile.

He knew there were things I couldn’t say, and yet those mature words from him made me feel a little, a tiny bit like I was no match for him. I quickly dismissed the thought, though! Because I felt annoyed by it!