A Genius Pharmacist Whom the Empress Is Obsessed With

Decision

Since the basic structure was so good, the construction of the store was finished before a week had passed.

Eden slowly looked around inside the store. The store, which was empty when he first bought it, was now filled with various furniture and utensils. He even brought herbs, so if he wanted, he could open the apothecary tomorrow.

However, despite the prosperous interior of the store, Eden’s expression wasn’t very good.

Tonight, Eden unintentionally had to go hungry for dinner.

He tried to go to the same restaurant as yesterday to order food, but he was told that there were no seats available. Even though there were clearly empty seats in the restaurant. Not only that restaurant, but Eden couldn’t have dinner at any other restaurant either.

Even people who seemed to reject him, subtly, as if rejecting him.

By now, Eden was certain.

“I can’t stay here.”

The accumulated intuition that had been built up over five hundred years was not easily ignored.

Didn’t he ignore it before and regret it when he got entangled with the princess?

It wasn’t that he regretted helping the princess at that time. In terms of results, the princess survived and returned to her position.

But the process was too dangerous.

The self-injury marks were still visible on Eden’s arms from back then. His previously black irises had also turned into faded gray, perhaps due to using too much power at once.

“…Yes, it’s better to go somewhere else before it’s too late.”

Except for the patient he was taking care of, Eden didn’t have any connection with anyone in Melo.

So if he wanted to leave, he had to do it now.

*

Even though it was late at night, past midnight, Eden diligently started packing. Since he had made up his mind to leave Melo, there was no need to waste any more time.

Leaving everything behind in Melo, Eden planned to take only what he had brought with him.

He didn’t want to be caught by that woman, Leta, or whoever she was. She meticulously recorded everything Eden had bought, so if he took something with him, she would easily notice.

In case the items got mixed up, Eden checked everything carefully while packing, and a very faint sound continued to ring in his ears.

Tap, tap.

When I first heard it, I thought it was just an animal sound like a mouse or a cat and ignored it.

Tap tap.

That faint sound continued incessantly, scratching at Idun’s nerves.

“…No one should be coming.”

Surely it’s not that woman.

Unable to ignore the constant knocking sound that seemed like it would never stop, Idun finally set down the baggage he was carrying and headed towards the entrance of the shop.

If he wanted to leave Mellow secretly without being caught by that talkative woman, it would be much safer to quickly resolve and send away whoever had come.

“It’s dark.”

Though there seemed to be a shop still open in the distant distance with faint lights, the area around Idun’s shop, which was a bit secluded, was pitch black, to the point of being too dark.

Idun pushed another candle into the lamp and lit it.

However, no matter how many times he looked around, there was no sign of a person.

“…Was I mistaken?”

Just as Idun was about to turn his body and enter the shop, someone’s voice brushed by his ear.

“Excuse me.”

The voice calling Idun was so small and delicate.

“This is the pharmacy, right?”

“…Yes, it is.”

“You’re a pharmacist, sir?”

“Yes.”

As Idun stood still, the sound of something rustling behind the door spread. Soon, a child Idun had never seen before crawled out on all fours from behind the door.

The child kneeled on the cold dirt floor, bowing their head to Idun.

“P-p-please. Please sell me medicine. I’ll just buy medicine and go back.”

Tattered hood and cloak, a small frame that looked no different from being naked. The child, who evoked sympathy just from seeing them, placed something on the floor with trembling hands.

What the child placed was a penny coin.

*

Sharp eyes like dry branches, a figure like a rag not much different from being naked. The child seemed to be from a slum area, judging by appearances.

Unable to leave the child standing on the cold street, Idun invited them inside.

While the child looked around with scared eyes, Idun lit the stove and boiled water. It was to make tea.

The tea Idun was boiling was made from marshmallow roots. Marshmallow roots increased immunity and had effects on respiratory diseases like colds and coughs, but it was also reasonably sweet in taste. Above all, it was gentle enough to be given to children under the age of 2.

There was only marshmallow tea to feed to a young child who had been exposed to the cold for a long time without being able to properly eat.

After a moment, Eden held out a wooden cup to the child.

“Would you like to try this? Because it’s hot, don’t drink it all at once, but slowly sip it little by little.”

Even though Eden spoke, the child only blinked their eyes without reaching out their hand. Judging from their inability to take their eyes off the cup, they seemed to want to drink the tea, but there was a sense of fear.

‘…Have they been persecuted for a long time?’

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Eden personally placed the tea cup in the child’s hand.

“It’s okay, you can drink it. Your body will warm up quickly if you drink it.”

Even though there was a warm heat flowing from the stove, the child was still trembling all over.

“Drink slowly. If you drink it in a rush, you might burn your mouth.”

“T-Thank you, Mr. Pharmacist.”

The child moistened their lips slightly and constantly sipped the marshmallow tea.

Eden waited until the child’s tension subsided, then opened his mouth.

“Right. You said you came to buy medicine; what kind of medicine did you come for?”

At Eden’s words, the child blinked their eyes twice.

“Is it difficult for you to say?”

“No. It’s not that… I just don’t know what medicine is needed.”

Eden returned with a kettle and refilled the child’s cup.

“Don’t worry about it, let’s talk slowly. Who is the one who’s sick?”

“My mom.”

“For how long has your mom been sick?”

While drinking the tea, the child extended three fingers instead of answering.

“3 days? 3 weeks? 3 months?”

To Eden’s question, the child kept shaking their head.

“Then 3 years?”

Finally, the child nodded.

“For 3 years. So, where is your mom feeling sick?”

“Her whole body turns red. Sometimes she looks like a fish with scales. White powder also falls from her.”

While sipping the tea, the child continued to speak intermittently.

“She scratches her body because she feels itchy, and then blood and yellow liquid flow out of her.”

Edun frowned. Just by listening, he could imagine how much the child’s mother must be suffering in terrible pain.

“But nobody gives medicine to my mom.”

“…They don’t give medicine?”

“Yes. When I went to get medicine, scary men with sticks blocked my mom and me and chased us out of the village.”

Tears welled up in the child’s big eyes.

Edun hugged the child without saying a word. It had been so long since magic disappeared, and although medicine might have advanced, unfortunately, there wasn’t much difference between a few hundred years ago and now.

“P-Please help us, Apothecary.”

“Sure. I will help.”

How could he turn away when a young child clung to him like this? Even if he didn’t open the dispensary, he still wanted to help the child’s mother.

***

“What did you say just now?”

Leta, who was organizing documents in the guild office, raised her voice. The news she had heard since the morning felt like a bolt from the blue.

“The apothecary disappeared? When exactly? No, it’s true that he disappeared? He was here just last night, wasn’t he?”

“I’m not exactly sure, but he didn’t open the shop this morning.”

The guild messenger replied with a dismayed voice.

“No one has seen him? He could have gone to the flower garden or another store.”

“They say no one has seen him.”

Does this even make sense? Leta put down the pen she was holding with a loud noise.

“No one has seen him? Does it make sense to say that he secretly moved all those items that were purchased and left?”

“I, it seems like all the items purchased here were left as they were.”

“What kind of nonsense is that?”

“It seems like only the bag he had when he first came to Mellow is gone.”

The guild messenger placed a wooden plaque with Edun’s name on Leta’s desk. It was his apothecary identification plaque.

“So the apothecary left this behind too?”

The apothecary permit was not exclusive to Mellow but also valid in other regions. Of course, it had to be reported to the lord of that region.

“Yes, it was placed on the workbench.”

Leta rubbed her temples, feeling dizzy.

“Go and check.”

In response to Leta’s order, the messenger quickly left the office.

Left alone, Leta began to gnaw at her nails.

I could not believe the fact that the kingfisher, which had been obediently trapped in the fishing net, had escaped.

From the moment the newcomer entered the office for the first time, Leta could smell it. The pungent smell of old coins.

Moreover, after having a few conversations with him, it seemed that his personality was gentle and his skills were excellent, so she had thought of attaching herself to him and sucking him dry for a long time.

“I had to squeeze out that money somehow…”

Considering the amount of the donation and the fact that he gave up so much money without hesitation, it was clear that the pharmacist possessed unimaginable wealth.

Just thinking about it, Leta’s anger surged and she slammed her fist down on the desk.

Perhaps because of the sharp pain that shot up her wrist, her head began to spin quickly.

“No, he was definitely at the shop last night, right? So he couldn’t have gone far yet.”

If she could somehow find that pharmacist, she could still get her hands on the money. Even though he had escaped, he was still a member of the Mellow Merchant Guild, so she could just twist the guild rules and accuse him of breaking them. After all, in Mellow, Leta was the law.

“There’s not much time left. I still have a long way to go to match the amount he proposed. So I must find this newcomer pharmacist.”

Even if she didn’t have any coins, she could sell herself to a fairly skilled pharmacist like him.

Leta looked at the map hanging on the wall and quickly identified places where the pharmacist could go. The look in Leta’s eyes as she looked at the map was more greedy and sharp than ever before.