◈21. The Pope Who Makes Potion
If I couldn’t escape, then the next best thing would be to lure Luciana somewhere else.
The moment that thought crossed my mind, I called for my trusted helper.
“Rubin, come here for a sec!”
Rubin, who had been unsummoned, instantly appeared in midair immediately upon hearing my call.
“Nike! You called me?”
“Shh, keep your voice down a little.”
Luciana was already striding toward me with determined steps.
I quickly and quietly explained the situation to Rubin, making sure Luciana wouldn’t overhear.
“As you can see, I’m currently outside, even though I was told not to leave.”
“Yeah, I can see that. Weren’t you supposed to be resting? But here you are, sneaking around instead.”
“I’ll explain everything later. But first, I need a favor.”
“A favor?”
Rubin, who had always seemed strangely pleased whenever I asked for his help, perked up with interest once again.
“What is it? What do you need? Tell me, quick!”
“It’s nothing too difficult. Just distract Luciana and lead her down a different path. If she finds out I’m wandering around, it’ll be a problem.”
“Ahh…”
Rubin, who had been impatiently waiting for my request, suddenly drooped his ears upon hearing it.
“…But you need to rest. Even if Luciana scolds you for getting caught, isn’t that just something you have to accept?”
“I have a way to heal without resting. I’m planning to use a hidden ability of yours that even you didn’t know about… But explaining it would take too long. Luciana’s almost here, hurry!”
“Uuugh…”
Rubin flicked his tail anxiously, deep in thought.
“Honestly, for your health, the best thing would be for me to just yell right now and let Luciana catch you—”
His gaze flickered toward Delsi for a brief moment before turning away.
“—But it looks like there’s someone who’d be in trouble if I did that.”
With his mind seemingly made up, Rubin straightened up and responded in a determined yet hushed voice.
“Alright! I’ll do it! Leave it to me!”
“Then move, hurry! She’s coming!”
Just before Luciana could spot us, Rubin leaped into action at the last possible moment.
“Hey, Luciana!”
“Hm?”
Luciana turned toward Rubin, startled by his sudden appearance from behind a tree.
Her eyes already carried a hint of suspicion.
At this point, all I could do was pray that Rubin’s smooth talking would be enough to safely divert the ever-perceptive Luciana.
Right on cue, she asked,
“Rubin? What are you doing here? What about His Holiness?”
“Well, Nike is…”
All he had to do was say I was resting well.
That was all.
But for some reason, Rubin’s response was unnervingly sluggish, like he was buffering.
A creeping sense of foreboding pressed in on me, but I tried my best to ignore it.
And then, Rubin finally answered.
“He’s resting well. Indoors.”
“…What?”
Luciana looked bewildered.
Of course, so did Delsi and I.
‘What? Why emphasize “indoors” like that? That just makes it sound even more suspicious…’
The ominous feeling I had been desperately trying to suppress grew stronger.
One bad thought after another popped into my head.
‘Rubin… Don’t tell me you’re bad at lying?’
I really, really hoped that wasn’t the case.
But my worst fears were confirmed as Rubin immediately began to spout nonsense.
“I was just, uh, out for a walk when I ran into you. Totally by coincidence. I swear.”
“…….”
“Ah, and why don’t we take a walk around the garden together? Just… don’t go toward the trees behind me.”
“…….”
“There’s no particular reason you shouldn’t go that way. I just… think it’d be nicer to walk through the garden instead.”
“…….”
I couldn’t bear to watch any longer and squeezed my eyes shut.
I could feel Luciana’s burning gaze fixed right on the trees we were hiding behind.
All thanks to Rubin’s unnecessary mention of them.
“Rubin, answer me honestly. Is His Holiness out right now? Ignoring the order to rest?”
“W-What!? No!! That’s not true!! Nike is resting inside right now!! There’s no one behind the trees!!”
“So, His Holiness is definitely behind that tree.”
“No!! I’m telling you, really, really—there’s no one back there!! Not even Delsi!!”
“……Delsi-nim is with him too? Haahh…“
“…I trusted you, Delsi-nim…”
Luciana muttered those words under her breath, barely audible.
Then, her footsteps began approaching us with firm, deliberate strides.
‘It’s over.’
There was no way a disguise this sloppy would fool anyone but an idiot.
She was going to interrogate me, demanding to know why I was out here.
Delsi had repeatedly emphasized how he absolutely did not want Luciana to find out, but…
‘It’s better if I step out and explain myself first before we’re caught.’
At this rate, it was only a matter of time before I was found.
Hiding any longer would just make the whole thing even more ridiculous.
With that decision made, I stepped out from behind the tree.
At that exact moment—
“Luciana!! Look at this!!”
Rubin suddenly shouted in urgency.
Then, without warning—
“Whooo—”
He blew a stream of iridescent bubbles from his mouth, shimmering in a rainbow of colors.
Hearing his call, Luciana instinctively turned around.
The moment her eyes landed on the floating bubbles—
“…….”
She went completely still.
Frozen in place, unmoving.
Then, as the bubbles slowly drifted in another direction, she followed after them as if drawn by some unseen force.
Only then did Rubin, breathless and shaken, hurry over to my side.
“Huff… huff… That was close…”
“What… Did you just do?”
Luciana’s expression just now had been utterly vacant—like she’d fallen into a trance.
That alone was enough to make me uneasy.
Hearing my question, Rubin replied nonchalantly, as if it were no big deal.
“I used a skill. It’s called 「Bubbling Warm Memories of the Past」.’“
“…Bubbles of what?”
“「Bubbling Warm Memories of the Past」. It’s a skill that makes anyone who sees my bubbles fall into their own memories. It leaves them feeling a little dazed, so she won’t remember spotting you.”
“…Is that skill safe?”
“Yeah. It was originally designed to soothe crying children. As a temple guide, one of my duties was to take care of lost kids.”
So, it must have been a skill programmed into him by the ancient magical engineers who created him.
If it was meant to calm children, then it was probably harmless.
That realization finally allowed me to let out the breath I had been holding.
“Phew—”
A long sigh escaped my lips.
“If you had something like that, you should’ve just used it from the start.”
“I didn’t expect Luciana to see through my lies so quickly.”
“…….”
“Don’t glare at me like that. I’m a Polydroid, remember? I was literally made to help people. There’s no way I’d have a function for lying.”
I had the urge to argue, but… he wasn’t wrong.
Expecting Rubin, a Polydroid, to be good at deception had been foolish on my part.
With the crisis averted, Rubin muttered something about being exhausted before dissolving back into my bracelet.
Only then did Delsi, who had been hiding behind me, finally relax.
[Phew… Squawk… I really thought we were caught…]
“Yeah. But why are you so afraid of Luciana?”
[Umm…]
Caught off guard by my question, Delsi hesitated, her duck-like beak opening and closing uncertainty.
Then, letting out a gloomy [Quack—], she finally blurted out the answer she’d been holding back.
[She looks just like someone I used to know. An older sister who always looked after me back in the slums where I lived.]
“An older sister?”
[Yes. She was strong, but also kind. Someone I really admired. She was my role model. I always wanted to be the good little sister she could be proud of… But then, right after I awakened my abilities, I made a terrible mistake.]
When she mentioned a mistake, I gently probed,
“What kind of mistake…?”
Delsi let out a bitter chuckle.
[Back then, I was clumsy with my powers. No… calling it just a ‘mistake’ might be an act of cowardice. Even if I didn’t mean to, what I did was a grave offense.]
I was curious about what had happened, but I didn’t press her any further.
I could tell from her expression that she wasn’t ready to talk about it yet.
[Because of that, she was deeply disappointed in me. And now… I don’t want to let anyone down ever again.]
I didn’t know what Delsi had done, so I couldn’t just brush it off with a meaningless ‘It’s nothing, don’t worry.’
Saying that would be the same as dismissing all the years she had spent atoning for it.
Instead, I offered the best comfort I could within my limits.
“That must have been really hard on you.”
Delsi’s eyes widened slightly.
In her bright, fresh-green irises, my face was reflected as clear as a mirror.
She stared at me for a brief moment—
“…….”
Then, she lowered her head again, hiding her expression from view.
And I didn’t try to see it, either.
Right now, excessive concern or cheap sympathy wouldn’t do her any good.
The best thing I could do for Delsi at this moment was simply to wait in silence.
[I’m okay now. Sorry for making you wait, quack—]
It was a little while later that Delsi brightened up again, back to her usual self.
Smiling, I patted her shoulder.
“It’s fine—”
But thanks to the delay, we had lost some time.
I bent down to pick up the documents Luciana had dropped when she got caught in Rubin’s skill.
Apparently, they were potion requisition forms for the knights.
She had probably come all the way here to deliver them.
Since we were the reason she hadn’t been able to, we decided to drop them off at the apothecary for her on the way.
And so, after all those unexpected events, we finally arrived at the western annex’s apothecary.
The moment I stepped inside, I swept my gaze across the room—
‘Were there always these many types of herbs?’
The apothecary was, in simple terms, a potion workshop.
It was where priests who had completed the Academy’s Potion Crafting course used their skills to mass-produce potions.
Considering that potion sales were one of the church’s main sources of funding, this place was undeniably important.
‘Are they turning all of this into potions…? But then why are there only a few bottles distributed within the Church?’
I was still pondering that question when—
Hearing our footsteps, a priest emerged from what seemed to be the herb storage room.
“Here to place a potion order? Please submit the order form here and wait over th— AAAAHH!!”
The priest, who had been speaking calmly, suddenly let out a terrified scream the moment his eyes landed on me.
The outburst sent the other priests in the storage room scrambling out, and in an instant, the once-quiet apothecary was filled with cries of shock and choking gasps.
“Y-Your Holiness the Pope!!”
“W-What brings you here—ugh…!”
“Priest Ronny just fainted from the shock!! Get some cold water, now!!”
I swear, I was just standing still.
I hadn’t clenched my fists.
I hadn’t glared at anyone.
And yet…
‘…Why are they acting like some thug just barged in wielding a wooden club?’
All I did was walk in, but the priests of the apothecary were already drowning in terror and panic.
At this rate, I was seriously worried they might start dropping like flies.
I lifted my hand slightly, signaling for them to calm down.
“First, let’s all calm down. At this rate, you’ll—”
“AAAAH!! Please don’t hit us!!”
“…….”
Even the slightest movement of my hand sent them into a panic.
Seeing that, I carefully lowered my hand again.
Then, in a quiet voice, I turned to Delsi.
“They’re way too scared. Why are they acting like this?”
[I think they’ve figured out Your Holiness’s identity because our disguise isn’t good enough.]
“……No, I already knew this disguise wouldn’t work. That’s not what I’m asking. What I mean is—why are they acting like this just because they saw me, the Pope?”
Finally understanding, Delsi let out a soft voice.
“Ah….”
And then, for the first time, she began speaking about a past I didn’t know.
[Do you not remember what happened back then, quack?]
“Hm?”
[About a year ago, Your Holiness came here asking for a potion and caused… um, let’s say, a bit of an uproar, quack.]
“I did…?”
[Yes, quack-quack. The priests told you they were out of the necessary herbs, and as soon as they did, you nearly turned this place upside down—er, no, I mean, you slightly damaged some property.]
Delsi was obviously trying to soften the truth, but the bottom line was clear:
The original Nikellus had thrown one of his infamous tantrums and wrecked the place.
No wonder their reactions had been so extreme.
‘So, they’re like this because they suffered under the original Nikellus…’
But something didn’t add up.
‘He actually came to get a potion? That’s surprising…’
Nikellus had been born with both an absurdly strong body and naturally immense divine power.
Even if he wanted to get hurt, it would’ve been difficult.
It wasn’t like he went around hunting monsters the way I did, either…
‘Was it a stamina-recovery potion?’
‘Or maybe a divine power-replenishing potion?’
After some thought, I turned back to Delsi and asked casually,
“What kind of potion did I ask for back then?”
I needed to know what he had taken.
If Nikellus had gone out of his way to get a potion, it meant it had to be something he actually needed—
Something that could be his weakness.
For some reason, Delsi hesitated before answering.
[…A hangover relief potion.]
“……What?”
[You were suffering from a terrible headache after drinking too much, so you asked for a hangover relief potion, quack.]
“…….”
Hearing that, I suddenly found it difficult to lift my head.
Right now, in their eyes, I was a lunatic who had trashed this place over a hangover relief potion.
Now, I fully understood why they were treating me like this.
‘…Damn it. First things first—I need to fix this mess.’
I took extra care not to startle them further as I slowly opened my mouth.
“Okay, everyone, let’s all calm down. The reason I came here is—”
“Here’s the hangover relief potion!! We made enough to last a whole year!!”
“No, that’s not—”
“If you want more, we’ll make more!! Should we go gather herbs right now?! Just please, don’t break anything!!”
They were so panicked that having a normal conversation was impossible.
At this rate, no matter what I said, they’d just assume I was here to throw another fit over hangover potions.
“…Alright, looks like we need to calm things down first. I’ll use a minor mental-state skill to help you, okay?”
Even in their current state of panic, the priests somehow understood my words and frantically nodded their heads.
They were probably worried for their own heart health at this point.
Or maybe they were just so panicked they would’ve nodded at anything I said.
Either way, I had their permission.
Turning to Delsi, I gave her a small signal.
“Delsi, if you would.”
Delsi hesitated briefly, then spoke in a voice infused with the power of her skill.
“Everyone, please calm down.”
The moment she said those words, the priests who had been on the verge of a breakdown immediately settled down.
‘That skill is ridiculously convenient…’
Impressed, I wasted no time in addressing them.
“Listen carefully. I didn’t come here for a hangover relief potion. In fact, I haven’t been drinking these days.”
One of the priests, now calm thanks to Delsi’s skill, asked in an extremely composed manner,
“Then, may we ask what brings Your Holiness here today?”
Thanks to Delsi, I could finally have a proper conversation.
Relaxing a little, I answered,
“Today, I came to make a potion myself. A special one. Something rare and unique.”
