“Hmmm.”

I…tried to concentrate on a test mixture for a simple health potion but Milia leaned over my shoulder, scrutinizing it, her curiosity really testing the limits of me being a gentleman. Listen, I’m thirty-three years old. Or at least I was in my old life.

In fact, I think now is the perfect time to go to the river and look at myself. Listen, I don’t care who’s reading this, grandma, pops, I’m a man. Understand me when I express how difficult it is to concentrate on things when a beautiful woman is hovering over you. Or nagging. I mean yes, we men can be idiots and piss them off half the time, but that’s beside the point.

“Human food sure is strange.”

“It’s not food. It’s supposed to be a potion,” I said, almost with a sigh.

Let me tell you folks, potion making isn’t as simple as tossing ingredients into a pot, mixing a few times, and wala! The TV shows were full of crap!

First, I had to buy the right caldron. That took about thirty minutes of arguing with an old lady and then negotiating a fair price. If the mayor hadn’t gotten word of our face off and forced a discount due to my mission to help bring business to the town, I would’ve stormed out of there.

Second, temperature control, water, and often the timing of adding ingredients. The system isn’t very helpful, so you tell me if trial and error is fun. Yes, I was expecting easy mode too. But we’ve got a saying in my old world. Practice is perfect. It’s not like I had anything better to do.

“Let’s take a break for now, go check out the river on the other side of the town,” I said. Then paused. “Wait, are…you okay around humans?”

“That’s a strange thing to ask, considering I’m around you,” she quipped.

“You know what…” I sighed. “Point taken.”

“Domain—I mean, Nate, where is your humble home?” Milia asked.

“Not built yet,” I replied as I put out the coals in the small dirt pit. “You know, I wonder if I could make use of that…”

The ten-meter hole was gone. “I guess I won’t have to fill it back in after all.”

“I hope you don’t mind, I just told the land you didn’t need it after all,” Milia said.

I blinked. “Dryads sure are amazing.”

Milia laughed. “Praise from someone like you. I don’t hear any mockery in that.”

“I’m pretty sure I can’t command the ground to do things,” I said flatly.

“I wonder,” Milia said, but she didn’t poke into the impossible topic. I’m here to control my superpowers, not break shit. Even I know hurting the land would wield some kind of consequence.

I took a step, then paused. “Since you’re my assistant, I’d like to buy you some shoes.” I looked at her. “Well, you’re going to stand out regardless.”

“We dryads mostly keep to ourselves, but mingling with the human society isn’t anything new,” Milia said. “Sometimes they call upon us for help with cute little offerings and some delicious honey. If the cry is genuine and without malice, we lend our magic.”

“Learn something new every day,” I mused.

“An interesting saying, but it is true,” Milia said. “As for footwear, I typically require no such things.”

“Then think of the shoes like a gift,” I said. “Come on.”

As expected, Milia brought in a lot of stares, but some actually didn’t seem to care, which potentially meant a confirmation of dryad and human interaction being a completely normal thing.

They didn’t have socks or really full-on shoes at the shop, so I settled with getting Milia some sandals. She couldn’t command the land to make her something comfortable anyway. Even if she could, it’d be a blatant abuse of power.

When we arrived at the river several meters behind the town, I took notice of the scene. A few guards, one or two tent-based merchants, some children playing, people walking by. Peace. The water was nearly magical, so clean that you could point at every individual fish swimming through it, likely either on their way to a lake or a sea. The river itself wasn’t big enough for boats or else, there probably wouldn’t be any complaints about travel. It wasn’t a creek either, though I wouldn’t blame anyone for confusing it for one.

What I saw as a reflection made me flinch. Pale white hair, red eyes. I also looked to be in my early twenties. What the hell was this, real life anime? Or albinism? No, my tan skin was still there. I could barely recognize myself. I’m mixed after all, born in the USA.

Well, the old life no longer mattered. I was Mondrian now, or whatever the people of this world called themselves. The show of peace, the kids playing happily by a clean river only brought a smile to me honestly. I had work to do to contribute to this town and hopefully grow it. Also bring down the prices, sheesh!

“Would you like to grab a bite?” I asked Milia.

Milia blushed, putting a hand over her mouth. “Oh my, straight to the point, Domain—Nate. Just less than a days meet. Humans really are fast—”

“I didn’t mean it that way, ya damn perv,” I deadpanned, which only made Milia laughed. Dryads made jokes like this. Neat! Walked right into it. “It’s a saying from…where I lived before. What I meant was, would you like to get some lunch?”

“If you’d like, I can call upon the lands to provide some fruit,” Milia said.

“Ehh, you probably know this already, but I kind of like a balance of meat and veggies,” I told her. “Besides, wouldn’t it be kind of rude to start ordering you around.”

“You are the Domain Ruler and you employed me as your assistant, no?” Milia said.

“Even as your employer, I shouldn’t do that,” I retorted. “We’ve been raised with manners where I’m from. Aside from the garden which I’ll mostly use to jump start the potion making, where would you get fruit?”

Please don’t say the forest, I thought.

“The forest,” Milia said cheerfully.

I almost missed a step. “Yeah, I’m going to have to decline that. It’s already jarring enough that I plan to build a house on the same land as it.” Milia looked confused. I used that opportunity to change the subject. “Anyway, let’s just go to a restaurant. Lunch is on me.”

Milia nodded. “Thank you for the hospitality.”

“You’re welcome,” I said, then led her to the same small restaurant from the prior day. Milia ordered sweetbread and a side of honey-glazed apples as well as fresh water. She didn’t so much as glance at anything meat related. The dryad didn’t judge or really seemed to care about my order, which honestly made me respect her. Vegans or vegetarians are okay in my book as long as they don’t get preachy about it. As my grandmother used to say, don’t be the peacebreaker.

After lunch, I headed back, ready to give the potion making a try once more. I already memorized the prices from most goods in the area and came up with my own for making profit. However, selling other things will come later. There was no competition in Kyushu because no potion maker with half a brain would set up shop here. I think the fear of the forest was one thing but living in a town suffering inflation, along with its inhabitants leaving for city life turned into its own set of issues. After establishing my business, I’d have to come up with ways to make being here attractive. This is where my knowledge of the modern life will come in handy. Fuck, I want peace, but not boring peace. I will in fact have my cake and eat it, just you wait.

First, Milia and I washed the caldron using a bucket of water and some type of wire brush. Our empty glass vials and bottles were already staged on a small wooden table. I reviewed the ingredients for a simple energy potion. This was the only thing available on my potion menu, so I rolled with it.

Honestly, it wasn’t that hard. Some green herbs, blue grass, a few golden leaves from a bush on the edge of the garden, then brew for ten minutes. Toss in honey for any sweetening, which I didn’t have. Earlier, I tried to take a short cut. I also had the heat way too frantic. Instead of calm coals, well, let’s just say you should never try making a potion above a roaring small fire.

This time, I did things right, which resulted in a syrupy substance. Following the instructions, I added water to the concentrated formula, mixed for another few minutes, carefully added a tiny bit of my mana then removed it from the heat to sit and cool. Milia in the meantime tended the garden, planting a few seeds, and cycling mana I provided throughout the land.

About twenty minutes later, I found myself filling a bottle with my first potion. It probably wasn’t going to be any good and killing my motivation by analyzing it wouldn’t help things. An F-grade potion was an F-grade potion. I decided to taste it.

Floral, a little earthy, a little fruity. It reminded me of a strong tea. Not half bad. I’d call it the unsweetened version of the simple energy potion. Honey was way too damn expensive. If you thought paying for it in the modern times was a pain in the ass, come here and bring your gold. I know, I know, it feels like I’m always complaining about the prices of items here. If I weren’t seeking a peaceful life, I’d consider taking the example of many others and flee to the city too. Apparently it wasn’t as simple as protesting and getting the mayor to step down. He was assigned here. A former guard and the fourth son of a minor noble. That wasn’t an excuse to allow the inflation here. But in due time, I’d help fix it. Potion makers were sought after more than healers, but both were very rare. There were also frauds, but name one place that didn’t have scammers and I’ll pat you on the back.

“So it’s done,” Milia said. “May I try some?”

“You’re more than aware that potions aren’t meant for casual consumption nor taste good, right?” I said, passing her the bottle. “Well, somehow the flavor’s not that bad. Not great without any sweetener, but I’ve had worse.”

Milia’s eyes widened when she tasted a bit. “This…this quality, this smoothness on just your second try. But wasn’t it supposed to be a simple energy potion? At one sip…You should get this appraised.”

“I kind of need to run tests,” I said. “Then again, will the townsfolk trust drinking anything from a stranger? I’d be more concerned if they did.”

Milia waved off my comment. “The chat of a new potion maker in town has spread like wildfire. Go get it appraised. There should be at least one qualified mortal with the ability. I’ll watch the camp while you’re away.”

“Try not to drink all of it,” I deadpanned. “An ener—”

“I will not violate your product without your permission,” Milia said. “Which is why I’d like to request a bottle before you go.”

“If you really like the stuff, sure, I guess,” I said. “I’ll go find a guy so he can confirm that I made something not that great and laugh me out of his office.”

That statement seemed to go in one ear and out of Milia’s other, because she cheerfully filled her bottle without a care in the world. Shrugging, I headed back into town with a fresh bottle, sealed with a wooden stopper, and asked around until at last, found myself waiting for an old man’s opinion of my simple energy potion.

“Oh great Wanda, grant me the power, appraise!” he chanted. I watched the short man carefully as he thrusted a palm at my potion. I awaited the bad news, preparing to try again when his eyes shot open. His voice was a mix of urgent, calm, and excited. “Where did you get this?”

“Eh…I made it,” I said. “Look, let’s not beat around the bush. Should I throw it away and try again?” The old man swatted my hand, which surprised me. “Are you mad, lad? Throw this away? This is…” He took a deep breath. “You made this. Are you someone secretly from the capital? Did the Lord Ruler actually noticed this town and for the first time had some mercy on us?”

“No to all of that,” I said. “I’m just a new potion maker. Now what are the specs, grandpa. The suspense is kind of killing me.”

“You…you’re an unsung talent,” the old man continued. He took a deep breath. “Potion grade, triple S. Potion quality, incredible. Perhaps even higher. The mana in this…it’s unusual, almost impossible to exist.”

I decided to finally analyze my creation with the system, just in case the old guy lost his mind.

[Supreme Potion of Nature’s Energy. Item grade: SSS. Item quality: Extraordinary.]

[Item grades range from F and max out at S. Item quality types are: garbage, awful, poor, okay, average, good, very good, excellent, amazing, incredible, superior, extraordinary, and Exotic.]

Holy…shit. This was supposed to be a simple potion, you know, due to the simple ingredients. I’d have to search for more exotic resources later, hopefully with better instructions.

I gaped at the old man.

“I…maybe I got lucky,” I said.

“Stop it!” the old man snapped, “or I’ll make you kowtow to Wanda for being ungrateful. You should be proud of yourself, having such talent. I don’t know who’s the master magician that taught you how to brew, but I’d give up everything to learn under him.”

I decided not to tell him that I was self-taught. The old fart would probably hear about it later.

“Three silvers for the appraisal, right?” I verified, trying not to wince at the price.

“No!” the old man exclaimed, his eyes seeming panicked. “Please, forgive this old man for dare subjecting you through this period of price inflation. It makes me wonder if some snobby nobles are behind this. Listen, please allow this to be on the house. In return, keep building your shop, your business. If you keep this up, word will spread, and you’ll attract some big buyers. But… a word of advice. Try to keep some lower quality potions on hand, perhaps for mass production. That potion you have there, it’s worth a lot of money. Top buyers may bring in their own appraisers. But if you want to make life easier, label everything. Keep a logbook.”

I nodded. “Thank you for the advice, uh...”

“Chen,” the old man replied. “Just an independent appraiser. The kind that won’t lie to you. Be very careful of them. If inflation gets under control here, some jackwitt will still try to deceive anyone unaware, those old no good dragon turds”

It took every bit of maturity within to keep from laughing at the otherworldly insult. It’s the first time I heard it after all, but holy damn that’s hilarious.

After shaking Oldman Chen’s hand, I hurried back to the camp. Milia had “I told you so” flicking deep within her gaze.

“So, apparently I have a knack for creating potions,” I said, setting the bottle onto the table. “We need somewhere to store everything for now.”

[You can now create more potions. They will require various ingredients, some treated, some dried by sun or oven. There are no limits to what you can accomplish as a potion maker.]

At least the system was being supportive this time. I’d have to watch it, make sure it doesn’t bring in unwanted attention.

“We should start by bottling everything,” Milia suggested. “Then try selling them today. You should at the very least be able to find a suitable location in town to set up a table. I’ll help shout out for customers.” She looked at the pot. “I prefer this unsweetened variant, but later, create a honey batch.”

“In that case, I should buy a bigger table,” I said. “Or maybe I could build one later.”

I didn’t mention anything pertaining to wood. Sure, dryads were likely well-aware of a human’s reliance on wood, but no one went into that creepy ass forest. Which meant Milia didn’t have to worry about anyone harming whatever tree she claimed as her home. I preferred not to be the first guy to bring that up.

“You know, before we do anything, let’s make a basic health potion.”

“That’s a good idea,” Milia said. “It’s the hallmark item of a potion maker. Or so I would say, but most fail. Your strange mana, I can promise you, will help it succeed.”

I smiled. “Alright my assistant, here are the ingredients I need you to help me find.”

Thank fuck we actually had the herbs and even the fruit required to create the base. The search took a lot longer than I would’ve liked, even with the dryad getting help from the land. Without her, honestly, this would’ve required me to purchase the materials from some hack or a kingdom-owned shop in the capital. A hack.

One hour later, I found myself staring at three bottles of red liquid.

“I’m going to take one of these into town with me, for appraisal. Wait for me here. And thank you again, for the help.”

Milia smiled. “You’re welcome, Domain Ruler—I mean, Nate.”

I sighed, deciding to let that one go. “I’d better find a table while I’m at it.”

I hurried into the town, searching for any shop that sold furniture or a carpenter when the sight of a crowd caught my attention. A woman pleaded with a guard.

“Be patient, miss, men are on the way,” he said. “I’d personally go if I weren’t old enough to be your grandfather.”

“What’s going on?” I asked, though I only planned to keep going. Everyone had their problems, right? I had no intention of getting my happy ass involved in everything. Nope, no white knighting here.

“A giant tree fell onto her husband,” a man said, “but the guards hadn’t mobilized. Many of them don’t care. Others claim they need orders. It’s ridiculous.”

“Where at?” I asked.

“The forest behind the river,” the man said, then shook his head. “A fine woodsman too.” He glared at the old guard. “If he dies from his injuries, you’ll have blood on your hands.”

Yeah, fuck, as much as I didn’t want to white knight, I wasn’t about to stand by and let a man die while holding a goddamn health potion. If my hunch was correct, the mana inside would activate the ingredients, healing the man instantly. At least I hoped.

I dashed into the direction they pointed at, easily leapt over the river, and started into the woods. I found him in almost no time. Shoot, it was kind of a miracle that he didn’t get crushed by the giant tree.

I was muscular, but just one guy. I doubted I’d be much use. Or so those were my thoughts. You see, I forgot I had superpowers, so when I pushed the tree, it went flying, landing in a heap several meters away.

Deciding not to waste any time pondering on that, I fed the man the health potion. He came to immediately.

Now…how to explain this without causing a scene…

**