Ine-chan's Potion
"Inenimaana, what's wrong?"
"Master, I'm out of mana."
I report to my worried looking master.
Ah~, running out of mana always makes my head spin~.
"That's not good... Mana deficiency is bad for your body, so hurry up and drink this."
"...Okay."
Ah, a mana potion. I hate how bitter these things are.
"What's wrong?"
As she notices my hesitation, Master mutters to herself "I guess it can't be helped."
--Maybe it's okay if I don't drink it?
I had a faint hope, but Master quickly grabs my nose and starts pouring the bitter potion down my throat.
Ugagagaga. Bitter, so bitter.
I start coughing as Master hands me a glass of water to rinse it down.
But it doesn't help, as the bitter taste is still fresh on my tongue.
Why? Why do potions have to be so bitter?
I'll take fig-flavor, or strawberry-flavor, anything!
◆
A half-month later, I ran into the ideal potion.
"...It's sweet."
I was shocked. A sweet, sweeeeet, honey-flavored potion with not even a tinge of bitterness.
The potion given to me by the alchemist Satou-san was like a sugar-covered miracle.
I feel my depleted mana recovering as I savor the delicious aftertaste.
I usually need to force myself to drink a full mana potion, but this time I drank it all in an instant.
I can't get enough. I stick out my small tongue to try to grab the few drops at the bottom of the bottle.
Uugh, I can't reach...
I flip the bottle upside-down and hit it a few times.
Every hit makes a few more drops fall onto my tongue.
I lick them all up, not leaving a single drop behind.
Master would probably scold me if she saw me doing this, but Satou-san kindly pats me on the head.
"Has your mana recovered?"
"Y-yeah, this is delicious."
"Alright, let's continue. I'll give you another one if you run out of mana again, so keep at it."
"Yeah!"
I can get another sweet potion!
Those words became the source of my energy as I continued the potion-making.
◆
How long has it been since that day?
I am now a full-fledged alchemist with my own disciples. This is all because of my drive to recreate that sweet potion.
"Master, it's mixed."
"Master, I'm out of mana."
"Sooo tired."
My apprentices look at me with anticipation in their eyes.
"Already out? Then I guess we'll have to fix that."
"Yeah!"
"Potion!"
"Hooray!"
I hand a small vial of mana potion to each of them. Without hesitation, they take off the lid. They start drinking, careful not to spill any.
"So sweet!"
"Pfaa, so good."
"I can keep going as long as I have these potions!"
The grinning children run off to the cauldron.
As I see my younger self in them, a smile forms on my face.
Satou-san, have my potions finally been able to reach your level?
I look towards the distant horizon, thinking about my second 'master'.
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