Two Brothers: Melvin’s Perspective
It was dusk one day.
“won!”
“Kurt? What’s wrong?”
Kurt, who was walking next to him, suddenly took off running as if he had spotted something.
When I followed it to see what was going on, I saw a crow flapping away, apparently having been chased away by Kurt.
Kurt sat down at the base of the hedge and looked up at me with his ears lowered.
At his feet lies a small, bloody animal.
I’m not sure what it is, but maybe it’s a kitten?
“Kuhh…”
Kurt snorted pleadingly.
I know it’s telling me to help it.
Even for me, abandoning an injured kitten would leave a bad taste in my mouth.
I would like to help if I could, but I don’t have any recovery potions on hand right now.
Now, what should I do?
After racking his brains, he realized that one of the many pharmacists in the castle might be able to do something about it.
Even if it was seriously injured, it was such a small animal that a small amount of medicine should be enough.
Without any hesitation, I picked up the kitten and hurried to the area where the pharmacist worked.
Unfortunately, it was already past regular working hours for the castle staff, and no one was there when I looked into several rooms.
The kitten’s bleeding wouldn’t stop, and just when it seemed like it might be impossible, he finally spotted a young, chestnut-haired pharmacist.
The pharmacist’s green eyes widened at the sudden appearance of the knight, and when he showed him the kitten and explained the situation, he shared some of his own healing potion with him.
The medicine, which was in a bottle with a different shape than the usual medicines provided, successfully healed the kitten.
I breathed a sigh of relief and cleaned it up with purification magic, then I realized that the small animal wasn’t a kitten.
“Do you know what animal this is?”
“Well… I guess it’s Itachi?”
Now that you mention it, it is definitely a weasel.
I wonder why I thought it was a kitten.
As he was at a loss as to what to do, a female pharmacist offered to make the weasel his servant.
She placed the little weasel in her hands and smiled softly.
Then, I finally noticed that the pharmacist had a modest yet cute face.
The pharmacist, who seemed to be called Clarisse, made a contract with Itachi without any difficulty.
As an apothecary, it’s only natural, but it seems he’s used to handling magical power.
Also, there’s the matter of the recovery potion from earlier.
I was intrigued by Clarice.
However, Clarice didn’t seem to mind and quickly tried to leave me.
It may sound strange to say it myself, but I’m quite popular with women.
He is the vice-commander of the 5th Division, whose main mission is to subjugate monsters, and although he is not the heir to the family, he comes from a distinguished family.
Because he has a black wolf as his companion, he has even been given the nickname “Black Wolf Knight.”
I suppose I’m fairly well known, but it seems Clarice doesn’t know who I am.
I decided to walk him home, somewhat forcefully, and he reluctantly followed me.
As we walked, I listened to her story and learned that the medicine was made from Clarice’s original recipe.
Even though I’m not a pharmacist, I can see that the recipe has considerable value.
Yet it seems they intend to keep it a secret.
What a waste!
I negotiated to have them give me some medicine in exchange for materials.
Although she seemed wary, Clarice was a kind person and invited me, whom we had just met, into the room where she lived alone and handed me a bottle of pills.
At a glance, there seemed to be no sign of the man.
Apparently his parents have passed away, but does he have any other family?
There are a lot of things I’m curious about, but bombarding him with questions now would be a bad move.
He promised to bring the materials when he returned from the expedition, and left Clarice’s room without staying long.
When I went outside, the sun had already completely set.
I returned to the castle once and rode my beloved horse home.
“Welcome home, Master Melvin.”
“Oh, I’m home, Jeffrey.”
As usual, I was greeted by the butler, Jeffrey.
“Would you like to eat now?”
“Has Brother Sandy come home? If so, I’d like to talk to him before dinner.”
“He should be in the lab right now.”
So, I headed to Sandy’s lab, which was located away from the building.
I knocked on the detached door and waited for a response from inside before opening it.
“Oh, guess who it is.
It’s unusual for Melvin to be here.
Is something wrong?”
I have two older brothers, and my younger brother, Sandy, works as a first-class pharmacist at the castle.
Sandy had loved experiments and research since he was a child, and sometimes caused terrible odors or chemical explosions, so he was given this detached building to use as a laboratory to prevent damage to the main house.
“There’s something I’d like you to see, Brother Sandy.”
When I took out the bottle of medicine that Clarice had given me, Sandy’s eyes lit up suspiciously.
This was the reaction of this scholarly and research-oriented man when he became deeply interested in something.
“What’s going on here?”
“I got it from a pharmacist I met by chance.”
“Oh. Who’s he called?”
“That is still a secret.
I promised not to reveal your name to anyone else.”
「Hmm. Then that’s fine.
Can I check this medicine?”
“That’s why I gave it to you, brother.”
I didn’t break my promise to Clarice.
The agreement was that I would be the only one to use it and that it should not be shared with any other knights.
No one told him not to look into it, and Sandy is not a knight.
I know it’s a sophistry, but it’s an unknown medicine created by a pharmacist I just met.
I’ll have to research it properly before using it on myself.
Sandy quickly became addicted to Clarice’s medicine, and after seeing that my brother had become like that, I returned to the main house.
Hopefully we’ll have some results by tomorrow morning.
The next morning, when I went to the dining room, Sandy was in good spirits, despite having bags under her eyes.
“Melvin! That medicine is amazing! I’ve never seen anything like it before.”
Sandy explains that the products are made using basic, easily available ingredients, but are formulated to maximize their effectiveness.
“Wow, it’s good enough that even Brother Sandy would praise it.”
“That’s right.
Tell me who made that.”
Sandy is an excellent pharmacist and is well known in the field.
Clarice may not know me, but she probably knows Sandy.
“…I can’t tell you right now.”
“Maybe she’s your girl?”
“Although she is a woman, we are not in that kind of relationship.”
「Then why not?
Why are you acting so pretentious?”
While I was wondering how to get out of this, my eldest brother came over.
“What’s wrong? What are you all making a fuss about in the morning?”
“Good morning, Brother August.”
August, who turned 27 this year, serves as the commander of the Royal Guard.
I have dark blue hair and purple eyes just like Sandy, but overall I think I look more similar.
As we ate breakfast, I explained the situation to my reliable eldest brother.
After listening to the end of the story, the eldest brother thought for a moment and then turned his attention to Sandy.
“Sandy, is this drug really as good as you say it is?”
「Yes! That’s it!
It should have the same effect as the potions made by the castle’s pharmacists, but the cost of the ingredients should be about half.
I don’t know the manufacturing process, but it can’t be that complicated.
If we had the recipe for this medicine, we could make a lot more with our current budget.”
”Hmm,” August nodded, then looked at me.
“Melvin.
The pharmacist doesn’t know that you are the son of the Marquis of Andrews.”
“Yes. Since it seems they didn’t know, I decided not to give my family name.”
If you don’t know, that’s okay.
It’s just a hassle if people have strange expectations of me.
“First of all, Sandy, you don’t need to tell anyone about this drug right now.
Since you can’t operate under the radar, there’s no point in finding out about the pharmacist.
Melvin and I will handle this matter.”
“…Yes, brother.”
Unable to defy her eldest brother, Sandy reluctantly nodded.
“Melvin.
Once we return from the expedition, we are to go and see the pharmacist again.”
“Yes. I promised.”
“It would be best if the pharmacist would come forward of his own accord, but do you think you can persuade him to do so?”
“He’s a nice guy, but he’s very cautious.
I can’t say anything yet.”
I met him for the first time yesterday and we only had a short chat.
We still don’t know who the person is.
“If you’re a pharmacist worthy of Sandy’s approval, then I’d be happy to take you under my wing.
With that in mind, try to persuade him gently.”
“Well then, how about you be my wife?
I think we’d get along well as pharmacists.”
Clarice is Sandy’s wife…?
I thought about it for a bit and for some reason it made me feel really uncomfortable.
“Stop it, Sandy.
If you get involved, it will cause trouble.”
Perhaps sensing the change in my mind, the clever August stopped Sandy.
Sandy is a very skilled pharmacist and not a bad guy, but he is a bit of an oddball.
I seriously doubt whether I can make one woman happy.
“First, I need to know why the pharmacist doesn’t want to stand out.”
“I suppose so.”
“Don’t be hasty.
Whether you are trying to surround or incorporate a customer, you must first build a relationship of trust.
Then, later, tell me the name of that pharmacist.
We will conduct a confidential investigation.”
“got it”
Being a thoughtful person, August wouldn’t do anything reckless.
Although this will mean breaking a promise to Clarice, please spare me this much.
Besides, I often leave the royal capital to go on expeditions, but if something were to happen to Clarice during that time, August would be there to protect her.
That’s not very interesting in itself, but I can trust August.
Thus, with the support of my two brothers, I slowly began to move towards taking Clarice.
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