Chapter 91: Kraken Whisper PearlAfter finishing my experiments with the mithril, I ended up making new weapons for the maids, too. Even though their weapons were already made with mithril, I was able to give them a slight upgrade with the slabs I had left.

    Carli and Gina had a special case for their weapons, which the inside was coated with adamantite. That’s how they were able to teleport with their weapons since the adamantite that covered their blades nullified the mithril’s effect to cancel magic.

    I made the hilts out of mithril, too, but I had to discard them and leave them as a decorative piece since a scabbard would only cover the blade and not the hilt.

    To be fair, they told me after the fact that I had crafted them, or I would have tried making something else.

    In the end, the hilts were made with steel, and Vespera produced a nice fiber to coat the handle, finalizing our creation.

    Of course, we couldn’t bring them with us to End Town since the mithril nullified the magic with potency, so we left them at the workshop in the forest until we got our scabbards, which we ordered from a craftsman in the capital who made the same ones for the maids.

    To our surprise, we received a letter from the craftsman saying he needed to visit and see the blades to get the perfect size, which made complete sense, so we quickly teleported to the capital and brought the man with us to End Forest.

    His name was Leonard, and he specialized in crafting scabbards for weapons, so he was pretty much perfect for the job.

    It took him two days to finish them, confirming our belief that the guy was a professional. And just as quickly as he finished his job, he returned to the capital. We teleported him there, of course.

    What I liked about my weapon case the most was the fact that it was the perfect size to conceal it under my poncho. Unless I raised the bottom of my coat, the mithril knife was virtually invisible.

    The princess didn’t have that much luck since her estoque was much longer and visibly hung to the side of her hip.

    ’Well, it’s not like walking around with a sword is seen as strange in this world...’ I thought.

    __________

    For the rest of our time together, we traveled around the kingdom, helping small villages and upgrading their living conditions to the fullest of our ability.

    It was what Melina always wanted to use her magic for, so we stopped the adventuring requests and monster hunting for some time.

    The maids were able to come with us, thanks to them learning how to fly using the gravity enchantments in their uniforms that Vespera placed on them.

    During that time, Reinar and the alchemists had come up with new potions and even managed to discover something new about the old potions I made.

    Dr. Lane, the alchemist whose life I almost ruined with my business, said that while the Healing(+) potions were amazingly effective, it seemed like overkill for someone to buy the whole thing for minor cuts or wounds.

    He argued that many of the potions’ curative effects were wasted when someone used such a potent formula for a small wound or bruise. And to be fair, it was a solid argument.

    I just never thought about it since all the healing potions I made came out like that, and I always used them for serious injuries. However, Dr. Lane explained that many villagers would buy it thanks to its low price and treat lesser wounds with it.

    Surprisingly enough, the alchemists had found a way to solve the problem by decanting the Healing(+) potions into smaller doses, which was enough to cure minor injuries.

    The smaller doses were sold much cheaper than their full versions. It was the equivalent of buying a single band-aid pack in my past life, except this potion dose was 100 times more effective.

    In the end, we were not only providing better and cheaper services for the villagers, but we were also making more money.

    The economy in our town had been flowing steadily, and people were amassing wealth thanks to the crops and businesses that we had opened exclusively in our town. Because of that, the prices of the potions also went up a little.

    It was a discussion that I had with Mr. Olliver, the pharmacist at End Town, and our partners in the other cities that sold our potions.

    They asked for permission to raise the prices, bringing the economic state to my attention, so I agreed with them on one condition.

    If someone ever asked for a potion they desperately needed and couldn’t pay for, they would give that person what they asked for.

    It was a simple measure to ensure everyone had a somewhat equal opportunity at health care in the kingdom, and the pharmacists agreed with my demand.

    The price in the capital for a full Healing(+) potion was one gold or ten silver.

    Each full potion could be decanted into fifteen small doses worth one silver, so selling the fifteen decanted potions would make a much higher profit in the long run.

    It was a good thing that the pharmacists had no idea how to do the decanting process themselves, or I’m sure someone would have cheated and tried doing it themselves to stock up on more of the smaller doses.

    Of course, those were the prices in the capital. The smaller villages and towns had more accessible prices such that even a kid could buy them if they truly needed them.

    Thankfully, the small economic disaster that I caused for alchemists slowly came to an end.

    __________

    Before we knew it, autumn had arrived in the kingdom as the weather got colder and the leaves started falling off the trees.

    As soon as the weather changed, the princess would ask to inspect my information every single morning, although I didn’t know why.

    One day, my information went through a sudden change.

    Name: Ichiro

    Age: 16

    Skills: Kobudo, Martial Arts, Blacksmithing.

    MP: 40,000

    Titles: Child of Phelena, Master Alchemist, Master Craftsman, Chocolatier, Master Hunter, Professor.

    "Aha, It’s your birthday today!" Melina exclaimed with a cheerful smile.

    We were having breakfast at the time, which was the usual time when the princess asked to check my information, and then I understood why she kept doing it.

    She confessed that she had been checking ever since autumn started, wanting to know which exact day was my birthday. sea??h thё Novёl?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    But honestly, I was more shocked at seeing my MP. It was pretty much double the amount as the previous year.

    The difference in power between a 15 and a 16-year-old was too big, making me understand why the academy only allowed people to enroll after turning 16 and not a day before.

    The princess nodded. "Mhmm, the power spike is nice, but most importantly... It’s your birthday!" she said with enthusiasm as she hugged me.

    The maids congratulated me, too, but I was never big on celebrating my birthday, to be honest. So, I awkwardly said thanks, still appreciating the gesture.

    Nonetheless, the princess wasn’t done as she suddenly ran up to her room and came down with a small wooden box with a delicate fabric wrapping it.

    "This is from all of us," Melina said, handing me the gift.

    Inside, there was a simple necklace with a cord made of a strong and resilient black fabric and a single crystal as the embellishment with the shape of a tear.

    It wasn’t a big crystal, as it could fit on my closed fist. However, the color was what caught my attention the most, with an iridescent tone, making it seem like the crystal changed color when seen from different angles.

    Besides the pretty aspect, I could feel magic pulsating from it, although it was pretty faint.

    Staring at the crystal, Melina explained that it was a gemstone called a "Kraken Whisper Pearl."

    Apparently, Vespera had fished it out of the water after we defeated the Kraken in Port Town Blue and was the one who suggested the princess give it to me as a gift. However, the idea of doing it on my birthday was all Melina’s doing.

    From their explanation, the crystal was able to hold a lot of magic that could be absorbed at any given time. Ever since they found it, the whole group had been infusing their magic into the tear.

    Hearing them, I focused on the energy flowing inside the gem, and I truly felt the presence of everyone. Melina, Vespera, Yoru, Gina, Carli, and even Reinar’s magic was in there too.

    "If you are ever in trouble like that one time with Armaros, you can rely on us a little bit with this, even if we are not there with you!" Melina said.

    The gem was basically a way to "borrow" magic, but the energy inside didn’t deplete, so I could use it any time I needed it.

    ’It feels like such a long time since I received a birthday gift...’ I thought, giving the group a big smile and thanking them for the fantastic present.