Lucian headed straight for the herb shop.
If he could, he would’ve liked to go by carriage, but he couldn’t afford to draw attention, so he had to walk with his hood up.
Hans helped him walk by his side, though he still wore a confused expression.
“What business do you have at the herb shop, exactly?”
“People go to herb shops to buy herbs. What else do you think I’m going to do?”
“I understand that, what I’m asking is why you, young master, have to buy herbs personally. Couldn’t you just buy medicine directly from the Alchemist Guild?”
Herb shops and the Alchemist Guild are linked by their shared dealings with herbs.
However, in terms of social status, the difference is massive.
A simple herbalist who picks and sorts herbs to sell is, at most, a place frequented by commoners or low-ranking knights.
Compared to the Alchemist Guild, which handles quality control and proper medicine preparation, it’s nothing but a humble shop.
Even a mere apprentice alchemist would be enough to ridicule a herb gatherer.
That’s why anyone with even a minimal position goes to the Alchemist Guild, not an herb shop.
“I don’t know where you’re getting that from, but an herb shop is just a little place that sells herbs. There’s nothing in which it surpasses the Alchemist Guild. In fact, anything good is delivered straight to the guild—they only sell medium or low-quality goods here.”
“I know, so stop insisting. You think I’m going there expecting to find some legendary herb?”
“Weren’t you?”
“Of course not. I’m going to the herb shop because it’s something the Alchemist Guild doesn’t handle.”
“There’s a herb in this world that they don’t take? If it’s any good, they’ve already swept it up.”
“It’s a herb that can’t be made into medicine. It’s more effective when chewed raw.”
More precisely, it was a herb whose processing formula had yet to be discovered at that time.
That would happen a few years later.
‘Moonlight Herb.’
It grows near lakes with abundant moonlight and has a remarkable effect on enhancing physical stamina.
Its medicinal effect is excellent, so it’s pricey—but with no processing method, for alchemists it’s just a nuisance.
For great nobles with their own territories, it’s the same—they have access to better, more expensive medicines, so it doesn’t interest them either.
At most, when a low-ranking noble or a commoner stumbles upon one, they celebrate it like winning the lottery.
‘With the money I have now, I can easily clean out an entire store. Though in a year, not even all this money would be enough because of how much the price will skyrocket.’
A year later, the Alchemist Guild would buy up every last Moonlight Herb on the market.
The reason—that it was related to the development of Nectar—would only be revealed much later.
Looking back, they were probably also trying to deliberately drive up the scarcity of Nectar.
That’s why, before the guild began to move, he had to buy up as much Moonlight Herb as possible.
After sorting through his thoughts, Lucian was about to head to the town below the castle when—
‘Now that I think about it is the me from the past life still working?’
***
To confirm, Lucian went to find the guard captain on duty at the watch post.
Luckily, the captain hadn’t changed since his past life.
At first, he didn’t recognize Lucian, but he quickly seemed to recall him and jumped to his feet in surprise.
“What brings you here, young master?”
“It’s nothing serious. I’m looking for someone among the recent recruits.”
“Among the new soldiers?”
“Yes. Just a month ago, you recruited guards due to an increase in retirees from injuries, didn’t you?”
The captain swallowed hard without realizing it.
How could the third son, who’d been shut away for so long, know that?
“Y-yes, that’s right. Seven young men joined.”
“One of them is named Jake, right? He should be nineteen years old, black hair, and when he applied, he carried a bow.”
In his past life, he had come to the guard recruitment test carrying a bow.
He didn’t even know how to shoot well, but thought he needed something.
In the end, they made fun of him, but appreciated his preparedness and passed him without much trouble.
Among his peers, it had become a bit of a story, so that should be enough to identify him.
“I’m sorry, but we don’t have any soldier like that.”
“What? He’s not here?”
But the captain’s answer was completely different from what he expected.
“No, not here. Who would apply to be a guard carrying a bow? If there had been someone like that, the rumor would’ve spread a long time ago.”
“Then, any nineteen-year-old soldier with black hair?”
“Same deal. Black hair isn’t common. I haven’t seen a soldier like that.”
He wasn’t here? But by this time, he should’ve already been over a month into service—without a doubt.
Just in case, he even checked the records, but there truly was no Jake.
There was someone else listed instead.
When he asked about the appearance, they said he was a brown-haired man, twenty-five years old.
Everything pointed to him being someone who had failed the guard exam in his past life.
‘It leaves a bitter taste, but it’s not a bad outcome.’
If his former self were still alive with the same personality, it would feel strange.
He didn’t know if his existence had been erased or if the timeline had changed—but as long as they didn’t cross paths, that was for the best.
Shaking off his last curiosity, Lucian headed with Hans to his original destination the herb shop.
Clack!
“Who is it? We’re closed right now, come back later.”
“Well, well. Herb shop owners these days sure act high and mighty. Making even a noble wait.”
“What nonsense are you—wha—hhk!”
The herbalist, speaking indifferently, instantly prostrated himself when he recognized Lucian.
He never expected a noble to come to a shabby shop like this.
“W-what business brings a noble here…?”
“Obviously, I came to buy herbs. You think I came to eat?”
Lucian deliberately spat out the sarcasm.
It was the same shop owner who, back when Lucian worked as a guard, shamelessly overcharged him.
When he’d been badly injured, the man had charged him three months’ salary just for herbs.
Since things had turned out this way, Lucian planned to get a bit of revenge.
“I’m sorry! That was a stupid question!”
“Damn right it was. So shut up and bring the herbs.”
“I-I’ll bring everything! What are you looking for…?”
“Moonlight Herb, Red Thorn, Winged Lantern, and Stalkflower. Especially the Moonlight Herb—bring every last bit you have. If I later find out you hid any to sell separately, you’ll be gambling with your neck. Keep that in mind.”
Under Lucian’s sharp aura, the shopkeeper dashed off toward the storage room.
Maybe driven by guilt, the moment he heard the names, he began frantically searching and ended up dumping all the Moonlight Herb in front of him.
Since it was an expensive material, the quantity wasn’t huge—but for a single shop, it was a considerable amount.
“This is all the Moonlight Herb we have!”
“The quality’s mediocre. Is that really all?”
“F-forgive me! I’ll give it all to you, just please forgive me…!”
“It’s fine. I’ll pay the price.”
His reputation already wasn’t great, so there was no reason to add the infamous rumor of having raided a herb shop by force.
When Lucian paid exactly the fair market price—no more, no less—the herbalist wore an ambiguous expression.
He seemed to have expected that, as a noble, Lucian would add a generous tip.
A hollow chuckle escaped his lips without realizing it.
Hadn’t he just said moments ago that he’d give everything?
“Not enough for you? Then I’ll give you more. But I’ll also make you pay for the insolence you just showed.”
“N-no! I’ve committed a sin worthy of death!”
Only after watching the herbalist slam his forehead to the floor several times did Lucian step outside.
Seeing the man sobbing with a runny nose, he felt like everything inside him had been cleared out.
So this was the true taste of power?
Hans, who had watched the whole thing, muttered with a stunned expression.
“Young master, I feel like you’ve changed a bit.”
“Oh yeah?”
“You used to not be able to say a single unpleasant word to anyone. But now…”
“How have I changed?”
“You’ve become more confident. And you have more presence.”
He felt a slight jolt inside.
Hans hadn’t served him for long, but still—he was a direct servant.
Had he picked up on something strange?
“Does it seem odd to you?”
“Odd? Not at all. It’s wonderful. Now I can finally walk proudly among the other servants.”
Fortunately, to Hans, his master’s change was purely positive.
Lucian smiled faintly and handed him the Moonlight Herb.
“Don’t worry. From now on, not only will you not have to worry about others’ stares—I’ll make sure they’re the ones afraid of yours.”
“Just hearing that is enough to make me grateful.”
“I’m telling you the truth.”
At least that much he understood well—a master’s authority is also his servant’s authority.
If Hans had been looked down on until now, it was because his master, Lucian, had been contemptible.
But from this moment on, things would be different.
The Lucian of before, and the Lucian of now, were completely different people.
***
Before returning, Lucian stopped by a general goods store and bought a few more items.
They were tools that commoners used to prepare medicine.
Although they were low-quality items that the Alchemist Guild didn’t even handle, they were more suitable for Lucian.
‘After all, this is the only kind I know how to use.’
Back when he had nothing, how could he have afforded expensive alchemical instruments?
The tools that commoners used to crush and boil herbs for homemade remedies were his limit.
Even if he bought high-end items now, he wouldn’t even know how to use them properly.
After finishing the basic preparations, Lucian spoke with a serious expression.
“Don’t let anyone into the room. If someone tries to come in, block them with your body. And if you can’t, at least scream. If anyone questions you, I’ll take full responsibility.”
“Even if it’s one of the other young masters?”
“Don’t even let my father through.”
Hans flinched, but when he saw Lucian’s face, he nodded with a resolute expression.
Left alone, Lucian pushed the scattered books to a corner and began preparing the medicine.
Though calling it “preparing” was an exaggeration, as it only involved crushing herbs, extracting their juice, and mixing them in a specific ratio.
But even this incomplete formula, if leaked to the outside world, would be enough to shake the world.
That’s why he’d made Hans block the entrance, even knowing no one was likely to come looking for him.
Even the slightest clue could trigger an enormous variable.
When Lucian squeezed the juice from the herbs, mixed them, and heated the blend with a lamp, a sharp smell quickly spread through the air.
As time passed, the pungency became increasingly intense, to the point of making his eyes water.
‘Seriously, what kind of insanity made me drink this in my past life?’
No matter how he looked at it, a normal person would have suspected it was poison, not medicine.
If he hadn’t been so desperate, he never would have brought it to his lips.
When, after a while, the mixture turned red, Lucian turned off the lamp.
The smell gradually faded as the liquid cooled, and in the end, only the red medicine remained.
Lucian took a deep breath and drank it in one gulp.
Glug!
“Fuuuuh!”
The burning liquid slid down his throat and into his stomach.
A moment later, he felt an energy stir in the lower part of his abdomen.
‘Mana!’
The result of humanity adapting nature’s power for itself.
And, depending on its use, a force capable of raising a person to the level of a superhuman.
‘Now’s the critical moment.’
Lucian, controlling the flow of mana, focused and set it in motion.
As the sensations of his past life returned, the mana slowly descended to the pubic region.
When the first attempt succeeded, a sigh of relief escaped his chest.
He had passed the biggest hurdle.
‘No, it’s not time to relax yet. Circulation’s next.’
The process of running energy through the whole body and then recovering it.
That was “circulation,” a vital step to becoming a knight.
With a normal medicine, at that point the mana would just seep through the body, slightly widening the channels.
But Nectar, in addition to that, could open up muscles, bones, and even completely blocked pathways.
The problem was that the less trained a person was, the more painful the circulation process became.
After the first time, the suffering lessened significantly, but that first cycle was true hell.
The pain of forcefully piercing through completely blocked channels!
‘Tsk, this is going to hurt like hell.’
Lucian’s current body had never even done a single day of field work, so it was likely to be even worse than in his past life.
Bracing for the pain to come, Lucian tightly closed both eyes and moved the mana.
But no matter how much time passed, the pain didn’t come at all.
After a short while, Lucian opened his eyes wide, surprised by the unexpected situation.
‘What the hell? Why isn’t anything blocked?’
____
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