44 – 44. Ephedrine
I had been too busy with my medicine business to remember, but this was a romance novel world.
The setting was an academy. Both the main and sub couples were students at the academy.
The reason I had forgotten about the original work was because I thought I wouldn’t have any encounters or entanglements unless they dropped out like Anaïs.
If I had followed Sienna’s instructions right after possessing her, I would have ended up selling opiate tablets to the academy students and getting caught by the protagonist… Fortunately, that future was a long way off. In return, I became a bigger-scale dru*g dealer.
As I encountered a familiar incident while living in oblivion, I felt a fresh sensation.
“Gokgakpa Clan… I believe their name was probably Woodrina.”
The five clans leading the elf society were born from noble bloodlines.
The current disturbance was caused by one of them, the Woodrina Clan.
They were a group that inexplicably hated the Empire. They advocated for war to completely expel the imperial army from the elf territory, but when they failed due to opposition from the other clans, they started guerrilla warfare.
They saw that by provoking and poking the imperial army stationed on the border, they could create the situation they desired.
Although they were not many in number, they were skilled in combat, so the damage they caused was significant.
“It’s no wonder Victoria is so serious.”
Even now, Victoria was listing the reasons why the imperial army needed the “Potion of Courage” for the elves. She was portraying the wickedness of the elves,
“The number of soldiers falling into traps set up by the elves is increasing.”
“Traps, you say?”
“They are cunning traps aimed at the ankles. They must have judged that it is more efficient to render them incapacitated rather than killing them. …In the past few days, soldiers who were escorting the wounded have also become frequent targets of ambushes.”
“The soldiers must be afraid.”
“Sure. It’s to the extent that even routine reconnaissance missions are avoided. The effect they aim for must be this – instilling fear in the Imperial Army to weaken them. The number of casualties may be small, but the terror is widespread.”
“Understood, Your Highness.”
“It can’t be left like this…!”
Victoria, unabashedly expressing her hatred for elves. She seemed ready to set the World Tree on fire right now if possible.
There was no surprise in that thought.
Victoria, unlike her siblings, fell within the realm of common sense.
But she was, after all, a soldier. Sacrificing troops was one thing, and morale was already at a low, but the side effects of that measly dru*g weren’t the solution.
‘Is it ultimately because of some crucial motive involving elves?’
To confirm, she decided to ask again if the desire for the dru*g was indeed related to elves.
“Princess, if the conflict with elves hadn’t intensified, Ephedrine… that’s the name of the dru*g with the effects you desire. I believe you wouldn’t have asked for a stimulant burdening the human body. Am I correct?”
“Why ask that?”
“Please respond.”
“Perhaps that’s true. If possible, I don’t want to rely on dru*gs either.”
It didn’t seem like she was lying. More precisely, she probably didn’t think there was a need to lie.
In the end, everything traced back to elves.
If that were the case, Victoria’s dilemma could have been resolved without the need for a stimpack.
Soon, the protagonist of this world would step forward and resolve the conflict with the elves.
‘Of course, there’s no certainty.’
I unintentionally operated on one of the heroines. There was no guarantee that the protagonist would follow the original story and confront the elves, especially in the chaotic aftermath of Anais selling dru*gs in the ruined monastery.
But from my perspective, there was a high possibility of intervening regardless of her intentions. Because,
“Alan Kyeong? What’s the reason for your hesitation?”
When I raised my head, Victoria’s blue eyes were staring at me intently.
‘I can’t reassure her by saying it’ll be resolved soon.’
The fact that the Saint of the Thousand Faiths would soon be dispatched to mediate the conflict between the Elves and the Empire,
The fact that a priest (theology professor) worried about the safety of the saint would unofficially request the protagonist, who possessed overwhelming swordsmanship and character, “Disguise yourself as her guardian and protect the saint,”
The fact that the protagonist accepted the request, went to Dae Soo-rim with the saint, crushed the conspiracy of the radical Elf, and contributed to the reconciliation between both sides,
All of this couldn’t be told to Victoria. She would think I’m insane.
‘Until the Elves calm down, they’ll keep demanding awakening elixirs. How should I handle this?’
Should I just make them?
That was also delicate. After the situation was resolved peacefully, the issue of disposing of a large amount of epinephrine that had become useless would arise.
In this case, it’s better to not give a definite answer and buy time.
Luckily, there was someone who stood up for me.
“Sis, what are you doing here?”
It was Sienna who appeared with a group of operatives.
Looking chubby as she stared at my sister who came to talk to me even in the mushroom greenhouse.
Since things had come to this, using Sienna wouldn’t be a bad idea.
I immediately pretended to be embarrassed, avoiding Sienna’s gaze. Just to disguise as if I were caught secretly plotting with Victoria.
“As you can see, I came because Alan has duties.”
“Well, I don’t know if my sister has any reason to boss Alan around with him.”
Thankfully, Sienna responded immediately.
Victoria was confident even in front of her younger sister.
No, it wasn’t just that; she had even proposed cooperation to Siena as if things were going well.
After obtaining morphine, she expressed her desire to acquire ephedrine through military channels, assuring that the compensation would be sufficient, saying it wouldn’t be a bad deal for Siena either.
“I believe you’ll cooperate, Siena.”
Upon hearing this, Siena glanced at me instead of her sister.
I just smiled. Knowing Siena, she wouldn’t welcome a situation where she was set aside for discussions.
In reality, she acted as I desired.
“So, about the raw materials.”
“But, sister, have you considered public opinion?”
“What?”
Siena laughed sarcastically, saying she didn’t know. She was always good at meddling in other people’s affairs.
“After all, ephedrine is ultimately used to make a dru*g called ma-hwang. The reason Anais was expelled from the monastery was due to the health syrup containing ma-hwang. But if you say you’ll use it for military purposes, what will people think?”
“It’s different from health syrup, Siena. You know better than I do…”
“Of course, I know. I believe you won’t mix it with op*ium, and you’ll use it in a controlled environment. But will people think the same? If rumors spread wrongly, the authority of the royal family will quickly crumble. The justification for punishing Anais will also lose its significance.”
“…”
“Is it still okay?”
Siena openly started questioning her sister.
It was an interesting scene. Siena, criticizing Victoria openly about narcotics, was a peculiar sight.
Even in Siena’s presented logic, there was no discernible flaw. Victoria couldn’t muster a rebuttal and stumbled momentarily.
After a brief pause, Victoria slowly spoke up.
“I’m willing to bear that burden, Siena.”
“You can’t handle it, sister.”
“What?”
“In the end, Maydoph Pharmaceuticals is the one producing that medicine, right? They profit from it. If there’s any bad reputation circulating, it won’t just harm your reputation; it will affect me too. Not to mention Alan.”
“…”
“Are you willing to trouble others because of your greed? And threatening Alan in this manner doesn’t look good either.”
Greed, trouble, threat.
Siena criticized her sister with provocative words, observed by more than twenty onlookers in the palace.
Victoria’s face had become unexpectedly solemn.
It’s normal to get angry suddenly when insulted. If they were to fight, Siena was likely to lose. Victoria was praised as an expert even in swordsmanship.
However, Siena was unaware of how formidable Victoria could be, and she lifted her head boldly.
‘Probably because she knows Victoria’s personality.’
Indeed, Victoria, after a moment of hesitation, nodded. With a faint smile.
“Yes, Siena. It seems I was too hasty.”
“Good to know you realize it.”
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“With Her Majesty in distress, I felt an urge to do something. I didn’t even consider that my actions might burden the royal family, aside from the conflict with the elves, there are more important state affairs at hand.”
“No need to take it too seriously.”
“No, you spoke the truth.”
Thank you so much.
Victoria looked at Siena as if she were impressed and patted her on the shoulder.
By now, even Siena, who had been criticizing her sister harshly, couldn’t stand up to her. If Victoria had reacted fiercely, it might have escalated the situation, but by silently acknowledging it, she had let the air out of the situation. Siena couldn’t fight alone.
Victoria, who had put Siena to sleep, turned to look at me.
“Allen, I’m sorry. I acted impolitely relying on your kindness.”
“There’s no need to apologize.”
“This is a necessary business that I plan to promote soon. But… it would be better to start after the presence of the health syrup fades away. Until then, I will think of a way to support the two legions facing the elves in a different way.”
With that, Victoria disappeared, leaving room for speculation.
Siena sent her off with a bright smile, as if asking when she had fought, but her gaze towards me after seeing her off was not very kind.
“Allen, is this the behavior you wanted from me? I’m also interested in the new medicine, so let’s talk about it later.”
Of course, you would think so.
In the end, I was bound to produce Ephedrine. To avoid working fifteen hours a day later, I had to prepare in advance.
But for now, just having bought some time was enough.
Soon, the church would send a saint to mediate the relationship between the two sides, and they would ask the protagonist for unofficial protection in case of unknown danger. The protagonist, who had liked helping others since he was a failure, would gladly accept.
“Then the idea of giving the soldiers dru*gs will be revoked.”
Of course, this can only happen if it goes according to the original.
I decided to check on the whereabouts of the protagonist of this world, Leon Loaderdale.