Chương 46: Goal & Cohabitation

After we finished touring the garden, I led Luna to the kitchen.

"And this is where the magic happens!" I said, presenting the kitchen. It wasn't dirty per-say, but extremely messy. Which was to be expected since I was brewing potions until just before Luna called. In fact, my mana potions were still bottled up on the counter, waiting to be stored away.

"Wow…" Luna blinked, "So…This is where the famous Raccoon works? A dirty and messy kitchen? I think if I showed a picture of this to your fans, 90% of them would break down in tears."

"Ahem," I looked away, "You caught me at a bad time…If I knew you were coming, I would've cleaned up beforehand."

"Lots of random offshoots and bits of materials around here."

"Yeah, I've been practicing guessing the measurements of materials needed instead of using measuring tools. I'm slowly getting better at it."

"I see." She nodded.

"So, I'll just give you a quick walk through. Over here is where I prepare most of the materials—as you can see from all the offshoots. I have a bunch of equipment just here, so if I need a knife or funnel or anything, I can easily grab it. Just over yonder is where I keep my bottles. The empty ones are neatly placed in the rack for easy access and when I'm done I just let them rest over here until I'm ready to stash them in storage."

"Oh, so these are the trending mana potions going around." Luna picked one up and inspected it. [Sweet Mana Regeneration Potion] Grade D Creator: Raccoon A sweet tasting mana recovery potion. Drinking this potion will instantly regenerate a small amount of mana before increasing internal mana regeneration rate. Instantly recovers a small amount of mana. Increases mana regeneration rate.

"Sweet mana regeneration potion…" Luna mumbled.

"Try it, you'll like it." I urged. She looked at me for a moment, seemingly deciding whether or not to drink it before opening the cap. She sniffed the liquid before her eyes widened slightly and then she quickly downed the bottle.

"Strawberries!?" A natural smile appeared on her face as she turned to me for confirmation.

"That's right," I nodded with a smile, "I use strawberry juice as a flavor enhancer in the creation process."

"I can see why they'd be popular then." She nodded, "Low grade potions usually don't add much to help with flavor so they just taste like nothing. Some even taste bitter like medicine. And if you're using your homegrown strawberries…I can see why they'd be addicting."

"You're free to take however many you want. I got a whole bunch just sitting around."

"Don't you sell them? How much could you have just laying around…?"

"Hehe," I smiled knowingly before taking her hand and leading her to the living room closet—my potion storage, "You're going to be shocked."

"You're really hyping this up…" I didn't reply and only opened the door, leading her inside. Luna's eyes widened as she looked at the containers lining the walls. Each box was labeled with the name of the potion and inside them were carefully stored vials filled to the brim. There were multiple boxes of the one labeled 'MR - D Grade'. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

"I've got about 450 of them now, including the ones on the counter in the kitchen." I said, showing her inside the MR box. She looked at it with a wide mouth, not knowing what to say. She turned to me and then back to the box.

"Hehe." I giggled at the sight and even snapped a photo. Today's just a gold mine for Luna expressions.

"Don't you only sell like 20 of them a day…? Why do you have so much?" She asked after snapping back to her senses.

"I read online somewhere that limited supply makes it more valuable and desired."

"…Isn't it too limited? There's millions of awakeners out there and you sell only 20 of them for the same price as regular mana potions…I think that strategy involves making the price higher to match the limited supply."

"…Is that so?"

"…I believe it is." We blinked at each other a few times before I looked away,"Oh, and these are the bases used to create the dynokali potion." I said, pointing at the boxes labeled 'DL - C grade' and 'AJ - C Grade'.

"H-huh!?" She flinched and backed away, "You have explosives in your closet!?"

"Components to make them." I replied, stroking my chin. She brought up a good point, I should also keep a supply of dynokali potions themselves alongside the denomyl liquid and akikali juice. I'll work on that later.

"Same thing!"

"…You're a mage who uses electricity…Wasn't one of your skills 'Call of Thunder'? You can literally summon one of the most dangerous natural phenomenons in the world and you're scared of a little potion that goes boom?"

"I-It's not the same…" She looked away with reddened ears. I just shook my head in silence.

"Anyways, feel free to take some. I also have other potions you can take but I think they're a little below your level."

"Mm…" She shook her head, warily looking at the boxes containing the dynokali components before continuing, "It's alright, I don't need any for now. In the future, I'll happily snatch some from you."

"Suit yourself," I shrugged, "There's a bit more stuff in the kitchen I want to show you." I left the closet and Luna followed after shooting the boxes a wary glance one last time before shutting the door.

"Those potions won't suddenly blow up due to heat, right?" She asked.

"Temperature doesn't really matter for the potions I can make at the moment." I replied, "Hm…Now that you mention it, I am a little curious what would happen if I froze them…I should test it out some time."

"Aha…ha…" Luna nervously laughed.

"Anyways, this is actual chemistry equipment. I don't know if you've ever seen these in science class, but this is a distiller, those are beakers, test tubes, Bunsen burner…Just some regular things."

"Wow…It's moments like these that make me remember that you're an actual alchemist."

"…Did I not seem like an alchemist before?" I tilted my head and looked at her curiously.

"…You look like you're cosplaying." She replied after a moment.

"…"

"…"

"A very low budget cosplay." She continued. Looking at my current attire, it definitely made sense. I didn't even have socks on, just dolphin shorts, a white tee, oversized lab coat, and a comically large pointy hat. Though, that didn't mean I appreciated the truth. I shot her a glare.

"Hahaha!" She burst out laughing, clearly not taking me seriously.

"Tch," I clicked my tongue, "Be prepared." I gave her a warning and reignited one of the potion ideas I had tossed away before.

"Sure, sure." She shrugged my words off.

"Continuing on," I reluctantly moved on, "This is my fridge. I keep some materials in here, but it's mostly just food and drinks. There's nothing really special or intriguing." Luna looked inside anyway,"It looks like you have less stuff here than I do?"

"I suffer from a severe lack of space." I gestured to the full counters.

"So…You don't cook at home?"

"No, I do? I even baked a cake yesterday."

"Wait then what's the relevance for the lack of space?"

"Just an excuse." I shrugged. She stared at me blankly and I started to laugh.

"Anyways, I don't think there's anything more to show you? I think we've gone through everything."

"Hm…It's a nice place." She said, looking around.

"Thank you."

"So…Can we go sit down somewhere?" She asked. I could feel the mood shift slightly. It seemed like she wanted to talk about some more serious topics. And I had an inkling about what she was going to ask. I steeled my heart and nodded, bringing her to the bedroom where we both sat down on the bed. We sat in silence for a few moments and Luna brought up the topic first.

"Your nightmare issue…What are you thinking about it?"

"I…I've had several ideas on how to fix it." I replied, fidgeting with my fingers, "The first option that came to mind was a potion…Something that either helps me sleep or removes dreams and nightmares completely."

"Mhm…" Luna nodded, intently listening.

"The second option was booking a therapist or psychologist? I don't know which, but someone who has a skill to help me with it."

"I believe it's a therapist who can help you, they're kind of expensive but I heard the high-ranked ones can even resolve PTSD."

"Mm…" I nodded.

"But…I don't think you want either of those options. Do you?" She said. She really knew me well. Those were just the first ideas that popped into mind, quite common ones too. Plenty of people who suffer from similar issues have chosen that approach. But…That wasn't my style. Choosing something like that felt like running away from the issue. It's like cutting corners. If I do it once, am I going to do it again? Will I keep running until I can't anymore? For some people that may be fine. And that's okay. But for me…

"And the third option…" I mumbled, "I clear the floor. Alone." Silence followed and Luna's hand moved to the top of mine.

"…You're going to choose that, aren't you?"

"Mm…" I nodded.

"Are you sure?" Production classes were known for having a lack of combat skills. And considering I couldn't bring items into the floor, it was practically just me against a hobgoblin—a monster easily stronger than an average adult male. Fighting against one when I have no advantage is practically a death sentence. I don't know how to fight, I don't know how to wield weapons, I'm way shorter than them, and I can barely lift a 20 pound weight. Yet…

"I'm sure." I answered with conviction.

"And I assume you plan on using your own means—not a gun or explosive?"

"Yes." I said, "No matter how long it takes and no matter how scared I get, I won't run away. I'll clear this floor just as I did the others."

"And what about your nightmares before then? You can't sleep soundly, and I won't let you enter the tower with a lack of sleep."

"I…" Just as I started to reply, Luna cut me off and spoke over me,"So, let me help you."

"Huh?" I looked at her in the eyes, she had a resolute gaze.

"You can't sleep alone at night…So, let's stay together until you clear this floor." My eyes widened. Truthfully, it was something I thought of, but something I'd never ask of her.

"…But, what if it takes months—or even years—for me to clear this floor?"

"That's okay."

"What if I really struggle and rely on you for chores and stuff?"

"That's okay." I could see it in her eyes that she planned on staying until the end. No matter what arguments I made against it, she wouldn't leave me to fight this fear alone. …I think my heart's beating a little faster than usual? Ignoring that feeling, I switched to a teasing tone and replied,"Mm, maybe I'll just purposefully never clear the floor so we can live together forever~""W-What!? Y-You! Why can't you be serious at these moments!?"

"Hehe!" I giggled, smiling happily as I found myself with a new roommate. Which marks today as our first day of cohabitation.