Only a week had passed.
The adventurer team "Free Will" and the "Genius Alchemist" had become household names in Kalinsha.
Even Minori himself hadn't anticipated that his initial creation of "Regeneration Potions" was not only for his own supply of small red bottles, but also to make contact with the elusive Leinas and obtain the [Cursed Knight] class.
Now, the "Regeneration Potion" in his hands had exerted effects far beyond the potion itself; using the potion as a stepping stone, he could easily gain a great reputation.
The fortress city "Kalinsha," being close to the city wall fortress line, had no shortage of injured and disabled soldiers, making it difficult not to become famous with these people around.
Bustling, lively streets.
The shouts of vendors on both sides, soldiers in ordinary armor gathering after their duties, and various women and merchants selling goods all converged. The air was filled with a faint aroma of grilled meat and the scent of ale.
Minori walked down the street, his every step attracting attention due to Kuro, already taller than him, by his side.
Kuro was piled high with various meats and foods, looking more like a domestic animal carrying goods than a ferocious and terrifying monster.
Along the way, many passersby greeted him.
Minori responded with a smile, occasionally stopping at stalls on both sides of the street to see if there were any items he needed to buy.
"Good work, Kuro."
Minori reached out and patted the Hellhound's neck.
"Awoo."
Kuro responded softly.
"This city is even more prosperous than 'E-Rantel'."
Minori sighed inwardly after observing for some time.
The three blockhouses on the fortress line required long-term stationed soldiers, who brought significant consumption, and every period there would be troop rotations, with new soldiers bringing even more demand. This indirectly led to the prosperity of "Kalinsha."
If the future doesn't change, this place will become a true hell on earth.
Minori stared at the bustling street in front of him, his calm eyes becoming deep, a hint of coldness flashing within.
Whether the future can be changed, he didn't know.
But he had to try.
Following the crowd, he arrived at a stall selling raw meat, mainly selling poultry raised by civilians and some scraps of wild game.
"Adventurer."
The stall owner saw Minori from afar and greeted him enthusiastically.
"How much are these scraps of meat?"
Minori asked gently.
"Eh?"
The stall owner was a little surprised, unsure why a big figure like Minori would ask about the price of scraps, but still quickly replied.
"I remember the price being different two days ago?"
Minori's eyes flashed; he had asked about the price two days ago, and it was cheaper.
"Adventurer, I absolutely didn't mean to raise the price."
The stall owner's face changed; misunderstanding Minori's intention, and seeing the Hellhound that could easily swallow him whole, he explained in a flustered and fearful manner: "Recently, the price of meat has risen a bit. Scraps and offal, which used to be cheap and even unwanted, are now being bought by some merchants."
"This has led to even these cheap things that poor people don't eat also rising in price recently."
Hearing the other party's answer, Minori narrowed his eyes imperceptibly, his expression unchanged as he said, "I see."
He had already guessed the real reason.
These noble bigwigs were truly crazy; they had already started buying offal and scraps, these rotten meats.
Ever since the first successful transaction with the trolls, it was as if a box had been opened, and a large number of trading companies, appearing from who knows where, had begun frequent transactions with the trolls side.
Being able to continuously transport large quantities of food, it was clear that these trading companies were backed by nobles.
"Oh, I didn't expect that the genius alchemist would also be interested in such things."
Suddenly, a dignified male voice came from the side.
Minori turned his head and looked in the direction of the voice; it was a middle-aged man about the same height as him, with a pair of sharp, eagle-like eyes.
The first impression he gave was a sense of pressure.
The other party wore a short black cape that reached his waist, with light leather armor underneath, partly obscured by the cape.
However, one could still see an owl pattern on the left chest of the leather armor, and the national emblem of the Holy Kingdom on the right chest.
The lower body was wearing common loose black pants, with special long boots like those worn by normal soldiers.
No impression.
Minori looked at this unfamiliar man; he was very sure that he had never met him before.
This outfit was similar to those of soldiers off duty, but judging from the other party's demeanor and appearance, his status should be relatively high.
The other party's strength was a bit strong!
Minori didn't use detection magic, but just the first impression the other party gave him made him feel worthy of attention.
"May I ask who you are?"
Minori's mind flashed through several thoughts as he asked in confusion.
"Pabel."
Pabel stepped forward, first glanced at Kuro, then smiled, and introduced himself.
The smile was a little stiff.
The other party should be a serious person.
"N-Night Watchman, Lord!"
The stall owner on the side saw Pabel and stuttered, his face full of nervousness and excitement.
Night Watchman?
Minori's eyes flashed with realization, a little surprised, and at the same time his expression became serious: "I didn't expect to meet "Black" Pabel-sama, one of the "Nine Colors" of the Holy Kingdom, here."
"Just a little bit of a false reputation."
Pabel waved his hand, his narrow eye sockets imperceptibly sizing up Minori: "Lord Minori's reputation is also very loud within the kingdom; even if you come to our Holy Kingdom, you will still attract attention."
Have they investigated his adventurer team "Free Will"?
Minori wasn't surprised.
"I don't know if Lord Minori is interested in such things in addition to being interested in alchemy,"
Pabel changed the subject and continued.
According to the information he had investigated, it was strange in Pabel's eyes that someone of the other party's status would pay attention to the price of rotten meat.
"Kuro always eats a lot."
Minori chuckled and patted Kuro beside him, "Besides Kuro, I also have a troll to feed over there."
"That's why I planned to get some of these offal and scraps to feed to that troll."
Minori kept an troll to make Regeneration Potions; the troll's blood was the raw material. Without the other party's blood, he couldn't mass-produce potions openly.
Looking at this young man who was clearly not old, but still behaved gently and calmly after knowing his identity, Pabel's eyes became more serious.
The other party's calm confidence didn't come from skillful alchemy or so-called "reputation," but from strength.
"I see."
Pabel's voice became a little gentler, and he suddenly said, "Thank you."
"En?"
Minori was surprised.
"Because of your potion, those disabled soldiers finally have hope; I want to thank you on their behalf,"
Pabel said earnestly.
"If it's because of this matter, please take back your previous "thanks"."
Minori raised his palm and interrupted Pavel's next words: "I sell potions, they pay to buy them; it's a very fair transaction."
Pabel was stunned, then suddenly laughed: "That's right."
Looking at the young man in the priest's robe in front of him again, Pabel felt more and more that the other party was very pleasing to the eye: "Let's chat."
"Okay."
The two walked forward along the street, the Hellhound following closely behind with the goods on its back.
"Recently, I heard that you've been buying demihumans."
"Mr. Pabel's encounter with me was also because of this matter, right?"
"I don't know how much you know about our Holy Kingdom, but those towering and continuous city walls and fortresses should be able to show our attitude towards demihumans."
"I was a bit reckless."
"So, what's the reason?"
"The alchemy potions that I am skilled in use demihuman blood as a key ingredient for research and refining."
"The original intention of coming to the Holy Kingdom this time was also because there are more demihumans here, so I wanted to obtain more demihuman blood."
"… … … …"
After a moment, Minori looked at Pabel's departing figure, his expression unchanged, and turned to the Hellhound beside him and said: "Let's go, it's time to go back to the inn."
"Awoo."
The Hellhound responded softly.
Minori pondered, walking slowly on the street: "'Black' Pabel, if I remember correctly, his daughter should be Neia."
The most impressive people in the Holy Kingdom for Minori were four women, three miserable, and one that he didn't know how to describe.
The Holy Kingdom's first "Holy Queen" Calca could be described as having both beauty and talent, but she was used as a human weapon by the Wrath Lord, and in the end, her corpse rotted and broke into pieces.
"The High Priest of the Temple's Leader" Queralt, one of the Holy Queen's arms, had her head cut off and sent to the Crowned Demon as a casting weapon.
"Holy Knight Captain" Remedios, one of the Holy Queen's arms, was used by Demiurge from beginning to end, and secretly disposed of after confirming the complete opposition between the Northern and Southern Holy Kingdoms.
Finally, there was Neia.
Minori walked on the road, his brow furrowed slightly; this was someone he didn't even know how to describe.
Neia could be said to have been completely brainwashed by Ainz; although she was human, she had completely stood on Ainz's side.
She even specifically preached the greatness of Ainz to other humans, and in the process, she also obtained the [Evangelist] class.
Minori didn't particularly like Remedios and Neia.
Both of them could be described as "stupid" or "blind."
But precisely because of this, these two were the easiest to incite and bewitch.
Inside the inn room, Minori took out a bottle of red potion from the item box and placed it on the table; this was a potion he had concocted during this time by mixing the blood of Cruche Lulu and the blood of the Ancient Red Dragon.