OPDPS 77

“Oh, and about that mage who collapsed earlier.”

“Yes.”

There had been another mage between Feyers and Loly. He had collapsed from overwork and was now asleep. Aeryl believed rest alone would be enough to help him recover. Still, he wondered if there might be something more he could do—and he came up with an idea.

“I’ll make some medicine and send it over later. Just give it to him.”

“Medicine?”

“It’s something that helps with fatigue. It should do the trick. I’ll send plenty, so give some to Loly and take some yourself too, Feyers.”

Aeryl often stayed up late secretly studying and never got enough sleep. Since he couldn’t afford to nap during the day either, he ended up creating a fatigue recovery tonic.

‘It’s just a slightly modified version of my master’s prescription, but even he admitted mine works better.’

It would surely help the mages worn down by exhaustion.

“A fatigue recovery tonic…? So, a medicine that makes you recover from fatigue? Does something like that actually work…?”

Feyers was skeptical of its effects, but Aeryl figured he’d understand once he tried it, so he didn’t bother with a lengthy explanation.

***

A moment later, Aeryl’s expectations were proven exactly right.

Loly, the new mage, awoke from her sleep. She’d slept so deeply that she had even drooled.

She wiped her chin with her sleeve and stepped out of bed. It had only been a couple of hours, but her body felt light and her mind clear.

‘How long has it been since I slept so soundly?’

Lately, she’d only been snatching bits of uneasy rest, too tense to relax. The calm feeling was unfamiliar.

“You’re up?”

Feyers walked in.

“You need to speak up if you’re struggling like that!”

“I’m sorry.”

“Forget it! I should’ve looked after you better. Here, take this.”

Feyers handed her a necklace. Loly blinked at him in surprise.

“Senior, I’m sorry, but I don’t think we’re close enough to be giving each other gifts like this…”

“Doctor Aeryl said to give it to you.”

“Oh.”

Looking sheepish, Loly quickly put on the necklace.

“How is it? Feel a bit bolder? It’s supposed to be that kind of magic item.”

“Not sure? I’m still groggy from sleep…”

“Well, if he gave it to you, it must work. Here, take this too.”

Feyers handed her a sealed bottle. Inside was a suspicious-looking green liquid with black powder floating in it.

“It’s the fatigue recovery tonic from the doctor. It might look weird, but it works. Drink it while we walk. We’ve got to get back to work.”

“Okay…”

Loly followed behind Feyers. She felt a bit gloomy about returning to the office, but thinking of Aeryl’s encouragement gave her strength.

“We’re going to the Treasury Department. I’ve already taken care of the hard parts, and I’ve arranged for someone to go over the materials you prepared one more time.”

“…Thank you.”

“You don’t have to worry too much about what people around you think. If you do, you won’t last.”

“Okay…”

“If anyone gives you trouble, send them to me. I’ll scold them for picking on a rookie.”

As they walked down the corridor, Feyers kept giving her practical advice. There were no harsh remarks like “pathetic” or “useless” that Loly had feared in her imagination.

‘Just like Doctor said.’

She felt a twinge of regret that she hadn’t relied on others sooner, but she quickly shook it off. He’d told her not to blame herself.

“You better drink that fast. Or someone might snatch it from you.”

“Huh?”

Startled by the out-of-the-blue comment, Loly looked puzzled, and Feyers pointed to a room along the path to the Treasury Department. Inside was a startling sight.

“…Senior?”

The senior mage who had collapsed from overwork earlier was now standing perfectly fine, casting magic. Sheets of paper with numbers floated in the air as his right hand moved, and results of calculations appeared above his head. His left hand controlled a pen, jotting the numbers down onto the paper.

“He’s casting three spells at once?”

“Amazing, right?”

“But he collapsed! Even if he got some rest, just one spell would be tough right now—how is he…?”

Staring in disbelief, Loly held up the strange tonic in her hand. Feyers nodded.

“As expected of the doctor…”

In awe, she glanced back at the senior mage, then downed the tonic in one gulp. The strange color and taste no longer mattered.

“I can do this!”

Loly arrived at the Treasury Department and strode confidently to her desk. Strangely enough, she didn’t care about the stares anymore.

The timid Loly from earlier was gone. She boldly summoned her magic. Feyers had taken care of the hard parts, and someone was beside her to catch any mistakes.

“I can do well!”

Was it the effect of the necklace? The fatigue recovery tonic? Either way, it didn’t matter. In the end, it was thanks to Aeryl.

Her body brimmed with energy, her mind worked sharply. Spells came easily, and the results were crystal clear. For the first time, she performed at her full potential.

“I really knew how to pick the right person,” Feyers muttered to himself, watching Loly proudly. There had been times he’d wondered if tailing her during such a busy period was worth it—but it turned out to be the best decision. Thanks to it, they had overcome a crisis in the department!

“Feyers! What the hell? What did you give my people?!”

The head of the Treasury Department came storming over to Fayus.

“I gave them something good. Is there a problem? If they won’t take it, hand it back. I don’t want it going to waste.”

He’d gone to help Loly with her work and handed out Aeryl’s tonic to the employees, hoping they’d go easy on the rookie even if she slipped up. But now, he wondered if that hadn’t been unnecessary after all.

“Are you kidding?! They already drank it! Look at them. Just a while ago, they were like corpses at their desks—and now they’re alive!”

Just as the department head said, the eyes of the staff sparkled with clarity. Their movements were brisk and filled with enthusiasm. No one would believe they’d been working overtime for ten days straight.

“Pretty effective, huh?”

“Give me more. Let’s all take some. Come on—hand it over. We’ve got a report due to His Grace by tomorrow!”

“There’s none left!!”

“Then go buy more! I’ll pay! Actually, never mind—just tell me where to get it. I’ll go myself. These days, the glare His Grace gives during briefings is terrifying…”

The department head shuddered at the thought of the Grand Duke. As admirable as he was, he was equally fearsome.

“I don’t know… Will Doctor Aeryl even make more?”

“Aeryl? Who’s that? There must be tons of people with that name.”

“The doctor in the inner quarters.”

“Oh! The one His Grace brought in! But we can’t enter the inner quarters… So how do we contact him?”

“Director! Over here, please!”

“Ugh, anyway—get us more. Got it?”

Leaving those final instructions, the head returned to his office.

Everyone working in the outer quarters was exhausted from preparing for winter. So the Treasury Department, suddenly energized as if they’d forgotten what fatigue was, stood out like a sore thumb.

“Weren’t those guys working late again last night? Why are they so lively?”

“Did they take something…?”

Such murmurs passed around, and by evening, word of the new fatigue recovery tonic was heating up the entire outer citadel.

“The work’s never-ending, but the deadline’s closing in! His Grace is terrifying! It’s too important to give up—so we have no choice but to keep going!”

Everyone shared this mindset. Naturally, they began to crave Aeryl’s tonic. But no one could enter the inner quarters, and no one knew him personally. Had it ended there, it might have just been a fleeting rumor.

The problem began with Feyers. Several people came to him seeking the tonic. He turned most away—but when higher-ranking officials wielded their authority, he couldn’t refuse.

He handed over a few bottles of the tonic he’d meant to share with fellow mages. After all, he was a working man, too.

But demand was high and supply was low—so the directors who received the tonic drank it all themselves. They felt its incredible effects and threw themselves into their work with renewed vigor.

Of course, whenever a director got started on a task, it created a hundred more. And naturally, they expected others to keep pace with their newfound energy. The ones who always suffered in these situations were the subordinates.

“The director’s at it again… What’s he on? What? A tonic? Who the hell gave him that?”

“That bastard popped a potion, and I’m grinding away raw! Who even made that thing?”

They experienced the tonic’s effects secondhand. They cursed the thing that had triggered this hellish spiral—but at the same time, they couldn’t stop longing for its miraculous power.

Because they still had work. Because they still wanted to escape the crushing fatigue.

“Doctor Aeryl… fatigue recovery tonic… I’ll never forget…”

And so, the name “Aeryl” became seared into the hearts of the outer quarters’s workers, a name etched in both bitter resentment and desperate longing.

Aeryl, of course, had neither expected nor intended this outcome. When he eventually found out what had happened… he would pound the ground in regret—but that was a story for much later.