Ward frowned as he stared at the glass bottle in Count Galaton’s hand.

“General,” he asked, “what’s this?”

“Evidence.”

“Evidence?” Ward looked a little confused. “What kind of evidence?”

“Just now, the hunter who was captured by the Orks told me a bizarre story,” Count Galaton said. “He claimed that just as the Orks were about to butcher them for emergency rations, a knight piloting a Mechanical Kai suddenly dropped from the sky. It swept through their entire camp in the blink of an eye, even crushing an Ork centurion underfoot.”

“A Mechanical Kai? Seriously?” Ward was stunned. “No one has the right to deploy a Mechanical Kai without His Majesty the King’s orders. Which noble lord is bold enough to do that? Does he have a death wish?”

“It gets even stranger,” Count Galaton said. “The knight piloting the Mechanical Kai could actually use Alchemy. The hunter watched it make nine bottles of mid-grade healing potion. The glass bottle in your hand is one of the empties left behind after they were used. I examined the remaining potions just now. Every one of them was platinum quality. Ward, you know how low the success rate is for making mid-grade healing potions. Do you think it’s possible to make nine in one go, all of them platinum quality?”

“General, that brat’s lying to you. I’ll go cut his head off right now.”

“Forget it.” Count Galaton shook his head. “When people are terrified and under extreme stress, their memories can get muddled. I believe the hunter wasn’t deliberately lying. He just remembered things wrong.” As he spoke, he handed the empty bottle to Ward. “This bottle is proof enough. It’s flawless—a clear masterpiece from a skilled glassmaker. If we trace where it came from, we might find some clues.”

Ward took the empty bottle and suddenly felt like he’d seen it before. He pulled the mid-grade healing potion he’d just bought from Elsa out of his pocket. The two bottles were almost identical. Surprised, he quickly put his usual carefree expression back on and returned the glass bottle to his lord.

“General, I think we can hold off on investigating the Mech Knight’s true identity for now,” he said. “Our top priority is to send out scouts and investigate the Ork camp as soon as possible. If we can, we should also step up surveillance of the Grey Snow Mountains. If the hunters’ report is accurate, the Ork army may cross the mountains and march south next summer, launching the long-awaited ‘Waaaaagh!’”

“As you say, Ward. Can I leave this matter to you?”

“I’d be glad to, General.”

Ward bowed slightly and left the tent, his head full of questions.

After dealing with the Commercial Association’s big-time crook, I went back to my usual spot in the market to sell potions. Now that my Potion Making and Herbalism had both reached an advanced level, I could make all sorts of odds and ends, like this “hangover cure.” A carpenter uncle and his son happened to pass by, both dead drunk. The moment he spotted the potion, the carpenter insisted on trying it. How could I pass up a test subject who’d come right to me? I gave him a bottle for free. He drank it, sobered up on the spot, and startled his son. I seized the chance to tell the carpenter about my plan to build a bathroom, and he and his son immediately offered to help. So I struck while the iron was hot, gave them fifteen silver coins for materials, and arranged for them to start in three days.

I’d be able to take hot baths before winter. Just thinking about it got me excited.

The square was bustling. The Count’s knights and attendants were taking down their tents and loading supplies onto wagons. It looked like they were getting ready to leave. Was that a good thing? Just then, someone blocked the light. I looked up and saw Catherine.

“Good morning, Big Sis Catherine.”

“Morning, Elsa.” Catherine crouched down in front of my stall. “I wanted to ask you something. How would you like to come with me to the royal capital and become a Holy Knight?”

“Thank you for thinking of me, Big Sis, but…” I held up my skinny arms. “Look, I haven’t got a single muscle. I don’t think I’m cut out for swinging a sword around.”

“Elsa, you have to believe in yourself!”

“Believing in yourself won’t make muscles grow…”

Maybe my determination convinced her, or maybe she’d finally accepted that my physique made it impossible for me to become a knight. In the end, Big Sis Catherine gave up.

“Elsa, if you ever visit the royal capital, make sure to come find me at the Order of the Holy Knights.”

“I will. It’s a promise.”

I gave Big Sis Catherine two bottles of potion as a farewell gift. She happily accepted them.

But there was no way I’d ever set foot in the Order of the Holy Knights. As a vampire, going to the witch hunters’ den would be like asking to get myself killed in every possible way. Still, this connection could definitely benefit me, so I’d better nurture it carefully.

At ten in the morning, the market came to an end. I tallied up today’s sales. I’d sold a few bottles of hangover cure, but cold medicine was the bestseller. I really hadn’t expected that. The truth was, this world’s healthcare system was completely different from the one on the Earth where I was born. For starters, there was no such profession as a doctor—or, at least, no professional doctors. The work doctors did was split between herbalists, clerics, and various potions. Herbalists had the “Herbalism” skill and could use all kinds of herbs to provide people with basic, affordable medical care. But most herbalists preferred to sell their herbs to Alchemists, then buy potions from them. Alchemists could process herbs into potions, and potions were the backbone of this world’s healthcare system. Healing potions were basically cure-alls. They could treat most injuries and took effect instantly. High-grade healing potions could even bring people back from the brink of death—better than nanomachine tissue-repair surgery back on Earth! Clerics, meanwhile, were responsible for dispelling curses. All they had to do was use holy water or Holy Light magic. I couldn’t think of any equivalent profession in the healthcare system back on Earth; it was practically a whole new system.

In other words, I—a colonel in the United Army and an ace Mech pilot—was practicing medicine without a license in another world.

No one’s going to come arrest me for it, right? Probably…

Three days later, construction began on the bathroom I’d been looking forward to most. The carpenter and his son brought over some fine lumber and got to work according to my instructions. Since it needed a drainage system, we decided to put it on the other side of the toilet, with a doorway cut into the living room wall to connect the two. I designed the bathtub with a heating feature: all you had to do was light a firewood stove outside, and the water in the wooden tub would heat up in no time. We also added a vent window with louvers to keep the room ventilated and warm.

My bathroom was finished within a week. I sank into the hot water, and it felt like every cell in my skin was singing. It was so comfortable—I felt like I’d gone straight to heaven.

Hot baths are the best!