Chapter 189: War Preparation (5)

"Even though the attack came sooner than expected, it's not a big deal," Renata mused.

After all, the Dian Cecht family had nearly depleted their stock of healing potions, leaving little of value. The high efficiency of Airmid's actions had worked out in her favor. Had she known in advance about the Ares Familia's attack, Airmid might have been able to avoid this situation. Now, even lowering prices wouldn't have helped them turn much of a profit.

Too bad, though—there's no "regret potion" in this world.

At the thought, Renata chuckled. However, if Airmid had sold off their familia stock more slowly, she might have faced a challenge. In less than a week, their entire inventory was wiped out, and she knew, just from the pacing, that the Dian Cecht Familia must have sold it at a massive loss. 

Pathetic.

It was clear the Dian Cecht family would likely prepare a new batch of potions for the coming conflict; they wouldn't want to miss out on the bounty. Now, she just needed to find a way to get her hands on their potions. Despite their wealth, the daily expenses of running a large family strained their cash flow. If they faced continuous losses, bankruptcy wasn't out of the question.

Just as with the Mia Familia in the past—once they went bankrupt, their influence would crumble, and dealing with them would be easy. 

No matter how capable Airmid was, the gods of Orario were practical. And besides, old Dian Cecht didn't have many allies to begin with. Why would they keep supporting the Dian Cecht family when they could simply employ Airmid, a talented healer? It would certainly be cheaper than constantly paying the Dian Cecht family for healing potions.

"Anyway, you didn't come here just to talk about business, right?" Renata looked at Singed. "I don't remember you ever being that interested in it."

"I'm not," Singed replied, smiling slyly. "I came to show you something."

With that, he pulled a bottle of life potion from his pocket. This one, however, had a distinct red color—strikingly similar to the life potions from Valoran.

"At least on the surface, it's indistinguishable."

"I thought you could use this right now," Singed added. "Seems I came just in time."

"You've advanced the life potion formula this much?" Renata asked, surprised.

"Of course! I'm Singed, the alchemist," he said, clearly enjoying her reaction.

"Did you make these with native ingredients, then? How does it compare to Valoran's life potions?"

"Why not try it for yourself?" he suggested, a glint in his eyes.

Clearly, he was hoping to watch her drink the concoction he had so proudly crafted.

"The taste is terrible," she admitted, "but the effects… nearly the same. Ordinary people wouldn't be able to tell the difference."

"Not bad," Singed nodded, satisfied. "You do have some skill, though still a bit behind me," he added with a smirk.

If only Renata didn't focus so single-mindedly on money, she might have had more potential in alchemy. But Singed wasn't one to mentor others. Forcing her to drink his potion was simply payback for her previous lack of faith in him. He'd even added a special ingredient to make it taste particularly unpleasant.

"By the way, have you prepared the 'Shimmer' I requested?" Renata asked. "And how much are you charging for packaging?"

"There aren't enough materials or test subjects!" Singed snapped, using the opportunity to voice his frustration.

Renata had already bought out the herbs from the Demeter Familia. If even that couldn't meet Singed's requirements, then it was unlikely that any other herbs in Orario would suffice.

"Maybe you could tell me what's missing," Renata suggested. "Under special circumstances, I can ask Sol-sama for help. If need be, I can even go to Valoran to acquire some for you."

Singed's motives weren't lost on her. With their level of intelligence, neither could fool the other. She even suspected that the shimmer potion she'd requested was already sitting in his workshop, just waiting to be used as a bargaining chip.

"We can't rely on Valoran materials for shimmer production forever, can we?"

"That's fine," she replied smoothly. "I could simply claim that a rare ingredient limits production. Using that reasoning occasionally could even drive up the potion's value."

Renata had effectively shut down his schemes. He may have forced her to drink that awful potion earlier, but she wasn't about to let him profit off her so easily now. While Singed was an alchemical genius, he wasn't quite her equal when it came to business tactics.

"The potions here may be primitive, but they do have their merits. Using Valoran materials doesn't always achieve the same effects," Singed grumbled.

"Well, if the Demeter Familia can't supply you, then you'll just have to do without," Renata said, polishing her nails nonchalantly.

"Tch. Fine, lend me some money. I'll find the ingredients myself," Singed huffed, deciding to be direct.

It wasn't as though he could simply withhold the potion—doing so might jeopardize Sol's plans, and he didn't want to risk that.

"Funding isn't an issue. I'll give you an additional 100 million valis. But I want the shimmer potion on my desk soon," Renata replied, sipping her tea to mask the aftertaste of the earlier potion.

Thanks to recent profits from her dealings with the Ares Familia, she was flush with cash and could easily spare the amount. But her knowing look irked Singed.

"Once I get the materials I need," he muttered.