Chapter 185

The Incident of Hair Growing on the King of Ostland
King Rhodius of Ostland was deep in thought.

He was thinking about that duel of Alicetia—no, of the adventurer Hollow. At the time, there were very few who could follow with their eyes the moment when adventurer Hollow defeated (or perhaps didn't?) the beastkin. That was how overwhelming her instantaneous speed was. But that, in itself, didn’t matter much. Rhodius knew that Hollow was the daughter of Draconia. So, he could reasonably accept that it wasn’t anything strange.

However, Rhodius had caught a fleeting instant. In that split-second, shorter than the blink of an eye, he saw Hollow fluffing and brushing the beastkin’s tail over and over again. And with every brushing, the beastkin’s tail fur visibly improved in texture.

Rhodius understood then. Alicetia was a fluff enthusiast.

How did he know? Because he was one himself. The lover he secretly met with was also a beastkin. He could go on forever about the magnificence of animal ears and tails.

Moreover, Rhodius knew the truth. Alicetia was not just any fluff lover—she was a high-ranking fluff master capable of wielding the dark side of fluff. Rhodius was an ears and tail fan, yes, but he could not tap into the dark side. That secret technique could only be used by chosen ones.

No, that too didn’t matter now. There was only one thought floating in Rhodius’s mind.

"Perhaps... the Princess might be able to breathe life into the wasteland of my death."

It was a wonderful revelation. If she could brush that skillfully, maybe—just maybe—she could revive the desolate wasteland of his scalp, and turn it into a lush grassland... no, a forest.

He concluded that the magic brush must be a highly advanced magic tool.

Yes, his scalp was a sprawling wasteland of death. The tiny grassland on the frontier was also on the brink of dying. He had to prevent any further expansion of this dead zone—no matter the cost.

And each time he caressed the dead land, his resentment toward the central nations of the continent grew stronger. He wanted to kill the ones who had sent him the stress that destroyed his forest.

There was also the grudge from how Ostland, being a small country, had been taken advantage of endlessly. Many of Ostland’s nobles now suffered from the same condition as Rhodius. For the same reason. How many times had they let out cries of resentment while continuing with cleanup...

But perhaps that long suffering might finally end. Alicetia was a Saint. Perhaps she could work a miracle for them.

"Still, the mystical elixir is a thing of legend. It would be best not to expect too much."

Even so, Rhodius had a reason to turn to Alicetia.

The mystical elixir that could bring life to a land of death did not currently exist. What did exist were fakes with dubious effects. They were expensive, and ineffective—frauds.

No matter how much one desired it, in the recorded history—about 3,000 years of confirmable history in this world, with almost no records from before that—there was never a single instance of the mystical elixir being real.

It was an elixir people sought through tears of blood. That was the mystical elixir.

Rhodius thought deeply. The request itself was simple. He just had to ask. The payment would be a headache, but if life would sprout on his scalp, he’d gladly cut his food expenses. There was only one problem: he would have to make his request to a young girl.

Yes, consulting a little girl about his problem wounded his pride.

In Arland, many shared the same issue but could not bring themselves to beg Alicetia. But Rhodius was different. He did not disguise his desolate scalp like a forest. For that, he was feared by others who had the same issue. While most hid it in shame, he openly exposed it. He could not lie to himself. Thus, he made a different decision from the rest.

"Is anyone there?"

At Rhodius’s call, a butler immediately appeared. A capable butler always waited outside his master’s line of sight.

"I shall go to Arland. I’ll use the embassy’s teleportation device."

The sudden announcement startled the elderly butler, who rarely lost his composure. The King had just suddenly declared he would visit a neighboring country—even if they were allies. But Rhodius walked with firm steps, showing no signs of age, as he left his nation. All to escape the fear of his wasteland.

And Arland was thrown into chaos by his sudden visit. The king of a neighboring nation had abruptly appeared, demanding to meet Alicetia. Confusion was inevitable.

For now, a meeting with Gilbert was arranged.

"Welcome, Your Majesty King of Ostland."

"Apologies for the sudden visit. I know it’s customary to give prior notice, but there is something I must ask of your Princess."

Rhodius spoke with a face full of resolve. Gilbert gave it some thought. He knew that the man before him was not some uncouth tyrant who would ignore etiquette. He had some respect for Rhodius. But this expression—this determined face—made him consider a possibility.

"I will not approve of a marriage with Alice."

The siscon who had crushed many rivals to block Alicetia’s marriage glared fiercely at Rhodius. If it came to it, he was even prepared to go to war. In Gilbert’s mind, he already imagined Ostland’s capital in flames by the third day of the war.

At those words, Rhodius simply shook his head. He had imagined the same thing, and sweat beaded on his forehead. And he realized: the man before him was a terrifying siscon.

"No, my... my wish is... to end the fear of the wasteland. I came seeking the Princess’s aid for that."

At those words, Gilbert didn’t understand for a moment. But being a clever man, he quickly grasped the meaning.

The tense air burst like a bubble, replaced by a calm and warm atmosphere. Gilbert now understood the resolve of the man before him. And Gilbert, too, was an ordinary man. He couldn’t deny the possibility that the same fear would one day come for him. For common men, it was their greatest fear.

This was a request he could not refuse. And he himself couldn’t ask his sister for it either.

Gilbert immediately ordered a knight to check on Alicetia and, if possible, bring her over. If it were snack time, they’d be out of luck, but right now she might be free.

A short while later, Alicetia appeared, looking perplexed. She hadn’t been told the reason. After all, the knight was also balding, and no one had the courage to speak of the Wasteland of Death.

“Please, make me the Elixir of Life. I’ll pay any price!!”

Without even a greeting, Rhodius bowed his head to Alicetia. The suddenness of it made her tilt her head in confusion. Behind her, Alicia, knowing the resolve Rhodius had come with, quietly shed tears. The knight escort also silently wept. The elderly butler who came along was crying too—he shared the same struggle.

Seeing Alicetia bewildered, Gilbert gave her a detailed explanation.

“I see.”

Alicetia nodded thoughtfully.

“Then I’ll need about five days.”

Thus, the development of Alicetia’s hair growth tonic never actually began. After sending Rhodius—who skipped with joy—back to the embassy, Alicetia returned to the castle on foot with Alicia. It was a walk.

“But Princess, are you really going to make a mystical elixir in just five days?”

Alicia asked the question on her mind.

“No, it’s not really a mystical elixir. And besides, you’re stepping on the main ingredient right now.”

Alicia shifted to the side and crouched down to check what she was stepping on.

“Ugh, isn’t this Pokopoko Grass?”

Pokopoko Grass—an abominable weed with terrifying vitality.

It grows everywhere, from volcanic craters to deserts and even permafrost. Also known as “a gardener’s worst nightmare”, it far surpasses mint in vitality and reproductive power. Once it appears, it can never be fully eradicated, making gardeners hate it with a vengeance. Gardeners who spot it often let out strange cries and rip it out to burn it on sight.

And how does Alicetia know all this? Because when something interests her, she investigates it down to the components. Naturally, she had already analyzed Pokopoko Grass.

Also, in her Iris days, she had developed a hair growth tonic using the same plant and made a fortune from royalties on the patent, so there was no need to develop a new one. All the materials were on hand, and she had made a batch a long time ago and stored it in some first aid kit in the castle. She had forgotten exactly where she put it.

Incidentally, she originally made it to cure a magic beast’s circular bald patch.

Five days later—

Rhodius returned to Arland. Alicetia handed him a box containing several ampoules.

“I-It’s already done?! With this... with this, the world will change!”

Moved to tears by Alicetia’s unbelievable talent in creating a legendary elixir in just five days, Rhodius thanked her. When Alicetia told him that the only payment she wanted was friendship, he choked with emotion. At that moment, he etched into his heart that he would remain a friend to Arland forever. Having received such a tremendous favor, he needed to teach his son, again and again, how vital friendship with Arland was.

At that moment, Ostland’s production of the Elixir of Life came under Arland’s control. If they became hostile, they wouldn’t be able to buy it. But Arland was a benevolent country to its allies. As long as they remained friends, there’d be no issue. Hope had finally come to the Common race. And that warm sunlight shone directly onto Rhodius’s scalp.

“Alice, are there any usage instructions? Side effects?”

Knowing that magic potions often came with side effects, Gilbert asked Alicetia in advance.

“Of course there are.”

But before she could explain, Rhodius had already snapped off the ampoule’s tip and poured the viscous liquid onto his head. His scalp grew hot—not in a painful way, but in a way that felt like the breath of life itself. Before their very eyes, life sprouted on his barren scalp, and a lush forest was born. Specifically, his hair grew down to shoulder length.

“... Would’ve been nice if you’d said that a little earlier.”

Gilbert sighed, watching Rhodius use an unknown substance before hearing the explanation. But seeing Alicetia's calm demeanor, he judged it to be safe.

“By the way, the side effect is extreme hunger. So I recommend using it after a meal.”

This potion was potent. It revived long-dead hair follicles and caused hair to grow to a considerable length. Naturally, that required a lot of energy. Just as the explanation ended, the sound of a stomach growling echoed through the room.

“... Shall we eat something?”

“... Sorry.”

Rhodius, moved to tears, thanked her again. With this, even the Wasteland of Death was no longer frightening.

After that, “Hair Grows on the King of Ostland” became front-page news across the continent, and Rhodius etched his name into the history of magic potions.

Alicetia’s involvement was quickly revealed. Even though Arland never made an official announcement, her name as the developer spread far and wide. As the first user and the one who requested its development, Rhodius was remembered as a brave man. He himself didn’t seem to consider it a scandal. Rather, he believed he had brought hope to the balding people.

News of the Elixir of Life’s completion echoed around the world. Alicetia began developing equipment for mass production—but by the next day, both the materials and the prototype equipment were shoved into a corner of the treasury and forgotten.

For all her deep and wide-ranging curiosity, Alicetia was easily bored. And since no one else came forward saying they wanted it, she assumed people in this world didn’t really need it, and began a new line of research instead.

From that day on, a strange phenomenon occurred in Arland: balding nobles flocked from their domains to the capital. Most sat in seiza and waited in line. But it might still be a while before they find salvation.

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