"Senjutsu: Five Elements Seal!" After assessing the situation, Takeru formed his right hand into a claw and pressed it directly onto Shizu's abdomen.
The immense force caused Shizu to involuntarily step back. Upon Takeru's completion, a special seal pattern appeared on her stomach, though it quickly faded from view.
With the seal's completion, Ifrit within Shizu was as if confined within a cage, unable to break free.
Shizu, due to the sealing process, soon lost consciousness. Takeru moved to her side and gently caught her.
Subsequently, sensing her internal condition, he dispelled the barrier and teleported with her to the room Rimuru had arranged. After laying her on the bed, he vanished from the spot.
Leaving Shizu's room, Takeru used his Observation Haki to locate Rimuru, finding him heading toward the plateau where Takeru and Shizu had previously been. Takeru then teleported beside Rimuru.
Rimuru was startled by Takeru's sudden, inexplicable appearance.
"Takeru, you're here!" Recovering, Rimuru greeted him.
"Yes. I also have something I need to trouble you with this time." Saying this, Takeru produced an alloy box containing the medicinal herbs he had collected using the Kingdom of Falmuth's resources.
"These are... you've already gathered them all? Impressive!" Looking at the herbs, Rimuru remarked with admiration.
"Oh, do you still need a sample?" As Rimuru stored the herbs one by one into his body, Takeru inquired.
"No need. I've already memorized the previous potion." Hearing Takeru's words, Rimuru spoke seriously.
"Is that so? Then I leave it to you." Upon hearing this, Takeru nodded.
"You're welcome."
[Great Sage, produce Beginner Enhancement Potion.] Subsequently, Rimuru commanded Great Sage.
[Yes. Decomposing. Replicating.]
"Takeru, where should I put the potion?" Great Sage's efficiency was remarkably high… in less than ten minutes, Rimuru directly asked Takeru.
"Put it in here." Hearing his words, Takeru manifested a special glass container.
"Okay." Nodding lightly, Rimuru began pouring the potion into the container.
Approximately another ten minutes passed before Rimuru stopped. The container now held 5.5 liters of the special liquid. Three of the herbs Takeru had collected were now exhausted, preventing further production.
Hearing Rimuru's explanation, Takeru nodded understandingly. At one hundred milliliters per dose, this yielded fifty-five doses.
Considering this, Takeru directly took out one hundred milliliters of the potion and drank it. The taste was quite bland, clearly indicating that while the effects might be identical, the flavor had changed.
Previously, Miu and the others had described the potion as strawberry-flavored.
Subsequently, Takeru carefully observed any changes. After about ten minutes, he noticed his various attributes had increased by merely two to three points, 'Indeed, the stronger the existence, the lesser the effect. Still, any improvement was welcome.'
"Thank you so much, Rimuru!" After confirming the effects, Takeru extracted one liter, manifested ten special bottles, and evenly distributed the potion among them.
"Consider this my thanks." Handing the portioned Beginner Enhancement Potions to Rimuru, Takeru spoke sincerely.
"Eh, is this alright? This is quite precious, isn't it?" Seeing Takeru's action, Rimuru appeared somewhat astonished.
"Please, don't stand on ceremony. While this item is decent, its enhancement for the strong is quite limited. Most importantly, each person can only consume two hundred milliliters in their lifetime." Hearing his words, Takeru waved his hand dismissively.
"Is that so?" Hearing Takeru's words, Rimuru seemed surprised.
[Explanation: The other party's statement is truthful. This potion is more suitable for weaker lifeforms, providing side-effect-free enhancement. One hundred milliliters is the optimal dosage, and only the first two hundred milliliters in a lifetime are effective.]
Sensing Rimuru's doubt, Great Sage rapidly provided an explanation.
"I understand. Then, thank you." Hearing Great Sage's words, Rimuru no longer hesitated and accepted the potion.
"As for the recovery potion, I need to trouble you again." Subsequently, Takeru produced another alloy box and spoke to Rimuru.
The alloy box was filled to the brim with Hipokute Herbs. Seeing this, Rimuru needed no further words. He enlarged his body and devoured all the herbs.
Then, he began pouring the converted recovery potion into the container Takeru had prepared in advance.
When finished, the total volume was slightly over one cubic meter… approximately one thousand liters of recovery potion.
Takeru realized that after producing the Beginner Enhancement Potion, using most of the Kingdom of Falmuth's Hipokute Herb stockpile yielded only this amount of recovery potion. This demonstrated just how many herbs Rimuru had previously collected.
Alternatively, perhaps the quality of the herbs Rimuru had gathered was superior, allowing more recovery potion to be produced after impurities were refined.
Subsequently, Takeru retained two-thirds of the potion and returned the remaining third to Rimuru, partially repaying the recovery potion he had previously requested.
Seeing Takeru's courtesy, Rimuru nodded and stored the potion within his body, replenishing his own dwindling reserves.
"Oh, Takeru, did your trip to the Kingdom of Falmuth go smoothly?" Having concluded the potion matters, Rimuru chatted leisurely with Takeru.
"Yes, quite smoothly. I accomplished all my objectives." Hearing his words, Takeru directly stated.
"Is that so? Congratulations!" Though Rimuru was unaware of Takeru's specific objectives, upon hearing this, he offered his congratulations.
"Rimuru, aren't you curious about what my objectives were? Or how I could produce so many herbs?" Hearing Rimuru's words, Takeru asked him with an amused smile.
"These are your secrets, Takeru. If you wish to speak of them, as your friend, I will listen. But if you prefer not to, I won't pry." Upon hearing this, Rimuru spoke seriously.
"Is that so? Rimuru, you truly are trustworthy." Looking at Rimuru, Takeru said with a faint smile.
However, after some thought, Takeru decided not to mention his control over the Kingdom of Falmuth. In just over a month, he and the girls would depart this world, perhaps never to return.
Thus, when Rimuru eventually established his nation, Takeru might not be able to assist. There was no need to elaborate further.
Subsequently, Takeru changed the subject, discussing manga from their original world. Rimuru's world contained numerous anime and manga, many of which were from Takeru's previous life.
Some even depicted instance worlds Takeru and his companions had already experienced.
Thus, if anyone befriended Rimuru in this world, they might learn about potential future instance worlds through him.
However, this was of limited use to Takeru. Rimuru's knowledge of anime and manga was far more limited than Takeru's, and he knew of many series Takeru had never heard of. Even familiar ones exhibited slight differences in plot and characters, though largely similar.
Noting these differences, Takeru felt somewhat relieved. Based on his previous world experiences, the versions he knew were more aligned with the Reincarnation Space.
Nevertheless, Takeru did not mind learning about alternate versions. He might encounter modified worlds in the future, and this knowledge would prevent him from being overly surprised.
…
In the blink of an eye, two more days passed. During this time, having confirmed Ifrit was completely suppressed, Shizu no longer wore her mask constantly.
Rimuru was astonished to discover that the girl the elf fortune-teller had predicted as his destined one was actually Shizu.
Upon learning this, Rimuru actively approached Shizu, who also found Rimuru quite intriguing. Being from the same place, Rimuru shared with Shizu details of Japan's subsequent historical developments, leaving Shizu both nostalgic and delighted.
Having resolved the time bomb of Ifrit within her, Shizu now had two remaining goals.
One was to help her students, also otherworldly children like herself, resolve the abnormal energy within them.
The other was to seek out the Demon Lord Leon. There was something she needed to clarify...