22 The Sleepy Princess (2)

"You just want me to drink this out of nowhere?" Tobias grumbled and stared at the cup of liquid starshine. "What if I end up falling asleep? Should at least do this while I'm sitting down or in bed."

Owen rolled his eyes. "You're no Princess—a sip won't do that to you. It's diluted enough."

"Fine," Tobias said. He tried not to think too much about last night's events with his mother, and whatever the patrons said about this guy fighting wolves or anything was probably an exaggeration.

If Owen had any problems about it, then he'd surely speak up.

Or all of these requests he was making Tobias do was some sort of passive aggression. Probably. Whatever the case, Tobias took a small sip and tasted something slightly sweet—but then he stopped.

"You're still awake, see?" Owen eyed the other person. He didn't seem to have any drooping eyes, didn't sway in his spot or grew any other symptoms of weariness. How much did this guy inhale of the sleepy pollen yesterday to pass out?

Tobias grunted. "Yeah."

Owen turned back to his batch of the brewed tea—dilution, rather. He gazed at the remainder of the petals and considered making another batch of this, stronger this time to achieve his desired effect. "What if you finish the entire cup? Then again, I can't expect much from just a petal—"

A yawn escaped Tobias' lips.

Owen quickly swerved back in time to see the guy place the now-empty cup on the table. He bit back a yawn and rubbed his eye. One entire cup for tiredness, then how much to render a man completely unconscious?

He wasn't here to make a drink for insomniacs, he wanted something to use during combat. It was a stroke of good luck that Tobias encountered the trees, even if it caused him trouble last night.

"Ooh, are you sleepy, brother?" Nire asked and looked up at her brother's face.

Tobias stifled another yawn and rubbed his shoulders. "No, I'm just tired."

Nire giggled and raised her arms. "Pick me up!"

"I don't think that's a good idea," Owen said. He approached the man and pushed him lightly.

The man nearly tripped, caught himself from falling flat on the floor and glared at him. "What was that for? You trying to get back at me for last night?"

"No," Owen said. His gaze darkened at the memory, but he shook his head. "I'm simply testing out other possible effects—naturally, your ability to control your body is weaker when you're in this state of relaxedness."

"Relaxed? I'm tired—"

Owen pulled out a parchment from his bag of holding and with a quill. He immediately jotted some things down.

"Either way, they both make you want to rest and sleep. Yesterday you were knocked out for hours…? At least that's how I estimated things if you were unable to go home here at your expected arrival. Did you experience—"

Tobias' attention snapped back temporarily. It was the Apprentice Alchemist in him that mustered attention for this moment.

"Muscle weakness, it was probably like a [ Paralysis ] Spell, or a nastier variant of some Stinging Leaf that can numb you, but full scale. No—it was actually aching, but while I was conscious, my muscles were still asleep."

Nire looked at the two older boys that started talking about topics that she didn't get much—it went all blabla to her. While she had been originally interested in how Owen put the tale and idea of not picking up flowers in the forest, this stuff seemed like boring stuff to get interested in.

She pouted, but then ambled out of the kitchen and left the two be to discuss work stuff.

Nire had no desire in watching two young adults fuss over drinks.

The two gentlemen didn't notice as Owen kept scribbling in his parchment. "So your mind can awaken and notice the effects, but still be unable to remove yourself from it."

"Hmm, yeah."

"Do you feel the same effects now?"

"My shoulders hurt a bit, and like I told you, I'm tired—"

"Well, I guess it's time to make a more purer batch. One flower, entire cup."

"What? You want me to drink—"

"The problem with falling asleep is that you'll eventually be plant food. Other than that, it's like a nightcap that people like to drink before sleeping, but with just a stronger and faster effect." Owen acknowledged.

"Then maybe some would like to buy it to help them sleep—"

"You want to sell it like that?"

Owen raised a brow and then motioned to the empty cup.

"Think bigger. This thing can knock out an adult and render them unconscious for a good amount of time. While it's easier when one inhales the pollen—if you make this liquid into a kind of gas and contain it in a temporary contraption which disperses said gas when triggered, then you've got yourself some non-lethal weapon."

Tobias stared at him agog. Once he fully understood what the man tried to convey, he said, "The effects will probably diminish when you evaporate—"

"Yeah, I need better equipment instead of just a kitchen pot." Owen stared at the batch of tea. "Special tubes to contain the vapor and transfer it to an object of choice, something easy to throw around and aim the object properly… a ball to hold the gas in with? What's the word I'm looking for—"

Tobias blinked and scratched his head. "Bomb?"

"Yes, bombs," Owen said. "I mean maybe I can use some minerals, reagents and other necessary ingredients to make this concoction explode once it gets shaken up if it's difficult to retain the effects of this sleeping liquid in gas form."

"But you still need a proper laboratory for that."

"Yeah, an actual laboratory with all of the necessary components for it to work." Owen sighed and shook his head in apparent dismay."How terrible it is that there's no available place for me to work on this next best thing that'll surely hit the market."

Tobias gave him a look. "You're trying to make me ask the Alchemist Mossblossom to let you in and use her laboratory aren't you?"

"Well, wouldn't that be so kind and generous of you?" Owen grinned at him. "Why, it's almost like you've read my mind—you're definitely smarter than you look."

Tobias looked at him unamused. "You're really not as subtle as you think you are."

"Doesn't matter. I'd be too worried if the notion slipped past you while I attempted to put things in the right direction without your knowledge. Other than that, will you do it or not?"

"I'm not doing this for free."

"I never said it wasn't."

—-—-

Author's Note: Sometimes, I make errors in judgement like I overestimate my capacity to write and I might fail to fully flesh out some characters. Thanks for the review that pointed it to me. If you've missed it, Returning to the Inn (3) is out.