Chapter 49: Chapter 50: Rhine’s Free Potion

The Sea Hag snorted impatiently.

"Magic works in strange ways, bound by its own laws and restrictions. If every detail could be explained, understood, and articulated, it would cease to be magic and would become no different from your human mechanisms—machines and gears functioning with precision."

Ariel glanced at the clearly irritated Sea Hag.

"It’s fine. I accept the risk of death. I was prepared for it before I came to see you. Please give me the potion—I’m not afraid!"

Though she said this, her face was as pale as snow.

Walking on legs that felt like knives and the risk of death if she failed—these were the costs she had to bear.

Ariel was willing to endure the former.

As for the latter, wasn’t it irrelevant as long as she could win the prince’s love and obtain an immortal soul?

She knew she possessed the most beautiful voice in both the sea and on land.

No mermaid could hear her sing without being moved—how much more so for a human?

With her enchanting voice, she could captivate the prince and make him pour all his love and soul into her!

"But don’t forget—you still owe me payment!" the Sea Hag declared. "For such a precious potion, you must offer me a significant reward."

"What do I owe you?" Ariel asked, her voice filled with anxiety.

Only now did she remember that in addition to the potion’s painful side effects and the curse placed on her by the world, she still needed to pay the Sea Hag a fee.

And it certainly wouldn’t be a small one.

"Your voice," said the Sea Hag. "For among all the mermaids of the Sea Kingdom, your voice is the most beautiful. Only such a reward is worthy of my assistance! Princess, I will cut out your tongue and take your voice with magic. From then on, you will no longer be able to speak."

Ariel’s face turned even paler.

Before she could respond, Aurora protested furiously.

"That’s not fair! Ariel’s beautiful voice is her way of winning the love of her prince.

"If she becomes mute, how is she supposed to gain his affection?

"You know full well that if she fails, she’ll turn into sea foam. Yet you demand the very gift she needs to succeed as payment!

"How is that different from pushing her toward her grave?"

Aurora turned to Rhine, who had been unusually quiet.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

"Say something, teacher!

"This is like stripping a duelist of their weapon as the entry fee for a fight where failure means death.

"This deal isn’t fair at all!"

Rhine, who had been deep in thought, finally spoke.

"I think the Sea Hag’s terms are perfectly reasonable."

Aurora froze, rendered speechless.

"Why?"

Rhine turned toward Ariel and the Sea Hag, seemingly taking the latter’s side.

"Respected Sea Witch, I must disagree with my friend.

"I believe your demand for a high price is entirely justified—we all knew from the start that seeking your help would come with a heavy cost.

"If Ariel cannot accept your terms, she is free to decline the deal and look for another merchant who offers a better price—if she can find one. Isn’t that right?" 𐍂аɴо𝖇Ěŝ

"What are you saying?" Aurora exclaimed.

She wanted to retort that if the potion to transform Ariel’s tail into legs couldn’t be obtained from the Sea Hag, then where else could it be found? But she stopped herself mid-sentence.

Aurora suddenly realized what her teacher was about to do.

The Sea Hag, oblivious to Rhine’s intentions, only saw two humans arguing. The silver-haired boy had shockingly turned against the golden-haired girl and was firmly siding with her.

The Sea Hag laughed heartily and praised Rhine.

"I never expected you to be so reasonable, child. You’re nothing like your friend.

"That friend of yours is always complaining, blaming me for everything, as if Ariel should get my help for free.

"Mermaids and humans alike are always so greedy—they want their wishes fulfilled but refuse to pay the price!

"But in this world, when has there ever been such a thing? No great magician or witch grants wishes for free without asking for compensation.

"Just as you said, this is a voluntary transaction by the mermaid princess. If she doesn’t like the price, then I’ll be glad to be rid of her—she can find someone else to help her!"

For a moment, Rhine and the Sea Hag were in complete agreement.

This baffled Ariel, who didn’t understand what was going on.

Then Rhine turned to her.

"As I said, this is all voluntary, isn’t it?

"If you want help, you must pay the price. If you don’t, then go find someone who will give you the same potion for free!"

Ariel, her pale face still full of unease, nodded slightly.

Despite her sorrow over losing her beautiful voice and becoming mute, she inwardly acknowledged that her human friend was not wrong.

It wasn’t realistic to expect someone to help her transform into a human for free.

"Let’s proceed with the deal," Ariel said with newfound courage. "I accept the terms!"

"Stick out your tongue, then," the Sea Hag instructed, producing a sharp blade.

She would use the knife to cut out the mermaid princess’s tongue and claim the most beautiful voice in both the sea and the land.

"It’s about time you decided, my dear princess."

"Just as your human friend said," the Sea Hag sneered, "if you wish to fulfill your desire without paying a price, you might as well close your eyes and pray for someone to freely give you a potion that can transform your tail into human legs—with the same potency as the one I concoct."

"Exactly," Rhine chimed in from behind, his tone resolute. "For instance, I could give a potion for free. Ariel could just come to me."

"Precisely—" the Sea Hag began to agree, but then froze mid-sentence, realizing something was amiss.

She turned to Rhine in astonishment, enunciating each word carefully:

"What did you just say? Human?"

Rhine smiled and addressed Ariel.

"Since we’re already friends, I can make you a potion for free—one with the same effect as the Sea Hag’s. Well, almost the same—its side effects will be milder."

"This isn’t funny," the Sea Hag growled, glaring at Rhine. "What nonsense are you spouting? The potion that gives mermaids human legs was invented by me! No one on land or sea but I can brew it!"

I believe you, Rhine thought to himself, but what I’ve copied is your potioncraft itself.

The Sea Hag bristled with anger.

"Stop joking around, human. The potion requires powerful magic—only someone who knows magic can brew it!"

"Exactly," Rhine said, his smile warm. "Did I not mention earlier? I am a magician."

Ariel stared at her two human friends in shock.

"It’s true," Aurora confirmed proudly. "He’s an extraordinarily talented magician! One of the finest in the kingdom we come from."

"Wait!" Ariel’s surprise turned to disbelief as she stared at the silver-haired boy.

This friend who had accompanied her for so long—he was a magician?

In Ariel’s understanding, magic was an arcane and mysterious art. In the Sea Kingdom, only the Sea Hag possessed such knowledge.

No wonder these humans had managed to ride a peculiar giant fish to the Sea Kingdom!

"I always thought you were just a knowledgeable human scholar," Ariel remarked.

"That’s not contradictory," Rhine replied with a grin. "Almost all magicians are also well-versed scholars."

The Sea Hag interrupted their conversation impatiently.

"Fine. With that strange, transparent-bellied fish of yours, I’ll concede that you’re a magician.

"But so what? The potion to split a mermaid’s tail into human legs is my invention! I’ve never shared the recipe with anyone.

"No human or sea creature can replicate its effects except me!"

Still smiling, Rhine turned to Ariel.

"Let’s test that, shall we? Give me a bit of time, and I’ll prepare the potion. As a gift—completely free."

"Free?" Ariel could hardly believe her ears.

"Yes. It’s a gift from a friend," Rhine said, crouching inside the belly of the giant fish.

With a flourish, he conjured mists from his hands, summoning a cauldron, herbs, a mortar, a pestle, and other necessary tools for brewing a potion.

Ariel watched in awe.

"Is this magic? You’ve conjured so many things in an instant!"

Many of the materials and tools Rhine summoned were ones he had touched before while treating commoners in the early days of his transmigration to this world.

Thanks to a wish he had once fulfilled—helping a soldier recover the Tinderbox—Rhine had gained the ability to summon any object he had previously touched.

He began brewing the potion with practiced ease, adding ingredients to the cauldron at intervals. Strange, irregular wisps of steam began to rise from it.

The Sea Hag watched in stunned silence.

"The recipe… the technique… Why do they seem so much like mine?"

It was almost as if she herself were brewing the potion! Yet there were notable differences.

Marine ingredients like sea snakes were replaced with terrestrial ones, while silver seaweed—effective only when harvested under moonlight—was substituted with a land herb the Sea Hag didn’t recognize.

Rhine had clearly adjusted the recipe, substituting deep-sea ingredients with land-based ones of similar properties. Forest herbs, prairie plants, mountain flora, and even desert vegetation—all far more abundant than the scarce resources of the deep sea—were included.

Some original ingredients were omitted entirely, as Rhine’s divination revealed them to be not just ineffective but outright toxic. The original recipe had flaws too, he thought.

As more peculiar steam rose from the cauldron, the Sea Hag could tell the potion was nearly complete.

To her dismay, it looked and smelled far superior to her best work.

Utterly unable to accept this, the Sea Hag lashed out.

"Don’t think I don’t know the secrets behind this potion! To imbue it with magic, you’ll need to add a large amount of magically charged blood.

"Are you seriously willing to donate your own blood for free? With your scrawny body, you’d collapse from blood loss before the potion is even done!"

Rhine laughed. He drew a knife and nicked a section of soft flesh on the giant fish, letting its blood drip into the cauldron.

Unlike the Sea Hag, who relied on her own blood for brewing, Rhine didn’t need to sacrifice himself. The giant fish, a magical creature summoned through the Tinderbox’s power, had inherently magic-infused blood—and far more of it than Rhine could ever offer.

Moments later, the potion boiled. From within, not the crocodile’s cries of the original potion, but the melodious song of a nightingale emerged.

The potion was ready.

It was clear and colorless, resembling pure water.

"This can’t be real!" the Sea Hag exclaimed in shock.

Without even seeing Ariel test the potion, she knew—just from the sound—that Rhine’s brew was superior to hers.

"Take this potion to the shore and drink it before sunrise," Rhine instructed. "My potion will grant you human legs like the Sea Hag’s, but with much gentler side effects."