The carriage, pulled by a sturdy Rhyhorn, soon arrived at Baron Reiser's estate.

  Sir Beryl, who had already been informed of their arrival, personally greeted them at the entrance. His gaze, however, lingered in confusion on Samuel as he stepped down from the carriage.

  From Samuel's attire, Beryl could tell he was a commoner and couldn't fathom why he had traveled alongside the lord in the same carriage.

  "He's an apothecary as well," Mira expined briefly before hurrying into the estate, eager to personally assess the baron's condition.

  Apothecary… Beryl furrowed his brow slightly but didn't question the lord's statement. Instead, he led the group through the halls toward his father's chambers.

  Inside the baron's room, several elderly apothecaries sat engaged in discussion. On the table sat a caged Petilil, quietly nestled inside, seemingly indifferent to the conversation surrounding it. They were debating the process of concocting a potent remedy.

  As Samuel entered, the Petilil's eyes briefly flickered with a spark of awareness before dimming again. It had already resigned itself to its impending fate.

  A pang of sorrow struck Samuel's heart. He turned his gaze toward Baron Reiser, who y motionless in bed.

  If he wanted to save the Petilil, he first needed to heal the baron—but deep down, he wasn't entirely confident.

  Meanwhile, the apothecaries had noticed Samuel's presence and regarded him with mild skepticism, uncertain of his purpose there.

  After the lord introduced him, a few younger apothecaries scoffed quietly. A street rat from the slums becoming an apothecary? Ridiculous.

  After all, each of them had paid a hefty price to learn the art of alchemy from master apothecaries—something a commoner could never afford. They simply couldn't believe that Samuel was a legitimate apothecary.

  The older apothecaries, however, remained composed. At their age, the need to prove oneself had long since faded. They merely observed him with detached interest.

  "No visible injuries… only unconsciousness?"

  Ignoring the others' silent judgments, Samuel carefully examined Baron Reiser's condition.

  Could this be a sleep-reted ailment? He pondered, drawing from his past-life knowledge. The concept of "status conditions" didn't seem to exist in this world yet.

  If this was merely a normal sleep state, a simple Chesto Berry would suffice.

  However, the apothecaries had already tried numerous remedies to no avail. This suggested that the baron wasn't experiencing ordinary sleep but had instead been subjected to a sleep-inducing move—perhaps Sleep Powder or Hypnosis. But which one?

  "Young apothecary, do you have any insights?"

  Sir Beryl, watching Samuel deep in thought, spoke up before the gathered crowd.

  He intended to test Samuel in front of the other apothecaries. If this so-called apothecary was a fraud, it was best to expose him quickly.

  Samuel met Beryl's gaze and immediately understood his intentions. He wasn't offended. His appearance certainly didn't inspire confidence.

  Had it not been for the lord's open-mindedness, he might not have even set foot in this room. With that thought, he gnced at the lord before speaking.

  "I believe Baron Reiser has been affected by a Monster's power."

  "Some Grass-type Monster carry spores with sleep-inducing properties."

  "Additionally, certain Monster with strong psychic abilities—such as Ghost-types—can use mental attacks to induce sleep."

  Samuel expined calmly. In this time period, Monster studies had yet to be formally established, and the type system was still rudimentary. However, basic type advantages—such as Water beating Fire and Fire beating Grass—were known.

  "Monster's power… The young man has a sharp eye," one of the elder apothecaries nodded in agreement.

  Extracting sleep-inducing powder from Grass-type Monster wasn't particurly difficult. However, Baron Reiser's condition was strange; their usual methods had failed to wake him.

  Hah, anyone could've guessed that… The younger apothecaries scoffed. One of them challenged, "Then do you know how to cure him?"

  They had asked sarcastically, not expecting a real answer. But to their surprise, Samuel nodded.

  The entire room fell silent, even the apothecaries working on the potent remedy turned to listen.

  The younger apothecaries were stunned before one quickly added, "You're not just going to use Petilil's extract, are you? We've already tried that."

  "It's actually quite simple. A mixture of Oran Berries and Chesto Berries can produce an effective awakening remedy," Samuel stated pinly.

  Given his situation, he knew he needed to present a direct solution if he wanted to be taken seriously.

  "You know that formu?" One of the elder apothecaries looked him up and down, surprised that Samuel possessed genuine knowledge of medicine.

  However, they had already tried this solution—and it had failed.

  "It didn't work?" Samuel was momentarily taken aback. By all logic, this mixture should have cured most sleep conditions.

  This meant that the Baron had not been afflicted by Sleep Powder.

  Instead, he had likely been put under Hypnosis by a Psychic or Ghost-type Pokémon.

  Pokémon… Samuel mused. If that were the case, then something unusual was going on.

  "I'll admit you have some knowledge, but you're still far from a true apothecary. Keep learning," one of the younger apothecaries scoffed before turning back to their work on a stronger remedy. This was their st resort.

  Just then, a voice interrupted their work.

  "Have you tried using Murkrow feathers?"

  Samuel's words made every apothecary in the room pause. They exchanged puzzled looks, unable to understand why he had suggested such a thing.

  It was well known that various Pokémon materials could be used in medicine—like the berries harvested from Petilil and Cherubi.

  But using Murkrow feathers? That was unheard of. They couldn't see the logic behind it.

  So they hadn't tried it yet… Samuel breathed a small sigh of relief.

  Murkrow, being a Dark-type Pokémon, had an innate resistance to Psychic-type moves. This meant that the feathers of a Murkrow with the Insomnia ability could counteract the effects of Hypnosis.

  Of course, an ordinary Murkrow's feathers wouldn't be enough. It had to come from one with the Insomnia ability!

  -----

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