NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 154
We began manufacturing narcotics.
Once we started, we worked tirelessly without pause.
“Alan, are you done stirring?”
“Just add water to the mixture for now. Then leave it in the incubator for 24 hours.”
“What do we do for 24 hours?”
“We have to keep making more.”
Having Siena around was helpful, but we still lacked manpower.
So I had Bono put on a lab coat and brought him into the production room. Bono’s job was to time things. He just had to sit by the incubator or mixer while reading a book and inform us when the time was up. Simple but necessary work, since even with the aid of magic to optimize the process, it still wasn’t enough.
We were still short-handed, so we added another staff member who was assigned to cleaning duties.
Before long, the operation was running like a real factory. We could easily carry on conversations while working efficiently.
It wasn’t just about hatching some sinister plan to overthrow the State. Ironically, this was my first time doing something like this – mostly we exchanged casual chatter about topics we’d never thought to talk about before.
Particularly about family.
“When did Sir Medoff come to the State?”
“Sir?”
“Your father.”
“…”
“Considering your position, he couldn’t stay untitled forever, right? Apparently your sister quietly received a title and dispatched a regional official to your hometown. But… your family really only farms, right?”
“Yeah, wheat.”
Through Siena’s words, I learned that the head of the Medoff family would soon receive a hereditary title – quite an honor for a fallen noble family that lived as relatively well-off farmers in the country, who even had to work farm equipment during busy seasons. While it might have been an empty title, in this world such titles carried real power.
‘Probably better for them to just keep farming though.’
It wasn’t that I had any special bond with my family or wanted to live with them – even before I reincarnated into this person, I was practically estranged.
Anyway, those people wouldn’t seek my help even if they knew I was making money selling medicine. They were truly kind and simple folk.
“You’re different from Alan, aren’t you?”
Siena seemed genuinely amazed that someone as unsophisticated as her could produce someone like me. Not knowing how to respond, I just nodded. I couldn’t possibly mention my family from my past life.
For some reason, thoughts of my family from my previous life came to mind naturally.
Especially my younger sibling, Yerini.
She might have already been caught by now. Yerini was still young and lacked experience.
When she first established herself in the club scene, she was in danger of being targeted by upper management, but I helped her out of that crisis. Unfortunately, it made her too complacent. She once even asked me to produce drugs for domestic supply, and when I refused, she asked to be connected to the labs I used to frequent.
They were academic facilities authorized to handle narcotics for research purposes, not actual drug production facilities. Though technically, they could produce it if they wanted to – she seemed to have a good intuition about these things.
She might have found a real source by now. After all, she was importing super ecstasy from New Zealand – convincing impoverished graduate students would be nothing to her.
Maybe she had already established her own production base. Or perhaps she was caught by the police for her clumsiness.
The latter seemed more likely to me, but who knows. Honestly, it didn’t matter to me either way. Our ties had been severed long ago. Whatever she does, I no longer have the right to criticize her.
“Siena, add the acetone again and stir for 20 minutes.”
“Then…?”
“After that, we just need to filter it and we’re done.”
It wasn’t just about my sibling. There was my father, who was probably trying to prepare for parole right about now, and my mother who was ruined while trying to help him – their situation was similar.
Now that the obstacles have been removed, they were probably making progress on something. They might have already been released and were out making waves.
To be honest, I had no right to criticize or comment on my parents’ actions. Especially when I thought about what I was producing now.
We were close to completion.
A slight tension filled the air.
“It’s done.”
We soon obtained our first finished product – 3.4 grams of fentanyl.
Severe opium addicts could consume this much in a single day. There were quite a few such individuals around the Academy. If converted to heroin, it would be a considerable amount – probably about 3,000 doses for smoking.
However, the danger of fentanyl was on a different level from opium or heroin.
Just 3.4 grams was enough to ruin countless lives.
Of course, this was just the beginning.
So engrossed in production, more than ten days had passed.
It wasn’t just fentanyl we made.
Fentanyl production was completed on the first day; securing 3 kilograms was sufficient. While we could have made more, it wasn’t our plan to saturate the entire Empire with fentanyl. Extremely potent substances like this could easily raise alarms before spreading widely. To deliver a fatal blow with fentanyl, it had to be used cleverly.
Thus, the remaining time was spent synthesizing other substances.
Methadone, our main product.
In terms of quantity, this was overwhelming.
Working tirelessly, we produced more than 200 kilograms.
Had the solvent not run out, and had some of the solvent factory workers not collapsed from exhaustion, we might have produced even more.
After all, the starting materials for both fentanyl and methadone were similar. One could argue that it was more advantageous to produce the stronger substance. However, methadone is less addictive than morphine.
But it wasn’t made in vain.
To effectively attack the Empire, both fentanyl and methadone were necessary.
Fentanyl, which could kill instantly if misused.
And methadone, which allowed for relatively normal daily life even after 1-2 years of use – a softer option.
I planned to use this combination to strike against the Empire.
Now that the quantity was secured, it was time to push it out. I had planned to proceed with Siena, but…
“Alan.”
Something seemed off with Siena’s condition.
Her once plump cheeks had thinned, and there was a weary smile at the corner of her lips. She used to greet me with bright eye contact, but now she kept her gaze down weakly, radiating exhaustion.
Well, it was to be expected.
She had been producing drugs for over ten days with her delicate physique. Unlike Bono, who only measured time, Siena participated in all the processes. She probably could make fentanyl and methadone on her own by now.
Possibly the only synthetic drug manufacturer in the world outside of myself.
However, there was no excitement on her face.
Instead…
“…I want to take a break from drugs for a while.”
“Siena…?”
“It doesn’t feel as great as it used to. I think I need to stay away for a while to regain interest. That’s not to say I regret helping you – I did it because it was necessary, and I’ll do it again if needed.”
“It’s just… I’m a bit tired right now.”
It was a muffled murmur from a voice hoarse with fatigue.
She even complained slightly about physical discomfort.
She seemed to have lost her appetite for drugs.
After being pushed to the limit for over ten days, exhaustion was inevitable. I was grateful she hadn’t outright refused. While it was absurd for a princess of the Empire to produce drugs, it was even more absurd to have her engaged royal fiancé use her as a drug slave, no matter the circumstances.
“I’ll take a break for a while.”
“Alright. Take your time.”
We had already received information about the merchants Siena sent back to the Empire.
Yesterday, I managed to negotiate with one of them. Interestingly, they had initiated contact first. In a world with communication magic, it wasn’t an easy task due to the differing magical systems between East and West, not to mention the immense mana consumption.
It was fine to give Siena a brief break to have some oatmeal.
” Burn these lab coats.”
Before leaving, Siena instructed the royal court magician to burn the lab coats.
But before completely stepping away, she had one last request for me. It could be considered compensation for her labor. Not expecting anything unreasonable, I agreed to fulfill whatever it was.
Then Siena’s face brightened again. What could she possibly be asking for…
“Alan, I’ll take a break and prepare for the engagement ceremony.”
Engagement – an unexpected topic that caught me off guard.
“It got delayed because of the Empire.”
“We’ll have a simple ceremony at the Imperial Palace banquet hall or protocol office. To be honest, the ceremony itself isn’t as important as the timing.”
“When would you like to have it?”
“When the conflict intensifies… I want to have the engagement ceremony when they’re struggling because of the drugs we’ve spread, and we’re starting to have issues from their countermeasures. I’m curious what kind of expressions people will have at such a ceremony.”
“…”
“It’s not too much to ask, is it?”
It was a very unique request.
Holding an engagement ceremony when everyone else was in turmoil.
While it would likely be a simple declaration rather than a grand event, it would undoubtedly go against the current situation. It would also signify giving up on receiving celebrations, as by that time, people would be well aware of the seriousness of the situation.
It was an odd request, but not difficult to fulfill.
“Alright.”
As I nodded again, Siena left with a satisfied expression. Was she already imagining the grim faces of those who would offer their congratulations? If that’s what she wanted, it would likely happen soon.
While we hadn’t yet released the fentanyl, the drug war had already begun. Someone, somewhere was surely already using it, either by smoking, drinking, or eating it.