kscans

Chapter 306 - The Dosage of One Bottle

Having finished his short and unfortunate life in Japan, the boy Yuri was reincarnated in the Forea World. What he wished for was a healthy body, and what he did not wish for was an unhealthy body. And perhaps as a reaction to his hospitalized life in his previous world, he harbored what could be called a paranoid vigilance and hostility towards injury and illness.

Being that kind of person, Yuri, upon learning that his god-given Rural Life Guide skill included the sub-skill Pharmacology (Basic), had dedicated himself to improving it. He was making potions with an intensity that seemed to exhaust the limits of his intellect, stamina, and magical power, diligently working to level up, when one day he suddenly realized something.

"...These kinds of potions seem to be able to heal injuries and illnesses, and restore stamina and magical power, but..."

For some reason, he felt that they were not things that alleviated specific symptoms, but rather things that used magical power to 'restore an abnormal state to its original state.' Indeed, injuries and illnesses were undoubtedly "abnormal states," and he had no intention of complaining about that. Since they were properly healed, he would be cursed if he complained.

However... why was it that there seemed to be none of the health foods, supplements, or tonic medicinal liquors he had often seen in his previous life?

Yuri tilted his head in wonder, but in fact, "invigoration" was, at least in this Forea World, an area where so called recovery potions struggled. In cases where the affected or injured area was clear, it could be handled by recovery medicine or healing magic simply by restoring it to its original state. In contrast, vague goals like invigoration were an area where recovery medicine and healing magic were not adept. That was the situation.

Yuri, who knew nothing of such behind the scenes matters, was nevertheless curious, though he did not know why.

"...I wonder why? There are no recipes for things like dehydration or hypoglycemia. ...Come to think of it, there are no potions for hyperglycemia or hyperventilation either."

Well, synthesizing a hormone like insulin was, by any measure, beyond the scope of Pharmacology (Basic), and the absence of a potion for hyperventilation, which could be solved by covering one's face with a paper bag, was also understandable in its own way. However, what was the deal with not even having something like an oral rehydration solution for dehydration or candy for hypoglycemia? Was it deemed too simple to be worth including?

Yuri tilted his head again, but the answer was something that would have surprised him if he knew it. They were 'not covered from the beginning.'

Now, lest there be any misunderstanding, this does not mean that measures against 'dehydration symptoms or hypoglycemia symptoms' were not considered. They were properly covered by potions. However, this was merely 'using the magical power contained in the potion to temporarily alleviate the various symptoms caused by dehydration or hypoglycemia,' and did not resolve the underlying deficiency. Well, since potions themselves contain water, they would contribute a little to alleviating dehydration symptoms.

Yuri, unaware of this, convinced himself that it was 'probably not included because it's too simple,' which was a misunderstanding, and decided to deal with it himself. He knew how to make an oral rehydration solution, and fortunately, he had the ingredients. As for hypoglycemia, he initially thought he could just make candy with wood honey and lick it, but...

"...Wait? Wood honey is basically maple syrup, right? But I'm pretty sure that stuff..."

According to his memories from his previous life, wasn't the selling point of "maple syrup" that it had 'fewer calories than sugar and a lower glycemic index (GI value)'? He thought there was also something about it containing various minerals... but setting that aside for the moment...

"This is... bad from the perspective of 'resolving hypoglycemia,' isn't it..."

Maple syrup is a liquid and inevitably contains water. Even if its lower calories per weight are due to its water content, the problem is the low GI value. He was pretty sure the selling point for that was its effect of 'suppressing a rapid rise in blood sugar.' He remembered hearing a nurse passionately explain something like, 'The abscisic acid and its metabolite phaseic acid contained in maple syrup may suppress the rise in blood sugar by activating the uptake of sugar into the muscles and promoting the release of insulin from the pancreas.' Sure, that might be more convenient for dieting, but from the perspective of resolving hypoglycemia, it did not seem like a desirable property.

He could not say that the maple syrup from his previous life and the wood honey of this world were the same, so he quickly appraised the wood honey... and unfortunately, it had the same characteristics as the maple syrup from his previous life. It seemed the rise in blood sugar would be gradual.

"Um... what should I do..."

The simple solution would be to increase the amount of sugar consumed. With that in mind, he tried increasing the concentration of the wood honey.

"...It's so sweet it makes me not want to drink it..."

He had created a concoction that would make anyone but the most extreme sweet tooth tear up. Yuri himself was not keen on it. Now, it is a valid argument that one cannot be concerned with taste when one's life is in danger, but that aside...

"...Attempting to improve its shortcomings is a matter of course for a creator."

In that case, there was only one solution he could think of.

"I'll just have to drink a larger amount, yeah."

...It was a simple, clear, and reasonable solution.

And so it came to be that Yuri's homemade "potions" for hypoglycemia and malnutrition, the word originally meaning 'a single dose of medicine,' came to be served in bottles that were slightly larger than other "potions."