The Novice Alchemist's Store

And right now, I was standing up in front of an old store.

"... ha, how can I say this? I'm already here, so we have to do something!

Remember the resolve then, me!

Thanks to my master... oh? You chose this shop, Master, didn't you?

- No, no, no, my master didn't even know about this situation.

But I also decided to buy a store, not get a job...

- No, no, no, it's about the master. You must think of me! Yeah, I'm sure you do. Otherwise it's going to break my heart......

"And for now, it's from checking the situation!

Refreshed, I look at the exterior of the store again.

Sure, the sign is leaning and it's going to fall now... but if you look closely, maybe the house itself isn't that damaged?

It looks like a narrow "misubo" because of a wooden fence decaying in a rough garden and the unseen windows inside with dirt, but the roof is solid, and there is no part that actually collapses even if "crackles" are in the lacquer on the wall.

Doors and windows are solid, and this could be a pretty good property as long as the signs are fixed and cleaned.

"Yeah! Okay! I'm a little motivated! I think I'll go inside first."

Remove the key from your pocket and stop where you tried to step through the grass and head to the door.

"What is this... not a herb?

Massive flourishing grass also in the alley leading to the door.

If you look closely at it, the herbs that make up the alchemy material are growing potatoes.

Speaking of which, it's got a herbal field on it, right, this house?

Maybe the seeds flew from there.

Most of them are just weeds, but it's also difficult to walk away from peddling medicinal herbs, what a subtle percentage.

It grows outside of the alley, so you can ignore it and step aside, but from what I can tell, it's like the change is rolling.

Poor me, can I walk on the change!?

"… collection, collection"

I put a little hold on entering the house, and I start collecting drugs in the alley for once.

Pull out as much grass as each person can walk.

"Weeds Garbage, Herbs (Money), Weeds Garbage, Herbs (Money), Weeds Garbage, Weeds Garbage, Herbs (Money) …"

With bumps and whining "Crush Ya," classify and pile the grass you pulled out.

Every bottle of herb is not a big amount, but if we keep collecting it to the door, if we do poorly, it could be about the income of a common man for a day.

It's worth it because I'm an alchemist if I don't process it right away.

Even draining grass temporarily.

"Oh, my lady. What are you doing?

When I came to the door for about half an hour, I was accidentally called from behind.

Looking back, there was a woman standing in her late forties who was a bit of a perfect width.

"Uh..."

Looking at my situation objectively...... in front of an empty house, a little girl I've never seen, even grass out as I say bumps.

Yeah, that's a little suspicious!

I've heard there's something so closed about these little villages, and maybe me, they're pretty suspicious!?

"Running errands in that store... seems a little different, but that store closed a long time ago, huh?

"No! It's not! Here, my house!. I bought this house and moved in!

I impatiently denied it to my aunt, who said "a lot".

First impressions are very important to enter a closed community!

I didn't have a problem with being isolated at school, but I need to get along with my neighbors more than just live here!

The aunt network can't be foolish, so I said hello desperately with an unfamiliar smile on my face.

"Nice to meet you!

"Bought it? That means your daughter is an alchemist!?"

"Yes! It's still new America, but I'm an alchemist! I say Sarasa."

"Well, well. I live next door to here. I'm Elles. That's a little far away, but you can always come if you need anything."

Auntie - Mr. Elles responded with a smile, pointing to the left hand side of the store.

Good, first contact is the best part, isn't it?

Of course, being seen with a suspicious grass-plugging scene throws it in the corner of your head.

"But you can have an alchemy store in our village again. It was a little inconvenient, that would help! Good luck with that!

"Yes, thank you.... By the way, do you know why this store closed?

Poor management and all that, you have to think about it.

Wholesale material to the master seems like a minimum way to live, but as an alchemist, that's all, right?

"Oh, this store was run by an elderly grandfather, but you got your hips done. I was worried about my son. I don't think that's why you need to worry about your guests so much, do you?

"Really?

It's a small village, so there doesn't seem to be much demand.

Mr Elles says with a bitter smile that my feelings have been conveyed.

"That's a small village, but we need the smelting drug Potion, so hey. Besides, the village has quite a few collectors staying in the Tree Sea, so if you put medicine for them, the store will be cheap. Wouldn't it make a good fortune to buy it?

“Collectors" are people who go to "Momomo" where various types of alchemy-related materials, such as the Great Tree Sea, can be collected and sold.

Such places are generally more dangerous and inevitably more injuries, etc.

For this reason, collectors are a source of materials for alchemists, as well as customers.

"I appreciate that we have collectors, but will we look at the situation and follow up on the buyout? Even if you buy it, you have to consider the destination and transportation from here..."

"Really? Auntie, I don't know about those alchemy businesses."

Even though it is natural for materials to be cheap to be available near the region of origin like here, it breaks down sooner or later if you are buying it off cheaply.

There's not much you can do to save what you bought first.

If left unattended, it will rot and become useless, thus requiring a downward process so that it can be stored for a long period of time.

It is naturally me who does that, so if I buy more than I can handle, the disposal occurs.

In addition, you have to purchase it at a price that takes into account transportation costs to the destination, losses due to sales surpluses and damage during transport.

- And it was in the booklet my master gave me.

It even came with a table of selling and purchasing prices in Wangdu for all kinds of materials, but there was a caveat that simply referring to that price would result in a deficit as soon as possible.

"Regardless of the purchase, when are the shopkeepers planning to open?

"Uh, clean up, get ready. So... is it a week or so"

I haven't looked inside yet, so I can't say for sure, but I think it will take about that long because I haven't made the product yet.

"Right, right. Tell me if there's anything I can do to help."

"Thank you"

I bowed my head again to Mr. Elles, who said so in the Japanese "To Ko".

◇ ◇ ◇

Having resumed grass drainage after dropping Mr. Elles off, I had gotten used to it and reached the door at short notice.

Inserting and turning the key removed from the pocket into the keyhole, the key opened with a light noise and the door opened.

No unexpected rattling, peeking inside through smoothly opened doors.

"... not dirtier than I thought, huh?

Beautiful floors out there, even though I imagined it was pretty dusty.

When I entered the door, the shelves appeared to be lined up like store space, but there was some dust there as well, and as soon as I got inside, the dust didn't appear to rise.

"Speaking of which, it's an alchemist's shop, and there's an engraving for 'Cleaning'?

Typically, when creating the smelter Artifact, the object is placed in an alchemy kettle for smelting.

So, if you can't make the smelter Artifact that doesn't go into the alchemy kettle, it doesn't.

The method for this is' engraving '.

However, the procedure is more complicated than when using an alchemy kettle.

If it is a simple object, you can simply write the text with a special paint, but when it becomes a complex object, you have to embed multiple smelter "artifacts" in a specific location or change the shape of the object to match the engraving.

For example, in a home, the location of the room or hallway, the use of the room, and the presence or absence of windows or chimneys are also included in the engraving.

This makes it possible, in theory, to turn the city into a whole range of smelter artifacts, but other than the complexity of the procedure, the disadvantages are enormous compared to when using an alchemy kettle.

First and foremost, it's inefficient.

If you try to get the same effect, you multiply the cost required, along with the alchemist's arms.

It also requires regular maintenance and magic replenishment by alchemists, which is not the kind of technology that is very commonly used in the present situation.

Conversely, an alchemist's shop would be well worth using.

"At the master's shop, there was a core on the workshop wall..."

Core is the object on which the engraving is based, the most important part.

Nevertheless, once you make it, you will only use it later about when you inject magic, so it is normal to install it in a place where it is not moderately disturbing and where magic injection is easy to do.

In the meantime, I decide to look for the core as I open the windows in each room to get some air in.

The hallway was straight out when the door in the back right of the store space, inside the counter, was opened.

On the right side, facing out, there is a window, on the left there are four doors and a staircase that goes up to the second floor, and also one door at the penetration.

"One is... just a room. Another one, the warehouse? There's a shelf. The toilet and... the rest is in the workshop, and the rampage is in the kitchen?... Ah, here's the core"

Demonic crystal stone embedded beneath the stairs, inside the walls.

At first glance it looks like a normal stone and it doesn't have any marks, but since there is magic flowing through the whole house from there, an alchemist would know right away.

"But you're almost out."

The magic flowing out of the Demonic Crystal Stone is extremely trace, at the level that it is best served simply by maintaining the engraving.

In another year, the engraving itself would have been out of function, wouldn't it?

"... let's just pour it full"

I'm not proud of you, but I, you're confident in just the amount of magic.

Perhaps one of the reasons my master hired me is this.

I can't use up elementary alchemy alone, so much so that I sometimes magically supplied the core in my master's shop.

Touching the core and gently letting the magic flow, the engraved text emerges around the Demonic Crystal Stone.

"Yeah, I knew 'cleaning' was... that? And that includes" Crime Prevention "?

I just did an internship in school class and have never made a large engraving like home, but I can read it because I'm just learning.

Whether it was made by a well-armed alchemist or rather complex engraving, it was seen to include 'cleaning' as the main one and 'crime prevention' as a sub.

Some parts are slightly less familiar, but the landlord should not contain anything detrimental, so he pours more and more magic.

"… Uh-huh. Fine, you have the capacity."

I just poured all my magic, about half of it, once I let go of my hand.

As for me not being full of this or confident in the amount of magic I had, I'm quite shocked...

As an alchemist, it's a new America, but it's magical enough to be a little spooked by my master, isn't it?

"... well, okay. There's nothing wrong with the behavior, and if you add a blur,"

If even the function of engraving is to be restored, there is no need to force it to become full, and if you use up your magic, you lose your temper to work.

At the very least, I need to clean the room and kitchen where I sleep today.

I just got to my new house!

◇ ◇ ◇

There were as many as eight upstairs rooms, large and small, but all rooms were empty.

All right, "Come on," Nah. Nothing.

There are only things left that cannot be moved, like a shelf provided.

Normally, even if I were to move, I'd leave some furniture...?

Regardless of the neighborhood, it is harder to carry large pieces of furniture when it comes to other cities, so I give it to someone I know or leave it in an old house.

The little chest I kept in my room in the dorm, that's the one I've had.

It's just a little luxury stuff I got from a master acquaintance, and it was my favorite, but I just couldn't carry it, so I left it.

It's pathetic when it's disposed of, so I hope someone freshman uses it.

... Oh, maybe he also happened to be a newlywed in this village?

Sometimes when I get married and build a new home, I get it all like this, and I just order the missing stuff.

Because we're newlyweds, and it's hard financially to get it all together, all at once, in a new way.

"The kitchen with a little peek was empty too..."

There was no table or chair.

The only exception is the alchemist.

Only there seems to be no hands on it, rather it looks like I didn't take one with me when I moved.

The more I clean up a bit, the more I'm likely to be able to work tomorrow.

"Well, thanks to you, it's easy to clean, I wonder..."

The engraving of 'Cleaning', which I poured my magic on earlier.

This engraving makes cleaning the house exceptionally easier, but unfortunately it also has weaknesses.

One is the exterior - that it is difficult to work on the exterior walls, windows, roofs, etc., of the house.

It only cleans up a little bit, so when it comes to the part that always hits the rainstorm, you can't chase it.

And the other thing is that it only works on the house "..." since "..." body "...".

When I keep the furniture, the dust and dirt piled up there doesn't get cleaner.

In other words, this house, which has very little furniture at the moment, is likely to be almost clean in a few days.

"But there's no place to sleep, no place to eat..."

I just have to buy beds and tables, but if it's a village of this size, it's not in stock, is it?

I guess I'll just have to sleep on a blanket for a while...... it's better than Nojuku because of the roof and walls.

And do you want to eat out or sit on the floor?

It's a village with gatherers, so don't worry about the dining room.

For one thing, I decided to take the sunniest room on the south side as my own room, put my stuff down and go down to the ground floor again.

My biggest concern is the workshop...... I'm going to definitely lose track of time when I get in now, so tears and patience. Check the kitchen.

"It's not dirty... but there's no stove..."

As a heat source, it is common in common households to use firewood and charcoal.

Instead of that being installed, this house looked like an alchemist's house, with a magically powered stove installed...

All that remains is a foundation with removed traces.

"Can you make it for me too? Surely the master said, 'It's not that hard,' is it? I wish it was on three volumes..."

I have seen the stove of the smelter Artifact because it was also sold in the master's shop.

I just want to think about making my own because it's a bit expensive to buy...... hold off for now.

Cook in the backyard if you have to?

Or buy a mobile type stove......

"As that door leads to the backyard, the other... Ah! Bath! Yay, that's the alchemist!

When creating the smelter Artifact and the smelter Potion, there are some things that need to be cleaned up, so the alchemist's workshop often comes with a bath.

Of course, it was in my master's shop, so I have been allowed to use it again and again.

It was in school, too, but you only let me in sometimes.

Well, even the aristocrats aren't such things to put in, so I guess I can't help it, but I'm so happy with this because I totally like it since I used it once.

I use a lot of water and firewood, so normally it would be very costly, but at my master's place I had solved this with the smelter Artifact.

Naturally I go for it too.

Otherwise, I won't be able to get in every day.

"Wow, something is so motivating! At the end of the day, it's the backyard!

When I regained my temper, I opened the door leading to the backyard.

- Beyond the door was a native forest. Are you exaggerating until...

For once, this is supposed to be a herbal field, but the impression I see is it's just a snag.

The forest is imminent to the rear of the house, and the fence surrounding the house to an extent that I'm sorry, is likely to integrate with the forest in a few moments, due to the fact that a significant part of it is rotten and damaged.

The only thing I can feel safe about is that the well is just outside the door, and the part where the stone is laid is about no grass growing?

"The well's fine, isn't it?

There is a clear lid to prevent debris from entering, but there are no fishing bottles, so water cannot be drawn.

Uh-huh. Is this lid a kind of smelter artifact? I'm not hurt at all.

The smelter Artifact is also pinky, so there are things like this that simply make the original material sturdy.

Well, it's usually cheaper to rebuild than to ask an alchemist, so it's not commonly used, but the alchemist himself can use it quite conveniently.

The master had also made his favorite dishes into the smelter Artifact so that they could be removed but not broken and stain-resistant.

"Inside...... some water is decent. I need to get a fishing bottle."

All right, did you get a rough idea?

Beds, tables, and chairs are the first pieces of furniture you need.

Kitchen supplies are dishes and cookware, and in some cases portable stoves.

As other groceries, futons and fishing bottles.

This is what I can think of right now.

Where to buy...... ok, let's rely on Mr. Elles soon.