The Novice Alchemist's Store

If you take such measures against Mr. Iris, we returned to normal driving.

The brides were shelved because of Lorea's hard work, and I was still caged in the workshop today and moving on to alchemy.

It was Lorea who frowned like a little trouble who showed her face there.

"Mr. Sarasa, may I have a word with you now?

"Hmm...? Fine, what is it?

Still before lunch in time.

I stopped and turned to her, looking like Lorea, who didn't really get a peek in the face to the workshop except when she came to call me dinner ready.

"I'm sorry to bother you. In fact, visiting Sarasa, a customer came..."

"Customers? Ordering smelter (artifact)?

As well as selling regular smelting drugs (potions), if it is a common material, I have been called less lately because even Lorea can make a buyout assessment.

But I just can't accept orders for smelters (artifacts) (except for a very small part), so I'll have to deal with them.

The order itself is low, so I rarely have this either.

"No, unfortunately I don't think so. I have Leonora's letter of introduction, he said."

"Mr. Leonora's? We can't just not see each other."

What kind of relationship do you have with Mr. Leonora... No, one way or another, maybe more?

If it's a reference from someone like that, it still needs consideration.

"Give me a minute. 'Cause I'm gonna clean this place up."

"Understood."

I can't leave it in the middle of smelting, so after finishing the work to no problem and cleaning up the place quickly, I head to the store space.

Waiting there was a man in his mid-twenties with glasses on.

The grey redhead is slightly bumpy while shortening.

The clothes I'm wearing also seem practical and sturdy, while slightly grassy.

Skinny but fairly muscular, the facial moulding itself is neat and the material isn't bad...... a bit too familiar.

Doesn't it feel like a gatherer, huh?

"Thank you for waiting"

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. I'm sorry

It took a little while for him to come out, and he didn't even show how disgusted he was, and he responded so with a grin.

"Thank you. Uh, so what's it like today?

Mr. Leonora's introduction would not have been a request to make smelters (artifacts) or smelters (potions).

I'm not complacent that my arm is more than Mr. Leonora, and I'm in a cooperative relationship, but I'm not in trouble enough to have to turn my customers around.

Asking me in wonder, he offered me an envelope he had removed from his nostalgia.

"In the meantime, this is the reference. Can you read it?

Yes, I'll take a look.

If you open it, there's certainly Mr. Leonora's signature there.

Though I am not familiar enough to tell the truth, I can also use a symphony box to check later if necessary.

"- I see, researcher,"

"Yes. I'm studying demons, Nordrad Evans. I want you to call me Nord."

If you want to briefly summarize what was written in the reference, 'I'm a researcher I know, so I want you to help me to the extent possible'.

If you know Mr. Leonora, it's not too vulgar to cooperate, but at the same time it says, 'You don't have to ask me if I'm unscrupulous', which is a little bothering.

"You know, people study demons."

"There's not a lot of them. Among other things, I'm studying demonic ecology, so I might say it's even rarer."

To Lorea, who says a little surprised, Mr. Nord nodded and put in such an annotation.

In fact, research on demons is commonly dominated by research on 'what to use demonic materials for', often carried out by alchemists who have reached intermediate levels or so and have a little leeway.

This allows the alchemist who finds it to gain a great deal of profit and a better reputation than it does if he finds some way to use it in materials that have previously been discarded as garbage.

In contrast, the study of the demonic ecology that Mr. Nord is conducting is an area that is seldom studied because it is not in itself very profitable.

"So the majority of researchers are like," You know, noble roadwalks with money, "

"Then Mr. Nord, too, some nobleman......?

"No, no, I'm one of the few exceptions. Because it also delivers solid results. I've got a few books out there, don't you know?

With a good look somewhere, Nord, who was happily explaining to Lorea, said so and turned to me...

"Excuse me, oligarchy..."

"Oh, well. - Yeah, that means I'm still here, too. We have to work harder."

To my words, to which I answered honestly, Mr. Nord gave a slightly discouraged look, but he immediately regained his mind and smiled.

But even if you ask me about books, they're just troublesome.

I was saving my life because I couldn't have bought the book myself.

I'm an alchemist too.

I know more about demons than the average person, and it's true that I studied pretty hard, but that's how I use them - that is, I'm biased in my knowledge as a material.

The books in the school library are dominant that way, and if they're not in there, no matter how sold Mr. Nord's books are, they won't touch my eyes.

- Well, even if I'm wrong, it's impossible for a book on demonic ecology to sell in large quantities.

And that seemed to be something that even Lorea could easily imagine.

"Uh, can you put out a book and sell it that much?

"Absolutely! I recently sold 28 copies of The Ecology of Grime Tease and its Secrets!

I shook my head modestly because Lorea looked at me like I was in trouble with the happy Mr. Nord.

Although there are many different forms of publication of books, it doesn't matter what you think that there are twenty-eight books to be released for profit.

It's strangely vivid around exactly what I'm saying to the fraction.

Even if it's as expensive as "alchemy”, I think it's definitely a deficit given the cost of research.

"Oh, even if you sell a lot, that's exactly why you don't pay for research, except for the main one, right? As for demons, there's a research grant system, don't you know?

“Demons" whose ecology is not well known for living close to them.

The measure adopted by the Kingdom to gather information on it is the research grant scheme.

But the truth is, this is not that user-friendly of a system.

You get paid in the form of a prize only for a paper you submit as a result of your research.

You cannot apply in advance to receive research expenses, and the amount of prize you can receive depends on the content of the paper, and the cost of the research will not be taken into account.

In other words, research cannot be started without first self-funding, and if the results are undervalued, the costs cannot even be recovered.

It is not a very, but not a system that can be made productive, and has only produced such an effect that the results of the studies previously carried out by the nobles in their hobbies are made public without dying.

"So, Mr. Nord, too, rich......?

"No, I'm one of the few exceptions. I've never had a deficit in my research before!

Mr. Nord, who is adept at chesting, says that starting with less expensive research, he continues to receive more prizes than he has always spent on research.

"This is still quite famous in the demonic ecological research neighborhood."

"That sounds like a very narrow 'neighborhood', that"

"... yeah, well. The average person doesn't know anything about it."

To Lorea's unhesitant words, Mr. Nord silenced for a moment and nodded perhaps.

"Even expert Sarasa doesn't seem to know...?

"... yeah, well. You don't know I'm not a researcher."

"How many of them are there?"

"Gee, it's amazing how profitable research can be! Normally, even though it's normal to lose."

"Right!? Many studies don't get a single piece of copper coin when you submit it, do they?

Even if I'm not very familiar with it, I can understand the small number of researchers.

But he's also a customer for once.

It blocked Lorea's pursuit, which was quite unforgiving, and if I changed my story, Mr. Nord came into the conversation with the same look that he had been saved.

"It would be. But why do you have a super minor demon, like a grime tease..."

The average person doesn't even know his name, and even those who do, he's such a demon, Grime Tease, who doesn't seem to be very interested.

Even alchemy is so minor and lacking in use that I can't immediately think of anything to make it into material.

Is the review of the research grant system rather slow around even giving prizes for such research, or is Mr. Nord's research even better than that?

But at least a little more common...... no, the name is known, but I was wondering if we should do a study of demons like ecology is less known?

"Yeah. That was also pointed out by the jury."

"Oh, I knew it"

Regardless of Grime Tease's new use, I wonder if he had trouble investigating and reporting on its ecology or as a judge?

If you go where you live, it's a demon you can catch normally.

"That's why I made this a major demon study."

"That would be good. What did you do?

When he asked me that, Mr. Nord laughed niggardly and said his name.

"Salamander. That's my research topic."