Chapter 18

It's the height of summer, how are you doing? This is Hermann. Today, unfortunately, it's raining, and it's a day off. This church square is well-drained, so there's no muddy mess, which is really nice. Thanks to this, tent living is quite comfortable. On rainy days, I mostly spend my time reading the Alchemy Encyclopedia. This encyclopedia mainly lists recovery items and convenient items, but there are no offensive items at all.

I think this might be decided by factions, but that's just a hunch. Anyway, it's really helpful that there are convenient or general-purpose items listed. In my future plans, I definitely need to make the all-night glasses. The materials can be brought in, but I think I need to buy the light material. By the way, the materials required are one pair of glasses, two dark attribute materials, two light attribute materials, and ten magic mushrooms. I think it's best to buy light attribute magic mushrooms for the light attribute. If they ask for more, it's not impossible, but the price might skyrocket, which is scary. Moreover, light attribute materials are generally expensive, which is a problem. High-effect potions all require light attribute materials and light attribute magic mushrooms, damn it. I need more time to gather materials in the forest of tracks.

However, the next place to go is Lala's swamp. I have a feeling it will be difficult. The swamp, I'm sure, won't do with straw shoes. So, I looked for a convenient item. And there is one, an alchemy item called "Perfect Boots." It seems you can make them with two bag-like materials and six magic mushrooms. ...I wonder what bag-like materials are. I don't think there are any bag-like items in the gathering category. Probably in the hunting category. I think materials like stomachs or intestines are needed. I guess the Alchemy Guild sells them. They probably stock up on necessary materials near sacred sites. Even if the item itself isn't available, they might have the materials. I think it's like the splash-proof cloth, where the item itself isn't available, but the materials are. But, the materials aren't sold. The cloth and glasses probably aren't sold either. That's the Alchemy Guild.

While reading the Alchemy Encyclopedia, it seems a carriage has stopped. Glancing over, it's a golem carriage, so it must be an alchemist. Finally, they've come. This way, I can find out the merchant prices, which is very helpful. Judy taught me that generally, except for magic mushrooms, you should multiply by ten when buying. ...Merchants are quite overpriced. Well, they resell to the Alchemy Guild, so they know what they're doing. From the gatherer's perspective, it's hard to accept, but that's the job of a merchant.

So, I head to the merchant. This time, I want to get the exact prices without any discounts. I can sell one bottle at a time and get the price for each. I don't really care about the amount; I just want some useful information.

"Excuse me, can I sell some items and ask a few questions?"

"Sure, come in."

So, I'll bother you. Of course, I can still climb the stairs. I'm not that tall yet.

"So, what do you want to sell and ask?"

"I don't know the prices, so I want to know the buyback prices for each item. Is that possible?"

"Sure, no problem. What are you selling?"

So, I line up one bottle of each material except for magic mushrooms. There are only 13 bottles, so it won't be a high price, but I don't really care about the amount. I just want some useful information.

"Alright, let's buy them. First, the Flame Mushroom, 3 small silver coins each. Next, the Flame Grass, 1 medium copper coin each. This is the Fire Suppressing Grass, also 1 medium copper coin each. This is the Fire Extinguishing Grass, 2 medium copper coins each. This is the Temperature Grass, 1 medium copper coin each. Next, the Fierce Flame Mushroom, the price varies by the size of the blue spots, but at merchant prices, it's 5 small silver coins each. Next, the Charred Vine Grass, 1 small silver coin each. This is the Forbidden Fire Grass, 7 small silver coins each. This is the Unknown Fire Grass, 3 large silver coins each. This is the Fierce Flame Mushroom, 1 small gold coin each. Next, the Flower Candle Grass, 3 large gold coins each. This is... the Oil Charcoal Moss, 5 large gold coins per bottle. And the last one is the Fox Straw Fire Moss, 2 small platinum coins per bottle. In total, 5 small platinum coins, 5 large gold coins, 1 medium gold coin, 3 small gold coins, 1 large silver coin, 6 medium silver coins, and 5 large copper coins. Is that okay?"

"Thank you. Is there anything else about these materials? If there's anything I should do, please let me know."

"Well, the only one to be careful with is the Flower Candle Grass. It occasionally gets a buyback request from the Alchemy Guild. Nobles use it to make wedding accessories, which require Flower Candle Grass. It started when a queen a few generations ago wanted it for her wedding. Accessories with fire and light attributes are resistant to poison. ...I don't know the exact method, but there are specialists who make them. Because of this, when a high-ranking noble proposes, the Alchemy Guild gets a request. The buyback price starts at large magic gold coins. The exact price depends on the noble. So, it's best to sell Flower Candle Grass to the Alchemy Guild when there's a request. I can say this is a great profit for my current merchant trip. ...It's expensive even as a regular material due to its light attribute, but Flower Candle Grass sells even higher. So, it's definitely best not to sell it at the wrong time."

"I understand. I should sell Flower Candle Grass to the Alchemy Guild when there's a request. Thank you."

"Yeah, it's best to make money when you can. There are quite a few nobles, and Flower Candle Grass, while rare, is quickly consumed by requests. It's a request that doesn't last long. The sure thing is that the Alchemy Guild, not the Adventurer's Guild, gets the requests. Most people who have Flower Candle Grass are aiming for the same thing. If you get lucky and get a request, that's great. ...It depends on the location, too."

"I understand. I'll just consider it a lucky break if it happens."

Everyone is probably thinking the same thing. They're probably aiming for the good rewards from nobles. ...Well, it's not something to force. But, I'll gather more than necessary. If there's a request, it's a lucky break. Light materials seem to be quite necessary, so gathering them won't be a waste.

I get off the alchemist merchant's carriage and return to my tent. The materials here are generally more expensive than those from York's Forest. It's a bit pitiful that the sacred site is avoided just because there's no food. I haven't even had to drink a detox potion yet, and I haven't used a beginner potion. Even the mouth cloth, which could be a regular cloth, is a bit wasteful. It's the Adventurer's Guild's policy, so there's nothing I can do. They also teach you to study, so it's not like they want cheap labor. It's the fault of those who don't study. ...I wonder if adventurers from towns can read. Those from good backgrounds can probably read and write and don't struggle. I think most are from farming backgrounds.

It's a big problem for one adventurer to bear. I don't need to bear such a burden, but I want to save what I can after becoming an alchemist. ...I'll either get paid or get labor in return. I plan to take it easy, thinking that saving one in a hundred million is good enough. But that's still years away. I'm still a child who can't do anything. I need to accept what I can't do.

Still, I want to have a shop eventually. I'm thinking of selling potions in the magic realm, but everyone probably has the same idea. The closer to the capital, the more alchemists there are. The capital attracts alchemists, so it's natural to want to open a shop nearby.

...Wait a minute? There are four alchemists around York's Forest, and if you don't know their locations, you can't even send a fast carriage. Could the Alchemy Guild know where all the alchemists are? Otherwise, they couldn't send fast carriages to York's Forest, let alone other magic realms or sacred sites. ...It's possible. They probably know where everyone is and what they're doing. I don't know how, but it might be worth asking the Alchemy Guild. They probably don't know the destinations of merchants, though.

I have some doubts, but I think it's mostly correct. They must have some way of tracking alchemists. Especially at the Alchemy Academy, they can't send fast carriages for high-priced material buybacks without knowing. It might be a reporting system, but I think it's once every few years or so. Sending letters through merchants is difficult, and fast horses are impossible. There must be some item, but it's not listed in the Alchemy Encyclopedia. It's probably a secret recipe, but there might be something.

I don't really need to think about all this, but it's raining. It's like mental exercise. I think about it because I have the time. In short, I'm bored on rainy days. It's rare to have rain for days, so it will probably clear up tomorrow, but it's still early morning, and I'm just passing the time by diving into my thoughts.

Whether you found it interesting or not, I don't mind. I would appreciate it if you could leave a rating. If you could also leave some feedback, it would help me improve my writing, even as a casual reader.

...Probably.