Chapter 34

Under the cold sky with snowflakes swirling, how are you doing? This is Herman. Today is the New Year Festival. It's a festival, isn't it? Let's go and liven up the people who have been newly blessed with stars this year. In Nera Town, adventurers also celebrate together. It's only in the village that adventurers are driven away. From the perspective of adventurers who know the town's common sense, it might seem strange, but I speculate it's because the church square isn't large enough and they don't want their precious alcohol stolen. In the town, alcohol is a commodity, but in the village, it's something everyone drinks together. That's how it is, I guess.

The Adventurer's Square is bustling with a sea of people. Today, even the poor adventurers have folded their tents and cleared the square, but it's still crowded because there are so many people from the capital. I talked to the Adventurer's Guild, and apparently, the most developed area in the Viscount Selrollus territory is not the capital. The most developed area is the town around Jemma's Salt Springs. It seems that there is a village around a sacred site and a town around a demon realm, and following this rule, the area around Jemma's Salt Springs is entirely composed of towns. It also seems that the population is larger around Jemma's Salt Springs. Well, there are many adventurers, and the homeowners among adventurers are mostly in the towns around the demon realm or near the Light Demon Realm and sacred sites. That means there are many capable adventurers.

The capital seems to be lagging behind in industries as well. Blacksmiths, for example, naturally make better products around the demon realm, and clothes are consumables for demon realm adventurers. I doubt there are any adventurers who would want to wear clothes stained red and black from splattered blood. So, where does the capital excel? It seems to be in guild-related matters. In the towns around the demon realm, there is only the Adventurer's Guild. The Tamer's Guild, Mage's Guild, and Alchemist's Guild are only in the capital. The reality is that there aren't enough people, and only the capital or the central city of the territory has many guilds.

However, the church never lacks for personnel. Even though there is a church in each village, there are at least two clerics in every village, and they are of marriageable age. It's said that the gods do not approve of empty churches, and indeed, in my village, Father Simon and Sister Camilla were of the same generation and were married. Sister Diana was still a minor, but perhaps a new priest was born around the time I left. ...They might have been of the same generation, but I don't know because I haven't been to the church since then. The church basically lives on donations from villagers and townspeople. It might become poor, but I've never heard of a poor church. Well, if the village chief or magistrate donates, there shouldn't be a problem.

And it's a festival. The stalls are bustling this year. There are skewers, soup, alcohol, skewers, skewers, alcohol, and more skewers, which suggests that food preservation hasn't developed much. I think it would be nice to have some sweets, but is sugar expensive? I don't see any honey either, so maybe it's a luxury item. There might be a sacred site where sugar can be harvested, though. However, this year's skewers are a bit different. ...Well, I don't know if they're different because I left Nera Town last year, but the types of meat are different. The skewers at the capital's New Year Festival last year only had rabbit, chicken, and mouse. But this year, there are frogs and orcs mixed in. The frog meat is probably from the fire-breathing frogs in Jemma's Salt Springs, and the orcs are from there too, so they must have flowed in. ...In other words, the towns around the demon realm are approaching a state of meat saturation. This requires information gathering, so I inquired with the old man selling skewers.

Apparently, there are some up-and-coming adventurers who supply a large amount of meat every day. Regular adventurers usually take 2-3 days off after a battle, but these adventurers seem to delve into the demon realm every day. That alone doesn't explain the excess supply of meat. However, many adventurers seem to have been inspired by these up-and-coming adventurers and are delving into the demon realm with fewer breaks. As a result, an unprecedented amount of meat has been supplied and overflowed. It seems that even adventurers who delve into the deeper layers haven't been swept up by this wave, and materials from the deeper layers haven't overflowed, but the activities of lower-layer adventurers have intensified. ...I wonder if Edvin and the others are riding this wave. It's about time they challenge the demon realm, and it would be good if they are honing their skills with these adventurers.

I was curious about the taste, so I bought both frog and orc meat skewers. Let's try them. First, the frog meat. According to my knowledge from my previous life, it's supposed to taste like chicken, but I can't imagine anyone mistaking this for chicken. ...Well, the chicken here is basically made from hens that no longer lay eggs, so it's dry. It's not bad as dried meat, but fresh meat isn't very tasty. However, this frog meat is juicy and delicious. It has a solid flavor, and with just salt, it's a feast. The orc meat, on the other hand, is different from the frog meat. It has a lot of fat, and just looking at it makes my mouth water. The taste is also good. The lean parts are a bit tough and fibrous, but the sweetness of the fat is amazing. It's so delicious that it brings happiness into your mouth. ...However, the price of frog meat is one small silver coin, and the price of orc meat is three small silver coins. Even at festival prices, it's quite expensive. The price of two rabbits, which was five large copper coins, makes me feel sorry. But if you want to make a profit, this is the price you have to set. I don't know if the prices in the demon realm are high, but they might be.

I'm enjoying the skewers but not drinking alcohol. I made a firm vow when I was in the village. If I drink, I can only see a future where I'm controlled by it. The drunkards who are drinking merrily, how many of them will swear not to drink tomorrow? ...But even if they swear, they'll forget in two days. That's what drunkards are like.

As I'm enjoying the skewers, the church bell rings. It rings 10 times, the number of stars bestowed. This is the same in villages, towns, and the capital. After a while, about 200 children are released. I listen to the children's voices. Some are assigned to blacksmithing, cooking, sewing, or some kind of magic. Many voices can be heard. Some children are crying, perhaps because the talent they received was different from what they expected. ...Just thinking about it isn't enough. You have to go to the church and pray. If you don't pray, your wishes won't be granted.

A particularly loud murmur arises. Listening to it, it seems that a child received seven stars for the Sage talent. I know a bit about the Sage talent. There was a book in the Alchemist's Guild that discussed talents, and the Sage was listed as a rare talent. The Sage is said to encompass the talents of Fire Mage, Water Mage, Wind Mage, Earth Mage, Light Mage, Dark Mage, and Mage, and it is said that at least seven stars are required to confirm it. In other words, it's a talent that can use any magic or spell. It has high endurance and is often employed by countries or large noble families. Well, first, they have to go to a mage school to learn how to fight and other things, so they will definitely go to the capital. From there, they can choose any path they want. They drew a good talent. ...However, the Viscount Selrollus territory is producing good talents, like the Holy Maiden and the Sage. It would have been good if the head of the noble family was excellent, but it seems to be incompetent. He will have no choice but to go out to other territories.

There are many different talents. Besides the Sage and Holy Maiden, there are rare talents like Hero, Spirit Handler, Saint, Guardian, General, Strategist, and others, but these are said to require at least six stars. The Spirit Handler, in particular, could be called a cheat. They can use all six elemental magics without using their own magic power, like a mage. The difference is that they don't need to prepare anything. It is believed that there are spirits of the land's element in the demon realm. In a water element demon realm, they can use water magic freely, which is broken. Even in normal places, there are some spirits, so they can cast spells at low cost. The disadvantage is that if the spirits are in a bad mood, they can't use magic, but it's rare for all six elemental spirits to be in a bad mood. I want to say, "Don't create such a broken magic user who can use magic anywhere and in any amount."

By the way, the Swordsmanship and Alchemy talents I have can appear with just one star. They are low in rarity and can be considered normal talents. So, about one in ten people have them. ...There might be fewer commoners who become alchemists with just one star, but there are still some. Alchemists are seen as profitable, so it's understandable that commoners want to become them. With the admission fee of five small silver coins, it's a profitable amount, and commoners can understand that. In place of that, Swordsmanship. This talent is also probably one in ten people if they have one star or more. At least, those who want to go to the demon realm usually have one or more combat-related talents like swordsmanship, spear, or axe. It's an easy talent. Well, I'm happy that I can become an alchemist with such an easy talent, but for others, it might be a talent composition that makes them want to lament if alchemy is their only path.

By the way, the talents I think I might have from my previous life are things like Hero or Demon King. I think I will definitely have ten stars, but I wonder why. Well, my previous life's predictions were mostly wrong, so this is probably just useless knowledge.

So, the star-drawing ceremony is over, and I have turned 12 without any issues. All I have to do is relax until I go to the capital, where the Alchemy Academy is. ...I hope nothing happens. I survived a fire in Louis Village, and I think I've overcome the biggest hurdle to becoming an alchemist. I'm about to go to the capital soon. I feel like I'm leaving footprints on the path to becoming an alchemist.

Whether you found it interesting or not, I don't mind.

I would be grateful if you could include your evaluation.

If you could point out any issues in your feedback, I think I can reflect them in my writing, even as a layman reader.

...Probably.