Chapter 56

The next day, as usual, everyone was working in front of the dormitory, which is an apartment.

I was making Tuesday stones while watching the three of them refine Wednesday stones.

As always, they still feel like F-rank and E-rank... and they're so slow...

Is it because they don't want to get wet, or is it their personality...

I can understand that they haven't reached that level of quality yet.

But, they could speed up a bit, they're being overly cautious.

Well, there's no need to rush, and everyone has their own pace, I guess...

"Zig, it's kind of distracting when you stare like that?"

When I stared intently, Adelheid looked up.

"Is it? Don't worry about it."

I'm just concerned about your performance.

"No, it's pressure..."

"It sounds like someone is going to say, 'What a terrible Wednesday stone...'"

"I hear, 'These guys are so slow...'"

Even though I didn't say it out loud...

"Don't worry. No one can make high-rank stones from the start, and it took time to make ingots at first, too."

"Indeed. I'll do my best."

There's nothing more to teach about Wednesday stones.

It's easy to have excellent disciples.

I'm sure the branch chief would have had an easier time with me... no, I'm not that easy in a different sense.

Thinking I shouldn't bother them, I stopped watching the three and focused on making Tuesday stones.

Then, when it was noon, we returned to the branch and had lunch.

"Zig, shall we go now?"

When Leonora said this and stood up, I also stood up.

"Right. Erica, Adelheid, I'll leave it to you while we're gone."

"Understood."

"Don't make the client angry."

I wonder about that...

"I'll keep it in mind."

With that, Leonora and I went up to the third floor and stored the bricks and ingots to be delivered to the government office.

Then, we left the branch and headed to the government office.

"Adelheid said that, but it's hard not to make the client angry."

"Try your best. It affects our reputation, you know?"

Leonora advised me.

"Well, it's not my problem. I thought it would be like this, so I investigated the owner of the warehouse that caught fire, and it turned out to be a merchant. They will come from the position of a victim, so it's bound to be a conflict."

"Ah, a merchant... That could be tough."

Merchants pursue profit.

In this case, they will try to minimize any loss and won't pay a single coin.

"I actually wanted to refuse, but considering the current situation, we don't have the luxury to choose our clients."

"We need to regain the trust of the government, our main client."

Indeed, indeed.

Worst case, the merchant's reputation doesn't matter.

They can ask us privately if they want.

"Be prepared for that."

"I understand the reason you invited me. It's because Erica can be taken advantage of and Adelheid can be provoked."

There's some truth to that.

Erica is too kind, and Adelheid is a bit headstrong.

"I won't bow or give in at all."

"Got it. Well, with merchants, that might be the best approach."

We arrived at the government office, went inside, and headed to Rübert's office.

"Hey, Rübert."

When we reached the reception desk, Leonora called out.

"Leonora, hello. And Zig, too."

Rübert greeted us with his usual smile.

"Hey. I'm here about the previous matter. But, can we deliver the bricks and ingots first?"

"Already done? That's fast. Let me take them first. Put them here."

Rübert pointed to the counter, so I placed the wooden box containing the ingots and bricks from my spatial magic.

"There are 50 ingots and 50 bricks. Here's the invoice."

I handed the invoice to Rübert.

"Sure, I'll confirm it. Why don't you two wait in the reception room? I'll join you when the client arrives."

"Got it."

Where is the reception room?

"Zig, this way."

Since Leonora seemed to know, I followed her into a room.

There were two facing sofas in the room, so we sat down.

"Should I take off my hat?"

"You can keep it on. As a mage, you should be confident."

"Got it."

As we waited, there was a knock on the door, and it opened.

Rübert and a fat man in his forties entered and sat down opposite us.

"Sorry to keep you waiting. This is the client for this request, Adolf."

"Hmph."

Rübert introduced the client, but the man looked at us with dissatisfaction.

"Mr. Adolf, these are the alchemists Siegfried and Leonora from the Alchemists' Guild."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Siegfried."

"I'm Leonora."

Even though we introduced ourselves, Adolf just stared at us without introducing himself.

"Rübert, are you sure these people are okay?"

"That's what I decided."

"Hmph. I don't know... They look like a witch and a man with a pet."

What a troublesome client, just as I imagined.

Well, whatever.

"What's the request?"

I want to get this over with, so I went straight to the point.

"The request is to restore the warehouse that was destroyed by the fire and repair the damaged magical devices. Is that correct?"

When Rübert explained, Adolf glared at me.

"Of course. The warehouse was not our fault, and the magical devices were broken by that man over there."

Just as I expected.

I'm glad I got a statement from the major.

Thank you for reading.

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