Chapter 10
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 10
Chapter Title: 2. I Got a Job at the General Store.
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'That's why adventurers still get called savages.'
After the great archmage Mureos Avantredin retired at a young age and founded the academy, the savage reputation had died down quite a bit over the past thirty years or so.
But with so many people flooding in from all walks of life, chasing success regardless of status or personality...
Incidents and accidents never stopped happening.
And the guild elders, stuck in their old adventurer ways, promoted anyone with good results straight to high ranks.
It was a system that inevitably produced trash like the three standing before him, drunk on their newfound power.
'And we innocent adventurers have to bear the full brunt of it... Fuck this.'
Vito thought it was a truly dogshit system.
Well, whatever.
He still had to hand down their punishment.
They'd committed a grave offense.
For an ordinary adventurer, it would've meant expulsion—or even turning them into outright criminals.
But these higher-ups got off with a slap on the wrist, all because they were "heroes."
Vito, the branch chief, hated that, but he was just staff managing the branch in the end.
All he could do was deliver the verdict.
"...I'll now inform you of your punishments."
Claude tensed up at those words.
'Shit, they're not revoking our hero titles or anything, right?'
They'd done something so egregious they deserved guild expulsion and jail time, yet all he could think about was losing his hero title.
And he didn't even want to lose that. It was ridiculous.
Mary and Sophia were no different.
'Fuck... What do they want us to do? If it's compensation, I can just ask Dad for the money.'
'Honestly, I didn't do anything wrong. Even if we're in the same party, they can't pin this on me.'
Mary, the one who'd caused the incident, felt that way, but Sophia wasn't entirely blameless either.
She hadn't properly understood wyvern ecology before targeting their eggs, she'd agreed to hunt a wyvern pack with just three people, and ultimately, her party had accepted the request but failed to prevent the mishap.
She bore responsibility too.
Of course, the punishment wouldn't match the crime.
"Claude and Sophia are prohibited from taking requests for one week and must participate in guild-organized volunteer work."
The two, excluding the main culprit Mary, were banned from requests for a week and assigned volunteer duty.
It was the epitome of a light tap on the wrist.
Claude, because he was a hero.
Sophia, because she was a high priestess of the church.
Mary didn't get hit hard either.
Her family, the Blaze Family, were marquises of the Solte Kingdom.
They were renowned across the continent for their fire magic.
And her father, Draco Blaze, the head of the Blaze Marquis Family, was known to have close ties with the Adventurer Guild elders.
In other words, external pressure had been applied.
"Mary is ordered to return to her family and reflect for one month."
Vito, the branch chief, let out a deep internal sigh after delivering the punishments.
This was practically no punishment at all.
A week of volunteer work? A month of reflection?
It was more like a vacation.
"Ah, shit, volunteer work?"
"At least it's not a heavy punishment."
"A whole month? Stuck at home for a month?"
And "reflection" was just a fancy word—it really just meant they couldn't come to the guild.
They could roam freely otherwise.
It wasn't punishment at all.
Yet they acted annoyed and inconvenienced by even this mild rebuke.
Vito felt his anger rising.
'Hah... What good are dragons if they don't drag off scum like this.'
His hair was already starting to thin out lately, and the stress from these idiots would only make it worse. The branch chief felt a dark cloud settling over him.
My name is Lucen Gerion.
I'm originally a senior alchemist from the Alchemist Guild.
But right now...
"30 minutes remaining."
I'm at that barbaric adventurers' guild.
Taking part in a test to hire the owner for the general store at their academy, no less!
Why would I, a proud senior alchemist of the esteemed Alchemist Guild, be taking an exam to enter the den of savages?
There's a story behind it.
It goes back three days.
The great elders of the Alchemist Guild summoned me and gave me a mission.
"Heard the Adventurer Guild is recruiting alchemists."
"Pardon? Why would those guys...?"
Adventurers are basically brainless brutes who charge in and fight.
People with refined skills like alchemy rarely become adventurers.
Because that's something only gorilla-like idiots who think everything's about physical strength and mana would do.
It's not because alchemists can't rise to high ranks!!
We didn't give up on them—they gave up on us!
Ahem, got a bit heated there.
Anyway, why was the Adventurer Guild recruiting alchemists?
"Their Adventurer Academy has a general store, and they're hiring for it."
Ah, right.
Those savages had set up some imitation of civilized education.
Though it'd just be training more savages, in the end.
Apparently, there's a general store exclusive to the academy.
It used to be a cash cow buying potions from great alchemists like us.
Now they want to make and provide them themselves?
Smart for savages, but would any great alchemist want to work there?
Heh, not me, that's for sure.
No matter how much they pay, how could I work among savages?
"Go take the test."
"...Pardon?"
What? Suddenly?
Me...?
"I know it's sudden, but this is for the good of the Alchemist Guild."
The elder then explained the importance of this operation.
This was the first time the Adventurer Academy was seriously recruiting alchemists.
The previous store owner wasn't even an alchemist—just some regular merchant running a general store elsewhere.
For some reason, they now wanted someone who could brew potions on-site for sale.
"They're probably selling potions to students almost for free, so they want to cut costs as much as possible."
The elder clicked his tongue at their stinginess despite their wealth.
How arrogant for savages to think that way.
Ridiculous.
"Anyway, go check out the alchemists taking that test."
The Adventurer Academy's prestige was rising by the day.
Money flowed in easily for savages, and people treated them well.
So the mission was to monitor if any young, talented alchemists might be lured by the false promise of riches and fame.
Ah... so that's it.
I got startled thinking they wanted me to apply there.
"Leave it to me. I'll watch those young talents closely at this crossroads in their lives and guide them back to us!"
"Good, good. Knew I could count on you."
.....
And that's how I ended up here, taking the test.
Hmm, 14 participants, including me.
Considering the academy's status, that's fewer than expected.
Heh heh, as expected, great and intelligent alchemists wouldn't glance at a savage job like this.
And the test format's a problem too.
Skill matters most for alchemists.
Yet they're doing it all together in an open space like this.
Alchemists hate this method the most.
Did they do it on purpose?
Probably easier to judge everyone at once.
Savages... all they think about is efficiency.
Other things matter too, you know.
Anyway, excluding me, 13 other alchemists showed up...!
You guys better choose wisely at this fork in the road!
At least the open format lets me scout their skills.
After the test, I'll talk to the promising ones.
Hmm, that one's decent.
Oh...! Doing pretty well. Good ideas.
Oho, this one.
Must've had a solid teacher.
It's obvious.
I pretend to take the test casually while scanning the applicants.
If I did my best, I'd get hired myself.
Better to half-ass it.
While observing...
"...Uh?"
I accidentally let out a dumb noise.
The reason was...
'What the hell is that.'
Amid mid-to-high-level alchemists rivaling even me...
One person stood out glaringly.
Not just standing out.
Others mixed in secret ingredients or special techniques to brew their potions.
They hid them carefully from prying eyes.
But one guy was brewing right out in the open.
And amazingly, he didn't need to hide.
It was... straight out of the textbook.
No way he'd make anything above B-rank like that, even with top materials.
With these ingredients, C-rank would be a stretch too.
It had to be.
That's how it works.
But...
'What’s with that crystal-clear purity?'
I could tell.
I'd seen countless brewing processes in the guild, even glimpsed the purification steps of A-rank+ potions made by elders.
Any average alchemist might miss it, but I could gauge the current purification purity.
That's... at least 85%...!
Elder level!
I quickly checked the face of whoever was progressing so swiftly.
Young.
Mid-to-late twenties at most?
This can't be!
Another talented youth taking the test in this savage den!
This won't do.
Someone with that talent needs to be brought to the Alchemist Guild immediately!
We can't let it rot here!
With those skills, they could become the guild's youngest elder!
Heh heh heh, good thing I followed the elders' orders.
Who knew I'd find a genius to brighten alchemy's future here!
Alright, right after the test, I'll approach him and...
"Hey."
"...?"
Suddenly, someone called from behind.
"Step outside for a sec."
"...Pardon?"
It was the bodyguards who'd come with the special judge, the academy's director.
...What? Why?
Why are they approaching me with such scary faces...?