Chapter 19
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 19
Chapter Title: 3. Gathering Materials Myself.
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“Phew, this is tough.”
“Good work.”
After the students came swarming in and then filtered out, Edin finally had a moment to catch his breath.
‘Whew... They asked about so many things, it was total chaos.’
Still, it felt good knowing so many people were seeking him out and valuing what he had to offer.
He thought he'd done well to diligently build up all that knowledge.
“Edin. How's your first day on the job feeling?”
As he took a brief pause, the door to the general store swung open, and a familiar woman appeared.
“Lunarin.”
“Nimi again? I told you to call me casually. We're actual coworkers now.”
Lunarin entered with a bright smile.
As always, she wore a robe that plunged daringly at the chest and clung tightly to her curves, leaving little to the imagination.
“Oh, Teacher Lunarin. Hello.”
“My goodness, Teacher Suiven! You're still in the middle of the handover, I see.”
Suiven and Lunarin.
With two women in such revealing outfits standing on either side of him, Edin's eyes darted around uncertainly, unsure where to look.
“I've never really run a store before, so I've been getting some help from Suiven here.”
She was the one who'd recommended him, after all. He felt a bit embarrassed at the thought of showing an incompetent side to her.
But Suiven, who'd been watching him from the side, shook her head as if that weren't the case at all.
“You were amazing, though. The students bombarded you with all sorts of questions, and you answered every one. You seemed more knowledgeable than most veteran adventurers.”
And that made sense.
Even veteran adventurers typically only acquired knowledge relevant to their own rank.
An A-Rank Adventurer might know how to handle wyverns or ogres but had no need to learn goblin weaknesses or precautions.
Conversely, E- or F-Rank Adventurers had to memorize everything about goblins or kobolds inside out but wouldn't know about red orcs or advanced undead monsters.
Someone like Rasen, who'd clawed his way up to A-Rank from nothing without any special talent, might be different, but most adventurers only possessed knowledge from the ranks they'd experienced.
That was why the academy instructors had such a hard time when they were first scouted.
No matter how many rank-specific veterans they hired,
teaching aspiring adventurers required knowledge of every rank.
Having to relearn everything was quite a struggle.
And while their knowledge was broad, it often lacked depth.
Fortunately, they had veteran adventurers of various ranks on staff to fill in the gaps.
But Edin was different.
Monster knowledge applicable to every rank, terrain issues, consumable usage based on situations.
It all poured out of him like he was the Mage Guild's world-renowned repository of knowledge, the Library Archive.
Not just the requests F- to D-Rank students actually faced, but even offhand questions about griffins or manticores—he rattled off countermeasures without missing a beat.
He was a living library.
“See? I knew Edin was the perfect fit.”
Lunarin nodded with a proud smile upon hearing this.
“Thank you. Thanks to you, I feel like I've found my true calling.”
“...?”
Lunarin tilted her head at Edin's sincere gratitude.
‘That's weird. Normally, he'd be like, ‘What do you mean by that...’ all flustered.’
Had something changed in his mindset?
He seemed to have regained a bit of his self-esteem.
‘Good thing I recommended this job.’
It had always pained her to see him working under an idiot like Claude.
His self-esteem had hit rock bottom because of it.
But now, taking the job she'd recommended, he was gradually recognizing his own worth and improving.
Lunarin felt a swell of pride.
And at the same time, she thought this—when he was thanking her and crediting her for it—was the perfect timing.
“If you're grateful, how about treating me to a meal?”
Lunarin's heart pounded as she asked.
It was the first time she'd ever approached a man first like this.
She'd turned down countless men, including Saella, with icy rejection.
If those guys saw Lunarin proactively suggesting a date, they'd all freak out.
‘N-No way...!’
Yes, to the point where she'd nearly blown her stealth and dashed into the store in shock.
Saella barely held back with desperate restraint.
‘Hah...! What lowly human dares...!’
Saella glared at Edin, careful not to let her presence leak.
The beauty she couldn't claim for herself... Lunarin Brettis was being taken by that man.
That's how she saw it.
‘True beauty belongs to me, the one who matches it.’
Saella didn't just pursue beauty—he worshipped it.
That's why he cultivated his own beauty and had a poor reputation with women from chasing so many beautiful ones.
Pursuing beauty.
It was the reason for his life, his philosophy.
That's why he was so obsessed with Lunarin, the most beautiful in appearance, heart, and ability of all he'd met.
‘I need to drive that man away.’
He resolved to oust Edin.
Of course, killing him would be child's play for Saella.
He didn't look that strong.
But a strong person using force against the weak wasn't beautiful.
And it didn't seem necessary anyway.
‘Heh, a mediocre fool like that must have schemed his way into that position.’
From the conversation, the man was the academy general store's successor.
And apparently an alchemist who brewed potions.
But she sensed nothing special from him at first glance.
No particular abilities, no overwhelming aura of confidence unique to the supremely talented.
She was sure he was nothing impressive.
‘Leave him alone, and he'll fade away on his own.’
Then a sudden thought struck her.
‘But he's the type who schemed to impress Teacher Lunarin and snag the store job. What if he pulls some other ugly stunt?’
It seemed plausible enough.
Though she wondered if that even made sense.
But common sense didn't apply to Saella, whose entire worldview revolved around himself and beauty.
‘He can't pierce my stealth anyway. I'll hide and monitor him...!’
Watch him, and if he tries anything suspicious, nab him red-handed.
Good plan, she thought.
Though using force against the weak wasn't beautiful.
Was sneaking in to spy on his brewing beautiful?
It was absurd, but what could you expect from a stalker chasing beauty?
‘Heh, try anything remotely shady, and I'll have you.’
And with that, Saella decided to take a short leave to monitor him and headed to the director's office.
After Lunarin left, I sank into thought for a moment.
A great job with good pay.
Benefactors who revived my future, my shattered self-esteem, and my sense of value.
Lunarin and Director Mureos.
I wondered if there was more I could do for them.
Lunarin had said a meal would suffice as thanks.
One meal? No problem.
I told her I could buy as many as she wanted.
She left looking quite satisfied.
Did she enjoy the idea of eating with me that much?
Maybe she didn't have many friends to dine with...?
Anyway.
We settled on a proper meal treat, but for Director Mureos... minimizing the academy's losses would help, right?
The academy stores already bought high and sold low.
They'd brought in an alchemist like me specifically to cut costs on the biggest expense: the general store.
Even so, raw material costs and my salary remained.
Asking for a pay cut felt awkward, so... how about cutting raw material costs?
We could post guild requests cheaply,
but that wouldn't cover everything, forcing purchases of high-quality, expensive stuff from specialist herbalists or miners.
But what if I gathered them myself?
I already knew what materials we needed and where to find them.
When foraging with Claude, they often spoiled from haste, but I theoretically knew how to preserve them optimally.
Well... theory and practice are worlds apart.
During tests, that quality was considered good enough.
But with practice, I could probably get better quality than what low-rank adventurers fetched cheaply.
Raw materials: free.
Production: by me, free.
Only my salary as overhead.
And if my potions were as valuable as Lunarin said, we could sell extras externally,
and I'd cover new equipment if needed with those profits.
I'd have to ask about selling outside, but anyway.
No material costs would surely help the academy's finances a bit.
I consulted Suiven about it.
“But... wouldn't that be dangerous? If you're going yourself, you'd need escorts...”
Hm, yeah, I'd have to think about that.
Basic materials could be gathered safely,
and as a former C-Rank Adventurer, I could handle most things.
But some were in risky areas... so precautions needed.
“And you'd have to handle gathering, production, and sales all alone. Is that okay?”
“...Ah.”
There was an even more fundamental issue.
I only had one body... I couldn't run the store and do all that.
Hiring help meant salaries, undermining my plan to save on materials for the budget.
“Um, well then...”
Just then, Teacher Suiven hesitated, about to suggest something.
What? Did she have an idea?
A cheap hire, or another way to cut costs...?
“How about hiring me as store staff?”
“...Pardon?”
Her proposal exceeded my wildest imagination.