Part-Time Job (3)
Mandrakes are plants famous for their deafening screams. If you pull one out of the ground, it lets out a blast loud enough to rupture eardrums, and listening to it for too long can drive you temporarily insane. In severe cases, you might pass out and end up bedridden for months. That's why handling mandrakes demands extreme caution. Touch them carelessly, and you're in for major damage.
Of course, Ruina Lindel wasn't the kind of alchemist to make such a rookie mistake. She'd knocked it out without triggering the scream and even applied special preservation treatments to keep it fresh. All that was left were a few finishing touches before combining the ingredients. But there was a crucial caveat.
Her technique was incredibly delicate—any interference could ruin everything. Especially noise, vibrations, or foreign mana wavelengths; they could damage the materials or even cause an explosion. So she was clamping down hard on her mana, staying utterly silent and still.
And yet...
The summon beast Nene's chirps, Rana's voice, the sound of the door opening—they all rippled into the materials she was working on.
Pfshhh—!!
The mandrake began glowing. A precursor to explosion.
But something else would happen first. The mandrake was in a dormant state. Ruina's botched work had scattered the mana keeping it asleep. In other words, the damn thing was waking up.
In that instant, the mandrake's eyes snapped open. Its mouth gaped wide.
Kreee—
The scream cut off abruptly. Ruina Lindel had intercepted it. Her swift, expert handling evoked the image of a seasoned alchemist.
I let out a relieved breath. All that remained was watching her contain the explosion.
She didn't stop, wringing out more mana. Magic circles floated up around the workbench. But her employer's complexion was off—pale and strained.
'Hm? What's wrong?'
I looked closer. Her face was faintly flushed. Embarrassed in this situation? No, that was the face of someone in pain.
'Damn it!'
Every minute, every second was critical. It didn't take long to decide.
"Elraim! Get Rana out of here!"
"Yes, Young Master."
Elraim grabbed Rana. The usually bubbly girl realized the gravity and let herself be dragged away without protest.
Meanwhile, Ruina Lindel clutched her chest, grimacing. Seemed like the earlier incident had triggered breathing issues.
I quickly prioritized in my head. 'Mandrake first!'
Touching her in that state might trigger a seizure. And her body was special—she could endure a few minutes of pain, no problem.
I eyed the mandrake on the verge of bursting. Thanks to her magic circles, it had absorbed even more mana. What might have only wrecked the workbench before could now level the entire workshop.
But no solutions came to mind. Using mana or magic circles myself? Magic and alchemy might look similar at a glance, but they followed entirely different paths—different goals, different foundations.
I couldn't tamper with the mandrake she'd already prepped with alchemy. I was decent with magic, but alchemy? Total hack. No talent for it.
Me meddling would just make things worse.
That's when the magic circle on the workbench caught my eye.
"Wait, if it's that..."
I didn't know how to handle alchemy, not really. I knew the basics, but lacked the skill to apply them. But a magic circle from a skilled alchemist like her? That was already perfected alchemy.
So if I just poured in mana and kept it stable without disrupting the flow...
"Ugh, seriously!"
Gritting my teeth, I moved. Placed my hand on the circle and channeled mana.
But it rejected me.
"What the—oh, damn it."
In my haste, I'd forgotten. I mimicked Ruina Lindel's unique mana pattern and tried again.
This time, the circle accepted it like it recognized its master.
Crackle—!
The alchemy activated. The mana fused with the mandrake's toxins dispersed. The excess flowed into the magic crystal.
Smooth process, but I was sweating bullets controlling it. One slip, and it could veer off and affect everything else.
The mandrake regained its original color. But the alchemy wasn't done.
Crackle—!
The mandrake broke down at the cellular level. The fragments recombined, reverting to its pre-process form.
Hard to call it simple alchemy. It was on par with time-reversal magic.
Probably used to prevent material degradation, but for that alone, the efficiency was poor. Viewed differently, though, it proved Ruina Lindel's brilliance as an alchemist. Grasping and rearranging the world's structure—that was alchemy's essence.
The mandrake fully restored to its original state.
"Whoa..."
Felt like peeking into a new world. The shock of enlightenment.
Didn't mean my alchemy skill shot up, though. I still couldn't comprehend, let alone interpret it. My abilities fell short of delving into such complex arts.
All I'd done was keep the alchemy from spilling over.
"Whew... intense."
I slumped to the floor, wiping sweat from my brow. I'd come for a part-time gig, not this. Deserved extra pay.
Complaints for later—Ruina was still collapsed. I turned to her.
"Y-You okay?"
"Yeah. Mana got tangled."
My worry was overblown. She'd recovered in moments, color back to normal. She stood, checked the materials, then headed to the door.
Elraim and Rana had returned. Ruina stopped in front of Rana.
"S-Senior, I'm s-sorry..."
Rana stammered, uncharacteristically hesitant. She knew how badly she'd screwed up.
"I hate you. Get out."
Her voice rose slightly. The girl who'd shown no emotion even facing death was pissed.
Rana looked at me with teary eyes, begging for help. I shook my head—stay put.
"Don't ever come back."
Bang!
Before Rana could respond, the door slammed shut. Sighing deeply, the employer muttered from in front.
"...Today's ruined."
She trudged back to the workbench, motivation gone. Despite her flat tone, she was surprisingly moody.
"Let me help."
I stood by, assisting with cleanup. Not much to do—just erase the failure traces.
"That's enough. Sit there."
"Okay."
She pointed me to a chair, then went to a white box in the workshop corner. Opened it and pulled something out.
A cake. Strawberry shortcake. On two plates.
"Eat."
"Thanks for the meal."
I scooped a bit with the fork and savored it. Sweet and tangy—delicious dessert after so long.
Glancing over, I saw her munching hers. Cheeks puffed like a hamster.
Ruina Lindel loved sweets, especially cake—always stocked in the fridge.
'Maybe ask her to make one later.'
Suddenly craving a fridge. Handy for booze or drinks, and hers would be top-tier.
Lost in thought, I felt eyes on me. Ruina was staring intently.
"What?"
She swallowed and asked,
"Why knight department?"
"Huh?"
Out of nowhere. But I answered.
"Dad's a knight, family tradition..."
"Not that."
She shook her head, raising a hand to unfold a magic circle—the one I'd wrestled with earlier.
"This. No one but me can use it. My alchemy."
"Really?"
"Yeah. Even the professor gave up."
She nodded affirmatively. No wonder it felt off from standard alchemy. Me, a knight student, handling it? Shocking.
"Even if you ask, I just manipulated the circle. Can't say much. Never studied alchemy anyway."
"No lessons? Today your first?"
"Yeah. Know the theory, can't apply it."
"......"
She stared blankly, shocked. Then abruptly stood.
"Good job...!"
Huge emotional shift—she approached and patted my head. Even standing, she matched my seated height. Facing her wasn't bad.
"Kyle Arden, right?"
"Yes."
"Transfer? I'll help. Or to the professor..."
Excited now. Might cause a scene, so I stopped her quick.
"Happy in my department now. Pass."
"Oh..."
Shoulders slumped at rejection, but she persisted.
"Assistant? Pay big."
"If I had alchemy talent, maybe. Not interested."
"No talent? Then all alchemists should die."
"Sorry."
Tempting offer, but no. Keep saying it—no alchemy gift. If she were a mage, I'd jump.
"Such a waste..."
Regretful eyes, not giving up. I changed topics.
"Anything else to help with?"
"Clear that."
"Got it."
I cleaned silently. She sidled up, whispering,
"10 gold. No, 20. Do it."
"No."
Firm no. She didn't quit.
"Teach you my alchemy too."
Her persistence lasted till shift's end.
Heading to Contract Land after the gig.
"Kyle..."
"What."
Rana called in her most depressed tone yet. Face all pouty. Folks around whispered, thinking I was bullying her.
"What now...?"
"Do what senior said—don't go back."
Cool response.
"You're mean, Kyle... Grandpa said help folks in trouble."
"Think about what you did before saying that."
"Th-That was..."
Professors warn every semester start: Be careful in the craft building. Especially 3rd-year workshops—don't even knock.
Yet Rana knocked and flung the door open. No excuse.
Other seniors would react the same. Even beloved as she is, backlash inevitable.
"And you too."
I glared at the bird on her head. It flinched, hiding behind wings.
"Nene, I told it to..."
"Don't cover. Smart enough to judge."
Hears human speech fine. No way it missed craft department warnings.
Cheep...
It drooped, apologizing. Kinda.
"Nene says sorry. Won't again."
"Sigh... Anyway, why'd you come?"
"Heard you working, wanted to watch..."
So her. Hard to scold more—no malice.
Didn't erase the wrongdoing.
"Apologize later. Cake from Kingdom of Desserts might soften her."
"You'll go too?"
"Yeah. You don't know her tastes."
"When? Today? Tomorrow?"
"Not yet. Two weeks. Should be okay then."
Still mad now, but approachable later.
"Kyle! Thanks!"
She spread arms for a hug. I blocked as always. Elraim following chuckled at us.
'Haa...'
I sighed inwardly. Rana, Elraim—such a pain.
"Sigh..."