Chapter 137
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 137
Chapter Title: Alchemist
Morning. We were preparing to leave the duchy. Or, more accurately, the coachman was. While he made the arrangements, Duke and Liche were talking at the entrance of the mansion.
Next to Duke wasn't the butler I saw yesterday, but one who was holding Liche's hand and sobbing uncontrollably. I guessed this must be the butler who was one of Liche's only allies.
"Are you okay?"
"...Yeah. I'm a bit better now."
A lot had happened overnight. The head of one of the Empire's pillar ducal houses had been replaced, and for some, a father had died.
"How's your sister?"
"Karol seems to need more time."
"I see... I wanted to at least say goodbye before we left."
Liche, conversing with Duke, seemed to have recovered quite well after a night's sleep. Sleep truly is a wonderful thing.
"Take care of yourself. And if you have time, stop by the mansion occasionally."
"Okay. I'll drop by if I'm ever in the area."
After their short farewell, Duke came over to greet us as well. Even though I had killed Gerald, the man had been fully intent on doing the same to me. Duke wasn't foolish enough to be unable to separate the personal from the professional.
"About our conversation yesterday... I'm counting on you."
What did we talk about yesterday...? Was it that the flowers were pretty?
...I have no idea. I'll just say I agree.
"Uh... um... yup."
And with that, we boarded the carriage and left the Winchester Duchy.
***
No matter how fine the carriage, the ride was never comfortable. After a solid week of living in one, you'd think I'd be used to it, but not at all. It seemed I just wasn't built for carriage travel.
'I need to raise these kids quickly so we can start teleporting.'
I stretched to loosen my stiff body.
"Where are we going now?"
"The Adventurer's Guild."
"But we just got here...?"
"We lazed around the whole way here."
If we had just returned from a job, I would have gone straight to an inn to sleep. But since we'd done nothing but relax in the carriage for a week, it was time to get straight to work.
"If you want to rest, I can go alone."
"...No. I feel like you'll abandon me, so I'll go with you."
"Suit yourself."
We quickened our pace.
When we arrived at the Adventurer's Guild, a scene that gave me a strong sense of déjà vu greeted me.
"Again...?"
At this point, isn't this their main job? Gathering and murmuring whenever something happens. Are they like one-time extras hired for a drama?
The only difference from usual was that today, they weren't murmuring about a person, but were gathered in front of the request board.
Did someone smear crap all over it?
"Adela."
"Ah, you're here just in time."
"I am?"
Adela was looking for me? Has that ever happened before?
"Did you miss me after not seeing me for a week?"
I said, and Adela's expression immediately soured. Guess not.
Still wearing a foul look, Adela raised her hand. Her finger pointed toward the adventurers crowded in front of the request board.
"Do you see that crowd of adventurers over there?"
"Ah. I was just about to ask what was going on. Did someone post a request to subjugate an S-rank monster?"
"Not quite, but something similar."
If it's on par with an S-rank monster subjugation, shouldn't they be nominating an S-rank adventurer instead of just posting it for anyone?
"There's a request posted by the Alchemist."
"The S-rank adventurer, Alchemist?"
"Yes. And as it happens, you needed to meet with her, didn't you, Luke?"
Was there an event like this? To be honest, I didn't know anything about the Alchemist. She never appeared before the end of the main story, so I figured she'd show up in a side story.
The only bit of trivia I knew was that she loved to travel and roamed all over the continent. I thought she'd be hard to meet, but I guess I'm lucky.
"I'll go check it out."
"Very well."
I headed toward the request board to see what interesting thing had been posted. I told the adventurers who were loitering around without any intention of taking the job to scram. At first, they were about to get angry, but then they saw my face and quickly moved aside.
I scanned the numerous requests, looking for the Alchemist's. It was stuck right in the middle of the board, slapped on top of other request forms.
Request!
Looking for an assistant to help me!
Need someone super strong!
Difficulty unknown!
Reward: Transformation Potion!
I'll come to the Adventurer's Guild to pick you up in a week at noon, so if you're interested, be there waiting!
From, the Alchemist.
It looked like something scribbled on a piece of paper. In the bottom right corner, there was even a small drawing of a rabbit.
"This is a request form...?"
"Was she like this in the novel you read, Luke...?"
"I don't know. The Alchemist never showed up."
One thing was for sure: she had a more eccentric personality than the other S-rank adventurers I'd met. It's quite a skill to be able to convey one's personality so clearly through writing alone.
"Seeing this, I understand why the adventurers were just staring."
"It's not that they were just staring; it's that they *could only* stare."
The request was vague, and it wasn't clear what level of skill was required. Plus, it was a request from the Alchemist, yet the difficulty was listed as unknown. For anyone with mediocre skills, taking this would be suicide.
And the biggest problem was...
"What's a transformation potion?"
"I wonder...? I'm not sure either."
It's one thing for me not to know, since my knowledge is limited to the novel, but for Liche, a native of this world, to be clueless said it all.
People do this work to earn money, but with no monetary reward and some strange "transformation potion" listed instead, of course no one would take it.
The problem was, I had business with the Alchemist.
"Think I can just get the recommendation letter without doing this?"
"She might be young, but she can't be *that* foolish..."
If I just asked for a recommendation letter, she would obviously say she'd write one if I helped her. It's all about give and take.
"Ah, for fuck's sake."
With no other choice, I snatched the request form off the board. I went straight to Adela and handed it to her.
"Are you taking it?"
"Yup."
"Understood. We'll hold onto the request form. You're free to do as you please until a week from now. You can even take other requests."
"No, I'm planning to rest for the week."
I had no idea how much she'd work me in a week, so I needed to bank up my rest in advance to avoid feeling cheated later.
***
A week later, at the Adventurer's Guild.
She said she'd pick us up at noon, so I was waiting at the guild about five minutes beforehand, just in case the Alchemist arrived early. But she wasn't there. It seemed she planned to arrive exactly on time. I wondered if she used teleportation.
Five minutes passed. As the clock struck twelve.
A small, glowing magic circle appeared in the center of the Adventurer's Guild, and soon, a person emerged from it. Oh my, how fascinating!
Slender arms and legs, a short stature, and brown, bobbed hair. A small girl, who looked to be about 150cm tall, ran toward the reception desk.
With every step she took, her oversized robe, which didn't fit her body, billowed, and the flasks and glass bottles hanging from her waist clinked.
"Adela! It's been a while!"
"You were here just the other day to post the request."
"Hehe... still, it's good to see you!"
The Alchemist stood on her tiptoes in front of the reception desk, reaching up with her hands. A single strand of hair sticking up from the middle of her head swayed back and forth. Adela patted her head as if she found it cute. I knew Adela was young, but for the Alchemist to call her "big sister," she must still be in her teens.
But her way of speaking and her appearance... was it just me, or did she strangely resemble Yui? I glanced down at Yui beside me. She tilted her head in confusion.
"What is it?"
"Nothing."
I looked back toward the reception desk.
"Oh, right. Adela! Did any adventurers take my request?"
"The person who took your request is right behind you."
*Swish.* The Alchemist turned around and met our eyes. Then she scurried over and greeted us.
"Hello! My name is Amy! Thank you for accepting my request!"
"Hey. I'm Arthur."
"Luke..."
I tried to use a fake name, but from a distance, Adela shot me a glare.
"Actually, I'm Luke."
"I see! Nice to meet you, Luke!"
After that, the Alchemist, Amy, introduced herself to Luna and Liche in turn, and then greeted Yui. But then...
"Hmm?"
She grabbed Yui's hand with both of hers in greeting, then suddenly let out a questioning sound.
"Are you perhaps a vampire?"
"Huh? Y-yes..."
"Wow! I heard all the vampires were dead! If it's not too much trouble, could I have some of your blood!?"
"Eek...!"
Suddenly brandishing a syringe, Amy's eyes changed. Yui looked at me, pleading for help. It seems the old saying "it takes a brat to know one" was true. From the look in Amy's eyes, I felt like if I left her alone, she'd drain Yui of blood until she was a mummy.
"More importantly, what do you need our help with?"
As I changed the subject, Amy seemed to remember, letting go of Yui's hand. Yui immediately scurried behind me.
"Oh! Right! Before that, please take this!"
Amy handed each of us a translucent blue gem.
"What's this?"
"A Transference Stone! If you throw it on the ground, it will teleport you to a pre-set coordinate!"
Oh... such a thing existed? Why didn't I know about this until now?
"I'll head on first, so you all follow right after me!"
With those words, Amy waved goodbye to Adela and immediately threw the Transference Stone on the ground. A small magic circle, just like the one she'd appeared from, glowed where the stone shattered, and then Amy vanished.
"We didn't even get to hear what the request is about."
Was she scatterbrained, or just impatient? In any case, it seemed we'd have to hear the details when we got there. We exchanged glances for a moment before throwing our own Transference Stones to the ground.
Just like before, a magic circle flashed, and when I came to my senses, we were in a different place.
The first thing that caught my eye was a large plaza with a fountain. The surrounding buildings were made of iron, in a style I had never seen in the Empire.
"Where are we...?"
"Welcome! To Machina, the land of magitech!"
The place we had arrived at was the city of the dwarves, Machina.