Sozai Saishu 33

Chapter 33: A Good Alchemist’s Shop

I sat down at a chair located at the corner for a while, then Lumia came back with a tea set in her hands.

“Have some black tea and cookies.”

“Thank you for your kindness.”

Not only tea but cookies were also served. Is this welcome for new customers, or is she apologizing for being an apprentice?

I don’t know, but I’m happy that cookies were included.

First of all, I drank the tea that was set down in front of me.

The aroma of the high-quality tea leaves spread inside my mouth all at once. It had no leaves inside the tea as well so it’s very easy to drink.

After lightly moisturizing my throat with black tea, next are the cookies that were served on a small plate.

Giving out the scent of butter and sugar, I picked up a cookie and popped it into my mouth.

Combined with its crispy texture, its mellow buttery taste and moderate sweetness filled my senses. 

If a cookie fails, it may look sloppy or cracks, but there are none of those in these cookies.

It’s not too sweet, so I can eat this forever.

“This cookie is really delicious! Which store did you buy these from?”

I definitely want to stock up on cookies as delicious as these and take them on adventures with me.

“W-well, those were made by me, so they’re not sold anywhere….”

“Lumia-san made these!? That’s amazing. Do you like making sweets?”

Such a high level of girliness. She’s cute, her personality is great, and she likes making sweets on top of that.

“Yes. I like how it is similar to alchemy which also requires slightly adjusting the ingredients as well, like baking.”

Lumia answered so while looking a bit shy.

……Her reason behind baking went so far above my imaginations.

Well, whatever the reason, it won’t change the fact that she’s great at making sweets.

The black tea I drank down counterbalances the sweetness of the cookies, which is also delicious.

Beside the chair was a large window pane, and sunlight shined in from the outside pleasantly.

As I sipped my tea accompanied with cookies like this, it feels as if I am relaxing in a hidden coffee shop.

“Then, Shuu-san. Can you show me the materials?”

“Oh, that’s right. The tea and cookies were so delicious that I completely forgot.”

Remembering my original purpose, I took out the materials from my Magic Bag.

“I want you to buy these Yamadokoro and Kurtz fruits.”

Two Yamadokoro and two top-quality Kurtz fruits were laid down on the table.

Claus said that alchemists would buy both of these at a high price.

“……!? I’ll take a look!”

Lumia quietly said so and scrutinized the two materials.

By the way, the reason why I won’t sell all of my materials at the same time is that I want to keep some for myself. No matter how high the price is, as a collector maniac, I can’t let them go that easily.

Plus, it can be kept in stock for now in case Claus needs to buy some in a hurry.

Lumia’s face while looking at the materials was very serious. This is probably her mode as an alchemist.

For Yamadokoro, their price was bargained down at the previous store because they claimed that I harvested these wrongly. I want to believe that Lumia won’t do that.

While drinking tea and waiting for the appraisal result, Lumia slowly placed the material back on the table.

“How is it?”

“I-it’s amazing, Shuu-san! It’s amazing just to bring in Yamadokoro which are difficult to collect, however, these were also perfectly harvested! Not a single scratch and all the fine hairs were properly pulled out……. Whether this process was done or not greatly influences the quality of the end product!”

“I was told about that so I was very careful in collecting it.”

Previously, my materials were no good because they were harvested incorrectly. Perhaps because of what I was told, Lumia’s praise felt very itchy.

I didn’t expect to be this highly praised.

I am very happy to have collected the materials seriously.

“And please take a look at this Kurtz fruit. I’ve never seen one with this much magic power inside it! Kurtz fruits are used to make Medium Potions, however, if I use ones with such high quality, I may be able to make High Potions!”

“I-I see. I’m glad Lumia-san is pleased.”

“Ha-, excuse me. I was so excited because I saw some good materials.”

Seeing that I was a bit taken aback, Lumia regained her composure and straightened up.

It seemed like she would get excited over alchemy-related matters.

Seeing another side of Lumia made her even more charming to me.

“So these materials, how much would you buy them for?”

I frankly asked her about the most important thing: price.

Yamadokoros are ranked red. Therefore, I should get at least a few silver coins for it.

Kurtz fruits are orange-coloured materials. Claus bought it for ten gold coins.

Is it okay to expect similar prices?

“I’ll take each Yamadokoro for six silver coins. For Kurtz fruits that are this high of a quality, I’m not that confident but, how about eleven gold coins each?”

Ooh, amazing. She gave me a price that was even higher than what Claus gave me.

“Yes, that’s fine. The store near the south castle gate was about to buy Yamadokoro for three bronze coins each, so I’m relieved that the price you gave me is reasonable.”

“…To bargain down the price of such perfect materials….! So that person is still doing things like that. I’m embarrassed as a fellow alchemist.”

The normally amicable Lumia was disgusted.

Judging from what her tone, he seemed to be a repeated offender.

It seemed like she also doesn’t agree with his deeds that bring shame to the name of alchemists.

Personally, I’m proud when I can collect good materials and deliver them to clients. I also disapprove of adventurers who collect materials roughly and sell them over-priced. Therefore, I can relate to her feelings.

If you do something bad like that, the people around you who are completely unrelated to those deeds may be viewed badly as well.

“Then, I’ll prepare the money.”

While thinking that there were similar people everywhere, Lumia stood up and went to the back room.

Then, she immediately returned with a leather bag.

“Two Kurtz fruits for 22 gold coins and two Yamadokoro for 12 silver coins.”

Lumia carefully piled up the coins on the table and counted them, and I also counted them to confirm.

“Yes. No problem.”

When I said that, Lumia put the money in the leather bag and offered it to me, and she collected the materials.

“Thank you. Thanks to Shuu-san, I received some good materials!”

“I’m also pleased that you are happy.”

Receiving satisfaction from materials that I collected. No better happiness for me who collected these materials.

In my previous world, the exchange of goods was impersonal, so it felt even more impactful now.

“U-um, well….”

Lumia, who was immersed in satisfaction for a while, looked at the Kurtz fruits and started to fidget nervously.

“Ahh, if you don’t process it quickly, the Kurtz fruits will deteriorate. Well then, I’ll excuse myself now.”

“I’m sorry! Thank you for your understanding!”

Lumia bowed her head apologetically.

Ah, this is it. Claus told me, “Hurry up and leave.” However, this is a normal response.

If you take too much time, the precious materials will be ruined. That’s certainly not what I want to happen.

I actually wanted to buy a potion, but it seems that both she and her master are busy, so let’s come back again another time.

I stood up and left the store.

“Thank you! I’ll wait for you with some cookies, so please come again!”

Although they were both Alchemist Shops, this one was this different.

Unlike the one before, I returned home while feeling fully satisfied.

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UPDATE: Pomello’d picked up this series. You guys can continue reading over there~