Novice Alchemist 5-30

 

Chapter 5-30 : Finishing The Order

 

「No way… This is not good! I need to go to Ells-san’s house!」(Sarasa)

I panickedly stood up from my seat, but when I was about to dash, Lorea-chan stopped me.

「Wait, Sarasa-san! Jasper-san is okay, don’t worry. Right before he shot his arrow at Baronet Kirk’s men, Ells-san quickly pulled his arm, so he missed the shot. Ells-san then forcefully dragged him into their house to hide.」(Lorea)

「Really…? Thank god…」(Sarasa)

I dropped onto my chair and breathed out in relief.

Jasper-san is a reliable neighbor, but I don’t want him to fight against Baronet Kirk’s men and put himself in danger for me.

Thankfully, his wife, Ells-san, is a cool-headed person.

「Should we tell everyone about our conflict with Baronet Kirk?」(Sarasa)

「No, I think most of the villagers already know about it.」(Lorea)

「Is that so? Wait… Don’t tell me… They are ostracizing us?」(Sarasa)

Conflict with a noble, especially a feudal lord who governs a territory, could be fatal in a small village like this.

I can understand if there are some people who choose to avoid us.

Well, I think it’s good. The villagers will be safer if they avoid us, but… I feel kind of lonely, honestly.

While I was thinking about that, Lorea-chan giggled.

「Fufu. Sarasa-san, all the villagers think that you are the hero who saved this village. On the contrary, they think that Baronet Kirk is scum. As the feudal lord, he didn’t even do anything when those Hellfire Grizzlies attacked this village. Don’t worry, everyone in this village is your ally.」(Lorea)

「You think so? Honestly, it makes me happy, but that means we have more reasons to tell everyone not to fight against Baronet Kirk for my sake. I can handle it myself.」(Sarasa)

「Alright, I will tell everyone. By the way, have you finished the prince’s hair growth agent?」(Lorea)

「Yup. Luckily, I was able to finish it without making any mistakes, so it cost less than I expected. All I need to do is to give it to the prince, but I can’t contact him from here.」(Sarasa)

「I see. So we just have to wait for him.」(Lorea)

「Yeah. I think he will come by spring.」(Sarasa)

While talking about various things, Lorea-chan and I finished our dinner.

After that, we took a bath, chilled in the store area for a bit, and then went to sleep.

 

◇　　　　◇　　　　◇

 

Five days later, His Highness Prince Ferik came to my store. I was surprised when I saw him entering my store because I thought he would come when spring arrived. so it was much earlier than I expected.

The reason he came much earlier than I expected is probably because he ordered someone to watch over me. They sent a report to the prince as soon as they confirmed my return so that the prince could immediately go to this village from the royal capital.

It’s nice to be able to give him the ordered goods early, but… I’m in trouble…

I was able to talk with him before because I have Iris-san and Kate-san with me, but they went to accompany Madison-san’s troop to the Lotze Territory and haven’t come back.

Iris-san is a noble, and Kate-san was taught by her mother to speak with royalty. Their presence alone could support me emotionally while I’m talking with the prince, but… They’re not here…

Lorea-chan is here with me, but I can’t ask her to sit with us. After all, Prince Ferik’s gaze and presence can do a lot of ‘damage’ to her. I’m sure she will pass out from just sitting in front of him for five seconds.

I want him to go home for now, but I can’t just tell him that I haven’t finished his hair growth agent and tell him to visit me again another time. I can’t lie to the royal family.

Aahh… I wish I could bury myself in a hole now…

It’ll be really tough for me to face a prince of this kingdom by myself, but it can’t be helped.

「W, Welcome to my store, Your Highness. It’s a pleasure to have you here for the second time.」(Sarasa)

I nervously welcomed the prince, guided him to the drawing room, and sat on the sofa face-to-face with him.

「So, have you completed my hair growth agent?」(Ferik)

「I have.」(Sarasa)

I nodded and put the bottle of hair growth agent on the table.

「Please apply it on your head in the morning when you wake up, and at night before you sleep. I think it will grow your hair by around ten centimeters in about three days.」(Sarasa)

「I see. So my hair won’t grow instantly.」(Ferik)

「Well, I can make a hair growth agent that can grow your hair instantly, but I don’t think it’s the best way to grow your hair since you have unique hair. However, I can make it for you if you want.」(Sarasa)

「No, I want to have strong, good hair even if it will take time. Besides, I still have a lot of time until I have to make an appearance in public, so I’m not really in a hurry.」(Ferik)

While replying to me, Prince Ferik smiled at me and put the hair growth agent in his pocket.

He then took out a leather bag full of gold coins from his jacket and placed it on the table.

「Thank you for your hard work. Here’s your reward.」(Ferik)

「P, Please wait a minute… Are you sure you don’t want to check its effectiveness first? You can pay me once your hair grows.」(Sarasa)

「It’s not necessary. You are Master Millis’ disciple, so I trust you. Well, if it doesn’t work, I will complain to your master and demand compensation from her. Fufu.」(Ferik)

「A, Ahaha…」(Sarasa)

Ugh, Master will scold me good if that happens…

Well, because my client is a prince, I put great care and attention into making it, so I think it’ll be fine.……….. I hope…

「I’m sorry, I’m just joking. I’ve checked your grades when you were a student at the Royal Alchemist Training School. It seems that you were an excellent student. It was only natural that someone as great as Ophelia Millis would make you her disciple. I wasn’t lying when I said I trust you. Otherwise, I wouldn’t come all the way here from the royal capital just to do business with you.」(Ferik)

His words make me happy, honestly, but… Hold on…

He checked my grades…? That means my personal information was leaked!?

No, wait… In the first place, the government runs that school, so it’s not weird if a member of the royal family can have whatever data they want from the school.

Well, I’m not boasting or anything but I had excellent grades when I was at school, so it’s all good, but still… it’s kinda embarrassing when one of the greatest people in this kingdom learned about your grades…

「Anyway, thank you for the hair growth agent, Miss Sarasa. Now I have accomplished one of my goals in coming here.」(Ferik)

「One of your goals in coming here…?」(Sarasa)

Does that mean that he has more business in this village?

Now that he mentions it, since I have physically checked the skin of his head when he first visited my store, he had no reason to come here again just to collect the hair growth agent. He could just stay in the royal capital and ask someone to get it for him.

I wonder what his other business is in this remote area…

 

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