Chapter 5-39 : The Beginning Of The New Year
It’s been a year since I opened my alchemy shop in Yok Village.
A lot happened and I became a married woman.
Yes… I married Iris-san a few weeks ago…
………………….
D, Don’t get me wrong! I had no choice, you know!
I promised I would visit the Lotze Territory, and when I arrived at the Lotze’s mansion, I was welcomed by Iris-san’s little sisters, Wisteria and Cattleya.
You know what, they are sooooooooooo cute!!
I stayed at the Lotze’s mansion for a couple of weeks to help the villagers expand their fields and teach Lorea-chan and Kate-san earth spells for cultivating purposes at the same time.
While I was there, Wisteria and Cattleya sometimes played with me. They had been treating me like an older sister.
They always asked me, “Sarasa onee-sama, please teach me how to use a sword!”, “Sarasa onee-sama, please teach me magic!”, “Sarasa onee-sama please teach me alchemy!”
They were so adorable when they called me ‘Onee-sama’, so I couldn’t help but teach them a lot of things.
I don’t have blood-related siblings since my parents died when I was young, but I do have siblings from the orphanage.
However, it was the first time I played with girls much younger than me, teaching them a lot of things and having great times with them.
After all, I spent most of my time studying when I was at the orphanage, so I didn’t have time to play with others.
If you are an alchemist whose goal is to become a master-class alchemist, normally, you won’t have time to marry someone and have children. It’s quite possible that you won’t get married for ten years or even more just like my master and Leonora-san.
I thought I wouldn’t get married just like them either. However, I was wrong…
Iris-san told me she would give me two cute little sisters if I signed the marriage certificate. There was no way I could refuse.
As a bonus, I would have a kind and gentle mother-in-law who looked like the adult version of Iris-san. I have vague memories of my mother, but Iris-san’s mother somehow reminded me of her. It felt so nostalgic being with her.
Of course, my hand would ‘naturally’ grab the pen and sign the certificate.
I mean… You know… Who doesn’t want cute little sisters and a kind mother?
It couldn’t be helped… Yeah… couldn’t be helped…
I’ve been living with Iris-san for a year. I know she is a good, responsible girl, so I didn’t have any worries about living with her for the rest of my life.
Well… I can’t deny that I agreed to marry her mostly because of her cute little sisters and kind mother.
If you ask me if anything has changed since I married Iris-san… No. Nothing has changed. Not really.
As always, I run my store in Yok Village, Iris-san and Kate-san work as Collectors, and Lorea-chan works as the clerk in my store.
Even though we are married, Iris-san and I never act like a married couple. We have no plan on adopting a child in the near future either.
Now that we have become a married couple, I thought of erasing all Iris-san’s debt to me, but she refused, saying that she would definitely pay it off.
Because of that, I don’t think Iris-san and Kate-san will quit working as Collectors anytime soon.
It seemed like the marriage relationship between Iris and me was only on paper. I wonder if it was a good thing or not…
〇〇〇
A few months later, my second spring in Yok Village arrived.
I’m now standing in front of my store, getting ready for a trip.
「Alright then. I’m going now. Please take care of my store while I’m gone.」(Sarasa)
「Don’t worry. You can leave it to us. We’ll be waiting for you here, Sarasa.」(Iris)
「Please be careful on your way, Sarasa-san!」(Lorea)
「I don’t think you would encounter any difficulties on your way, but I pray for your safety, Sarasa-san.」(Kate)
As usual, Iris-san sent me off with a gentle smile, Lorea-chan with a slightly worried look on her face, and Kate-san with a thumbs up, believing that I would be just fine.
Oh yeah, I said that there has been no change, but as you might have noticed, the way Iris-san and Kate-san call me has changed.
Iris-san used to call me Store Owner-dono, but now she calls me Sarasa without honorifics.
Kate-san also calls me by name, but unlike Iris-san, she uses honorifics when she calls my name.
Iris-san is my wife now, and Kate-san is my… Umm… concubine? So it would be awkward if they still called me ‘Store Owner’.
It was hard and kind of embarrassing for Iris-san and Kate-san to call me by my name at first but they eventually got used to it.
「Oh, right. I almost forgot. Lorea-chan please take care of my herb field in the backyard while I’m gone.」(Sarasa)
「Of course. All I need to do is to water it and spread the fertilizer you once taught me to make, right?」(Lorea)
「Yup. I’m counting on you.」(Sarasa)
I could ask Michael-san and Izu-san to take care of my herb field in the backyard, but I’m afraid they will be busy taking care of the large herb field next to my store.
By the way, they have been doing great taking care of the herb field. They learn fast and work hard. I’m proud of them.
「Well then, it’s time to go.」(Sarasa)
「Sarasa-san, please be really careful, okay?」(Lorea)
When I was about to turn around, Lorea-chan looked at me with teary eyes, but I looked back at her with a smile.
「Lorea-chan, you worry too much. I came all the way from the royal capital, you know? I’ll be fine.」(Sarasa)
「I know, but still… the royal capital is very far away from here, right?」(Lorea)
「Well, that’s true… But I have to go no matter what.」(Sarasa)
Yup. My destination is the royal capital.
It’s very far from this village. It won’t be an easy trip for sure.
However, I have no choice but to go.
Alchemists in this country have to go to the royal capital to declare and pay their taxes to the government once a year, and I’m not an exception.
If you don’t do this, there will be a penalty for you.
If the amount of tax you don’t pay is not that large, the government will revoke your alchemist license. If it’s large and is considered detrimental to the country, not only will you lose your alchemist license, but you will also be put into jail.
Fortunately, the money I got from Prince Ferik is more than enough to pay my taxes, so I can rest easy.
It’s been a year since I left the royal capital, so I’m looking forward to going there and meeting my master and Maria-san. If I’m lucky, I might be able to meet some of my juniors at school.
I hope I could see the two seniors who were taking care of me when I was at school, especially Pricia-senpai since she helped me free Adelbert-san from his debt to Baronet Kirk. However, none of them have their own stores. They are still working at their masters’ stores, so I don’t think they will be visiting the royal capital.
Perhaps I will visit the town where Pricia-senpai is working on my way home and visit her at her master’s store to express my gratitude.
「Lorea, you don’t have to worry. Sarasa will be fine. You know how strong she is, right?」(Iris)
「I know, but because of that, she sometimes does reckless things. Am I wrong?」(Lorea)
「Ah, I can see your point.」(Iris)
「Eeehh… I’m not like that!」(Sarasa)
「Really? Then, Sarasa-san, can you promise me not to go inside a hideout of a group of bandits by yourself if you find one?」(Lorea)
「Th, that’s…」(Sarasa)
Bandits were the reason why I lost my parents and became an orphan. I can’t control my anger whenever I encounter ones.
I should start to learn how to keep my cool for Lorea-chan’s sake.
「I… I promise I will control my emotions!」(Sarasa)
Lorea-chan smiled with a troubled face.
「…Umm… Alright. Please enjoy your trip then.」(Lorea)
「Un! I’ll be back in a few days.」(Sarasa)
After being sent off by the three, I left the village while thinking about my experience living in Yok Village for a year as an alchemist.
Without a doubt, this past year has been the most eventful year in my life.
I met a lot of people and experienced a lot of good things and bad things, and I learned a lot from them.
I have a feeling that I will encounter many difficulties and hardships in the coming years as well, but luckily, I’m not alone.
I have so many people who care about me, and I’m sure I’ll be able to overcome any difficulties with them by my side.
She going do it… She will invade bandit hideout lol, prob will hide from them till messager show up to thanks her
Thank you for the update!
Wish Sarasa would learn something about previous owner of her shop on this trip. Based on hints he was grandpa with great skills and a lot of magic power, maybe even her master’s acquaintance.