Crowley is a worker. He wants to do requests right after arriving in the atelier.
I wanted to talk a little more, but fine. I have one request that will expire tomorrow, so I will have him do that.
I’m sure he can get all the materials on time.
What I’m handing him is a recipe for elixir. The moment he sees this, his expression stiffens.
It’s like he can’t believe it, and I turn to him with a puzzled expression.
“Is something wrong?”
“Is this Fleur de Einsel that is listed the phantom flower that grows in the pitcher plant field?”
“If you know where it is, that makes it simpler. The expiration date is tomorrow, so please get it.”
“Tomorrow!? Is this a joke?”
He really is surprised.
There’s a lot to gather, but there should be plenty of time with the magic circles.
I’ll take him to their room right away.
And so, I take Crowley to the second floor, and he looks around the room with a dumbfounded expression.
“If you use these, you can instantly teleport near that place, and pick it in half a day.”
“A-are these the portals I have heard about…”
Crowley isn’t listening to me, he’s just examining the magic circles.
“Oh? These are sealed. And with intricate sturdy seals too…”
“Gegeh!? T-that bastard! When did he…!?”
That guy is still causing trouble for me even after he left.
“I can’t use it, but this is a wonderful sealing spell. I have never seen one so beautiful.”
Says Crowley with a big smile after turning to me.
Uwah, he’s so mad.
“I apologize for sounding rude, but are you aware that the pitcher plant field is an Area Zero?”
Yes, I knew that. It’s a tiresome area where only monsters above mid level appear.
Loyd would sigh every time he saw he had to go to an Area Zero.
“Of course I do.”
“And yet you’re asking me to pick there? Don’t you think the picking level is strange?”
What’s he on about? I don’t get what he means.
Why is mad at me for asking him to pick what’s on the recipe?
That said, I’m a kind alchemist. He’s probably just nervous because it’s his first request.
And so, I pick quest documents that are a level down.
“I’m sorry. I see the expiration date is too close. These ones are longer.”
I lay out five documents on a table so Crowley can choose.
“These are also materials from Area Zero. Did you not hear me? Area Zero are typically too dangerous to pick materials.”
Crowley sighs.
People can’t pick from Area Zero? That’s the first I’m hearing of it.
That guy picked from Area Zero all the time, and would deliver stuff like this in half a day.
“This is just my conjecture, but I think your perception of the difficulty of materials is not right.”
“Eh?”
I’m taken aback by what he said.
“It seems you’re not aware. For example, this Kainel herb is in an Area One.
Area One means it can be picked, but I would need to ask for assistance from the adventurer guild, so it would take at least a week.”
A week for a mere Area One…?
I can’t even argue, because he’s a hero of this country. That makes what Crowley says sound true.
And he’s slowly and properly explaining.
“T-then what about Area Zero?”
“A living hell.”
Crowley then explains how terrifying Area Zero are. Just how dangerous are they?
These are places that people hesitate to approach, let alone go in deep.
There is no chance for someone going in solo, but even if a country sent a thousand knights, they would be wiped out in one night, is what he says.
It’s to the point where four or five master ranked parties with perfect coordination just might be able to explore them and come back alive.
Everything Crowley is saying is turning my common sense upside down.
“If what you say is true, Lord Alchemia, your former mage was a master rank among master ranks.
I would not come close in terms of skill. We are talking about a possible chronicle rank.”
Loyd, a chronicle rank?
No way…
He’s a useless mage with the lowest material picking rate.
I’m baffled, but Crowley has a light smile on his face, and speaks politely.
“But you also have your strong points. I hear your inventiveness and ability to transmute are excellent. And I also hear your transmutation rate is a hundred percent.
That is incredible. What you lack is knowledge about materials. Everyone has their misunderstandings, but if you correct that, you can become a great alchemist that will be fitting of your former exclusive mage.”
He says with a smile.
I’m misunderstanding? I can become a great alchemist?
It’s almost like he’s saying my achievements were thanks to Loyd.
What’s with him? I’m already the greatest alchemist.
He’s trash that’s putting the blame on me because he can’t pick materials.
I was listening quietly because he’s supposed to be a hero, but he’s just saying whatever he wants.
It’s too dangerous to pick in Area Zero? Loyd is a chronicle rank because he could do it alone?
No, that can’t be right. No way.
The materials I’m designating are all basic. I’m the chronicle rank.
“Let’s not get carried away and say that useless mage was a chronicle rank.”
“Lord Alchemia?”
“Hum, I don’t know how much you degraded in Noir’s atelier, but if you can’t even pick this, we have a problem.”
I say before I have time to think.
He’s saying so much nonsense, that I forget to put on the respectful tone.
“Excuse me?”
There’s irritation in his voice.
“Stop blaming me for your incompetence. Even the incompetent mage I had before could pick these by himself, so if you can’t do that, you really are just throwing the blame on me.
Aren’t you ashamed to call yourself number one when you’re so incompetent? At this point, I wonder if you didn’t just hide behind the hero during the battle with the demon king.
You should relinquish that position you don’t deserve.”
Crowley’s face is red with anger, but I feel no blame.
He’s the one that went up in the world thanks to others, despite being useless.
If he really was that good, his former atelier would be famous. Even I turned mine into the number one atelier in the kingdom, despite the handicap that was an incompetent mage.
The fact that his former atelier was obscure should have been the only tip he needed.
“With an incompetent alchemist and you being incompetent yourself, it’s no wonder that atelier was obscure.”
I feel like I hear something snapping inside him.
“Hey, you!”
His gentle tone is gone, and his now cold to the core tone makes my shoulders tremble.
And his expression has gone from anger to a blank one.
“Take that back. Noir is not incompetent.”
“S-shut up! I just said the truth!
If she wasn’t incompetent, she would have a first rate atelier like me.
If scraping along in a remote region doesn’t make you a third rate alchemist, what does!?”
I let Crowley have it, and he sighs a little.
“Enough.”
“Eh?”
“I’m canceling my contract with you, and going back to Noir’s place. I shouldn’t have bothered her and come to a place like this.”
Crowley turns around and heads for the exit.
D-did I mess up!? I accidentally argued back because it was just like with Loyd.
I got emotional, even though I probably can’t find a better mage in the country.
I rush to apologize, but Crowley isn’t listening. In fact, he brushes my hand away, and explodes with anger.
“I would let it go if you only had things to say about me, but I won’t overlook you speaking ill of that girl.
Noir always tried her best for my sake. She accepted the selfish requests of an old man. And yet, you insult her by calling her an incompetent alchemist despite not knowing her.
I never dreamed that a respected alchemist could be so foolish. I would much, much rather stay with Noir and watch her improve!”
And then, Crowley leaves.
I’m left in a stupor, watching him go.
I look at the pile of requests, and panic. What should I do? It took me two months to form a contract with Crowley.
I can’t count on other mages, most of the talented ones are already employed.
I learned that the hard way in the last two months.
And in the middle of that, I lucked out when the number one mage in the association answered my call. But now that contract is void.
When it rains it pours.
Suddenly, without any warning, a messenger of the queen comes to the atelier with a haughty attitude.
“Lord Alchemia! You should be honored! Our queen, the most elegant in the kingdom, has a request for you!”
“H-hum… I don’t have an exclusive mage…”
The queen should know that.
“Strange? Didn’t Crowley come here?”
H-how do they know that? The queen’s messenger doesn’t hesitate to answer.
“The queen has sent countless letters to Mister Crowley for your sake over the last two months!”
E-eh!?
The queen was working behind the scenes!?
Come to think of it, I was rejected at first, but then suddenly accepted, and things moved quickly from there.
It was a little vague how he came to work here, but that was why…
“Where is he anyway?”
“W-well…”
Crowley is gone, but I can’t say I made him mad and he annulled the contract.
The queen values elegance and is soft on common people’s indiscretions, but punishes nobles’ failures a lot.
And I, Lord Alchemia, am a first generation noble.
A chill runs down my spine, just thinking about explaining things to her.
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