The Tale of a Little Alchemist Blessed by the Spirits Vol 2

Chapter 1:
The Workshop Is Open!

SPRING HAD COME. IT WAS THE START OF A NEW season, with tender new leaves sprouting and flowers blooming everywhere you looked. The sky was a soft shade of blue, and the weather was perfect. Sunlight gently filtered through the fresh young leaves of the trees, casting a dappled glow as beautiful as a blessing from the gods.

I stood in front of my very own workshop—with my divine beast Leaf right beside me, of course. My heart was practically beating out of my chest. Why, you ask?

Because today was the grand opening of my workshop, the one I’d always dreamed of!

My name is Daisy von Preslaria. I’m ten years old and the second daughter of a viscount of the royal capital in the kingdom of Saltenburg. In our kingdom, every child attends a Baptism when they turn five, and there they are given an Occupation from the gods. At mine, I was told I would be an Alchemist, and ever since that day, I’ve poured my heart and soul into the study of Alchemy, working out of a laboratory on our manor grounds. My dream was to have my own workshop in the capital, and thankfully I’ve had so much support and encouragement from everyone—including my family, our household staff, and even the fairies from my garden.

The first thing I ever made was a potion, the foundation of any Alchemist’s craft. Potions are liquid medicine, you know. As I immersed myself in my studies, I found myself wanting to make even higher-quality potions, so I planted my own herb garden to grow ingredients. Before long, I was able to craft potions of the highest quality.

And all my hard work paid off, because once word spread about my potions, I began to supply a regular order of them to the kingdom’s military every week. Thanks to the payment from my government contract, I was able to realize my dream and fund the construction of my workshop. It was located on the outskirts of the capital near the northwest gate, in an area that sat right between the merchant district and the lower nobility quarter. The gate itself was bustling with adventurers coming and going from the nearby dungeon city all the time, so it had lots of activity and great foot traffic.

So many people who had supported me along the way sent me potted flowers to celebrate the workshop’s grand opening. Right now, they decorated the spaces outside the second- and third-floor windows, covering the whole exterior of my workshop in beautiful blossoms. Each pot of flowers was a heartfelt wish for my dream to succeed, gifted by someone who believed in me. Potted plants were a custom in our kingdom: Giving a blooming pot of flowers was how one would congratulate new business owners. It meant, “May your business take root here and flourish just like these.”

My plot was laid out with the Alchemy workshop on the right side of the building and a bakery on the left. There, people could buy bread to take home; there was also a café space where our customers could eat. A carved wooden sign hung between the two outlets that read ATELIER DAISY. Two large daisies—my namesake flower—were carved on either side of the letters. The text was painted in a cheerful green, the daisies in soft pink and white.

Reaching for the doorknob of the workshop, I stepped inside, with Leaf accompanying me, of course.

There was a service counter straight past the entrance, where customers and staff could interact face-to-face. On the counter was a bell for customers to ring in case Marcus or I were working in the back or helping at the bakery.

“Thanks for getting everything ready, Marcus!” I called over to him as he stocked freshly made potions in the storage cabinet.

“Good morning!” Marcus paused to turn and greet me properly as he gave his report. “I’ve done the watering, made a batch of distilled water, and checked our potion inventory. Everything’s good to go! I’m also going to make the delivery to the military this afternoon. It’s a bit early, but I figured I’d stop by to let them know we’re open!”

Marcus was my trusted assistant and a fellow Alchemist with the Appraisal skill, a rare ability I shared. He was a year older than me and used to be a bit of a troublemaker, but thanks to some strict training by our family butler Sebastian, he’d grown into a polite and thoughtful boy. He came to assist me with the workshop after I’d moved out of my parents’ house.

“Good thinking,” I said. “It’s important to say hello and let them know we’re officially open for business. Thanks, Marcus!” I left the workshop feeling at ease.

There were two types of shelves in the bakery: one for displaying sample products for our customers to browse, and another one kept extra clean that stored the actual products for sale. Miina was currently arranging freshly baked bread on those shelves to prepare for opening.

Miina was a white cat-type beastfolk girl, the same age as me, and a skilled cook. She came with me because she wanted the people of the capital to try the fluffy bread and pastries I invented. I could always tell how she was feeling by watching her tail. She’s adorable!

The only thing that physically set Miina apart from humans were her cat ears and tail. And as long as she always wore her apron, there was no danger of getting fur into the food.

“Morning, Miina!” I said. “Is everything ready for today’s opening?”

Miina set the tray she was carrying down on the table and turned toward me. “Good morning, Miss Daisy! Everything’s ready on the bakery side. The morning batch of both today’s regular breads and savory breads are all baked and ready to go. Now all that’s left is to put the rest of them on the shelves!” She looked as though she could barely contain herself in her excitement for the opening. Her whole face glowed with curiosity and anticipation. I wondered if she was imagining what kind of customers we’d receive today.

“Since you’re managing both baking and customer service, don’t hesitate to call me if it gets too busy, okay? I can help you out,” I said.

“Thanks! I just can’t wait to see our customers’ faces when they taste the bread!” Her white tail wagged from side to side with excitement.

I usually left the daily bakery selection up to Miina, and we would have four types available today. First was a flatter version of our fluffy bread, topped with salami and thinly sliced seasonal asparagus. Next, a Danish covered with Chantilly crème and slices of fresh strawberries. Then we had our two standard items: our original recipe fluffy bread, and crescent-shaped Danishes. Prices varied depending on the goods, but typically they were 300 to 500 lira apiece.

We also offered tea and fruit-infused water for drinks; today’s water was flavored with oranges. No one on our staff was over the age of fifteen, the legal drinking age in the kingdom, so we didn’t sell any alcohol.

Miina returned to organizing the bread, and I quietly stepped out so I wouldn’t get in her way.

My next stop was the accounting office, where Katya was already hard at work. She didn’t work for us full-time, but she came in early today to do a final check of the ledgers. I was the one handling the workshop’s accounting and finances, but Katya had agreed to keep an eye on things and help out occasionally.

She was a very responsible girl two years older than me, and she was the daughter of the commerce guildmaster. Thanks to that, she had all sorts of connections with different merchants and craftsmen. Honestly, I couldn’t have built the workshop without her. She helped me with everything from finding the property to introducing me to interior decorators and more.

Her dream was to be a merchant and run her own trading company someday. That suited her, didn’t it?

“Good morning, Katya. How’s everything looking so far?” I asked as I opened the door.

“Good morning, Miss Daisy,” she replied. “I’ve finished checking the ledgers. They’re all set up, but just make sure you’re recording all sales and expenses going forward, okay?”

“Sure, I’ll do my best!”

A week was seven days long, with the last day a rest day. It was basically a holiday, so Atelier Daisy would follow that rule and be open six days a week with the last as everyone’s day off.

And that was our team! Oh…but there…are still more friends I haven’t introduced yet.

I said goodbye to Katya and took the back exit out of the workshop. There was a big herb garden behind the building where the nature fairies and mandrakes were soaking up the warm spring sun. They were all precious friends of mine who followed me here from the manor garden when I opened the workshop.

The fairies were hard at work in the garden tending to the herbs and vegetables. Before we opened, Miina had asked me if she could grow culinary herbs as well for the bakery and our meals, so our garden now contained more than just medicinal plants; we grew rosemary, chives, basil, and other herbs as well.

The fairies helped keep pests and animals out of the garden. Thanks to them, the plants here stayed vibrant and lively all year round, as if it were always spring.

Soon, it was finally about time to open.

The aroma of freshly baked bread wafted through the air, and before long I saw windows in the neighborhood swinging open one after the other. Residents peeked their heads out, curious about what was happening at the workshop.

Adventurers heading toward the dungeon city from the northwest gate also paused on their way, sniffing the air and glancing over at the workshop as they followed the source of the delicious smell.

The nearby church bell tolled, signaling that it was time. Leaf and I hurried back into the Alchemy workshop.

Our first customers were a group of four adventurers, two men and two women, who’d been drawn in by the lovely aroma of the bread.

“That smells incredible,” one of the women told Miina. “Is it coming from the food here?”

“Welcome in!” Miina said. “Yes, it’s bread made with Alchemy to make it soft and fluffy. This one’s airy and soft, while this one is crisp yet moist!”

The two women zeroed in on the strawberry Danishes.

“C’mon, buy me one. They look so good!” one pleaded.

It seemed this adventuring party was a group of couples, judging by how the women clung to the men’s arms as they begged. They ended up buying two strawberry Danishes and two salami flatbreads, and they happily ate their snacks as they walked down the street.

Not long after that, the Alchemy workshop also received its first customers. I stepped up to the counter to greet them. “Welcome!”

It was a party of three adventurers, one woman and two men. The woman pointed to a sign I had posted on the wall and asked, “Do the potions here really work like it says on the poster? Twice the normal effect?”

That was my workshop’s big selling point. Our potions were high-quality and more effective than normal potions.

“Yes, they’re double the strength,” I told her. “I sell them directly to the kingdom’s military, so you can rest assured that they’re genuine.”

“If they really work that well, that means fewer bathroom trips, right?” she said. “Chugging mana potions nonstop gets to be a bit much after a while. I’d rather have a more effective potion if I’m heading deep into a dungeon.”

“That’s what you care about?” muttered one of her male party members, clearly missing the point. He was rewarded with a smack to the head.

If I sold these potions at the same price as regular potions, it would undercut my competition and create all sorts of problems, so I had priced mine at five times the standard to reflect the difference in efficacy. The man grumbled that the price was too high, but their party still bought two mana potions before leaving.

Then another customer visited the bakery: a neighbor from across the street who’d peeked through their windows earlier.

“My kid wouldn’t stop bugging me about coming over. I’ll take four of the cheapest ones to try,” he said. He bought four basic fluffy breads from Miina and then went back to his apartment across the road.

And just like that, the morning of Atelier Daisy’s grand opening was a lively one.

A few days after our grand opening, we began to notice patterns in the flow of customers to each part of the shop.

Mornings were the busiest in the Alchemy workshop, where I usually handled the counter. Most of our customers were adventurers heading out to explore the dungeon in the nearby city or take other guild quests there. They typically left town early, which was why we had the most traffic in the mornings, but it quieted down a lot after that.

The adventurers who went out of their way to buy my potions were usually the ones trying to reach the deepest parts of the dungeon. For them, it made more sense to carry one expensive high-quality potion instead of a bunch of normal ones. There must have been more to the “bathroom concerns” than I’d realized.

Those were especially concerning for people like Mages and Healers, who typically stayed in the rear and didn’t sweat much to begin with. My mana potions were very popular with that group, especially the women. Dungeons didn’t have toilets, of course, so they would have to sneak off behind bushes or find a little dark corner to relieve themselves, which made for extra stress. That’s why my potions were such a big help: They were expensive, but they got the job done with only one dose.

Word began spreading through the adventurers’ guild tavern about my potions, thanks to my satisfied customers. We were already financially stable due to the government contract, but now the workshop was seeing steady traffic. We didn’t have to worry about slow days or the shop being empty.

Miina was also busy every day in the bakery. The fluffy bread was a hit with the other people in the neighborhood, while the crescent-shaped Danishes were popular with the wealthier merchants and servants of noble households.

The aroma and novelty of the two rotating daily specials attracted curious customers passing by. Miina was so overwhelmed during the breakfast and lunchtime rushes that she couldn’t keep up with all the customers on her own, so Marcus thoughtfully jumped in to help.

One of the bakery regulars was an elderly woman who lived at the far end of the street; her name was Anastacia, or Ana for short. She was an Alchemist too and owned her own workshop. Rumors were that she moved here from another kingdom, but I didn’t know why.

Ana was a petite, slender woman with a slight hunchback. Her hair, more white than gray, was always tied back, and she wore tiny round glasses that perched atop her nose. Her wrinkled face always seemed to be smiling, and the town adored her like a sweet grandmother. Whenever a child came down with a fever, people would say, “Go buy one of Granny Ana’s potions.”

“Hello, Ana,” Miina greeted her warmly when she came in one morning.

“Your bread is too good to miss out on, Miina. I just had to come by again today,” Ana said with a cheerful smile as she walked over to browse the display shelf. “Ooh, today’s savory bread is chicken and rosemary potato? That sounds delicious!” She seemed as cheerful as always until she let out a quiet sigh. “If only it had that soft melted cheese from my hometown on top. Then it would be just perfect! How I miss cheese…” she murmured with a melancholy look in her eyes.

She ended up buying one savory bread and one fluffy bread, then quietly left.

“Anyway, that’s what happened today,” Miina told me that night at dinner after the workshop had closed.

“The kingdom imports all its cheese, so it’s very expensive. I’ve never eaten it before either,” I said. “But Ana moved here from somewhere else, and it sounds like she used to eat it all the time back home.”

Cheese came from kingdoms under strong influence from the church, where monasteries owned a lot of land. They raised cattle and goats and used their milk to make things like cheese. There were also kingdoms in the mountains where large-scale farming operations were common. But the church didn’t own land in our kingdom, and farms were small. That meant there weren’t many people who could make cheese, and it was tough to acquire.

“Ana looked so sad. She’s always so cheerful, too. It just didn’t seem right,” Marcus said.

I agreed; I didn’t want Ana to be sad like that again. “Maybe there’s a way to make cheese with Alchemy? It might be in Delicious Dining with Alchemy!”

I decided to look through the book the next day when I had free time.

The next day, I leafed through Delicious Dining with Alchemy and was thrilled to find a recipe for cheese. The process involved fermenting fresh milk and then adding a coagulant to solidify it. Normally, the coagulant was a substance found in the stomachs of young goats or calves, which we couldn’t use. Luckily, the book mentioned other methods.

With that I decided to try making cheese. I wanted to make Ana happy after all!

Chapter 2:
Let’s Make Cheese!

A‌CCORDING TO DELICIOUS DINING WITH ALCHEMY, a substance could be extracted from certain plants that had similar properties to the coagulant found in the stomachs of baby goats and calves, so I decided to use that instead.

Figs were an option, but they weren’t in season yet as it was still spring. There was another suitable fruit that grew in the southern part of the kingdom, according to the plant encyclopedia I had, but they were rare and expensive.

Artichoke flowers… Artichokes were quite uncommon, plus I had no idea where to get their flowers.

Safflower seeds… That might work!

In our kingdom, safflowers were grown by the local farmers for dye and oil, which meant the seeds must be sold somewhere. I decided to try the commerce guild first, hoping they could point me in the right direction.

Leaf came with me, of course. I’d learned my lesson after Katya and I had nearly been kidnapped while looking at properties for the workshop, so this time, I asked Leaf to stick close by in his Fenrir form.

Word had spread through the commerce guild headquarters that I’d healed Katya’s petrified leg. Oliver, her father and the resident guildmaster, told everyone about it himself. Because of that the staff here took me seriously, even though I was still a child. I appreciated it, because that meant they were always quick to help when I needed something.

“Hello,” I said as I walked up to the counter and showed my guild card to the woman behind the desk.

“Good afternoon, Miss Daisy,” she said, smiling at me warmly. “What brings you in today?”

“I’m looking for safflower seeds, and I was hoping you knew where I could find them.”

“All right,” she replied. “Please wait a moment while I confirm with the appropriate staff member. Go ahead and have a seat on that sofa over there while you wait.”

She left on the elevator while I took a seat on the sofa, not quite sure what to do with myself.

I looked up at the ceiling, which had a colorful tiled mosaic depicting the god of commerce and the angels who served as his messengers. It was so beautiful, I couldn’t help but sigh in appreciation. This was the headquarters of the entire kingdom’s commerce guild, so it was only natural that the craftsmanship was incredible. The rich colors of the tiles made for a grand, fancy impression.

I passed the time waiting by studying the mosaic until the receptionist returned.

“Here you go, Miss Daisy,” she said as she handed me a small stack of papers. “I’ve marked down a few shops we recommend and included some simple maps for you.”

I took a quick glance at the papers. The list was written neatly, and the maps were easy to follow.

“Thank you so much for going to all this trouble,” I said with a grin, and she smiled back happily in return.

Following the map, I looked for their top recommendation, a shop marked with a star. Leaf, still in his Fenrir form, walked beside me as I made my way through the city streets until we reached a large, well-kept florist. They sold more than just flowers, it seemed. There were seeds and seedlings for farming, ornamental trees for gardens, and more. It was a big place, and I could see why the guild had recommended it.

“Leaf, you’ll need to shrink down,” I told him. “You can’t go in like that.”

I reached out to pat his head and he changed into his puppy-sized form with a poof! Together, we headed over to the seed section.

There was a tall cabinet with lots of little drawers, each one labeled with the name of a different plant.

“Let’s see, safflower…safflower…” I murmured. I couldn’t find it. Hmm.

I frowned, scanning drawer after drawer, when a shop worker wearing a thick apron suddenly approached me.

“Can I help you find something, young lady?” he asked.

I told him I was looking for safflower seeds.

“Oh, sorry about that,” he said. “We don’t stock those out front; we keep them in the back since our regular customers don’t typically ask for them. Want me to get you some?”

I nodded and he disappeared into the back room. He returned carrying a burlap sack about the size of my hand, filled to the brim with safflower seeds.

“This is the smallest quantity we offer, sold for farm use. Is that all right with you?”

“Sure, I don’t mind having extra,” I said. “By the way, I saw some tomato seedlings off to the side over there. Is now the right time of year to plant them?” I asked. I thought Miina would be thrilled if we started growing tomatoes.

“It sure is,” he said. “Plant them now and they’ll be full of big, ripe tomatoes come summertime. I highly recommend them.”

And so I ended up buying both the safflower seeds and one tomato seedling, then headed back to the workshop.

Miina’s whole face lit up when I showed her the tomato plant, and she rushed out to the garden to plant it right away.

“It’s a bit early, but I should do this just in case…” she said and tied together some sticks with string to make a support post. Then she gently wound the seedling around it so it could climb as it grew.

Early the next morning, I heard Marcus shouting from the back garden.

Miina and I raced from the third floor, where the girls’ quarters were located, and down to the garden. “What’s all the commotion, Marcus?”

Hm? Something was different. Some of the green fairies…seemed…larger?

“The fairies got bigger!” Marcus cried from his position on the ground, where he’d presumably fallen over from surprise. He pointed at one fairy who was clearly much larger than the rest. She had the same voice as the little girl fairy who always spoke to me, but she was much bigger now. She flew right toward me, beaming with happiness.

“Daisy! Thanks to your garden, I’ve been promoted to sprite!” She was about the size of a human baby now. She grabbed my hand and twirled around in the air, spinning in delight. “Look what else I can do!”

She stopped twirling and pointed at the tomato seedling we planted the day before. A glimmering green light streamed from her fingertips toward the plant…and suddenly it shot up, growing larger until it was bursting with big, bright red tomatoes!

“Wh-what just happened?!” Miina cried, who couldn’t see fairies or spirits. She was so startled that her tail had puffed up. I couldn’t blame her, either; anyone would be shocked to see a seedling suddenly grow to full size and bear fruit in the blink of an eye. Good thing she’d already put that support post in, though—the vine would’ve collapsed under its own weight without it.

I explained that our garden was protected by green nature fairies and spirits, and what she’d just seen was the work of one of those spirits.

“Oh, so this garden is blessed,” she said. “Still, I can’t believe we have ripe tomatoes already and it’s not even summer! I’ll need to make tomato sauce and preserve it. The tomatoes will also need more support posts. The fruit is growing so fast, the stems will snap without them…”

Unfortunately, my thoughtful tomato gift only resulted in more work for Miina.

Now that I had safflower seeds, it was time to get to work on making cheese. I started with the extraction process.

First, I crushed the seeds with a mortar and pestle and soaked them in a bit of milk, then stirred gently while channeling mana into the mixture to draw out the active ingredients.

Once the milk had fully absorbed the essence of the seeds, I strained the mixture through a cloth and set the infused milk aside. The milk we usually drank was so naturally sour that it would turn into yogurt on its own if left in a warm place for a few days, so I decided to use that to my advantage.

I poured fresh milk into a pot and gently heated it until it was warm to the touch, but more lukewarm than bathwater. Then, I added the safflower-infused milk.

I turned off the heat and began the Alchemical fermentation process. Before long, the milk had solidified to a texture somewhere between yogurt and custard. I took a knife and cut through it vertically and horizontally all the way to the bottom, spacing the cuts about a fingertip’s width apart.

After that, liquid began to seep out.

I returned the heat to low and stirred gently from the bottom to make sure nothing burnt as I slowly brought the temperature up to lukewarm again. Once it was warm, I turned off the heat, covered the pot, and then let it rest for about four hours.

By then, the mixture had separated into solid and liquid, which I strained through a sieve to collect the solids. When I strained those solids through cloth, it resulted in something called crumbly cheese. But I didn’t just want crumbly cheese; I wanted to make round cheese, because the book said it was especially delicious. You could eat it raw or melt it onto something else. When Ana mentioned cheese that melted when you baked it, she must have been thinking of round cheese.

But making round cheese took more work.

I heated a pot of water to just below boiling and prepared a separate bowl of ice water. I took the firm curds and shaped them into balls, then dropped the balls into the hot water. Once they floated to the top, I began to knead and stretch them until they were soft and elastic like good cheese needed to be. Since the temperature was very hot, I put on a clean pair of gloves, though mitts would also have worked. I cooled my hands off with the ice water every now and then as I kept going.

Once I managed to get through the heat without burning myself, I tore the cheese into balls, rolled them into smooth shapes, cooled them in the ice water, and then gave them a quick dip in salt water. I patted off the excess moisture with a cloth and wrapped them in a damp towel to prevent them drying out, then let them rest for a day.

My round cheese was finally done!

Crumbly Cheese

Classification: Food

Quality: Good

Status: A fresh, tangy cheese. Delicious when crumbled on salads. Can also be used in cakes. Mix it with cream and knead it to get cream cheese!

Oh? Appraisal suggested another use, so maybe I should try mixing half of it with cream. I used the centrifuge to make some fresh cream, then gently kneaded the crumbly cheese into it.

Cream Cheese

Classification: Food

Quality: Good

Status: Smooth, fresh cream cheese that is perfect to spread on bread. Also works well in desserts.

Wow, I ended up making yet another kind of cheese! And we could use this in desserts! It was so exciting.

Round Cheese

Classification: Food

Quality: Good (-1)

Status: Needs one more day to become rich, milky, fresh cheese. Delicious on its own and wonderful when melted in baked dishes!

Whew! One milestone down. I stood with my hands on my hips triumphantly just as Miina came into the room. Marcus must have been covering for her at the bakery counter.

“Are you finished with your experiment for today, Miss Daisy?” she asked, looking around the lab.

“I made crumbly cheese and cream cheese. The round cheese will be ready tomorrow! It should melt when you bake it.” I showed her a cup of cream cheese and the crumbly cheese, along with the three round cheese balls I’d made.

“Can I try a bit of the crumbly and cream cheeses?” Miina asked. She looked so excited that I couldn’t say no, so I nodded with a smile.

She wiped her hands clean with a towel, then pinched off a bit of the crumbly cheese. “Mm, it’s so tangy and refreshing! I bet it’d be really good on a salad.” Then she dipped her spoon into the cream cheese. “Ooh! I could put this on the Danishes instead of the Chantilly crème! You know, if we added chives and garlic, I bet it’d work well with savory breads too. Can I use a bit of this?”

I figured that she had something particular in mind. She looked so hopeful that I told her it was okay.

“Just wait here!” She dashed off to the kitchen in a hurry. A few moments later, she returned with a tray loaded with toasted slices of fluffy bread, each one topped with a different kind of cream cheese spread. One contained minced garlic and chives, while the other had apricot compote, made from finely diced dried apricots soaked in syrup. There were three toasts with each kind of cheese.

“Mmm!” We both exclaimed in unison as we tried them.

Just then, Marcus peeked in. The traffic in the bakery must have slowed down. “Hey, are you two sneaking off to try new recipes while I’m stuck minding the shop?” he complained, but he had a gentle look on his face, maybe since he saw how much we were enjoying the food.

“Don’t worry. There’s some for you, too,” said Miina.

Marcus quickly washed and dried his hands, and then he picked up one of each type of toast from Miina’s tray. First, he tried a big bite of the one with chives. “Whoa, this is really good! I wish I could smear a thick layer of this on some fluffy bread and chow down!”

Next, he tried the apricot one. “Yum… This would be popular with children and ladies. And I bet it’d go great with berry jam on top of a Danish.”

That night, the three of us held a tasting party for the round cheese. We sliced up flatbread, topped it with the cheese, and toasted it until it melted into gooey, piping-hot perfection. We also tried it raw, popping slices of it into our mouths. It was sweet, milky, and rich. Everyone loved it.

Since it was such a success, we decided it was time to invite Ana over for dinner.

The evening that we invited Ana over, she arrived just as the church bell rang for the sixth time and the sky had turned a golden orange.

Our living space was upstairs on the second floor above the workshop. We had a bathroom complete with toilet and tub, a cozy living room and a dining table that seated six, and some sofas for relaxing. Marcus’s bedroom was also on that floor, as well as the storage room.

Miina and I stayed on the third floor. There were three bedrooms, including one that was still vacant. Since I was the owner and had the most stuff, I got the largest room, which was double the space of the others.

We led Ana upstairs to the dining area.

“Oh, this is lovely,” she said, blinking behind her tiny round glasses.

The table was packed full of dishes with cheese, all made skillfully and carefully by Miina. She’d prepared two appetizers: one was toasted fluffy bread with garlic and chive cream cheese, and the other was toast with cream cheese layered with smoked salmon and sprigs of dill. She had also cut up some of the round cheese and topped the pieces with slices of fresh tomato, torn basil leaves, and a drizzle of olive oil and salt.

For the salad, she tossed warm spring vegetables and sliced black olives in vinegar and oil, then topped it with crumbly cheese.

The main dish used flatbread dough rolled out into a circle, topped with tomato sauce, slices of round cheese, and fresh basil. She’d just pulled it from the oven, so it was still bubbling with heat.

And dessert was a cheesecake made with cream cheese, sugar, eggs, cream, flour, and lemon juice.

“All of this is cheese?” Ana said. “I thought coagulants were so hard to get! You didn’t spend a fortune on this all for me, did you?” She looked a little guilty at the thought that we might have bought an entire calf for the meal.

“Don’t worry! I used a plant-based coagulant that was very affordable,” I said lightly as I showed her to the seat at the center of the table. I sat across from her while Miina and Marcus sat at the other sides of the table. “Miina came up with the whole menu and cooked everything from scratch, just for you! So don’t hold back—dig in!”

“Goodness!” Ana chuckled, her eyes crinkling into her usual smile. But then tears welled up in them, spilling down her cheeks. She dabbed gently at them with a handkerchief. “I’m sure there’s a proper order to things, but let’s eat the hot ones while they’re still hot!” She picked up a knife and fork and dug into a piece of cheese toast, which was already cut into slices, then took a bite.

“Ooh, it’s so hot and gooey! Almost too hot!” She gasped and fanned her mouth, laughing with delight. “I’ve never had this before! Who knew bread, tomato sauce, and cheese would taste so good together?”

Once we saw Ana had started, the rest of us followed and sampled a little bit of everything.

The smoked salmon and dill with cream cheese was incredible, the fresh dill helping to mellow out the smokiness of the fish. And the slices of round cheese with tomato and basil were just divine. The cheese had a subtle, milky sweetness, which paired perfectly with the slightly acidic tomatoes. The salad with crumbly cheese was light and refreshing. Everything was just so good.

Since the three of us were still growing children, we gobbled up everything, including the cheesecake. Ana was full by then, though, so we wrapped up her slice to take home with her.

After the meal, Miina headed downstairs to wash the dishes with Marcus, who helped carry them down for her. Ana and I sat at the table, alone with a cup of tea now that the dishes had been cleared away. Leaf had finished his dinner as well and was currently curled up at my feet, looking very content as he slept.

“Thank you so much, Daisy. You’re all such nice children,” Ana said, her eyes crinkling into a soft smile.

“Miina’s the one who did all the work,” I said shyly, shaking my head.

“No, Daisy. You’re a good girl, too. You’re kind, and you use your Alchemy with such care. I was thinking I could pass on the things I can’t use anymore to someone like you.”

And then she began to tell me her story.

Ana was born in the kingdom west of ours. She trained there as an Alchemist and eventually married a Blacksmith she’d been friends with. They lived a peaceful life, but not long after their wedding, political strife tore their kingdom apart. A new, much more militaristic king ascended to the throne, and their kingdom changed overnight.

“I used to make alloys for weapons and armor, and explosives for mining,” she told me quietly. “That’s how I met my husband, since he was a Blacksmith. But after the new regime, they came for us.”

They had been forced to mass-produce the swords and armor that they’d once made for adventurers and knights to arm soldiers for war instead. And the explosives Ana had designed for mining operations became weapons used to kill many people from other kingdoms.

“It was too much for me, so I left with trusted companions,” she said with difficulty.

But her husband had stayed behind. “He said that he had to deal with what we’d created first, and he couldn’t leave until then. I haven’t seen him since.” Ana paused for a moment. “We never had children. That’s why I want to ask… Daisy, would you accept my old books and Alchemy equipment? I can’t work with heavy metals anymore; my back’s not in the shape it used to be.” Her expression was sad but kind as she gently clasped my hands.

I found myself speaking before I knew what had come over me and told her something I’d never shared with anyone before. “Once, I made a truth serum for the king. It was used to uncover the crimes of two people… They meant to hurt the royal family, so they were executed. I’ve also taken people’s lives, whether it was indirectly or not.”

My naivety then still felt vivid, as memories came rushing back and my eyes welled up with tears. Ana listened quietly to my confession.

“I was eight then. I thought I was protecting the royal family, and that I was doing the right thing.” I shook my head, feeling ashamed. “But after I heard what happened, I couldn’t accept it. I told the king I’d never make anything that would hurt someone ever again. I know it’s selfish of me, but my power scared me. It still does. I’m not brave or mature enough. I don’t deserve to inherit your skills,” I confessed.

“Oh, Daisy…” Ana’s voice was quiet as she reached out to cradle my face in her worn, wrinkly hands. “All Alchemists should be a little afraid. That’s what keeps us from straying onto the wrong path.”

I fought back tears as she gently lifted my face to meet her gaze.

“The truth serum you made was used to protect the king, or someone precious to him, wasn’t it?” Ana said. “What I mean to say is, it was used so that this good kingdom, which is ruled by a wise and kind king, would remain the way it is, right? If that’s true, then don’t you think you really saved the people of this land?”

When Ana said that to me, it was like the heavy feeling still lingering somewhere in my heart finally lifted.

If I hadn’t made the truth serum and the criminals had attacked the prince again, he could have died. If that had happened, maybe things would have turned out the way the bad people wanted, and the kingdom could have become something unrecognizable, like Ana’s homeland had.

I felt a bit calmer as I looked up at her.

“Daisy, you mustn’t be so afraid of your own power,” Ana continued. “Power is a tool that can be used for good things or for terrible things. If you can discern the difference with your own heart and entrust what you create to someone who will use it for good, then I don’t think that’s ever the wrong choice.” She reached out and gently patted her palm over my chest, right over my heart. The warmth of her hand there reminded me of my father’s, when he had done the same thing the day I had heard someone had died because of the truth serum and gone to him for advice.

I felt that, somehow, Ana was trying to show me the next part of what he’d told me back then.

“An Alchemist should be cautious and take great consideration with a decision like that, every single time.”

Finally, the unease that had been smoldering deep in my heart extinguished and my conscience felt clear again.

“Ana, I’d be honored to inherit your Alchemy skills,” I said. “Please be my mentor!”

Ana was a kind, wise person. She had listened to all my worries so compassionately, and I was sure she’d teach me not only her techniques, but also the mindset of a proper Alchemist.

I really believed that was true.

Chapter 3:
My Appraisal Gained a Bonus Feature!

“NO NEED TO CALL ME ‘MASTER’ OR ANYTHING like that, okay?” Ana said, laughing. Despite that, she agreed to teach me her skills.

The evening after the dinner party, Ana summoned Marcus over once the shop began to settle down. He returned with a cart full of several old Alchemy books and tools, including a cauldron. He helped me arrange everything in the workshop where there was plenty of space.

That night, when I got into bed and was about to pull the covers over me to sleep, the room was suddenly bathed in green light.

“It’s been a while, Daisy,” came a voice.

Leaf had crawled under the covers to sleep beside me, but that voice made him sit straight up. I looked up and saw the Nature Spirit King.

“I see you’ve found yourself a good teacher, Daisy.” He reached out and gently caressed my cheek. I closed my eyes for a moment at his comforting touch.

“Yes, I’ve started learning metal synthesis from someone named Anastacia,” I said. I slowly opened my eyes again and saw the Nature Spirit King smiling down at me warmly in a way that reminded me of my father.

“This is a great turning point in your life, Daisy, so I’d like to give you a gift as my blessing,” he said. “Hold out your hands.”

I did as he said, holding out both palms. He placed three round objects into them, each one glowing softly with a gentle light.

“I will expand your Appraisal skill as well, to help you on your path.” He covered my eyes with his large hand. “Farewell.”

And then the Nature Spirit King vanished.

What was that all about? I thought.

I tried using my Appraisal skill on the objects he’d given me and… What in the world?

Nature Spirit King’s Guardian Stone

Classification: Gemstone, Material

Quality: Supreme

Status: A gemstone containing every form of protective power. Cannot be activated in its current state. Gains enhanced corrosion resistance when fused with metal. Splitting it does not diminish its power.

Feeling: I want to combine with metal and become an accessory.

Huh? What’s a guardian stone? And how could an item have “feelings”?

My Appraisal skill had gained a very strange new feature.

The next day, I went to Ana’s shop. “Ana, are you here?” I asked.

“Oh, my! Daisy, I’m so happy to see you. Is something the matter?” Ana said, poking her head out from the back of the shop and walking up to the counter.

Well, I suppose you could say that…

“I think I might’ve gotten my hands on something valuable, and I’d like to ask how to use it,” I told her.

Ana nodded thoughtfully. “All right, then. Why don’t we go into the back?” She led me to the little break room behind the counter.

“Here it is.” I pulled the Nature Spirit King’s guardian stone from my bag and showed it to her.

“Goodness, I’ve never seen such a gem! It has such a gentle yet powerful aura.”

“It’s called the Nature Spirit King’s guardian stone. Apparently, it holds incredible protective power, but it can’t be used as is,” I explained. “It seems like it wants to be turned into an accessory by being combined with metal.”

At that point, Ana raised a hand to stop me, looking baffled. “Hang on, Daisy. How are you already so sure of this stone’s name, properties, and even its feelings?”

Oh, right. I’ve never told Ana I can Appraise things. It would be silly to ask her to teach me her trade without explaining my own abilities. I told her about my Appraisal skill, and that as a new bonus, I could now see what things the items wanted to become.

“Appraisal alone is a skill that can earn you a place in the royal service. You can count the number of people in this kingdom who have it on one hand!” Ana looked shocked that I had such an ability. “And an Alchemist with Appraisal? That’s an incredible combination! And now that you can somehow sense an item’s wish to be processed… That’s an astonishing ability.”

She seemed overwhelmed, mumbling something about needing a drink. She went to get a pitcher and a glass and took a long sip of water.

“This is wonderful. If I could have you work with her, I’m sure you’d create something quite interesting indeed…” Ana muttered to herself.

I wondered who she was talking about.

“Ana?” I called softly.

“Oh, forgive me,” she said. “I was just talking to myself. Don’t worry about it. Now, about sensing the feelings of items. Does it always say the same thing when you look at them?”

“No, I’m not sure it’s always the same yet,” I said.

“Shall we try it and see?” She let out a thoughtful little hum and beckoned me over. “Come here,” she said, leading me into her workshop.

Unlocking a cupboard near her feet, she rummaged around, pulling out several metal ingots and lining them up on the workbench.

“I have a hunch that if we put the gem near different metals, its feelings might change. Would you like to try it?” Ana asked. “My ability is that when I put compatible materials next to each other, I can feel their aura becoming stronger. I bet you’ll get even more information with your Appraisal.”

There were people other than me who could sense compatibility between materials! That was amazing.

“Let’s start with gold,” Ana said.

“It’s saying, ‘This isn’t bad, but it doesn’t feel quite right,’” I stated. What did that mean, though?

“Hm, that seems promising. Let’s try silver next.”

“It says, ‘I feel like you’d have such a gentle embrace. I love you!’” Was this stone some kind of lovesick girl?!

“Oh, that sounds like a very good match! Let’s try platinum next.”

Ana continued swapping out the metals and asking me about their “feelings.”

“‘I’m not into the cool, beautiful type.’” What was this, a matchmaking service?

Ana didn’t seem particularly surprised, ready to accept whatever the gem felt. She was very flexible and easygoing about the whole thing. “All right,” she was saying. “Now, this isn’t usually the metal I’d use for an accessory, but let’s just see what it says. It’s iron.”

“‘Absolutely not!’”

“Mythril?”

“‘I said, I want to be an accessory!’”

“Adamantite.”

“‘No, no, no!’”

“Orichalcum.”

“‘What are you trying to do to me?! Waaah!’”

Oh, great. I’d somehow managed to make the gemstone cry.

“Hmm, maybe since it’s a protective gem, it feels drawn to the purifying properties of silver?” Ana speculated.

After going through each of the options, we decided to combine the gem with silver.

“All right. We’ll need the cauldron to combine the silver and the gem, so why don’t we head over to your workshop?” Ana suggested. She hung a little sign on the door that said, “I’m at Atelier Daisy. If you need anything, please stop by.” She handed me the silver ingot and locked everything up, and we set out together.

She already had the sign written…

Knowing she’d prepared something like that ahead of time for when she would be working with me warmed my heart; I felt like she truly saw me as her student.

We crossed the street and went back into my workshop. Next door, the bakery was bustling with customers since it was around lunchtime. There were some people sitting inside, enjoying their food with glasses of iced tea—the day was too hot to sit anywhere else.

“Welcome back, Miss Daisy, Ms. Ana,” Miina and Marcus called out to us from their places in the bakery.

“Hi, Daisy! Long time no see!” Letia and Mark—the pair of adventurers who’d bravely fought the behemoth that attacked the capital—were here buying some bread.

Mark gave me a friendly wave, but Letia seemed a bit cold, as usual. It seemed she wasn’t someone who smiled easily. Besides, she was more focused on perusing the menu than greeting me.

“Letia, Mark! It’s nice to see you again,” I said.

“Hello there, Letia, Mark,” Ana chimed in. “How’s work going?”

Hm, so they know Ana too. The capital felt so big, but sometimes it was a small world after all.

Mark hummed, scratching his head. “It’s going all right. There’s a quest we want to take on, but it’s to slay a monster that deals some nasty status effects. Unless we have a plan for those, it’s a no-go.”

“Well, if you wait a little longer, Daisy here and that Blacksmith girl might be able to make you something useful,” Ana said with a playful wink.

Hm, Ana mentioned some girl again. Who is she, anyway?

“Oh yeah?” Mark replied. “Well, maybe we’ll stick around for a while, then. Here’s where we’re staying, Ana.” He handed her a little slip of paper with something written on it. “Let me know if you have good news for me. We’ve got plenty of funding right now, so call us first if you come up with something good!”

Letia made her purchases and the two of them disappeared back into the busy streets.

“Sorry to keep you waiting, Daisy,” said Ana. “Let’s get started on the alloy.”

“Okay.” I unlocked the door to my workshop and held it open for her. We went back into the lab area where Marcus had set up the cauldron.

“Have you ever used a cauldron before?” Ana asked.

I shook my head.

“All right, well here’s the basic process,” she began. “First, you put in your materials, then channel a great amount of mana into your stirring rod. That’ll heat everything until it’s all hot enough to melt. Keep stirring evenly as it does, and be sure to focus on the intention of the process, which is to fuse the materials together as firmly as possible. Oh, and don’t forget these!” She picked up a thick apron and a pair of sturdy gloves from nearby and handed them to me.

I put everything on, took the stirring rod, and stepped up to the cauldron.

“Now, put the Nature Spirit King’s guardian stone and the silver inside,” Ana instructed.

I carefully put both materials into the cauldron. Ana gave me an encouraging pat on the back, and I nodded.

I began to channel my mana through the stirring rod. Come on, heat up…

Gripping the rod, I focused, and before long the cauldron began to glow with heat. The silver melted and the air in the workshop grew warm. Sweat beaded on my forehead from both the heat and my nerves.

Please combine… Blend together…

I stirred carefully, but when I checked with Appraisal, I could see the bond wasn’t very strong yet.

Guardinium

Classification: Alloy, Material

Quality: Low

Status: An alloy imbued with every form of protective power. The strength of its protection does not change depending on the quantity used. The bonding is weak, so it likely won’t reach its full potential.

Feeling: I want to be held more tightly!

Uh, am I really playing matchmaker for inanimate objects here?

Wait a minute… It wants to be held tighter, right? Maybe if I imagined that feeling, it would work?

Hold tightly… Be embraced…

Since I was only a child and romance was the farthest thing from my mind, I pictured a familial hug instead, remembering how it felt when my father held me close. I continued to stir gently as I held that image in mind.

Suddenly, a bright light began to flow from the bottom of the cauldron.

“Wonderful! You understood the item’s feeling perfectly on the first try!” Ana cheered, patting me on the back again. It looked like we’d succeeded.

I set the ingot mold Ana provided beneath the spout at the bottom of the cauldron and opened it. A shimmering liquid metal, a shade lighter than regular silver, poured into the mold.

“Now we need to let it slowly cool,” Ana said, nodding with satisfaction. She seemed to be able to judge its quality by instinct, even without Appraisal, due to her many years of experience.

Guardinium

Classification: Alloy, Material

Quality: Supreme

Status: A fully bonded alloy imbued with every form of protective power and enhanced resistance to corrosion. The strength of its protection does not change depending on the quantity used.

Feeling: I’ll never let go of you again! ♡

Seriously, though. Is alloy-making always going to be this romantic?!

I was happy I’d succeeded making my first alloy, but honestly, witnessing something so apparently intimate left me with mixed feelings.

A few days later…

“All right,” Ana said. “Now let’s take this over to the Blacksmith, shall we?”

The guardinium was now completely cooled and set. Ana showed up at my workshop right on time, like she had been eagerly awaiting this moment.

“Is the Blacksmith the girl you’ve been talking about?” I asked.

“That’s right!” Ana replied. “She’s the granddaughter of a dwarven Blacksmith I know. She’s young, but she does excellent work!” She seemed beside herself with excitement.

“Miina, Marcus! I’m borrowing Daisy for a while!” Ana called to the others.

Okay, I guess we’re really going right now! Not that I mind, of course.

“All right! Have a good time!” The two of them waved us goodbye, and with the guardinium in hand, we set off together toward the Blacksmith district with Leaf trotting alongside me, as usual.

This was my first time going to the Blacksmith district, and it was busier than I expected. The sound of hammers striking metal echoed everywhere. The combination of men shouting and joking with the clamor seemed to create a kind of music. It looked like around half of the people here were human and the other half were dwarves.

Dwarves were a race known for their skills in forging and combat; generally, they were short and stout. Because of their typical trade, they often worshipped the gods of smithing, fire, and earth. Many of the world’s legendary swords and finest treasures and jewelry were made by dwarves.

Ana stopped in front of a workshop at the edge of the district’s center and knocked. “Is Dragh or Lynn here?” she called through the door.

It swung open a few moments later, and a girl of about my height stepped out. She had bright red hair tied back into a high ponytail, and her eyes were the color of deep red garnets. She wasn’t burly the way dwarves were known to be, but maybe that was because she was a girl. Even though we were the same height, she had quite a fuller figure than me. I hadn’t started growing in those places at all.

“Oh, it’s you, Ana!” the girl said. “Grandpa’s out right now. Did you need something?”

“I’ve got a fine material to show you,” Ana said proudly. “This girl here is Daisy, an Alchemist. She does very good work, and I thought it was about time I introduced you two.”

She gently pushed me forward so that I stood right in front of the girl.

“Hello, I’m Daisy, an Alchemist,” I said. “Recently, I’ve been learning how to make alloys from Ana.” I made sure to bow properly while I introduced myself, as this was our first meeting.

“I’m Lynn, a dwarven Blacksmith,” she replied. “This might be surprising since we’re the same height, but I’m actually eighteen! I can work with anything from ornate accessories to swords and armor. Just let me know if you ever want anything made!” Lynn gave me a bright smile and held out her hand, so I reached out to shake it. She had a surprisingly strong grip as she pumped her arm enthusiastically; she seemed a cheerful and easygoing type of person, like an older sister.

“The material is a bit special. Mind if we come in?” Ana asked, but she strode right into the workshop without waiting for an answer. I hurried after her.

Once all of us had stepped inside and the door closed behind us, something strange happened. Lynn’s whole body began to glow with a golden light, and mine shimmered with bright green.

“What in the world?” Ana stood between us, looking back and forth in confusion.

Then a man with kind eyes and long green hair appeared behind me—the Nature Spirit King! Behind Lynn was a stocky man with broad shoulders and short hair who was bathed in a golden light.

“Hey, Nature. Still following that kid around everywhere?” the golden man said to the Nature Spirit King.

“Nice to see you again, Earth Spirit King,” the Nature Spirit King replied calmly. “I see you’re still inseparable from that dwarf girl.”

Wait—so is Lynn a Beloved Child of the Earth Spirit King?

“Um, Daisy? Are you a Beloved Child too?” Lynn asked hesitantly, confirming my suspicions. Since it seemed like we had similar circumstances, I decided to be honest.

“Yes. I’ve been blessed by the Nature Spirit King,” I answered. There was no hiding him appearing in person, after all.

Meanwhile, all the color drained from Ana’s face, and she collapsed to the floor. Now she knew all about it. I tended to her while the two majestic figures completely ignored us, too caught up in an argument.

“Don’t just call her ‘that dwarf girl,’” said the Earth Spirit King. “She has a name, and it’s Lynn. Plus, she’s not just any dwarf! She’s descended from the royal family of the fallen Dwarven Kingdom!” He clenched his fist, demanding respect.

Lynn might be a princess of some lost kingdom?

“Well, my beloved child Daisy bears the name of a beautiful flower! She comes from a distinguished noble family with proud traditions. She’s intelligent, devoted to her research, and so kindhearted, she cares for all of my kin!” my spirit king shot back.

Wait, is he bragging about me?!

“Lynn is just as kind to my kin! And the focus in her eyes during her metalwork is practically divine!”

“You should see my Daisy when she’s poring over her experiments and smiles the moment it’s a success! I’ve never seen anything more adorable!”

Meanwhile, Leaf had gotten into a staring contest with what I could only guess was Lynn’s guardian divine beast, a fluffy baby lion with bright golden fur. They growled, hissed, and yowled at each other.

What in the world is going on?!

The argument between the two spirit kings showed no signs of dying down, having changed topics to whose beloved child was cuter. At this point, their bickering was so embarrassing I wanted to crawl under a table.

“W-wait… You’ve been watching me, Earth Spirit King?!” Lynn turned bright red and began to panic as her spirit king blurted out all sorts of embarrassing stories, including one time her grandfather had scolded her and she had burst into tears.

“Y-you were there the whole time, Nature Spirit King?” I stammered. I realized my spirit king had seen me be scolded by my mother and even watched me make weird faces during my experiments. It was too much to handle, so I had to say something.

“Stop spying on us!” we both said in unison.

Finally, that ended their ridiculous competition about whose favored child was more adorable.

“Ahem. At any rate, I believe that if you collaborate with Lynn, you could create something remarkable indeed. Please take good care of my child,” the Earth Spirit King said, then vanished.

“The same goes for my Daisy. I’m sure you’ll make fine things if you work together, Lynn. Please look after her,” the Nature Spirit King added calmly before vanishing as well.

And just like that, after all that fuss, the two of them left us behind in the workshop.

“They never promised they’d stop spying on us…” Lynn and I muttered together, exchanging glances. Now that the spirit kings had gone, we were too stunned to speak.

Ana was still on the floor in a state of shock. “To think I’d live to see a spirit king with my own eyes… Two at the same time, even…” she whispered, clasping her hands together. “Still, I always thought the two of you were similar. It all makes sense now; both of you are beloved children of spirit kings. No wonder you have the same aura! Oh, this is going to be interesting. Who knows what the two of you will create when you work together!” Now that she had finally caught her breath, Ana slowly got to her feet with a little effort and a confident smile on her face.

“The spirit kings totally interrupted us, but you came here to show me something, right?” Lynn asked, helping Ana brush herself off.

“That’s right!” she said, looking excited again. “We made an incredible alloy. Daisy, go ahead and show her.”

I reached into my bag and took out the ingot. This bag was one of my favorites. While the workshop was being built, I’d spent a small fortune to have it enchanted with space-time magic to both expand its inner dimensions and stop time inside of it. That way I could carry something even as heavy as a metal ingot easily. My bag never weighed me down, no matter how much I stored inside it.

Lynn took the guardinium ingot from me, her eyes widening. “Wow… Ana, Daisy, this is incredible. With the protective power in this alloy, we could make something on the level of a national treasure!”

With the undeniable appearance of the Nature Spirit King, there wasn’t much point in hiding where it had come from.

“It’s made from a guardian stone given to me by the Nature Spirit King mixed with silver,” I said. “I was thinking it might work best as an accessory, something that a person can always keep with them. According to my Appraisal, its protective power won’t lose potency even if we divide the ingot.”

“I see,” Lynn said. “That makes sense. Maybe a pendant, a ring, or a bracelet… No, a ring would be best. You can wear it on your hand and it won’t get in your way. We should be able to make quite a few from this ingot. How many do you want, Daisy?”

I hadn’t really thought that far ahead, so I wasn’t sure. “I’d like to start with rings for Mark and Letia, since I promised them. And it would probably be a good idea to make some for the royal family too.” I counted each one out in my mind.

“I’d like one for my grandfather, and some for Granny Ana and her friends who had to flee their homeland,” Lynn said. “And me, of course. Even though we’re protected by the kingdom now, it never hurts to be prepared. We’d be in trouble if the Schwarzritter Empire ever came after them.”

The Schwarzritter Empire… That was the militaristic kingdom Ana and the others had escaped, so they would surely need the protection.

“That comes to fourteen in total,” I said. “But won’t a powerful accessory like this be dangerous if it ends up in the wrong hands?” That was always a concern with something so powerful.

Lynn grinned confidently at me and chuckled.

Ana had a similar mischievous smile on her face. “That’s where Lynn’s special ability comes in!”

“This will do.” Lynn picked up a plain bangle that was sitting on the worktable. “This one doesn’t have any enchantments on it yet.”

Enchantments?

Lynn traced her finger along the inside of the bangle and muttered something under her breath. “There, see this writing?”

“Yeah, there’s something like letters carved inside,” I said. A mysterious line of script had appeared along the inside of the bangle where she’d traced. “But I’ve never seen this language before.”

“This is an inscription in the ancient Dwarven language,” Lynn explained. “I’ve enchanted it with old Dwarven magic as well. The inscription means, ‘This shall not bless those with ill intent.’” She puffed out her chest proudly. “I’m the only one who can perform ancient enchantments like this. That means no one can remove it but me. You’d have to know both the old language and magic to break it,” she said with a wink.

“This is amazing, Lynn!” I couldn’t help but clench my fists with excitement. Her special ability impressed me so much I could only gaze at her with admiration.

She laughed shyly and tousled my hair. “Aw, stop. You’re gonna make me blush!” she said with a grin. “All right, then, I’ll go ahead and make rings out of this ingot. I’ll bring them over to Ana’s once they’re ready, so just wait a bit.”

Now that everything was settled, Ana and I headed home.

About a month later, the bell above my workshop door jingled as Ana and Lynn came in together.

“Hiya, Daisy! Long time no see,” said Lynn. “Sorry this took a while. I got a little carried away with the details, but the rings are finally done.” It was early summer now, and Lynn’s forehead glistened with sweat from the long walk over.

“Welcome, Lynn and Ana!” I said. “We’ll talk upstairs in the living room since this is so important. Come on in!” I gestured toward the stairs before stopping by the kitchen to fetch three glasses of chilled, cherry-infused water from the bakery. I carried them on a tray up the stairs to the living room on the second floor.

“Go ahead and have a seat. It’s hot out, so I got us some water.” I set the glasses down on the table as we all sat down.

“Ahh, that hits the spot!” Lynn must have been thirsty, because she drank half her glass in one gulp. “Now, let’s get down to business.”

She set her bag on her lap and pulled out the fourteen finished rings, just like we’d discussed. Each one was elegantly and beautifully carved with a pattern of winding vines around the sides.

“They’ll automatically resize to fit any finger,” she said with a proud smile.

Guardian Ring

Classification: Accessory

Quality: Supreme

Status: Protects against all status ailments and gradually restores the wearer’s health over time. Uniquely enchanted not to function if worn by anyone with malicious intent.

Feeling: I hope a good person will wear me!

We’d really made something extraordinary together. Since everyone here already knew about my Appraisal skill, I told them exactly what I’d seen.

“Wow, that’s amazing!” Ana looked delighted. “Mark and Letia will be so thrilled. I’d better let them know.”

“Hey, Ana? Won’t the other adventurers say it’s unfair if only those two get to buy them?” I asked. It was something that had been bothering me.

“Oh, you must not know those two very well then, Daisy,” Lynn asked. “They’re basically the kingdom’s guardians.”

She explained that adventurers were ranked based on their abilities and accomplishments, from F-rank to S-rank at the very top, and there were only three S-rank adventurers in the entire world. They spent most of their time handling high-level missions assigned by their monarchs or the central guild itself. No one ever knew exactly where they were at a given time. They were like legendary figures to ordinary people, a type of person you’d never expect to meet in your lifetime.

Letia and Mark were both A-rank, one tier down from S. They took personal requests from the king, local nobles, and the kingdom’s adventurers’ guild. They dealt with dangerous monsters that couldn’t be handled by anyone else, so in that sense they really were the guardians of this kingdom. They also took on smaller quests when they had the time.

I found myself wondering if, as guardians of the kingdom, they were even stronger than my father. That was a strange thought, because I’d always respected my father so much, but I suppose it was only natural of me.

“Does that mean they’re stronger than the Order of Mages and Knights?” I asked.

“It’s not really a matter of who’s stronger,” Lynn answered. “It’s more about putting the right people in the right situations, and sometimes it just depends on what they’re up against. But I’ve heard that the top knights and mages in the kingdom are about the same rank—that is, A-rank.”

I let out a relieved sigh.

“Anyway, what should we do about price?” I continued. “The gemstone was a gift from the Nature Spirit King, and the silver was something Ana already had. We pretty much made these at no cost.” I crossed my arms and tipped my head to the side.

“Well, I thought we could offer them to the royal family as a gift,” Lynn said. “I don’t think we need to charge each other for the ones we made for our friends and families since we created them together.” She paused for a moment, then said in a panicked voice, “Oh, wait…that makes it sound like I’m trying to get them for free, but that’s not what I meant!”

“Don’t worry about it.” I shook my head firmly. “Ana’s my mentor and you’re going to be my partner. That means your grandfather is important to me too; you’re all people I care about. Besides, if you and the others were captured by your former kingdom, someone might try to use your abilities for war or something else as awful. I don’t want that; it could mean total disaster.”

And it was only thanks to Lynn’s special enchantments that I even considered making accessories for everyone out of this ingot in the first place.

“That just leaves Mark and Letia,” I continued.

It felt strange to charge only them and not everyone else, especially since they were protectors of the kingdom just like Father was. That made me hesitate to put a price on them.

“Actually, I’ve got an idea,” Lynn said. “You know how we have to gather our own materials sometimes? What if, instead of charging for the rings, we had them agree to accompany us for however long we needed, anytime we needed it? Their rates are pretty steep otherwise, so I think that would be fair. The rings would be their payment instead of money.”

“You’re so smart, Lynn!” I grabbed her hand and clasped it tightly. “All right, then. Why don’t the three of us try them on?”

Lynn, Ana, and I each picked up a ring and slipped them onto the middle fingers of our left hands. Suddenly, bright green and golden lights flared behind us.

Talk about déjà vu…

“Daisy, that ring was made from the gemstones I gave you. Shouldn’t you wear it on your ring finger?” It was the familiar voice of the Nature Spirit King.

“He’s right, Lynn!” boomed the Earth Spirit King. “Those are the spirit kings’ guardian rings! Naturally our beloved children should wear them on their left ring fingers!”

A month had passed since their last nonsense, and here they were again.

But…wasn’t the left ring finger where my parents wore their matching wedding bands? Why in the world should I put it there?

“Spirit Kings! Please!” Lynn yelled, jumping to her feet and glaring at them. “That would make them look like engagement or wedding rings!” Her face was bright red with fury. Honestly, I was impressed that she could sass them so easily.

“Daisy, won’t you wear it on your left ring finger for me?” the Nature Spirit King pleaded.

“Sorry, but I don’t really understand what you mean!” I replied, tipping my head to the side to give him my most innocent, childlike smile. I knew that wearing a ring on that finger meant something very important, but maybe if I just pretended I was too much of a kid to know, I could get away with it.

“Lynn,” the Earth Spirit King said, turning toward her.

“Absolutely not,” she shot back.

The two spirit kings exchanged a glance, then smiled at each other and shrugged like children caught with their hands in the cookie jar.

“Honestly, it would be worth it to wear them there just to deter strange men from our beloved children. But maybe we did go a little too far,” the Nature Spirit King said.

“True, true!” The Earth Spirit King laughed heartily.

Now that they were done fighting over which of us was the cutest, they were on the same team?

I guess they did seem to get along in their own way.

They both gave a resigned nod, took the rings from our hands, and slipped them onto the middle fingers of our left hands themselves.

Ana smiled fondly as she watched us, then quietly put her own ring onto her middle finger.

“Since you’ve gone to the trouble of crafting the rings, allow us to bless them as well,” the Nature Spirit King said.

“That’s a fine idea!” the Earth Spirit King agreed.

They each placed a fingertip onto our rings and murmured something under their breath. Then a green gem appeared in my ring and a golden one in Lynn’s.

With that, they both vanished, looking thoroughly pleased with themselves.

Guardian Ring of the Nature Spirit King

Classification: Accessory (Daisy only)

Quality: Ultra Supreme

Status: Protects against all status ailments and gradually restores the wearer’s health over time. Uniquely enchanted not to function if worn by anyone with malicious intent. In addition, the gemstone automatically applies physical and magical barriers when attacked.

Feeling?: If you dare to lay a hand on my beloved child, face the wrath of her guardian—the Nature Spirit King himself!

Guardian Ring of the Earth Spirit King

Classification: Accessory (Lynn only)

Quality: Ultra Supreme

Feeling?: If you dare to lay a hand on my beloved child, face the wrath of her guardian—the Earth Spirit King himself!

I’d been granted an unbelievable blessing. Was it just me, or did the Nature Spirit King take over the Feeling entry? I mean, it said “Feeling?” with a question mark!

I wondered if I should tell Lynn about the message. I hesitated, but I had a feeling it would be too much for Lynn, who was eighteen and at a marriageable age. It would be a lot to deal with even from a normal parent, but this was a spirit king! The bar was absurdly high for any romance or marriage. In the end, I decided I’d just keep it to myself for now.

Oh, right! I couldn’t just stand around spacing out all day. There were people to deliver rings to! I had to contact my family and gather everyone together, and I also needed to formally request an audience with His Majesty!

***

I asked Marcus to run an errand for me and deliver the letters I’d written: one to my family and another to the royal family.

Soon after, I received a reply that said Remus would be returning home next Sunday, so we could gather the family then. Marcus said he would be at his family’s house on that day, but Miina insisted on coming with me to the Preslaria estate, so the two of us went together.

Remus was already waiting in the entryway when we arrived, pacing back and forth as if beside himself with anticipation. Over and over, he muttered “Is she here yet?” It took me a bit by surprise.

Really? I know it’s been a while since we saw each other last, but isn’t that an overreaction?

Before I could say anything, the moment I stepped through the door, he rushed over and pulled me into a tight hug.

“Listen to this, Daisy!” he said. “Thanks to you, something incredible has happened!”

My brother was typically mild-tempered, so to see him so visibly excited was unusual. What in the world had gotten into him?

“What’s gotten you so worked up?” I hugged him back and looked up at his face. It seemed he’d gotten taller again since the last time I saw him.

“It’s my mana!” Remus replied. “I kept practicing draining my mana completely before bed every night, just like you suggested. Because of that, I broke the all-time record for mana capacity during the aptitude test for the academy’s entrance exam! All the teachers were freaking out, saying I could be a future Sage! Thank you so much!” He hugged me even tighter.

I couldn’t help but smile. He must have been dying to tell me in his excitement. “I’m so glad I could help, Remus! Study hard and become a great Mage, so that you can work with Father!”

“I definitely will!” He finally let go of me and smiled, then held out his hand.

I took it and we walked to the parlor together, hand in hand. Miina smiled at me and slipped away to the kitchen.

The rest of the family had already gathered in the parlor, waiting for me.

“I was wondering what the commotion was. It looks like Remus caught you first after all!” Mother said, smiling with amusement when she saw us holding hands.

“And I’m starting at the academy next year! I’m excited for my own entrance exam after hearing about Remus’s results!” said my sister, Dahlia. She was always getting ahead of herself, but since she was enrolling a year later, she might very well end up breaking his record…

“I wondered how everything would work out after Daisy’s Baptism, but here she is, already a distinguished Alchemist, favored by His Majesty at her young age,” Father said wistfully as he looked at us. “And Remus and Dahlia’s futures as Mages seem bright as well. It feels as though the gods themselves have blessed our children.”

“Now, darling. We have truly been blessed with wonderful children, but I think you’re letting your imagination run wild,” Mother said, smiling at Father.

“The reason I asked everyone to gather today is because I have gifts for you,” I announced before walking around the room, handing each of them a guardian ring.

“I can feel the power in this. Is it a magical device?” Dahlia was the first one to pick up on it. Maybe her intuition as a Mage really was the sharpest of all?

“Yes,” I said. “This is a guardian ring. It wards against all status ailments and gradually restores the wearer’s health. Father, Remus, Dahlia, someday you’ll all be called on to fight monsters and protect the kingdom. And Mother, you’re also important to me, so I want you to wear one too.”

“Hang on, Daisy,” Father said. “You say that so easily, but if I’m understanding you correctly, wouldn’t that make this a national treasure? Um, did you make it?” He broke into a cold sweat, his hand trembling as he held onto the ring. I couldn’t blame him; if we’d tried to put a price on them, it would’ve been extraordinary.

“I received the guardian stones and silver as a gift,” I explained. “My mentor and I worked together to make the alloy. Then a Blacksmith friend of mine who’s like an older sister to me helped forge them into rings.” I decided to leave out any mention of the Nature Spirit King.

“Father, I don’t think we can accept something like this just for ourselves,” Remus said hesitantly. “Wouldn’t it be more proper to offer them to the royal family first?” He was clearly uneasy about wearing something on the level of a national treasure.

“Knowing Daisy, I’m sure she’s already thought of that and has rings for the royal family as well. Am I right?” Dahlia said.

I had to smile. She really did know me well. “Yes, I’ve already sent a letter to His Majesty to inform him I have gifts for them.” I was just waiting to schedule an audience now.

“In that case, I think it’s perfectly fine for us to accept them,” Mother said gently. “Daisy, you want us to wear them because you care about us, right?”

I nodded. She smiled back and gave me a reassuring nod.

“Henry, I’m always so worried something might happen to you while you’re away at work. If Remus and Dahlia have to head to the battlefield one day as well, knowing you’ll all have the protection of these rings would give me such peace of mind,” she said, turning to Father and the others to lend her support. Then she looked back to me. “And Daisy? You did give something in return to the people who helped you make these, right? And to the one who gave you such precious materials?”

“I made sure to give thanks and gifts to everyone who helped, so don’t worry,” I confirmed. “Well, except the one who gave me the guardian stones. I’m afraid I’ve been taking his kindness for granted.”

Suddenly, I realized that ever since the Nature Spirit King dropped by that day to tease me, I’d been so flustered that I’d never thanked him at all. I might never have realized it had Mother not said something.

“You should make sure to thank them in a way that will make them truly happy, Daisy,” Mother said.

“I will!” I smiled brightly at Mother and nodded.

In the end, Father and Remus both came around, so our whole family agreed to wear the guardian rings.

That night, Miina treated everyone to a special dinner of our favorite cheeses. She made piping hot potato gratin covered in melty cheese, salad with crumbly cheese on top, slices of round cheese topped with tomato and basil, and, finally, cheesecake for dessert. It was a hit with everyone.

That evening, I spent such a warm, happy night at home. Nothing was better than spending time with my family.

Chapter 4:
A Gift for the Spirit Kings

“THAT’S WHY I WAS THINKING I’D LIKE TO DO something to show the spirit kings our gratitude,” I said.

I was in Lynn’s workshop, sitting across from her. Dragh, her grandfather, was out again today, so we were free to talk about the spirit kings out loud.

“Hmm…” Lynn said. “Spirit Kings, you’re not allowed to spy on us for a while!” She waved her arms around in big circles over her head, but I wasn’t sure if that had any effect.

“Yeah, no peeking! It’s supposed to be a surprise!” I said, raising my voice in the same direction. Hopefully they were listening.

“All right, let’s get down to business,” Lynn said and turned toward me, her expression serious.

I nodded firmly. We needed to come up with something that would really make them happy.

“First, it’s important we make something that comes from the both of us. That’s what matters most,” Lynn said.

“I agree. Whatever it is, I can make the alloy and you make the design. That way, it’ll be our creation together.”

Lynn nodded thoughtfully.

“In terms of design, I think they’d be happiest if everything matched,” I said, thinking out loud.

“I think so too,” Lynn agreed, still nodding. “Even if we use different materials, the designs should be the same.”

“They’ll be so happy! I wonder if they’ll be embarrassed when they notice that they match.”

We leaned in together and giggled, imagining the moment we’d give them the gifts.

“We shouldn’t rush into gathering materials yet, though,” I said. “I’d rather look through some of the local shops first. Would you come with me?”

“Sure!” she immediately replied, grinning enthusiastically.

The two of us—accompanied by our guardian divine beasts, Leaf and Leon—headed down the main street where material shops were located. The street was lined with trees, their branches thick with deep green leaves characteristic of early summer. The sunlight shone down over us, warm enough to make me sweat a bit.

As we walked past shops selling various gemstones and magic stones, one caught my eye. Somehow, I just had a feeling we’d find something good in that one.

“Hello!” we called out together.

“Welcome! What can I help you girls with today?” The man behind the counter smiled at us warmly, welcoming despite us being children.

Thank goodness!

“I’m an Alchemist and she’s a Blacksmith,” I said. “I am hoping to make an alloy with protective properties that we can turn into accessories, and we came here to look for materials.” We glanced uncertainly around the shop while I explained, unsure where to start. There was just so much here, I could hardly tell what was what!

“I keep gems that are either very valuable or have special magical properties in this glass case here,” the shopkeeper said, gesturing to a cabinet as we listened. “The ones in those wooden bins over there are odds and ends, all five large copper coins apiece. You might have a lucky find there.”

I began to scan the glass case with Appraisal to see if anything caught my interest.

Nah, nothing really stands out here.

I figured it wouldn’t hurt to try, so I went through stone after stone in the wooden crates as well, Appraising each one.

Nope… This one is pretty, but that’s it.

Wait a minute!

Stone of Fortune

Classification: Gemstone, Material

Quality: Mid to High

Status: A mysterious stone said to attract good fortune and repel misfortune. Retains its properties when made into an alloy. Its power doubles when combined with certain metals.

Feeling: You won’t regret sticking with me!

Hmm, I’d never seen “Mid to High” quality before. Maybe that meant it depended on how it was processed, or what it was combined with? It could end up becoming something incredible.

The stone fit into the palm of my hand and was shaped like a smooth river rock. It had a soft, pearly luster that reminded me of white mica, and I could see delicate patterns running through it. I felt drawn to it, and not just because of the Appraisal results.

I picked it up and told Lynn what the Appraisal said.

“Ooh, that sounds perfect,” she agreed immediately.

“Hey, Lynn,” I whispered. “I was thinking, if we use this to make matching rings for the spirit kings, do you think you could use whatever is left over to craft three pendants?”

“Sure,” she said. “If you give me an ingot the same size as last time, that should be more than enough.”

I wanted to ensure Miina and Marcus’s safety when I asked them to watch the shop or run errands. Plus, I wanted to thank Katya for helping so much with my business.

“Excuse me,” I said as I held up the stone of fortune. “I’ll take this one. Do you carry pure silver ingots here as well?”

“Oh, did you find yourself a treasure?” said the shopkeeper. “I have a few metals for making accessories. Shall I bring them out for you?”

“Yes, please!”

Whew. That’ll save us from running around all day.

“Let’s see… Pure silver…”

Well, I suppose that’s not a bad choice…

“Gold…”

Can’t you tell just by looking? We don’t match at all!

“Mythril…”

I’d love to take a step up in the world. ¢½

And when I Appraised the mythril…

Let me show you a whole new world! ¢½

The little hearts probably meant they were a perfect match. It certainly seemed eager enough.

“Mythril seems like the best fit, so I’ll take one ingot of that,” I said. “Also, do you carry smaller gemstones like the one in my ring here?”

“I think you’d have better luck across the street,” replied the shopkeeper. “They have a much larger selection of gemstones.”

He pointed out the shop opposite his window, so we paid for our purchases and headed over.

Just as he’d said, the shop across the street had every shade of green stone imaginable, all in different sizes and cuts. It took forever to choose, but we finally found a few that matched closely enough to be called a set.

All right, time to make this happen! It’s my turn first!

Once home, I rushed into my workshop’s lab, full of determination. I’d already put on my apron and gloves.

I placed the mythril and the stone of fortune into the Alchemy cauldron and tightly gripped the stirring rod.

Please become an alloy that will bring everyone happiness so that I can see them all smile.

I closed my eyes and let my prayers fill the room. Then I snapped them open.

“All right, time to get started!”

I channeled my mana into the cauldron, focusing my will into making it as hot as I could. When I gripped the stirring rod more tightly, the mixture gradually began to heat up. It took longer than it had with the silver, but eventually the mythril started to melt. I began to stir it in steady circles.

“Come on… Blend together…” I muttered.

Fortunium

Classification: Alloy, Material

Quality: Low

Status: An alloy imbued with the power to bring good fortune. Its potency does not change with quantity. The bond between components is weak, so the alloy will not reach its full potential.

Feeling: We’re still not comfortable with each other… I want to be closer…

Well, I’d only just melted and mixed it together, so of course it needed more care. I’d make sure it bonded properly.

Fortunium

Classification: Alloy, Material

Quality: Medium

Status: An alloy imbued with the power to bring good fortune. Its potency does not change with quantity. Capable of fully reaching its lucky potential, but there’s still room for improvement!

Feeling: I want to become even closer with mythril!

You’re almost there! Show me what you’re capable of! I stirred the mixture carefully around the cauldron one more time.

Fortunium

Classification: Alloy, Material

Quality: Best

Status: An alloy imbued with the power to bring good fortune. Its potency does not change with quantity. When danger is near, it will subtly guide its owner to avoid harm.

Feeling: As long as we’re together, nothing bad will happen to you!

Yes, I did it!

I’d successfully made high-quality fortunium and fully drawn out its potential. Perfect! I stood tall and proud with my hands on my hips, slightly out of breath and cheeks flushed with excitement. I pulled the stopper from the cauldron’s spout and carefully poured the molten alloy into an ingot mold, then left it to set for a few days.

Two weeks after that, Lynn showed up at my workshop with the forged pieces.

“Hey, Daisy! I’m finished, and I brought them over!” she called as she came inside, the bell ringing softly to let me know someone had arrived.

“Great! Let’s take them upstairs,” I said. “I’ll grab something to drink, so go ahead and have a seat.”

Plum-infused water was on the menu that day, so I poured some into two glasses, set them on a tray, and carried them up to the second floor. Setting the tray on the dining room table, I sat across from Lynn. We each took a sip of our drinks. The sharp coldness of the water with the sweet tartness of the plum was clean and refreshing.

“Whew!” Lynn said. “All right, take a look. Here’s what I came up with.”

She showed me two rings, identical except for their gemstones. They’d used more material than ours had, giving the bands more thickness.

“I made them wider, since they’re for men,” Lynn explained.

I picked up the one with the green gemstone. Although the material was different, the color of the metal matched our rings almost exactly, and it was engraved with the same vine pattern. I held it up to the one I wore on my middle finger, and it matched perfectly. I couldn’t have been happier with how they turned out.

Ring of Fortune

Classification: Accessory

Quality: Best

Status: A ring imbued with the power to attract good fortune and repel misfortune. When danger is near, it will subtly guide its owner to avoid harm.

Feeling: I’ll bring you happiness!

I looked up at Lynn. “Shall we call them here?”

“Yes, let’s do it!” she said.

“Ready?”

“One, two…”

“Spirit Kings!” we both called out in unison. A shimmer of green and golden light immediately filled the room.

“Daisy!”

“Lynn!”

The Nature Spirit King and Earth Spirit King both appeared at once, their hands outstretched; then they both hesitated, their arms wobbling awkwardly.

It seemed as though they wanted to embrace us, but weren’t sure if they were allowed.

I smiled and held out my palm, showing the matching rings to the spirit kings.

“We made these rings to show you our gratitude. Will you accept them?” I turned my eyes to the Nature Spirit King. He looked down at me with the warmest, happiest smile I’d ever seen.

“Of course, Daisy,” he said. “We’re usually the ones doing the giving, so to receive gifts from our beloved children… We are truly blessed! Would you do me the honor of placing the ring on my finger yourself?”

I nodded and took the Nature Spirit King’s left hand.

“Since they match, it should go on the same finger as ours. The middle finger,” I said, slipping the ring over his smooth finger until it settled into place.

“Thank you, Daisy.” He placed a kiss on my temple so softly that I could feel his warmth, even through my hair. We held our hands side by side to admire how perfectly the rings matched.

I looked over at Lynn and the Earth Spirit King doing the exact same thing with their own hands. We all looked at each other and the four of us burst into laughter. The whole room felt like it was enveloped in a gentle, glowing happiness.

Once the Spirit Kings had left, Lynn and I settled her payment for crafting the rings and pendants and my share for the materials and the labor. Once everything was sorted, she waved goodbye and left the workshop.

Now I was alone with the three pendants sitting neatly on the table.

It was great timing, it turned out—Katya had come by today to go over the accounts, and she was probably out on the bakery terrace right now having lunch. This would be the perfect moment to give everyone their gifts.

Pendant of Fortune

Classification: Accessory

Quality: Best

Status: A pendant imbued with the power to attract good fortune and repel misfortune. When danger is near, it will subtly guide its owner to avoid harm.

Feeling: I’ll bring you happiness!

The pendant was about the size of the first joint of my pinky, and it was a small oval, thicker in the middle in a way that made it look almost plump. On the surface was a delicate engraving of a shooting star and crescent moon, giving it a sweet, charming appearance. The round fitting on top was a bit oversized; it was strung on a chain now, but it could be swapped out for a choker or bracelet if desired.

Lynn told me she’d chosen the shooting star motif because it felt right for a pendant of fortune—like a wish coming true. It was the kind of accessory that would look good on anyone our age, regardless of gender.

“Miina! Marcus! Katya! I have something for you!” I called out to the three of them as they sat together in the bakery, now settled from the lunchtime rush. Miina and Marcus looked surprised.

“We’re just your staff. You don’t have to go to such trouble for us!” Miina wrung her hands nervously.

“She’s right, Miss Daisy. You already pay us more than enough. We couldn’t possibly accept…” Marcus began, looking troubled.

“Please listen,” I said. “These are pendants to ward off misfortune. I’d be in big trouble if anything ever happened to you while you were out running errands or minding the shop, so you’d be doing it for my sake too. Please, won’t you wear them for me?”

“Oh, Miss Daisy! I’m so happy you think of us that way!” Miina’s eyes filled with tears, and she flung her arms around me in a tight hug before taking the pendant. She put it on as a necklace immediately.

“A-are you sure it’s all right?” Marcus asked hesitantly.

“Don’t be silly,” I said, pressing one into Marcus’s hand. “You’re my precious friend too.” He looked so embarrassed as he wore it that the tips of his ears turned pink.

“And this one is for you, Katya. It’s thanks to your help I was able to open the workshop at all, and you’ve kept it running smoothly ever since. A pendant of fortune is meant to bring blessings, so it should bring good luck for your business. Please take it.” I held out the final pendant to her.

“I’m not formally an employee of yours, though. It wouldn’t feel right to accept it without payment,” Katya protested, every bit a merchant’s daughter.

“No, Katya,” I insisted. “You’re my friend and ally. What’s wrong with giving gifts to your friends, huh?” I pressed the pendant against her chest.

“A-a gift from a friend…” She turned bright red, lowering her face so I couldn’t see, and then slowly fastened the pendant around her neck. “Friends… We’re really friends? She’s…my very first friend…” She kept her face lowered as she whispered something under her breath. I wondered if she didn’t have many friends her own age; she looked totally flustered.

But now that everyone I cared about was protected, I could finally relax.

Chapter 5:
A Ruthless Battle Among Women

WHEN I’D DUG THROUGH THE BARGAIN BINS at that shop, looking for stones to make the spirit kings’ gifts, there had been another stone aside from the stone of fortune that caught my eye. So I went back to the store with Leaf today to look for it.

Yep, this is the one! It looked like nothing more than an ordinary gray rock, but…

Marriage Stone (Husband)

Classification: Gemstone, Material

Quality: Low to High (depends on compatibility with Wife Stone)

Status: A mysterious stone said to deepen the bond between spouses and help with conceiving children. It contains power on its own, but making it into an alloy together with the Wife stone greatly increases its effect. Neither stone is effective seperately.

Feeling: I want to be with my beautiful bride, together forever!

This was the husband stone, so I guess it was missing a wife?

Come to think of it, the king and queen hadn’t had any children in a while. That was partly what had motivated the attempted poisoning. If this stone could help them have another baby, then I really wanted to find the matching one! And if I could make some lovely accessories out of them, I just knew that would please the queen.

Hmm, but I heard babies were delivered by storks or grown in cabbage patches. Maybe the marriage stones acted like a beacon for the storks to find them more easily?

I rummaged through the bins, but no matter how hard I looked I couldn’t find a wife stone.

“Do you need any help, Miss?” the shopkeeper from before called out to me in a friendly voice.

“This is a husband stone, but I can’t seem to find the wife to go with it,” I said, holding out my palm so he could see.

“Goodness, you certainly have a sharp eye!” he said. “The stone’s mate is much easier to spot, because it looks like a sparkling gem. See how the husband looks plain and gray? That’s why nobody notices him. Hold on a minute—I’m pretty sure I have a few wives in the back room.”

He rushed off to his storage room.

A…few? But I only need one! Wait a second, does that mean a bunch of wife stones will be fighting over this poor husband stone?

I had a bad feeling about this, and sure enough, that’s what ended up happening.

“They found a husband stone?!”

“Hey, an opportunity like this doesn’t come along like this every day! He’s mine!”

“What are you going on about? Obviously, I’m the one most worthy to be his wife!”

“Oh, please! I’m much more beautiful than you!”

As the shopkeeper lined up all the colorful, sparkling wife stones on top of the glass case, I could hear them shouting their feelings in my head. They were so loud, in fact, that it practically rattled my brain. Please take it easy!

But their shrill argument kept on going as I stood there. Sheesh… I looked down at the poor husband stone in my hand.

“I-I don’t think I’d do well with a wife that demanding. Help me…” He sounded like he was ready to flee, and I couldn’t blame him. As the rest of the wife stones continued to bicker over who deserved the husband stone, my gaze drifted over to a little pink gem sitting quietly near the end of the row.

“I’m not as eye-catching as the others, so I thought I should just keep quiet…” Her voice was small, almost timid. Something about her modesty made me think she’d be the perfect match for the husband stone, so I held him a little closer to her.

“You seem so gentle and wonderful…¢½”

“What a delicate, lovely little thing! ¢½”

I knew it!

“Hey, why her of all the stones?!” The other wife stones shrieked behind me, but I decided to just ignore them. This was the pair I wanted.

“Now, what about the metal?” asked the shopkeeper. I brought the stones toward a gold ingot, and a soft glow enveloped them, filling the air with a warm, gentle feeling.

“I’ll be your matchmaker, dears.¢½”

“Thank you, Miss Gold!”

Perfect! It had been decided.

I returned to my workshop laboratory and stepped up to the cauldron; I already had on my apron and gloves.

All right, it’s time to give it my all and craft something that will truly please the king and queen.

I gripped the stirring rod tightly and filled my heart with determination.

Come on… Blend together so you can bring the queen a baby…

I channeled mana into the cauldron, willing it to increase temperature. As I kept my thoughts focused, the gold began to melt and I stirred it in smooth, deliberate circles.

Blend…

Baby Gold

Classification: Alloy, Material

Quality: Low

Status: An alloy imbued with the power to deepen bonds between lovers and help conceive children. Its power does not change with quantity. The bond is still weak and effects may not fully manifest.

Feeling: I don’t know if we can truly be called married yet…

Well, I’d only just begun to melt it, so that made sense. It needed more time. I closed my eyes and thought of the queen, then poured in more magic as I stirred.

Baby Gold

Classification: Alloy, Material

Quality: High

Status: An alloy imbued with the power to deepen bonds between lovers and help conceive children. Its power does not change with quantity.

Feeling: I’m sure the stork will bring a baby soon!

I did it! The stork will surely come now! The queen will be so happy!

I pulled the stopper from the cauldron and poured the glowing liquid into an ingot mold. At that point, it was just a matter of waiting a few days for it to cool and set. Once it finally cooled, I took the ingot straight to Lynn so she could craft two rings, one each for the king and queen.

Ring of Conception

Classification: Accessory

Quality: Best

Status: A ring imbued with the power to deepen a couple’s bond and help them conceive children.

Feeling: I’m sure the stork will bring a baby soon!

As I held them in my hands, I felt a flutter of excitement. Surely, this would bring them the baby they were hoping for. Just imagining it made my heart race.

Chapter 6:
Gifts for the Royal Family

I REALIZED THAT I NEVER ACTUALLY DELIVERED the desserts with Chantilly crème I promised to the king, back when he gave me the centrifuge. Those were so delicious, I wanted the whole family to try them.

I went looking for Miina, who was usually in the kitchen or bakery, and sure enough, I found her in the kitchen cleaning up.

“I have a favor to ask you, Miina,” I said.

“Oh? What is it?” She paused her chores and wiped her hands on her apron, her white cat ears perking up.

“I’m going to have an audience with the royal family soon, and I’d like you to help me decide what to make,” I explained, sitting down in one of the little chairs by the wall.

“Oh, my! For the king?! I’ll grab my recipe books!” She rushed upstairs to her room on the third floor.

I’d heard that Miina spent nearly all her wages on cookbooks. Books were expensive, and the new recipes benefited everyone in the workshop, so I wished she’d let me buy them with shop funding. I worried she wouldn’t have much to spend on new clothes or treats for herself otherwise, but Miina would always tell me that her favorite thing to do on her breaks was go to the bookshop and buy the latest cookbook she’d been saving up for. I wondered if I should just insist on covering them as a business expense since I was her employer. I would have to discuss it with her someday.

As I pondered that, Miina came down the stairs with her arms full of books. “Sorry to keep you waiting!” She set the stack of books on the clean kitchen table and we pulled up chairs to look at them together. I recognized the topmost book, because she’d shown it to me before: It was all about baking.

“Let’s see, what kind of pastry would go best with Chantilly crème?” Miina flipped through the pages and frowned with concentration. “Hm?”

She stopped at a picture of a round, golden-brown pastry called choux.

“This is a light little pastry that bakes up to be hollow inside. What if we filled it with Chantilly crème?”

“Ooh, that sounds perfect!” I said. “That way they’ll keep their shape when we transport them.”

We decided right then and there to call that recipe choux a la crème.

It was finally the day of my audience with the royal family. I carefully packed the choux a la crème into a box lined with ice to keep them cold. Borrowing my family’s carriage, I set out for the castle.

I had a dress tailored especially for the occasion, made of deep moss green fabric. The front panel was white with delicate shirring and lace and a little moss green ribbon at the center of the bodice. My usual satchel would not be properly formal, so I tucked the rings into a small handbag instead.

Miina helped me prepare, since I couldn’t possibly get into a dress like that by myself. I’d also invited Ana and Lynn to attend, but they’d refused. “This is a noble’s job,” they said, so I made the trip to the castle by myself, feeling a little lonely.

Once I arrived, I was shown to a modest reception parlor near the royal family’s private quarters.

“It’s been a while, Daisy,” said the king. “Ah, please don’t get up—go ahead and sit.”

Regardless, I waited until the whole family arrived, then bowed and took my seat. Heinrich was there too, probably to Appraise everything I’d brought.

“You’re the girl with the delicious bread, right?” said Prince William, a boy about my age with bright, excited eyes. “Did you bring something yummy again today?”

“Is it the sweet cream?” Princess Margaret asked with a big, hopeful smile.

Good thing I remembered to bring pastries! I thought with a relieved sigh.

“Really, William, Margaret,” scolded the queen. “Mind your manners. I’m sorry about that,” she said to me, looking a bit embarrassed.

“It’s no trouble at all,” I said. “In fact, I brought something new today. These are called choux a la crème; they’re pastries filled with Chantilly crème. Please keep them chilled and enjoy them soon.” With a smile, I set the box on the table.

“Thank you,” said the king. “We’ll look forward to eating them together later.”

“The main reason I’m here today is because I wanted to present you with gifts—the results of my studies into using Alchemy to alloy metals,” I explained. Then, I took out four rings from my purse. “These are called guardian rings; they ward against all status ailments and gradually restore the wearer’s health. I have made one for each of you.”

Next, I took out the pair of special rings. “And these are rings of conception. They deepen the bond between couples and help them to bring children into the world. If Your Majesties both wear them, I’m sure the stork will find its way to you!”

Phew, that covers everything!

“The…stork…?” the king looked at me blankly for a moment.

Hm? Why does he look so confused by that?

“Ahem, pardon me,” he muttered. “Sometimes I forget you’re still a child, Daisy.” He covered his mouth with his hand as he laughed.

“Your Majesty, don’t laugh,” the queen scolded, smacking his hand playfully. “If Daisy’s description is accurate, these rings are extraordinary! They could even be national treasures. Would you confirm, Heinrich?”

Heinrich quietly examined each ring. “Miss Daisy spoke the truth. The guardian rings are remarkable. Please wear them immediately. And…” He cleared his throat. “If I may speak as a subject of this kingdom, I very much hope you will wear the rings of conception as well.” His cheeks turned a little pink.

The queen picked up the guardian rings first, placing them gently on both her children’s fingers and the king’s before putting one on herself. Then, she took one ring of conception and carefully slid it onto the king’s finger before placing the other on her own, almost as if she was making a quiet wish.

“Thank you, Daisy…especially for this ring. I’ve always wanted to give William a little brother, one who could help him rule when his time comes, but it hasn’t happened yet. Perhaps this time my wish will come true. You’ve given me hope again.” She smiled happily at me.

“Oh, and of course we must thank you properly,” she continued in a light, cheerful tone. “Let’s see, I have a feeling you’d most appreciate books, wouldn’t you? Or is there any kind of equipment you need?”

“I really would appreciate some books,” I said honestly. “They’re very expensive, and I can never have enough.”

The queen looked even more delighted and promised me she would arrange it.

***

Some time later…

About three months later, there was an announcement that the queen was expecting, and the following year she gave birth to twins—a prince and a princess. The whole kingdom celebrated.

After that, more children were born to the queen every few years, and her sadness faded away. Lynn and I made it a tradition to craft new guardian rings from the leftover ingot for each royal birth and deliver them as gifts to mark the occasion.

Great job, stork! I would always cheer in my heart.

***

I had two guardian rings left to give out, which meant only two more people remained on my list. And one day, they showed up together.

“Ana told us you’d come up with something amazing, so here we are,” Mark said with a grin.

That’s right, Mark and Letia were the last two people in need of their guardian rings.

“Since these are rather special, would you mind coming inside?” I led them to my laboratory in the back. Once there, I unlocked the drawer and took out the rings, placing them carefully into my hand so they could see them.

“These are guardian rings,” I explained. “They prevent all status ailments and gradually restore the wearer’s health. And they won’t work for anyone with an evil heart. I’d like you to have them.”

They both just stared at me in silence.

“Hm?” I tipped my head, confused.

“Don’t ‘hm’ me!” Mark exclaimed. “Don’t you realize what you’re giving us?! A ring that prevents any status effect and heals you over time?! That’s basically a national treasure!”

“This is way beyond anything I ever expected,” Letia murmured. Her voice was quiet but awed.

“Oh, so you don’t want them?” I teased.

“Of course we want them!” Mark said. “Didn’t I tell you last time we were stuck dealing with a monster with all kinds of status-effect attacks?!”

I shrank back a little, feeling like I was being scolded.

“Still, it’s not like we’re broke, but how in the world do we pay for something like this?” Letia muttered, rubbing her forehead.

“Lynn and I already discussed it,” I said. “Would it be all right if you repaid us by serving as our escorts whenever we need to gather materials? We don’t need any other payment.” I looked up at them hopefully.

“You want us to pay for it with labor?” Mark asked.

Letia nodded, looking satisfied.

“Don’t just say yes, Letia!” Mark said. “This is a lot to casually agree to! Honestly, between you, Daisy, and now Lynn, you need to take money way more seriously as proper artisans! Come on, we’re all going to talk to Lynn.”

Letia and I had no choice but to follow Mark. He led us to the Blacksmith district, and before long we were at Lynn’s workshop.

“Lynn, are you in here?” Mark called out through the open door. Her voice answered right away; she must’ve been in the middle of working on something.

“Lynn, about that ring…” Mark continued, “what do you mean, we can have it for free if we escort you? You can’t just blow off its value! You’re an artisan. You need to charge properly.”

“Oh, so the deal’s off?” Lynn shrugged, then grinned at him, sticking out her tongue. Mark bonked her on the head with his fist.

It seemed like they were close. That looked like it had hurt, but I was a bit envious of their easygoing friendship.

“So? What’s your offer, then?” Lynn rubbed her head, pouting.

“We’ll pay you ten million lira per ring. That means one large gold coin each for you and Daisy. On top of that, we’ll agree to escort you depending on your schedule. Honestly, ten million is still cheap for what they’re worth. So just take it, all right?” Mark said like he was scolding her.

“All right,” we both replied in unison, nodding without protest.

“You good with that too, Letia?” he confirmed, and Letia nodded.

“Yes, that’s fine.”

With that, we settled on a price for the rings. Mark took out two large gold coins from his magic bag and handed one to each of us, then I finally passed the rings over to them.

We all stayed at Lynn’s grandfather’s workshop for a while after that, sitting around the little break table and chatting idly.

“So, Daisy, Lynn, is there anywhere in particular you like to go to gather materials?” Mark asked.

“Not right now, really,” Lynn said. “But someday I’d love to team up with Daisy and make something amazing, like a magic sword, or armor with unbelievable resistance abilities. How about you, Daisy? Got anything in mind?” She leaned back, resting her elbow on the chair as she looked at me.

“I’d like to get some Sage’s herb and healing moss,” I said. “And maybe some special thread to make into robes. My family’s all Mages, so…”

Lynn’s question had me thinking about my own plans, so I couldn’t help but share my thoughts.

“Sage’s herb and healing moss? What will you use those for?” Letia asked, looking puzzled. She had likely never heard of those before.

“They’re for making higher-grade mana potions,” I explained. “I thought if Mages going dungeon diving didn’t have to drink as much potion, it might help with, you know, bathroom concerns.”

“Bathroom concerns?” Letia blinked at me, looking baffled. “If you need to go, just find somewhere discreet and let it out. That’s what I do.” She said it so plainly that I was too shocked to reply.

Mark smacked her lightly on the back of her head. “Can’t you be just a little more ladylike?”

I was starting to think this adventuring party was more of a comedy duo. Mark was the straight man, and Letia was the punch line.

At any rate, it seemed like they had plenty of quests in their queue, including the hunt for that monster that inflicted those nasty status ailments. Lynn and I decided not to gather materials until after those were handled.

But honestly? I couldn’t wait!

Chapter 7:
The White Powder Incident

ONE QUIET SUNDAY, I FOUND MYSELF MISSING my family, so I returned home for the first time in a while.

“I’m home!” I called out when I got to the foyer. Sebastian and the other house staff came to greet me as I stepped inside. Mother and my sister, Dahlia, were in the parlor with their backs turned to me, deep in conversation.

“Hello, Mother and Dahlia!” I said.

When they turned around, their faces were…white. They had painted themselves a stark white from their hairlines down to the edges of their dresses. Their cheeks were bright pink, and their lips were outlined in vivid red.

What is this, some kind of costume party?

“Oh, Daisy! Welcome home!” Mother smiled at me; her bright red mouth curled into an unsettling grin against the white canvas of her face. Honestly, it was a little frightening.

“Lately, it’s fashionable to wear this white powder from abroad!” Mother said. “I thought I’d better practice with Dahlia in case I need to attend any parties.” She smiled again, the harsh contrast between the white paint and her lip color making her expression even more unsettling.

“That’s right! Daisy, you’re at that age now yourself,” said Dahlia. “You can’t spend all your time on Alchemy experiments; you should be paying attention to fashion and beauty trends too! Look, we even drew beauty marks. Aren’t they cute?” She proudly pointed to her cheek, where I saw a black heart-shaped mark.

I’d never seen a real beauty mark that was heart-shaped before. I didn’t understand it. What was going on here?!

I had the urge to laugh until I fell over, but I knew if I did, the two of them would never forgive me.

Makeup had never been a big part of our kingdom’s culture. People believed it was indecent and that only the morally corrupt painted their faces, so no one encouraged it. But apparently, those values were fading away and makeup was starting to become trendy among high society.

It was a strange trend, to say the least. Still, I wanted to see what this so-called white powder was that they were using.

White Powder (Lead-based)

Classification: Cosmetic

Quality: Normal

Status: Makes a woman’s skin look paler.

Feeling: I’ll give you fair skin, but if you keep using me, you’ll get dark spots all over your face. Heh heh heh.

White Powder (Mercury-based)

Classification: Cosmetic

Quality: Normal

Status: Makes a woman’s skin look paler.

Feeling: I’ll give you fair skin, but if you keep using me, your gums will turn black and your teeth will fall out. Blech!

H-hang on, what is this?!

“Mother, Dahlia! Please stop putting that on your skin at once!” I exclaimed. I rushed over to snatch the powder. But they weren’t so keen to let it go, and we got into a minor struggle.

“What in the world is all this commotion?” Father finally emerged from his study and stepped into the sitting room.

“Darling!” said Mother.

“Father!” said Dahlia.

He took one look at the two of them and froze. “Um, are you going to a costume party?”

Uh-oh, he’d said probably the worst possible thing he could say.

“Daaaarling?” said Mother.

“Faaaather?” said Dahlia.

The two white-painted women slowly advanced on him.

I have a feeling he wouldn’t be able to hold it in.

And just as I thought, Father’s face crumpled as Mother and Dahlia closed in on him.

He burst into laughter. “I mean, your faces are white as ghosts! Then you had to paint on your cheeks and lips just so you could see them! Dahlia, why in the world did you draw a heart on your face?”

“You don’t understand a woman’s heart!” Mother huffed. “This style of makeup has become an essential part of etiquette in high society!”

“Isn’t it important that your daughter be fashionable, Father?!” Dahlia protested.

Father was caught between the two of them, the object of both their scolding.

“Let’s just put aside a woman’s feelings for a moment,” I said, as calmly and seriously as I could. “If you two keep using that stuff, you’re going to get spots all over your face. And if you use that one, it’ll turn your gums black and your teeth will fall out.”

“Wh-what?!”

They both froze, their hands hovering in midair.

“Daisy, is that really true?” Father slipped between them and came over to me, placing his hands on my shoulders and looking solemn.

“Yes, I saw it myself,” I said. “Maybe the guardian rings can block the effects, but I can’t be sure.”

The moment he heard that, Father moved quicker than I’d ever seen. “Rose, Dahlia, until we can confirm these products are safe, I forbid you from using them. Go wash everything off your skin immediately. I don’t want either of you to lose the natural beauty you already have.”

Mother and Dahlia knew he meant business, so they rushed out of the parlor to wash their faces.

“Daisy, would you consider this poison?” Father asked, guiding me over to the sofa.

“Generally, yes,” I said. “Poison is anything that damages the body. But these don’t show strong toxicity in small amounts; it’s the cumulative effect with long-term use that makes it harmful. That’s probably why my Appraisal didn’t outright call them poison.”

Father nodded thoughtfully. “In that case, it must’ve slipped past Heinrich’s Appraisal as well. It could be serious if the queen has also been using this product, and I’m worried about the ordinary citizens who don’t have guardian rings. Daisy, sorry to ask you this, but would you come to the castle with me tomorrow?”

“Of course, Father.”

And that was how I found myself agreeing to an urgent audience at the castle regarding the white powder.

The next morning, I rode in our family’s carriage with Father, just as we’d planned. We stopped by the workshop so Miina could help me change into a formal dress, and I asked her to mind the shop while I was gone.

“Of course. Leave everything to us! Good luck,” Miina said with a smile. Her soft pink hair shifted slightly as she tipped her head. She’d affixed the pendant of fortune to a red ribbon like a choker, with the pendant nestled in the bow at her throat.

She was so cute, and those little white kitty ears peeking through her hair made her even cuter. I wrapped my arms around her and hugged her tight.

“Huh?” She didn’t seem to understand why she was being hugged so hard, but she allowed it without complaint, although she did look quite baffled.

After that comforting moment, I left for the castle with Father.

We were shown to the throne room where the king, queen, prime minister, and Heinrich were waiting. The queen was wearing a loose dress that flowed over her waist, which was unusual for her. Oliver, the commerce guildmaster, and his daughter, Katya, were there as well.

Wait, why is Katya here?

“I have been informed that the powder imported by the Katya Trading Company, run by the daughter of the commerce guildmaster, has been discovered to have potentially harmful effects on the human body,” the king began. Then I understood why the two of them had been summoned.

“We’re truly sorry for importing such items.” Oliver and Katya bowed so low, their heads nearly touched the floor. “We had no idea it was poisonous!”

“I also conducted Appraisals on the items that the queen had planned to use. I failed to detect the poison and put Her Majesty’s health at risk. I deeply regret my negligence.” Heinrich bowed just as deeply, his voice filled with remorse.

“Lift your heads, all of you,” said the king. “Now take a seat. None of you have been called here to be punished. We must decide now how to proceed.”

The three of them slowly lifted their heads and returned to their seats.

“What did your investigation discover, Prime Minister?” the king prompted.

“Upon your orders, I dispatched Shadow and Bird, two of our covert agents, to gather information about the country of origin,” the prime minister responded.

It seemed like Father had filed his report immediately after our conversation yesterday. The prime minister was truly incredible to have made so much progress in the investigation already. But “Shadow” and “Bird” sounded like characters out of an adventure story; I couldn’t help but be curious, even though I knew it wasn’t appropriate. Really, I was still just a kid. What would anyone expect?

“And what did you find out?”

The prime minister flipped through a stack of papers and began to read out loud from them. “First, regarding the lead-based powder, prolonged use will cause dark spots on the skin, thus encouraging more pronounced application. Painting on beauty marks to hide the spots has become fashionable.”

He flipped to the next page.

“As for the mercury-based powder, prolonged use blackens the gums and causes the teeth to fall out. It has become customary to conceal this with a fan. There is even a practice of forcing the impoverished to sell their healthy teeth, which are then turned into dentures for the noble class.”

“How terrible!” The queen gasped and covered her mouth with her hand at the prospect.

The prime minister continued, “Finally, this is only a hypothesis, but rates of fetal and infant mortality are shockingly high in the country of origin compared to our kingdom. It seems something very troubling is happening there indeed.”

The king and queen both went pale as they listened.

“Darling, until this powder’s safety is proven beyond a doubt, I forbid you to wear it,” the king said softly. “And if you find yourself in any social function where this makeup is expected, you may excuse yourself on the grounds of health. Do you understand?”

“Yes. Thank you for your consideration.” The queen bowed her head.

“And until I give explicit orders otherwise, the Katya Trading Company is prohibited from importing or selling this powder,” the king continued.

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Oliver and Katya replied, bowing low once again.

“However, once a woman’s desire for beauty has been sparked, can it be snuffed so easily?” the prime minister mused, pressing his fingers to his temple. “Many purchases have already been made. Recalling them all will be difficult. And even if we ban them, there will still be consumers for them on the black market.”

“Daisy, Oliver, Katya,” the king said, looking at the three of us. “Be it through Alchemy, or with ores and pigments you can obtain through the commerce guild, I want you to develop a similar cosmetic that will pose no danger to our people.”

I knew Oliver and Katya couldn’t refuse after everything that happened; they were already nodding their heads. Katya was an important friend to me, so I had to help her. I stepped forward and bowed my head as well.

***

“And that’s how we ended up with the job of creating a safe white face powder,” I said.

Later that day, I had returned to the workshop and was sat down for dinner with Marcus and Miina. I let out a long sigh when I thought about how much trouble this project would be.

“White powder?” Since the cosmetics were only popular among high society, neither Marcus nor Miina had ever heard of them. They seemed confused, so I gave them a simple explanation.

“It’s a pigment women use on their faces to look paler.”

“They want their skin to look even whiter?” Miina said, sounding impressed. “Noblewomen really go to a lot of trouble for their looks.” She took a bite of the potato gratin that was tonight’s main course.

I nodded in agreement. Miina didn’t need anything like that. Her own soft skin had a natural pink flush that was already plenty adorable. And even though my sister had lectured me about it, I didn’t think I needed any of that stuff either. Honestly, Dahlia was only a year older than me anyway; she didn’t need it!

“So, basically, they want you to make a white powder that blends into the skin and won’t cause harm?” Marcus confirmed.

“That’s right,” I said. “You’ll look like a ghost if the effect is too stark, so it should still have a soft, translucent quality while having enough coverage to hide any blemishes.” I thought back to how Mother and Dahlia looked with makeup on.

“Would potato starch be too common for high society? It’s guaranteed to be nontoxic since it’s a food,” Miina murmured, gazing down at the piece of potato on her fork.

“Potato starch?” I asked with confusion, since I wasn’t exactly experienced with cooking.

“There’s a very fine white powder on the surface of potatoes when you peel and cut into them. Normally you wash it off, but you get even more of it if you grate the potatoes. Maybe something using that powder could work.”

I mulled it over. She had a point: If we could make cosmetics out of something everyone normally ate anyway, it would be guaranteed to be safe.

“Let’s try it,” I said.

Once we were done with dinner, we decided to start experimenting with potato starch, so we went to the kitchen and got three potatoes.

“I’ll start by peeling and grating them,” Miina said. She worked quickly, grating the potatoes one after the other into a bowl. The shreds piled up fast.

“The fibers will get in the way, I think,” I said.

Sure enough, the grated potatoes mixed together with the fibers and liquid produced a wet mash. I could see the fine white powder Miina had described drifting at the bottom of the bowl; that was what we needed.

“Let’s try squeezing it through a coarse cloth,” Miina suggested. She asked Marcus to fetch her a clean cloth and another bowl, then set the cloth over the bowl and dumped the grated potato on top before tying it tightly with a length of twine. She then squeezed the bag of mash firmly as liquid and white powder filtered through the cloth and dripped into the bowl below.

“That doesn’t give us very much,” I said with a frown.

“Hmm…” Miina thought for a moment. “Then let’s knead it in the water and see if there’s more still trapped in there.” She poured more water over the bundle and massaged it for a while. As she pressed and swirled it around, the water turned a cloudy white, indicating there was still more starch left in the bag. We kept working like that until the water finally stopped clouding up, then let it sit.

What resulted was a reddish-brown liquid with a layer of white powder settled at the bottom. We carefully drained the excess powder, added fresh water one last time, then poured it away again until only the damp powder remained.

“All right, let’s leave this out to dry overnight and—” Miina began.

“No, let’s heat it up now and get rid of the moisture right away!” I interrupted, too eager to wait. I grabbed the bowl from her hands before she could protest, dumped the contents into a frying pan, then began to warm it over the stove. I was desperate to see the finished product as soon as possible.

“Look, it’s already turning a nice, clear white!” I said triumphantly, convinced I’d made the right call.

“Wait, why are some parts not drying out?” Marcus leaned over my shoulder, frowning in confusion.

Huh? That can’t be right…

“I’ll turn off the heat,” I said anxiously, then poked the mixture with a spatula. The white powder had turned into something halfway between sticky paste and jelly.

I felt an ominous presence at my back.

“Miss Daisy!” Miina’s voice trembled with anger. She snatched up the spatula, the quivering lump still clinging to it. Her hands shook so furiously the whole mess wobbled right along with them. “I worked so hard to make that powder!” she wailed.

Oh no, I really made Miina cry! Not only that, but her fluffy tail had puffed up to an unbelievable size, resembling a giant bottle brush. I’d really done it this time—she was furious!

“I’m sorry, Miina! It’s my fault! Please don’t cry!” I pulled out a handkerchief and started wiping her tears and the little dribble of snot from her nose.

“Promise me you won’t do anything like that again unless I say it’s okay,” she said with a sniffle, looking up at me with big eyes.

“I promise! I swear I won’t! But…can you please make another batch of that powder?” I pressed my palms together in front of her, bowing my head in apology.

“Fine,” she sighed.

Miina, as kindhearted as she was, agreed to start over from scratch. When she was done, we had a fresh batch of damp white powder spread out on a tray to dry overnight.

The next morning, it finally looked ready.

Starch

Classification: Food

Quality: Normal

Status: A powder that acts as a thickener in foods. May be applied to the skin to give it a paler appearance, but only offers minimal coverage.

Feeling: Perfectly safe even for a baby’s rash! Safe to ingest, too!

Miina took a bit on her fingertip and spread it across the back of her hand. “It really does make your skin look lighter,” she said.

But it wasn’t quite right yet. “It’s too translucent, I think,” I said. “There’s not enough coverage.”

It may have been safe, but we still had a long way to go.

The next day, Katya told me she’d obtained some interesting materials, so I headed to the commerce guild. There was no one better than Ana when it came to minerals, and she was my mentor, so I asked her to come along after explaining the situation. I also brought along a jar of the starch Miina had made.

I introduced myself politely at the reception desk on the first floor. “I’m Daisy von Preslaria, and this is Anastacia. We’re here to meet with the guildmaster…”

“Oh, yes! We’re expecting you; the guildmaster sent word. Please, come this way.” Before I could even finish explaining, we were ushered into a spacious meeting room upstairs.

Oliver and Katya were already there. Several long tables were lined up in the room, covered in all sorts of materials and white powders. Some were in their raw state, while others had already been ground.

“That’s quite a collection. I’d expect nothing less from the commerce guildmaster,” Ana said. She examined them one by one, apparently recognizing each.

“And who is this, Miss Daisy?” Oliver asked.

“This is Anastacia, my Alchemy mentor,” I said. “She knows a lot about minerals, so I asked her to join us.”

“Goodness! We’re terribly sorry to trouble you with our mistakes, but thank you for coming,” Oliver said, taking a bow. Katya followed suit.

“Well, when my dear apprentice Daisy told me she wanted to help a friend who’d been so kind to her, I thought, What kind of teacher would I be to refuse?” Ana said with a gentle smile as she looked between us both. “I’m just an old woman, and my body doesn’t work like it used to, but I’ll share whatever knowledge I have.”

Katya’s stiff expression softened a bit. “Daisy… Thank you!” Tears welled in her eyes as she ran over and threw her arms around me. “I was so scared. I made such an unforgivable mistake, but the king showed mercy and gave me a chance to make it right. But I don’t know where to start, creating a product from nothing! I couldn’t see a way out of this, and I was so scared.” Her hands trembled as she hugged me.

I hugged her tightly in return, rubbing her back to soothe her. “It’s okay. I’m going to figure this out with you. We’ll find a solution together, okay?” I took a handkerchief from my pocket and gently wiped her tears.

“You’re a merchant, right?” said Ana, patting Katya on the back firmly. “You should think bigger. Create something worth much more than what you imported by mistake, so much that you’ll end up exporting it right back! Keep your head up!

“And if you can manage that, you’ll grow our industry, create jobs, and bring in more revenue. That kind of contribution to a kingdom is worth celebrating. A first failure is nothing but a scratch!” Ana continued, giving Katya a kind smile.

“I’ll do my best!” Katya wiped her eyes and nodded, smiling.

“Thank you!” Oliver said, bowing deeply. He stood back up with resolve.

“All right, let’s get started,” Ana said.

I held out the jar of starch. “This is a sample of a white powder we extracted from potatoes called starch. It’s not quite light enough for our purposes, but since it’s made from a common food, it’s perfectly safe to put on skin. It’s supposed to be good for babies’ rashes.”

The three of them gathered round to have a look. Ana unscrewed the lid, dipped a finger into the powder, and spread it across the back of her hand. “You’re right, it doesn’t have as much coverage as the powder everyone has been using. But safety is a strong selling point right now.”

Oliver nodded thoughtfully.

“Let’s put this on the list of base powder candidates,” Ana said.

The others agreed, so we set the jar on the table next to the other samples. Then we went through all of the laid-out materials.

Whiteflower Seeds

Classification: Plant seeds

Quality: Normal

Status: Little girls often use these seeds as play makeup. However, eating the seeds or roots can cause vomiting, stomach pain, and severe diarrhea.

Feeling: Don’t play with me too much!

Well, I could see why someone had the idea, but who brought this in? I suppressed a sigh and looked further down the lineup. Then something caught my eye.

Hm? What’s this?

It wasn’t the shiny ore itself that grabbed my attention, but the white powder that clung to its surface.

Zinc Oxide

Classification: Pigment

Quality: Good

Rarity: B

Status: A compound formed when zinc is exposed to air. White in color. Also has antibacterial, odor-reducing properties and helps prevent sunburn.

Feeling: I’ll make you fairer and protect you from the sun while I’m at it!

My Appraisal skill must have leveled up, because I saw a new category labeled “Rarity.” It seemed to show how valuable the material was.

The zinc oxide was a great find. Not only did it lighten skin, but it had other bonus effects. I dabbed a little of the powder on my hand. My skin looked paler, but the effect was still a bit translucent.

“Oliver? What is this?” I asked. “And is it something we can get easily?”

“That’s zinc,” Oliver said. “It’s mined along with sulfur, which is usually dangerous, but if you feed the ore to mine slimes, they’ll purify it and spit out clean zinc ore. Our kingdom produces quite a bit of it. Are you interested in it?”

“Not the zinc itself. I’m interested in the zinc oxide. It’s not just a white pigment; it also protects from sunburn and neutralizes odor!”

“Is that so?” Ana said. “You even noticed the oxidization on the mineral! You’re remarkable!” She tousled my hair with a grin.

“How can you tell all that just on sight?” Katya and Oliver seemed baffled.

Ah, come to think of it, Ana’s the only one here who knows I can use Appraisal.

“Please don’t repeat what I’m about to tell you,” I said quietly, looking at them in turn.

“Of course.” Oliver bowed his head slowly, one hand over his chest. “Miss Daisy, you’ve saved my life twice now. I swear, I’ll never betray your trust.”

“And I’m your friend,” Katya said. “You saved my life and healed my leg. I’d never break my promise to you.” She clutched the pendant I’d given her tightly to her chest.

They both swore it to me, so I believed them. More than that, I wanted to believe them.

“I have the Appraisal skill,” I admitted. “When I look at something, I can see its properties.”

Their eyes widened, but I could see the moment they understood.

“I see, that explains it,” said Oliver. “Appraisal is a rare gift indeed, and it makes sense you’d want to keep it a secret. Thank you for trusting us with this information. We swear not to breathe a word. Katya?” He nudged his daughter.

“Yes, I promise,” she agreed. “I won’t ever tell a soul.”

“Thank you. All right, let’s keep going,” I said, continuing our inspection of the materials.

“Oh, talc,” Ana murmured. “That could be a good base too.”

Intrigued, I moved to where she was looking. There were several chunks of solid talc, along with some already ground into powder. It was the same mineral used to make chalk for writing on blackboards.

Talc

Classification: Pigment

Quality: Good

Rarity: B

Status: A clay mineral. Becomes a white powder when finely ground and blends smoothly with skin.

Feeling: I’ll make you fairer!

Talc

Classification: Pigment

Quality: Low

Rarity: B

Status: A clay mineral. Becomes a white powder when finely ground and blends smoothly with skin.

Feeling: I’ll make you fairer, but unfortunately, my dust contains substances that can cause malignant tumors if inhaled…

Wait… What was that supposed to mean? I called Oliver over to ask him.

“This talc here is lower quality and contains harmful substances,” I said, pointing to the one in question.

“Well, I brought in samples from a few different sources,” he said. “If some deposits naturally contain dangerous substances, then we can’t use them. Unfortunately, none of my staff have the rare gift of Appraisal, so we don’t have a proper way to screen for this.” He let out a sigh.

“If talc won’t work, then what about sericite or muscovite?” Ana said, looking around the tables as she thought out loud. Katya caught on right away and led her to a table lined with jars and minerals.

“Here’s the sericite,” she said. “We’ve prepared some that’s already ground as well.”

Sericite (Mica)

Classification: Pigment

Quality: High

Rarity: B

Status: A clay mineral. Becomes a white powder when finely ground. Rich oils, making it easy to blend with skin.

Feeling: I’ll make you beautifully pale!

“Wow, it’s so pure white, and it spreads wonderfully,” I said, taking a bit on my fingertip and spreading it across the back of my hand.

“Yes, sericite from the northern mountains of our kingdom is known for its exceptional purity and bright whiteness,” Oliver explained. “If we used this as a base, we’d still have enough reserves to sustain exports.” He sounded relieved by the idea.

Ana gave a satisfied little hum. “This might be the best base. We can mix a small amount of zinc oxide into the sericite powder and create a whole new powder that’s whiter than either, but with deodorizing and sun-protection benefits.” She looked pleased, like she was already envisioning the product.

“And if we offer this improved version as a free replacement, we can collect back most of the old powder that’s already been sold through a trade-in program,” Oliver added, looking very relieved indeed as he finally saw a solution to the recall problem.

“But zinc oxide only forms as a thin layer on zinc that’s been exposed to air,” Katya pointed out, frowning. “How can we harvest enough of it?”

“That’s where an Alchemist comes in,” Ana said. “Once Daisy shows you how to make it, it’ll be your job to figure out how to mass-produce it for sale.”

She slipped an arm around my shoulders as she spoke, hugging me from behind as she gestured at Oliver and Katya.

The four of us loaded the zinc into a guild carriage and returned to my workshop.

“Welcome home!” Miina and Marcus called, stepping away from their tasks to greet us.

“We’ll be using the lab for a while, so please mind the shop,” Ana said. With that, she led us straight into the workshop and then stepped up to the cauldron.

“Daisy, it’s going to get very hot, so put on gloves and an apron,” she instructed.

I nodded, pulled on my equipment, and grabbed the stirring rod. Ana then explained what we were about to do.

“Everyone here knows how water works, yes? If it’s cold, it solidifies. Heat it, and it melts. Boil it, and it turns to steam.”

The three of us nodded.

“Well, metals are no different,” Ana continued. “You think of them as always solid, but if you heat them, they also melt. If you heat them more, they vaporize. But unlike water, the temperatures must be extremely high, so you’ll need to use mana to achieve them. And in an industrial setting, you’d need mana stones to provide that heat.”

“What?!” the three of us exclaimed, startled.

I’d worked with alloys before, so melting metal I could understand, but vaporizing it was something else entirely.

“Now, Daisy,” Ana said as she patted me on the back, “don’t just stand there catching flies. You’re the one who’s going to be doing this.”

“Yes, ma’am…” I snapped to attention. Picking up the zinc, I placed it into the cauldron along with the rod.

“Now, channel your mana into the cauldron through the rod. Make it very, very hot. Don’t panic when it starts to boil.”

“Got it!” I focused my attention on drawing the mana up from just below my navel and letting it flow through my arms and into the rod. My mana poured into the cauldron, and heat built up until I could feel it radiating in waves. The zinc melted into a shiny liquid, and before long it began to bubble and boil.

I kept pouring in my mana, forcing the temperature higher. The liquid zinc slowly bubbled away until it was finally gone, and in its place was a delicate white powder. The cauldron was rounded, so the vaporized zinc never escaped through the sides; instead, it condensed inside as that fine powder.

“The zinc melted and vanished…then turned into a white powder,” I said, astonished.

The three of us leaned in, peering into the cauldron. It was a strange sight indeed: The zinc had just disappeared, leaving only a residue of pale dust.

But how could it vanish like that? And what was the white powder?

“When zinc vaporizes, it combines with the air and becomes zinc oxide,” Ana explained as if it was the simplest concept in the world. “It’s the same stuff you see forming on solid zinc. There’s just more of it.”

We were still confused.

“The difference is the surface area,” she continued. “When something’s solid, only the surface is exposed. But when it turns to vapor, it dissolves and disperses, and more of the inside is exposed to air. More contact with the air means more zinc oxide.”

I thought I understood, but not completely. Ana must’ve sensed our confusion, because she tried another example.

“All right, think about rock sugar versus powdered sugar, or rock salt versus salt crystals. Which dissolves faster in water? The powdered form, right? This is the same principle. The only difference is whether it’s dissolving in water or reacting with air.”

That made a little more sense. I knew I’d have to research it myself later and ask her to explain it all again, but for now, I focused on examining the finished powder with Appraisal.

Zinc Oxide

Classification: Pigment

Quality: Good

Rarity: B

Status: A compound formed when zinc is exposed to air. White in color. Also helps prevent sunburn and has antibacterial, odor-reducing properties.

Feeling: I’ll make you fairer, and protect you from the sun while I’m at it!

Just as Ana said, the zinc had completely transformed into zinc oxide.

The cauldron was still so hot that the entire workshop felt like the inside of an oven; we were all drenched in sweat. But at least the first step was done and we’d produced a reliable quantity of zinc oxide. Now, we’d have to figure out how to make it in a way anyone could reproduce and then plan a testing phase.

“For the trials, I’ll ask for volunteers among the guild’s female staff,” Oliver said. “After that, we can commission one of the most skilled artificers to build a furnace capable of vaporizing zinc on a large scale. That way, anyone can produce this cosmetic.”

Ana nodded in agreement. While everyone else was busy discussing things, I couldn’t help but feel disappointed. Starch had felt like such a clever discovery, but now it seemed like we weren’t even going to use it. I picked up the jar of it I’d brought with me and turned it over in my hands.

A small pile of zinc oxide was on the table near me, left over from the last experiment.

Zinc Oxide

Classification: Pigment

Quality: Good

Rarity: B

Status: A compound formed when zinc is exposed to air. White in color. Also helps prevent sunburn and has antibacterial, odor-reducing properties.

Feeling: Oh! It’s starch! If you mix me together with the same amount of starch, you’ll get a medicine!

Starch

Classification: Food

Quality: Normal

Rarity: B

Status: A powder that acts as a thickener in foods. May be applied to the skin to give it a paler appearance, but only offers minimal coverage.

Feeling: Oh! It’s zinc oxide! If we’re mixed together, we’ll make a skin treatment!

A medicine? Really?

“Hey, Ana?” I said. “It seems like if I mix equal parts starch and zinc oxide, it turns into a skin treatment. Can I try it?”

Ana was deep in conversation with Katya and Oliver, all of them working out how to mass-produce the zinc oxide, but she looked up when I spoke. “Oh? Skin treatment, you say? Go ahead and give it a try.”

“Okay.”

I set a small balance scale on the workbench. The scale was a simple instrument: If I placed something on each of the two plates, I could measure their weight relative to each other. I spooned some starch onto the left plate and zinc oxide onto the right. Then, when both sides were perfectly balanced, I combined the ingredients.

Zinc Oxide Starch

Classification: Medicine

Quality: Good

Rarity: B

Status: A powder that can be applied to eczema, dermatitis, heat rash, chafing, or sunburn. Soothes inflammation, protects from irritation, mildly disinfects wounds, and promotes healing.

Feeling: Please don’t use me on wounds that are open or oozing!

I did it! I developed a medicine! This was the very first original medicine I’d ever made!

Up until now, all I’d ever done was follow instructions from textbooks to create potions that others had discovered long ago. But this zinc oxide starch was a treatment I created and discovered myself. Sure, I had the help of Appraisal, my loyal companion, but this was the first time in my life something like this had happened. I was just bursting with excitement.

Amazing! This is incredible! I’d really created a medicine all on my own. I’d done the same thing as the people who discovered the recipes printed in the textbooks!

“Ana! I did it! I just created a brand-new treatment by myself!” I said. “You just apply it to the skin, and it can soothe eczema, dermatitis, heat rash, chafing, and sunburn!” Overcome with joy, I grabbed Ana’s hand and shook it up and down.

“Wonderfully done,” she said, her eyes crinkling into a kind smile. Then her expression grew more serious. “Listen carefully, though,” she cautioned, her voice growing quiet. “An Alchemist is a scholar of the true nature of everything in this world and can create something of value from what may seem worthless to others. No matter what others may say, an Alchemist isn’t just a healer who brews potions, nor a fool blinded by greed who keeps stoking the bellows in hopes of making gold.”

She tightened her hand around mine. “Daisy, today you discovered something that can truly help people, you made something out of nothing. You’ve officially become a true Alchemist.” She let go of my hand and pulled me into a hug. “Welcome to the world of Alchemy, Daisy.”

Her words sent a thrill coursing through me all the way to my heart. My cheeks flushed, and before I knew it, I was crying.

I was so happy. My mentor had recognized me as a true Alchemist. While I was lost in my feelings and overcome with emotion, Katya and Oliver were running numbers in their heads, planning how to turn the zinc oxide starch into a product. They were merchants, through and through.

“No one’s going to want to use an expensive potion on just a bit of heat rash or eczema. But with a simple powder made from starch and zinc oxide, we could offer a much more affordable treatment,” Katya said, her eyes shining with excitement. “We could fill a palm-sized box to the brim and only sell it for two or three hundred lira!”

Oliver picked up where she left off. “We’ll need to petition the kingdom to increase potato cultivation to produce the quantities of starch needed. We can enlist landless farmers to help clear more fields. With the king’s backing, those people might even earn the right to become landowners in the future.”

Katya picked up the conversation again. There really must be something in the blood! Those two came up with ideas so fast it made me dizzy. “While they grow potatoes, they can process starch as a side business! That’ll improve their livelihoods and increase tax revenue for the kingdom. We should test this medicine thoroughly and present the results to the king!”

Oliver looked positively thrilled, and Katya came over to give me a tight hug.

“You’re incredible!” she said. “Thank you for helping us. I love you, Daisy!”

Time passed, and the day finally arrived for our audience with His Majesty. The king, prime minister, and minister of finance were all waiting for us. Oliver, Katya, and Ana came with me, along with Leaf, my little Fenrir puppy guardian. He lay at my feet, perfectly behaved.

“Thank you for your time today, Your Majesty,” Oliver began with a bow. “We’ve developed a substance to replace the imported face powder, and I’d like to present it to you.”

“Oh? You’ve made an alternative, then!” The faces of both the king and the prime minister brightened with relief and satisfaction.

Oliver produced a small white ceramic jar painted with blue flowers and set it on the table carefully for everyone to see. “This is our new face powder. It’s made out of a combination of powdered sericite from our northern mines and zinc oxide produced by firing zinc ore. Both materials are nontoxic. Our guild staff has tested it thoroughly and confirmed there are no harmful effects on the skin,” he said.

The moment Oliver finished explaining, a chorus of delighted voices rang through the room.

He continued smoothly, “The zinc oxide has the added effect of preventing sunburn. This gives it even more appeal as a beauty product.”

“I see,” the prime minister said, smiling with relief. “In that case, all the women who can’t resist the latest treatments for their skin will flock to it.” He’d been worried that people would give up on the imported powder already spread through the market.

“Yes. We plan to make a public announcement that anyone who purchased the imported face powder may exchange it free of charge for this new, safer product. The Katya Trading Company will take full responsibility for collecting the old stock,” Oliver said.

“Wonderful,” the prime minister said, nodding.

“The kingdom will also assist with informing the public,” the king agreed, clearly pleased.

“We’ll have to increase the amount of sericite and zinc being mined,” said the minister of finance. “That will require some initial investment, but if we can establish this as a kingdom industry, we can expect a substantial increase in tax revenue. We should move swiftly on this matter.” He seemed especially focused on expenses and income, as expected, given his position.

“Your Majesty, we may not have enough officially designated miners,” the prime minister pointed out. “It would be wise to quietly negotiate with the church to grant a special Occupational exemption for the poor to take up mining work. After all, this may become the first truly safe face powder in the world, and a major national industry.” Normally he seemed so composed, but right now he just sounded excited.

The king, prime minister, and minister of finance all exchanged looks after their discussion, then nodded.

A special Occupational exemption…

In this kingdom, the Occupation a person received at their Baptism was believed to be granted directly by the gods and therefore unchangeable. However, if a new industry demanded more labor than the gods had initially considered, exceptions could be made. In such cases, a note would be added to the Baptism certificate with the church’s consent that read something like “Permitted to assume the Occupation of Miner as a special exemption.”

Oliver was eager to continue his report. “There’s one more thing I’d like to share. During the development of this new face powder, Miss Daisy discovered a new medicine: zinc oxide starch, a powder that can help treat eczema and heat rash. Compared to potions with similar effect, it can be produced at a fraction of the cost.”

“Oh?” The minister of finance, a portly man, sounded intrigued. He reached to take the little box Oliver held out and inspected it closely.

“This powder is simply equal parts zinc oxide and potato starch,” Oliver continued. “Because potato starch is so common, even a full cosmetic box of it could be sold for only two or three hundred lira, compared to a thousand lira for a potion.”

“That’s incredibly cheap!” the minister of finance exclaimed.

“Your Majesty, as you know, our kingdom currently only grows potatoes for food,” the prime minister calmly explained. “We’d have to recruit settlers to clear land for farming, and if there aren’t enough farmers, we may need to arrange for another special exemption.”

“And this starch—how is it produced? Is it difficult?” the minister of finance asked, clearly fascinated with the zinc oxide starch.

I stepped forward to answer, since I’d watched Miina make it. “It’s not complicated. You grate potatoes, wrap them in a cloth, and knead them thoroughly in water to extract the starch. If you allow the new farming families to produce it on the side, they’ll have a valuable product to sell on top of their crops. That would raise their income and increase tax revenue as well.”

“It would cure my heat rash and raise tax revenue? Wonderful!” the finance minister muttered under his breath.

I didn’t know he’d struggled with heat rash. He looked so genuinely happy I felt a little warm inside.

“Well, in that case, we’ll carry out the land development on unclaimed royal territory and summon nobles willing to lead the project,” said the king. “We can promise that if their efforts succeed, they’ll be granted noble rank or ownership of the new land. That should draw volunteers and motivate them enough to do the job.” The prime minister and minister of finance both nodded in agreement.

“Now, go ahead and issue orders to the mines to increase production of zinc and sericite,” the king continued. “And begin negotiations with the church regarding the special exemptions right away. Prime Minister, I’m putting you in charge of that effort.” He outlined all the measures the kingdom would take and entrusted the prime minister with their execution.

Once the kingdom had begun increasing production of raw materials, it was up to the Katya Trading Company to take over.

And so, the great national project to bring the face powder crisis under control was set into motion.

Ana and I formally sold our rights to the new products over to the Katya Trading Company, who took over production of both the new face powder and zinc oxide starch. The Katya Trading Company made sure to handle the free exchange of the safe powder with great care and integrity, gradually regaining public trust.

The whole affair sparked a surge in development of safe cosmetics for women, which grew into one of the kingdom’s most celebrated industries. Katya’s company flourished and rose to become a major commercial power. Their efforts were recognized by all.

Even the nations that had once exported the toxic lead- and mercury-based powders began to import Katya’s safe face powder instead, reducing the harm to women around the world.

As for the zinc oxide starch I’d invented, it quickly became popular among everyone from nobles to commoners, thanks to its affordability and ease of use. Even though I’d sold the manufacturing rights, the medicine I’d created would go on to help people for generations.

Chapter 8:
Let’s Eat Something Delicious!

JUST AS THE FACE POWDER CRISIS WAS BEGINNING to settle down, a huge shipment of books arrived at my workshop—the thank-you gift the queen had promised me. It was filled with rare and expensive Alchemy tomes: cookbooks; encyclopedias of ingredients; various guides to plants, herbs, minerals… It seemed she’d decided if it had any sort of utility, she might as well include it.

“I bet Miina will love the cookbooks and ingredient guides,” I said.

She’d been saving all her wages to spend on cookbooks. She was going to lose it when she saw all these!

“Miina!” I called at the top of my voice.

A few moments later, she scurried into the living room from the kitchen.

“Whoa, that’s a lot of books!” she said. “Where did they come from?” She scanned the volumes laid out on the table and froze when she saw the very books I was thinking of.

“Wait, these are cookbooks! And ingredient guides! And they’re enormous! Oh, I-I want to look at them! Can I, Miss Daisy? Please?” She clasped her hands over her chest, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

“They’re a gift from the queen to thank us for everything we gave the royal family,” I explained. “You can have the cookbooks and ingredient guides, Miina. You’d better use them to make us something delicious!” I piled the thick volumes into her arms, then began to sort through the rest of the books.

“Whoa, they’re so heavy! Are you sure it’s all right for me to accept all this?” Miina looked like she was torn between sheer delight and utter panic.

“Miinaaaa!” Just then, a man’s voice called from outside the shop.

“Oh, I think that’s one of our adventurer regulars. I’ll be right back!” Miina quickly set the books back down and rushed down the stairs.

A short time later, she returned from the bakery carrying a huge cut of meat. She told me it was from a bloodcow—a cow-shaped monster. Unlike the common cuts taken from older dairy cattle, bloodcow meat was considered high-end and prized for its perfect balance of fat and muscle.

“He said it was a gift and, um, he just gave it to me!” She looked totally baffled, which was just as adorable as all her other expressions.

He’s obviously trying to woo our sweet mascot girl!

Well, for whatever reason, we’d been gifted a ridiculously fancy cut of beef, and since we were three growing children, we immediately launched into a spirited debate about how best to prepare it.

“Maybe we should just keep it simple and have steak tonight?” I suggested. The most expensive cuts of meat were best left to shine on their own, after all.

“We could, but since we have that new cookbook, why not try something different?” Miina said, then took the meat downstairs to the kitchen to put in the icebox before coming back up.

“Actually, I’ve had a lot of our male customers asking lately if we could start filling our breads with something heartier,” Miina continued.

I stacked the books onto the new shelf I’d ordered for the living room. Miina sank into a chair by the table, resting her cheek on her palm with a little sigh.

She looked a bit troubled, so I wondered if I should help her with some ideas.

“Why don’t we come up with a new kind of stuffed bread together?” I said. “The customers will get tired of the same offerings all the time, right?” I flashed Miina a smile and her eyes instantly lit up.

She nodded cheerfully, then rummaged through the piles of books and pulled out the big cookbook she’d set aside. “Let’s see if there’s anything in here we can use as inspiration…” She began to flip through the pages and I sat down next to her to help her look.

“Horse and beef tartare,” I read out loud.

“Um, I don’t think raw meat and bread are a good combo,” Miina said.

The page showed a heap of raw minced beef next to some kind of creamy egg-based sauce I’d never seen before.

“Then maybe just cook it instead?” I tried.

“I don’t know why you’d take perfectly good meat, grind it up into scraps, and then cook it.”

My offhand suggestion was shot down in an instant.

“Wait, just hear me out,” I said. “Steak is kind of tough for little kids, right? I remember watching Father and the others eating delicious steaks when I was little and being so jealous.”

Miina thought about it for a moment and nodded. “If we minced it first, then formed it back into a patty and cooked it, even children could eat it easily. Older people with weak teeth might appreciate it too. Should we give it a try?”

We rushed to the kitchen together, feeling excited. We washed our hands and dried them carefully with clean towels.

Miina got right to work slicing the bloodcow beef into small pieces, then started mincing it with two knives. She was very good at this.

“We’ll need salt and pepper at least,” she muttered. She put the minced beef into a bowl, added in salt and pepper, and then started kneading it. Before long, the meat grew sticky, looking like it would hold together nicely.

“All right, let’s try cooking up a little,” she said. She poured oil into a frying pan and put the meat inside. We watched as the meat’s juices began to seep out and sizzle.

“It feels like we’re losing all the flavor,” I said uneasily.

“I know! That fat is the best part,” Miina agreed.

We exchanged uncertain looks.

Once both sides of the meat were browned, Miina took it from the pan to taste. It did melt in our mouths, but it just felt like eating scraps of premium meat and it was hard not to feel disappointed. The sight of all the melted fat left behind in the pan was especially frustrating.

“I think it needs to be fluffier somehow if it’s going to appeal to kids,” Miina said.

“Is there a way to trap the juice inside, I wonder?” I said, feeling greedy. The moment I said it, I realized we’d come upon two problems.

Maybe if I use Appraisal, I can find a hint?

I picked up the plate with the last bit of sautéed minced meat and wandered to the shelves where we kept our kitchen supplies.

Onion

Classification: Food

Quality: Normal

Rarity: Common

Status: Sharp when raw but sweet when sautéed. It might make you cry, though!

Feeling: Cook me up and add me to that meat, and I’ll make it nice and tender! Just be sure to cool me down first!

Hmm, that could work. I spotted a loaf of bread that hadn’t sold the day before.

Bread

Classification: Food

Quality: Low

Rarity: Common

Status: Day-old bread that’s dried out.

Feeling: If you grind me up into breadcrumbs, I’ll trap all that juicy goodness inside!

That’s it! But was day-old bread okay to use?

Egg

Classification: Food

Quality: Good

Rarity: Common

Status: A fresh egg laid this morning.

Feeling: Add me into the mix, and I’ll give everything a soft texture to bind the meat together!

I had a good feeling about this!

“If we mix in an egg, I think it’ll hold together better,” I said to Miina. “If we sauté some onions too, it’ll be sweeter, which kids will love. And we can crumble dry bread into breadcrumbs to soak up the extra juices.” I hadn’t told Miina about Appraisal yet, so if she asked how I knew all this, I wouldn’t have a good answer. I tried to act casual as I suggested everything.

“Dry bread…” Miina said thoughtfully. “You mean the loaf from yesterday? Well, technically that is how you make breadcrumbs, but you’re suggesting we mix them into the meat instead of using them as a coating?” She started preparing it as I suggested despite looking skeptical, probably because I was her employer.

First, Miina grated the bread into fine crumbs. “If we don’t mince the onions really well, the patties will probably fall apart, right?” She chopped them into tiny pieces and sautéed them until golden brown.

“Be sure to let them cool before adding them in,” I said.

“Right, or they’ll melt all the fat out of the meat,” she agreed, nodding.

We went back to the counter and started over. Miina seasoned the minced beef with salt and pepper, then kneaded it once again until it became sticky. Next, she mixed in the egg, chopped onions, and breadcrumbs.

“If we just roll them into balls like before, they end up with little air pockets inside that pop open,” she said. “Let’s get the air out first.” She picked up the meat mixture and began to slap it back and forth between her palms with a steady rhythm.

Then, she set it in the oiled frying pan where it started to sizzle, filling the kitchen with the delicious aroma of cooking beef.

“The patties are puffing up more than I expected,” she said. “I don’t want them undercooked, though, so once I flip them, I’ll put a lid on and let them steam until cooked through.” She was just about to turn them over when Marcus poked his head into the kitchen; it looked like there were no customers at the counter for a moment.

“Hey! You two have been back here forever, and suddenly I smell something amazing!” he said. Growing boys were helpless against the scent of frying meat.

“It really does smell delicious,” I said, sniffing the air.

“We made three to try, so don’t worry,” Miina said with a grin. “There’s one for you too!” She lifted the lid off the pan, revealing the perfectly browned, plump patties as the delicious smell of cooking meat wafted toward us.

“Looks like they’re holding their juices in better this time,” Miina said with satisfaction. She speared one with a skewer to check if the juices were running clear. “Yep, cooked in the middle! Let’s taste!”

Marcus fetched three plates along with tongs and forks, then lined them up on the table. Miina used the tongs to gently set one steaming patty on each plate.

“Let’s eat!” we all said together.

I cut off a bite-sized piece with the side of my fork, and as soon as I pressed down, juice gushed out. Oh, what a waste! I quickly picked it up with my fork and popped it into my mouth. The savory flavor was delicious, and the juices were rich and smooth. The minced meat was so tender it practically melted in my mouth, but this time it had a light, fluffy texture too.

“It’s delicious!” we all said together (again).

“You know, we came up with this ourselves,” I said, savoring my last bite. “What should we call it?”

“How about tender steak?” Miina suggested.

“Perfect!” I agreed, then paused when I frowned at my plate.

The leftover juices had cooled into a white, grainy layer. It wasn’t very ladylike of me, but I swiped a little with my finger and tasted it. The texture was unpleasantly gritty. I explained what I noticed to the others.

“In that case, for bread we sell to take home, we might be better off using chicken or pork instead,” Miina said. “Something like crazy chicken or mad pig would probably be less grainy when it cools.”

It seemed we would still have to make some adjustments before we could sell this to go.

***

“Hi, Miina!” A pair of adventurers, a man and a woman, walked into the bakery. They were the regulars who had given us the meat the other day.

“We have some brand-new bread today; would you like to try it?” Miina asked with a bright smile after she thanked them again for the gift.

“Sure, we’ll try it,” said the man. “And I’ll have some iced tea too.”

“I’ll have the same,” the woman said.

“Great. That’ll be just a moment,” Miina said, bowing politely before disappearing into the kitchen.

A short while later, she returned with two plates and two glasses of chilled tea. The latest bread was a soft roll sliced open and stuffed with a freshly cooked tender steak patty and thick slices of tomato.

“Make sure you open wide and take a bite of everything together!” Miina said, demonstrating with her hands.

The adventurers followed her instructions and leaned forward to take a big bite.

“Wait, is this meat?” asked the man.

“It melts right in your mouth!” said the woman.

“I made this from the bloodcow you brought,” Miina said. “I call it tender steak. It’s minced beef mixed with a few other ingredients, then shaped and cooked. How do you like it?”

“It’s delicious!” they said in unison with a grin.

They polished off their sandwiches in no time, and Miina observed them happily before stepping away.

“Shadow, we have to bring some of this home for everyone,” one of them said.

“Yeah. We’ll get scolded if we don’t, Bird!” the other agreed.

The man raised his voice again and said, “Miina, can I get four to go?”

“We have a version made with another meat that stays soft even after it cools, for takeout,” Miina offered. “Which would you prefer?”

“We’ll take the same ones you just gave us!” the man said.

Miina nodded and went back into the kitchen to prepare a fresh batch.

“Make sure to warm them up a little before eating,” she said when she returned. She loosely wrapped the still-warm sandwiches before handing them over.

“See you next time!” they said and left the bakery.

“All right, I’ll head out. You keep watch here, Shadow,” the woman said.

“Got it, Bird,” the man replied.

The next instant, Bird vanished, having teleported straight to the royal family’s residence in the castle. There, she pulled on a mask to conceal her face.

“Your Majesty,” she said in greeting.

“Oh, it’s you, Bird,” said the king.

“I’m sorry to appear so suddenly, but Miss Daisy’s shop started selling a delicious new item and I thought Your Majesty would appreciate trying it while it was still warm. They call it a tender steak, a meat patty between two pieces of bread.”

“Wonderful!” the king said. “Summon the family at once!” He ordered the servants to gather everyone together so they could all enjoy Daisy’s creation.

Yes, the man and woman were the same elite agents who, during the face powder crisis, had gathered intelligence on the neighboring kingdom in just a day at the prime minister’s command. That feat had only been possible because of Bird’s unique teleportation skill. But of course, Daisy hadn’t the slightest idea that Shadow and Bird, who she admired like characters in a story, were secretly monitoring her as regular customers. It was truly a kingdom at peace. After all, here were intelligence agents using a rare teleportation skill to run sandwich deliveries.

Bird smiled contently as the king hurried off to summon his family.

***

A few days later, I found myself thinking back to the raw beef tartare recipe I’d seen in that cookbook.

“Hey, Miina?” I asked. “Remember that sauce served with the beef tartare? Didn’t it look amazing? The book says it’s incredibly rich and sumptuous.” It was illustrated in the book as a neat little dollop sitting beside the carefully shaped raw meat.

“Oh, you mean mayonnaise?” Miina leaned over my shoulder to look at the page.

“It says it’s called mayonnaise because it was first brought over from Mayonnaise Island.” She read the list of ingredients to herself out loud. “The main ingredients are egg yolk, salt, vinegar, and vegetable oil. But I don’t really understand how mixing eggs, oil, and vinegar would turn into something like that.”

“Well, let’s give it a try!” I said. I pulled out the whisk I’d bought just the other day and handed it to Miina. It was constructed like a bundle of thin wooden sticks tied together. “I thought a fork would be too much work for mixing, so I picked up a whisk ahead of time!”

“Well, it is one of my duties to make whatever my mistress wants to eat… Time to get out a bowl,” she said, pulling out a mixing bowl. She cracked the eggs into the bowl, then added the salt and vinegar and stirred everything until it was smooth.

“Now it says to add the oil very slowly so that it doesn’t separate.” Miina checked the book again as she drizzled in the oil bit by bit. As she worked, the bright yellow liquid gradually became paler and thickened into a creamy, yellowish-white sauce.

I checked it with Appraisal and saw a warning that it could cause food poisoning if eaten right away. I casually suggested we wait a few days before trying it, and Miina agreed.

Several days later, when it was safe to taste, we each scooped up a little bit with a spoon.

“It’s delicious!” we said in unison.

“You know,” Miina said, her long tail curling and flicking behind her with excitement. “I bet children would eat more of their veggies if you poured this over them!” She must have really liked it.

“I bet if we use this as a topping on those hearty dishes our male customers are always asking for, they’ll love it!” I said. I didn’t have any particular recipes in mind, but I felt sure that hardworking men would love something rich on top of a hearty meat dish.

Just then, I spotted a jar of breadcrumbs sitting on the kitchen counter.

“Hey, what are you planning on making for dinner tonight?” I asked.

“I was thinking I’d sauté up some crazy chicken,” Miina said.

I picked up the jar of breadcrumbs and looked inside the icebox. Sure enough, there was a bundle of crazy chicken breast meat inside.

Breadcrumbs

Classification: Food

Quality: Normal

Rarity: Common

Status: Finely ground dried bread. Coat meat or fish with it before frying for delicious results.

Feeling: If you dip that chicken breast in flour and egg before rolling me on and then frying it all, I promise it’ll be SO tasty!

Tasty, huh? Now I was intrigued.

“Miina, do you think you could fry this chicken in vegetable oil for me?” I asked.

“Fry it in vegetable oil?” She gave me a puzzled look.

“Yeah! If it doesn’t turn out, I’ll just buy more meat. Please? I really wanna try it!” I clasped my hands together and pleaded.

“Well, your instincts do tend to be strangely reliable,” Miina said. “Sure, I’ll try it. But frying meat with vegetable oil is quite extravagant!”

It wasn’t my instincts at all, but I decided not to correct her. And yes, I would admit that I was feeling extravagant. But if Appraisal said it would be tasty, I had to try it for myself!

We had dishes like cutlets in our kingdom, which were fried in butter or lard, but nobody really deep-fried anything in pure vegetable oil. At least, I’d never heard of anyone doing it. Animal fats were widely used because they were easy to obtain, but vegetable oils were produced in such small quantities that they were considered luxury goods. They were also tricky to make, so it wasn’t something used in everyday cooking.

But Appraisal had recommended it, so I was sure it’d be worth it. I just had to try it!

I explained the method Appraisal had told me, step-by-step, while Miina listened carefully. She poured the vegetable oil into a frying pan and set it on the stove. Then, she thinly sliced the chicken breast while tapping the slivers with the back of the knife to keep them from curling up. She sprinkled them with salt and pepper, dusted them in flour, dipped them in beaten egg, and then finally pressed on a thick coating of breadcrumbs.

“The breadcrumbs really stuck on, just like you said!” Miina said. “Okay, the oil’s hot now. Let’s do this!” She laid the breaded chicken breast slices onto the pan. Bubbles burst up all around them, sizzling, and before long, the crust had turned a beautiful golden brown and pieces floated gently to the surface.

“They look so good, but I wonder how they’ll taste?” She picked one up with the tongs as it gave off a crisp little crackling noise. The aroma was simply mouthwatering.

“There’s a lot of oil clinging to them,” Miina said. “What should we do about that?”

“Could we drain them in a strainer?” I thought. I fetched a bowl and a strainer from the shelves but then hesitated. “No, wait. This one’s made of wood, so it might soak up the oil.”

“We could designate these for frying. Miss Daisy, if we use these now, could you let me buy new ones later, and new tongs as well?”

When I looked at her more closely, I realized her tongs were wooden too.

“All right,” I said. “For now, let’s give them a taste.”

Miina drained the excess oil on the cutting board, then sliced each chicken breast into thirds. She set them on small plates, adding a spoonful of mayonnaise to each.

“Marcus! Come try these if you’re free!” I called over to Marcus, who was minding the shop. “They’re fresh out of the pan!”

“Coming!” He hurried to join us.

“Let’s eat!”

I picked up a piece of crazy chicken with my fingers and popped it into my mouth before I thought to be careful. “Hot, hot!” Way too hot! I almost burned my tongue.

But the crust was so light and crisp as it crackled between my teeth. The layer of breadcrumbs was soaked with savory chicken juices, and the meat itself was so tender and moist. I dipped the second bite in mayonnaise.

“It’s sooo good,” I sighed.

The crunchy chicken, the rich saltiness, and the bright tang of the sauce all came together into something truly delicious.

“You know, I bet this would be even better with some chopped pickles mixed into the mayonnaise,” Miina said. “I’ll think about it some more.” She had been skeptical going into this experiment, but now she looked genuinely inspired.

Later, she tried including some other ingredients, and the final version of her sauce not only had pickles but minced hard-boiled egg. Since she’d gotten the idea from the sauce that came with the raw tartare, she decided to call it tartar sauce.

***

The next day, Shadow and Bird returned to Atelier Daisy, still posing as ordinary adventurers. They each took a big bite of the new menu item: a soft roll stuffed with crispy fried chicken breast and smothered in tartar sauce.

“Shadow.”

“Bird.”

They exchanged glances and nodded. It was delicious, no doubt about it.

They ordered four to go and slipped into the alleyway with their bundles. After glancing around for witnesses, Bird teleported back to the castle.

“It sure is peaceful in our kingdom,” murmured Shadow once he was alone in the alley.

It was because they weren’t being sent on any missions that they had the time for this sort of thing. He closed his eyes and offered up a silent prayer of thanks in the quiet of that peaceful day.

***

Our cooking experiments were far from over. One day, as I was flipping through the cookbook, I noticed something interesting: A lot of the recipes didn’t call for the fresh cheese we’d made before, but instead for something called semihard cheese.

I still had plenty of safflower seeds left over. The semihard cheese could supposedly keep for much longer, which would certainly add to Miina’s repertoire.

“All right, let’s try it!” I said.

I headed into the kitchen. The process was basically the same as last time, so I retraced those steps from memory. I extracted the active compounds from the safflower seeds, crushed them in a mortar, soaked them in a bit of milk, then stirred and infused them with magic until the milk drew out their properties.

Once the essences had fully blended, I strained out the solids and set the infused milk aside. I poured fresh milk into a pot and gently warmed it on the heater until it was about body temperature. Then I added the safflower extract, turned off the heat, and let Alchemical fermentation take over. The milk thickened to a texture between yogurt and custard. I took a knife and cut it vertically and horizontally all the way to the bottom, spacing the cuts about a fingertip’s width apart.

Before long, liquid began to seep out. I turned the heat back to low and slowly stirred, raising the temperature carefully until lukewarm.

Once it was heated through, I turned off the heat, put on a lid, and left it for two hours.

When I came back, it had separated into solid curds and liquid whey. So far, it was just like making fresh cheese, but this was where the process began to diverge.

I transferred the solids into a perforated ceramic mold. I then placed a small round disk that would fit just inside the rim over the top, then pressed down firmly.

I set a heavy weight on top to keep up the pressure. The book said to leave it pressed anywhere from five tolls of the church bell to half a day. As the pressure built, even more moisture was forced out.

Once it was done, I retrieved the result and soaked it in brine for a full day.

The process was different from making fresh cheese because it didn’t require as much focus or a temperature as hot, but it still took a lot of time.

Next, I moved it to a cool, shady spot with good airflow and left it to dry for another day.

Here was where Alchemy came in handy.

Normally, the cheese would take anywhere from a month to as long as four years to mature naturally. But I could accelerate that process with magic.

I gathered a stack of clean, dry cloths and infused the cheese with magic to help it dry and mature from the inside. Every so often, I would wipe the surface with a fresh cloth. Little by little, the once-white rind began to take on a soft, yellow tint.

It was a slow process even with Alchemical aging, so I worked in short sessions whenever I had time. I’d lay my palm over the cheese, channel mana into it, then gently wipe it down.

Finally, I had a firm, round, yellow cheese which was still shaped like its mold.

“Miina, Marcus! I finished the new cheese!” I shouted.

“Coming!” they both called back cheerfully. A moment later, Miina and Marcus appeared and gathered around me in the lab.

I sliced into the still-fresh semihard cheese with a knife and cut out little wedges about the size of my pinky fingertip, then set them on a plate.

“It’s delicious!” we all said.

The rind was too hard to eat, so we trimmed that away. The cheese itself was a rich, nutty flavor that spread in my mouth. It was salty and creamy with a velvety soft texture.

“If it melts this easily on your tongue, then I bet it melts wonderfully when you cook with it!” Miina said, her eyes sparkling. “Let’s use this with dinner tonight!”

Something about the taste had inspired her.

That evening, Marcus and I took one bite of dinner and immediately cheered.

Miina had cut the cheese into sticks, wrapped them in thinly sliced chicken breast, then wrapped them again in ham before frying it all up. It was her very own original recipe.

“Here you go, straight out of the pan! The cheese will melt when you cut it!” She set the steaming plates down in front of us.

“Whoa, look at that melted cheese!” Marcus said, mesmerized by the gooey filling spilling out.

“Adding the ham was a brilliant idea, Miina!” I said. “Honestly, this is perfect just the way it is!”

We kept singing her praises, fanning our mouths as we bit into the crispy yet gooey creation while it was still piping hot.

***

Meanwhile, in the realm of nature spirits…

The land was bathed in gentle sunlight, a place with eternal spring where fresh leaves always sprouted. Fairies flitted through the air all around as spirits murmured to the trees.

The Nature Spirit King sat on a cushion of soft young leaves, gazing into a deep dish of water. A single lotus blossom floated atop it, and in the reflection was an image of Daisy and her friends laughing together over dinner. The Nature Spirit King smiled fondly as he watched them enjoy themselves.

“Wonderful, she looks well today,” he murmured to himself. “Happy and full of good food.”

Just then, the Earth Spirit King strolled up behind him. “Are you spying on your beloved child again?” He bent over to peer into the mirrored surface. “Ha! Look at them go, stuffing their faces. Well, I can’t blame you for peeping. Seeing them so happy just makes you want to watch, doesn’t it?” At first, the Earth Spirit King sounded exasperated, but before long he was invested too, smiling gently as he watched the children’s bright and cheerful faces.

Even in the spirit realm, everything was at peace.

Chapter 9:
Let’s Go Gather Ingredients!

I‌’VE GAINED WEIGHT…

I didn’t want to admit it, but I had a little bit of pudge just below my belly button.

“Miss Daisy, have you…put on some weight?” Miina asked hesitantly.

“Your cheeks look a little plump yourself, Miina,” I said, not about to let that comment go unanswered. I reached over and poked her face with my finger, just to make my point.

“Well, I haven’t changed that much,” Marcus said with a shrug. It was no wonder, since he handled all the errands. Running around town all day probably gave him plenty of exercise. “We’ve been developing new recipes nonstop lately and taste-testing every attempt. You two just ate too much, that’s all.” He glanced between me and Miina.

“Haven’t you ever heard of tact?!” Miina and I smacked him across the face in perfect unison.

Just then, Mark and Letia arrived with Lynn in tow. Lynn’s divine beast guardian Leon, currently in his lion cub form, trotted quietly alongside her. He bounded over to Leaf and reached out with his nose to greet him.

“Long time no see, Daisy! Wait, have you gotten a little chubbier since I last saw you?” Mark blurted out the instant he saw me.

I jumped up and smacked him too.

“You can’t say that to a lady the moment you see her!” Lynn looked at Mark like he was a complete idiot. Beside her, Letia nodded. Honestly, it served him right.

“That’s just mean,” Mark grumbled with a pout. “I only came because we finally have time to go gathering, so I thought I’d invite you.”

Ooh, an ingredient excursion!

“Yes, I want to go! I really want to collect Sage’s herb and healing moss!” I leaned forward, clenching my fists with excitement. The thought of going on an adventure made my heart race.

“Oh yeah, you mentioned you wanted those before,” Lynn said. “Did you find out where they grow?”

Ah, right. I’d already told them about the ingredients I needed for the advanced mana potions when the four of us were talking earlier! After that, I’d looked up their habitats in the materials encyclopedia given to me by the queen.

“They’re supposed to grow around the Sage’s Tower and inside the Mossy Healing Cavern,” I said.

Letia nodded and took out a map for me to look at. “In that case, we’ll head northwest to the mountains first; that’s where the Sage’s Tower is. From there, we could follow the ridgeline east to get to the cavern.” She bent down so I could see the map better and traced the route with her finger.

“We might find some good ore if we’re traveling along the mountains too,” Lynn said, as ready to go as I was.

“All right,” said Letia. “If it’s going to be the four of us, do you have any gear you can wear, Daisy?”

“I still have the Mage’s robe I had made when I was eight. I ordered it a little big then, so it should still fit me. And I can ride on Leaf if I wear some proper pants underneath.”

The moment I’d said it, Leaf finished greeting Leon and came trotting over to me. He shifted into his massive Fenrir form with a soft whoosh. Leon transformed too, becoming a full-grown male lion with a thick, regal mane.

“Great,” Mark said. “Letia and I have our usual equipment, so we’re ready anytime. Can you leave tomorrow?” I turned back to where Miina and Marcus were standing.

“We’ll watch the shop for you!” they said.

“Thanks! I’m counting on you to take care of everything while I’m away!” I said.

Just like that, I had my first real chance to go gather ingredients since I’d left home.

I’m so excited!

The next day, I put on my old robe and a pair of thin riding pants and slung my satchel over my shoulder. The satchel was one of my treasures: It had been enchanted by a Mage with space-time magic to hold far more than its size while keeping everything fresh. It was even specially treated so that you didn’t feel the weight of its contents at all. Because of that, I’d stuffed it full of potion bottles.

Soon, everyone was ready. Letia and Mark were on horseback while Lynn and I rode our divine beasts. Both animals wore comfortable riding saddles for us.

We met in front of my workshop, which was right by the northwest gate of the capital and the perfect spot to head straight out of the city. But then I saw something that left me speechless.

I was used to seeing Mark and Letia in their adventuring gear, but Lynn was also wearing leather armor and had a gigantic hammer strapped across her back.

“Lynn, is that your weapon?” I asked in disbelief.

She was as small as I was—could she even swing something that big?

“I’m a dwarf, remember?” she said. “I’ve got plenty of strength. Dwarves have a long history as warriors.”

I watched in stunned silence as she reached behind her back and lifted that huge hammer with one hand, then gave it a casual swing.

“What?” she said, winking.

What am I supposed to say to that?!

Dwarves were amazing. How was that physically possible?!

“Miina, Marcus! We’re heading out!” I called.

“Have a safe trip!” Marcus and Miina saw us off, waving as we left the workshop behind.

At the gate, Mark and Letia presented their adventurers’ guild cards while Lynn and I handed over our commerce guild cards. We were let through the gates immediately.

“Wow!” I said.

A wide road surrounded by vast green meadow stretched off into the distance. The sky was an endless blue with not a cloud in sight. A fresh breeze rustled the grass at our feet. It had been two years since the last time I left the capital gates, back when I first gathered ingredients with Father. I stretched my arms out to the sky, savoring the feeling of freedom.

“Lady Daisy, please hold the reins properly. It’s dangerous to let go,” Leaf scolded me immediately. I’d gotten too carried away.

“He’s right! We’re moving out now, so make sure you’re holding on!” Mark called back over his shoulder.

And so, we set our course northwest toward the Sage’s Tower.

Our kingdom’s capital sat near the northern center of the realm, and to the north lay towering mountains whose peaks were capped with snow all year round. Those mountains provided the many minerals that supported our economy, including the mica and zinc I’d used to create my new face powder. Untouched forests sprawled at the base of the mountains, serving as home to all kinds of monsters.

We rode along the road that cut through the grasslands with the mountains rising behind us. The top of the Sage’s Tower glimmered in the distance, peeking out from the trees up ahead. That was our first destination.

“We’ll follow the road for a while, but when we get near the forest, keep an eye out. Monsters are more likely to be lurking,” Mark said, taking the lead.

“Speak of the devil!” No sooner were the words out of his mouth than the bushes on both sides of the road began to rustle, and a pack of wolflike monsters burst into view. We pulled our horses and divine beasts to a stop and braced ourselves.

“Direwolves,” said Mark. “They’re not that strong alone, but they always attack in packs! Stay alert!”

“Ice Storm!” I tried to stop them in their tracks right from the start with an ice spell, like Father had taught me. Half the pack’s legs froze solid, rooting them to the ground.

“Great job! Letia, Lynn, let’s go!” Mark shouted, and the three of them charged into the wolves that the ice had missed.

Mark fought with a halberd, sometimes called a spear-ax. It tapered into a long, pointed blade like a spear with a massive ax head on one side and a sharp spike called a pick on the other. He wielded it expertly, switching grips to match the situation. From horseback, he slashed at the wolves’ throats and brought the ax down to break their necks.

Letia had used a different, Western-style sword the last time I saw her fight the behemoth. She’d chosen a rare weapon called a katana, the design of which was said to have been passed down to a master Blacksmith from an ancient Hero. It had a razor-sharp edge, and you could thrust with the tip as well. She guided her horse with her knees as she wove between the wolves’ attacks. Her blade sliced in precise, smooth arcs; every strike landed where it would maim the beast or end the fight outright.

Lynn surprised me the most. She swung her enormous hammer one-handed from atop Leon. Every time she brought it down onto a wolf’s skull, I heard a heavy crack and the monster would collapse, stunned. She then switched her grip to both hands and—thud—smashed their head flat.

Yuck… It may have been thorough, but the way she finished them off was grotesque…

I slipped between them and cast spells whenever I saw an opening, careful not to get in their way.

“Air Cutter!” A blade of compressed wind shot out from my palm, slicing the wolf’s throat in a clean arc.

Ever since I was little, I’d exhausted my mana fully before bed every night. That meant I had plenty to defend myself with now.

Before long, we’d wiped out the pack, which had contained ten wolves in all.

Incidentally, my stats had grown quite a lot recently.

Daisy von Preslaria

Second Daughter of a Viscount

Health: 120/120

Mana: 4520/4525

Occupation: Alchemist

Skills:

(Appraisal: (6/10))

Nature Magic (MAX)

Alchemy: (6/10)

Wind Magic: (6/10)

Water Magic: (6/10)

Earth Magic: (5/10)

(Conceal)

Rewards and Crimes: None

Gifts: (Beloved Child of the Nature Spirit King) None

Titles: (Master of a Divine Beast,) Royal Court Alchemist, Savior of Women’s Skin

Honestly, even knowing how much I’d trained for it, my mana pool was ridiculous.

I’d also picked up a skill called Nature Magic. I was pretty sure that came from the Nature Spirit King. The Rose Whip spell I had used before probably fell under that category. But even though it was at MAX level, I still hadn’t learned any new spells yet; maybe I should’ve asked Leaf to teach me some instead of spending all my time on Alchemy. If the skill was already maxed out, surely I could use the spells immediately if I just learned the incantations.

My Appraisal level had gone up as well. And there were new titles. But “Royal Court Alchemist”? I didn’t remember ever being granted that title. And people had been calling me the savior of women’s skin since I developed that face powder, but I didn’t realize that counted.

Oh, well. My stats could wait. Letia was just starting to toss the wolves’ bodies into her own magic bag when we heard a rustle in the bushes that made us all tense again. Something big was coming.

“Smelled the blood, huh? Looks like the boss is here.” Letia clicked her tongue in annoyance. She must have thought we’d cleared everything.

A huge shadow burst through the branches, with a single, sharp white horn jutting from its forehead and two thick gleaming fangs curling from its jaws. Its body was almost twice as large as the other direwolves, nearly as big as a Fenrir. It had golden, glowing eyes.

Direwolves were wild beasts, not monsters, but this one…

“Tch, the alpha must’ve mutated into a monster,” said Mark. “If there’s something like this prowling around, it could make trouble for the miners. We need to take it down. Lynn, Daisy. Don’t push yourselves!”

“Right!” said Lynn.

“Ice Storm!” I tried to freeze its legs like the others, but the instant the frost spread across the ground, it kicked backward and leaped free before it could be caught. Snarling, it lunged forward, aiming its claws at Mark.

He managed to catch the blow with the handle of his halberd, but the other paw was already rising. Just as it swung, Letia darted in, her blade flashing up to intercept.

One of the monster’s arms was pinned by Mark’s weapon, and the other deflected by Letia’s katana. Now that it was upright like that, its belly was exposed and completely unguarded.

“Mine!” Lynn sprinted forward, gripping her hammer with both hands. Grunting loudly, she rammed it into the beast’s stomach. The impact threw the monster backward, crashing into the trunk of a nearby tree. I heard its spine snap on contact. The whole tree shuddered and then toppled over with a groan.

“Take this!” Mark leapt high and brought the axe head of his halberd down upon the monster’s neck. We heard a sharp crack and the beast’s head rolled to the side, its neck broken.

“What a dumb beast, showing its belly like that,” Lynn muttered, sounding almost bored.

These three were too powerful for me. I hadn’t contributed anything to the fight; all I could do was stare, feeling totally outmatched.

Still, the mutated direwolf—or whatever it was—was dead. Letia began to casually toss its corpse into her magic bag.

“Think this variant’s worth anything?” She sounded curious about how much they could sell it for.

“The fur’s impressive, and since it’s rare, I bet some noble would love to mount the head,” Mark said.

“Hmm,” she said. She gave a small, pleased smile, apparently satisfied.

That was when I noticed a cut on Letia’s arm.

“You’re hurt. Let me heal that.” I reached for a potion bottle in my satchel.

“It’s fine. Just leave it,” she said.

“No, I actually want to try something out.” Ignoring her protests, I pulled out the cork and began to pour it onto my hand.

“What are you doing? You’re just wasting…”

Instead of splashing my hand, the liquid potion floated above my head, maintaining a perfect sphere.

The three of them stared at me, speechless.

I took a careful step back to get some distance from Letia, and then…

“Go! Potion Shot!” I hurled the glowing sphere straight at her injured arm. The potion hit it with a splash, and just like that, her wound closed completely.

“Huh?” said Letia.

“What was that supposed to be? I’ve never heard of a potion shot in my life!” Mark looked totally baffled as he stared at me.

“It’s a combination of a potion and water magic,” I explained. “This way, I can heal someone from a distance in the middle of combat, just like a Healer can. See? I can be useful in a support role too!” I puffed out my chest, thoroughly satisfied with my little experiment.

“This Alchemist we’re escorting is absolutely ridiculous,” Letia muttered under her breath.

“Yeah, but what about Lynn?” I pointed at where she stood with her giant hammer casually slung over her shoulder like it weighed nothing. “She’s supposed to be escorted too, and she’s out here bashing monsters on the front lines!”

“Hey, I’m a dwarf. I’m supposed to be strong!” she retorted.

“That’s exactly what’s so wild about it!”

“You’re the wild one.”

Mark and Letia just watched us bicker in exasperation.

“Hey, Mark.”

“Yeah, Letia?”

“Is this even an escort mission? Because right now, it feels more like we’ve recruited extra firepower.”

“We’re A-rank adventurers, yet they’re keeping up with us, no sweat,” Mark said. “We’ve got an unholy hammer-swinging dwarf and Daisy over there who can’t decide whether she’s a Healer, a Mage, or an Alchemist.”

“Honestly, we could register them as adventurers and form a proper party,” said Letia.

“Yep.”

“We could probably slay a dragon together someday.”

“And then they can forge us a Dragon Buster and a set of Dragon Scale Mail with the materials.”

“No, you need a Dragon Buster to slay a dragon in the first place, Mark.”

“Oh, yeah.”

“Anyway, that’s enough of that. Let’s get moving,” Letia said.

The two of them nodded in agreement before finally stepping in to break up our argument.

Once the bickering was over, we mounted up again and started down the highway. Mark led the way with Lynn behind him, then I rode next, with Letia in the rear. As we moved along, something yellow on Lynn’s shoulder caught my eye.

It was hard to describe, but, well…it looked like a tiny old man in a pointy yellow hat. He had a long white beard, and he was whispering something into Lynn’s ear.

“Hey, Lynn? Who’s that little guy with the yellow hat?” I asked.

“Oh, you can see him? He’s an earth fairy.”

“Huh?” The other two couldn’t see anything. Mark and Letia glanced around in confusion.

“Hang on. Apparently, there’s a cave up ahead with something worthwhile.” Lynn pointed off the road, deeper into the forest. We all stopped our mounts and gathered around.

“I’d like to make a quick stop. Is that okay?” Lynn sounded like she was going whether we agreed or not. Her eyes were practically shining with greed.

“Fine. This is a mission for gathering ingredients, after all,” Mark said with a shrug. “We don’t get to complain where you go; we just protect you.”

“True,” Letia agreed.

The two of them started whispering to each other.

“Hey, Letia.”

“What?”

“Do you think fairies really exist?”

“I dunno, but if these two weirdos say they do, then they probably do.”

“Fair enough,” Mark said.

Letia seemed to completely accept it, while Mark looked like had finally realized what he’d gotten himself into, surrounding himself with these strange girls.

Once we entered the woods, Mark and Letia dismounted and led their horses on foot. Mark took the lead, using his halberd to hack through the brush and clear a path. Lynn and I stayed on our divine beasts as we moved forward.

A forest like this had its share of monsters. We encountered evil boars and the larger devil boars every now and then, but it never became a real fight. These three in a single group was total overkill. I’d freeze them in place with Ice magic and the frontliners would finish them off in seconds, with Lynn usually flattening their skulls.

Eventually, the trees parted to reveal a cavern entirely sheathed in ice. Massive icicles hung in layers from the ceiling.

The little yellow fairy on Lynn’s shoulder nodded solemnly.

“Yeah, this is the place,” Lynn said.

There were almost certainly monsters inside. Mark pulled a magical lantern from his magic bag and took the lead, carefully going ahead while illuminating our surroundings. If it wasn’t so dangerous, I probably would’ve found the place beautiful. The light from the lantern bounced through the frozen cavern, refracting off the icicles and glossy walls and scattering patterns across the floor.

Luckily, the tunnel only continued forward, with no side passages to distract us.

Unfortunately, right at the far end was a massive ice golem.

Golems were usually huge humanoid monsters made of earth, stone, or other minerals. Somewhere inside their bodies was a core with a mana stone that had to be destroyed or they’d keep regenerating. This one, though, was a variant made entirely of ice.

Um, does anyone here know fire magic?

On top of that, the floor was slick with frost. Even getting enough footing to attack would be tough.

“Didn’t you say something worthwhile was in here, Lynn?” Mark asked.

We were all frozen and unable to move. The golem hadn’t moved yet, probably because we were still too far away.

Mark looked around. “Daisy, is there any chance you can use fire magic?”

“Sorry, I can’t.”

“Lynn, you’re a Blacksmith. Can you—”

“Two totally different things,” Lynn said.

Mark seemed determined to find some way. He knew I wasn’t combat material, but he still checked every possibility.

In truth, fire was the only element I’d never been able to learn. I’d always thought that was fine, though, because fire ruined materials and couldn’t be used safely in forests anyway, so I had never needed to know it. I never imagined that it would come back and bite me like this.

It doesn’t have to be fire, right? Just something that can melt the ice. But what?

“We’re switching to spiked boots,” Mark said. “Will you two be able to move?”

Letia and Mark had pulled out a special kind of boot just for this sort of terrain.

“We have claws,” Leon said calmly. “If Daisy and Lynn ride us, we won’t have any trouble moving.”

Mark nodded after he changed his footwear. “We can still turn back. This thing is trouble. Sure you still wanna keep going?” He looked to us for confirmation.

The earth fairy on Lynn’s shoulder pointed straight at the ice golem and nodded firmly.

“There’s something there, and I’m gonna take it,” Lynn said without hesitation. The yellow little fairy looked satisfied and faded into the air.

“If that thing really is a golem, even if it’s some variant, we need to crush the core inside it. Find it and smash it. Got it?” Mark looked at us to make sure we understood.

We all nodded silently.

“Stone Wedge!” I gathered all my mana, focused it, and commanded the earth beneath the ice golem’s feet to move. Thick wedges of rock burst up through the frozen floor, spearing the golem’s body and shattering it into jagged pieces.

Wait, that’s it? I thought it would be tougher than that.

It hadn’t been a fatal blow, but I was shocked at how easily it had broken apart. But thanks to that attack, I now had a clear view of the core: a bloodred crystal exactly where a human heart would be.

The ice shards that had once formed the golem didn’t fall to the ground but instead hovered in place, weightless. Then, as if drawn by an invisible thread, they gathered back around the core and reassembled the creature.

“That’s where the core is, in the center of its chest!” I said.

“Got it!”

Once we knew where it was, we just had to hit it. Still, I didn’t feel relieved. The fact that my magic had broken its body so easily just made me feel anxious. Was that all the monster was guarding, and the thing Lynn was after? Something about it didn’t feel right to me.

“Leon, get me in close!” said Lynn.

“Okay.” Leon crouched low and dug his thick claws into the ice, then launched himself forward. Lynn leaned into his back, gripping her hammer with both hands and bracing herself by pressing her inner thighs tight to Leon’s sides so she wouldn’t lose balance when she struck.

“Mark, Letia! Finish it off if I miss the core!”

“Gotcha!”

“Leave it to us!”

“Haah!” Lynn’s hammer smashed into the golem’s chest with all her might. The ice exploded apart, sending shards flying as the red core flew free into the air.

“Mine!” Mark sprinted forward, bringing the halberd’s ax blade down onto the exposed core. It shattered into glittering fragments with a loud crack!

Pieces of red crystal clattered softly across the icy floor, mingling with the debris left behind by the golem’s body.

“Yesss!” Lynn and Mark bumped their forearms together, grinning triumphantly. All three of them looked practically drunk on victory.

Just then, the little yellow fairy reappeared on Lynn’s shoulder, gesturing frantically and shaking his head no.

“It’s not over after all?” I stood apart from the others and watched the tiny old man wave his arms back and forth.

I didn’t have to wonder for long what he meant, because just then the entire cavern rumbled like the earth itself was splitting apart. The ground trembled violently beneath us. The long rows of icicles hanging high overhead snapped free, but instead of falling, they floated in place and swung their points to aim straight at us. The yellow fairy vanished with a flash.

“Tch, so that’s how it is,” Letia muttered.

We’d been totally wrong.

“That monster wasn’t the golem. This whole cave is a golem!” I said. My uneasy feeling had been spot-on.

“And this is probably the real threat,” Letia said quietly.

I felt a knot in my stomach. A golem always had a core somewhere inside its body, and if you didn’t destroy that, then you couldn’t defeat it. “How are we supposed to find the core in this huge cavern?”

The first wave of icicles launched at us with a sharp whoosh! Mark swung his halberd in sweeping arcs to smash them aside while Letia dodged nimbly to the side to avoid their strikes. A protective barrier from the spirit kings’ rings formed in front of me and Lynn. They shattered every icicle before it could reach us, keeping us safe.

We all survived the first wave of attacks, but overhead, I heard another series of sharp cracks as more icicles broke loose. This time, the icicles by the entrance were floating up to block the way out too.

We were surrounded on every side. The fallen icicles were already re-forming and there was no telling where the core might be hidden. If we didn’t come up with something fast, this would turn into a war of attrition, and that was a fight we couldn’t win.

“Well, it doesn’t look like it has any intention of letting us leave. What should we do?” Mark let out a wry chuckle, wiping cold sweat from his forehead.

The three of them regrouped near where the first golem had stood. I was still by myself near the exit.

And then the second wave came crashing down.

The barriers around me and Lynn erupted in a full circle, catching and shattering every icicle before it touched us, but Mark and Letia didn’t have that protection. Mark spun his halberd like a spear, deflecting the barrage of icicles while Letia used her katana’s scabbard to shatter several in midair, but one of the spears of ice plunged straight through her left shoulder. She dropped to one knee, gasping.

“Daisy!” Mark dashed to her side and yanked the icicle free.

“Nngh!” Letia clutched her shoulder, groaning with pain. The impact had probably shattered bone. I was too far away to treat her by hand, so I had to do it the new way.

I pulled a hi-potion from my satchel and uncorked it. Then I poured out the contents.

“Go! Potion Shot!” The sphere of bright liquid flew across the cavern and splashed onto Letia. In an instant, flesh and bone came together, whole once again.

“Thanks, Daisy,” Letia panted. She climbed back to her feet with Mark’s help.

I felt a wave of relief wash over me knowing everyone was safe. But relief alone wouldn’t fix our problem—we still had to get out of this.

Just then, something my magic tutor, Yulia, had taught me when I was still living at home flashed through my mind. “Practicing magic will benefit you in ways beyond just casting spells. If you learn how to control your mana with skill, I’m sure it’ll come in handy with your Alchemy as well.”

Then I remembered what Ana taught me: “Everyone here knows how water works, yes? If it’s cold, it solidifies. Heat it, and it melts. Boil it, and it turns to steam. Well, metals are no different. You think of them as always solid, but if you heat them, they also melt. If you heat them more, they vaporize. But unlike water, the temperatures must be extremely high, so you’ll need to use mana to achieve them.”

That’s right… Magic and Alchemy were both forms of sorcery. And Alchemy could generate heat with mana. I did have a power that could stand in for fire magic!

People often thought that Alchemy cauldrons were magical devices, but that wasn’t true. A cauldron was just a vessel made of special material that could withstand the intense heat produced by Alchemy to melt metals. The heat didn’t come from the cauldron itself.

It came from Alchemy magic.

That meant if I could imagine this entire cavern as a giant cauldron, I could melt the solid ice. After all, there wasn’t any rule that said I couldn’t use Alchemy in battle. No matter where the golem’s core was hidden, there was no way it could remain concealed if I melted the ice into water.

I couldn’t help but grin as it all became clear to me. Alchemy could break this stalemate.

“Melt, ice!”

So what if I couldn’t use fire magic? I had Alchemy magic! And that was all I needed. The cavern was my cauldron, and the ice was my material.

I closed my eyes and remembered exactly what it had felt like when I’d melted the metal.

I channeled my mana through the cavern. It was so vast that pulling all the power I needed from the reserves deep in my belly felt like being emptied. Little by little, I raised the temperature inside my imagined cauldron.

Droplets of water started to drip from the tips of countless icicles. The frozen walls and floor began to soften and melt.

The golem disguised as the cavern tried to stop me, launching the remaining icicles my way, but my Guardian Ring of the Nature Spirit King shielded me completely.

Thank you, Nature Spirit King!

“Unbelievable…” Mark muttered.

The three of them stood there in astonishment as the ice turned to liquid all around us. Between the rising heat and the thick humidity, we were all drenched with sweat. Before long, the thinning ice dissipated and something appeared beneath it: a magic circle with a red mana crystal set at its center.

“There it is,” Letia muttered.

She took a step forward, raised her katana, and thrust the tip straight into the mana crystal, shattering it instantly.

The remaining ice collapsed into water all on its own without needing any more of my mana and flowed out of the cave in a rushing stream.

We’d somehow managed to survive.

“Phew…” I sighed. All the tension drained out of me, and I was left exhausted. “My mana’s almost completely drained,” I said, letting them know how close to collapse I was.

“Yeah, well you just heated up the entire cavern!” Mark walked over and tousled my hair. “We’ll rest once we grab whatever’s here. Great job, Daisy.”

Suddenly, a treasure chest appeared over the magic circle. We all gathered around it, but then, I saw dozens of little yellow fairies staring at a section of the now-dripping wall. Lynn watched it too, her eyes shining.

“Should we open this chest—wait, what’s Lynn doing?” Mark tipped his head in confusion, probably wondering why we were both staring at a blank wall.

“Mineral Extraction!” Lynn shouted, pointing at the wall. The yellow fairies all raised their arms in unison. A golden light shone on the far wall, glittering particles floating free until they filled the air like a shimmering cloud.

“Mineral Recrystallization!” Next, the fairies all pointed to the same spot in the air.

The glimmering dust rushed together and condensed into a pale blue, oval-shaped gemstone, then dropped neatly into Lynn’s outstretched palm. Then all the fairies vanished.

Lynn turned toward me, holding the gem so I could see it. “It looks like an ice elemental gem.”

“Can I see?” I stepped closer and peered at it.

Divine Gem (Frost)

Classification: Mineral, Material

Quality: Good to Supreme

Rarity: S

Status: A gemstone imbued with Frost attributes. Its quality improves even further when combined with other elemental gemstones.

Feeling: You can use me alone, but that would be such a waste!

“There seem to be other elemental gems like this. If you collect more, the effects get stronger,” I said.

“In that case, we should probably gather the set of all the elemental gems if we plan on using them. I wonder if you can synthesize them to boost their quality?” Lynn mused. She shrugged and handed me the gem. “You hang onto it for now.”

“Okay, I’ll store it in the vault at my workshop until we can find the rest,” I said, tucking it carefully into my satchel.

“All right, let’s open this thing!” Mark called us over, and we ran over to the treasure chest.

“I’ve never opened a treasure chest before! This feels like a real adventure now!” I exclaimed as I crouched down next to him, my heart pounding.

“You really are like a kid sometimes,” Letia laughed as she tousled my hair.

I puffed out my cheeks at how everyone kept treating me like a child, but the next moment, all I could think about was the thrill of what might be inside of the chest. What could it be?

Mark opened the lid with a creak and revealed its contents. Inside was a clear stone the size of his fist and a cloth pouch.

Permafrost Stone

Classification: Mineral, Material

Quality: Best

Rarity: A

Status: A stone imbued with Frost attributes. Contains the power of “Eternal Freeze.”

Feeling: It’s a secret.

A secret? Really?

I picked up the pouch and peeked inside.

Agility Seed

Classification: Seed

Quality: Good

Rarity: B

Status: Will grant enhanced agility for a short time when consumed raw. Plant the seed to grow more.

Feeling: Do you want to eat me now or plant me to grow a whole crop? You can even use me in potions!

Is it just me, or is Appraisal teasing me a lot today?

No one was sure what to do with the permafrost stone, so I agreed to hold onto it as well for now. It didn’t look like something we could use at the moment anyway.

I told the others I wanted to try growing the agility seeds, so I took a few that were already sprouting, then split the rest between the other three. Apparently, they were a rare item that adventurers loved, like nuts you could eat for a quick agility boost. There were other types of seeds too, like strength seeds, wisdom seeds that powered up your mana, and defense seeds. All of them were fairly rare and usually saved for emergencies.

“Most people don’t bother trying to grow them because it’s so difficult. If you actually managed it, that’d be huge. Having rare drops you could just buy at a shop?!” Mark and Letia clearly had high hopes for me.

If they were in that high of a demand, I could ask the nature fairies for help with cultivating them.

We left the cavern and followed the path Mark cleared back to the road, where there was a soft meadow where we decided to make camp. We must have spent longer in that cavern than we thought, because the sky had turned a deep orange.

Mark and Letia worked quickly, pitching two tents and setting up cooking gear taken from their magic bags. They were such experts that neither Lynn nor I needed to do a thing. No wonder they were A-rank adventurers.

Since I’d used up nearly all my mana melting the ice golem disguised as a cavern, I was so drained I could hardly move. I told the others I was going to rest and curled up against Leaf, still in his Fenrir form, like a puppy tucked close to its mother.

A little way off, Lynn was playing with Leon, who’d become a lion cub again. She dangled a green foxtail in front of him as he batted at it with his paws.

Leon, you’re supposed to be a sacred beast! Don’t you think that’s a little undignified?

“It’s unusual for anyone to think of using Alchemy as a weapon in battle. You really saved us back there,” Letia said as she used a knife to butcher one of the evil boars we fought back in the forest. Beside her, a fire was already crackling. A pot of bubbling broth hung over it, filled with mushrooms and root veggies we’d gathered before coming here.

“I was never very good at fire magic, but I’m used to dissolving metals with Alchemy, so I thought I could do the same thing there. But the cave was so much bigger than my cauldron, it drained nearly all my mana,” I replied with a yawn. I was completely worn out, but Leaf’s warmth was incredibly soothing.

“We wouldn’t have gotten any of those items if you hadn’t had that idea. Honestly, it would’ve been a miracle to get out of there in one piece!” Lynn said. She stopped playing with Leon, walked over, and patted my head. “You did great, Daisy. Go ahead and sleep. You’re still a kid, after all. Don’t push yourself so hard.”

I nodded, feeling her palm still atop my head. The moment I did, my breathing relaxed, and I drifted off almost instantly. I didn’t even have the energy left to protest being called a kid.

“Mm…”

When I woke again, the air was filled with the savory smell of roasted meat. It was already pitch black, the campfire the only light around us.

I looked up and saw the entire sky filled with sparkling stars. There was no moon tonight.

“Wow, it’s gorgeous! I’ve never seen the night sky like this!”

Back in the royal capital, all the magic lanterns lining the street for safety drowned out the light from the stars, so it was hard to see any in the city. The night sky usually looked indigo from there, but here, it was a pure, velvety black, dotted with countless shimmering stars of all sizes. There was even a spot so thick with stars, it looked like a river flowing across the sky.

“Oh, you’re awake!” Letia called over as she sliced up the meat that had been roasting over the fire. “Dinner’s ready.”

“Hey, Letia? See those stars that look like a river in the sky? Does that have a name?” I asked, sitting up and pointing at it.

“That’s the River of the God’s Tears,” she said. “There’s an old legend that says a beautiful apostle once beloved by the gods committed a terrible sin and fell from grace. The gods wept for them, and their tears became a river of stars.”

“Wow…” I had never heard that story before. I stared up at the night sky, dazed, until someone tapped me on my shoulder.

“Here’s your dinner.” Letia set down a sturdy leaf holding a thick cut of the roasted evil boar, a fork, and a cup of steaming soup.

“Thank you! I can’t wait to eat it.” I picked up a piece of the roast with my fork and took a bite. The browned crust was seasoned well with salt and pepper, so there wasn’t a trace of gaminess left. The meat was cooked through but still moist, and rich juices burst out with each bite. It was delicious.

The soup was simple with mushrooms and veggies in a light, salty broth, but it warmed me from the inside out.

“Once you’re finished eating, you and Lynn should get some rest for tomorrow,” Mark said. “Don’t worry about taking turns keeping watch. Letia and I can take care of that.”

“If I may, we’re a special type of familiar,” Leon said. “We have no need for sleep. Please leave the watch to us.”

Leaf nodded in agreement.

In the end, Mark and Letia decided to accept the divine beasts’ offer, and we all slept inside the tents that night. I shared mine with Lynn, and Mark and Letia, used to sharing a tent on their adventures, took the other one.

Chapter 10:
The Elven Village and the World Tree

THE NEXT MORNING, WE PACKED UP CAMP AND set off along the road to the northwest.

Sniffle, sniffle… It hurts… I’m in pain… Someone, please help me!

Hm? Was someone crying?

We were at a spot where the mountain sloped down into a deep forest. “Hang on, can we stop for a second? I hear someone crying,” I said, pulling Leaf to a halt and pointing toward the trees.

“Is there someone in the woods?” Mark asked, reining in his horse as well.

“I think so. It feels like someone’s calling me. Can we go check?” Honestly, I would’ve gone even if they had said no—because whoever it was sounded hurt and scared, and I couldn’t ignore someone in distress.

“You’re going to go even if we say no, aren’t you?” Lynn asked, deadpan.

Ugh, she saw right through me!

“All right, I’ll hack open a path for you,” Mark said. He readied his halberd, but the instant he swung, something smacked it away with a loud crack and the halberd clattered to the ground.

“Wh-what was that?!” He stared at his hand, opening and closing his fist like he expected it to be numb, then bent down to pick up his weapon.

A girl stepped out from the woods.

“They’re wood fairies! Ents!” she said.

Then I realized I recognized her: She was the fairy from the workshop who had been so excited to become a sprite!

I forgot to explain earlier, but the main difference between fairies and sprites was their size. A fairy was about as big as your palm, while sprites were around the size of a human baby. Fairies and sprites were both classified as spirits. Their wings were different too. Fairies only had one pair, while sprites had two—so four wings in total.

“Um, Miss Sprite?” I said. “I feel like there’s someone in there calling me and I want to go investigate. Are these Ents your friends?”

The sprite nodded. “How could you not know something that important?” she chided, puffing out her cheeks.

Just then, the tree closest to me emitted a deep creaking sound and slowly bent forward into a bow. One of its branches even folded across its chest (such as it was), like Sebastian, my family’s butler, would with his arms.

Oh, how gentlemanly!

“I am the oldest of the Ents who make up this forest,” he said. “Beloved child, I beg your forgiveness that my kin have blocked your path. I shall have them clear the way at once.”

“Thank you, Ent!” I grasped one of his branches—his hand?—and shook it properly.

The two people with more ordinary sensibilities began whispering to each other again.

“Hey, Letia.”

“Yeah, Mark?”

“Ents this, sprites that, ‘beloved child’… Is it just me, or have we gotten mixed up in something strange again?”

“I agree. But then again, Lynn’s always been unusual too, so at this point I feel like I’m used to it,” Letia said, shrugging.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” Mark let out a long, deep sigh like he was being dragged into a world he didn’t understand. It was too late for that now—they’d already agreed to serve as our escorts indefinitely in exchange for those powerful rings.

While Mark was busy worrying, I chatted with the Ent as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

“Okay, Ent. Please clear the way for us.”

“As you wish.” The Ent bent low again with a deep creak. A rush of noise followed as shrubs and towering trees shifted aside at once, parting to reveal a path straight through.

“Thank you, Ent!” I said. “Lynn, Mark, Letia! Let’s keep moving!”

Mark looked tired for some reason.

What’s wrong with him? Eh, oh well!

I decided not to let him bother me, and we all rode ahead. The ground was just soft grass with no path or pavement, so we stayed mounted. When we reached the heart of the forest, there was no one in sight; all I saw was a shimmering magic circle.

“Hmm, I think it’s this way,” I murmured. Letting my instincts take the lead, I stepped into the circle.

“Hey! Wait, don’t just run in! It could be dangerous!” Mark shouted, rushing to grab me, but it was already too late. Light burst from the circle and enveloped me, like I was about to be transported somewhere else. I just knew it was going to take me away.

“Everyone after Daisy!”

The magic circle flared brighter, swallowing up not only me, but all four of us—including our horses and divine beasts—and teleported us, but to where?

I opened my eyes again and found myself surrounded by brilliant green trees. A single beam of light shone down from an opening above me, illuminating everything in a soft glow.

A tangle of young leaves and thick vines encircled the trunks. A clear stream wound its way between the mossy banks, catching and reflecting the light. Here and there were tiny bridges arching over the water.

A giant tree stood at the center of it, rising straight up toward the beam of light. It was so tall I couldn’t even see the top of it as it vanished into the clouds. Its leaves were shaped like big, withered brown hands that were cracking apart.

Sniffle, sniffle. It hurts… I’m in pain… Someone, please help me!

Oh, that was the voice!

“There it is! The cries are coming from that tree!” I pointed toward the enormous trunk and urged Leaf forward. Before we could move, I heard a sharp, booming voice.

“How did humans manage to find this forest? Are you trespassers aware that this is elven territory?”

The man who spoke had pale golden hair that fell to his waist, pinned back with a silver circlet. He was beautiful, but with cold, piercing emerald eyes. Long pointy ears framed his face. He had an arrow nocked to a taut bowstring, aimed directly at me.

I glanced around and saw that he wasn’t alone: Dozens of elves emerged from the trees, all with arrows pointed at us.

We were about to be shot where we stood.

Mark, Letia, and Lynn all shifted, ready to fight if it came to it. A tense silence stretched between both sides. Then, Leaf’s voice rang out.

“You dare raise your weapons against Lady Daisy, the Beloved Child of the Nature Spirit King, when you live under his same protection?”

Suddenly, the elves looked at each other, murmuring in confusion.

“A familiar? No, look at his green jewel! That’s a divine beast!” said one.

“He serves the Nature Spirit King?!”

“If she rides a divine beast, she must truly be a beloved child!”

All the elves lowered their bows in unison, and one by one, they dropped to one knee and bowed their heads.

The first elf who spoke to us sounded humbled now. “We had no idea. To think we raised weapons against someone so dear to the Nature Spirit King! We are deeply sorry.”

Mark let out another sigh while the elves groveled. “Hey, Letia,” he muttered under his breath.

“Yeah, Mark.”

“First of all, no normal person just stumbles onto an elven village. Usually humans can’t get anywhere near their territory! Second, why are they all bowing?”

“Well, it is what it is,” said Letia. “I can’t explain it, but are you really complaining? Or would you rather fight a bunch of elves?”

“Well, no,” Mark conceded. “But seriously, how does Daisy just happen to find a hidden elven village?”

“You know, Mark, maybe we should just start saying, ‘Because she’s Daisy’ and leave it at that?”

“All right, fair enough.”

I asked Leaf what he meant by the elves being under the Nature Spirit King’s protection. He told me that elves built their hidden villages in secret places granted to them by the Nature Spirit King so that no one knew for sure where they were. But there were certain places, like that magic circle of teleportation, that occasionally connected the human realm to an elven village.

Elves were known for their striking beauty, pointed ears, and long lifespans. Because of that beauty and their rarity, they risked being captured and sold into slavery by reprobates if they ever openly entered into human territory. That was why the elves lived in this hidden green paradise, far from human settlements and accessible only by a magic circle.

Once I thought about it, it made sense that the Ents had needed to open a path to the circle for me, because they were probably guardians that protected the place from intruders.

“There’s no need to apologize so much,” I reassured him and the rest of the elves, who were still bowing low to the ground. “We did come here uninvited, after all, and you couldn’t have known I was a Beloved Child. We’ve never even met before! Please, lift your heads—you didn’t do anything wrong.”

Then I reached over and petted Leaf’s head. “Thanks, Leaf. You spoke up for me and helped calm everything down.”

He closed his eyes happily and licked my hand.

Finally, the elves began to raise their heads. The one who called out first moved closer, deftly leaping from branch to branch until he stood before me.

“I am called Elsarion, captain of the elven knights of this village,” he said. “I must apologize again for my earlier behavior. But if I may, what brings you to this village, Beloved Child?” He knelt before me with one arm across his chest, looking up at me questioningly with clear eyes.

I pointed toward the big tree at the center of the clearing.

“That tree is crying out in pain. I heard it calling for help,” I said.

“The World Tree…” he murmured.

“The World Tree?” I echoed.

“Yes, this is one of three World Trees that give life to this world. As you noticed, it is sick and suffering,” Elsarion said before pausing to think for a moment. “I see. It called out for help and must have summoned the Beloved Child.” He nodded, looking convinced, then rose to his feet. “Beloved Child of the Nature Spirit King, Companions, I shall escort you to our leader, the queen of the Sun Elves. Would you come with me?”

“Is that okay?” I turned and looked at Mark, Letia, and Lynn.

“Do you really think no is an option at this point?” Letia asked, looking around.

The other two nodded as well, so we agreed to go with Elsarion. As we were guided toward the queen, I couldn’t help but feel awkward about being the only one they kept calling Beloved Child, so I decided to mention it.

“Um, by the way, Elsarion… My friend Lynn here is the Beloved Child of the Earth Spirit King.”

“What?!” He stopped in his tracks and began profusely apologizing to Lynn all over again.

I swear I’m not teasing you on purpose…

Once that exchange was over, we walked along a road paved with white stone until the trees parted and we entered a clearing. Ahead of us was a vast, shimmering lake with an island in its center, upon which was a single castle.

“Wow, it’s beautiful!” I said.

The water was so clear you could almost see right to the bottom. With every breeze, tiny ripples sparkled along its surface like scattered gems. An elegant stone bridge arched over the water, leading to the island.

The castle itself wasn’t very big, maybe only two stories tall. It looked as though it had been built from some kind of white ore. Covering the walls were climbing vines that bloomed with roses of every color and size.

Finally, we reached the main entrance.

A woman playing the harp sat sideways on an arched balcony on the second floor. She was incredibly beautiful; her long, pale golden hair fell in gentle waves, held back with a silver circlet much like Elsarion’s. Her eyes were a soft lavender and she had the characteristic pointy elven ears. Her skin was pale and luminous, her lips as red as ripe cherries, her cheeks the color of the light pink rose petals that surrounded her. She wore a flowing dress of some gauzy fabric, perhaps silk, that shimmered in the light; the drapery drifted and rippled with every movement. The way it fell over her ample bosom gave her a maternal aura.

“Your Majesty,” Elsarion called up to her.

“Elsarion?” she replied. “Oh, my! You’ve brought guests. And two Beloved Children among them, no less. Please bring everyone up to me.” Her red lips curved into a smile as she welcomed us.

Elsarion led us up to the second floor, where the queen stopped playing the harp and instructed her servants to welcome us properly.

They arranged seats on the balcony for us, with places for the queen and Elsarion as well. Ceramic bowls of fresh water were set out for Leaf and Leon.

“Please, take a seat,” said the queen. “And you too, Elsarion. It’s been centuries since we last had beloved children as guests!”

‘Centuries’? That wasn’t something you heard every day…

I sat down and one of the servants poured a drink into my cup. When I took a sip, I found it was an herbal tea that smelled like flowers. It was delicious.

From the balcony, I could see the center of the elven village. The trees grew thick and lush around the sickly World Tree that stretched toward the sky. Rows of white houses clustered together along the stone path we’d walked, which I supposed was where the other elves lived.

“I’m sorry,” I said. “We stumbled onto your village because the World Tree was calling to me.”

The queen gave me a gentle smile. “Then it was meant to be, so there’s nothing to apologize for. It was woven into fate by the goddesses who spin the threads of this world.” She spoke of gods so casually. I wasn’t very religious myself, but curiosity got the better of me.

“Your Majesty, do gods really exist?”

She blinked at me in disbelief. “I’m surprised you’re asking that when the spirit kings are counted among them! You’ve met them, haven’t you? You, and you.” She looked at Lynn and then at me again.

“Well, allow me to introduce myself first,” she continued. “I am Aglares, queen of the Sun Elves, one of the three clans of our people. And this is Elsarion, the captain of my knights.”

“I am Daisy von Preslaria,” I responded. “I am an Alchemist, blessed by the Nature Spirit King. I was gathering materials near the royal capital of Saltenburg when I ended up here.”

“And I’m Lynn,” said the girl in question. “I’ve been blessed by the Earth Spirit King. I work as a Blacksmith and live in the royal capital of Saltenburg, just like Daisy.”

“We are Mark and Letia, adventurers who are serving as the girls’ escorts,” Mark said. “We hardly know what to say, being mere humans coming to the—er, I mean, welcomed into the elven world—er, realm so generously.”

The queen smiled when everyone finished their introductions, looking pleased.

“Yes, Mark and Letia… You two must be quite surprised indeed, finding yourself so far from home like this. But you are worthy of protecting the Beloved Children.” She nodded, her cherry-colored lips curving into a smile.

“Are we?” Mark tipped his head to the side. He probably still felt out of place here.

“Yes, quite. You see, encounters are the most important workings of fate. A person is born, grows up through all sorts of circumstances, makes choices, and lives their life.” The queen spoke slowly to us, as if spinning a tale. “Eventually, their life collides with someone else’s. These encounters, or the crossing of one’s path with another’s, are what make the stories of our lives so grand. Mark, you were drawn to their destinies because of the way you’ve chosen to live. Your life has not only become your story, but part of Lady Daisy’s and Lady Lynn’s as well.”

She lifted her cup to her lips, took a sip, and continued.

“The World Tree, for example, is one of three which support this world, and was fated to wither and die. But it made a choice to call out on its own, and Lady Daisy heard it. Because of that meeting, its fate may yet be changed.”

The queen giggled softly, then rose to her feet. She raised both hands to the sky and twirled in place, her dress swirling around her.

“The three World Trees stretch into the heavens, holding aloft the dwellings of the gods. Their roots run deep, binding together the surface of the earth where humans, elves, demons, and all manner of life flourish, all the way down to the underworld below.”

She gestured to us as she spoke, her hands acting out the parts of the World Tree and the makeup of this world.

“If they perish, it won’t just be the elves who fall. The whole world will lose its support, and everything will collapse into ruin. But this chance encounter could change that fate!”

As she continued, I learned something else: There was one enormous central island on the surface of the world where humans lived. An ocean separated it from four other islands—one for each of the elven clans, and one more inhabited by demons. It was such a grand story that none of us could have ever imagined it to be real, and for a moment, we could only stare in astonished silence.

Wait, is my life really part of something so vast? I’d only come here to collect some materials, and suddenly the world seemed so enormous! All I’d done was follow a crying voice, and now it felt like I’d stepped into the middle of some grand myth. I could change the fate of the world itself? Anyone would be overwhelmed to hear all that.

It was all so much at once that I honestly didn’t know what to do. The queen seemed overjoyed that the World Tree’s destiny might be altered, but I had no idea how I could accomplish that, so I decided to be honest.

“Your Majesty, I haven’t actually saved the World Tree yet. I don’t even know how. But I’d like to go and visit it to find out if I can.”

“Yes, that’s perfectly reasonable, Lady Daisy,” the queen said gently. “Let’s all go together.”

And so, we left the castle as a group and made our way to the foot of the World Tree.

I stood in front of its massive trunk while everyone gathered close behind me.

It hurts… It hurts so much. The World Tree was still crying. I could tell it was suffering tremendously, and it broke my heart.

I stepped forward and stretched out my arms, pressing myself against the bark of the tree to embrace it. To everyone else, it probably looked like I was sticking myself to it instead of hugging it, since I was so small in comparison.

“Hey, World Tree? Can you tell me what’s hurting you? I want to see if I can help you,” I said softly.

Then I heard the same anguished voice from before in my head.

There’s something inside me… Something that keeps eating me and spitting out bad things into me. It hurts me when it chews and it feels awful when that stuff spreads through me.

Something bad inside of it…

I squinted and looked around, but I couldn’t see whatever it was talking about. I closed my eyes and hugged the tree again, trying to feel it instead. Even with my eyes closed, I could see the slightly glowing presence of the World Tree, perhaps because it was such a mystical entity.

In the middle of that light, there was something just within my reach that looked like a black caterpillar writhing around. It seemed foul and out of place, compared to the sacred glow around it. Leaking from it was some kind of ominous black stuff that was obviously nothing good.

“There you are.” I reached out with my eyes still closed and pressed my hand into that spot. It felt like I was plunging my hand into cold water. Surprisingly, my hand sank straight into the tree with barely any resistance.

I won’t lie. That caterpillar spitting out that nasty black stuff was terrifying.

It’s disgusting, but I’ll have to bear it for the World Tree’s sake. I braced myself, grabbed the writhing malevolent creature all at once, and then yanked it out of the tree.

“Will this help you feel better, World Tree?” I opened my hand to look at the black caterpillar wriggling around on my palm.

Yes! The pain is fading!

Wicked Worm

Classification: Monster

Quality: Normal

Rarity: S

Status: A caterpillar transformed into a monster by evil magic. It consumes plants and spreads polluted mana.

FEELINGS: Hey! What the heck do you think you’re doing?! If you interfere, I can’t carry out the orders of Master!♡♡♡♡

“Oh!” The sudden surge of hateful hostility I’d glimpsed in its feelings startled me so much that I dropped it on the ground.

“This thing is radiating a terrible aura,” Elsarion muttered with a scowl, looking at the worm where it writhed in the grass.

“It said that thing’s a caterpillar transformed into a monster by evil magic. It was chewing on the World Tree and spreading something poisonous inside its body,” I explained. I was so scared that my legs gave out. I sank onto the ground, suddenly unable to stand. Lynn crouched down behind me, wrapping her arms around my shoulders in comfort.

“So the World Tree’s sickness wasn’t natural,” said the queen. “This was a deliberate attack.”

“Your Majesty,” Elsarion said, glancing toward the queen with a frown. “I see no reason to keep this creature alive. With your permission, I will use my holy knife to purify it.”

“Yes, get rid of it.” She turned her back on it, like she never wanted to see it again.

Elsarion nodded and stepped forward, then raised his holy knife high and drove it down onto the caterpillar. A dazzling light flared out instantly and the foul presence vanished. When the glow faded away, the caterpillar was nothing but an ordinary dead insect.

Lynn slowly helped me to my feet. The queen looked at each of us in turn, her lavender gaze steady and thoughtful. “It seems your party is lacking members skilled in light, holy, or fire abilities,” she said.

“Yes,” we all said in unison, nodding.

“Elsarion. Bring my daughter to me.”

“At once, Your Majesty.” He bowed and rushed away.

A short while later, a young girl came hurrying up the path to join us.

“Mother, I’ve come just as you asked.” She looked like a miniature version of the queen herself, and was perhaps even younger than me. Her long wavy hair was the same pale gold, her cheeks pink like rose petals, her lips full and red like cherries, and her slightly downturned eyes the color of soft lavender. The only thing different from her mother might have been those cherry lips. The queen’s were the color of fully ripe cherries, while her daughter’s were a hue lighter.

She wore a loose, short-sleeved white shirt made of soft fabric and matching bloomer shorts that ended just above her knees. They had ribbons tied at the cuffs with little frilly edges. She had a leather chest guard strapped over the ensemble, and in her hand, she held a bow of shimmering mythril.

“Ariel, our World Tree was saved today by Lady Daisy, Beloved Child of the Nature Spirit King,” the queen said to her.

Ariel turned to me. “Thank you so much, Lady Daisy, for saving our village.” She bowed low, her long hair slipping over her shoulders.

“Lady Daisy, I would like to entrust my child to you,” the queen continued. “I hope you will also consider visiting the two other elven villages to free their World Trees from the creatures that may be hurting them.”

“Mother! You mean, I’m allowed to leave?!” Ariel’s lavender eyes grew wide. She turned and clung to her mother’s waist in excitement.

“Ariel, you have wished for this for so long, so I shall permit you to go beyond our lands. But you must listen to your new companions here—Lady Daisy, Lady Lynn, Mark, and Letia—and do everything in your power to aid them,” the queen said.

“Really?! Oh, thank you, Mother!” Ariel beamed happily, still holding onto her mother’s waist.

The queen took a delicate crystal pendant and gently placed it around her neck.

“We still don’t know where the entrances to the Moon and Star elven villages are located,” the queen said. “I’ll reach out to the other rulers and explain everything. Once the arrangements are made, I shall contact you through the crystal I have given my daughter. Until then, you are free to rely on her however you see fit.”

I studied Ariel for a moment. She was even smaller than me. Was it really okay for her to join us?

“Sometimes we end up fighting monsters,” I said hesitantly. “Would you mind if I checked your abilities, just to be sure you won’t be in danger?” I didn’t like to use my Appraisal skill on people because it felt like spying, but for this I really did need to be sure.

“Of course! You don’t need to worry about me, though. I’m very strong!” Ariel said brightly, puffing out her chest.

Ariel

Princess of the Sun Elves

Health: 400/400

Mana: 2520/2520

Occupation: None

Skills:

Archery: (8/10)

Light Magic (7/10)

Fire Magic (7/10)

Holy Magic (7/10)

Disguise

Rewards and Crimes: None

Gifts: Blessing of the Goddess of Hunt

Titles: Daughter of the Exalted Sun

Well, okay, then. I guess I don’t need to worry. Maybe I’ll use my Conceal skill somehow to hide the fact that she’s an elf…

“See? I told you, I’m strong!” said Ariel. “I haven’t been an elven princess for fifty years for nothing!”

Wait, what? She’s the oldest of us by decades?!

“And look! I can do this, too! It’s a skill called Disguise!” She reached up and pinched the tips of her long pointy ears. With a little tug, they shifted and rounded out into perfectly human shaped ears.

***

Meanwhile, far above the elven village was the celestial temple in which the gods dwelled, on an island suspended in the heavens supported by the three World Trees.

There, the gods had built their shrines from alabaster and lived alongside their attending apostles. At the center of the divine island rose a particularly grand structure, a towering temple belonging to the father of all the gods, the highest of all beings—the Creator.

He took the form of an elderly man and sat on a throne deep within the temple. It was there that the Nature Spirit King and the Earth Spirit King, having learned through Daisy that the illness of the World Tree was a malicious attack, now stood in an audience before him.

“Someone has been trying to destroy the World Trees?” the Creator murmured, stroking his white beard.

“Yes,” said the Nature Spirit King. “One of them has been saved thanks to my beloved child, but the other two are still on the edge of death.”

The Earth Spirit King stepped forward. “The decay is slow, but even one of the trees dying would cause the heavens themselves to fall. The land where mortals, elves, and demons dwell would be torn apart, opening chasms to the underworld. We gods are forbidden from meddling too openly in mortal affairs, but perhaps this time some divine intervention is necessary?”

The Creator’s hand continued to stroke his beard. He nodded slowly, his ancient eyes narrowing in thought. “Perhaps it is time to adjust some of the blessings granted to the children of men. Summon the god of Occupations.”

“Yes, at once.” One of the apostles who served the Creator turned and rushed away.

The god of Occupations, as the name suggested, was the one who presided over the Baptisms and assigned people their callings.

“I heard my Father has summoned me.” The arriving god was a tall figure with sleek silver hair and intelligent blue eyes. He placed a hand over his chest and bowed respectfully.

Once again, the gods began to deliberate over the matter of the World Trees.

“You wish to adjust the blessings?” said the god of Occupations. “Yes, I see. In truth, there were two children to whom I granted the callings of Sage and Saint at their Baptisms, but sadly both became arrogant, thinking themselves above others. They lost any will to use their gifts in aid of others. I was thinking of sending revelations of an Occupation change to revoke them.”

“I see. And?” The Creator gestured for him to continue.

The god of Occupations nodded slowly and went on. “However, there are two children, Mages with benevolent hearts who have worked tirelessly and grown powerful. They happen to be close to the Beloved Child in question. I propose to grant them revelations of an Occupation change as well, so they may take up the abandoned callings of Sage and Saint. Surely, they will strive together with the Beloved Child to aid the children of men.”

He smiled faintly as he spoke. He held a crystal ball about the size of an apple in his hand, and within the orb shimmered the faces of the children he spoke of—ones Daisy knew very well indeed…

***

After the World Tree was saved, the village of the Sun Elves erupted with joy. People were celebrating everywhere I looked. On top of that, there was more exciting news: Princess Ariel would be setting out on a journey to save the other trees, traveling with the Beloved Children themselves!

“Tonight, we feast!” Elves ran through the village, calling out with excitement. Men hurried off to hunt, while women gathered baskets and slipped into the forest to pick fruit.

We weren’t allowed to join the preparations since we were guests of honor, and we would be staying at the elves’ castle tonight.

“The World Tree’s finally started to shed the dead leaves,” I said. “New buds are already starting to grow. But it still looks like it’s in pain.”

I stood near the massive tree trunk again, watching tender shoots uncurl from the bark. Still, the tree looked battered and raw, making my heart ache. Leaf stood close to me as if he understood.

“I wonder if potions work on plants?” I murmured as the idea popped into my head.

Leaf tipped his head to the side thoughtfully. “If you imbue one of your potions with your own mana, perhaps it will work, Lady Daisy. After all, the World Tree is kin of the Nature Spirit King.”

It certainly couldn’t hurt to try, even if it was a long shot.

Since the World Tree was so huge, I figured it would be better to cover as much of the surface as possible, so I opened three hi-potions. They were expensive, but I had brewed them from herbs grown in my own garden. If ever there was a time to be generous, this was it.

I gathered the liquid in the air and shaped them into floating spheres, then infused them with my mana until the glassy orbs shimmered brightly with power.

The potion spheres lifted from my hands and floated higher and higher. Once they rose far enough, they needed to disperse into as fine a mist as possible.

“Healing Mist!” I called out.

The droplets burst apart, becoming a gentle rain that fell over the branches and newborn leaves. As the sunlight filtered through the falling mist, it painted a perfect, glowing rainbow over the World Tree, like it was wearing a colorful, shimmering crown.

“Wow, it’s beautiful…” I said.

I wasn’t the only one whispering. All around us, elves had stopped to stare at the effect, their eyes wide with surprise. Some let out soft gasps while others cried in wonder.

But the miracle didn’t end there. Suddenly, the green buds unfurled all at once along the entire tree and spread wide like little hands to catch the rainbow light, growing bigger and bigger into full young leaves before our eyes.

“What a beautiful sight!” said one of the elves.

“The World Tree is coming back to life!”

“Look! There she is! Our Beloved Child! She did that!”

“All hail the Beloved Child!”

Everyone knew exactly who was responsible. They came running toward me in amazement, and then lifted me high into the air before I could protest.

This is so embarrassing!

They tossed me up into the air again and again, laughing and cheering until I felt something brush lightly against my stomach. A slender branch had drifted down out of the foliage, hovering close to me.

I’d like you to plant my child in your garden, said a gentle voice inside my mind.

“Sure. I’ll take it home with me,” I whispered.

The elves finally set me down, and I tucked the little branch into my satchel.

Afterward, I wandered the village in search of rare plants I could use in Alchemy.

Healing herbs, magical herbs… They were just like the ones growing in my own garden.

Wait a minute!

Elven Pearl Herb

Classification: Plant

Quality: High

Rarity: A

Status: Resembles lily of the valley, but nontoxic. Water infused with the essence of its flowers creates a luxurious lotion.

Feeling: I’ll make a fragrant lotion that will make your skin smooth and soft!

Oh, perfect! Mother, Dahlia, Miina, Katya… Everyone will love this!

Elven Healing Herb

Classification: Plant

Quality: High

Rarity: B

Status: Brewing this herb into a potion will recover a moderate amount of both health and mana.

Feeling: What goes perfectly with healing herbs?

Magical herbs! There it is.

Elven Magical Herb

Classification: Plant

Quality: High

Rarity: B

Status: Brewing this herb into a potion will recover a moderate amount of both health and mana.

Feeling: Correct!

I asked a nearby elf if they’d mind sharing cuttings of all three, which they were happy to do.

That night, there was a great bonfire in the village square. Elves everywhere played music: one perched on a carved stool playing a harp, another sat cross-legged on the ground strumming a lute, and a third swayed in place as they played the flute.

A crescent moon hung overhead. The stars glowed, as though blessing the rebirth of the World Tree. It stood tall and proud once more, crowned with tender new leaves that rustled in the breeze.

From their forays into the forest, elves had prepared a banquet of whole roast chickens stuffed with herbs, wild boar seared to perfection, and bowls of berries and nuts. The adults had mead while I was served fresh fruit juice instead.

As the musicians played, singers lifted their voices in songs of gratitude and joy to the healed World Tree.

It was one of the most beautiful nights I’d ever experienced.

Chapter 11:
The Sage’s Tower

WE SPENT THE NIGHT IN THE ELVES’ VILLAGE and set out for the Sage’s Tower the next morning. Ariel came with us, of course. She rode on a massive eagle named Tyrion, gliding low in the sky above the horses and divine beasts we rode.

“Hey Ariel, you don’t have a place to live in the human realm, do you?” I’d been thinking about that, since there was still a spare room on the girls’ floor of my workshop in the capital.

“Hm, that’s true,” she said, tapping her finger thoughtfully on her cherry-colored lips. “I could always sleep in a tree or something, though.”

I couldn’t believe what she just said. “No way, absolutely not! It’s way too dangerous for a cute girl like you to spend the night outside! There are all sorts of scoundrels out there!” I warned her in a panic.

“Well, they’d probably just get themselves killed…” the other three said in perfect unison.

They were so certain because just earlier, three devil boars—a higher-tier type of evil boar—had appeared and Ariel had shot off three arrows at the same time, hitting every single one of them square between the eyes and defeating them instantly.

Ariel’s bow was truly special. It was made of mythril, a shiny, silvery metal that never showed rust and was as strong as steel. It didn’t even require physical arrows; it must have been some kind of magical device, because the arrows were formed from her mana. If she didn’t imbue them with anything they functioned like normal arrows, but she could also create holy, light, or fire arrows.

“Well, I have an empty bedroom at my workshop in the capital of Saltenburg. You could live with me and my other employee on the girl’s floor. What do you think?” I asked.

“Workshop? Employees? Lady Daisy, are you some kind of businesswoman?” Ariel swayed gently on her eagle’s back and gave me a curious look.

Well, it was hard to picture a bakery without seeing one in person, let alone the Alchemy part. I reached into the magic satchel that hung at my waist and took out a piece of bread packed for me by Miina. Time was frozen inside the bag, so everything stayed perfectly fresh no matter how long it had been in there. I still don’t know exactly how it works, though…

“Yes, I own a workshop which has both an Alchemy lab and shop, along with a bakery. Here, try some of our bread.” I held up the bread.

Tyrion dipped lower in the air so Ariel could take it from me. It was one of Miina’s inventions, stuffed full of sweet corn and mayonnaise.

“But I thought all bread was flat and awful?” Ariel said before hesitantly taking a bite.

“Hey, be careful when you’re eating and riding! You’ll bite your tongue,” Mark said, exasperated. Even though Ariel was much older than him, he slipped right into the older-brother role.

“Wow, this is delicious!” Ariel suddenly started gobbling the bread up, not caring one bit about manners. Luckily, despite Mark’s warning, her tongue went unscathed. “Lady Daisy! Please let me stay at your workshop! I can even help at the bakery!” she begged, her lips glossy with mayonnaise. Then she flew higher and started singing some odd little song that went “Bread, bread! Bread at the bakeryyyy!”

***

Let me take over the report from here—this is Mark speaking.

As I stood looking up at the tower, I felt a terrible sense of dread in the pit of my stomach. Sure, Daisy was an Alchemist, but she’d been born into a family of Mages. Now she’d finally reached the Sage’s Tower and I just had a feeling something was going to happen.

The tower was so tall that it hurt to crane my neck looking up the length of it. I couldn’t even see the peak as it disappeared into the clouds. The ground around us was blanketed in the Sage’s herb Daisy came here looking for, so she gathered what she needed without any trouble. Then she stood and quietly gazed up at the tower for a while.

“So this is the Sage’s Tower,” she murmured.

I fought to keep my mouth shut so I wouldn’t say something I might regret later, because I knew she was about to say she wanted to go inside. “You want to go in, don’t you?” I knew if I said it out loud, she would be guaranteed to say yes.

The old stone tower was fifty floors high, with a boss-level monster standing guard every five floors. Legend had it that long ago, the Great Sage Gwynrill had lived on the top floor. According to that same legend, his relics were still stashed up there.

But nobody could confirm the legend, because nobody had ever made it past the thirty-fifth floor. Not a single person who’d challenged those unexplored sections had ever come out alive. No one even knew what was on the thirty-fifth floor to begin with.

“Mark, Letia… Did an actual Sage used to live here? Is that why it’s called the Sage’s Tower?”

Just as I feared, Daisy started asking questions.

Here we go. I let out a sigh, bracing myself for the inevitable.

Letia ignored my reaction and answered Daisy calmly. “Yes. Nobody’s fully climbed it, so these are just stories, but they say a Great Sage named Gwynrill used to live up there.”

Curse you, Letia! Stop talking! I shouted internally.

“Wait, does that mean there could still be some of the Sage’s treasures left inside?” Ariel asked, her eyes sparkling.

Just think about it, kids! Ask yourself why no one’s ever managed to climb it! Come on!

“My family’s all Mages, you know!” said Daisy. “If there really are relics that belonged to a Great Sage in there, there might be magical items they could use! Don’t you think?” Her interest was certainly piqued now.

“Listen, this is still an unexplored dungeon and—” I tried to dissuade her, but Lynn interrupted.

“If Daisy wants to go, I’m in!”

Oh great, even Lynn’s fired up now.

“Let’s do it!” the girls shouted in unison.

It’s all over… I hadn’t found the chance to convince them otherwise, so the battle was already lost. I braced myself…or maybe I just relented. If things really got bad, I could just throw everyone out a window and jump after them. It would be my duty for failing to stop them. If we got injured in the fall, we could heal ourselves with potions, or maybe we’d even get lucky and Tyrion would swoop in to catch us.

“All right, let’s go.”

With that, our party headed into the Sage’s Tower.

***

FIRST FLOOR OF THE SAGE’S TOWER

There weren’t any enemies in the entrance hall, so we did a final check of our potions and supplies before heading upstairs. The horses and Tyrion stayed outside to wait for our return, but Leaf and Leon insisted they could handle stairs, so they came with us.

FLOORS TWO THROUGH FIVE
OF THE SAGE’S TOWER

The enemies here were goblins—little creatures that some also called imps. The boss on the fifth floor was a goblin lord, and we took him out in seconds.

FLOORS SIX THROUGH TEN
OF THE SAGE’S TOWER

The enemies on these floors were pig-like monsters called orcs. Though, honestly, they didn’t look much like pigs to me. Maybe it was just meant as an insult because they were on the chubby side? If so, it felt a bit mean.

The boss on the tenth floor was an orc king, and we defeated him instantly, just like the previous boss.

FLOORS ELEVEN THROUGH FIFTEEN
OF THE SAGE’S TOWER

These levels were crawling with ogres, also known as demons. The boss on the fifteenth floor was an ogre king. Letia ended that fight in a single stroke, lopping off the king’s head.

FLOORS SIXTEEN THROUGH NINETEEN
OF THE SAGE’S TOWER

We started running into trolls, or giants, on these floors. They were bigger and stronger than ogres, but heavy and sluggish with slow, lumbering movements. Whenever one tried to swing its huge club down on us, I’d freeze it in place with an Ice Wedge, or Ariel would shoot an arrow straight into his head, making the troll crash to the floor.

Mark and Letia worked together to avoid their clubs and defeat the rest of the trolls, while Lynn smashed their skulls with her hammer. Honestly, I had to admit that we were a little overpowered for these floors.

TWENTIETH FLOOR OF THE SAGE’S TOWER

The boss here was a cyclops, a big giant with one eye. Its whole face was practically one humongous eyeball. Didn’t that make for an obvious weak spot? We couldn’t have had an easier target!

Sure enough, Ariel went straight for it and shot her arrow into the eye without hesitation. For someone so beautiful, she sure was ruthless.

FLOORS TWENTY-ONE TO TWENTY-FOUR
OF THE SAGE’S TOWER

The enemies on these floors were undead. Skeletons, zombies, ghouls, and all other forms of reanimated life all came charging at us. The air stank of decay.

“Ugh, I’m not going to waste my time shooting them one by one.” Ariel turned up her nose, then purified the entire floor with one fell swoop. Her wide-area purification spell consumed a lot of mana, so I handed her a mana potion when we reached the stairs, and then we moved on.

TWENTY-FIFTH FLOOR OF
THE SAGE’S TOWER

The boss here was a necromancer, a skeletal figure wearing a tattered robe. He summoned back all the undead Ariel had just defeated and filled the floor with them from wall to wall.

“Are you serious? I just cleaned up this disgusting mess,” Ariel snapped. “What do you think you’re doing?!” She unleashed another massive purification spell, disintegrating the necromancer along with his minions.

That was supposed to have been the boss, but it was hard not to feel a little sorry for him being vaporized right along with the small fry.

FLOORS TWENTY-SIX TO TWENTY-NINE
OF THE SAGE’S TOWER

There were undead magicians and living armor floating around everywhere on these floors.

Living armor was essentially empty suits of plate that moved around on their own, while undead magicians were just empty robes. In other words, a whole bunch of floating clothing.

“Guess it’s up to me again,” Ariel sighed and started another round of floor-wide purification.

This time, however, the living armor vanished while the undead magicians stuck around.

“Hm?” she tipped her head to the side, looking puzzled.

“It looks like they activate a magic barrier if you attack with spells,” Letia explained calmly as she observed them.

“I see,” Ariel said. “That means we have to hit them with physical attacks!” She tried shooting one with a holy arrow, but it still bounced right off the barrier. Apparently, even arrows crafted by mana counted as magic. I realized I needed to make sure she carried a few real arrows for enemies like these.

“Hmph! If that’s how you want to play, I’ll bless everyone’s weapons instead!” she said, puffing out her cheeks in frustration. “Holy Crusade!” Casting a support spell, she enchanted everyone’s weapons with holy power.

Well, except mine, because…I didn’t even have a weapon.

Everyone else went smashing the mana stones inside the empty robes, the undead magicians’ cores, but I could only stand there, useless.

THIRTIETH FLOOR OF THE SAGE’S TOWER

The boss here was a Dullahan, riding on a kind of ancient wagon called a chariot. He was headless, and held his head carefully in his left hand while holding a spear in his right. Isn’t that kind of an awkward setup?

The chariot itself was infamous for its spiky wheels that it used to mow people down. Overall, it was rather macabre. However, he never got the chance to charge, because Ariel’s holy magic vaporized him before he could even move.

FLOORS THIRTY-ONE TO THIRTY-FOUR
OF THE SAGE’S TOWER

Suddenly, we were surrounded by vampires in flowing capes and their familiars, swarms of bats. I figured the boss waiting on the unexplored thirty-fifth floor must be a vampire king. They all swooped at us, eager to drain our blood, but Ariel’s holy magic once again obliterated them with little fanfare.

THE UNEXPLORED FLOORS
OF THE SAGE’S TOWER

Since Ariel had been working so hard, I made sure she drank another mana potion before we went up the stairs to the thirty-fifth floor. Climbing the last few steps, we crossed the threshold.

There were countless vampires crowded inside, but they weren’t the typical kind. These wore the gear of fallen adventurers; some had armor, some wore robes, but all of them had pale, blue-tinted skin and bloodshot red eyes. A few were crying tears of blood.

“Kill us!”

“It hurts…”

Some begged for death, while others called out names, which I guessed were their family members. The whole place was terrifying.

“Yuck…” I said.

They didn’t even look like monsters; they looked like people who had been twisted into something inhuman. My stomach churned and everyone clamped a hand over their mouths. Even Mark and Letia looked shaken, which was unusual for such seasoned adventurers. I wondered if they recognized some of the poor souls.

At the end of the nightmare stood the one responsible for all this, and he greeted our stunned silence with a voice full of glee.

“Welcome, all! What do you think of my collection of servants? Aren’t they wonderful? Now, you shall join them!” He snarled, baring pointy fangs, and swept his black cape around himself as he launched straight for us.

He was the undead king, the ruler of all vampires, and the reason the Sage’s Tower had remained unconquered for so long.

“Ariel!” I shouted.

“Leave it to me! Banish!” Ariel raised her hand overhead and unleashed a blinding pillar of divine light. However…

“Ariel, look out!”

Apparently, Ariel had assumed that he would be vulnerable to her holy magic like every other vampire. She looked truly stunned that her attack had failed—too stunned to even dodge the incoming counterattack.

Letia dashed between them, intercepting the undead king’s fangs with her katana. She hooked her free arm around Ariel’s waist and kicked off the floor, putting distance between them and the monster.

“Thank you, Letia.”

“Sure thing.”

Ariel had been spared by only seconds.

“I’ve never seen an undead being that isn’t affected by holy magic. What else can we do?” Ariel put aside her panic and immediately started brainstorming.

“I am a king, not a fool!” the vampire bellowed. “When one thinks of the undead, they think of holy magic. It’s common sense! Naturally, I prepared for such tactics, so your precious holy magic is useless. Now, despair! You shall become my puppets for all eternity! Cry, beg, scream for mercy! I want to see your faces twisted in grief, resignation, and despair! That is my greatest delight!” He threw back his head and laughed, a high-pitched mocking sound that filled the room. His thin red lips curved into a smirk.

All it did was provoke Ariel. She narrowed her eyes, burning with anger. “Then how about fire? Azure Fireball!” She gathered a flurry of blue flames around her as if to vent her frustration.

The other element most effective against undead monsters was fire, and Azure Fireball was an advanced form of the Fireball spell. Ariel poured everything she had into the flames and hurled the blazing fireball straight into the undead king’s stomach.

“How dare you underestimate us! Take this!” Lynn was already behind him, swinging her hammer down to follow up Ariel’s strike. Letia sprinted over, her katana flashing as she struck his side. Meanwhile, Mark swung his halberd down to break his neck.

But it was all in vain. He didn’t have a scratch on him.

The vampire trembled with laughter. “Physical attacks and all manner of elemental magic are useless. Be it holy, darkness, light, evil, fire, water, earth, wind—none shall work! Now give up! Wallow in despair! You shall join my collection at the end of this hopeless struggle!” He seemed almost drunk on his confidence in his own victory.

Honestly, I couldn’t blame Ariel for being furious, because I couldn’t wait to see this smug monster get what he deserved. But if physical attacks and elemental magic didn’t affect him, then what would?

Wait… I still have another element!

“Hey, you! I’ve got something you can’t nullify!” I shouted.

“Ha! You can’t harm me!” The undead king sneered down his nose at me.

“You sure about that?” I raised my hand toward him and gave him my sweetest smile. Then I shouted, “Rose Whip!” Countless vines burst through every window and crack in the tower, surging toward the vampire all at once.

“Wh-what’s happening?!” For the first time, he sounded shaken.

The thorny vines whipped around him like tentacles. No matter how he struggled to tear them off, they only tightened their grip. Within moments, he was bound tightly in a thick cocoon of vines.

I’d completely immobilized the undead king! Yes!

“H-how can magic work on me? This is impossible! What sorcery is this?!” He thrashed in vain, as the vines only squeezed him tighter. Before long, he lost his balance and crashed onto the floor.

This is nature magic! You never said anything about that!

“He’s neutralized now, right?” Mark came over to me, looking relieved.

“Even if you bind me, I can still—” the undead king began.

“Vines, could you shut him up, please?” I asked, pointing to his mouth. The vines obediently wound around his face, gagging him.

“Well, we’ve got him restrained, but how do we get rid of him?” Letia asked, tapping the side of his neck with the flat part of her katana as he squirmed and growled at us.

We couldn’t advance to the next floor without defeating the boss. Now what? We all glanced around at each other.

Mark gave the undead king a little kick and Letia whapped his head with her blade. He was no danger to us at the moment, so we decided to have a strategy meeting right then and there.

First, we agreed it was important to purify the victims. “The adventurers deserve to rest in peace, so let’s take care of them first,” I said.

“Agreed,” Ariel said, nodding along with everyone. “I’m not a priest, so I don’t know if this will save their souls, but… May you rest in peace. Gods have mercy… Kyrie Eleison.”

A soft glowing light spread outward from Ariel that felt warm and melancholy at the same time. Slowly, it filled up the whole floor. The pitiful remains of the adventurers dissolved into the glow, their figures slowly melting away.

I hope your next life is happier, I prayed silently, hoping they could finally find rest.

Their bodies turned to ash and scattered across the floor. The faint lights I thought must be their souls drifted through the windows to the ground below, then vanished one by one, perhaps passing to the underworld. All they left behind was their armor, robes, weapons, and other belongings, which clattered to the floor in a pile.

“I’ll take these back to the adventurers’ guild,” Mark said. “Their families deserve to have something to remember them by.” He gathered up all the equipment and packed it carefully into his magic bag.

“Nooo! My collection!” The undead king had managed to wrench his mouth free enough to make his complaints known.

Letia ground her heel into his neck. “You got a problem, scumbag?” She glared down at him coldly.

“Hmph! Pretty cocky for someone who can’t kill me! Do you plan to keep me here forever?” He smirked at us, gloating. Letia rewarded him with another stomp.

There had to be a trick to this, though; there was no way a vampire could simply be immune to holy magic. I backed up and studied him from every angle—with Appraisal, of course.

Undead King

Classification: Monster

Quality: Rotting Flesh

Rarity: A

Status: King of the vampires. Weak against holy and light as well as fire.

Feeling: Let me go already!

I knew he had weaknesses! He must be wearing some kind of special equipment that nullified attacks. I stared intently at his neck and wrists, looking for a necklace or bracelet. When I looked at his hands, I spotted it.

“There! It’s that ring!” I said. The undead king wore a ring with a shimmering, rainbow-colored stone on his ring finger.

“Wh-what? N-no, this isn’t anything at all!” he stammered, but his protests only confirmed it.

“Gag him again, vines. He’s getting annoying,” I said. The vines immediately coiled around his mouth again.

Ring of Divine Protection

Classification: Equipment

Quality: Supreme

Rarity: SSS

Status: Nullifies physical attacks and elemental magic including holy, darkness, light, Evil, fire, water, earth, and wind.

Feeling: Could you please take me off this guy? The gem itself is the source of my power!

“The ring has that much protection? How’d he get his hands on something like that?” Letia muttered. She was still grinding her heel into the undead king’s face, clearly disgusted by how he’d treated the fallen adventurers.

Yuck. I really didn’t want to touch him to pull the ring off. His claws were long and scary, and who knew what he’d do if I got too close.

“I’ll try melting part of the band,” I said.

The undead king’s eyes widened in horror.

“Vines, twist his hand so it’s palm up.”

“Stop! Don’t!” he shouted. But no matter how much he protested, the vines forced his wrist to turn.

“Here goes.” I focused my mana on the narrowest point on the band and began heating the metal. Of course, the ring didn’t protect from Alchemy magic. The band sizzled and he shrieked, writhing around in pain as the molten gold burned his skin.

I’m sure it was hot, but I didn’t feel sorry for him at all.

Part of the ring softened and broke away, clattering onto the floor. I bent down to pick it up and Appraise it. Luckily, the enchantment itself was still effective.

“That should do it! Banish!” Ariel intoned, and the disgusting tyrant who’d ruled this floor disappeared in a burst of holy light.

I cooled the ring with water magic and handed it to Lynn. Since I’d melted part of the band, it would need her skills to repair.

And with that settled, we climbed up the stairs.

FLOORS THIRTY-SIX TO THIRTY-NINE
OF THE SAGE’S TOWER

These levels were full of giant lizards called basilisks that had fangs dripping with petrifying venom. Any party without countermeasures would’ve been overwhelmed.

“Ariel, you don’t have any resistance, so keep your distance!” Mark shouted.

Ariel nodded, shooting arrows at the creatures from afar.

Thanks to our rings, the rest of us had complete immunity to status effects, so we could get as close as we pleased.

FORTIETH FLOOR OF THE SAGE’S TOWER

The boss on this floor was a giant chicken called a cockatrice, which also attacked with petrifying venom.

We finished it off instantly, just like all the others.

FLOORS FORTY-ONE TO FORTY-FOUR
OF THE SAGE’S TOWER

Wyverns flew overhead. They were a subspecies of dragons, great winged lizard-type creatures, but they didn’t pose much threat to our party.

“You know, if we’re fighting wyverns on these floors, that must mean the next boss is…” Mark muttered as he took one down with ease, a frown on his face.

FORTY-FIFTH FLOOR OF THE SAGE’S TOWER

“Whoa!”

The instant Mark reached the top step, flames erupted toward him. He’d been expecting something like that, so he had snuck up carefully to peek inside. Thanks to his caution, he was able to avoid the burst just in time, with only minor burns to one hand and one leg. I healed him quickly with a potion.

The boss on this floor was a drake. It might have been smaller than a dragon, but it was still a formidable enemy. I did have one question, though: Was the fire that dragons breathed considered a physical attack or a magical one?

We retreated down the stairs, out of the drake’s range, to regroup.

“Hey, I have a question. Does dragon breath count as a physical or magical attack?” I asked.

“Unfortunately, it’s neither,” Leaf said. “Physical attacks are delivered by mass and acceleration. A dragon’s flames are a phenomenon of heat and radiant light without mass, so they don’t count as physical.”

“And their fire and other types of breath aren’t created with mana, so they don’t count as magical attacks either,” Leon said.

“Which means…” I began.

“Our rings can’t protect us,” Lynn finished.

We both looked down at the rings on our middle fingers, matching except for the color of the gem.

“Lady Daisy, you would almost certainly die if you took even a single breath attack,” said Leaf, shaking his head. “As your guardian, it’s not my place to tell you what to do, but I cannot allow you to proceed, as you are a Beloved Child.”

“And Lady Lynn, if you took even a few hits in a row, your life would be in danger,” Leon said, lowering his gaze.

“I only have my archery and my holy, light, and fire magic,” Ariel said, biting her lip. “Ordinary arrows can’t seriously wound a drake. And since my light spells operate by heat and radiance, I doubt they’d have much effect against a creature that breathes fire. I don’t have enough health to just withstand it, either…”

“My and Letia’s gear isn’t fire-resistant, and we don’t have any weapons designed for fighting drakes,” said Mark. “So if we try this, it’ll just be a battle of attrition until Daisy runs out of potions.” He rested his hand on my head. “This is it, Daisy. I’m drawing a line here, and I won’t budge. Got it?” His voice was kind and patient, as if explaining the situation to a child.

“But it’s so frustrating,” I whispered. “We’re so close to the top floor!”

Mark’s warm hand stayed on my head.

“This place is called the Sage’s Tower, right?” I continued. “I thought there must be something up here Mages could use. I just wanted to do something to help my father and my siblings. I want to help my family.” I clutched the hem of my robe with both hands.

“I know how you feel, Daisy,” he said gently. “But would your family want you to get hurt because of it?”

I shook my head. “I’m sorry for being selfish and causing everyone trouble.”

“No worries,” Mark said, patting my head. “Everyone makes mistakes and has regrets. But if you die, that’s the end. I don’t want to lose anybody.”

“Daisy.” Lynn stepped in front of me and rested both of her hands lightly on my shoulders. She rubbed them in small circles like a mother comforting her child. “I’ve got my forging, and you’ve got your Alchemy. Why don’t we work together to make the gear we’ll need to take down the drake? We have that kind of power, don’t we?” She slipped her arm around my waist and the other cradled the back of my head, pulling me into a hug.

I closed my eyes and bit down on my lip, frustration welling up inside of me.

“Okay, we’ll retreat for today,” Mark said. “But someday, we’re gonna come back and beat it. That sound good to everyone?” He looked around for confirmation, and we all silently nodded.

Once everyone had agreed, we turned around and began the long descent back to the first floor.

The sun had completely set by the time we emerged from the tower.

Mark and Letia began pitching tents and started a campfire. I decided to unload a mountain of the bread that Miina had packed for us for dinner. Everyone was really worn out tonight, so we deserved it.

Once we finished eating, we all flopped down together on the grass, spread-eagled. The sky was overcast, covering up all the stars. There was just a hazy moon hanging beside the Sage’s Tower, casting a faint, almost triumphant glow—as if to say the tower had won this time.

The clouds almost felt like an expression of our feelings, gray and impenetrable.

“Man, we really have nothing to show for this, huh,” Lynn’s voice broke through the silence.

“We did get something out of it, right?” Mark sounded like he was trying to lift everyone’s spirits. He must have meant the ring we got from the undead king.

“True. Once the ring’s repaired, it’ll be incredible,” I said. It held a power like the rings of protection we wore ourselves.

“I wish I could have been more useful to you, Lady Daisy,” Ariel sniffled through her tears.

“You were the one who worked hardest of us all, Ariel,” Letia said, reaching over to tousle Ariel’s hair.

“I’m just glad everyone came out alive. That’s enough for me,” Mark said. He swung his legs up and pushed himself upright. “Still…I want to get stronger!” he shouted up at the cloudy sky.

Mark seemed like the most levelheaded person in our party, but here he was acting like an excited kid. It was enough to make everyone laugh.

“Yeah, me too!” Letia said, chuckling softly as she nodded.

Someday, all of us would conquer the tower together, I vowed to myself as I crawled into our tent.

Chapter 12:
The Mossy Healing Cavern

THE NEXT MORNING, AFTER WE FINISHED breakfast and packed up camp, our group set off for our next destination: the Mossy Healing Cavern.

Originally, we had left the capital through the northwest gate and followed a road that continued in the same direction. This time, we changed course and took the road that trailed along the northern mountain range to the east.

It was a route mostly used by miners to move between the various mineshafts scattered along the mountains. We passed by soldiers on patrol and workers traveling from site to site. It was a busy road without many monster attacks, so it almost felt peaceful. Every so often we’d encounter soldiers fighting off monsters and lend them a hand, but for the most part, we just walked along, chatting.

“Hey, Lynn,” I said. “There’s something I want you to make for me. Can I tell you about it?”

“Sure, if I can do it, I’ll help.”

There was something in particular I wanted, and that was a staff—but not the usual kind a Mage would carry.

“I want you to make a staff that can hold two kinds of potions inside, with a switch to spray the potions out.”

“Huh? I’ve never heard of anything like that.” Lynn frowned, trying to picture what I was talking about.

“I’d use water magic to shape the potion spray and disperse it like rain for a wide-area healing effect,” I continued. “I’ve been supporting everyone from the sidelines during this trip, but opening every potion bottle one by one is such a pain. I was thinking maybe the whole process could be automated.”

I pulled a potion bottle from my satchel to demonstrate. Just taking it out and uncorking it took several valuable seconds—I wanted to eliminate that whole step.

“Sure, but what if the staff runs out of potion, Daisy?”

“Then I’d refill it, I guess.” I pictured myself stopping in the middle of a fight to fumble with pouring half a dozen bottles down the staff.

Yeah, that won’t work.

“Plus, think about it,” Lynn said. “The staff would be storing a lot of liquid. Every time you swung it, the weight would be really hard on your wrist.”

My bright idea of operating like a real Healer with a staff was already looking like a dud. I puffed out my cheeks in frustration.

“Daisy, your potion shots are already a huge help,” Lynn said gently. “With that technique, it’s basically the same as having a Healer in the party.”

“You’re already in a league of your own,” Letia added with a faint smile, trying to comfort me.

Mark muttered something under his breath beside her.

“Putting that side for now, has anybody thought of strategies for the drake?” I was determined to clear that Sage’s Tower someday. There had to be grimoires and other equipment in there that could help my father and siblings.

“If the drake breathes fire, then ice is the obvious counter,” Mark said as he rode his horse. “We could enchant our weapons with ice attributes, although that would mean Lynn would have to forge new blades for us.”

“I can’t do much against something resistant to heat,” Ariel said from atop Tyrion, flying low through the sky. “But if I had ice arrows, that might help.”

“We’ll need armor too,” said Lynn enthusiastically. “If we can make gear resistant to heat and fire, everyone would be a lot less vulnerable.”

“Then there’s Daisy’s health,” Mark pointed out. “No matter how much we train, a ten-year-old girl’s body isn’t going to survive a direct impact from drake’s breath. You’d have to focus on healing from the entrance. Staying there is nonnegotiable.” He sounded like he wouldn’t take no for an answer.

Ugh, I knew it. It’s unfair to not have much health…

While we were discussing all this, we arrived at our next destination, the Mossy Healing Cavern.

“Ooh, I have a feeling there’s something interesting in here!” Lynn said, disappearing into the cave’s depths.

When we reached the back of the cave, dozens of little earth fairies—the tiny yellow folk—were gathered around Lynn.

“Mineral extraction!” she called, pointing at the cave wall. The yellow fairies all raised their arms in unison, the rock wall shimmering with a golden glow. Countless glittering particles floated free and filled the air like a cloud of stardust.

“Mineral recrystallization!” Lynn shouted, and this time the fairies all pointed their fingers toward a single spot in midair. The shining dust streamed together and fused into several hunks of ore that fell into Lynn’s waiting hands.

By the time I realized what was happening, all the little fairies had already vanished. They always disappeared so fast…

Lynn turned toward us, balancing the ore on her palm so we could see.

“This feels like something gentle in nature,” she said. “Come take a look, Daisy.”

I climbed down from Leaf and hurried over, studying the ore closely.

Healing Stone

Classification: Mineral, Material

Quality: Good

Rarity: B

Status: Naturally promotes gradual recovery of health when forged into equipment. Stacks with other items granting the same effect.

Feeling: With me around, you’ll always be safe and sound!

“If you use it in equipment, it’ll continually restore health, and the effects stack!” I could hardly contain my excitement as I shared the result.

“So that means we could wear it with the guardian rings?” Mark looked down at the ring on his finger.

“If we can smelt enough ingots from this for everyone’s gear, that would be amazing,” Lynn said. “I’ll leave it to you, Daisy.” The first step would be processing the ore, so Lynn handed it to me and I tucked it away in my magic satchel.

Next, it was time to collect what we’d come here for—the healing moss.

The whole cave was covered in moss, with trickles of spring water seeping along the floor. The moisture must’ve been what encouraged all the growth. I looked around, quickly spotting a rock thick with a lush carpet of healing moss.

Healing Moss

Classification: Plant

Quality: High

Rarity: B

Status: Contains mana and is often used as an ingredient in medicines. Fresh and vibrant.

Feeling: Give me lots of water, but no direct sunlight, please!

“I’d love to take some moss from this rock to try cultivating it at the workshop.” I wondered if moss could be transplanted and grown again once peeled off. I hesitated, considering whether I should try to remove it, when…

“I’ll just break off the whole rock!” Lynn swung her hammer down without hesitation and smashed the base of the stone in two. All the moss came with the chunk of rock that fell off.

Just like that, I had both ingredients we’d come on this journey for.

Despite all our detours along the way, our gathering was finally done, so we headed all the way back to the capital. The sun had just begun to set when we passed through the northwest gate.

I explained at the checkpoint that Ariel and her familiar had come into my care while traveling. Since I was willing to vouch for her, they let us in without much fuss.

“Just make sure you get some proper identification soon, okay?” said the guard on duty. I was grateful he knew me well enough to trust my word.

Once we got back inside the capital, I took the healing moss from Lynn. We would need to sell the monster parts we gathered and identify the victims we found in the undead king’s lair so that we could return their belongings. Mark and Letia agreed to take care of all that at the adventurers’ guild.

Our long journey had come to an end, and so we all went our separate ways.

Chapter 13:
Let’s Go Home to the Workshop!

FINALLY, I RETURNED HOME TO ATELIER DAISY with Ariel at my side. Marcus and Miina were tending the shop and saw me immediately.

“Welcome back!”

It felt like ages since I’d seen their faces.

“I’m home! Sorry for leaving you both to fend for yourselves for so long. Was everything all right while I was away?” I asked, hoping to convey my gratitude for how much they’d done.

“I completed the Alchemy workshop’s deliveries on schedule with no problems at all. And the garden is thriving, as usual,” Marcus said proudly. It sounded like he handled everything perfectly.

“And the bakery’s running smoothly as usual!” Miina said with a bow.

“By the way, who’s this young lady?” Marcus asked, looking at Ariel waiting patiently by my side.

“Her name’s Ariel, and we met while traveling,” I said. “I decided to look after her. She’ll be living with us on the third floor from now on. Ariel, this is Marcus and Miina. They’re employees of mine here at the workshop.”

Ariel straightened up and then bowed deeply. “My name is Ariel. Lady Daisy saved my village and I’ll be assisting her to show my gratitude. It’s very nice to meet you all!”

Suddenly, she sniffed the air.

“You smell like fresh bread! You must be the one who baked all those treats!” she said, turning to face Miina with sparkling eyes and fists clenched in excitement.

“Huh?” Miina tipped her head in confusion, her kitty ears drooping a bit.

Ariel didn’t notice; she was already leaning over to peek into the bakery. “So this is a bakery! Wow! I’ve never seen so many kinds of bread before!” She grabbed Miina’s hands and squeezed them tightly. “Please let me help you in the bakery when I’m not traveling with Lady Daisy! I’ll work very hard! When I had your bread on our journey, I fell in love with it! I deeply admire you!” Her eyes were shining with admiration.

“Ariel, come along. I have more to show you,” I called, leading her outside to the garden.

All the fairies and nature sprites were hard at work tending the plants.

“I’m home, everyone!” I said, and they all gathered around me.

“Welcome back, Daisy!”

“Who’s that with you?”

They all started asking at once, their tiny voices overlapping.

“I’m Ariel, a Sun Elf! It’s nice to meet you all!” Ariel said. The fairies immediately clustered around and began to play.

The workshop felt even livelier now that Ariel was living with us. Somehow, I felt like life here was about to get even more colorful.

Bonus Story:
Gratitude For Kind Gifts

ONE DAY, ON MY DAY OFF, I WAS SITTING IN THE living room when Miina came over to me.

“I’d like to ask you about something, Miss Daisy.” She knotted her fingers together anxiously.

I patted the spot on the sofa next to me and gave her a reassuring smile. “Sure. Come sit down.” Her face lit up with a happy smile as she sat down next to me.

“So, what is it?” I asked.

“You know those two regular adventurer customers of ours, who bring us little gifts? I was thinking I’d like to give them something in return. They’ve given us so much.”

She was talking about the couple who had brought in things like the fancy bloodcow meat, claiming it was just souvenirs from their journeys. The total value of the gifts was probably a lot, however.

“You’re right,” I said. “They’ve given us so much that we could share with everyone. We should prepare a thank-you gift from all of us here at the shop.”

Miina’s face brightened instantly, her expression almost glowing. “Thank you so much!” she exclaimed.

“But what should we give them?” I asked. Miina interacted with them the most, and I realized I had no idea what sort of gift they’d appreciate.

Adventurers, hmm…

I sat there pondering when suddenly Miina spoke up. “Well… I don’t have any family, other than everyone here at the workshop and your family back home, Miss Daisy. Those are the only people I’m really close to. So…these customers are dear to me.” I could hear the sincerity in her voice; I reached over and gently patted her on the head.

“Oh!” I must have surprised her, because Miina blushed faintly, her cheeks turning a light pink. “I know it might be presumptuous of me, but I’d like to give them something for protection, like the pendants you gave to us. Something that means ‘Please return safely.’” She looked up at me hopefully.

That made sense. They were adventurers, so there was no telling what dangers they faced once they set out.

“But just asking you to make it for me feels wrong. I wish there was something I could do to contribute.” Miina’s tail drooped and she lowered her head.

“Aw, come on. What are you talking about?” I said. “Of course you’re going to help!”

She started flailing her hands in a panic. “Wh-wh-wha—!”

I rested both my hands on her shoulders to steady her. “Both Alchemy and magic start with feeling. Your feelings for them matter the most to make this gift truly special,” I said.

That was something my tutor Miss Yulia and my mentor Ana both had taught me. “Magic is imagination.” And if imagination was the key, then gentle wishes and caring thoughts could give even more power. I was sure of it.

Miina listened to every word, and slowly, the brightness returned to her eyes. “Okay! I’ve never done this before, so I’m a bit nervous, but I’ll do my best!”

“All right, then. How about we go shopping for materials together tomorrow and see what we can find?” I suggested.

“Okay!”

The next day, once the bread was baked and ready to go, we asked Ariel to mind the store for us while Miina and I went shopping.

We walked into that one shop I liked that always seemed to have hidden treasures tucked away.

“Hello there, little Alchemist! Are you looking for something in particular today?” the shopkeeper said, greeting us warmly as always. “Feel free to take your time and browse. And you as well, miss. Just ask if you’ve got any questions!”

Miina stepped forward and explained in a soft but steady voice. “I’m hoping to find a gem we can use to make a protective charm. It’s a thank-you gift for some adventurers who have been very kind to us.”

“Well, you came at just the right time!” he said. “I’ve got some protection stones in stock! They have modest defensive properties. Affordable, too, so they make for perfect gifts. Hang on, I’ll get one from the back.”

He disappeared behind the counter and returned a few moments later holding a perfectly ordinary-looking round stone. “Here you go. What do you think, miss? I know you’ve got a good eye for these things.”

I reached out and carefully Appraised it.

Protection Stone

Classification: Mineral, Material

Quality: Good

Rarity: C

Status: Increases defense by 10% when forged into equipment.

Feeling: I’ll protect you!

Yes, this would be a wonderful gift!

I pretended I only listened to the shopkeeper’s explanation, then walked back to where Miina was waiting and told her about the stone’s properties. Her eyes widened and her face lit up with happiness.

“So if they wear this stone, they’ll be protected? That way they can come home safely, even when they’re out doing dangerous quests!”

“I think so too,” I said. “Let’s make it together with your wish in mind!”

We didn’t waste another moment; we bought the stone and headed back to the workshop.

When we got back, the two of us went into the lab and I picked out a silver from the ingot shelf that would blend well with the stone.

“All right, let’s make the alloy, Miina,” I said. “I’ll need the strength of your heart too!”

“Okay!”

We both put on thick aprons and pulled on our gloves. I placed the silver ingot and the protection stone in the Alchemy cauldron. Gripping the stirring rod, I glanced at Miina, who was beside me. “I’ll let you know when I need your help, okay?”

“Okay!” She nodded eagerly.

Here we go. Help me grant Miina’s wish!

I poured all my mana into the cauldron, focusing on heating it as intensely as I could. As I held the stirring rod, the cauldron’s contents started to glow, and the silver began to melt.

Come together, blend!

Protection Ingot

Classification: Alloy, Material

Quality: Low

Rarity: C

Status: Increases defense by 10%. However, the bond is weak, so it likely will not reach its full potential.

Feeling: Your prayers aren’t strong enough yet!

Right. We’d only melted and combined the components so far; this is where the real work began. I channeled my mana into the rod, along with all the hopes we had for the adventurers we cared about and stirred in wide, steady circles.

“Miina! Put your hands on the rod next to mine and think about your wish!” I called out, and she hurried to grasp the rod with me. Even though she only had a normal, basic level of mana, her strong feelings would still convey her intent. I was certain of it.

Together, we stirred with the rod again and again. Miina’s eyes were closed, a solemn expression on her face like she was praying.

Slowly, a change began to occur inside the cauldron.

Protection Ingot

Classification: Alloy, Material

Quality: High

Rarity: B

Status: Increases defense by 20%. A special material infused with the pure wishes of a kind girl.

Feeling: I swear I’ll protect the ones you care about!

I knew it! Wishing to protect others really does have power! I felt a surge of pride and admiration for Miina’s accomplishment.

“It’s perfect, Miina! This all happened because you poured your heart into it!” I praised her. She looked totally flustered. Of course, she had no way to gauge if that was true, but she still gave me a relieved smile.

Afterward, we poured the mixture into an ingot mold, let it cool, and asked Lynn to make it into pendants.

***

“Really? A thank-you gift for us?”

The day the pendants were ready, the two adventurers came by the bakery. Miina handed them a couple of little wrapped boxes.

The adventurers accepted the gifts with baffled looks on their faces. Truthfully, guarding us was simply their duty, so it must have seemed strange to receive a gift for it.

“You’ve brought us so many gifts and souvenirs from your journeys,” said Miina. “This is just a small token of gratitude from everyone at the workshop.”

They unwrapped the boxes and opened them to find the pendants resting inside.

“A pendant?”

“Yes. If you wear it, it’ll increase your defense by 20 percent. I-I wanted to give you something to help you come back safely from your journeys,” Miina said warmly, her expression clear and bright.

“This is so valuable, though!” the woman protested. “It’s worth far more than anything we’ve brought you.” Miina reached out and gently closed the woman’s fingers over the pendant.

“This is my wish for you. Please accept it.” She looked so earnest the two adventurers couldn’t help but smile, knowing it would be fruitless to argue.

“Thank you,” said the man. “We’ll treasure it, and come back with more souvenirs next time.” He lifted a hand and gently patted Miina on the head.

After the pair left the workshop, they slipped into a quiet alley.

“We’re lucky, aren’t we?” Shadow said to Bird.

The two of them had given up their real names and lived in the shadows with no true home to return to. And yet, there was a girl who wished for them to come back home safely.

“Yes, Shadow, we are,” said Bird. “I never thought we’d find a place to belong like this.”

Together, they put the pendants around their necks. Their duties had originally been just the king’s orders, but somewhere along the way this place had become precious to them.

“Come on. Let’s protect them always.” They clasped their hands around the pendants, renewing their vow.

Afterword

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BUYING A TALE OF A Little Alchemist Blessed by the Spirits, Volume 2! This is the author, yocco.

The original subtitle of this series was about running a shop in the capital, but since Volume 1 ended with Daisy just opening her workshop, some readers probably thought, Wait, that’s it? But I’d always wanted to start from her childhood, and that was as far as I could go in one volume. Now that the second volume is out, I feel like the story has finally caught up with the subtitle.

This volume began with Daisy exploring more of the city, running her workshop, and meeting many new people—including her mentor, her Blacksmith partner, and her adventurer friends. She also starts going on expeditions with her companions, gathering materials and making new friendships. It’s quite a change for a little girl who’d never known anything outside the capital. Going out into the world introduces her to all sorts of people she could never have imagined. And her world will keep growing from here on out!

I hope you’ll continue to cheer Daisy on as she continues being the best little Alchemist she can be.

I also wanted to mention some news about the manga adaptation. Yes, that’s right! This light novel will be adapted into a manga. Depending on the timing, the first volume might already be published by the time you read this. The artist will be Asanaya-sensei.

Novels and manga each have their own charms, don’t you think? I’d be so happy if you enjoyed the stories in both versions and supported both the light novel and the manga. Thank you so much for reading!

Next, I have some small background info to add to the main story. There’s a line where Ana says, “An Alchemist isn’t just a healer who brews potions, nor a fool blinded by greed who keeps stoking the bellows in hopes of making gold.”

In case you were wondering why she mentioned bellows: Long ago, some greedy Alchemists who once tried to produce gold were mocked for spending all day pumping air into their forges. They were called “bellow-blowers” as an insult. So if you found yourself wondering what bellows had to do with Alchemy, now you know that interesting little tidbit!

Now I’d like to share my special thanks.

Thank you so much to everyone at Kadokawa Books who helped and supported me more than I can express, just like with Volume 1.

To Junsui-sensei, thanks so much for bringing Daisy and the other characters to life with your beautiful and expressive artwork, just as you always have.

Finally, this book was only made possible through the tireless efforts of more people than I can name here. I am truly grateful to everyone involved in making this story come to life. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

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The Tale of a Little Alchemist Blessed by the Spirits Vol 2

Table of Contents

Chapter 1:
The Workshop Is Open!

Chapter 2:
Let’s Make Cheese!

Chapter 3:
My Appraisal Gained a Bonus Feature!

Chapter 4:
A Gift for the Spirit Kings

Chapter 5:
A Ruthless Battle Among Women

Chapter 6:
Gifts for the Royal Family

Chapter 7:
The White Powder Incident

Chapter 8:
Let’s Eat Something Delicious!

Chapter 9:
Let’s Go Gather Ingredients!

Chapter 10:
The Elven Village and the World Tree

Chapter 11:
The Sage’s Tower

Chapter 12:
The Mossy Healing Cavern

Chapter 13:
Let’s Go Home to the Workshop!

Bonus Story:
Gratitude For Kind Gifts

Afterword