The next day.
I visited the merchant guild at a time that was a little late to be called morning.
“Welcome. What may I do for you today?” [Receptionist]
“The guild master, Grisiera, contacted me the other day…” [Ryouma]
I’ve been preparing since last night and have made several of the medicines from the list.
I was planning on speaking with the guild master while selling the medicine, but…
“If it isn’t Takebayashi-Sama. Welcome to the merchant guild.” [Other Receptionist]
The staff member I’ve dealt with many times before came out from the back of the receptionist desk and brought me to the reception office.
It seems he already knows me by face.
“Welcome. You’re here to sell medicine, right?” [Grisiera]
As soon as we saw each other, the guild master guessed why I came here.
“I see you know already.” [Ryouma]
“I requested for it, after all. So I’ve already prepared to meet your demands. Also, I heard you went to the training of the adventurers guild. After you came back and got my message, some time has passed since then, so considering the time it would have taken you to make medicine, it’s not too hard to infer. Still, I was actually expecting you to come either tomorrow or the day after.” [Grisiera]
As usual, her foresight is terrifyingly accurate.
But that isn’t all that I came here for.
“There’s actually something else I’d like to talk to you about.” [Ryouma]
“Oh? Then best we settle our business with the medicine quickly then.” [Grisiera]
“Please. ‘Item Box’ ” [Ryouma]
I took out 50 vials of medicine that I’ve concocted.
“I made them with the ingredients I had on hand. I still had some grell frog ingredients left.” [Ryouma]
“Can you make the medicines as long as you have the ingredients?” [Grisiera]
“If it’s something I can make, yes.” [Ryouma]
The guild master snorted as she took one of the vials and used Identify on it.
“Was there a medicine on the list that you can’t make?” [Grisiera]
“There are some medicine that I’ve never made before, though I do know the concoction method. I came here today partly to confirm some things in regard to those.” [Ryouma]
“I see. From what I’ve seen, these medicines of yours all have the same quality and there’s no problem with their effects either. No reason to be miserly then. I’ll get you the ingredients you need. Can you bring the other medicine then?” [Grisiera]
“I understand.” [Ryouma]
After saying that, she immediately called for staff members to assess the quality of the medicine and take them into the guild storage. Not long later, she told them to prepare the payment and the ingredients. When the staff member left again, she spoke to me.
“So? What is this other business you came for?” [Grisiera]
“Plume Diamond.” [Ryouma]
As soon as I mentioned those words, her eyes became sharp.
“Do you know about it?” [Ryouma]
“After being at this job for so long, yeah. You have one with you?” [Grisiera]
“An article belonging to my grandmother. She told me to sell it whenever I’m in need.” [Ryouma]
I also told her that I was preparing a set of formal clothes.
“…And so, I was wondering if I could use it as an accessory, but I didn’t know its value and didn’t know whether it could be used or not.” [Ryouma]
“You get points for not bringing it to some place strange and talking to me instead. Do you have it with you?” [Grisirea]
I took out a cloth from my Item Box.
Inside it was a plume diamond that had been divided into the size of a thumbnail.
I’d only split and modified its shape, so nothing should have been changed as far as the Identify results go. I expect it to still be a plume diamond…
When I revealed the contents of the cloth, the guild master looked at the diamond as if she were licking it, then she used Identify. Afterwards, she exhaled in astonishment.
“Is it fake?” [Ryouma]
“It’s real. I can hardly believe that you have such a huge plume jewel with you. It has the transparency you’d expect from a plume. On top of that, it’s a diamond and is beautifully colorless… The cut is a bit disappointing, but it’s still a first-rate item.” [Grisiera]
Apparently, the ‘plume’ is a special word that signifies the grade of a jewel, and means ‘special’ in an old language somewhere.
“In other words, this is a top quality product.” [Ryouma]
“Not top quality. ‘Special’. Understand? Jewels, you see, have extra things like grains of sands, fine scratches, and/or dents… Usually.” [Grisiera]
Ah…
Now that she mentions it, I remember now. In the process of a jewel becoming a jewel its components end up with inclusions or cavities. …But a jewel made with alchemy has no such thing.
“…How do you know that when you don’t even know about plume?” [Grisiera]
“I just remembered.” [Ryouma]
“Your knowledge is really imbalanced. Well, if you know that, then that makes this quick. This jewel has no inclusions. That is the condition required for a jewel to become a plume. But such jewels haven’t appeared in present time.” [Grisiera]
“Present time?” [Ryouma]
“I don’t know if these jewels were always like this from the start or if the part of the jewels without inclusion had simply been cut out, but a long time ago before an old hag like me was born. A long long time ago.
It is said that these jewels were either found in some historic ruins or passed down as a national treasure in some kingdom for a long time. Either way, these jewels flowed into the market, and the nobles tried to acquire them all. Currently, most of these things are being treated as heirlooms.” [Grisiera]
If these things existed in the past, then there must’ve been a human alchemist who made them.
An otherworlder like me… Maybe it’s the ‘Alchemy King’ I heard about from Gayn and the others. I’d like to investigate it if the opportunity shows itself.
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