122: The busier the time, the more welcome help is, right?

The Production Guild was buzzing like a battlefield.

“Uooooooh!”

I stirred the alchemy cauldron with everything I had, pushing the elixir to completion.

At just the right moment, Leifan burst into the alchemy room.

“Craft! Did you finish the enhancement ore potion!?”

“Just got the capital city batch done!”

“Next up—Leifan Town (……) batch, please!”

“Got it! Was it forty barrels, right!?”

“Yeah!”

Leifan nodded, barking orders to the other guild members.

“Everyone! Fill the barrels with enhancement potion—send them to the capital! Top priority!”

“““Yes!!”””

Barrels were passed from cauldron to barrel one after another, but I couldn’t wait for them to empty—I grabbed the next batch of materials from the shelf.

Just when I was swamped, Plum Flutia came clattering down into the alchemy chamber, eyes all puffy like she was about to cry.

Plum was one of the new recruits from the Production Guild, but she’d been handed the big job of guarding the communication golem.

So she ended up being the one who linked me and Leifan together.

“Craft-saaaan, it’s a crisis…! We’re out of stamina potions…!”

I didn’t understand her words for a second.

“…Huh!? You’ve got *some* stock of stamina potions, right? That’s not a joke, is it!?”

Stamina potions were one of the few things we kept in massive reserves—easy to make, cheap raw materials, we’d stockpiled them till the warehouse was packed. Should’ve been enough for a hundred wagons.

“How many sold? Half the warehouse?”

That’s still hundreds of wagons’ worth.

“…All of them.”

My brain froze for real this time.

“H-huh!? All of them!?”

“Yes~. The merchants within the domain are swarming the Trade Guild, begging them to sell fast. And now the Trade Guild’s yelling at the Production Guild to ramp up output—right now…”

Currently, the Production Guild is distributing stamina potions in two varieties.

The “Legendary Quality,” mainly bought by adventurers and soldiers. The Trade Guild’s been pushing for higher prices, so we’ve set it quite high.

The other is “Prime Quality,” meant for general use. That one’s priced affordably.

Prime Quality is sixth out of ten tiers. Even at that level, it usually doesn’t hit regular shops.

Selling out both at once? That’s hard to believe.

“O-okay! I’ll make stamina potions first!”

“Wait! Craft! What about the reinforcement stones from Leifan Town!?”

"Get Kyle to apply for increased payment for the guards from Zaid Village—no, from Leifan Town! Keep hiring adventurers to guard it during the delay in delivery!"

"Yeah, okay... got it!"

Leifan immediately turned and ran toward the lord's manor.

It would’ve been easy enough to just send a guild member with a message, but you can't just waltz in and talk to Kyle now he’s the lord.

Me and Leifan can still meet up normally, so Leifan’s the only one who can go in person.

...Still, that’s kind of ridiculous, isn’t it?

◆

Kyle had been Lord Kyle Goldendown von Erluxil, the Marquis of the New Frontier, for a while now.

Van pushed it through hard, no groundwork, no diplomacy—just shoved him into the role. Yeah, that had been rough.

But since it was a new territory the king himself had his heart set on, nobles and other lords started showing up one after another for inspections.

And then you realize.

Why the hell this place exploded in development like a miracle.

Sure, the nobles knew about reinforced stone and stamina potions. But they were just half-believing it, testing them out without much faith.

Then came the ten-story buildings. The city walls. Built in minutes. And the strength? Ironclad.

The managers who couldn’t grasp it from numbers finally saw it with their own eyes. Started ordering potions in bulk.

They were stockpiling stamina potions—easy to make. But scrambling to brew the reinforced stone potions, which took time. Even the stamina ones ran out. The production guilds were now running like war zones.

Reinforced stone alchemy… known in trade as the reinforced stone potion. Takes time to make.

Needed in massive quantities inside Goldendown. And also in Leifan town. Massive quantities.

—Incidentally, Leifan Town is the new name for the village Zaid used to pay tribute to.

Meanwhile, a massive order came in from Van, making the already-busy production guild even busier.

"Too few people! Too few!"

I screamed to the heavens.

I can hire as many errand boys as I want, but we’re short on alchemists! Seriously short!

Help me, god!

Apparently, my plea reached all the way up.

Plum, who’d returned to reception, spoke softly, apologetically.

"Craft-san~. Mr. Jabir’s here~. Should we ask him to come back?"

"Wait—Jabir-sensei!?"

"Yes~. But you’re busy, Craft-san, right~? Jabir-san just stopped by to say hello~"

"I’m going right now!"

I cut her off, rushing up the stairs.

Good to see him again after he’d been missing since the Hydra incident.

"Master! You're well, I hope!"

"Ah. I am well."

Zaid and his mother Vera. Been bouncing around the capital and the Marquis’s estate lately, what with the whole imperial business.

"Why here, at Goldendown?"

Glad to see you, but you’re not exactly close to the current Leifan village. Something must’ve brought you.

"Ah. Actually, thanks to the King’s word, I’ve been assigned to serve as the Elixir Expansion Marquis from today onward."

"Wait! Kyle’s?!"

That’s a shock.

I’m just a guild worker, not directly under Kyle’s command. But if Master Javir’s joining Kyle’s side, that’s like giving a demon a golden staff.

"Kyle-sama himself told me to come help out with the busy production guild."

Ohhhhhhhhhhh!

My Kyle, you’re the best! I’m totally blown away!

And the goddess! The goddess has descended!

The goddess swept her gaze across the surroundings, then spoke in divine proclamation.

"I shall handle the crafting of stamina potions. With your intermediate concoction, even I can mass-produce top-grade ones. Craft, focus on refining the strengthening rock potions."

I wasn’t the only one suddenly feeling the urge to pray to Master Javir. Leifan, Plum—they both had eyes gleaming, sparkling with reverence toward the master.

"Please, sir! Please!"

And so, barely, the production guild pulled through the crisis.

◆

That day, Kyle invited me to dinner.

Master Javir and Leifan were there too.

Of course, since it was dinner, Maina sat at her own place.

"Kyle, how’s your health?"

"Doing great, brother. I’ve already been checked by Master Javir."

"Then I’m relieved. By the way, I heard the master’s becoming the lord’s personal alchemist here?"

"Yes. The King, Vindeck, sent off Jabil with a fief—his affiliation grew hazy, so he was given a domain as a reward for overexerting himself."

Kyle was trusted enough by the King to be allowed to speak his name.

Well, he's really just Van, though!

Van, of all people, sending the teacher to Goldendown—pretty sharp, wouldn’t you say?

"I agreed on the condition that I’d be left free to research as I please—don’t like being tied down."

"With the teacher around, that’s worth a hundred men!"

"Uh-huh! Really comforting! Should I call you Teacher too?"

"Just call me normal."

"Got it!"

Leifan, who hadn’t even had time to rest these past few days, looked genuinely happy.

"By the way, where does the teacher live?"

I’d just wondered, since the teacher’s mansion used to be in Zaid’s old village.

"I'm planning to stay here for now. Gotta find or build a place with proper alchemical facilities."

"Wait, then why don't you just stay at my place?"

"Hmph?"

"I'm your student, and more importantly, the house you gave me has two alchemical setups, just like you suggested."

"Right... that design built from your impossible dream, wasn't it?"

The house Kyle gave me was based on a book where Master Javir had packed every ideal he had for alchemical conditions.

The book showed alchemical facilities set up separately on either side of the mansion. Probably the master just left the blueprint with a casual thought like, “Would be handy to have a backup,” or “Easier if the students have their own,” but Leifan, who didn’t know much about alchemy, took that ideal—childish dream-level design—and built it exactly as it was.

So the alchemy rooms were completely empty, entire rooms with facilities still unused.

“Yes! We’re only using one side right now, and the mansion’s full of empty rooms! Please, please do!”

Kyle smiled, Maina’s eyes widened (that was a look I’d never seen before), and Leifan just buried his head in his hands.

After a long pause, the master finally spoke.

"Hmm. Then I’ll be staying for a while."

"Not just a while—stay forever!"

"Wha—? Forever?!"

"Yes! Make yourself at home—stay forever!"

“S-so… is that… it? Is that really it!?!”

“Disciples’ things belong to their master!”

“Ah, yeah. That’s right… You were always that kind of person.”

I didn’t get the meaning, but it felt like a compliment.

Maina snapped back to herself, leaning toward me. She reached out both arms, maybe hoping to climb onto my lap—then got ignored. Instead, I kicked her feet.

Leifan stared, barely holding back a huge, dry laugh.

Why?

I muttered in confusion, still trying to figure it out, as I officially became my master’s inner disciple.

Back to it.

Life’s changed a lot lately—thanks to Corona.

I’ll take it slow, no rush.

Would love your support.

Oh, right—Seirenta’s rating system seems to have changed.

Definitely check it out sometime.