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Today, Milady took me on an ingredient hunt outside of Royal Capital. Normally, I would play it safe and scour the market, but with the protection of Milady, who is a renowned gourmet adventurer, I feel safe looking for unknown ingredients outside of the capital walls.

Hm, hm, this is going to be fun~

I hear that Milady would be taking me to a hole-in-the-wall place that she recommends with confidence. My culinary repertoire is about to expand.

But then again, such a place is usually the bread and butter of gourmet adventurers, and they rarely tell others about it. And yet, she was so willing to tell me. And to top it all off, Milady seems to be doing all the beast hunting by herself, not bringing a single guard.

You’re too nice, Milady! Truly an angel!

The same goes for the case of Edim. After I made peace with Edim, I went to Milady and tried to convince her. And this is the Milady who antagonized Edim so much that we’re talking about. You’d think she wouldn’t be swayed after one or two visits. I was ready to keep going to her again and again until she trusted Edim.

She suddenly said, “Do as you please, Tilea.”

Which means she gave her tacit approval to Edim. She even gave me a lecture on how to prevent information leaks, saying, “Tilea, you’re a little too heedless.”

Well, I’m just genuinely happy that Milady trusts Edim.

Actually, I think she is a bit too trusting. Sure, I’ve given my word that I trust Edim. But that doesn’t mean she should take a 180-degree turn based on my word alone……

I’m worried that if she’s too good-natured, bad guys will take advantage of her. She’s a friend I’ve made since I came to the capital. I have to be careful so that she doesn’t get deceived.

As I was thinking about her, I arrived at the Adventurers’ Guild.

The appointed time is when the bells rang three times, right? Isn’t it a bit too early, then?

My sense of time is a little fuzzy without a phone in my hand.

Well, it’s better than being late, right? I’m a little early, but I can wait. I head for the office where Milady is.

The receptionist leads me into the room, and I see her doing some paperwork.

Yup, she looks busy alright.

With a pair of glasses on her, Milady briskly went through her papers.

“Hello there, Milady!”
“Hm?! You’re a bit too early, Tilea. We’re only at the second bell.”
“He he, I was looking forward to it so much I can’t stop myself.”
“Goodness… you. I still have work to do. Even if you come early, I can’t leave my desk at the moment.”
“Ahahah, you’re right. Sorry, sorry.”

I guess I really am too early.

Milady seems to be busy, so I guess I should go home and come back again…

Ah?! But, I’ve come all the way to the Adventurers’ Guild. It’s rare that I get to look around inside. I might as well take a tour while I’m waiting.

“Say, Milady?”
“What is it?”
“Do you mind if I wait here?”
“No problem. Just try not to make too much of a mess.”
“I wouldn’t do that. I’m not a child.”
“Oh, I wonder.”

What did you say?! Since you say that, now I want to make a mess out of spite.

Ora ora, I’ll use my ultimate magic to destroy this room——well, of course, I won’t. I’m an adult with common sense. I’ll just wander around the room.

A chair, a desk, and a potted plant…

Mwah! This sofa… this is pretty dang comfortable.

So soft!

Milady stared daggers at me as I was trampolining on the sofa.

Yes, yes, be quiet. I know, I know.

Well, no helping it then. Guess I’ll take it somewhere else…

Whoa! Check this room I found!

After leaving the office where Milady is, I moved to the room next to it. With various books and things like flasks and beakers lying around, it looked like some kind of laboratory.

First, I’m curious to see what kind of books are on the shelves.

I read the titles on the spines of the books.

Now, what do we have here……

How to Produce Fire Magic. Ice Magic Practice Level One. The Dangers of Body Enhancement Magic. Fundamentals of Magic II. History of the Royal Capital.

Without a thought, I picked up a book on the history of the capital. Flipping through a few pages, I found that the history and climate of the capital had been described in a rather complicated manner.

Oh no, I’m getting a headache from this. It’s not that I don’t like history, it’s just that this book is that difficult to understand. It is written with a lot of technical terms.

Who the hell wrote this?

Curious, I looked at the author’s name on the spine of the book and found…

Author: Jayjay J. Amacheur

So it’s you, Jeje——!

But it makes sense. If an authoritarian like him wrote a book on history, of course, it would be like this. I put the book on the capital’s history back on the bookshelf and picked up the next book.

And what could this be?

‘Alchemy for Beginners, You too can get Filthy Rich!’

Ooh, alchemy. Maybe I should try it!

“Hey, Milady, can I read the book here?”
“Yes, you are free to peruse the books. However, are you literate?”

How rude! Just so you know, I have nearly 50 years of life in terms of life experience. I was once called a child prodigy, even!

For three days only, though…

Not that it matters. Milady has given me permission. I can read without hesitation.

I immediately opened the page on alchemy.

Now, let’s see. To alchemize what-have-you, hm……

Err, what page am I supposed to look at? There are a lot of difficult words and technical terms right from the very first page, I don’t know what’s what…

At least from the pictures, it looks like they put rocks in a flask and cast some kind of spell…

Hnnggh, I’m frustrated to say it, but she’s right. I don’t understand jack. Since I can’t understand it from the books, I’ll just have to figure it out on my own.

Image is the key to magic…

Alright. No better teacher than experience. Let’s get down to it.

“Say, Milady?”
“Dear lord, what’s the matter with you?! I’m concentrating right now, so please don’t talk to me!”
“Sorry, I’ll be careful. This is the last time. Honest. See, I’m reading a book on alchemy right now, do you think I can make gold here?”
“Haa~h. Sure, if you can, be my guest. Only a handful of people who have mastered the art of alchemy succeeded in transmuting gold.”
“Heeh~ Is that so?”
“Yes, transmuting bronze is difficult enough, silver and gold are on a different level altogether. Fundamentally, only first-rate magicians could produce gold. As an amateur, I will applaud you if you could even produce lead.”

Y-, you’ve said it~

Despite how I look, I can use beginner magic. Forget lead, I’ll make bronze and make the young lady jump out of her skin. I put a rock into the flask as the alchemy book says.

Then I formulate an image. Specifically, gold bars.

“Abracadabra, Focus Pocus!”

I put the magic power into the flask while chanting whatever words came out of my mouth.

Then…