Chapter 44: How Much!? What’s The Price?! (2)
Before I knew it, the bustling atmosphere that typically filled the air after school hours had vanished.
We had arrived at the workshop district.
Lifting my head to survey the surroundings, I was met with a well-organized streetscape.
Clean floors, brilliantly lit signs, and eye-catching items adorned the shop windows.
Not just easily recognizable equipment like swords and staffs, but also accessories filled with jewels and unidentified potions were elegantly displayed.
It had the strong feel of a luxury section, befitting of the 1st district.
However, my destination wasn’t here.
“Let’s go.”
“Yes. Just continue walking further in.”
Nodding, I followed Carla even further inside.
Starting from the flashy 1st district, through the orderly 2nd district, and to the reasonably clean 3rd district, the ambiance dramatically changed at some point.
“Practice wielding these longswords on sale! Buy two and get one free!”
“Low-grade vitality potions in sets of 10! They’re diluted, so no worries about potion toxicity! Just one bottle to kick-start your morning!”
“Prototype shield rings for free! Absolutely free! Just use it during the next dungeon training and leave a review! Preferably a good one!”
Having only walked a few meters, the atmosphere had transformed, resembling a bustling marketplace.
This was precisely the 4th district.
Upon reflection, it made sense.
Which class had the largest presence in the academy? None other than the lower-ranking Class C.
At the same time, it was the class with the highest proportion of commoners.
Nobles often identified their talents at a young age and had many opportunities to cultivate them.
In contrast, commoners, who rarely had the chance to engage in swordsmanship or magic, often discovered their talents while working as blacksmiths or herbalists.
Therefore, the production faculty was particularly crowded with commoners.
Thanks to this, the 4th district, where the production faculty of Class C was located, bore no difference from the marketplace outside.
“This place is always bustling, isn’t it, Master?”
“It’s their own form of desperation, I suppose.”
Due to the nature of the production faculty, a lot of money was spent whenever someone tried to do something. They might be trying to secure good sponsors in some way or another.
If selling products was their only goal, they could supply the academy.
However, such supplied items didn’t bear the creator’s name, only that they were made by the academy, making it impossible to garner a reputation.
In other words, you couldn’t find sponsors through academy supplies.
Just for reference, there was no faculty as dependent on sponsors as the production faculty.
Unless you produced a masterpiece or a blockbuster product, there was a strong belief that you had to pour money into improving your skills.
It was different from knights who only needed one weapon for training or priests who just needed a quiet room.
Magicians also needed a lot of money, but that was mostly for labor costs.
Magicians, who conjure magic through their own imagination and will, tend to have strong egos and, therefore, demand a lot of money for teaching.
It was a moot point in the academy, where education was free.
In any case, due to these circumstances, only students in the production faculty struggled financially.
Especially since most were poor commoners and their money would be heavily drained whenever they tried to create something new.
Though basic supplies were provided by the academy, ordinary materials had their limits.
No matter how much you hammered steel, it wasn’t going to turn into mithril.
Even if you had the skills to make a product that transcended material limitations, better materials would naturally result in better products.
So, even if it was a quiet season where the fourth-year students were graduating and the freshmen were just starting, their desperation didn’t stop.
They couldn’t waste even a day to increase their own value.
On top of that, there were nobles trying to recruit the good ones, and students from other financially strapped departments would come to buy certain items at a low price.
With so many people mixed together, it was bound to be noisy.
But the person I was looking for was far removed from this place.
“From here on, I’ll take the lead.”
“Oh… okay.”
For a moment, Carla hesitated as if something was bothering her, but she soon nodded and stood somewhat respectfully behind me.
She must be wondering why I was so unfazed by the hustle and bustle of the 4th district, despite not knowing the way. Although I couldn’t answer her, I should probably think of a reasonable excuse for this later.
I let out a quiet sigh internally and headed towards the nearest alchemy workshop. It was the same one that was advertising vitality potions a little while ago.
This workshop was actually situated in a pretty decent spot within the 4th district.
“Excuse me.”
“Hello! Welcome! Are you a freshman?”
The senior peered at the small book and staff-shaped badge pinned to my uniform and chuckled.
“If you’re a freshman, today is the first day of class, right?”
“I got sidetracked while exploring and ended up here.”
“Really? You’re quite diligent. Anyway, a customer is a customer, freshman or not. Looking for anything specific? I have basic to low-level potions, and I even have a few medium-grade vitality and healing potions.”
“Could you show me the vitality potions? The classes were quite intense from day one.”
“Aha? You’re in class A, aren’t you? Professor Iona tends to be very intense on the first day. Anyway, come in. I’ll show you the merchandise.”
As soon as we entered the shop, the senior rummaged through a corner and placed three small test tubes filled with yellow potions on the table.
The colors became increasingly vivid from left to right.
“From the left, we have basic, low, and medium grades. They’re not that fancy. They’re made strictly according to the official recipe, but they can be mass-produced. The effects aren’t bad either. Feel free to try them out.”
Trying to impress me here?
Well, it wasn’t like we were in a world with factories. Hence, the ability to mass-produce potions was important.
If I were the heir of some estate, this would have been quite enticing.
However, I didn’t have any subjects to feed and keep alive in some estate, and the reason I was buying potions here was more like a form of payment for information. So, I shook my head.
“Um, that’s okay. I’ve already decided what I want to buy. Give me 10 medium-grade bottles.”
“Uh… I only have 7 bottles.”
“Then, 7 bottles it is.”
So, even though low-grade potions could be mass-produced, making a slightly higher-grade potion would become difficult for them.
I guess that might be the nature of their business.
After confirming that the senior at the counter skillfully took out one or two potions, I handed over the money.
Then the senior, still with a somewhat startled expression, pocketed the money. I also put the potions into my inventory and spoke.
“By the way, there’s something I’m a little curious about.”
“Hm?”
“Do you know where the workshop of Faye Yareunshade is?”
“……”
There was a brief moment of silence.
But he then reluctantly nodded his head.
“I see you’re not just a customer for potions. Well, I don’t know why a freshman would be looking for that person, but… since you bought a lot, there’s no reason not to tell you.”
After thanking the senior who had given me detailed directions, I finally left the workshop.
And as soon as I moved a bit away, Carla grabbed the sleeve of my robe.
“Master, Master.”
“Hm?”
“Did you already know him?”
“Um…yes, I did. Although it was only me who knew her. How about you, Carla? Have you ever heard of her? She enrolled during your school years since you’re now a sophomore.”
“Hehe. Do you know how many people are at the academy? Plus, she was from another department and a freshman at the time. How would I know her?”
That was a good point.
“Well… since she’s in Class A, she’s definitely skilled.”
“Wait, Master. What did you say? If she’s in Class A but got pushed back to the 4th district.”
“You’re suggesting there’s a problem other than her skill level?”
“Yes. Especially considering she’s in such an isolated part of the 4th district, it’s quite certain.”
I couldn’t deny that.
She had various issues, but…
“All that aside, she’s skilled enough to overlook those problems. Moreover, the issue isn’t really with Faye herself.”
“Is it that much?”
“Yes, you’ll understand once you see her.”
Just like how Elisha could grow into a Grand Mage if given proper support, Faye could also successfully synthesize a Philosopher’s Stone if aided in a timely manner.
…On the other side, she could also quietly end her own life if the timing wasn’t right.
There was still some time before Faye would take such a drastic step, but it would be better to make contact with her as soon as possible for that reason.
That was why I decided to find her right after the class ended.
Support was straightforward. Didn’t I say that the Production Department was a money pit, so sponsorship was important?
In H&A, the protagonist goes through various troubles to connect Faye with the Alchemy Guild, and during that process, they become closer. That was Faye’s side story.
But it didn’t have to follow that exactly. If money was the issue, then I could be her sponsor.
If Elisha offered to sponsor me with the support of the Sylvan Magic Tower, then I could become Faye’s sponsor with the support of my playtime.
As I subtly checked my inventory balance, a satisfied smile naturally appeared on my face.
Walking along, Carla giggled as if she were confused about why I was suddenly so pleased with myself. So, together, we headed towards an isolated part of the 4th district.
“How much! How much will it take?”
“Ugh!”
“How much for you to become exclusively mine!”
“Money isn’t everything in this world…!”
What? Money isn’t everything?
That couldn’t be right!
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