It's early in the morning for Rhett Efthink (26).
She has a home in the living quarters between the Second and First Walls, called the Second Street, and she has been visiting the Alchemist's Guild, where she works, even before the sun rose today.

It was an extremely dangerous act for a woman to walk alone on a dark street that was still sparsely populated, but there was no way anyone in this city would assault her.
Her boss is a supernatural Rainerich.

The story goes that a bandit attacked her carriage while she was traveling in it.
But the thief, according to her, just disappeared. Not even a scream could be heard, but a small moan of "Ah........" and a small ash-like powder blowing in the wind.
Other than that, there are mushrooms in the mountains she owns that have a strange growth pattern.
There are rumors that they have retained the shape of a human being, but their bodies have turned green and countless mushrooms are growing out of them, and there are also rumors that they have left behind the shape of a dragon, a type of ground dragon, with tree trunks growing out of its back.

Whether it's true or not, there is no one in this city who would mess with the receptionist of the guild of Rainrich like that.
That's probably why Riette was walking around in a daze while thinking.

(Huh........I wonder if my salary for this month will be okay.)

The latest problem is that the contract with the Adventurer's Guild is about to be lost to the Pharmaceutical Guild.
The Adventurer's Guild is a large contractor, so they are very useful, but their boss, Reinrich, doesn't even seem to care about the decrease in the number of wholesale orders.
On the contrary, he's happy to say that he has less work to do.
In the first place, I'm the one who makes the potions.
I know that Rainrich-sama usually doesn't make any of the potions and is absorbed in his own research.

The other alchemists are also immersed in their own research and don't come out of the alchemy room, so to say the least, they are all useless.
Huh, should I have been pulled out of this?
No matter how much I stay up all night making potions, I am employed by the guild, so my salary will not change.
I know I can be the guild master after Rainrich-sama's death, but if I don't, I might dry up by then.

Sigh. I wonder if I should change jobs.
I wonder if my salary will rise.
I wonder if it would be more profitable to work freelance.
Or it may be too late, but I wonder if someone will take me.

While I was thinking about this, I arrived at the Alchemists' Guild.
I have to do reception duties when the sun rises, so I start making the recovery potions now.

(If only someone could make at least half of these...)

The fortunate thing is that it's less than a (small) recovery potion, so I guess I can make it with an alchemy level 8 forgery (multi-copy).
Still, I need to start at this time to finish preparing, working and cleaning up.

(It's so quiet......... I'm jealous of how healthy even a research idiot would be sleeping at this hour)

I put the finished potions away in a case and prepare to deliver them to the Adventurer's Guild.
That's about 6 cases of potions, or 12 x 6, or 72 bottles.
I'm holding a magic bag (inside) that I borrowed from Reinrich.
When I asked her to lend me the bag, she lent it to me, saying that it is indeed impossible for a woman to carry such a large amount of potions by herself.

(If only I could take this and run away with it, I could live the rest of my life frugally.

I didn't mean to do that, but I couldn't help but think that the work environment was so black.



Something surprising happened today.
Hayato-sama, who hadn't shown up in a while, came to the Alchemist's Guild with a man in tow.
I had never spoken to him before because he had something to do with Rainrich-sama, but from the looks of it, he was still a fledgling chick adventurer, but in the blink of an eye, he'd become a Count in no time.

A newcomer like the Count, a "drifter".
I expected him to be a great person, but according to Rainrich-sama, his abilities are mediocre.
Well, she seems to have skills in alchemy, so I'll support her behind the scenes.
He's a newcomer who has finally joined. I thought I would support you carefully so that you won't be taken by the pharmaceutical guild that subjected me to such a painful task.

As soon as possible, I will!　But then Lady Reinrich asked me to run an errand.
Mmm. It was an opportunity to meet a cute newcomer (a boy of my generation).
An errand, though, is a personal errand for Master Rainrich.
She wants me to go to the flower shop and get the mandrake root and the poisonous flower Zsa Zsa Blanca, what in the world is she planning to make again?
What can be made with the paralyzing poisonous mandrake root, the illusionary effect, and the poisonous flower Zaza Blanca with its mind polluting effect is a deleterious substance no matter what you think.
Haha, Rainrich-sama, I don't want the only result of being too strict and having a newcomer quit!


We're back.
Welcome back. You're late.
If you say so, you'll have to go by yourself next time. ........Huh?　What about the new guy?
I'm already working on a potion in the alchemy room.
''Wow, you're early. I hope you grow up quickly and make a potion to distribute to the Adventurer's Guild instead of me.
Yeah? Are you unhappy?
'Of course it's there. Lack of sleep is a maiden's enemy.　My skin feels like it's getting worse lately.

I can't stand the thought of my once smooth cheeks becoming dry.

"You're good at cosmetics, don't you?
I don't have time to make that up!

I am an alchemist too. There are at least one or two things I want to make.
Even cosmetics could make quite a bit of money if I sold them!
I've been so busy lately that I haven't had time to make anything at all.

Even before it was late at night, few people visited the Alchemist's Guild.
The only work the receptionist does is to deal with peddlers coming to buy potions or people coming to make requests.
Normally, we would also support young people, like newcomers, who aspire to become new alchemists, but these days we don't get any kids who want to become alchemists at all.

At that time, I heard a dull sound of 'ding-dong' from the alchemy room where the newcomer was supposed to be.
I wondered if he had dropped something and thought, well, it would be okay, but then I heard the sound again and again.
When I heard the fourth sound, I looked into the alchemy room and saw that he was apparently lying face down on the desk.
But when I get up with a whimper, I see the light of alchemy and my head is banging against the desk like a threadbare doll again.

(Ah. Forced alchemy?)

This is the effect that happens when you don't have enough MP and you put a lot of disintegration and smelting on it.
When you're a rookie, you tend to make poor range selection, but from what I can see on my desk, it's still going to last until morning.

This is a mistake that every rookie goes through.
I did it too. I once mistakenly applied alchemy to all the materials and kept making a recovery potion.
Compared to the fact that the potion I made then rolled over and fell off the table and broke all of them, the iron ore disassembly process was better.
All I can say is "good luck", so I gave a small shout of encouragement to my back, but I pretended not to see it and went home.



I was late for work this morning.
I think that if I sleep less every day and night, some days I'll just fall asleep.
So let's say it's not my fault.
If Master Rainrich accuses me of this, this is a good time to quit.
But in this case, Master Rainrich is usually not angry with me.
Maybe it's good luck or bad luck, but he doesn't always say anything when I decide to do this.
I hate this part of me, but for now, let's hurry up and get to the Alchemist's Guild.

''I overslept!　I'm sorry!
Oh, Leet. That's okay. I'll be the receptionist for the day, so go ahead and make up some potions for the Adventurer's Guild, and let me know when you're done. Let me know when you're done.

Oh, after all, Master Reinrich was not angry.
I'm pretty sure he can read my mind.
Otherwise, this wouldn't have continued to happen ever since I started working there.
I've stopped counting how many times I've thought about quitting.

I've stopped counting the number of times I thought about quitting. How many times have you thought about quitting?

The door to the alchemy room where the newcomer was located was open.
There was no one inside.

''Yeah, I went to deliver some potions to the Adventurer's Guild for breakfast.
Oh, so you don't want me to build it?
Don't be silly. There's no way you can build that much on the first day.　That's right. I think we should have about 20 of each kind today.
Not much has changed, but..... Well, the new guy did his best to reduce the number, so I'll be happy about that.

Yes. If you think about it the other way around, that's how much I was able to build on the first day, and this is a promising future, so let's get our hopes up.
Thinking positively, I walked into my private alchemy room.

This room, which has already become a completely private space, might have more personal belongings than the room I live in if I'm not good at it.
If I can bring my bed in here, I'll be able to shorten my workday, I thought, shaking my head to dismiss the thoughts that had been poisoning me for some time.

Besides, if I missed it, I'd be woken up to find myself in my room.
My character, a mysterious older sister, would be in danger of collapsing if she saw all the stuffed animals lined up in a row.
That must be avoided.

''Well, since you're new, you did your best, so I'll do my best too!

It's true that my effort is decreasing numerically.
Today's work is going to be pleasant, unlike the usual depressing work.

When I finished making the potions and went to the reception desk, Rainrich-sama wasn't there.
I can't believe the receptionist isn't at the reception desk!
For now, I sat at the counter, which was empty and lonely, and made one absent-minded remark.
Then Rainrich-sama and the newcomer in question came in from the entrance together.
Huh?　Master Rainerich isn't mad at you?　The new guy is soaking wet.

'Rito. From now on, no more wholesaling of recovery pills to the Adventurers' Guild.
'Er, ah, yes. But is that okay?
Of course. If they don't move, there's nothing we can do for them.
'Well...'
"Hm. Most of them must have thought you were from the Pharmaceutical Guild and were trying to harass you. I just matched you up with a guy who's good at what he does.
Oh, you're sure about this?　We're in financial difficulties because people are just pouring into the pharmaceutical guild, and the only people left are those who are only interested in their own research...
Riette, I've known you a long time. You know that, right?　I'm angry, and I am.
Yes, yes. Well, we'll start delivering the goods tomorrow...
Today!　As long as those guys don't come to apologize, I'll just buy some expensive potions from the Pharmaceutical Guild at best.
Yes, sir.

Oh scary. Even a five year old would know if he lived in this city that he shouldn't offend Rainrich-sama.
But still, oh no. I guess my potion was wasted.
But it's nice not to have to go deliver them.
The atmosphere in the Adventurer's Guild has been bad lately, and I'm feeling kind of down.

After that, the newcomer immediately resumed his work in the alchemy room.
Yup. I think it's amazing how quickly you can change your mind without getting depressed!
Keep up the good work!　Your sister is going to be rooting for you!

Rhett. You better get the rest of your work done ahead of schedule.
''Well, after this, we'll need to calculate expenses and taxes, and then... the inventory was done yesterday, so we'll need to buy the items that are out of stock...''
I can do the math. You do the restocking and the erasing.
Okay.

Aww. Rainerich is mad at you.
I even started doing some troublesome calculations on my own.
I've taken all the precautions necessary to deal with this.
That's too bad. But I'm not going to give you any sympathy.
I'm angry, too. It was the first potion you ever worked on.
Oh, God, I'm so angry!　I could mix some numbing agents with the tea I'm going to serve later!


A few hours after returning from shopping, it seems that the newcomer is still persisting in the alchemy room and making something.
The four of them came to the alchemists' guild just then.
The person who will be dealing with them is naturally Rainrich-sama.
I was fetching tea, but the more I heard, the angrier I got.
As the same receptionist, I didn't think the Adventurer's Guild's receptionist was this sloppy.

I just didn't think that Rainrich-sama would be a cute and skilled 'apprentice', so I was terribly surprised by that.
I didn't hear that Rainrich-sama had taken an apprentice.
I know it's probably just a random thing that came out of my mouth, but I wouldn't want to be that man's apprentice.

Well, anyway. Will you allow me to speak to him?　I'd like to see this put to rest once he's satisfied.
I don't think so. Can you stop being a bad influence on the boy?　She's a brilliant alchemist who was able to create a recovery potion (small) in just one day. I don't want adventurers who think they can solve everything with your kind of power to get their hands on it.

Yes!　That's right!
I was surprised to hear you talk about it, but you built a (small) recovery potion in just one day?
I'm usually inferior, up to a microscopic level at best, but I'm a really hard-working, good kid.
If he treats me poorly and can't regain his strength, I'm not going to stop you, Rainrich-sama, even if you start acting recklessly!

''The adventurer in question will be expelled from the guild and she will be asked to resign from the guild. Also, how about a deal for the next three years at 10% of our profit margin?

Hmm. I guess it's safe to say. I'm happy to see the sale price of potions go up.
Perhaps my salary will also increase.
Dismissal would also be appropriate.
The receptionist is also the face of the guild, so it's only natural if I played a blunder.

''Wow, I understand. I'll give him a million nol from the Adventurer's Guild.
He's deaf. Are the orders different?
Oh no, you're looking at your feet too much like 10 million knolls.


But still, 10 million knolls........ That's great.
I wish I could get that much in bonus money this year.....

Well, now, let's get started on the paperwork for this story.
Let's see...a contract, a contract.
The way to write it........just the same as the last one.
Let's see, a deal with a profit margin of 10% for four years, and the penalty is 100 million nols for 100 pieces of white gold.
Done. Done.

Okay. We'll call it 10 million knolls worth of profit for that kid personally. So, let's see, you're willing to trade between the guilds for ten percent of your profits for four years?
'Okay......... So thank you for your help.

Yeah. Just as expected!
How many years do you think I've been working for Master Reinrich? This is a piece of cake! (with a) look

"This is the contract.

With that, I hand the contract to Rainrich-sama and the Master of the Adventurer's Guild.
In case of default, it's a whopping 100 million nol and a whopping amount of money, but it will definitely pass now and you won't have the ability to read it carefully anymore.
Yup. I'm glad to hear that Mr. Rainerich seems to be satisfied.

Oh, this should make my life a little easier, right?
This will increase your salary, right?
If it doesn't go up, I'm really going to stop, right?

As you may have heard, as an apology to you, I have decided to become your slave. You may go to the slavers and find out the price before you decide whether you want to keep it or sell it. Will you please allow me to do so?
I'm not going to do it, sir!


.........well, what are you saying, this newbie?
What's wrong with that? He's a boy, so who can blame him if he does as he pleases?

Then all the better. Spit out your sperm, devour it lustfully, indulge in your flesh, do whatever you want.

Look!　Master Rainrich says so too, and it's not often you get the chance to love that voluptuous body, is it?

Well, in that case, how do you feel about letting me handle your materials collection, huh?
What?
That's why it's medicinal herbs and stuff. It's not like you have to be with him all the time. You can ask him to help you get them for free. You don't have to go to a dangerous place to get them, which is ideal, right?
Is that even possible?
Of course. I'm happy to let you work where you can't reach.
I see...
And since you're so fragile, why don't we just use you as a bodyguard?
'Well, I don't plan to go outside at all, so I'll be escorting you around town... no, but...'
Okay. So it's settled then. Well, it doesn't change my position.

Woohoo.
So you were a navel-gazer after all.

'Oh, yes!　Don't let that adventurer and his receptionist girl stop you.

And you still think it's sweet.
We take pride in our work....

''Yes, yes. I don't mind if it's better for you, but...
''Of course. Of course, the Red Front's Aina-san took responsibility for the crime, so they should be let off the hook. Besides, we don't want them to be accused of being Aina-san's avenger and attacking her in the dark. However, I'm going to ask for a full explanation of the details from everyone.
Oh, Dad!
Oh, it's Firill!

Pride.....
Wait a minute, father and son?
Are you a family run guild?
Oh, that's abuse of power, isn't it?
How proud are you to be a receptionist?　Who are the mentees as the face of the guild?

'I'm really sorry, Aina, I'm really sorry...'
'I'm sorry. I really should have been the slave...
No, it's okay. I can repay you both with this. The wedding is coming up, isn't it?

Huh?
Married?
What, what are you making it look like a good story?
Married?　Huh?　You're younger than me, right?

You can't just appeal to your feelings and expect me to recant.

You are absolutely right.
Yeah, I think that's rather lenient, even.
We could sue him for property damage, and we wouldn't want to let him fall into slavery the night before the wedding.
Woohoo, dangerous, dangerous.
I almost fell to the dark side.

Sorry I'm sorry.