122. The Busier You Are, The More You Appreciate Help, Isn’t It?

The production guild was as busy as a battlefield.

“Uwoooooooo!”

I stirred the alchemy pot with all my might, completing the alchemy potion.

Right on cue, Leafan burst into the alchemy room.

“Craft! Is the potion for the enhancement rock ready!?”

“I just finished the one for the royal capital!”

“Next, please make the one for Leafan Town!”

“Got it! That was 40 barrels, right?”

“Yeah!”

Leafan nodded while giving instructions to the other guild members.

“Everyone! Fill the barrels with the enhancement rock potion and send them to the royal capital! Priority one!”

“””Yes!!!”””

The potions were being transferred to barrels one after another, but without waiting for them to empty, I pulled the next set of ingredients from the shelf.

At this insanely busy moment, Plum Frutia came down to the alchemy room, looking like she was about to cry.

Plum was a newcomer to the production guild, tasked with the important duty of handling the magical communication devices.

As a result, she often served as the go-between for me and Leafan.

“Craft-saaan, we’ve got a problem. We’re out of stamina potions.”

It took me a moment to process Plum’s words.

“…Huh!? We stocked up on a ridiculous amount of stamina potions, didn’t we!?”

Stamina potions were one of the items we mass-produced due to their simple recipe and cheap ingredients. The warehouse should’ve been filled with them.

“How much has been sold? Half the warehouse?”

Even that would be hundreds of cartloads.

“All of it.”

My mind went blank.

“Wha… What!? All of it!?”

“Yes… And now the merchants in the territory are rushing the commercial guild, demanding more. The commercial guild, in turn, is pressuring the production guild to ramp up production immediately…”

Currently, the production guild is distributing two types of stamina potions.

One is Legendary Quality, mainly purchased by adventurers and soldiers. This is priced quite high, at the request of the commercial guild.

The other is the more affordable Superior Quality, used for wider distribution.

Superior Quality ranks sixth out of ten levels. Even this quality typically doesn’t make it to store shelves.

It’s hard to believe both types sold out simultaneously.

“I-I understand! I’ll make the stamina potions first!”

“Wait, Craft!? What about the enhancement rocks for Leafan Town!?”

“Submit a request to Kyle for increased funding for the adventurers guarding Leafan Town! We’ll use adventurers to continue defense until the delayed delivery is caught up!”

“Oh, right… Got it!”

Leafan answered and immediately dashed off to the lord’s manor.

Although using guild members for communication would be simpler, it’s not easy to meet with Kyle, who is now the lord.

Leafan and I can meet with him easily, so Leafan has to go in person.

…Though I have mixed feelings about it.

◆

Some time has passed since Kyle became Kyle Golden Dawn von Elixir, the pioneering count.

It was a chaotic time since Van forced his way through without any groundwork for the new lord’s arrival.

However, since it’s a new territory under the king’s direct supervision, other lords and nobles have been visiting for inspections one after another.

And they learn.

They learn why this territory has developed at an almost miraculous pace.

Of course, the nobles were aware of the enhancement rocks and stamina potions, but they likely only used them half-heartedly, unsure of their true effectiveness.

When they saw ten-story buildings and walls completed in a short time, with guaranteed durability, the officials who couldn’t grasp it on paper finally understood the reality and began placing massive orders for potions.

Although we were frantically producing enhancement rock potions, which take time, even the stamina potions ran out, and now the production guild was as busy as a battlefield.

Creating the alchemy medicine for enhancement rocks, known as “enhancement rock potions” in distribution, takes time.

A large quantity is needed in Goldendawn and a large quantity in Leafan Town as well.

—By the way, Leafan Town is the new name for the village previously governed by Zaid.

Amid all this, Van placed a huge order, making the already busy production guild even busier.

“We’re way too short-staffed!”

I shouted to the heavens.

We could hire as many laborers as needed, but there were too few alchemists! Way too few!

Please, help us, God!

My desperate plea seemed to reach the heavens.

Plum, who had returned to the reception desk, approached me with a guilty expression.

“Craft-san, a girl named Jabil is here to see you. Shall I send her away?”

“What!? Jabil-sensei!?”

“Yes, but Craft-san, you can’t leave your work, right? Jabir-san said she just stopped by to say hello, so—”

“I’ll go right away!”

I cut her off mid-sentence and sprinted up the stairs.

I was relieved; I hadn’t seen him since the Hydra incident.

“Sensei! How have you been!?”

“Well, I’ve been fine.”

Apparently, she’d been traveling between the royal capital and the margrave’s domain for matters concerning Zaid and his mother, Vera, as well as the empire.

“What brings you to Golden Dawn?”

I was glad she came, but it’s quite a distance from Leafan Town, where she lives, so there must be a reason.

“Well, actually, His Majesty recommended me to serve under the Pioneering Count of Elixir starting today.”

“Wait! For Kyle!?”

That’s surprising.

Since I’m a staff member of the production guild, I’m not directly under Kyle’s command. But if Jabil-sensei is working for Kyle, that’s like a tiger gaining wings.

“And Kyle-sama asked me to assist the busy production guild.”

Ooooooohhh!

That’s my Kyle! I’m so impressed!

And a goddess! A goddess has descended!

The goddess looked around and issued her proclamation.

“I’ll handle the production of the stamina potions. If I use your intermediate medicine, I can mass-produce the superior quality ones. Craft, you focus on the enhancement rock potions.”

I wasn’t the only one who wanted to kneel before Jabil-sensei. Leafan and Plum also stared at the professor with shining eyes, full of respect.

“””Please, Sensei!!!”””

And so, the production guild barely managed to overcome its crisis.

◆

That evening, Kyle invited me to dinner.

Jabil-sensei and Leafan were also present.

Even Mina took her seat, as it was dinner time.

“Kyle, how’s your health?”

“I’m in good shape, Nii-sama. Jabil-sensei has examined me as well.”

“That’s a relief. So, sensei is becoming the official alchemist of this territory?”

“Yes. As a reward for the hardships he’s endured, His Majesty sent Jabil-sensei here as an official alchemist, as his previous affiliation had become ambiguous.”

Kyle is trusted by the King to the extent that he is allowed to refer to him by name, Vinecheck.

Well, it’s really Van we’re talking about here!

But even Van, despite his quirks, did well by sending sensei to Golden Dawn.

“I don’t like being tied down, so I agreed on the condition that I would be allowed to pursue my research freely.”

“With the professor here, it’s like having the strength of a hundred!”

“Absolutely! It’s very reassuring! Should I also start calling you ‘Sensei’?”

“Normal is fine.”

“Understood!”

Leafan, who hadn’t had a break in days, also seemed delighted.

“By the way, where does sensei live?”

I suddenly became curious, knowing the professor’s house was in what used to be Zaid Village.

“For now, I plan to stay here at this mansion. I’ll need to either build or find a place equipped with alchemy facilities.”

“Huh? In that case, why not stay at my house?”

“Hmm?”

“I’m your apprentice, and more importantly, the mansion Kyle gifted me has two alchemy facilities, both suggested by you.”

“Oh, right. It was built based on that blueprint filled with my unrealistic dreams.”

The mansion Kyle gave me was designed based on a book by Jabil-sensei, which compiled his ideal alchemy environment.

The book detailed two independent alchemy facilities on either side of the mansion. Sensei likely added them to the blueprint, thinking, “It’d be convenient to have a backup,” or “It’d be nice to have one for my apprentice,” but Leafan, not knowing much about alchemy, faithfully realized this dream-like design.

So, one of the alchemy rooms, complete with facilities, is entirely unused.

“Yes. I’m only using one of them right now, and the mansion has plenty of empty rooms! Please, stay with me!”

At my suggestion, Kyle smiled brightly, Myrna’s eyes widened (a facial expression I hadn’t seen before), and for some reason, Leafan was holding her head in his hands.

Sensei, after some contemplation, said,

“Hmm. In that case, I’ll take you up on your offer for a while.”

“Not just for a while—please stay forever!”

“Wha—!? Forever, you say!?”

“Yes! Treat it as your home and stay as long as you like!”

“Th-That’s…is this…that!?”

“What’s mine is my master’s!”

“Oh, I see…yes, that’s true… You really are that kind of person.”

I wasn’t sure what she meant, but it seemed like she was complimenting me.

Myrna snapped out of her daze and came over to me. Thinking she wanted to sit on my lap, I extended my arms, but she ignored them and, for some reason, kicked my leg.

Seeing this, Leafan let out a huge, awkward laugh.

Why?

Despite my internal confusion, I ended up becoming sensei’s live-in apprentice.