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The Scorned Noble Lady Picks Up The Path of Alchemy in Her Second Life

an unchanging place

Translated by: S3

Treat me to a Ko-Fi to give me more motivation!!!

*****

After leaving Obaba-sama's shop, I purchased a box of sweets before heading to the Adventurers Guild.

I had been so preoccupied with the engagement annulment and starting my new life that I hadn't yet given a gift of thanks to the people who had looked after me at the Adventurers Guild. I figured I should take it along while I was buying herbs.

I had splurged to make up for the delay, so they should definitely be pleased.

Thinking that, I arrived at the Adventurers Guild, where I saw Alice in an unfamiliar situation.

「Um, I accept the escort request with this content... underst... oh? I humbly accept, that is.」

She usually deals with rough-and-tumble adventurers, but today she was attending to an elderly noble gentleman. She was being very hesitant, consciously using honorific language she wasn't accustomed to.

She was thinking so hard that her head looked like it was about to short-circuit; this was her best effort. I could tell she was serious, but even flattery couldn't call it good customer service.

「Wasn't it 'I humbly accept'?」

「'I humbly accept' is correct, but... are you truly sure I can entrust this to you?」

「Y-yes! I'm fine, and I humbly accept!」

She was definitely not fine. Alice was clearly using the honorific language incorrectly. It was a highly impolite way to address a noble.

However, the noble gentleman she was dealing with didn't seem entirely displeased.

「Watching you reminds me of when I used to give my daughter noble etiquette lessons in her childhood.」

Seeing Alice try her best despite her clumsiness seemed to bring back nostalgic feelings for him. This was unusual in the noble world, where a simple mistake in wording could cause trouble. Normally, they would perceive it as an insult and turn livid with anger.

「Do I have a noble-like face?」

「Hmph. Perhaps so.」

The person in question hadn't noticed anything and was saying something carefree. If the elderly noble gentleman hadn't been a good person, a major incident would have definitely erupted.

「I'll entrust this to you this time.」

「Humbly accepted!」

The noble gentleman, whose mood had improved, stood up and left the guild as if nothing had happened.

Meanwhile, Alice, whose head had been working overtime on the unfamiliar customer service, seemed utterly exhausted and let out a huge sigh.

Approaching her, I smoothly presented the box of sweets I had brought.

「Good work. If you like, eat this with everyone.」

「Eck! Mia?」

「You just made a weird noise. Where did that sound come from?」

「Hahaha... Maybe it's because I was more stressed than I thought.」

I understood the feeling, but only for a moment. Alice's expression instantly changed, and her interest quickly shifted to the box of sweets.

She was sneakily checking the contents of the box so the other adventurers wouldn't notice.

「Whoa, those are expensive cookies! Thank you. You really are a noble, Mia, aren't you?」

「I'd be troubled if that's how you determined I was a noble. And just so you know, even if a noble other than me brings you a box of sweets, don't open it right in front of them.」

「I know, I know. That's the noble rule, right?」

「Unlike the commoner rule of immediately checking the contents.」

When we used to work together, sights like this were commonplace. When I brought a gift to the employees' break room, it would turn into a huge celebration every time. My receptionist colleagues would constantly shout, 「It's the taste of nobles!」 and the Guild Master would often scold them, 「You're still on duty!」

Perhaps due to that influence, the receptionist-hyenas were already starting to gather.

「Woah, this box is the biggest yet!」

「Wait. This box is from a pretty famous place.」

「It really pays to have Mia, doesn't it?」

They were such materialistic kids. This kind of honesty, unlike the nobles, was easy to understand and rather endearing.

「I received it first, so I'm not performing the opening ceremony yet. Now, scatter, scatter!」

Those aren't words that should come from the person who just opened the box and checked the contents. Alice was the most materialistic one of them all.

「So, what brings you here today? Did you start missing the Adventurers Guild already?」

「Even I would be embarrassed to visit right after resigning.」

「Really? If you came back right now, I'd be ecstatic.」

「Ah... Noble customer service isn't going well?」

「Well, yeah. One or two complaints are fine, but some people are just relentlessly nagging. The Guild Master is even having to go apologize, so it's hard for people to complain, you know.」

The exchange with the noble gentleman earlier must have been a rare case after all. Due to Catarina's unauthorized resignation, things seemed to have become quite complicated.

Most nobles are probably watching to see if the fault lies with them or if there's a problem within the Adventurers Guild itself.

But there's nothing I can do to help now that I've resigned from the Adventurers Guild. Since I've started working as the Court Alchemist's assistant and an apprentice alchemist, returning to my old job wasn't an option.'=

「I owe Lord Clein for helping me, and I have no intention of quitting my current job.」

「I know. I just wanted to say that you always have a place you can come back to.」

I genuinely appreciate her kindness. The other staff members were also looking at me as if to welcome me back, so it probably wasn't a lie.

It was embarrassing to attract so much attention at my old workplace, though. Could this be the effect of the gift, too?

I couldn't disturb everyone's work, so I decided to finish my errand quickly and leave.

「I came to buy herbs for the potions today. It seems everything is sold out everywhere, and if I want to get a large quantity, the Adventurers Guild is the only place that has them.」

「Really? No wonder we've had so many inquiries about herbs.」

「Huh? Does the Adventurers Guild have no stock either?」

「No, we do. It's just... in a condition that Mia knows well... you know.」

From Alice's vague speech and my past work experience, I immediately understood that the herbs were in poor condition.

The requests to harvest naturally grown herbs are the lowest F-Rank requests, taken on by new adventurers. Because of that, many people didn't know how to handle herbs, or they would shove them forcefully into their bags, handling them carelessly.

Honestly, I wasn't expecting much regarding quality or freshness. That, in itself, is useful for potion research.

I can test whether I can make a high-quality potion with poor-quality materials, and I'm curious how the Formation skill will affect them. I feel bad for Lord Clein, but I'll have him research potions with bad-quality herbs.

「Alright, then. I'll buy the herbs, so could you prepare them?」

「Are you really sure? They're in pretty rough shape for a Court Alchemist's master to use.」

「Don't worry about it. Lord Clein is a person who will understand if I explain the situation properly.」

I just need to fulfill my request with the herbs I bought in advance, and then endure until the herb shortage is resolved. Once the request is over, I can just start practicing the Formation skill to pass the time.

As I was thinking that, Alice peered into my face with a mischievous smile.

「Mia, you've changed.」

「Really? I intend to act normally, both now and before.」

「You have a sense of leisure that you didn't have when we worked together. I feel like the current Mia is enjoying herself.」

As a noble, I always had to do what was right rather than what was fun. That's what I always thought when I worked at the Adventurers Guild.

To fulfill my noble duties, or to protect my honor, I would suppress my own feelings. Failure was shameful, and there was no path other than seeing everything through.

I used to think that the annulment of my engagement was absolutely impossible... but the day my engagement with Lord Zeel was broken was undoubtedly a turning point in my life. I was seen off by the Adventurers Guild, started working under Lord Clein, and became an apprentice alchemist.

I still don't know if I made the correct choices.

But one thing I can certainly say is—

「I think I'm happiest now. When all is said and done, doing alchemy is the most fun thing for me.」

I truly felt that I had begun to walk my own path in life, not just as a noble, but as an individual.