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Creating Magic Equipment 4

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

*****

Spurred on by the feeling that I might actually be able to craft Magic Equipment, I immediately ran over to Obaba-sama's place.

Knowing Obaba-sama, she'd never willingly spill the beans on anything important, so I knew it wouldn't be a walk in the park. Still, I figured if I brought along some chestnut manju to butter her up, she'd at least throw a tiny hint my way.

Or so I thought...

「Hmph... Obaba-sama is such a stubborn old mule.」

She turned me away without a second thought. And to make matters worse, she did it *after* successfully swiping my chestnut manju.

I already knew she wasn't the type to help out easily, but come on! She's the one who dumped this whole job on me in the first place, so the least she could do is give me a tiny pointer.

If she knows how to counter Ancient Alchemy, she obviously understands how dire the situation is. If I end up failing to make this Magic Equipment, maybe I'll drag her along with me when I have to report to the King.

Muttering complaints under my breath, I made my way through the streets of the Royal Capital.

The people I passed all looked perfectly happy, and there wasn't a trace of anything unusual going on in town. Since information about Ancient Alchemy was strictly classified, the capital seemed to have completely regained its peace and quiet.

This was undoubtedly thanks to the King's quick thinking.

Publicly acknowledging that the monster outbreak had caused massive chaos, he had teamed up with the Adventurers Guild and tightened public security alongside the Order of Knights.

On top of bolstering patrols within the city, a large number of knights had been deployed to the main highways to secure the safety of the entire region. They were even subsidizing transport carriages for civilians, temporarily increasing the number of guards requested for escort missions.

It was a brilliant strategy to keep people away from the areas with the magic circles while simultaneously soothing the public's anxiety, but...

As someone on the side that actually had to find a solution while we still had the chance, it left me feeling a bit weighed down.

「It's not like I have a month or two to burn, so I might as well lean on anyone who seems like they can help.」

With that thought in mind, I headed over to the Alchemists Guild, where Vanessa was based. Since she had brought the Necklace of Warding to the absolute brink of completion, she might know something.

However, the King had sworn me to secrecy regarding Ancient Alchemy, so I couldn't spill the beans about what was actually going on. Because of that, whether she'd actually help me was a complete gamble.

Stepping into the Alchemists Guild with a knot of anxiety in my stomach, I was relieved to find it wasn't crowded at all; there were barely any people around. Even the receptionist looked relaxed enough to leisurely handle her paperwork.

Vanessa herself was sitting at the counter, sorting through a mountain of documents, so I quietly walked up to her.

「Oh, my. Welcome, Mia!」

「Hey there, Vanessa. Wow, you're actually working seriously for once. What a rare sight.」

「Every now and then, I just get into a 'phew, I really wanna work!' mood, you know?」

「Yeah, there's absolutely no way. Didn't you just slack off way too much and get chewed out for it?」

The way Vanessa's hands instantly froze told me everything I needed to know—she was definitely being forced to work against her will.

「*Sigh*... You'd better hold back your tears for this one. So, I tried dumping all my work on the Guild Master, but he completely refused to do it! And to top it off, he told me to stop relying on others and do it myself. Don't you think he's completely heartless?」

「Nope, not at all. You totally had it coming.」

I couldn't for the life of me understand how Vanessa managed to keep her position as the Alchemists Guild's Sub-Master. If this were the Adventurers Guild, she would've been sacked within three days.

(Is this what they call a cushy political appointment...?) I wondered, harboring some slightly cynical thoughts as I sat down across from a visibly slumping Vanessa.

「Honestly, I'm kind of impressed you managed to let the paperwork pile up this high.」

「Oh, Mia, you're surprisingly good at flattery!」

「I'm not flattering you. I mean, I am fascinated in a way, but only because I'm way too terrified of getting yelled at to ever attempt something like this.」

I guess only Vanessa, who lived completely free of caring about what others thought, could let her work pile up like this.

If she was going to go through the trouble of coming into the office, she could at least put a little effort into her work. The Guild Master was currently glaring from the back of the room, so it looked like the price of her freedom was going to be steep.

「By the way, what brings you here today?」

「...I don't really want to say it too loudly, but I came here because I wanted to talk to you, Vanessa.」

「Oh, I see. You've finally entered your lovey-dovey phase with me!」

「No, I haven't. I just have some complicated reasons I can't talk about, so please don't take it literally.」

「Mia is finally showing me some affection...!」

It seemed she wasn't listening at all. For some reason, a blushing Vanessa was currently looking completely ecstatic.

Dragging this conversation out was clearly going to overcomplicate things, so I decided to cut straight to the chase.

「I want to know about the Necklace of Warding. The necklace you gave me was just one step away from being officially classified as Magic Equipment, right?」

The moment the topic shifted to alchemy, whatever happened to her blushing, playful self from a second ago...?

Vanessa's facial expression shifted in a flash, instantly filling the air with a sharp, tense atmosphere.

「Interrogating an alchemist about their creations is a breach of etiquette. No matter how much I like you, Mia, I can't tell you that.」

「Please. I absolutely *have* to craft Magic Equipment.」

「I can't. I've already retired from being an alchemist, after all.」

With Vanessa shutting me down so bluntly, it was hard to press the matter any further. Her reasoning was completely sound, leaving me without a single comeback.

But having just been kicked out by Obaba-sama, a massive cloud of frustration settled over my heart.

First there was Obaba-sama, who pushed me to craft Magic Equipment, and now Vanessa, who passed her lingering attachment to the Necklace of Warding down to me—why was everyone being so uncooperative?

*(Proofreading note: The original Japanese text contained a typo, writing the particle as "魔装具の°作らせよう" instead of "魔装具を作らせよう".)*

They're basically forcing this whole situation onto me, so the least they could do is offer a little bit of help!

Feeling more stubborn and pouting harder than I ever had in my life, I wore a grumpy expression and stared dead at Vanessa with a piercing glare.

「............」

After a moment, perhaps finally feeling a bit guilty under my gaze, Vanessa let out a long sigh.

「I want you to overcome these hurdles one step at a time, Mia. Taking shortcuts never leads to anything good.」

「I get what you're trying to say, but I really don't have the luxury of time right now. I need the power to craft Magic Equipment this very second.」

「In that case, do you mind telling me why you're so desperate to make it? I want to know the driving force that's pushing you this hard.」

Seeing Vanessa switch into her mature big-sister mode, I breathed a sigh of relief, glad that she was far easier to reason with than Obaba-sama.

Now, all that was left... was to blast her with the sheer intensity of my feelings! This burning passion that every single noble lady held deep in her heart!!

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