“I’m not suspicious,” she clarified. “I just saw you eating my creations with such happy smiles that I couldn’t help myself!”
“We look chummy, you said? I’d suggest you get your eyes checked,” I said.
At the mention of “creations,” I looked over at Leen’s jelly. Still quivering in the air, she tutted and popped it into her mouth.
“I modified the slime jelly you’re eating right now. How do they taste?” the woman asked.
The hawker did say that he had ordered them from somewhere.
“Are you Cormeca?” I said.
“Indeed. I’m Cormeca Esma and, well, I’m an alchemist. Pleasure to meet you.”
An alchemist... This was a job that had begun from a desire to transform lead into gold to discover what existed in this world, why it existed, and what transformations would take place. It was a study that sought to unveil the secrets of all matter in the world.
They were known for modifying crops, constructing new metals, and developing useful tools. Having created all sorts of items that were essential to everyday life, alchemists were people we adventurers had an unavoidable relationship with. After all, many parts of the kits used to combat monsters had been brought into existence by alchemists. In addition, they were constantly in need of materials that were rich in mana for research use, such as monsters’ claws, scales, or pelts. People often said that over sixty percent of the available quests in the guild were from the local alchemists.
This woman, Cormeca, didn’t let her smile falter. For Leen’s part, she took her sweet time as she slowly chewed on the piece of slime jelly in her mouth.
“Ahem,” she said after swallowing. “Yes, they are very juicy with a nice bite to them. I very much enjoyed them. I can see why the stall owner was so keen to recommend them.”
Apparently feeling no discomfort at being appraised by Cormeca, Leen gave a broad smile as she spoke. She was utterly honest when it came to food.
“I’m so happy to hear you like them,” Cormeca replied. “I only wish my main work was so well loved. Oh! Don’t misunderstand—I came here to give my thanks.”
“Your thanks?” Leen repeated.
Cormeca put her right hand to her check and said, “Yes. After all, you found Allen.”
I saw her eyes sharpen in that moment—or so it seemed to me.
Every adventurer needed to share everything they’d learned during a quest to the guild once it was completed. The guild then collated the info and publicized it as a report containing what they thought necessary to share. In our case, this was to prevent adventurers from haphazardly heading to Leston and to inform people that some living dead might still be lurking in the area.
Any deceased adventurers would have their names listed on a piece of paper that was posted in the guild at the end of the week. If you hadn’t seen someone in a while but their name wasn’t there, you could breathe a sigh of relief. The opposite often happened too, of course.
“Allen and I were in the same party. Although it disbanded,” Cormeca said with a slightly pained smile. Her eyes were back to normal.
Was it my imagination?
“After he broke up the party, saying he was going to get married, I didn’t see him all that often. But he was a precious member of my party. I wanted to give my condolences.” Cormeca stared at the ground with a somber expression before apologizing. She pulled herself together and looked back at us. “Which is why I’m grateful to you both. I’ll be visiting his grave before too long. So thank you.”
“I didn’t really do anything,” I said. “You should thank her.”
I turned to Leen, and then she suddenly spoke.
“What’s the matter?”
The problem was that she was talking to thin air.
“Oh?”
“Huh?”
Cormeca and I muttered at the same time. As we looked at Leen with confused expressions, she shook her head at us.
“Oh, sorry,” she said. “I wasn’t talking to you, Hakura.”
“Then who?” I asked.
“Uh, well, you don’t need to worry about that. Just myself.”
“You’re kinda freaking me out... What are you?”
“A jaw-droppingly beautiful young woman!”
“Not what I was asking.”
“You’re saying I’m not beautiful?!”
“Your personality sure isn’t!”
I held Leen back with a single hand as she charged at me; Cormeca started to chuckle watching us.
“If I may ask an unrelated question,” she said. “Are you two lovers?”
“Don’t even joke,” I said.
Cormeca’s suggestion sent a horrid shiver down my spine so I rebutted her immediately. As soon as I did, I felt a hard smack on the back of my head.
“OW!”
“Don’t respond that quickly! You’ll hurt a poor maiden’s feelings!”
“You hurt a poor guy’s head!”
“Well, hmph! I’d never ever date someone who’s this rude!”
“What a coincidence—me too.”
I thought our shared agreement was something to celebrate, but Leen gave me a quick kick, which caught me by surprise. The force of her steel-toe-capped boot sent a jolt of pain through me.
“That hurt! Why’d you do that?”
“Because I’m allowed to ignore you whenever I like, but you’re not allowed to give me the cold shoulder!”
“Come on, there’s gotta be a limit to your selfishness...”
I heard a weird sound and turned to see Cormeca with a hand over her mouth, stifling a chuckle. It couldn’t be contained for long, and she broke out into hysterical laughter. What was I meant to do here?
After half a minute or so, she finally calmed down and wiped the tears from her eyes. Was it really that funny...?
“Ahh... So silly... Ha ha...” Cormeca calmed her breathing and apologized again. With downcast eyes, she went on, “Remember this. You never know when a friend or ally of yours will disappear. You might take tomorrow for granted, but who knows what day you’ll be pulled apart without warning.”
“Right...”
Leen glanced at me. She wasn’t acting in her usual insolent manner, and she looked really awkward.
“If you want to say something, why don’t you say it clearly?” I said.
“I was just thinking how painful it’d be if your ally were to suddenly disappear, Hakura. I was thinking how sad you’d be.”
“I wouldn’t care. I’d just look for my next employer,” I said.
I placed a hand on my sword, and Leen shifted away from me. It wasn’t as if I could say much. It had happened to me and it was why I was here now.
“Anyway, have you two picked out your next quest?” Cormeca asked.
“Not yet,” I replied.
It had been two weeks since we’d returned from Leston, and in the meantime, we’d taken on a number of quests that could be wrapped up in a day. It was about time to think about taking on something big that would have a nice payout.
“Well, I’ve actually partially retired from the adventuring business. This is what I’m putting my efforts into.”
Cormeca opened her bag and pulled out a miniature canvas—just big enough to fit in her palm. On it were two cartoonish slimes, one red and one white. I could tell it was an oil painting, but that was about as far as my knowledge went. Leen, on the other hand, let out a gasp of awe with her mouth half open.
“These are very well painted. They’re so cute!”
“Thank you,” Cormeca replied. “I thought this painting would make a nice little feature to draw attention to the stand. I wonder if people will like it.”
I realized that this was why she had approached us. She was free until the guy at the stand had finished serving customers.
“I’ve got a little exhibition running here in Esma,” she went on. “Although I’ve not had as many visitors as I’d like.” The stains on her sleeves suddenly made more sense. They must be paint. With a smile still on her face, she slumped her shoulders to show her displeasure before continuing, “I’m more well known for my alchemical work. I only began this trade to try and whip up some pigments that weren’t sold on the market. And I only became an adventurer to collect the materials I’d need.”
Cormeca sighed. With her party disbanded, she couldn’t head out quite as far as she once did. All the same, the situation wasn’t quite so dire that she wanted to find a new party. Her motivation for adventuring had run dry. Regardless of your situation, the guild would send you a notice about retirement if you spent too long not taking on any quests. It seemed to me that Cormeca didn’t care if that happened to her.
“So, uh, what do these slime jellies gotta do with your paints?” I said.
Slime jellies were cheap snacks. As soon as I asked my question, though, Cormeca’s face brightened up.
“If you give a slime fruits that are the color you want, you can boil down the slime and squeeze it to get a wonderfully clear paint that is easy to layer with.”
I imagined the slime being cooked up then squeezed to make paint and felt a knot form in my stomach. Well, I didn’t care how much some domesticated slime was mistreated, but it didn’t feel good to hear someone talk about it with such little care.
“I see. So this slime is painted with materials made from a slime! I can see how you managed to get this realism,” Leen said, evidently unfazed by Cormeca’s methods.