“There’s only one person at the royal castle who even has the Appraisal skill, Daisy,” Father said. “I’ve heard it’s such a rare skill that you can count the number of people who have it in the whole kingdom on one hand. Even if your Occupation is seen as unfortunate, that Appraisal skill will put you in high demand.”
Father sighed and continued. “Daisy’s results aren’t just accurate; she could see I have a magic resistance skill I wasn’t even aware of! It really tells you these things, eh?”
After that, Father had me use Appraisal on various objects around the house, which I did easily. I was even able to identify accessories that had been imbued with hidden blessings or other abilities and name their effects. With every correct answer, it seemed like Father and Mother were becoming more convinced that my ability was real and worth believing in.
Then, the conversation returned to potions.
“Like I said, I just followed the instructions in the book, used my Appraisal skill to compare the results, and adjusted the mixture accordingly. And, well…it worked.”
“It worked, hm?” Father pressed his hand to his mouth and let out a thoughtful noise.
Mother held her cheeks as if in deep contemplation.
“Alchemy is an Occupation that involves combining multiple ingredients to create something new,” Father explained. “With Appraisal, you can effortlessly judge the quality of your results. It’s almost like having a natural guide for crafting.” He let out another contemplative noise before resuming muttering to himself. “Daisy’s already more intelligent than other children her age, and she can use Appraisal on top of that. Perhaps receiving Alchemist as her Occupation was less unfortunate and more inevitable?” At that, Father buried his head in his hands.
“Whatever the gods may have intended, it’s probably best not to speak openly about her Appraisal skill. Daisy’s still small, and it would be horrible if someone tried to kidnap her so they could use it,” Mother said.
“You’re right. We should only tell those we trust.”
Seeing how serious and solemn Mother and Father were, I felt my excitement deflate. When I’d come here with my heart full of accomplishment, I’d been expecting praise, not worry.
Did I do something wrong?
Father noticed my downcast expression and gently placed his hands on my shoulders to reassure me. “It’s okay, Daisy. This is a wonderful skill granted by the gods. You should be proud of it and never feel ashamed. But for now, we should keep it a secret.”
Father’s validation came as a relief, and I smiled at him before nodding obediently.
Just then, my brother Remus, who was two years older than me, came home, crying loudly.
“What happened?” The three of us looked at each other and headed toward the sound of his voice. We found my brother in the parlor, accompanied by a maid. She told us he had tripped and fallen while stepping down from the carriage. The maid had already cleaned his injuries, but his knee and palm had been badly scraped; they looked raw and painful.
His knee is bright red… Poor Remus.
“Dear, we’ve verified that Daisy’s ability is legitimate, so the potion she made must be the real thing, too. Why don’t we try it on Remus’s injuries?” Mother suggested. “I know it’s hardly a situation for a potion, but it looks quite painful…”
“True, Daisy’s ability is genuine. If the only problem with the potion is that it’s bitter, then it should be fine to apply externally,” Father said with a nod. “Daisy, may we use your potion on Remus?”
I nodded and handed him the small potion bottle.
Father opened the bottle and splashed some of the contents onto Remus’s knee. The raw, bloody gash that had been scraped open on the cobblestone street was instantly covered by fresh, healthy skin. His injury had completely healed in an instant. Next Father poured some onto my brother’s scraped palm and, just like before, new skin formed, and the injury disappeared as if it had never been there in the first place.
Wounds can disappear in an instant? Potions are amazing! I thought. But most of all, I was thrilled that my potion had completely healed my brother’s injuries.
“Daisy’s potion really worked…” Both my parents and the maid who’d been tending to my brother were dumbfounded.
“Whoa! What just happened? That was incredible! What do you mean, Daisy’s potion?” Remus, who’d been crying just moments before, blinked in surprise.
“This is Daisy’s very first potion,” Father explained as he put the stopper back in the bottle. I beamed happily beside him.
“You’re smaller than me, but you can make potions? I can’t even use healing magic and you can heal wounds?! That’s amazing! Hey, my knee doesn’t hurt at all anymore!” Remus was so excited that tears sparkled in his eyes as he gazed at me. However… “Yuck! It’s so bitter!” He licked his palm where the potion had been applied and immediately grimaced. “I’d rather be sick than drink that! You gotta fix the taste!” And with that, he ran off to the kitchen in search of water.
“Oh, dear. It looks like you have your first commission!” Father chuckled.
Father, Mother, the maid and I all laughed. Then, Father glanced at the remaining potion in the bottle and then at the maid’s fingertips.
“Your hands are chapped and cracked. There’s not much left, but go ahead and use it,” he said.
He handed the bottle over to the hesitant maid. She poured the last of the potion over her hands, and the painful, deep cracks disappeared, leaving her skin smooth and healthy again. She gazed at her hands in delight, then thanked me profusely before bowing and returning the empty bottle.
After that, Father handed me ten copper coins and said, “This is your payment for the potion.” It felt like my first real job as an Alchemist, and I was so happy that I decided to store the ten coins in the treasure chest I kept in my room.
Later, I remembered that I’d used Appraisal on Father and found a new category I’d never seen before: “Rewards and Crimes.”
I decided to use Appraisal on myself once more, and observed my abilities had evolved a bit as well.
Daisy von Preslaria
Second daughter of a viscount
Health: 10/10
Mana: 150/150
Occupation: Alchemist
Skills:
Alchemy: (2/10)
Appraisal: (4/10)
Rewards and Crimes: None
My Occupation had changed to Alchemist!
Perhaps Father compensating me for the potion had made it official? My Appraisal skill had also improved, probably because I’d been using it a lot during my experiments.