arc01 · 015-ep15

Episode 15: What Can You Make?

Lunch break. With the spare club room key in hand, I decided to eat my bento in the club room.

Aizawa was apparently coming too, so I'd try talking dungeons with her—among other things.

"And… looks like I got here first."

I unlocked the door and stepped inside.

Seeing it again, the club room was pretty spacious. In sheer floor area it wasn't even half a classroom… but with so little in it, the space just felt wasted.

Apparently four other people had been here until last year—maybe they cleared out their personal stuff and left it tidy.

I set my bento on the desk at the far end of the long, narrow room and went browsing the shelf of files.

"Ohh. They really did put in proper work. Photos of materials and everything—these are quality references."

No idea what kind of people the graduated senpai party had been, but if they kept at it clear through third year, they must be a respectable party by now. From what I hear, most people who start hitting the dungeon in first year don't stick with it. Case in point: the kids who were talking dungeons at the entrance ceremony already look like they've stopped.

◇

Before long, Aizawa showed up, so we ate together.

"……T-Takeru-kun, what were you looking at just now?"

"Oh, that. The reference files the senpai made."

"Ah, you mean the activity records."

"You should take a look later too, Aizawa. Pretty well put together, I think."

"Okay, I-I will…"

Munch munch munch munch.

But still. Eating a meal alone together in a closed room like this—thinking about it, it makes zero sense. Aizawa kept fidgeting, too. She must be on edge.

Being alone in a room with a boy she barely knew was honestly way too defenseless a position… Ah well, going forward I, her mental elder, would cover for her. She was a valuable Alchemist, after all.

"Oh right, there's something I've been wanting to ask you, Aizawa."

"Ah, yes. W-what is it?"

"What can 【Alchemy】 actually make, specifically? I know potions are a thing, but…"

"Um, q-quite a lot, r-really? W-weapons with a different approach than blacksmiths use, t-talismans that can put up a temporary barrier, b-bombs…"

"Whoa! That's awesome. Have you made anything yourself yet?"

"Ah, um. W-well, yes. For potions, the production guild supplies the materials and I make them. I get paid a little for it, too? Ehehe."

"Ohh, gotcha. So that's how you earn with the production guild."

"O-of course, if I gathered my own materials to work with, I'd earn more… but that's beyond me."

"Ah… yeah, production types gathering everything themselves would be a death wish. What about commissioning adventurers?"

"W-well, commissions are possible if you want to do them, but g-guild-posted requests can only be placed with B-rank adventurers and above, and the amounts are astronomical… So basically, you either make the things on the production guild's prepared recipes, or place private commissions with adventurers you trust."

"Huh, now that you mention it, I've never heard of commissions for low-rank adventurers. I see—so they're quests exclusive to B-rank and up."

"Yes. From B-rank up, you're a top-class pro who's overcome brutal exams, s-so they're trusted above a certain line, apparently."

"Haa. Didn't know that."

I'd only ever researched the short-term stuff, so I was fuzzy on this part. I'd heard promotion to C-rank involved a simple exam, but top-class treatment started at B-rank, huh. Well, C-rank was the biggest volume zone. Some bad apples in that bunch, so it made sense things shook out this way. Officially, society counts even C-ranks as pros, mind you.

"So right now, potions are about all you can make, Aizawa?"

"W-what I've made so far is just potions, ointment-type salves, and light orbs, but with the right materials I can make a fair bit more."

"Like what?"

"Um, smoke bombs that blind monsters, coating agents that raise your gear's durability a bit—things along those lines, the kind that'd help out on a dive, just a little."

"Ohh! That's great! I'll bring back materials, so make me all kinds of stuff."

"Um, but materials like that only spawn on D-rank floors and deeper…"

"Then no problem. I'm already D-rank, and I've been as far as floor 7. Floor 9 should be easy."

"Huh?"

"Gathering's not really my thing, so I'd prefer materials that are easy to grab… Ah, and mining I'd also rather skip. It's bulky."

"Huh? Huh?? W-wait, w-wait a second, Takeru-kun!"

"Hm? What's up?"

"Takeru-kun, you're already D-rank?"

"Yep."

"You've been to floor 7?"

"Yeah."

"Wh-wh-wha— WHAAAT!?!?"

"Whoa—hey, don't just start yelling!"

Just as I thought she'd started screaming, she froze up instead. What on earth.

"Heeey, what's wrong, Aizawa?"

"…………Isn't that way too fast?"

"Huh? Well, yeah, I'm probably on the fast side?"

"I-I don't think that's a speed you can talk about that lightly… C-could it be you've been escorted by an adult, or a senpai party?"

"Rude. I'm solo."

"S-so-so-so-so-so-SOLO!?!?"

"I mean, solo divers are rare, sure, but it's not that shocking."

"No no no, going solo, at that speed, up to floor 7—that's just absurd!!?"

"Even I know it's not normal. But looking at adventurers as a whole, I'm still a complete trash-tier small fry."

"Huhhh…? It's just… our vantage points are way too far apart…"

"Aizawa, if you worked hard at 【Alchemy】, I bet you'd climb fast too."

"No no, there's no way—"

"The thing about the world right now: hardly anybody gets serious about dungeon stuff."

"————!"

"So if you got serious about it, I figure you'd blow right past everyone else and climb without breaking a sweat, you know?"

"Th-that's… I never even considered it."

"Well, whether you push yourself is up to you. For materials, leave it to me—I'll bring back all sorts."

"Th-that's true… Okay. Please, and thank you…! I'll send you the details on materials later, all bundled up in a message!"

"Yeah. I might not manage everything, so what I can't get, you'll have to figure out on your end, obviously."

"Okay, I'll do my best…!"

Don't know what did it, but she seemed fired up now—gave me something to look forward to, myself. You can buy items like these at the guild's attached shop, but they all run pretty pricey. I carried one potion, just in case, and even that—a low-grade potion, mind—cost 50,000 yen. Highway robbery!

Putting it that way, Aizawa's existence really was a blessing.

If she worked hard and became a skilled Alchemist, even better—I found myself thinking that.