Surviving as a Mage in a Magic Academy Chapter 947

Chapter 947

The alchemists working in Yoanen Maykin's workshop sometimes had misconceptions.

They thought that while Yoanen was the madness-filled owner of the workshop, they were very sane and normal alchemists.

But as could be seen with Einroguard, it was best to be suspicious of people who continued to get along well with madness-filled individuals.

They often harbored madness no less intense within themselves!

Though relatively sane compared to Yoanen, the workshop alchemists also became madness-tinged characters when it came to alchemy.

"Find it first at all costs. Before the alchemists from other workshops!"

"We should visit other workshops first. We need to explore what they know."

"That's a good idea. Did you bring invisibility potions?"

The workshop alchemists immediately thought of using invisibility potions to infiltrate.

Invisibility potions easily solved many problems an alchemist might face, and infiltrating other workshops was one of them.

"Oh!"

The workshop alchemists who came out discovered the attire of another workshop and sent wary glances.

Those who popped out from the alley ahead were people working in Prince Bogajun's alchemy workshop.

"This is an ominous coincidence for a coincidence."

"Shh. Let's probe their true intentions."

While they were whispering, the alchemists under Bogajun approached.

"Hello. Have you perhaps heard rumors about special flame wood roots?"

"..."

"Wh-what's that?"

The workshop alchemists pretended not to know while managing their expressions as best they could.

The alchemists under Bogajun, who knew nothing, spoke with very excited voices.

"It seems some very special flame wood roots have come into Granden City! The rumor is that someone secured ones directly raised by a red dragon over lava..."

'Does that make any sense?'

The workshop alchemists were inwardly dumbfounded.

Of course, the properties of the flame wood roots they had seen were very strong.

As they had several times more powerful strength than ordinary flame wood roots, using these would not only amplify potion effects but also make rare potions that were usually difficult to produce possible.

But even so, the possibility that a red dragon had directly raised them over lava was slim.

First of all, how would one steal that? A dragon's greed wasn't something an ordinary herb gatherer could overcome.

'No. That's not what's important right now.'

"Indeed. Then are you also thinking of finding and obtaining those reagents?"

"Of course. The prince will be pleased too."

"Hmm. I'm not sure I understand, could you explain in more detail over a drink?"

"Huh? It's not difficult, but..."

"I heard there's a new drink at the <Inn of Ten Thousand Schemes>. Let's go."

"You mean the <Righteous Thief of Granden>! I wanted to try it, this is perfect!"

The wicked workshop alchemists smiled maliciously at the thought of taking down their competitors with grape and barley potions.

'The reagents will be ours!'

  *

Yi-Han and his friends each went around visiting places where they could sell reagents.

Befitting someone who dreamed of becoming Granden City's greatest merchant in the future, Yi-Han had no intention of selling carelessly.

Though they could sell at street stalls or back alleys, that would end up being a one-time thing.

If they found a good sales outlet and built trust, they could use it again when such opportunities arose in the future.

But there were two things Yi-Han hadn't expected.

One was that places to purchase alchemy materials in Granden City were pickier than expected.

It wasn't easy for students who couldn't use their Einroguard identity or other identities to sell recklessly.

-We already have contracted places. Sorry.-

-We only purchase reagents from places recognized by the <Paragranum> Guild.-

And the other was that the rumors about Gonadaltes, no, Setlad Anog, were still hot.

-What? Reagents from the Anog family? Is it the same family as that Setlad Anog?-

-If so, that's different. I'd like to see them. Could you bring the reagents?-

Even places that had reacted negatively showed great interest when they heard the Anog family name.

Wasn't it the family of the mage who had become the biggest topic in Granden City recently?

They couldn't help but be interested in that family trying to supply reagents. Moreover, there was a shortage of flame wood roots recently.

"I didn't expect the alias to be used like this..."

"Even the principal wouldn't have known."

Yonaire muttered. Yi-Han asked while matching his steps beside her.

"There won't be any problems when checking the reagents, right?"

"Hmm... It should be fine. It's difficult to get an appointment, but once it gets to reagent checking, there's not much that can go wrong."

As renowned workshops already purchased reagents from verified places, they didn't readily accept new proposals.

Conversely, the very fact that they asked to bring them meant they were showing strong interest.

If the quality of the reagents turned out to be worse than expected, things could get complicated, but the flame wood roots Yi-Han's group had prepared were very good. There was little chance of problems arising.

"Several alchemists will attend to check the quality, do some tests, and then talk about price and contract."

"Are you sure we shouldn't try Lady Yoanen's workshop?"

"Not my sister. As I said, her eye is extraordinary. It's better to go for a somewhat sloppier place for this."

Yonaire, who had been in and out of her family's alchemy workshop since childhood, knew well about such reagent purchases.

From the seller's perspective, a buyer with no discerning eye, sensitive to trends and rumors, and willing to pay more than necessary was advantageous.

In that sense, Yoanen could be said to be the worst buyer.

Starting with her discerning eye, she never wasted more than necessary...

"I think a place like Prince Bogajun's workshop would be good. I heard they have plenty of gold coins and care a lot about face."

"Yonaire. You're the future Imperial Treasurer. Then let's go there."

"..."

Yi-Han was thinking of trying this regularly if things went well this time.

Purchase discarded reagents, restore them with the mad doppelganger's wisdom, and sell them.

If done well, it could become a much more stable source of income than unstable requests.

"Certainly... It takes a lot of work, but I think all the second-years could do it together now."

Yonaire agreed (though of course she didn't agree with becoming Granden City's greatest merchant).

This reagent sale could become a better source of income than expected. It would feel like rain in a drought to students struggling for magic research funds.

There was the drawback that it took more work than expected.

Though it sounded simple when summarized, the preparation, management, and verification involved in each step were quite tricky.

But considering the unity of the second-years, that was solvable. They just had to call everyone and do it together.

'Ah. Mana is also a problem. But that shouldn't matter much.'

In fact, mana was a bigger problem than labor, but she wasn't even thinking about that.

It was too trivial an issue in front of her friend from the Wardanaz family.

"How's your research going these days?"

"It's difficult, but thinking about third or fourth year, I need to prepare from now..."

At Yonaire's words, Yi-Han looked at his friend as if he found her adorable.

If student G or student A could emulate even half of this planning, the average of Einroguard students would greatly improve!

"By the way, Yi-Han, did you know about the Maykin family's secret wish?"

"No. I don't know that much."

Old families tended to develop various secret techniques and wishes.

Magic and knowledge known only to family members, and goals.

"Hmm. Then try guessing once."

Yonaire threw a riddle at her friend for fun.

Could this genius from the Wardanaz family guess the secret wish of Yonaire's family of interest just from the clues he had seen so far?

"Hmm... Is it not the restoration of the lost recipe for <The Maykin Family's Legendary Tart>?"

"...Of course not. No, how do you know about that?!"

Yonaire was shocked.

As the Maykin family had a long history and excelled in alchemy, they had achieved outstanding accomplishments in various fields.

Desserts like <The Maykin Family's Sweet Pan Chocolate> or <The Maykin Family's Magical Chocolate Eclair> were still renowned throughout the empire.

But there was also a lost recipe in that process, namely <The Maykin Family's Legendary Tart>.

According to legend, it could soothe even an enraged great demon or spirit king, so it was clearly some extraordinary potion or substance rather than an ordinary dessert, but this was such an old story with few clues that even within the Maykin family, few people took serious interest in it.

With several other secret techniques and wishes, why look for something like that?

"I looked up some old books before because I heard it was a lost recipe and wondered if it was something profitable. But the more I looked, the more it seemed like a magic potion rather than a mass-producible dessert."

"...I suppose so..."

Shuddering at the prowess of her unnecessarily competent friend, Yonaire slowly explained.

"What the family is interested in is another lost item. Do you know about the <Maykin Family's Cauldron>? You probably don't..."

"Do you mean that cauldron where treasures endlessly come out?"

"..."

She had heard rumors that the Wardanaz family possessed all sorts of old books and magic books, but Yonaire was shocked once again to see him know so well about a story almost forgotten in her own family.

Come to think of it, she could guess why Yi-Han knew this too.

"Y-yes. That's right. Of course, since a long time has passed, it's probably been exaggerated to some extent, but there are parts we can infer from this, right?"

"Replication?"

The friend with curly red hair nodded. Indeed, conversations with people on the same magical level were enjoyable.

That G bastard would immediately jump to snacks or mage cards if he heard this story...

"That's right. The magic of material replication. Of course, it's not infinite and has strong limitations, but it's clearly a fragment of that magic. That's what I'm interested in."

As complete material replication magic was nearly impossible, <The Maykin Family's Cauldron> likely implemented it in a limited way.

Yonaire's goal was to recreate even part of the secret and principle that cauldron possessed. Even that much would be a sufficiently great achievement.

"It's over there."

As they talked while walking, the workshop of the alchemists working under Prince Bogajun came into view.

Indeed, as Yonaire had said, an air of wealth flowed thickly from the workshop's exterior.

Unlike other workshop buildings in the guild district, it had a luxurious signboard using gold and silver, and even a crystal-decorated balance scale.

"Doesn't anyone steal that?"

"Shh. It's been stolen a few times. Don't say things like that when we go in. Let's go."

The two knocked on the workshop door and revealed the Anog family name to the employee.

The employee was startled and ran inside saying he would relay the message.

"They say they'll see you now. Please come in!"

Yi-Han and Yonaire exchanged meaningful glances and nodded.

It was a much more active response than other places. The signs were good.

Clunk-

Soon after they entered the reception room and sat down, the door opened. Familiar-faced alchemists entered through the opened door.

It was Yoanen and her subordinate alchemists. Though disguised, Yonaire's complexion turned pale.

"Yonaire?"

"!"

Surprisingly, Yoanen immediately recognized her sister's disguise.

Though she had changed her features moderately, her flawless observation skills immediately caught the familiarity unique to blood relations.

Yoanen infused mana into the amethyst glasses she usually wore and penetrated her sister's disguise. It was indeed Yonaire.

"Then you are..."

"I'm Gainando."

"Judging by the intelligence I sense, you're definitely not Lord Gainando. You must be Mr. Wardanaz, right?"

"...Yes... That's correct."