’There are still a lot of people even at this hour.’

Tanya muttered while looking at the shops in the plaza.

At the end of her gaze was an alchemy workshop occupying one of the best spots in the Clock Tower Plaza. It was Louise’s shop.

At a reasonable time in the afternoon, Ian visited Louise’s shop with Tanya.

’Maybe the grand opening hype has died down. There are much fewer people than before.’

’Calling that just ’opening hype’ is a bit of an understatement...’

In the early days of the opening, the waiting line for the shop used to take up half of the plaza’s space.

However, now that quite some time had passed since the opening, it didn’t draw that much of a crowd anymore. The inside of the shop was bustling with people, but it looked like it had found some breathing room.

’Welcome! ...Ah, Manager! The Captain is here!’

A shop employee spotted Ian and shouted toward the back of the shop.

Before long, Louise arrived and guided Ian to the office inside.

The fatigue on Louise’s face had vanished significantly compared to before.

’I heard you went to the Labyrinth. Are you hurt anywhere? You too, Tanya-yang.’

’Everyone is healthy. You seem to have some leisure now, Louise-ssi.’

’I’m perfectly fine too!’

When the past was mentioned, Louise let out a sigh of exasperation.

’It feels like everyone in the city has visited at least once during that time. Since then, things have settled down a bit.’

It was an abnormal level of popularity. In fact, that popularity until now could be attributed to the residents.

’Normally, there’s no reason for residents to visit an alchemy shop so frequently...’

’Because of the crisis detection potions?’

’Exactly.’

Residents rarely had a reason to use potions. They were far too expensive for daily use.

For people who had no reason to step outside the city gates, potions were a kind of emergency medicine.

Once they had stocked up enough, they wouldn’t visit again until they had used them.

The problem this time was that because of the new monster called the Stalker that suddenly appeared, all the city residents had rushed in to urgently equip themselves with crisis detection potions.

As Louise said, when looking around the shop, most of those inside were mercenaries.

The only customers who consistently consumed potions were, in the end, the mercenaries. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

’Well, even the mercenaries will drop off after a while. They are sensitive to prices.’

Potions from a workshop directly operated by an alchemist are expensive, even if the quality is good.

Right now, they visited Louise’s shop because of the reputation, but if they felt there was no decisive difference in performance, they were likely to move to shops that were supplied by large merchant guilds with lower prices.

’Will you be okay even if the customers decrease like that?’

’To begin with, the current state is what’s abnormal.’

Since it was Ian’s building, there would be no worries about rent, but if the income became too small, Louise’s share would decrease accordingly.

’Even if it decreased, it’s not to that extent. In the first place, until now it was at an abnormal level...’

As Ian seemed worried about it, Louise shook her head as if it were no big deal.

’The operating costs and profits of the shop will be more than enough. Well, it might seem like a small income to you, Captain, but I’m satisfied as long as there’s no hindrance to my research.’

She had just barely escaped a life of making potions relentlessly and managing the shop all day long.

It was only recently that she finally started to find some time for personal research.

’Research.’

Hearing the word research, Ian asked Louise as if he had suddenly remembered something.

’Do you happen to have any personal research you are doing lately?’

’I’d need time for that... well, I’ve had some leisure recently, but I haven’t had an interesting research topic.’

Louise, who was answering reflexively, looked at Ian with suspicious eyes.

’...Why are you looking at me like that?’

’You aren’t planning to entrust me with something again, are you?’

In her experience so far, she didn’t have many good memories when Ian brought up such words.

It always involved struggling through research with a tight schedule, or an overwhelming amount of work that left no room for rest.

Recalling those memories, Louise asked Ian with a wary face.

’Is it by any chance something incredibly difficult and ridiculous... like developing a future sight potion, or an X-ray vision potion?’

’...’

It would be convenient to have those potions, though.

Whether she read Ian’s expression as he reflexively thought that, Louise’s expression darkened even further.

Ian shook his head and explained that it wasn’t what he meant, so that Louise wouldn’t misunderstand.

’No, this time I just came to give you some research materials.’

’Research... materials?’

’Tanya. Take out what we brought.’

’Yes.’

Tanya put down the small bag she was carrying and took out several pouches from inside.

Interest flickered on Louise’s face as she saw the materials that came out from within.

Louise picked up one of the plants on the table and examined it this way and that.

’These are... things I’ve never seen before.’

’They are plants discovered in the Labyrinth.’

’All of these?’

Hearing Ian’s words, Louise’s interest grew even further.

They were alchemy materials collected from the Labyrinth expedition they went on recently. Furthermore, since they had descended to a deeper region this time, there were many new plants that didn’t appear in the lower floors.

Considering that even within Labyrinth, materials from the Labyrinth don’t circulate much outside, they must be materials most alchemists have never even seen.

Moreover, since it was a terrain with plenty of soil this time, there were many plants. Especially the luminescent plants that were clinging to the cliffs were virtually everywhere, so they had gathered a lot.

’Tanya-yang! What kind of environment did this grow in?’

’Eh... I think I picked it from the top of a cliff... just a moment.’

Louise began to pick up the plants she was seeing for the first time one by one and started to grill Tanya for detailed stories of when she collected them.

Flustered by Louise’s barrage of questions, Tanya hurriedly took out her notebook to check the notes she had made during the expedition.

’And this?’

’That... I don’t know.’

’Aaaah! I asked you to note down how they grow when you pick herbs!’

’Because the Fairy brought it from somewhere...’

It was mainly Tanya who picked these kinds of herbs during the expedition.

Thanks to that, they had many opportunities to talk, and since Tanya was also someone who often talked with Louise to find out what expensive herbs were, she received various requests.

There were many times she was questioned about information like the herbs’ habitat, just like now. Perhaps because of that, Tanya also seemed to try her best to leave notes inside the Labyrinth like Ian, but it didn’t seem easy.

Louise, who had checked the numerous alchemy materials collected from the Labyrinth, asked Ian with glowing eyes.

’Does this mean I can use all of these for my personal research? You don’t have any specific potions you want?’

’Yes. Feel free to use them. I’m also curious about what you will make...’

Since materials from the Labyrinth don’t appear much on the market, recipes related to those materials weren’t well developed either.

From Ian’s perspective, it was convenient if as many potions as possible were developed in advance. At this rate, he had no choice but to hurriedly develop and use necessary items as they came up.

As recipe development wasn’t something that cost just a penny or two, progress was inevitably slow.

It would be better if the alchemy NPC Emilia, who was called a person obsessed with alchemy, immigrated; then there would be no need to worry.

Since she was an NPC who opened all locked recipes by herself and released them to the shop, there was no need to struggle with managing and researching recipes belatedly.

Of course, she was famous for draining the city’s research budget too. If that person settled in the city, the city’s research fund would always remain at 0 no matter how much one donated.

Anyway, since he had delivered everything he brought, Ian stood up, saying he would be heading back soon.

’There’s a bit more in the warehouse, so if you run short, feel free to take and use them anytime.’

’Ah, thank you! I’ll develop something incredible!’

Louise waved her hand with a bright face that hadn’t been seen in a while, seeing Ian off to the outside of the shop.

Immediately returning to the laboratory, alchemy materials that Louise was seeing for the first time in her life were spread out before her.

They weren’t simply just materials seen for the first time, but rare materials that grew only deep within the Labyrinth.

Plants from the Labyrinth all had special effects without exception, so even Louise didn’t know what kind of results would be created.

Yes. This is why it was worth moving to Labyrinth.

Feeling a sense of satisfaction, Louise suddenly thought of the other alchemists in Orthia who had mocked her for saying she would go to Labyrinth.

What did they say? That a master doesn’t care about materials and the environment? What a bunch of nonsense.

Those fellows would also shut their mouths if they saw these materials in front of them right now.

’Hehe... should I boast just a little?’

Alchemists from a backwater that she would likely have no reason to see in the future anyway. She could just ignore them, but Louise ultimately couldn’t overcome the temptation and wrote a letter.

To the idiots of Orthia.

This is a material my patron personally entered the Labyrinth to get for me.

Since it’s a material you won’t see for the rest of your lives, at least take a look.

To summarize, it was a letter that expanded such content very elegantly and politely.

Lastly, Louise plucked a small leaf from one of the materials, finished the preservation treatment, and enclosed it in the letter.

The amount would be too small to use as a research material, but it was enough to recognize what an incredible material it was.

’It’s a real shame I can’t see their expressions in person.’ Louise chuckled and sealed the letter.