[BL] Challenge: 100 Baby in Fantasy World-Chapter 278: Celebration Party

Gara turned around and found a familiar face from his class. He let out a quiet sigh of relief.

"You’re here too, Jett."

They weren’t particularly close, but having the gnome boy around meant Gara wouldn’t feel completely out of place among the capital’s elite.

"I’m just accompanying my uncle. He was invited by Chief Ambar," Jett replied.

"Your uncle?" Gara’s eyes lit up. He instinctively leaned closer to Jett. "Where is he?"

"There." Jett pointed with his chin toward a group of people not far from them.

Among the group was a short, middle-aged man with pointed ears and a long beard. Gara immediately recognized him as Jett’s uncle.

The man noticed someone watching him. He turned and found his nephew standing beside a young human boy with black hair who was smiling at him. He gave a brief nod in acknowledgment.

Meanwhile, Gara was so excited he unintentionally ignored Jett.

"Do you want me to call him over?" Jett asked, understanding perfectly.

Gara quickly shook his head. "Later."

’There’s no way I can call him over while he’s having a serious discussion with those high-ranking people.’

Jett nodded, then switched the topic. "Chief Ambar’s project isn’t fully finished yet, right?"

"What makes you think that?" Gara didn’t answer immediately.

"Because that’s usually how it goes. A grand celebration like this is the perfect place to look for exclusive buyers," Jett said casually.

"Is that so?"

Jett nodded, letting his gaze sweep across the restaurant. "Most of the guests today are business people. I bet they’ve already prepared their offers."

Gara chose not to comment. No matter the world, everything still revolved around money.

’I just hope the elves scattered everywhere can get access to this formula. They’re the ones who need it the most,’ Gara thought.

He scanned the room again —different races, different faces— but not a single elf.

"Why aren’t there any elves?" he muttered aloud without noticing.

Jett let out a quiet sigh. "Even if the fertility elixir works great for elves, they’re not the main market, right?"

"The main market?" Gara repeated. All this time, he had helped the project while thinking about Fian, Healer Idris, and Headmaster Asta.

"There are too few elves who could afford it. The main buyers will be devils."

Jett’s words reminded Gara that devils also struggled with fertility. They simply had very high passion when it came to intimacy.

Instantly, Gara’s face turned red as memories of last year with Langga flashed in his mind. He shook his head quickly.

Their conversation paused when a middle-aged man approached them, Jett’s uncle. Gara immediately greeted him politely.

"Nice to meet you. I’m Weldon Forgearsly, Jett’s uncle. A pleasure, Gara, the alchemy genius." The gnome extended his hand.

Being called a genius made Gara a little embarrassed. He introduced himself in return.

"I know you’ve been wanting to meet me for a while. Sorry I only had time now."

Gara shook his head quickly, feeling guilty. He had expected someone as talented as Weldon to be gruff or temperamental, like the dwarves in fantasy stories he used to read.

Or at least someone like Jett, who was so indifferent he didn’t even care when someone was hurt right in front of him.

"If possible and if Sir Weldon has the time, I’d like to commission the same device you have in the lab." Gara didn’t bother with small talk. He couldn’t afford to waste a person’s valuable time.

"Oh? You’re quite ambitious, aren’t you? That device took years to complete," Weldon said, stroking his beard.

"Years?" Gara instantly deflated.

But then he remembered, he actually had an idea on how to recreate the device using principles of modern-world physics.

The problem was that it never worked out because he couldn’t adapt it to the technology of this world.

’Maybe Sir Weldon would understand the right adjustments?’

"Sir Weldon, what if we do it like this..." Gara began explaining his idea.

From the side, Jett tried listening to Gara’s explanation, which quickly turned into an intense discussion between his classmate and his uncle.

At first, he could still follow along, but gradually, they veered into principles that even he —someone with a construction-type Talent— couldn’t visualize.

Honestly, he was shocked. In class, Gara looked like a pretty boy who barely did anything, surrounded by people who were always willing to do things for him.

Even after learning that Gara was secretly a genius, that genius was supposed to be limited to herbs and alchemy.

Mechanical principles? There was no way Gara understood those. Or so he thought.

Yet now he was the one completely lost. Maybe it was time to rewrite what he thought he knew about Gara.

Their discussion had to end when Ambar approached them.

"I wanted to introduce you two, but I guess geniuses were bound to meet anyway," Ambar said with a bright smile.

It was obvious she was happy, whether because her project proposal was going well or because she simply enjoyed seeing them talk.

"Chief Ambar, forgive me for being so busy lately. If I had known Gara understood mechanical principles, I would’ve abandoned my previous work just to meet him sooner," Weldon said.

Ambar blinked in surprise, then shook her head. "No, meeting now is just right."

"But Sir Weldon, I’ll borrow Gara for a moment."

Ambar brought Gara over to a group of elite businessmen.

"I’ve already heard about Alrova. The distribution license for Nozama is held by another merchant house, correct? I’m interested in acquiring the distribution rights for Alrova products in Palapa Mount," said a red-skinned devil with two horns, offering a business proposal.

Gara instinctively glanced at Ambar, and the alchemist association chief gave him a knowing smile.

Gara immediately realized that the problem Alrova faced, the one he had told Aura about, had already reached Ambar’s ears. And now Ambar was introducing him to influential people.

Gara really wanted to thank her, but for now, he focused on the person in front of him.

Everyone who wanted to collaborate, he directed to Hilda. Gara was confident his manager would handle everything flawlessly.

’...I should probably give Hilda a raise,’ he muttered inwardly.

After the business introductions, Ambar also introduced Gara to several senior alchemists he had never met at the association.

"Not bad at all. Want to be my apprentice?" An old gnome with a long white beard eyed Gara from head to toe.

Ambar immediately stepped forward, blocking his view. "Elder, Gara is already far too busy working with me."

The old gnome snorted and walked off.

"That sly old man! He’s always trying to steal talented youngsters," Ambar grumbled.

Gara remembered what Jett and Miki had said about the rivalry between humans and gnomes within the alchemist association. He decided not to comment.

Ambar went on to greet a few more people. Once Gara felt the introductions were finally over, he excused himself to "get some snacks."

In truth, he just wanted to escape.

Of course, the person he looked for was Jett.

"A lot happened to you, huh?" Jett guessed.

Gara nodded, unaware that the mental exhaustion was written all over his face.

"You don’t need to overthink things. Just be polite. Don’t overdo it," Jett advised.

Gara glanced at him. ’Is he telling me to act like him? Or is he acting extra indifferent because he’s tired of dealing with things like this?’

He didn’t get to think it through, because noisy commotion suddenly came from the entrance.

"What’s going on?" Jett stopped a passing waiter heading that way.

"Someone who wasn’t invited tried to get in. But there’s no need to worry, young master."

The waiter hurried off.

Jett and Gara exchanged looks. Who would dare stir trouble at a celebration hosted by the chief of the alchemist association?

Just like the waiter said, they didn’t need to worry. The disturbance died down within a few minutes.

Jett stopped another waiter. "How’s the situation?"

"It’s been handled, young master."

"And who was making the commotion?"

Before the waiter could answer, voices from nearby guests drifted over, saying a name both Gara and Jett knew well.

Rucian.

"Assistant Professor Rucian?" Gara exclaimed.

"Looks like he still hasn’t given up on crawling his way back into the capital city’s elite circle," Jett clicked his tongue.

"What is he even chasing? Isn’t he just asking for trouble showing his face while the scandal is still hot?" Gara couldn’t wrap his head around it.

"No idea. But maybe he thinks that failing to get back into the elite circle is as good as death," Jett said with a shrug.

Gara didn’t agree, but he knew some people did think that way.

Meanwhile, Rucian’s arrival didn’t disrupt the negotiations for the fertility formula at all.

"Sir Eli, if you expect Alterian House to pay that amount when we’re not even planning to sell it, we’ll be at a loss," said a human man in his fifties, trying to bargain.

"We at Rolion Merchant House don’t care what Alterian House plans to use it for, but isn’t it only fair that the price remains the same?"

...