kscans

Chapter 107 - The Great? Inheritance - 3. The Alchemist's Belongings

"This is the place. He used to live here."

Saying so, the man dispatched from the Commerce Guild led Yuri and the others into a room. It was by no means a small hut, but due to the various items scattered about inside, it felt smaller than it actually was.

"So, that person lived here…"

Seeing Yuri’s deeply moved expression, the man from the Commerce Guild wore a complex look. From what he had heard from the villagers, the man who lived here was a third-rate alchemist who was by no means skilled. He was not someone who deserved to be called "that person." He was old, and he had died quite suddenly from a common cold. The man had been dispatched to sort out the belongings of the old alchemist, who apparently had no relatives… but there was far more junk than he had imagined, and he had been worried whether auctioning it off would even cover the funeral costs. Just then, a child carrying a letter of introduction from a powerful merchant in Laurenzen had shown up, saying he wanted to take all of the belongings. He suspected there might be something behind it, but that was none of his business. He had received no new instructions from the guild, and for him, it was enough to be rid of the junk.

"We have received payment, so you may do as you please with everything. If there is anything you do not need, you may leave it as it is, and we will dispose of it."

"Understood. Thank you for showing us the way."

"No, this is my job."

After bowing and parting with the staff member, Yuri turned his hopeful eyes to his newly acquired "treasure."

"Hey, hey Yuri-kun, it’s not my place to say, and I know it’s too late now, but… it really looks like everything here is just junk…"

"It really is too late now…"

"You’re supposed to say something like that before he pays…"

"Shut up! Yuri-kun paid the fee before I could say anything, so it couldn’t be helped!"

That was right. As soon as Yuri arrived at the village office, he presented the letter of introduction from Adon to the man dispatched from the Commerce Guild and bought everything on the spot with cash. There was no room for negotiation or advice.

"No, to me, this is a mountain of treasure. I don’t even know what kind of tools or materials are used in alchemy, to begin with. But here, there seems to be a full set of tools, materials, and even textbooks."

"Textbooks?"

Yuri’s gaze was directed at a collection of books with titles like "An Outline of Alchemy," "The Essentials of Alchemy," "Alchemy You Can Do," and "Now You Too Can Be an Alchemist!" In this world, with letterpress printing still undeveloped, all books were handwritten manuscripts and therefore quite expensive. Judging from the fact that the handwriting on all these books was the same, it seemed likely that the resident of this hut had transcribed them himself. However, they were all worn to shreds, so it was questionable whether other alchemists would be interested… or to put it bluntly, whether they would sell.

"Are you planning to become an alchemist, Yuri?"

"Of course not. If I had any such intention, I would simply look for an apprenticeship. What I’m interested in is what I can do through self-study. Even something of that level, there’s a world of difference between knowing it and not knowing it."

"But still, isn’t it a waste to pay that much money for just that?"

Yuri shook his head firmly at Fray, who asked doubtfully.

"In the area around my village, every little bit of skill is indispensable for survival. It’s not a location where I can expect help from others…"

Indeed, if it was Salt-Sour Mountain, then certainly… the members of "Lucky Footsteps" were thoroughly convinced. Normally, one would give up on such a place without a second thought, but judging from the goods Yuri had brought with him, it was also a fact that the place was too valuable to abandon.

"The price wasn’t unaffordable, and there’s nothing more valuable than life."

The party had no choice but to nod at Yuri’s words. It was true that even a semblance of alchemy could be useful in many cases. And besides…

("It’s Yuri, after all.")

("...That homemade potion of his was incredibly effective, wasn’t it….")

("The guys from ‘Red Sandstorm’ were practically dead, and it brought them back…")

("He’ll probably end up mastering alchemy too… in some unexpected direction…")

("Yeah, in an unexpected direction….")