It’s been a while, Renant!
As soon as I returned, I headed straight to Alesia ‘s stall. Alesia and Chiara were happily working together, just like usual.
“I’m home, Alesia , Chiara! I had a huge harvest, I managed to gather a lot of herbs!”
“Welcome back, Iriya -san. I’m glad you’re safe. So, the intermediate potions…?”
“Of course, I can make them. The Elf Forest has so many different herbs growing there.”
“Hey, Iriya Onee-chan… did you get caught by a thief or something?”
How does she know this?! Chiara is staring at me with a suspicious look.
“Well… I might have let my guard down a little.”
“I knew it was you, Iriya -san! I heard rumors that an adventurer said a demon destroyed the thieves…!”
“…It was Lord Belial. He destroyed everything and saved me…”
““Wait, he saved you!?””
I knew they would think that!
“It was because he knew you would cast Protection, wasn’t it?”
Belial said this with a cool expression. As expected of the Demon King. He shows no sign of guilt at all.
I also talked about meeting elves, getting a bounty, working at the Radislav Magic Workshop, and making new friends.
After chatting, I left the stall and headed for the commercial guild to rent a potion-making facility.
I’ve rented a few times before, so I’m pretty used to it now.
At the reception, I checked with the usual woman with blue hair, and it turns out there’s an open day tomorrow. This means I can make a lot of potions!
“It’s available, but are you sure you’re okay with a whole day… won’t you get tired?”
She seems concerned. She’s a kind person and always treats me kindly.
“No problem, I enjoy item crafting and research, so I’m actually looking forward to it.”
“…Wouldn’t it be better if you owned a house?”
Suddenly, Belial asked this. If I had a place to live, I could make potions there every day. I could even do magic infusion.
Since I’ve been saving money and it feels awkward to keep renting places, maybe it’s a good idea.
“Iriya -sama, it seems like you’d be able to gather enough funds soon. If you do, please consult with our guild; we can introduce you to properties, including rentals.”
“That sounds fortunate. I would like to consult with you soon.”
“That’s settled then! Prepare a palace worthy of me!”
Now Belial is asking for something outrageous again… but I’m starting to think he might be serious. I’ve heard he lives in a palace in Hell, surrounded by moats with fire instead of water, and his subordinates manage it.
“I… I’m afraid there’s no palace available…”
“I’m sorry, please don’t mind it. As long as I can make items, a small house would be sufficient.”
“By the way… I’ve been curious about this for a while, but who exactly is this Lord Belial?”
The receptionist asked me in a quiet voice. It’s true that we often hang out together, but we don’t look like family, and his behavior is more like a bodyguard. The mention of a palace is also strange, so it’s only natural to wonder.
“He’s the demon I made a contract with. Because of that, he has a bit of a different sense of things compared to humans…”
“That’s why! This is such a hassle!!”
Suddenly, I heard a man yelling in the distance.
Apparently, at a nearby shop, someone had paid for a bracelet with water attribute enhancement magic, but it was almost ineffective. When he tried to complain to the shop, two bodyguard-like men appeared and threatened him to stop making trouble.
What a terrible shop! I had heard that the guild would help with troubles like this, but even so, I feel bad for the guild staff.
“If you don’t mind, could you show me the bracelet?”
I called out to the man who was still shouting.
“Huh? What, are you going to fix it or something?”
“Yes, because shouting here won’t solve anything.”
“…You’re not in on the scam, are you?”
“Sir, this is Iriya -sama, a certified artisan from our guild. Her skills are guaranteed by the guild.”
The staff, who had been struggling with the shouting man, explained about me. The man, still suspicious, handed over the bracelet.
“…This is a waste of an aquamarine. It’s better not to have any magic applied at all. This is terribly careless work. Leave it to me.”
“See? I told you it was bad! …Can you fix it?”
I noticed the pentagram plate that was also displayed with the stone. That’s useful too.
“Of course. You want to enhance the water attribute, right?”
“Yeah. She said she wanted a strong charm that enhances water magic.”
“I understand. A charm specifically focused on enhancing water attributes. With this stone and the plate, it’s possible.”
Ah, so it’s for a gift for her. He must have been struggling to buy it.
Now that I think about it, I’ve never really been in a relationship before.
I borrowed a table and took out the magic circle drawn on paper.
The man sat down in a nearby chair, and the guild staff and other customers who had been listening to the commotion were now watching us.
“Belial-sama, could you engrave this character here?”
When I showed Belial the design on the paper, he made a reluctant face.
“…You want me to do this? A demon like me?”
“Please, I don’t know anyone else who could do it.”
“You’re the one acting more like a demon here.”
He really doesn’t want to do it. I need to find a good jeweler soon.
When Belial waved his hand over the plate, a thin smoke rose, as if being summoned.
Then, as if writing smoothly with a pen, characters were engraved around the pentagram.
The words representing the sacred name of God, TETRAGRAMMATON.
I decided against using the actual holy four-letter name. That would get me in trouble.
I intended to turn this into a talisman, an enhanced version of the amulet.
After engraving the characters, Belial lightly clenched his hand, as if grabbing something towards the aquamarine. I felt the magic that had been imbued fading away.
“Thank you. Still, this is a rather poorly settled enchantment.”
“I don’t even feel the power of mana. It’s a rather shoddy job.”
The man who had been so fired up earlier now quietly watched the situation. I could tell that the nearby merchants and craftsmen were observing too.
It’s uncomfortable, but there’s no helping it. I can’t afford to fail in this situation. I need to focus all my attention on the work.
After purifying the plate and aquamarine, I started chanting the spell.
“Come from the bed of Apsu, holy waters that sleep in the deep of the sea. Awaken from the dream of fleeting bubbles, and raise a temple here.”
First, I cast a spell to enhance the water magic effect on the aquamarine. Then, I fashioned the plate into a magical effect-boosting talisman and created a symbiotic relationship between the two.
“O holy Adonai, hear my voice. Blessings of the heavens, grace of the earth, the tireless work of water.”
“That spell… It’s not an amulet, it’s a talisman, isn’t it?!”
“Eh? But can you really make one here, so quickly?”
“Normally, you’d prepare and do it carefully! I was surprised by Belial-sama earlier, but Iriya -sama is amazing!”
The receptionists were gossiping. Even the merchants and craftsmen, who probably had their own business to attend to, were ignoring it to watch my enchantment.
I traced the pentagram with my finger.
“Let the laws of the universe reflect within this talisman. Light of enlightenment, rainbow of dawn, may it repel all evil, containing both power and virtue. Grant me the way to control the inner waves.”
The plate was enveloped in white light. It’s done!
“…Yes! It’s complete. This is a talisman that enhances water attributes.”
I exhaled and offered the freshly completed talisman to the man.
“A… Talisman…?”
“When you say strong talisman, isn’t it this? I’ve added a strong water attribute enhancement to the gem, and magic enhancement to the plate, so I think it should work well.”
The man hesitated to take it for some reason. Even though I had thoroughly enchanted the gem to its limit, he seemed uncertain. The people around were murmuring.
“…Well, I thought you would do it. Is it good? Iriya , this person didn’t want ‘strong talisman effects.’ He wanted a ‘strong attribute effect,’ similar to a talisman.”
For some reason, Belial started lecturing.
“…What do you mean by that?”
“You’ve overdone it. That’s why he’s confused.”
“Eh?! Then… what should I do?”
“Hey, what happened? It’s been noisy and then suddenly quiet…”
“Oh, Guild Master!”
The door at the back opened, and a middle-aged man with glasses appeared. He seemed to have noticed something was different.
The man called the Guild Master came over to our table, guided by the receptionist, and after hearing the situation, he told us to come to his office.
The Guild Master looked at the talisman and aquamarine I had enchanted and praised them greatly. Then he said that I should receive payment for my work. It seems the man had hesitated to accept the bracelet because he thought it would cost a lot.
“No, I don’t really want money…”
As I was troubled, the Guild Master touched the talisman, as if verifying something.
“This is a high-level enchantment. Since many people have witnessed it, it would be bad to do it for free. Some might ask for free work.”
He added that he had seen some people who might ask for it.
It was a blind spot. Indeed, doing it for free for one person might be unfair.
“…So, here, no one is watching. For now, accept some payment, and you can say it was a high cost later.”
“Eh? Is that okay?”
The man blinked in surprise. I see, that’s why he brought us to a private room!
“Yes, well… if I could at least get enough for dinner, that would be enough.”
“You have no greed.”
The Guild Master smiled gently but with a slightly troubled expression.
Once the discussion was settled, the man happily left.
After receiving the payment, I thanked the Guild Master and was about to leave when he suddenly remembered and asked what I had come for today. I told him I wanted to rent a facility to make potions and that I would come the day after tomorrow to register. He asked me to let him know when I came, as he wanted to see the completed products.
