Exiled Alchemist’s Frontier Life: A Former Elite’s Fresh Start in the Backcountry After Failing Again - Chapter 13: Emergency Request?
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- Exiled Alchemist’s Frontier Life: A Former Elite’s Fresh Start in the Backcountry After Failing Again
- Chapter 13: Emergency Request?
“Next, we’ll go to the military office. This way.”
Erika-San walks left again, so I follow her.
“Just to confirm, do you always deliver directly each time?”
“There’s no one here, and I feel awkward asking them to come pick it up.”
I’d probably just tell them to come pick it up… but since this is a favour, Erika-San approach makes sense.
We walk and arrive at a two-story building, smaller than the office.
“Is this the place?”
“Yes, this is where we handle the paperwork.”
Erika nods and enters the office, and we follow her inside. The office isn’t very large; there are only a few people at the reception and no visitors. I guess not many people come to the military office. But still, it’s better than ours.
“Lutz-kun!”
Erika greets a brown-haired man at the reception with a friendly tone.
“Hmm? Erika-San?”
The man stands up and walks over to us. He’s tall and has a good-looking face. Could he be her boyfriend?
“Ohayo.”
“Oh,Ohayo. And this is?”
“Lutz-kun, this is my colleague,Zeke-San, who just arrived yesterday.”
“I see… I am Lutz Rintner, a soldier in this town. Nice to meet you.”
Lutz-San extends his hand, and I shake it.
“I’m Zekevald Alexander. Rintner-San, huh?”
Wasn’t Erika-San also a Rintner?
“Ah, we’re cousins.”
I see… That’s why she was so casual with him.
“Lutz-kun, I brought the potions for delivery.”
Eerika-San places the bag on the counter.
“Ah, that was quick… Please, take them out so I can check.”
Erika-San starts pulling out the potions from the bag, and Lutz-Kun examines each one.
“They all seem to be of good quality. Just a moment, let me get the paperwork.”
Lutz-kun goes to the back room.
“That’s a relief… I wasn’t very confident about the potions.”
“Is that so? I checked them in the warehouse, and there were no issues. Same with the bricks.”
“Making potions and such is Lenora-san’s specialty, so I’ve always left it to him. I’m good at making things like bricks.”
Ah… I noticed she struggled with chemistry during our studies yesterday.
“Of course, it’s ideal to be able to do everything, but if you have team members, it’s not bad to divide the work.”
“Yes… But having only three team members is the problem.”
True… It’s really something that needs to be sorted out quickly.
As we speak in low voices, I see Lutz-Kun coming back from the room with a man who has a pompous demeanour and a moustache.
“…Noble, huh?”
“…Major Esmaruh.”
A major, huh… That’s a bit higher rank.
“Sorry to keep you waiting, Erika-San. Could you sign here?”
Lutz-Kun places a document on the counter and indicates where to sign. Erika-San signs it.
“Thank you. Now, regarding the next request…”
Lutz-Kun glances at the major.
“Ahem… Thank you for your hard work on this request. The quality of the potions is satisfactory.”
The major, with his arms crossed, speaks in an authoritative manner.
“Ah, thank you very much.”
Erika bows and thanks him, clearly nervous.
“Now, we’d like to order about 100 magic stones.”
“Magic stones… What’s the deadline?”
“One week.”
Huh?
“One week? That’s a bit…”
“Is it difficult? This is an urgent request.”
“Well, you see… right now, we’re short-staffed.”
“Then that’s fine. If it’s impossible, we’ll rely on civilians, and if you can’t handle urgent requests, we’ll reconsider our future dealings.”
Ah… Erika-San can’t manage this.
“Erika-San, let me handle this.”
I place a hand on Erika’s shoulder.
“Eh? Oh, please.”
Erika hesitantly steps back, and I step forward.
“And you are?”
“I’m Zekevald Alexander, newly assigned to the Reet branch as of yesterday. Nice to meet you.”
“Hmm… A newcomer finally.”
Not exactly a newcomer, though.
“Yes. Regarding the request, I’d like to clarify a few things. Is that alright?”
“Of course.”
“First, I understand this is an urgent request with a one-week deadline. This seems overly urgent. Is there a pressing need for these magic stones? I’d like to understand the reason.”
“The reason is confidential.”
Well, I expected that.
“But, I’d like to ask this. Does this involve the town’s survival? Receiving 100 magic stones suddenly makes me wonder if there’s a war or something.”
Magic stones are used as boosters for magic and are often found in wands used by mages.
“No, nothing like that. It’s just a simple drill. I can’t provide details, but the schedule is tight.”
They could just adjust the schedule. This feels like deliberate trouble.
“I see. Understood. Also, given this is an urgent request and only one week, the cost will be significantly higher. Are you okay with that?”
“How much are we talking about?”
“It will roughly double the usual cost. 2 million El.”
The major frowns at my response.
“Isn’t that too high?”
“That’s the nature of urgent requests. Especially with 100 magic stones in just one week. It’s expensive. If you don’t like it, you can ask civilians. They’ll charge even more.”
Hopefully, it’s just double.
“Civilians would be even more expensive.”
“Are you really able to provide them? Failure is not an option.”
Despite clearly hoping for failure.
“I can provide for them. But, on the other hand, can you supply the magic stones?”
The raw material for magic stones is magic crystals.
“Are you asking us to provide them?”
“Of course. Do you think we have 100 magic crystals in stock? If you want us to source the materials, we’ll have to charge extra, including market rates. And since this is urgent, the cost will be higher.”
The major’s expression grows more stern.
“…Alright. We’ll prepare them.”
“Then, please deliver them by the end of today.”
“By today? That’s impossible.”
Huh?
“Why? This is an urgent request, so gather people if necessary and get it done. Or is this level of urgency too much? If so, I suggest extending the deadline.”
“…Lutz-kun, arrange for it.”
Throwing it on his subordinate.
“Please include an appraisal certificate. We’ll be making the magic stones from the crystals you provide. It would be problematic if the quality is deemed unsatisfactory later.”
Nobles often make trouble by questioning the quality later as a form of harassment.
“Lutz-kun, use any idle personnel you have.”
The major says this and hurriedly returns to his room.
“We don’t have any idle people…”
Lutz-kun mutters softly.
“You’re not fortunate with your superiors. Well, it’s like that, so I’ll rely on you. Erika, let’s head back.”
“Y-yes.”
We leave Lutz-kun behind with a frustrated look and exit the office.