Exiled Alchemist’s Frontier Life: A Former Elite’s Fresh Start in the Backcountry After Failing Again - Chapter 8:First day at work
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- Exiled Alchemist’s Frontier Life: A Former Elite’s Fresh Start in the Backcountry After Failing Again
- Chapter 8:First day at work
“Zeke- Sama, wake up… It’s morning.”
I opened my eyes to see Helen-chan playfully batting at the blanket with her paws.
“Come on, get in here.”
I lifted the blanket, inviting her.
“Meow! It’s so warm… wait, no! It’s your first day at work!”
Helen-chan happily snuggled into the blanket but quickly corrected herself.
“I know, I know. I’m getting up.”
I pushed the blanket aside and sat up. Helen-chan skillfully opened the curtains, letting the morning sunlight flood into the room.
“It’s a refreshing morning. Perfect for the start of your new life, Zeke-sama.”
“Yeah, it’s going to be tough, but I’ll just focus on what I can do.”
After getting up, I took a quick shower and ate breakfast. Once I was ready, we checked out of the hotel and started walking towards the branch office.
It took us a few minutes to get there, and when we finally arrived in front of the building, I looked up at it.
“After hearing yesterday’s story, this place looks even more run-down.”
It wasn’t that old, but somehow it gave off that impression.
“Even with you included, there are only four people here, right?”
“Yeah…”
I opened the entrance door and walked in. As expected, there was no one around, and the reception desk was empty.
“Leaving the reception unmanned is pretty bad.”
The reception is the face of the office. If it’s always like this, people would start doubting whether it’s even functioning.
“Well, there is a bell here to call someone.”
Yeah, I see that…
“Whatever, let’s head to the workshop.”
“We should at least say hello first.”
“Fine.”
Nodding, I went up the stairs and arrived at the workshop. Erika was already there, so I walked over to her.
“Good morning.”
I greeted her as I sat down next to her.
“Good morning! It’s such a nice day today!”
Erika smiled brightly. She seemed genuinely happy to have someone there with her.
“Yeah, it’s a perfect day for a first day at work. Let’s do our best from today.”
“Yes, let’s work hard together!”
Erika gave a polite bow.
“Erika, let’s start by thinking about what we need to do going forward.”
“Yes, but first, let me explain our current tasks.”
“Go ahead.”
“Currently, we have three orders.”
Three? That’s not much…
“What are they?”
“We need to deliver 30 potions to the military, 100 graph paper sheets to the town hall, and 50 bricks.”
That’s… underwhelming.
“Couldn’t they have just asked a civilian alchemist for these? Oh, no… this is more like they’re giving us work out of pity.”
“Any orders from private clients?”
“None. We haven’t had a single request for months.”
As expected…
About 80% of the alchemist guild’s jobs come from public institutions, but we should still have at least some private orders. Having none means this branch is basically dead.
“Got it. What’s the deadline and progress?”
“All are due this month, so we have 10 days left. The bricks are almost done, and we’re currently working on the potions. As for the graph paper… I’ve never made it before.”
She’s still new, and on top of that…
I glanced around at the equipment in the workshop.
“We only have outdated machines here. Nowadays, making graph paper is as simple as pressing a button.”
With modern machines, it would only take a few minutes once you load the materials.
“I know those machines exist, but we don’t have anything like that here. The cutting-edge equipment is only found in big cities like the capital.”
I see. So we’ll be using old methods. The last time I did that was back in school.
“Alright. I’ll handle the graph paper. Erika, focus on finishing the potions.”
“Understood!”
At least we should be able to get these current tasks done.
“Now, we need to decide how to improve this branch. Erika, are you aware that these jobs are essentially the town mayor’s way of throwing us a lifeline?”
“Wait, really?”
She hadn’t noticed… Well, Erika has been too busy managing everything on her own to realize.
“Yes. Without these requests, the branch would collapse. It’s in the town’s and the guild’s interest to keep it running, so they’ve been giving us these small jobs to keep us afloat.”
Typically, when an alchemist branch is down to two people, it’s over. Especially when both are low-ranked like us. But they must be hoping this is only a temporary situation.
“I… I had no idea. Why is that?”
“They can’t just let the branch close. If it did, the town would be at the mercy of private merchants. Prices would likely skyrocket because unlike us, they prioritise profit over the town’s well-being.”
That’s only natural.
“I-I see…”
Looks like I lost her somewhere along the way. Maybe my explanation was a bit too complicated?
“Well, it’s not really our job to worry about that. The branch manager—no, the town mayor or the main guild headquarters will handle it. We just need to focus on rebuilding this branch.”
“Right! What should we do first?”
“It’s obvious. We’re short on people.”
That’s our biggest issue.
“Yeah… Even with Leonora, it’s only the three of us.”
“The branch manager gave us permission to scout new members freely. Erica, do you know any alchemists who might be interested?”
“My classmates from magic school mostly moved to the city for jobs. Those who stayed are tied up with family businesses, so it’s impossible to recruit them. What about you, Zeke-sama? You were in the capital, right?”
Hmm…
“Scouting anyone from the capital would be difficult.”
“Huh?”
“We’ll think about it later. First, let’s focus on the tasks at hand. I need to make the graph paper. Do we have the wood for it?”
“Yes, it’s upstairs.”
Right, the third floor is the storage.
“I’ll go get it.”
I stood up and headed for the stairs.
“Um, take care… Did I upset him?”
“No, it’s just…”
As I left to gather the materials, I overheard Erika and Helen-chan whispering