I'm an alchemist. I've dumped self-restraint into the trash

“This… really is just studying, isn’t it?”

“I did say that we’d be studying, didn’t I?”

Currently, a huge pile of illustrations regarding different medicinal herbs, as well as documents containing explanations relating to them were in front of Daisy. All of them belonged to Raith.

Daisy looked down at them with a doubtful expression, but the information recorded in the documents were all very valuable. If she complained, she’d surely pay for it.

By the way, Raith had actually used these documents, too. His teacher had shown them to him and then taken him on a hell tour to harvest the real thing.

As a result, he had become unable to forget the information recorded in the documents. His true motivation was never wanting to go through that hell again.

In any case, knowledge was power for alchemists. There was nothing to complain about.

“But, I wonder, can I really improve my alchemy just by memorizing these? In that case, I would think that repeatedly using alchemy would improve it more, though…” Daisy said, even more skeptical.

Raith thought about this situation, then started walking around the room. This was the room that Raith worked in during his first request, and herbs were stored here.

Raith picked out a single herb out of more than a dozen types.

He concluded that, for Daisy, showing her might be better than explaining.

“Do you know what this is?”

“…Are you making fun of me? …It’s ramweed. It’s an herb that’s mainly used for hemostasis, and this effect is produced by mashing it and spreading it on the affected area… Am I mistaken?”

“Yeah, that’s correct,” Raith nodded in satisfaction. “We alchemists improve that hemostasis effect through alchemy and create potions capable of healing wounds.”

Raith activated his alchemy skill and produced a potion in a few seconds. Then, he took out another ramweed and handed it to Daisy.

“Anyway, try making one.”

“…Alright,” she sighed.

Daisy spent several minutes creating the same potion.

They lined up the two completed bottles in front of them.

“Try taking a look at them with Analyze.”

Daisy obediently activated Analyze. She ascertained the quality of the two potions, and the result caused her to grind her teeth.

“Your potion is high grade… and mine is middle grade.”

“Well, ramweed is an herb with a low effect to start with, so that’s about right. …Now, do you know what the difference between mine and yours is?”

“No, I don’t…” Daisy said, as if pouting.

Raith looked at her and smiled wryly.

“There’s only one big difference between mine and yours. It’s whether or not you’re using your imagination during the ‘refinement’ process.”

“Imagination…?”

“Yeah. For example, when you’re building a house, you need blueprints, right? If you don’t understand the blueprints – or, in other words, the final product – beforehand, you cannot create something with a high level of perfection. Alchemy is no exception.

“Therefore,” Raith continued, “as an alchemist, you can think of your knowledge as blueprints. Make sure to imagine what kind of components those herbs contain and what kind of effect it’ll have on the human body, and the effect will be refined. It may be difficult, but that’s how I do it.”

It sounded easy when said out loud, but it was rather difficult. After all, you needed to memorize not just the types of herbs, but their components and the effect they had on the human body, and recollect all the information from your mind.

“Well, no matter what you’re doing, studying is essential. Keep at it.”

“…Understood.”

In contrast to Raith’s wide smile, Daisy had a dispirited look on her face. Looking at the documents piled up in front of her, she let out a deep sigh.

***

“Long time no see, or maybe it hasn’t been long enough to say that?” Sylvia said bashfully with her beautiful white hair swaying gently.

Currently, Raith was once again visiting Laffy’s house. It was getting close to dinner time. Raith had just completed the request at Daisy’s place.

The reason for Raith’s visit wasn’t because he had requested it or anything along those lines, it was because Sylvia, whose health had been improving, wanted to thank him – or so he’d been told.

It seemed that the elixir was proving to be decently effective against Sylvia’s illness, to the extent that even Raith, as the person who made said elixir, was delighted.

“You’re right, it has only been a few days.”

“I heard the whole story from my sister. You became an adventurer, right?”

“Technically, but all I’ve been doing is alchemy, so I’m an adventurer in name only, though…”

“Hehe, it seems that way,” Sylvia giggled.

‘I wonder if she included the part about Daisy fainting, too?’ Raith thought, feeling a bit shy.

“So, how’ve things been lately, Raith?” Laffy asked, showing up dressed in an apron. Normally, you could say that she could only be seen in her armor, dressed for battle, so Raith felt refreshed.

Laffy had her long red hair tied up in a bun in the back of her head, and carried a large pot with both hands.

Her domestic appearance suited her lovely figure, and Raith unintentionally ended up staring at her, captivated.

“Hm? Is something wrong?” Laffy called out to Raith, suspicious of his continued silence, and Raith nervously laughed it off.

“N- no, I was just thinking, it’s rare to see you in an apron.”

“I- I do happen to be a woman…!”

“Ah… I, uh… sorry.”

“Don’t apologize!”

Laffy’s face turned red with anger, and Raith avoided her gaze. Sylvia watched this exchange between the two and let out a small laugh.

“Oh, forget it… More importantly, let’s eat dinner before it gets cold.”

“Right, sorry.”

“Nee-san, sorry for leaving all the work to you.”

“It’s fine. After all, you’re our guest today, Raith, and Sylvia, you still aren’t exactly in perfect condition,” Laffy said, taking her apron off and sitting down on her chair.

The three of them gave thanks for the food lined up in front of them and started eating.

“—So, Raith, what have you been up to lately?”

“Hmm, other than teaching Daisy alchemy, I don’t really have anything going on.”

“…Just a thought, but your client isn’t going to turn out like you, right…?” Laffy fearfully blurted the question out, and Raith couldn’t help but smirk.

“If she wants to be on the same level as me, I think it’d take decades at this rate.”

Remembering Daisy’s lifeless eyes, he sympathized with her. Raith had been down that road once before, so he knew all too well how difficult it was.

Raith was overcome with nostalgia, and Sylvia looked at him with a curious expression.

“Now that you mention it, Raith-san, is your alchemy self-taught?”

“No, I had a teacher,” Raith declared with great reluctance, his face turning sour.

In the first place, the fact that Raith had mastered alchemy at this age was strongly influenced by his teacher. Their insanely strict, rigorous training had greatly improved Raith’s alchemy.

“What kind of person are they?” Sylvia asked excitedly, her eyes sparkling with curiosity.

Raith, on the other hand, had a dark expression.

“If I had to describe them in one word, they’re hopeless.”

“…Huh?”

“They never cook, clean, do laundry or any kind of housework, they’re reckless with spending, they’re a violent drunk, a brute, a weirdo, and a completely useless person,” Raith listed off in rapid succession, asserting that his own teacher was hopeless. There was something a bit like rage in his eyes.

“Th- they must be really awful for you to go that far…”

“Yeah, I want to avoid them as much as possible,” Raith emphatically nodded in agreement with Laffy’s slightly relenting comment.

From here on, they exchanged trivial small talk and enjoyed their dinner. The food Laffy made was top notch, and Raith was incredibly satisfied.

Then, it was about time to leave.

Sylvia and Laffy lined up next to each other and lowered their heads.

“Raith-san, thank you so much.”

“Me too. Thanks so much for saving my little sister.”

“If my elixir saved Syliva, that makes me happier than anything,” Raith said, laughing in embarrassment.

Listening to Raith’s words in admiration, a gentle smile appeared on both of their faces.

“Then, let’s call it a day. Let’s do this again sometime.”

“Right.”

“Yeah!”