TL: This will be the final non-ad chapter. The next update I make or before that, well, you might spot ads, unless you’re using ad-blocker or the likes…… Hopefully, ads will cover the cost of the server and pay for my coffee/artbooks so I don’t need to worry about that? I guess I’ll see how successful it is.
I hope you enjoyed the ad-free site for the 10-11 months, cough, maybe when I get a job I wouldn’t need to put in ads?
TL recap: The Alchemist teacher said, “OMFG, you’re such an amazing Alchemist, but you’re here to teach etiquette?”
Chapter 99 – The plan to start a shop
The sixty-year-old Alchemist teacher was someone with considerable fame in the Tobias Kingdom. Even though he did not have any special characteristics to his appearance and rarely showed up on the news and in public, there were quite a lot of people within the Alchemists circle who respected his name……
Of course, if it was outside the circle that might not be true. How many people would be able to name any president of MIT, for example?
There would not be many for sure.
And how many would be able to remember the name of any Grandmaster Alchemist?! There was still a number, but the number was just……
The so-called fame that one had did not mean everyone would look up to it. Even if the name was announced, everyone would go: “Wow— how amazing……”
……And?!
Then there was nothing after the ‘and’…..
Still, no matter what, there would be some kind of impact. The Alchemist teacher heard Sue, who was an alchemist that all alchemists should aspire to reach in their heart, was going to teach etiquette, which was a job that had no challenge.
Even before she could answer, he immediately complained about it: “How can you teach etiquette?! I understand, someone must be trying to make things difficult for you on purpose!”
“Erm……” Sue was a little conflicted. Could this be considered as making things difficult for her or not….. Even though she did not really care what she was going to teach, it was true that etiquette was indeed a subject which was more troublesome.
“Are they trying to suppress us Alchemists?!” The Alchemist teacher who had influence thought it was some kind of scheme.
[…… You’re overthinking things.]
“Come! I’ll bring you to the princ.i.p.al and get the problem of this schedule straightened out!” The Alchemist teacher straightened his back with righteous indignation, and remembered to negotiate with a condition: “But you must let me take a look at that artifact.”
“……”
Sue turned and walked away; there was truly no way to communicate with this person.
The Alchemist teacher jumped when he saw that Sue was about to leave: “It’s fine if I don’t see it, but can you at least tell me the materials to the recipe?! Or at least where you got it from? Or…… Hey! Please, let us barter! Don’t get angry, I didn’t say I wouldn’t help you if I didn’t see it…..” The old man was so hurt that he nearly shed tears.
Sue had no choice but to turn around: “I’m not angry, really……”
– I mean with your IQ, mine would be lowered too if I get angry.
“I actually think that the etiquette subject isn’t that bad. n.o.body is making things hard for me, and I’m actually a guest lecturer, so I should take a cla.s.s or two on that…..”
– So can you stop worrying about it, isn’t it exhausting for you to spend so much effort……
The Alchemist teacher listened carefully to the meaning behind the words, then took a look at her expression. Indeed, she did not look like she was holding in injustice, so he had no choice but to accept the situation.
He thought he could at least grant a favor to her and be repaid, but he did not expect Sue to be completely indifferent to it…… Fortunately, since she belonged to the same school there was the chance for them to meet up again……
The Alchemist teacher who had a defeated expression bid farewell after a while. But before Sue could find a nice place that allowed someone to destroy evidence and change back into her true loli self, she met up with another teacher.
Yup, she was familiar with this person….. Sort of. It was that male teacher who said she had a strong smell…… Based on her ability to remember people, she was indeed a vindictive person.
She smiled and nodded slightly, trying to act as if they did not know each other, but the male teacher stood in her way and frowned: “You have a familiar smell……”
“……” Sue looked up at the sky. Did this person have a dog’s nose?! This thought just appeared in her mind instantly.
[What do you mean by having a smell?!]
The same line was being used twice by the same person. Even if Sue was any slower in the head, she knew that there was something that made him act this way, or else he would not be so convinced.
Well, it might be possible that the male teacher’s way of hitting on girls was too lousy, and the only pick-up line he knew was this…… But this possibility was too low. At the very least, Sue had never seen him use this line on anyone else.
“What smell do you mean?!” Sue thought for a moment and finally asked patiently. The most important factor was that she was free and had nothing better to do……
The male teacher hesitated for a long time before he came up with a line: “….. The smell from the same clan.”
[Elf?!]
Sue did not have the time to be shocked and discovered there was something moving in his hair twice, and the next thing that happened was a pair of fluffy ears that sprang up…….
“…… You’re a Wolf-beastman?!”
“You’re really from the same clan?!” The adult werewolf’s eyes sparkled, and he smiled, revealing two sharp canines: “You’re also a werewolf?! (TL: Still a better love story than Twilight.)
Come to think of it, he had also met a girl who had the same smell from his clan. He wondered if she was also a werewolf.
“……” Sue shook her head quietly and took out a fang in her pocket that she always stashed away: “I have the fang from Ash…… who’s the current leader of the Wolf-beastmen. That familiar smell you’re talking about might be this.”
The Werewolf was immediately disappointed. His fluffy ears trembled once and slowly and obediently tucked down beneath his hair: “So it’s that little kid, Ash.” The pitch of his voice went up: “Why would he give his fang to you?! Have you seen him? When? Where?”
“May I know if you’re……” Sue chucked the fang back into her clothes and looked at the Werewolf puzzledly and said after a pause: “Ash’s dad?!”
“…….” The Werewolf gritted his teeth and tried hard to resist the two mouthfuls of blood that was about to spew out from his throat: “We’re just from the same clan!”
“Oh……” Sue nodded to show she understood.
People from the same city would feel a particular kinship in a foreign state, people from the same country would feel a particular kinship in a different country, people with the same skin color would feel a particular kinship in a different continent, and people on earth would feel a particular kinship in outer s.p.a.ce……
No matter what kind of biological creatures there were, they would draw a social circle and decide who could enter. This social circle could be big or small, and it depended on the environment and how accepting they were.
But so what if they were from the same clan?! They were both sentient creatures who could walk and talk, and the most important thing was whether they knew each other and not because they had similar physical traits.
Sue therefore nodded and continued to be curious: “I see, the same clan, and so? Is there anything special if you’re from the same clan?!”
…… Actually, there really was nothing special…… The Werewolf suddenly felt his pa.s.sionate att.i.tude was quite moronic.
He originally wanted to pull the important companion from his same clan away to describe his intense feelings, then share the thoughts about the Beastmen tribe’s decision to send Ash to join the academy…… One or two, or maybe three thoughts about it…… But it seemed like it was completely unnecessary……
Sue who KOed two teachers without even using a blade was finally undisturbed by anyone else, and she found a remote place to take off her disguise. She then flew back to the dormitory, and this is emphasized, it was the little prince’s dormitory….. She needed to learn the otherworld’s etiquette!
“Etiquette is different for the various social cla.s.ses. Someone who speaks to another with a different social status would use a different kind of etiquette. Let me first introduce the process where a lower-ranking n.o.ble would do during a normal encounter……” The little prince was delighted and surprised. Sue was letting him teach her! And it was one to one! Eins or whatever was nothing more than a fleeting scenery and he was the most important existence in Sue’s life.
After spending an hour of talkative explanation and the basics of what each social cla.s.s should do when they meet was done, the lecture given by Prince Fedrus was finally over.
When the cla.s.s was over, the little prince’s n.o.ble expressions immediately changed to an energetic one, and he was about to happily discuss some details about the vacation breaks and become closer in their relationship.
But he did not expect Sue’s hand to sweep the air…… A broom in my hand, would let me conquer the world: “I’m going to go back and review the notes that you taught me. Let us continue tomorrow. Remember to prepare new content for our next lesson.”
“Huh?! Okay……”
“Vrooom—-” Sue vanished from sight with a sound. The little prince stared vacantly at the window before he realized he had been dumped. There was a long moment where he beat a pillow furiously.
In the second day, the little prince prepared a tea etiquette lesson in advance to keep her. He intended to drag the lesson from an hour to two, and then four……. In any case, he wanted to keep her till it was evening and would not let her go before then.
In the end, an hour pa.s.sed, Sue looked at the time and got up: “I still have some experiments to be done in the evening. You go ahead and continue what you’re doing, I’m going to go ahead and leave…..”
She left with a ‘vrooom’ again……
For the next ten days, the prince was still unable to successfully retain Sue and prevent her from leaving. She would learn from him be it rain or shine, but she also only stayed for merely one hour.
Besides her preparation for her lecturer, she still had the ident.i.ty of a student, needed to prepare for her shop, had to contact the a.s.sa.s.sin Guild and ask about the mission’s progress, to visit Eins and made inquiries about his father’s situation, as well as making potions for the little prince, then……
Sue was very busy, truly so. Therefore it was natural that she could not appreciate the little prince’s desire for a date, who continued to be conflicted, but he was unable to think of a better solution and could only accept his fate for that ten-odd days.
But he was not the person who felt like going crazy the most. That award belonged to the princ.i.p.al and the Alchemist.
The guest lecturer who had the ident.i.ty of the Demon Race’s count went missing after reporting on that very first day. She had completely vanished. The guards ranging from the magicians to swordsmen were asked, but regardless of any team, everyone said that they had no recollection of her leaving, so where did this grown woman go to?!
The princ.i.p.al was very confused and also very unsettled. He felt that the Demon race would not be so foolish to send in an a.s.sa.s.sin in this manner or throw in a suspicious person to cause trouble. But people were easily scared of the unknown, and having such a mysterious character who could not be found. Demons respected power above all, so if a Count could not be found…… In this situation, even a normal person would tremble twice.
The Alchemist teacher had a different reason for feeling gloomy. He kept feeling sad because he could not meet up with that Alchemist, and his thirst for learning did not even have a chance to get fired up and got splashed on by cold water instead. Just how hurtful was this! Even before he could think of having a good relationship, she had already vanished from the face of earth…… How could he not shed bitter tears?!
Sue did not know there were so many people pining for her, and simply stuck to her schedule every day without fail, until one month later, where she showed up to hand over the plans for her shop to the princ.i.p.al, and people finally relaxed when they discovered the presence of the Count……
“You want to open a shop?!” The princ.i.p.al looked at the plans on the table and skimmed through the contents, showing surprise: “A cafe?! You want to sell the Demon race’s food specialty?!”
“I believe that good food is liked regardless of what race one is.” Sue corrected him seriously, but she did not correct the details about the food’s origin, she could not possibly tell him that all these food was from another world…… “Because of the limits on personnel, and because I have not found suitable workers and herbs, I have temporarily decided not to make a large operation, but I won’t erase the possibility of making an expansion in the future……”
“Is this why you want such a big plot of….. land?!” The princ.i.p.al sighed: “But allow me to remind you, this…… Hmm, I believe you also understand, this place isn’t a popular location. I don’t think students will come here in the future as well. If you open your shop in such a place, whether or not students will be willing to travel such a long distance to eat is still a question.”
“Yes, but the sizes of the popular location doesn’t meet my requirements,” Sue also showed her reluctance: “and the most important thing is that the rental cost is also high…..”
Indeed, that was a practical reason. The princ.i.p.al blinked a few times. He did not ask why a Demon Count would be picky about a few coins, but he nodded to show that he understood and looked at the plans again: “Very well if you insist…..”
But he sighed again.
Watermelons, she wanted to open a shop on the lake?! What was this Count thinking?! Or did she have the merfolks’ support?!
“So about the rental……” Sue looked at the princ.i.p.al filled with stars in her eyes.
“Ren…..” The princ.i.p.al choked and smiled wryly: “The lake sometimes have students swimming in it or practicing their Water Magic. If you really want to use it, I can waive off the rental fees.”
It was important to have a good inter-race relationship. What would happen if she made a loss and got angry when she returned?!
Since there was no practical use for it, he could just treat it like a gift and get a friendship card in the future!
The princ.i.p.al waved his hand, and the lake that was behind the school, roughly more than half the size of a football field, became Sue’s private property just like that…… Of course, it was just temporarily.
(TL: To be exact, it’s ten 亩, a Chinese counting unit. I chose to convert into a more understandable term. “Also, if you want to open a cafe, I suggest that you advertise.” The princ.i.p.al decided to help her one more time when he saw Sue leaving happily, in case she made too much of a loss: “The Harvest Festival is coming, and the academy will have a week’s worth of celebration. Many students and teachers would be selling their own things in their stalls. If you’re willing to prepare for it, I can allocate you a good place so you can advertise……”
“Isn’t the harvest festival in autumn?!” Sue was mystified: “But it’s not even that time yet?!”
The princ.i.p.al was even more mystified: “The Demon race actually believes that the Harvest Festival is in autumn?! But I remember that our tradition has been going on for a thousand years in the summer…..”
“……” Very well, the customs are different, this was not earth but a barbaric world where people don’t even wear underwear, she had to hold it in…… “Well then. I thank you very much. I will bring the advertising papers in a few days, will that be alright?”
“I’m glad to be of service.” The princ.i.p.al smiled and nodded.
When she really walked out of the office and just went past the corridor, she encountered the werewolf teacher. He was very surprised when he saw Sue: “Why is the smell on your body gone?!”
That was because she threw the fang into the Dimension Bracelet…… Sue rolled her eyes: “That’s because I took a bath. Do you want to try it?! I discovered a completely new bath salt. It cleans well, has a fragrance, and even protects the skin. Even the Alchemist Guild recognizes it. It’s pretty-looking and cheap, I can a.s.sure you that your skin would be rejuvenated and regain its l.u.s.ter, making it soft and smooth……”
“……” The werewolf teacher had sweat forming: “I think you understand what I mean by that smell…..”
“But I think anyone else wouldn’t understand,” Sue looked down on him, “we’re not familiar with each other, could you please refrain from talking about things that would easily make people misunderstand.”
The werewolf was at least not stupid enough to make people despair. He thought for a moment and understood why Sue was dissatisfied, and quickly apologized: “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize this at all.”
“It’s fine, goodbye.”
She decisively slipped away. She really did not want to stay here any longer to waste time talking, and she had to get back to her alchemy cla.s.s.
The werewolf suddenly remembered something after she was gone, and when he turned around to call out to her, the girl was already nowhere to be found……
“……” Was she really not a beastman with such high agility?! The werewolf was depressed for a while until a youth rushed out furiously with a bunch of papers.
“I say, just how many more papers do I need to fill up?! My wolves should be eating lunch, right about now and I need to bring them out to hunt!”
The werewolf man became even more depressed: “You know, if it isn’t for your wolves, this procedure would be much easier…… Ash…… I remember telling you that the Elders told you not to bring your wolves to school. Even if you’re the clan leader, you need to listen to the Elders every once in a while!”
“But they will feel lonely if they don’t see me.” Ash was unhappy. This batch of wolves was raised by him since they were young. No matter where he went they were with him, so why could he not bring them along when he went to school?! The academy clearly gave permission to students who wanted to bring their pets along…… Of course, before that happened, the Academy of Light did not expect someone to bring so many ‘pets’ to cla.s.s…….
“….. They aren’t going to need you to give birth to wolf pups, what kind of lonely nonsense are you talking about!” The werewolf teacher gnashed his teeth.
“Hmph!” Ash turned his head away, clearly rejecting this opinion. Since he already brought his wolves, was there any use in pursuing this matter?
After glaring at him, the werewolf found himself in defeat as the brat did not yield against threats or persuasion, and he gave up. In the school, he might be his teacher, but the latter was indeed the boss of all Wolf-beastmen…… Whatever, since the youngsters nowadays had their own opinions, let them do whatever they want.
“Fine, then you must absolutely control your wolves and not let them go around, and the students in the Academy of Light are not their prey…… You can do that right!” The Werewolf teacher conceded.
“Yeahyeahyeah!” Ash was irritated: “Can you hurry up?! My wolves are hungry……”
“……” It would be good if your wolves starve to death! “Come to think of it, I just saw Count Sue…….”
“Count Sue?!” Who the heck is that?!
The Werewolf thought for a while and tried to be subtle in his thoughts: “I believe that everyone has their own choice to select their life partner. But she’s a Count after all, and much older than you are……”
“Hmmm?!” So what the heck are you talking about?!
Ash’s confusion was turning out to be I-don’t-give-a-s* in the werewolf eyes, and the latter gave up in the end: “Fine, fine, just treat it as if I didn’t say anything…..”
“…….”
Until she attended cla.s.s, Sue’s mind was still conflicted in what menu she should come up with.
The first thing was that it must not be expensive, lest the students could not afford it, and the people who could afford it would not be many, and her store would never get many people interested to look at her cafe if there were only a few patrons.
Then it could not be too ordinary in appearance, even if it was overly tasty there would not be enough attractive points. At most, it would be a special food to have, but it would be hard to establish her brand.
Then the menu must show its unique characteristics, and all types of food needed that in order to get more people to become hooked on it, and there must also be a variety of choices so people could choose what they want.
After listing down a long list of conditions, Sue nearly went berserk.
It was true that a successful team would make things easier. If she had to do it all by herself, putting aside the preparation problems, just cooking the food was a difficult task. Even though she could use the Dimension Bracelet to keep things fresh, the job of cooking was not cut down. It was merely a day’s work split into several days.
A week’s worth of nightly celebrations during the Harvest Festival meant that she had to make a thousand sets of each item from her menu. Even if she tried to be lazy and use a huge pot to cook the food, making a specialty dish every day, with a minimum of one, two, three, four…… Sue counted with her fingers and got angry.
F#@$! She had to do it for twelve days if she added dessert?!
The cla.s.smates at the same table felt her anger and silently took in the pressure for a while, before they could no longer hold back and wiped away their perspiration and asked: “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” Sue thought for a while: “Do you know any students who enrolled in the school as a work-study program and are good at cooking?”
“Work-study program?!” The cla.s.smates at the same desk chewed on the meaning of the words and understood after thinking it for a while, but shook their heads: “There are indeed students who study and work at the same time to reduce the burden of the school fees, but these people don’t really change their jobs. This is because their work hours needed to be made in consideration to their schedule, and not all jobs suit them…… I’m not sure about the newcomers though. For example, we’re the newest batch of students and we’re still studying the basics, so we won’t go out to find a job……”