Volume 2 - CH 9.2

Chapter 2-9 : Ice Fang Bats Ⅰ (part 2)

「Alright, let’s start measuring!」(Sarasa)

Actually, there’s quite a lot of empty space in the kitchen.

There are only a table, several chairs, and a wooden box containing ingredients I got recently.

For the tableware, I only placed them on the table.

「Hmm, maybe I need to order a cupboard for storing tableware later…」(Sarasa)

Before I order a cupboard and start making the magic refrigerator, I need to think about how much space I have to put the cupboard and the refrigerator in, and also I need to think about Lorea-chan’s height since she is the one who uses the kitchen a lot.

「Because your height is almost the same as mine, I will use my height as reference when I order the cupboard. And for the refrigerator, I will make it two times bigger than the freezer. What do you think, Lorea-chan?」(Sarasa)

「Umm… I’m not really sure, but I think that’s good enough.」(Lorea)

Looks like it’s difficult for Lorea-chan to decide because she has never used a magic refrigerator.

A magic refrigerator is roughly divided into three parts: the cooling system, heat insulation system, and the body.

The cooling system and the heat insulation system can be made using alchemy, so of course I will make those parts.

However, the body is completely a woodwork product.

The body is like a cupboard but it’s made of thick wood so there are no gaps for air to pass through.

「Maybe I will go ask Geberg-san later if he can make me a refrigerator body.」(Sarasa)

I can make one myself, but considering the time and effort to obtain the wood and the lack of tools at my disposal, asking a professional is definitely better.

I’m sure it will turn out really good if it’s Geberg-san who makes it.

「I don’t need to worry about the body, but for the cooling system… umm.. I wonder which is better. Using a magic stone or using a different item to use as the core…」(Sarasa)

「There are several ways to make a refrigerator?」(Lorea)

「Yeah, normally, there are several alternative methods to make items using alchemy. If there was only one method, you would be troubled if you don’t have the required material, right?」(Sarasa)

Normally, you want to choose the most efficient method, but if you couldn’t do it due to lack of materials, you could just use an alternative method.

For example, when you have to make a potion for sick people, you will feel relaxed even if you don’t have the required materials because you can just use another method.

Unlike the royal capital where you can buy any materials you want, in the countryside like this, the choice of materials is limited, so having alternative methods is a good thing.

However, there are risks you have to take if you want to use a different method, such as you have to pay extra costs, or the effect of the item is slightly inferior to the one that is made using a regular method.

「The alternative method to make a refrigerator is using a magic stone as the core of the cooling system. However, magic stones are expensive and maintaining them regularly is kinda troublesome.」(Sarasa)

Also, I have to draw a magic circuit just like when I made magic stoves if I’m gonna use a magic stone as the core.

「The other method is to use an ice-based material. This method is way easier than the other one. Also, it’s cheaper than a magic stone. However…」(Sarasa)

「You can’t find it in this area?」(Lorea)

「Actually there are ice-based monsters around this village. They are called Ice Fang Bats. I can use their fangs as the core, but there’s still no one who supplied such materials until now… I wonder why…」(Sarasa)

If I put a poster saying that I’m looking for the fangs of Ice Fang Bats on the bulletin board in the store, I wonder if anyone will sell them to me.

Or… should I go get them myself?

I don’t know if anyone wants to go to get them, so…

「Why don’t you ask Kate-san and Iris-san?」(Lorea)

「Un. I was just thinking the same thing.」(Sarasa)

◇　　　　◇　　　　◇

「Ice Fang Bats?」(Kate)

「Yes. Do you know about those monsters?」(Sarasa)

「Hmm… No, I don’t…」(Kate)

「Iris-san, how about you?」(Sarasa)

「I’m sorry, I don’t know either…」(Iris)

At dinner time, I asked Kate-san and Iris-san about Ice Fang Bats, but none of them knew about those monsters.

「Do those monsters live near this village?」(Iris)

「Yes. There should be a cave not far from this village, and I’ve heard that you can find them there.」(Sarasa)

「I see. Looks like there are still many places we haven’t explored…」(Iris)

「Well, we haven’t lived in this village for a long time. Veterans like Andre-san might know about them.」(Kate)

「Yeah. Perhaps that person knows…. No, wait a minute. If he knew, he would have sold their fangs to me long ago.」(Sarasa)

Because it will get hot in this area, the price of the fangs of Ice Fang Bats will definitely go up.

Also, they’re not difficult to collect, so if Andre-san knew about them, he would have definitely sold them to me.

「Store Owner-san, do you want us to call Andre-san and his party members to come here tomorrow morning?」(Kate)

「No, I feel sorry for having them come all the way here…」(Sarasa)

「Ah, you don’t need to worry about that. I’m sure they will happily come since it will be a lucrative job for them.」(Iris)

「Is that so? Alright then, if Andre-san and his party members say yes, please take them to my store. There’s no need to force them if they say no.」(Sarasa)

「Understood. You can leave it to us.」(Iris)

◇　　　　◇　　　　◇

-The next morning-

When Iris-san and Kate-san went to call Andre-san, I was making posters to put on the bulletin board.

「Looking for… fangs of… Ice Fang Bats… Yosh, this should be good enough.」(Sarasa)

I wrote down the method to collect them and the place to find them on the poster.

I hope many Collectors sell these items to me in the future.

After I put the poster on the bulletin board, I looked at the board and thought.

There were only two posters on the bulletin board now: the warning poster about the bad alchemy store in South Strugg, and the one that I just made.

Umm… There’s still plenty of space… Maybe I should make another one.

I took another paper and started making another poster.

「Umm… Looking for… Spit Worm…」(Sarasa)

「W, Worm? What can it be used for?」(Lorea)

Lorea-chan, who was sitting beside me, curiously looked at the poster I made.

「You can use it to make various items, but now I’m thinking of using it to make insect repellent veils. The insect repellents I’m selling now are a little expensive, so I want to make a cheaper one. I’m thinking of selling them to the farmers.」(Sarasa)

「Ah, I think that’s a good idea. I don’t do much farming, but I still suffer from insects in the summer.」(Lorea)

「Well, because it’s a veil, the range that can be covered is smaller, but it’s a lot cheaper.」(Sarasa)

While talking to Lorea-chan, I added a note to the poster saying “I won’t buy the worms with a damaged lower half”.

The most important part of a Spit Worm is the organs in its lower body.

It would be completely unusable if the lower body was damaged, so I wrote on the poster that it was better to bring the whole body without cutting it off.

Other than that, I also wrote an explanation about their appearance and the fact that they could be found anywhere in the forest.

「Alright, this should be good enough.」(Sarasa)

There are now three posters on my bulletin board!

I hope Collectors who have little knowledge can learn something from my explanation in the poster.

I’ll be happy if the Collectors in this village know a lot about materials because the variety of materials I can get from them will increase.

The smarter they are, the more materials I can get!

But the problem is that the books used for studying are really expensive. Not so many Collectors want to waste their money to buy them.

Therefore, normally, Collectors increase their knowledge by asking their seniors for information.

Umm… Should I buy books to rent to Collectors…?

No, there’s a risk that some of the books will never return…

Should I make it so that they can only read the books in my store?

Hmm, I feel like my store will become a library if that happens…

When I was thinking about such things while looking at the bulletin board, the door of the store opened.