211 – Pension Battle
The entrance where the sign was hung was narrow and low.
Even if you come here by chance, you would never think that it is the headquarters of [Alchemy Workshop].
The entrance door is just high enough to barely touch Danya’s head.
“…Ugh!”
Danya was upset that she couldn’t reach it, so she lowered her head and went in.
As I also bowed my head and went inside, a woman with an expression of annoyance in the world made eye contact with me from behind the counter.
Blonde and pale-eyed. And big breasts. The woman, who appeared to be roughly in her mid to late twenties, had the typical appearance of someone who would guide the staff at a guild counter.
However, instead of the kindness typical of such people – she is a woman with things like annoyance, drowsiness, and calmness. Should I say that he looks infinitely cold-hearted?
“Ian… She looks kind of scary… I guess she’s the receptionist?”
This person seems so grumpy that Danya lowers her tail, but that person is the daughter of the founder of [Pension Workshop] And the current owner, L’Oréal.
It was somewhat natural to look with wonder at the continent’s highest level alchemist.
They also look at me from head to toe. Her gaze paused on her hand for a moment, but her bored and cold expression remained the same. She blurted out.
“… It’s not a place for kids.”
“I came to look at the goods.”
“Do your sightseeing in the building in front of you? This isn’t an easy place to get into.”
“That’s because the door opens too easily.”
“…… He’s a kid who won’t say a word.”
“Thank you.”
“……”
L’Oréal glanced at me for a moment and laid her head on her empty chair. She might be telling you to sit down. L’Oréal got up from her seat and went into the counter, where she put down two tea cups.
— Clap!
The tea water shakes as if it’s about to spill when put down roughly.
But it didn’t pour.
The water level rises only to a level that can be barely tolerated by surface tension.
If it was intentional, it’s great.
Dania sniffed suspiciously, and after taking another sip, her eyes widened.
“… It’s delicious!”
At the same time, she whispers so that only I can hear.
“I don’t think there’s any poison. Would you like me to feed you some?”
“Thank you.”
Just as Danya said, the flavor of the tea was amazing.
As soon as you take a bite, you can tell that it is of a very high quality.
Looking at us like that, L’Oréal frowned.
“… Can you have s*x outside the store?”
Before answering, I held out my hand, that is, the arm without a hand.
“I want to buy a usable hand. Made of the best material possible.”
There are many ways to restore a lost body.
From the perspective of healing, there are ways to go to a large hospital and receive joint surgery or receive treatment from a doctor mentioned by the teacher.
Approaching it from the perspective of regeneration, there is also a way to ask a being with overwhelming divine power such as Aria to regenerate your hand, or to utilize the super regeneration you have.
But while they all focus on restoring the existing hand, tuning is different. The process of raising the specifications of my hand to the next level.
L’Oréal looked at my hand and responded chicly.
“Hands are the most difficult body organ to make. They cost at least 10 billion kroner, kid.”
“Nyan! 10 Billion?”
Danya looks very surprised next to me.
I briefly explained her reasons to her.
“Hands are inherently difficult to make. They have to be moved very delicately, so they can be said to be a collection of all skills, not only alchemy but also magic engineering.”
“Hmm. For a kid, you know it well.”
L’Oréal’s eyes light up after hearing my answer.
But she added right away.
“But even so, there is no student discount. Well, it looks like you don’t even have 10 million kroner, let alone 10 billion.”
Rather than being sarcastic, he seems to be thinking that seriously.
She nodded to Danya, who looked itchy with her hands.
Jaw.
Danya puts a bag of gold coins on the table.
There was a bit of surprise in L’Oréal’s eyes as she counted them.
“… I thought they didn’t have money because they looked like they had a lot of practical experience. You guys seem to be quite capable, huh?”
Instead of answering, I shrugged my shoulders.
Nodding her head, L’Oreal brings her pamphlet.
“Products being sold for less than 1 billion kroner. They say organs extracted from living organisms are not licensed, so I put them all away for a while. If you want to see them, take them out.”
L’Oréal’s tone began to become animated.
“For wizards, I recommend the hands of dragons or gargoyles. The magic circuit organization is more detailed than that of humans, allowing for more precise control. Of course, being expensive is a disadvantage.”
It was closer to wanting to show off his work rather than being happy to attract customers.
The pamphlet she showed was about ‘hands’ that processed actual living bodies.
L’Oréal continued.
“If you’re looking at cost-effectiveness, the goblin shaman’s hands aren’t bad. The only drawback is that the hands are a bit small, but the flexibility, detailed circuitry, regenerative power, etc. Can’t be said to be perfect. I’ll match the color and size as best as I can. “
Her passion, which at first glance seems like her madness, is her driving force that makes her the best alchemist on her continent.
The reason why L’Oréal’s name spread clearly was when she created a prosthetic hand for a knight who lost his hand in battle.
Should we say that she became famous along with her silver prosthetic arm and her performance as a knight with the nickname ‘Knight of Steel’?
So, it was clear what ‘hand’ I wanted here.
“Rather than something like this, I’d like to see hands made with alchemy.”
“It must be more expensive than the money you have?”
“Couldn’t you at least take a look?”
“Hmm…”
L’Oréal was in trouble for a moment.
I slightly mixed up her compliment.
“I heard that this place is the best on the continent when it comes to unique materials made through alchemy and organs elaborated through magic engineering.”
“Keu, keuhum! This kid knows something.”
She cleared her throat and got up from her seat.
She then picks up her keys from her counter and goes into a side room.
“This way.”
Click.
A cold wind blew as soon as she opened her door.
A spacious and sophisticated space unfolded before her eyes.
Unlike the somewhat shabby exterior, the interior is extremely neat and tidy.
Is this a studio and exhibition room?
There were about ten metal hands on display on the wall, and on each table were things that looked like furnaces or alchemy materials.
In that case, the identity of this place is probably her workshop.
I looked at the hands in fascination as the space unfolded like an item shop in a game.
‘Each of these costs over 10 billion kroner.’
Human body ‘tuning parts’ with overwhelming prices.
The great thing is that these are worth the money.
The reason these are worth it is simple.
“… This is perfect cold resistance and amplification of the fire element. You can think of the amplification rate as roughly 40%. The thickness of each mana circuit was carefully processed to about 1/10 of a human hair…”
The result of the continent’s greatest alchemist creating crazy things half as a hobby.
‘Every single component is a new material created by this person…’
It delivers great performance at a crazy expensive price.
It is effectively a final product that can only be purchased when you have money to spare.
At that time.
“…?”
I stopped in place.
A feeling I had never felt before enveloped my body.
It feels like something is pulling me.
Leaving behind L’Oréal, who was so excited that he was holding onto Danya and explaining his work, I walked along, following the pull.
It was one table.
It looks like it was just made-
What looked like a very thin hand bone was lying there.
And I was definitely drawn to this metal bone.
“……”
As I was looking at that blankly, L’Oréal approached me.
“Ah, this is a new material I created a while ago. I designed it to have a positive effect on the body’s magic circuit while maintaining the characteristics of human tissue as much as possible. It will be able to increase the overall magic ability. 20% Of all abilities. How much? The problem is that we increase body affinity too much…”
She was cold at first, but now she has become like an excited teacher, as if bragging about her hobbies to her students.
“It has become possible to cover the outside only with human biological tissue. Where do I have to get my hands to tear it off?”
“Hike!”
Danya, who was listening, was surprised.
“Of course it’s a joke. Human hands are soft and difficult to store, so it’s close to impossible to process them in this way.”
Her words to reassure Danya seem to have surprised her even more.
I guess I liked it.
“This.”
“Huh?”
“If I sell this as is, how much is it worth?”
“Sell this thing that only has a skeleton?”
“You’d be in trouble anyway, if you sell it.”
Tilting her head, L’Oréal tapped her lips for a moment and then opened her mouth.
“The cost of ingredients was about 750 million kroner for a total of 25g. Making it itself was not difficult.”
“Do most of the functions of the hands that L’Oréal creates come from this skeleton?”
“Strictly speaking, yes. However, since the muscles and other features are designed on the outside so that the wearer does not feel uncomfortable, the price only increases exponentially.”
In the end, this fine skeleton that you see before your eyes is the key.
This skeleton cost 750 million kroner for 25g.
‘…Then. ‘
There is no need to worry any more.
“Please give me this.”
If the key to a product worth 10 billion kroner lies here.
It would be right to take this.
“… What?”
L’Oréal looked back at me with a very embarrassed expression.