Translator: P411

Editor: Xia

Read at Watashi wa Sugoi Desu!

Chapter 32: A Price of the Book

“Eh! Why? This…this is a collection of alchemy recipes…!”

What’s more, even if one had no clue what they were doing, all the ingredients were listed out already, so it was possible to create something out of them without knowing the recipe.

What a helpful collection of alchemy recipes…!

I got my hands on something amazing…!

As I was rejoicing, I suddenly remembered that the price of the book hadn’t been decided yet. 

That was the entire reason why he allowed me a look at its contents. 

Then, I would pay for alchemy with alchemy.

I took out a bottle of ‘Colourful Medicinal Herb Soup’¹. It was amazing to look at, a multitude of colors swirling within. But its effects were also amazing, truly aquality product. Like a Cure Potion, drinking it would cure almost any abnormal statuses, but it also restored stamina and decreased stamina usage. Because of its unusual appearance, however, I’d never offered it to anyone. Honestly, it was a fluke that I was able to successfully produce this. I wish I could’ve done a better job, but….

“Could I give you this as payment for the time being?”

The handsome butler took the ‘Colourful Medicinal Herb Soup’ I offered and stared intently at it and remarked, “Well, well, this is….” He started inspecting it from every direction. As one would expect of the proprietor of a store like this, he must have some kind of appraisal skill.

The handsome butler smiled with delight and nodded. 

“This isn’t the finished product, is it?”

“Yes, I’m still experimenting with it.”

All my completed products had agriculture-related effects, and even if I had them on hand, they weren’t suitable for display here. But it was my principle to return alchemy with alchemy. 

“Then, allow me to take this for now. I hope that you will visit again once you have completed it.”

“Um, well, please think of this as a temporary payment. After it’s finished, I’ll come back here to offer you a new payment for this book.”

“I’ll be waiting for you anytime. I will prepare something else you might like to look through by then, so please feel free to visit here again.”

“Yes!”

I closed the recipes book with a snap and gently put it into my waist pack. Even though it was just going to end up in a row of my inventory, it looked so old that putting it away roughly would almost surely cause it to break.

I’ll put my all into perfecting this soup. Then, I’ll bring it back here. 

The only problem was that I didn’t know if I could get here on my own. At the very least, the path I took to the shop was no longer shaded on the map. 

“Vidello-san, do you think it’s possible for me to come here by myself?”

“Hm? Well, the roads around here are pretty narrow and complicated. Are you sure you won’t get lost?” 

“Well…”

When I spoke doubtfully, Vidello-san gently squeezed my hand as if to reassure me. 

“We can come here together again. Once you’ve perfected your recipe, we’ll take a carriage back here for another date.”

“!!…Yes!”

Vidello-san was just too handsome when he said such things with a smile on his face. Then, when I had to come back to the store, I just had to invite Vidello-san to go on a date with me!

I nodded and giggled to myself, and when Vidello-san saw my silly face, his smile deepened.

“Then, I sincerely look forward to seeing you two the next time you visit.”

After giving a polite response to the handsome butler, who bowed neatly, Vidello-san and I left the shop. 

A feather swung on my chest.

Since Vidello-san had put the feather on me, I’d been getting a bonus of +2 in my status column, but the accessory equipment column said [ Amulet : Blue Tail’s Feather (2%) ].

What was this 2%?

Was Blue Tail the name of a blue bird that brought luck?

It was beautiful. I wasn’t really interested in accessories, but in this case, just looking at it made me happy. 

Vidello-san really had good taste. Even his casual wear, which was different from the armour he was wearing now, enhanced his manliness. If I were to try and imitate his style, I would just be told off like, “Don’t wear the uniform sloppily!” for dressing that way. The glimpse of muscles around his chest dazzled me. 

Walking alongside Vidello-san, I took a look at the streets of Quattro. It had a bit of a different feel from the city of Tre, a nice change of pace. Most of the people walking around with armour and swords in their hands were players, and those who were walking leisurely were mostly NPCs. The players were walking so fast that they were amusing to watch. It was quite strange, actually, to see people with high speed stats walking in such an unnatural manner.  

And thus, I spent half the time I was walking focusing on people-watching.

“Mac, you keep fiddling with that feather. Is it bothering you?”

“Huh?”

When Vidello-san said that to me, I finally realised that I had been unconsciously stroking the feather with my fingers. 

“Do you want to put it somewhere it’ll bother you less?” 

“No! No, no!”

Vidello-san’s face fell a little, and I hurriedly denied that it was anything like that. 

“You know, I was so happy when I thought that you’d given this to me that I just touched this unconsciously.”

“Mac……”

“Well, I know I already said this, but thank you, Vidello-san. How do I say this, I’m just so happy….”

Even though I kept thanking him, I couldn’t properly express my happiness with words. I was so overcome with joy that it was hard to put into words how I was feeling. I was thinking about this when Vidello-san took my hand and said, “Come here a sec.”

He tugged me along and again, we entered into a narrow alleyway off the map. After leading me a little deeper , Vidello-san stopped and hugged me tightly. 

“Sorry, Mac, you were just so cute that I couldn’t stand it any longer.”

Wow, he said those words while hugging me. It was impossible for me to bear it.

I could hear him whispering directly in my ears, and my face suddenly turned hot. I put my arms around Vidello-san’s back, reciprocating, and a kiss fell on my head. When I looked up at Vidello-san’s face, another kiss fell, this time on my lips. 

We were outside right now. 

My heart was pounding harder than usual. 

Maybe it was because we were outside, or because Vidello-san was so cool, or just because I felt like I was floating. Maybe all of it.

“……mm……”

In response to him putting his tongue in, I entangled my tongue with his. It felt good. 

I liked Vidello-san, who brought me to this back alley because he couldn’t stand it anymore. That just went to show how much he liked me.

I like you. I really like you. 

As I tightened my arms around him, he kissed me deeper. 

After enjoying the kiss with Vidello-san for some time, my eyes followed his lips as he reluctantly parted from me, still out of breath.

“If you look at me like that, I’ll want to make love to you again like I did last night.” 

I wanted him to love me again, but we were still outside, in a different city from our hometown. I still had school tomorrow, and Vidello-san had work.

Thinking of this, I only felt more reluctance at leaving him. 

As I was thinking about this seriously, Vidello-san squeezed my face between his palms. 

“Your face is saying you want to be held. Be patient, patient, me.” 

“Uu~, I know.”

I replied through my squished cheeks, so I had a really strange face. Vidello-san’s expression softened, and it looked like he was about to start laughing.

While letting out deep chuckles he was unable to hold in, he gave me a peck on my puckered-up lips, and then, finally let go of my face. 

By the time, this erotic atmosphere had disappeared entirely. 

*****