Chapter One Hundred and Ninety-Three: Alumni Reunion 2
“Ahim boy, you’re B-rank!?”
“That’s impressive. You’re still young, yet you’re B-rank—that’s quite an achievement.”
Since Ahim had declared it with such a dignified attitude, people gathered around in no time. Not just classmates and upperclassmen and underclassmen, but even much older senior alumni.
Karen tried to quietly slip out of the circle, but Ahim pointed at her and stopped her.
“This girl is also a C-rank alchemist at the young age of nineteen.”
“What!? Karen is?”
People who knew Karen looked surprised, while people of different generations who didn’t particularly know her sent honest looks of respect.
Just because it became known that Karen was a C-rank alchemist, the atmosphere of the people who had been keeping their distance from her softened. Of course, there were exceptions, but they were clearly in the minority.
Rather than feeling relieved at the situation, Karen felt deflated.
If the dispute with the Gubert Trading Company had dragged on, Karen’s bad reputation would have spread further, and the resentment would have run deeper. Alternatively, if the Alchemists’ Guild’s protest had gone through, the Gubert Trading Company’s infamy—and their claims, which contradicted Karen’s—would have spread, possibly leading to people suffering business losses and harboring grudges against her.
The public would surely have found the opposition between Karen and the Gubert Trading Company entertaining and would have made it a big topic of conversation. However, the opposition Karen had envisioned didn’t occur. That’s because the conflict with them had ended in an unexpected way.
Not being in hostile territory was a good thing, but Karen sighed at the reality that wasn’t going as planned and looked at Ahim. In the end, it seemed he had also approached her, thinking Karen was a C-rank alchemist. In reality, she was B-rank, but either way, it was the same in the sense that she wouldn’t have been noticed if she had remained low-rank.
And that was precisely the situation she wanted to change.
“You said not to call your name casually, so I totally thought you were treating me as a rival even though you thought I was F-rank. What a shame.”
“If I thought you were F-rank but were showing off a B-rank brooch, that wouldn’t be treating you as a worthy opponent—it’d just make me have an incredibly terrible personality.”
“…That’s certainly true.”
It would be exactly like a petty villain tormenting someone of lower status.
“Karen, let’s move somewhere else. It’s gotten noisy.”
Having heard that Ahim was a B-rank alchemist, the gazes of people lighting up with the intention of getting close to him under the pretext of the reunion’s informality stabbed into Karen. Particularly painful were the gazes from women of marriageable age. Ahim was the same age as Karen, if she remembered correctly—a nineteen-year-old B-rank alchemist. For many women, he would be a highly coveted marriage partner.
“Karen, go ahead. The existence of an alchemist of the same generation and comparable ability is valuable.”
At Natalia’s words, Ahim furrowed his brow slightly.
Karen nodded. Indeed, this was precisely one of the connections she had been seeking at the reunion.
Normally, it was just a gathering to meet old friends, drink, eat, and go home, but Karen had finally reached the point where she could take part in commoners’ socializing.
Natalia went to join the circle of guild members from other industries as usual. Seeing her off, Karen also moved to the wall area with Ahim.
“Who has comparable ability to whom? Even though it’s only a difference of one rank, from B-rank, it’s a different world, you know? It’s a different world from C-rank.”
From C-rank was advanced. From B-rank was a different world. From A-rank was the Goddess’s domain.
Ahim didn’t seem convinced by Natalia’s words, but before Karen could offer any explanation, he continued with "Still…”
“I think that someday, you’ll definitely catch up to me, Karen.”
“Why do you think that?”
As a matter of fact, Karen was already a B-rank alchemist.
Even though he shouldn’t know that, why would he say something like that?
“Because you beat me. —That day, you shattered my world.”
It was during an alchemy class at the commoners’ school.
Ahim was the only student from an alchemist family in the class, so the teacher called him forward and had him make a model minor healing potion. Called up, Ahim held his head high and confidently showed them how to make a minor healing potion. Karen watched that and reproduced the potion in an instant. After that, she was praised by everyone, including the teacher, so she only vaguely remembered it, but she did recall seeing Ahim frozen in place. At that time, he had apparently been dazed after having his world shattered by Karen.
“Sorry about that, I guess?”
“Don’t apologize! You demonstrated your ability. And I lost! —But since then, I’ve never let my guard down. I’ve kept running at full speed and made it this far. But what about you? Just when things are about to get good, I hear you’re making frivolous stuff like cosmetics.”
When told "recently," Karen tilted her head, but thinking about it, the series of events—starting to sell cosmetics, being harassed by Isaac, and having her business crushed—had all happened this year. The events in the dungeon were just so intense that it didn’t feel recent at all.
“Even if you got promoted to C-rank with crappy potions that don’t even help defend the country, would that make you happy? Even if the Alchemists’ Guild recognizes it, I don’t. If you’re an alchemist, make proper potions. You beat me once, even if it was just that one time—don’t become some money-grubbing alchemist! If you’re an alchemist, aim to create the Philosopher’s Stone!”
“Ooh.”
“Don’t clap like it’s someone else’s business…!”
When Karen, moved by Ahim’s speech, applauded, he got angry. It seemed he really didn’t know that Karen had become a B-rank alchemist.
Information about B-rank and above was basically kept confidential except for matters the person wished to share. Ahim’s assigned guild staff member probably knew about Karen’s promotion to B-rank, but Karen’s information seemed to be properly protected.
At Ahim, glaring at her, Karen grinned.
“Of course, I’m also aiming to create the Philosopher’s Stone.”
“You said it, right? You can’t take back what you’ve said, you know?”
Having extracted a promise from Karen, Ahim smiled with satisfaction. Apparently, provoking her had been his goal. To light a fire under Karen, who had once defeated him, to make her aim for even greater heights.
“Let’s compete to see which of us can reach the Philosopher’s Stone first, Karen.”
The Philosopher’s Stone was a legendary item even in this fantasy world. And Ahim was challenging Karen to a contest with the dead-serious premise of creating it. It was amusing and exciting, and Karen’s eyes sparkled.
“Sure. Let’s compete. I definitely won’t lose!”
“What gives you the right to say ‘definitely’? Right now, you’re the one who’s losing.”
“I wonder about that? Maybe the information just hasn’t come out yet.”
When Karen said this in a lowered voice, Ahim’s eyes opened wide and round.
Information about B-rank and above was kept confidential. As a B-rank himself, Ahim would know well the fact that no one could access information that the person didn’t wish to make public.
“—Hey now, seriously!?”
“It’s a secret, a secret! I’m planning to do various things after I hire a supporter who used to be an adventurer!”
“This is getting interesting…! I knew it, I knew it! You’d climb up this far! As expected of the woman who beat me! That’s how it should be!”
When he realized Karen was B-rank, Ahim’s face immediately broke into a smile.
“But I’m going to go even higher, you know? If I could become a B-rank alchemist before turning twenty, I was promised I’d be taken on as an apprentice by a master alchemist!”
Hearing "master alchemist," Karen pictured the elf who lived on the second floor of her home alchemy workshop, but that elf had absolutely no intention of taking on any disciples other than Karen, so it was surely a different person.
“Man, today’s a good day.”
Ahim received wine from a waiter and handed one to Karen as well.
“To the future of alchemy.”
“To the Philosopher’s Stone we’ll someday create.”
They toasted.
After gulping down his wine, Ahim said with a smile:
“I’m glad you got dumped by Lyos. That freed up your time, and you were able to get promoted, right?”
It was an insensitive thing to say, but Ahim said it with such genuine happiness that it didn’t feel rude. Besides, it was an undeniable fact.
Ahim put down his wine glass and held out his hand to Karen.
“Karen, want to dance with me?”
“Huh?”
“We don’t have partners anyway, right?”
Karen’s eyes widened in surprise.
The commoners’ school reunion was a social venue, but until last year, Karen had been only an F-rank alchemist.
Even when she tried to gain connections, no one would associate with her, and she would just reconnect with old friends, occasionally get commissioned to make minor healing potions, and eat, drink, and go home. She had never even considered that she might be invited to dance.
“Um—”
“If you aim for the heights, you’ll end up dealing with nobles too. It’s better to be able to dance, you know? For those nobles, it’s apparently like a greeting. Think of it as practice.”
Thinking he had a point, Karen reached for Ahim’s hand—and at that very moment, she was seized from behind in a bear hug. The scent of a sachet Karen remembered making herself tickled her nose.
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