Chapter Two Hundred and Thirteen: Anniversary Date 3
Guided to the section for alchemists’ magical tools, Karen’s eyes were immediately drawn to one particular magical tool.
An amber-like golden alchemical cauldron used when making potions through alchemy.
“…Orichalcum, is it? This is my first time seeing it.”
While she fairly often saw mithril as the highest-grade item in ultra-luxury shops, and very occasionally saw scarletite, this was the first time in Karen’s life she’d laid eyes on the substance called orichalcum. It shone like gold, but unlike gold, it was translucent, allowing light to pass through from the other side.
“Yeah, that’s right. Want to hold it?”
“C-Could I borrow some gloves!?”
“Even if you scratched it with your nails, you wouldn’t put a single mark on orichalcum. Don’t worry about it and try holding it. It’s fine even if you drop it.”
“I absolutely will not drop it!”
As Karen reached out toward the orichalcum alchemical cauldron only to pull back, Urgo lifted the cauldron from its pedestal and casually pressed it into Karen’s hands. Realizing it would fall if she didn’t take it, Karen hastily caught it.
“…The weight is about the same as iron, I think?”
“Mithril would be lighter and easier to handle, but this has a higher magical conductivity rate. It’s hard and sturdy—even scratching it with dragon scales wouldn’t leave a mark. It’s the pinnacle of alchemical cauldrons that can compound any material with maximum efficiency.”
“The pinnacle…”
If she was ever going to create the Philosopher’s Stone, this was the finest alchemical cauldron she’d want to obtain. It was a legendary magical tool she’d thought she absolutely wanted to acquire somewhere along the path she was aiming for.
“The method of processing orichalcum is our dwarves’ greatest secret. Can you figure out how to process this incredibly sturdy thing?”
“I haven’t the faintest idea.”
“Well, I suppose not. It’s a dwarven secret technique. It’s only natural you can’t see through it.”
Urgo stroked his beard with an air of satisfaction. Though he’d acted like he didn’t care, perhaps he’d been frustrated that Karen had seen through the secret of the water flask.
As Karen looked at the childish Urgo with half-lidded eyes, a shadow suddenly fell over her hands.
“How much would this be?”
Karen looked up with a start, met Julius’s eyes, saw his beaming smile, and was struck with horror as she finally remembered the plan she’d made on the way to the shop.
Urgo looked up at Julius with a dubious expression.
“It’s an orichalcum alchemical cauldron, you know? Of course, it costs a fortune. If you’re just asking to window-shop, please don’t.”
“Of course I’m asking with the intention to purchase. Besides my salary as a knight of the Ehlertt Order, I’ve received rewards for conquering the dungeon in the Ehlertt territory, prize money from winning last year’s swordsmanship tournament, and compensation for subjugating the elder treant on the recent dungeon expedition. Beyond that, I have money obtained from my work at the annual hunting festivals across various territories. If these are sufficient for payment, I intend to purchase it.”
“Hmm. So there’s a good chance you can pay… very well. No one’s bought it in fifty years, but it’s not like it’s not for sale. The price for this is—”
“W-Wait, please, Mr. Urgo!”
Feeling like it would all be over once she heard the price, Karen cut off Urgo’s words.
“M-M-Mr. Julius, actually, there’s something else I want more!”
“Even though you made straight for the orichalcum alchemical cauldron without looking at anything else?”
Julius looked down at Karen clutching her head and spoke with amusement.
“I watched you being drawn straight to this alchemical cauldron with sparkling eyes, as if you’d forgotten my very existence, Karen. I felt a bit lonely, but it was so adorable I nearly laughed.”
As Julius spoke with a chuckle, Karen’s face turned red while her eyes darted back and forth.
“I want you to let me buy the thing you want most, Karen.”
“The lad is saying he wants to lavish you with gifts. That’s the height of female privilege, isn’t it? You should just accept it gratefully.”
“Mr. Urgo, there’s absolutely no way it’s a price I can accept so readily, right!? It’s something like a hundred platinum coins, isn’t it!?”
When the potions Karen made were appraised, they got labels in parentheses like "minor," "medium," or "large." Above those was apparently "extra-large," but there was even something beyond that. Real "healing potions" had no label at all. They were said to have no limit to their restorative power and were also called full recovery potions. If such a potion went up for auction, the minimum successful bid was apparently a hundred platinum coins.
A hundred platinum coins. From the perspective of a commoner like Karen, it was an absurd amount. It couldn’t be directly converted into yen, but if she imagined it in yen, it would amount to hundreds of millions or even billions.
She couldn’t let him buy something like that. At Karen’s pale-faced question, Urgo frowned dubiously.
“There’s no way a mere hundred platinum coins would be enough. It’s orichalcum, you know? A legendary metal, you know?”
“Specifically, how much would it be? It doesn’t seem like an amount I can’t pay.”
“Mr. Julius, it’s fine, I’m okay, it’s too expensive for a present!”
As Karen grabbed his arm and pulled to restrain him, Julius narrowed his eyes.
“You were adorable when you were absorbed in the orichalcum alchemical cauldron, but I did feel somewhat displeased watching you completely forget about me after all. If you obtain it, you won’t become so absorbed as to forget me again, will you?”
Julius spoke with slightly cold eyes. If her reason for stopping him was mere modesty, he clearly had no intention of accepting it, a faint sneer touching his lips.
Even though the reason Karen had completely forgotten Julius’s existence on their date was that Julius had brought her to a place like this, it apparently still didn’t sit well with him.
Karen’s mind raced frantically to stop Julius, and eventually she clung to his arm.
“Karen? However adorably you try to restrain me—”
“Wh-what if!? If you and I were together, our wallets would be together too, right!? So I’d really like you not to spend a fortune here!”
Karen shouted, turning bright red. This was a desperate measure wrung from the depths of her soul—the "we’ll have joint finances when we’re married, so please don’t spend money here" strategy.
“—That’s—”
“I’m sorry! I know your money is yours, Mr. Julius! But for commoners, it’s normal for the wife to manage the husband’s money, so somehow that kind of thought just popped into my head! How embarrassing!”
Karen spoke incoherently while remaining bright red.
“Ah, but if that’s an outrageous way of thinking from your perspective, Mr. Julius, I apologize. For a commoner like me to think about managing your assets, Mr. Julius—that’s presumptuous, isn’t it? Ehehe…”
As Karen turned red and pale repeatedly with tears in her eyes, Julius sighed. Karen flinched at the sigh, and the tears welling in her eyes threatened to spill at any moment. Julius knelt at her feet and took her hand.
“It’s my complete defeat, Karen. Of course, when we’re married, the authority to manage my assets as your husband will belong to you as my wife. If you don’t permit it, I’ll refrain from major purchases.”
Karen cautiously observed Julius’s demeanor, but he didn’t seem offended. Rather, he wore a cheerful, amused smile as if in a good mood.
“Hey, you two, what are you doing about the orichalcum alchemical cauldron?”
“We’ll pass on it for today!”
Karen resolved in her heart to save up money and buy it herself someday.
The shared marital assets argument was just Karen’s sophistry, so of course, there would be no problem if Karen bought it herself.
“Then, my future wife. Within the range you’ll permit me, I’d like to give you a gift—could you tell me what you want second-most after the orichalcum alchemical cauldron?”
“Th-thank you very much. I’ll choose now.”
Karen steeled herself and let her gaze race in search of reasonably priced magical tools.
This time, she absolutely would not let her eyes be captivated by some outrageously expensive magical tool, she resolved with force in the pit of her stomach.
“Also, I’m personally interested in this magical tool—would it be all right to purchase it?”
“I think you may do as you please with that.”
“But since my wallet is yours, I thought it wouldn’t be good to buy things arbitrarily.”
Julius spoke with an air of amusement.
His manner of speaking was as if Karen had authority over all of Julius’s purchases.
It was serious to call it teasing, but the corners of his mouth were completely relaxed.
From the embarrassment caused by her own words, Karen turned bright red and shouted:
“Y-You know I only said that to get out of the situation, right!?”
“Even if you said it to get out of the situation, I took it seriously and withdrew. I can’t wait to be managed by you, Karen.”
Seeing Karen trembling with a red face, Julius laughed aloud like a blooming flower with mirth in his eyes.
Karen glared sharply at Julius, then turned her face away from him and resumed selecting magical tools with rough steps.
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