ASDP Chapter 41

“Amelia. Are you going out again?”
As I was getting ready to go out to collect materials and conduct a vegetation survey, Alice called out to me. It had been eight days since Alice started her stay, and we had become quite close through cooking. So it seems like it would be boring for her if I went out.
“Yes. I’m unemployed at the moment, so I have to at least help my father with his work.”
To be honest, I’m not proud of the fact that I graduated from school but I’m not working and I’m living off my parents. That’s why I want to do this much.

“Why don’t you get a job? I heard that you graduated from magic school.”
Ugh.
It was a difficult thing to say, but Alice asked with clear eyes.
“I had a job lined up, but I had some issues with my coworkers and had to quit. So my father gave me a year to think about what I really wanted to do, and now I’m just helping out with the housework.”
I feel a bit embarrassed to talk so candidly to a 12-year-old about the messy situation I’m in, having been engaged and dumped for a saint who was also in the same party as me.
No, my situation isn’t that messy, you know? I try to make excuses in my mind that it’s in the past, but there’s no doubt that the details are a love affair no matter who sees it.

“Anything with your friends?”
“Lady Alice, it is not polite to ask such deep questions about personal matters.”
Just as I was thinking that it would be difficult to say, Sylphia stopped her.
Maybe she knows something. … I’m a little worried about what kind of rumors are spreading in the royal capital, but it doesn’t matter anymore. As long as I live here, I won’t meet the two of them.

“That’s right. My apologies. But if you’re not working as a magician, why don’t you become my bodyguard? I’d like you to teach me more about this.”
“I’m sorry. I have no intention of working in the royal capital.”
She was probably just being naive and meaningless, but that was not an option. Alice was naive, or rather, she had a lack of common sense and didn’t know things that most people would know, but from what I’d seen of her over the past few days, she wasn’t a bad girl. But I have no intention of quitting my plan to make the Saintesses fall, and I have no intention of choosing a job that would likely mean I’d meet my ex-boyfriend.

“……no matter what?”
“No matter what.”
Even if she looks up at me with tears in her eyes, it’s still no good. Seeing this, Alice puffed out her cheeks.
“If I asked, the temple would listen.”
“Then hurry up and return to the temple where you can be assured that everything you say will be done. The people who will come to pick you up should be here in about two days.”
“Hmmmm. But Amelia still says she’s okay with it.”
To be honest, I feel guilty, but I shake it off and leave the house.

“I understand that I can’t hire Amelia as my guard, but can’t I just accompany you to the mountain?”
“No. You don’t have the skill to be able to harvest while protecting you. I learned the basics, but experience is key in this kind of situation.”
I have knowledge of guarding, but in my case, it’s just knowledge and I have too little actual experience. Even Theo, who was not used to gathering materials, failed to gather them while protecting Alfie. With my lack of experience, I can’t say for sure that it will be fine. Unless it’s absolutely necessary, I feel bad for Alice who is sulking, but she has to stay home and wait.
Alice probably thinks I’m having fun.

“Plus there are giant bugs on the mountain that are really gross.”
“insects?”
“There are lots of palm-sized caterpillars and hairy worms, and even earthworms the size of small snakes.”
“Hiii. Alice-sama, please. Safety here comes first.”
Alice didn’t seem to get the idea of ​​what a hated bug was, but Sylphia reacted more clearly. She let out a small shriek, grabbed Alice’s arm and shook her head frantically.
“But I’m bored. I’ll get in trouble if I cook without permission.”
“Of course. I’d be in trouble if you destroyed my kitchen. When I get back, we’ll cook together again. Until then, how about reading a book? They’re all about magic, but they’re lined up on the bookshelf in my room. As for entertainment books… Ah, but I’m sure there is also a fairy tale about magicians that I read when I was little. Probably on the bottom shelf.”
I don’t remember throwing it away, so I think it’s in the area where I keep things that I don’t read often.
My father gives me gifts like books about materials and other things he clearly wants to read, so there aren’t many entertainment books. My father said that the fairy tale about the magician was something my mother bought for me, even though I don’t remember that.

“Okay. I’ll read it and wait, so come back soon. Absolutely.”
My father is still as cold as ever towards Alice and the others, so she probably wants me to stay at home even more.
“Yes, yes. You can read the books, but please don’t touch any magical items. Some of them are dangerous.”
“It’s the same thing your father said, why do you have something so dangerous in your room?”
“I think that’s what magicians and alchemists’ rooms are like. Although it can be dangerous if you don’t know how to use it, there are a lot of things that are useful for exorcising monsters, and tools of self-defense, etc.”
I also think that the more you don’t want others to touch something, the closer you keep it, but I only know my own room, my father’s, and my grandfather’s, so I don’t know if other magicians do this.

I parted ways with Alice and headed for the mountains.
I’d put Alfie’s letter in a letter box that only I could open, and I’d hidden the mineral documents he’d copied for me in my bag, so there probably isn’t anything that would excite Alice if she entered my room.
“Since Alfie took the time to look into it, I’d like to compare a few things.”
There seems to be a mineral called amber that is made from tree sap. However, it seems to take millions of years to form, so it’s a bit different from the material used in the glasses, which are made from mana solidified with resin. I think that was also formed over a long period of time, but although the maga that occurred on this mountain is old, it’s not millions of years old. I think it’s probably around two or three hundred years old.
I wonder if the mana is what causes the resin to harden quickly, but I’ve never heard of mana having such an effect.
“Where do I start?”
I still have some of the crystals, so maybe I should first get some regular amber and compare the difference? If the cause of the solidification is different, there will likely be a difference. The problem is that amber is quite expensive, so it will likely be hard to get hold of. … I think I should have negotiated to exchange the materials from the other day for regular amber, but it’s also important to have them make glasses so that we can distribute them to doctors in the area. I’d also like information on people who have been turned into monsters.
Don’t rush, just try your best and do your best from what you can.

Just before entering the mountain, I put on goggles and a mask.
Recently, Alice has been coming home early, so I’ve stopped researching the vegetation, and although I wrote a letter to Theo, I haven’t been able to write much about my research. …Well, if I could get results soon, I wouldn’t be living the way I do now, relying solely on the Saint. Things seem to be stagnating, but the fact that there are so many things I need to research means that I know more than before. Nothing has changed, so I should be patient and solve my questions one by one without rushing.
“I don’t think I can finish researching it in a year, so maybe it would be best for me to take over my father’s job after all.”
As I pluck the leaves, I think absentmindedly about my future.
If I gather materials, I could research the maga at the same time, and it would give me more free time than if I was a doctor. However, looking at my grandfather’s lifestyle, he always prioritized the patient, and even if I could do medical research, I don’t feel like I would have time to research the maga.

While I was thinking about this and collecting the flowers I was asked to, I heard footsteps behind me and quickly turned around. It was a familiar villager who was coming up behind me. Since it wasn’t a monster, I let out a sigh of relief and relaxed my guard.
“Hello, Mike. This is unusual, isn’t it?”
Mike is a farmer. He usually works in the fields and looks after his livestock, so he doesn’t climb mountains very often.
However, right now he had a grim look on his face and was breathing heavily. It seems he had run all the way here.
“I’m glad I was able to meet you safely… Amelia. I came to deliver a message from your father.”
“My father?”
Maybe he needed some additional materials, but it’s unusual for him to send someone over. Usually, they would never agree to unreasonable demands from their business partners.
“Please calm down and listen. Maga has occurred in the neighboring town, so he wants you to collect lots of mushrooms. Now that I think about it, he said Amelia would understand…”
Is there maga in the next town?
I understood the maga, but didn’t want to understand it, and my blood went cold all at once.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter and thank you for reading!