Chapter 4 Arcanopharmacist Yuruyana
I couldn't just leave this pretty girl outside with more people around, so I decided to take her inside for now.
"I'm sorry. I just moved here and I haven't even bought any tea yet."
I didn't really care about tea or water──both would taste the same anyway, and I had no guests coming.
I said this to sound polite, and the girl smiled back and shook her head.
She seemed so graceful, even after being upset just a moment ago.
"Please don't worry. It's my fault for visiting suddenly."
Even so, the person I was looking for wasn't here, so I felt a bit down, my shoulders slumping further.
"What did you need from my grandfather?"
I asked, hoping it might be something my family could help with.
The girl suddenly remembered and answered.
"Oh! Does Mr. Momota have any apprentices? I need someone to fix my Arcane Machinery!"
Then she started to explain her situation.
"My name is Yuruyana. I trained to be an Arcanopharmacist in the west."
"Wow, an Arcanopharmacist..."
I thought, 'Did she just say "I (ore)"?' but I pushed that aside, intrigued by her title.
An Arcanopharmacist has a national license to create and sell potions with magical effects.
My school, the Arcane Art Academy, had a special class for it, and it was really popular with kids from merchant families.
"I finally got my master's approval, but the Arcane Machinery I received is broken."
"So you came all this way because you heard my grandfather made it?"
Yuruyana nodded.
"Well, I originally planned to open a shop in the capital. But it's a problem... I can't open my shop if the machine is broken..."
"That's unusual. Many Arcanist and Arcanopharmacist don't like using machines."
As far as I know, making Arcane potions by hand is the usual way──well, Arcanists and Arcanopharmacist who take pride in using magic tend to look down on Arcane Machinery, or see it as a threat and dislike it.
So, someone like Yuruyana, who would need a machine like that, is quite the oddball.
"Isn't doing it by hand okay?"
"No way! Efficiency and accuracy are on a totally different level. Once you start using it, you can't go back to doing it manually."
Yuruyana huffs in frustration.
I've been curious since before, but even though she looks delicate and speaks softly, her gestures and tone show strange roughness and strength──what's that about?
"I understand. My grandfather was just a simple shop owner, so I don't think there's anyone like an apprentice."
If I had to say, maybe I'm closest to being an apprentice myself.
But that was before I entered the Arcane Art Academy, just messing around with Arcane Machinery by my grandfather's side for fun, so I can't really say I was his disciple.
"I see... I visited a few engineers I know, but they all said they couldn't fix it."
Arcane Machinery shows the craftsperson's habits and quirks.
Even if it's specialized equipment like what pharmacists use, breaking it would be a big problem, so honestly, people don't want to mess with it carelessly.
But I, on the other hand, became interested.
I wonder what kind of machine my grandfather made for pharmacists that other engineers can't fix.
"...Actually, I also have an Arcane Engineer license. Could you show me, just a little? I might not be able to fix it, but..."
"Really! Please do!"
Her face suddenly lit up with charm that could captivate anyone, young or old, and I couldn't help but squint from the brightness.
Yuruyana quickly rummaged through her Arcane Art bag she had placed at her feet.
"Here it is."
She took out something about the size of a coffee grinder.
A faint herbal scent wafted from the intake.
"Is it a machine for grinding medicinal ingredients into powder?"
"Yes! Here, I set the hardness of the material, adjust the coarseness with this dial, and when I press this button, it should work."
As Yuruyana said this, she put in an arbitrary material and pressed the red button, but there was no response.
"It's old because it's a hand-me-down from my master... They say making a new one would require custom parts, and the Arcane Art style is complex, so it's hard to replicate."
Taking out the material that couldn't be crushed, Yuruyana sighed deeply.
In the meantime, I checked the structure.
"It should be easy to maintain when it gets clogged. It definitely seems hard to make the same thing..."
Each part was designed to be easily removed by hand.
She was skillful, but I wondered if her grandfather made this part himself.
Opening the cover of the part with the Arcane Art circuit, I saw a beautiful circuit structure just like the machines in this house, and I found myself mumbling while tracking and understanding it with my eyes.
"...I might be able to fix it."
Hearing my words slip out, Yuruyana's big eyes widened even more as she came closer to me.
"Really!? Can it be fixed!?"
"I don't know. But, maybe."
I had seen the Arcane Art circuits my grandfather made since I was a child.
I had also repaired the machines used in my family home.
If I can fix it with the same feeling, it shouldn't be too difficult.
I peeled off her small body clinging to my shirt, sat her down in a chair to calm her, and she deeply bowed her head again.
"Please, I really want you to help!"
"It might break more."
"In any case, it doesn't move. If there's even a little hope, please go for it."
Those engineers I consulted before must have been at their wit's end.
It was definitely a special structure, different from what we learn in school or what the military handled, so for engineers who only worked with general machines, it might be quite unusual.
But for me, this was home.
Yuruyana, watching me carefully take off the circuit board, looked at me with her golden eyes, shaking with anxiety, so I decided to give her a little explanation.
There were no missing or crooked parts when I looked.
Even considering that other Arcane Engineers couldn't fix it, probably the problem isn't the parts, but a malfunction in the instructions system.
So, from now on, I will check the circuit and the Arcane Art style.
"Huhhh"
While Yuruyana looked at me unsure, I decided to trace the circuit starting from where I sensed the button's behavior.
Like lighting a lamp in the dark, I slowly let a faint magic flow through, making only part of the circuit and Arcane Art style react.
With the regular ticking of the clock's second hand, a quiet time flowed except for Yuruyana sneezing once.
And,
"Ah, here."
"Eh!?"
I finally found what seemed to be the cause── a fray on the circuit.
The Arcane Art style carved into the board was a little faded.
It's just a few characters, but that's enough to break the Arcane Machinery.
"Maybe, it's worn out because of tiny pieces of the reagent that got in while using it."
While explaining, I looked for the necessary tools.
Then I met Yuruyana's worried gaze.
"It's okay, I can fix it."
Remembering my habit from military rescue missions, I nodded deeply to reassure her, and her expression slowly brightened.
Thinking she was a girl who often changes her expression, I smiled slightly and took out a thin pen.
"What's that?"
"It's ink to write the Arcane Art style onto the circuit."
When I remove the cap, the nib pops out like a fountain pen.
Then I murmured quietly.
"[Rewrite]"
Immediately, the characters on the board glowed, and some of them rose.
They floated weakly in the air and then silently faded away.
Instead, the light from the nib stretched out like a thin thread, sticking to the same spot as the fallen characters, and forming the same characters, becoming quiet.
The glowing characters quickly disappeared, invisible to the naked eye.
"Done. I'll do a test run, so could you put in some appropriate material?"
While putting the circuit board back together, I gave instructions to Yuruyana.
"Is it already finished!? Okay then."
Yuruyana carefully took out the same wood chip she used before, and slowly put it into the hopper, then looked at me uneasily.
I nodded again.
Suddenly, the crusher made a loud crunching sound, and the wood chip was turned to dust in an instant.
"Oh, it moved!!"
Yuruyana couldn't help but shout out loud, and I let out a big sigh of relief, knowing I was okay.
Please bookmark this series and rate ☆☆☆☆☆ on here!
Donate me
Support Me with USDC
(ERC20)
Support Me with XLM
(Stellar Lumens)