Part 34: Chapter 6-4: Medicine and Metallurgy

Part 6-4: Medicine and Metallurgy

Hey, Sue… you think Fritz might have another puppet show ready?

Only one way to find out!


The Dollmaker’s Stomachache

Mr. Fritz, are you alright? You’re sweating!

No, it’s fine. I’ve just got a bit of a stomachache…

That’s a problem! We can make some medicine for that, if you’d like?

Make some medicine? What do you mean?

Ah, we didn’t mention this? We’re alchemists!

What, really? Strange fate, indeed! Eeeeesh!

Ah, you just relax and take it easy! We’ll have some medicine ready before you know it!

Uwah, thanks… I’ll be counting… on you…

The twins go back to the atelier.

Hey, Lydie… we’ve never actually made stomachache medicine before, huh?

Hmm… we’re getting better at alchemy, so we should be able to make one up on the fly! We just need these ingredients…



That’s an interesting recipe. Wait… Puniballs and… beehives? I’ll let you handle this one, Lydie! I can’t touch the beehives!

Sigh… guess this falls to me, then.



Hmm… yes! This should do the trick!

Let’s go! It’d be rude to keep a sick man waiting!


Secret Ingredients

Thanks… I’ll drink it right away… Glug, glug… uwah! Uwah! How bitter! What did you put in that!

Just a touch of something good for you. The actual ingredients are a secret.

Don’t worry, it will prove itself soon enough.

Uwah! The pain is rapidly fading away!

There you go! That’s the power of alchemy!

Indeed, alchemy has done a lot for me over the years. It really is amazing, isn’t it? Thank you, both of you! I feel a lot better!

Good, I’m glad. That’s just an emergency measure, though. You need to resolve the cause or it will probably come back.

The cause? Anxiety, no doubt. Anxiety because of Drossel…

What? What is wrong with Drossel?

You know how she gets lost, right? Well, it’s even worse than you might think… It once took more than four years to find her. I swore to never be separated from her again… But when she vanishes, she vanishes! It’s like magic or something! An eldritch power! So I try to keep an eye on her every single day, but it’s giving me an ulcer…

I see. That’s going to be tough to fix…

Yeah. She started to be a little more careful herself, recently, but still… She’s my darling daughter, whatever she does to my stomach, I can’t abandon her now!

Very well. If your stomach starts to hurt again, just let us know.



P-Puni extract?

Ah, shoot! A-alright, we’ll see you later!

Hey! Puni extract?! Is that what’s in this?! Is it really safe to drink?! Hey!

Hey, Lydie… right around the corner. Hagel’s.

We’ve got some business with him, anyway. Hagel!


Uncanny Nostalgia

Huh? A customer? It’s open!



Hey, Pamela. It’s rare to see you here.

I guess it is! Sorry, but the doorknob to my room broke… I don’t have to get it fixed, of course, but it is a bit of a bother. Grace told me you’re good at your job, so I came to see if you could help me!

I see, I see. That sounds like something I can handle… hold on!




We’ve met before somewhere, right?

I was thinking the same thing! I just can’t remember where it was?

Me neither. The south? The west? Or could it be…

Hmm, this is so annoying! Like an itch I can’t scratch!

It can’t be helped if we both don’t remember. Pamela, was it? How about sharing a meal sometime? I think we’d get along pretty well!

Oh my, that sounds lovely! I’ll definitely take you up on that offer!

That settles it! Ah, now about this troublesome doorknob…

W-Wow, the two of them are getting along like a house on fire!

Hahaha! Like two weird little peas in a pod!

I’ll be back for it soon, Hagel!

Come back again soon, Pamela!


Tools of the Trade

We’ve got plenty of orders for you, Hagel! First off… I need a new staff!





Ah, you’re sharp! Ingots and Silvalias count as Weapon Material… so you can use a Silvalia for your Weapon Material to add more oomph to your staff!



Perfect! I’ve done it, a staff for Lydie! Here you go!

Uwah! Thanks so muwaaaaaach!

What happened there? You made a sound like a squashed frog.

It’s… too… heavy… This staff is too heavy!

Heavy? It’s made of metal, but it shouldn’t be too bad?

Give it here a moment. Hmm? It seems a bit light… For me anyway…

N-No it isn’t! Uwah! I can barely lift it!

Hmm. I made it so even a Puni could carry it…

What?

If it’s too heavy, very well, I’ll change it. I’ll try and get it down to ant weight…



Hahaha. Maybe you do need to work out a little more.



Next up… I need stronger firepower! Boom boom! Let’s use two more of the Silvalia we got from that quest the other day…



Alright! Now, this is Sue, so I’ll be sure to make two of these bad boys!



Oh! Hagel, I’m impressed! Hehe, these guns fit my hands perfectly!

Hey, Sue. I’ve been wondering about this for a while. Why do you use two guns? I don’t mind making a pair, of course. But isn’t it easier to aim with one gun?

Ah, the reason is simple. Two guns is much cooler!

Excuse me?



Ah, it was so great! I was pretty obsessed with it for a while.

I twisted the arm of my gun instructor until they taught me how to use two at once! Hah, fun times!

I see. That sounds just like something you’d do, Sue! I understand how you feel, too. So let’s modify your guns some more, shall we? Make you into a real comic book heroine?

Ah, are you sure? Very well! So, by concentrating I can extend the barrels by three meters!

Magic blades should extend from the grips, too! And when things get dicey, they fire a beam…



What’s this feeling? The feeling of defeat? What should I do? What can I do? Aaaaaah!

Haha… I guess there’s a reason that stuff’s only in comics?

Let’s lift his spirits by having him make something I know he can make! Next up…



The specs are pretty strict for this bow, huh…





Specs or not, they’re going to be way more powerful than the Hawkeye Bow!



A bow… you’re going to use this?

No, it’s not for us. It’s for an alchemist named Firis.

Huh! An alchemist? It’s rare for one to use a bow. (How does an alchemist use a bow, anyway… oh!) She uses arrows dipped in alchemy potions, does she? Shouting “Poison Arrow” and stuff like that?

I don’t know about that. We’d have to ask her.

I’ve seen her shoot fire, though, and rocks.
She can’t shoot rocks just yet, game!!

Rocks? That’s not a bow! That’s a catapult!

Ah, sorry, I’m not explaining very well. Now that I think about it, though, just how does she do that?

Sticks a bomb to the tip of an arrow, maybe? That seems a bit simplistic, though.

In any case, it sounds like she’s using it in ways I can’t possibly imagine…



Next up, a sword for Mathias! I mean, just look around the place! This is right up Hagel’s alley!



Weapon materials… and animal materials…?




Hahaha, check this out, girls! It’s a sword! A real sword! Like, the greatest sword ever!

You look pretty happy, Hagel.

You bet I am. I’m originally a weapon maker, after all. And swords are the greatest of all weapons. Not to mention such an article as this! I love it!

I-Is that so? I don’t really get it.

Oh, it is! So lovely! Beautiful enough to rub my face against it!

Uwah, don’t do that! You’ll cut yourself!

Bah, fine, I won’t. But now do you see how much I love swords?

Y-Yes… we can see that very well…



Uwah, scary! Very well. We’ll tell him, just like that.

Hahaha, good luck, Mathias! You’d better not drop this masterpiece by mistake!



Next up… Hagel, we need a book!

Er… a book? You want me to MAKE a book?



Let’s use more of the Silvalia we crafted the other day. We’ve enough to cover Firis’ new bow and now Alt’s new book…




Ah, the book for Alt! Thank you, Hagel.

I don’t really want to bring this up, but girls, do you know what this shop is?

What do you mean? You’re a handyman, right?

Or what, a general store?

A blacksmith! I’m a blacksmith! I don’t normally make books, you hear?



Wow, you wrote this? Hagel, I’m impressed. It’s so well made!

Once I’ve taken the job, I see it through. That’s what it means to be a craftsman!

You take real pride in your work, don’t you? Haha, tell me, Hagel… Could you use that pride to make a cheesecake? I bet you could make a really delicious one!

Hah, I’m not falling for that! I bet I could make one, but I’m not going to!

Gah, Hagel! I thought I had you!

Hahaha, but you think you could do it! You really are a handyman, Hagel!

Anyway, if Hagel thought making a book was weird, wait until he sees what Lucia wants…



Yeesh, this umbrella will really set us back! I guess it’s nothing for a rich girl like Lucia, but this’ll eat up almost all our remaining Coll!




I know you need cloth to make an umbrella, but I guess it’s pretty innovative of Lucia to incorporate armor materials into one.




I made it just like you asked, but are you sure about this? That’s an umbrella, right?

Ah, it’s fine. This is what Lucia asked for.

Still, I have to ask… It’s been strengthened, but won’t it still bend when it hits something?

That’s okay. Lucia will be the one using it, after all!

You think? The recipe also said “can block when opened”, but that’s just totally impossible!

This is fine, honestly! It’s all coming from Lucia!

If you say so… very well. It just seems a bit odd to me.

Hahaha. Us too, but what can you do?

Not much. Lucia will have to decide if this is good or not.

At least make the frame a bit tougher! But I can’t ignore my client’s wishes. Hmm, still…

Right! We made a weapon core the other day—a Blason of Ferocity. Why don’t we attach it to someone’s weapon?

Sure! I think… Firis’ bow would get a big boost!




The UI for attaching Weapon Cores doesn’t show off any modifications to the weapon’s parameters from customization, so the Surf Bow didn’t suddenly get nerfed out of nowhere.

We’re flat broke now, but we can swap out our old weapons and sell them for some cash for armor.








But that won’t be enough, so let’s check the Notice Board. Hopefully we can turn something in for some quick cash…



Perfect! Now, back to Hagel’s!



Some of the finest armor we can make… and we cobbled up just enough cash to buy it!

Shame that only a few among us can actually wear it. Oh well!




Luckily for us, weapon materials count as metal all the same!




Interesting. Looking at the parameter traits… For crafting armor, traits from different materials can merge… just like when we’re synthesizing!



It sure is handy! But it’ll cost you extra for me to put in the effort incorporating those traits!

Bah! But when we’re putting ourselves at risk out there, it’s worth every last bit of cash…



We’ve enough for just… one… more!