Part 9: Chapter 3-1: Ambition and Reputation

Part 3-1: Ambition and Reputation


Rumors and Goals



Is someone knocking? Customers, hopefully?

Are we already catching on? Hello! This is Merveille’s hottest up and coming atelier! Come on in!



Oh. It’s just Lucia.

Ah, Lucia! Do you want some tea?

I’m not here for that. I heard a very amusing rumor, and came to check it out.

Rumor? About what? Spit it out!

You have joined the Atelier Ranking System? Is that true?

You find that amusing, do you? Yes, we have signed up. We passed the qualifying exam with flying colors, even!

But do you understand? Taking part in the ranking system means competing with Atelier Borthayre. On one hand, we have you two. Unranked, hardly any training, and just joining the system. On the other hand, we have me, given a G rank from the start in recognition of my many successes.



Hold on. You have a G rank, Lucia?

Yes, that’s right. You’re shocked by the clear gap between us, aren’t you!

Not really. In fact, there’s much less of a gap than I expected.

How dare you! All alchemists normally start Unranked, I’ll have you know?

Heh-heh! Not our teacher! She started from C rank!

C? C? Rank C? That’s impossible! I can’t believe such preferential treatment for anyone!

It doesn’t matter to us. Thanks for coming, anyway! Now that we know there isn’t much of a gap between us, we’ll set our first goal as surpassing you!

What!



Whaaaat!

That’s the plan, Lucia. Drop your guard and we’ll overtake you! Hehe, good luck!

U-U-Uwaaah! Sob! I’m leaving!

Lucia storms off.

Bye-bye, Lucia!

Still a crybaby, isn’t she! Anyway, do you even know how we raise our rank?

We have to take more exams, I guess. Maybe we should start by talking to Mireille.

Hmm. So what are we doing standing around here?



To the castle!


Tests and Reputation

That’s right! We actually don’t have a clue how to do it.

Sorry. I should have explained it before, but I got a bit distracted. I’ll tell you now. Just as you passed an exam to enter the Atelier Ranking System, you have to pass an exam to promote a rank. But I’m not going to just give you a promotion exam. You need to raise your atelier’s renown with the citizens you’re serving first. That should cover it. Did you get all of that?

Yes, I think so. Maybe?

Hahaha. Give it a try and you’ll pick it up. Just increase your reputation and take exams! It will mean leaving the city, though. I’m a bit worried about sending you two out there alone.

Right… we’ll have to leave the city for gathering materials and fulfilling requests and other tasks, after all.

You do. Also…



There aren’t many of them. What should we do?

Perfect timing, actually. Twins, you’re up. Could you go and take care of this monster problem? I want to see if the two of you can handle this.

Very well. We’ll give it a try! I’m pretty sure we can pull it off.

Good. I’ll be counting on you. Just take care!

The twins leave, and reach the Gate of Merk when…


The Hunter and the Griffonian
Music: Wind Chaser (Lydie & Suelle Ver.)

Hold it! You’re planning on leaving the city? You’d better rethink that, at the moment. We’ve got some trouble with monsters nearby.

Hahaha. Actually, we’re on our way to deal with that problem right now.

You are? Sorry, but you don’t look all that strong!

Maybe “strong” isn’t the word I would use, but we are alchemists.

That’s right! We’re going to blow those monsters away with a few quick bombs! Bang, boom!

Hey, is that so? My sister is also an alchemist! I guess this is fate. Allow me to introduce myself. I’m Liane, a hunter.



Liane. I’m Lydie.

And I’m her twin sister Suelle! You can call me Sue!

Lydie and Sue, is it. Nice to meet you both! I sell the things I hunt at my store. They might help with alchemy, too. Why don’t you stop by some time? I’ll even give you a discount. Just a small one!

Wow! We’ll be sure to visit!

I’m looking forward to it already. Good luck on your monster hunt!



You know what, Sue? I want to take her up on her offer right now.

Sure, why not? Her store is right there, too! Liane!

Welcome to the Lovely Firis! What takes your fancy?



This Princess Grass looks amazing. We’ll take it!

240 Coll, please!

Alright!

Thank you! Drop in any time.

…Hey, Sue. Think we should ask her what “Lovely Firis” means?

It’s fine. I get the feeling we’ll learn way more about it than we want to know soon enough, anyway.

If you say so. Anyway…



The report said the monsters were at the Spring-green Odahlia.

Let’s go!



I’ll get this started!



That Bomb barely fazed it…

I guess this thing doesn’t mind fire all that much! Just batter it with everything else we’ve got! Like our Uni Bag!

A maelstrom of bullets and Uni later…



Yes! We won! I guess you really don’t know until you try, do you?

We are alchemists, after all. Not much can stop the two of us together… Er…

I don’t like the look of this…



W-W-What should we do? We’re totally surrounded!

Bang, boom!



Girls! What are you doing?! Are you hurt?

T-Ilmeria! What’re you doing here?!

Mireille asked me to keep an eye on you, so I’ve been quietly following behind. It looks like I made the right decision, bringing those bombs along.

Waaah! Ilmeria! Teach! I was so scared!

OK, OK, you’ll make your face all puffy. Just remember one thing.



Watch closely, wait for a chance, and then strike their weak points. That’s how alchemists fight.

We’ll remember it, for sure.

Good. You did a good job by yourselves too, anyway. Come on, let’s go back to the castle. Mireille is worried about you, too.

Let’s…


The Name of the Twins

We didn’t. If Ilmeria hadn’t shown up, I don’t know what might have happened.

Mireille. I think it is too dangerous for them to be out there alone. We’ve seen an increase in monster numbers recently, too. I think I need to…

Wait, Ilmeria. You’ve already got too much on your plate.

True, you’re keeping me very busy. But still…

You don’t want them risking their lives. I understand. I’ll find someone to watch over them. Twins… Until I find someone suitable, can you both promise me that you won’t do anything dangerous?

OK. I’m sorry that we’re so weak!

No need for any of that. You defeated those monsters, didn’t you? I’ll add that to your reputation. Thank you.

What? Are you sure? Ilmeria defeated most of them?

No I didn’t. I just cleaned up the stragglers. Right?

Ilmeria!

Once the kingdom recognizes the deeds of your atelier, you can take the Promotion Test. So you need to start by building your reputation. The exam requirements are written here for you. Read them carefully when you have a moment.

I need to get back to work. You two, don’t push yourselves too hard. Bye-bye!

Ilmeria leaves.

Thank you, Ilmeria! I guess we need to get back too.

Sounds good. We’ll see you later, Mireille!

The twins leave.

So, a bodyguard, huh… Luckily, I have just the person in mind.

Just outside…

I read the requirements. Basically, like she said, we need to increase our reputation.

That makes sense. Increase our reputation, then!

Where to start, then? That’s next… Sue, what are you writing down?



Keeping a record of what we’ve already done will be useful, too.


So you gain access to the next promotion exam by filling out the Ambitions Journal. The exam itself unlocks when you’ve filled out at least half of the tasks listed in three of the entries. If you want the True Ending, you have to finish close to all of the tasks.

I’m not going to show the twins fulfilling all of the tasks, because as this tutorial screen shows, they can be pretty trivial, and later on you’ll come across tasks that depend on you having items with traits that you may not necessarily have, and I’m not putting the LP on hold just for that. I will post the entries in the debrief of the end of each chapter, though, just so you know what they are.

I see! Great idea, Sue! Let’s fill up that notebook with ideas.

Oh right! Before we go, Mireille gave us our subsidy. 500 Coll for an alchemist in the system, but without a rank.

Awesome! Now then… let’s start simple. Let’s go all around town and chat with people!

Right! Let’s start by going to Soleil Street! We have a knife that we need Hagel to repair, after all.


A Blacksmith and a Vocalist

I could recognize that singing from a mile away…

Hello, Hagel! Hahaha, singing again today?

Hey, girls. Haha, I’m always singing! Singing with feeling makes work go more smoothly. More than that…



Hah, “waste” isn’t the word I’d use!

Bah! You have no clue about art, Sue! No clue at all! Enough about this, anyway, What can I do for you today?

Ah, well. We have a knife with a nick on it…

We found some uni but they are super tough. I took a mighty swing and it was the knife that lost…

Of course it did! A cooking knife isn’t a weapon! Gah, like this is the first time…

Hahaha… You’ve repaired not only our knives but also our pots and even our cauldron many times!

Good point. Come to think of it, almost all the metal stuff in our house was made by you, Hagel.

Hahaha, you bet it is! Breaking things is what you do best, girls! Leave it to me, anyway. I’ll have that knife as good as new, before you know it!

Great! Thanks so much, Hagel!

No problem! Now, in exchange for this, maybe… Could I add a function to your cauldron? Press a button and the flame color changes…

That sounds completely pointless. No thanks. Please just repair the knife.

Gah, you guys are no fun… Alright, I’ll take care of the knife, as boring as that is.

Alright! Let’s take a jog down Lune Street on the way to the Garden of Merk… oh?



I’ve never seen it before. Whose do you think it is?

It sure is a weird-looking tent. Oh well. Let’s move on! To the Sea-View Hill!

The twins move on, where they find…


The Childhood Friend and Nun

What’s this? The young mistress of Atelier Borthayre, slacking off in a place like this?

Ah, hello girls. I’m not slacking off at all. I was just thinking what a lovely picture I must make, looking out over the sea. Ah, art!

Is that so…

Hey, Lucia. When you come here, doesn’t it take you back?

To what?

To when we used to play together, silly. We’d play tag and house and all sorts. Hehe. You always brought some delicious snacks for us to eat, too, didn’t you?

Right! Those were the best. Ah, I can still remember that elegant, subtle sweetness.

I know the ones you mean. My mom would give them to bring over. It does take me back, yes…

Hey! If you’re sitting there thinking about how artistic you are, you’re free now, right?

Hey! My beauty is an indisputable fact!

Sure, sure. It’s been so long, why don’t we play a game? We need to let off some steam too.

Hey, good idea! What do you want to play? Shall we draw some pictures? Uni battle?

A little fun couldn’t hurt… but no, I’m sorry, I simply don’t have the time. Maybe next time. I’ll see you later.

Lucia leaves.

Ah, she turned us down. It looked like she wanted to have some fun though…

She just can’t be honest to herself. If you want to play, go ahead and play!

I know, right? Anyway, now that we’re here, I wanted to visit Pamela. I was wondering what she’s doing back here in Merveille.

Right!



Yes, that’s right. I trained here as a nun. Hehe, you were so small back then! This small! Ah, that takes me back!

Haha, I don’t think we were quite that small! When you finished, though, didn’t you leave in a carriage? So why did you come back to Merveille? After all this time, too…

Hmm. Do you really want to know?

Yes, of course.

All right. Have your handkerchiefs ready, though, girls. It was after I finished my training. I stopped in a large town on my way home. I was buying some gifts, and went and spent too much money! I couldn’t pay for the rest of the journey!

Ugh…

But I wasn’t going to give up! I earned enough money for a ticket, got another carriage…



I see… That’s just like you, Pamela!

Ah. So the reason for this new shop…

That’s right! To make the cash to get me back home!

Well, that’s a better reason than I expected. I thought maybe you were just passing the time!

Please! Sue, that’s quite rude! This is about more than just passing the time! Finding products, managing sales, it isn’t easy!

Hahaha, I guess you’re right.

So please, think of it as helping me out, and buy a lot of things from me! Thank you!

Hey, Lydie. After hearing a story like that…

I know, Sue. Might as well help her out a bit…



Can’t say she doesn’t have some good deals!

Might as well go home for now! We’ve got homework from Ilmeria, and we’d better hone our alchemy if we want the reputation for the G rank exam.

Say, Lydie. How do you think Mireille keeps track of our reputation, anyway?

Maybe she just has a file on us? She jotted something down when Ilmeria told her we took out those Griffonians. Maybe she’ll get word of our exploits somehow, put it in the file, and use that to determine if we’ve built up the reputation to qualify?

Oh. Now that I think about it, that’s actually kind of scary…