Chapter 47 – Having a Look at The Location of The Workshop

Just to clarify something, the pixies are an all FEMALE race.
That’s all, please continue reading.

A few hours after we left the Western Forest.

　Mabel, Agnis, and I had stopped by a town.

　We were supposed to meet up with General Reisenga’s men here today.

“We have been waiting for you.
I am General Reisenga Fraizad’s butler, the name is Randel.”

　Waiting for me at the entrance to the town was a stout old man.

　He had short red hair and a long beard.

“By the order of the general, I would like to take you to the potential site of alchemist Thor Canaan’s workshop.
I am honoured to receive such an interesting job.
I look forward to working with you!”

　Randel-san said, and bowed.

　The reason I came to General Reisenga’s territory was also to get a preliminary look at the location of the workshop.

　That’s why the general has arranged a guide.

“I’m sorry for the trouble I’ve caused you.
Randel-san.”

“No need to thank me, Thor Canaan-dono!”

He smiled as he stroked his beard,

“It is thanks to you that Lady Agnis can now take off her armour.
The boy – no,  the general was pleased to see her smiling face, even though she was not wearing a helmet.
It makes my work all the more worthwhile! Hahaha!”

“Randel, if you shout too loudly, you’ll frighten Thor-Canaan-sama.”

“Excuse me for my rudeness.”

　Then he took my hand…

“From this point on, I will be your guide.
I will show Thor Canaan-dono the place where the general and I carefully selected!”

　He declared confidently from the coachmen’s seat.

“The place should be close to the village and have plenty of water, right?”

“Yes.
It would also be helpful if there were mountains or forests nearby where we could collect things.”

　I nodded back at him over my shoulder.

“I’ve heard that the General’s territory will be developing mines in the future.
Of course, I have no intention of taking silver.
However, if you would allow me to gather a few materials for alchemy at the foot of the mountain…”

“I understand.
Rather, if you wish, I will gather the necessary materials myself.”

“No, I can’t ask you to do that…….”

“Don’t worry about it.
I’ve been told by the general to make things as convenient for Thor Canaan-dono as possible!”

　He closed one eye and chuckled.

　…… General Reisenga, you’re too nice.

“As for the potential site of the workshop, I have chosen places that were previously used by merchants and mages.”

　Randel-san continued.

“Most of those places are closer to the town.
If the buildings are still standing, we can simply renovate them, and the workshops will also be ready faster.”

“That’s true…….”

　It is faster to renovate an existing building than to build one from scratch.

　If someone has lived there before, it means it is a good place to live.

　As expected of the General’s subordinate.

　Next to me, Mabel is nodding.

　Agnis is reviewing the materials that ……Randel-san brought.

　She’s looking at the plans and blueprints for the workshop.

　It looks like we can leave the geographic selections to the others.

　I just need to make sure that the land is full of magic power.

　If the place is full of the magic power of light, dark, earth, water, fire, and wind, it would allow me to use [Creation Alchemy] easier.
Even the magic power of the magic stones can be accumulated quicker.

　It’s the most optimal condition to do Alchemy in.

　But even with my skills, I can’t tell the magic power of the land.

　In the first place, someone should be already living in places with lots of magic power.
I can’t be too greedy myself.

“It would have been easier if I asked René to follow us.”

　The pixies could have helped me find a place filled with magic.

　But I can’t ask her to work when she’s tending a sick person, can I?

　I’ll ask her when the light pixie is feeling better.

　While I was thinking about this, the carriage arrived at its first destination.

“This building use to be a store.”

　The General’s butler, Randel-san, said.

　We’re on a small hill overlooking the town.

　To the south is a mountain, and on the other side is the town where you can see General Reisenga’s house.

“There are three candidate sites, but this one’s building is in the best condition.
Take a look around to your heart’s content.”

“It’s such a big building…….”

　Mabel looked at the mansion in front of her, amazed.

　I’m surprised, too.
The house is too grand for Mabel and me to live in.

　The building in front of us is a two-story stone building.

　It used to be a store, so it has two doors.

　One was on the store side, and the other was probably the residential area.

　Agnis is checking the documents in her hand.

　She’s reading it out loud for me and Mabel to understand.

　This building used to be a residence and a restaurant.

　It was owned by a famous merchant who prided himself on using local ingredients in his cooking.

　The restaurant was quite popular, but the cook became too old to work.
Another person took over the job, but the taste deteriorated and the restaurant eventually closed.

　After that, it was no longer in use.

“It’s not a bad location, the forest is close and the mountains are close.
There are a lot of rooms, so I think we can use it without much renovation.
……”

　There are traces of a vegetable garden around the house.

　They probably used to grow herbs and such.
Now it’s broken and nothing is growing in it.

　The well is covered with a board and held in place by a stone to prevent dirt and sand from getting in.

　The General owns the land and the building, so he has to maintain it regularly.

“Father said that the building will be renovated according to the wishes of Thor Caanan-sama.”

　Agnis handed me a document.

　The document showed the layout of the house.

　The size and number of rooms are perfectly fine.

　If there was a vegetable garden, the earth magic power should be sufficient.
If there’s a well, water magic power must be flowing as well.

　There’s a good breeze, so the wind magic is also fine.

　As for fire, I’m not sure about that…….

“Thank you for introducing me to such a good location.”

　I bowed my head to Randel and Agnis.

　I didn’t expect to find such a nice place in the first place.

　I really have to thank the General for that.

“I’m glad to hear you say so.
Thor Canaan-dono.”

“Agnis also recommends this place.
Our residences are close by and you can come and see us anytime.
……”

　Randel seemed satisfied.

　Agnis is also looking at me with an excited look.

　The location and magic powers are also fine.

　Then I’ve decide-

　Clap, clap

“…Nn?”

　I heard a strange noise

　It sounded like a child clapping their hands.
I wonder what it is?

　It wasn’t Agnis or Randel-san.

　Mabel is checking the fences around the house.
It’s not her either.

　Clap, clap, clap.
Clap, clap, clap!

　The sound is coming from around the roof of the building.
Is it a bird?

　I wonder if there’s a bird’s nest on the roof.

　That was what I thought, but when I looked over…

「「「「Ziiiii──── 」」」」

　There was a small figure peeking out from the roof.

　They’re banging on the roof as hard as they can trying to get my attention.

　All four of them are pixies that are a few inches tall with transparent wings on their backs.

“Why are they here?”

“What’s wrong Thor-sama?”

“No, on the roof….”

“On the roof?”

　Sa-

　As soon as Mabel looked in that direction, the pixies hid behind the roof.

They whispered shiiiii~ in a small voice.

　They wanted to be kept in the dark.

Speaking of which, they were a shy rest.

“…… There doesn’t seem to be anything there.”

“It looks like there’s nothing there.”

　For the time being, I should respect the pixie’s intentions.

　After Mabel looked away, the pixies poked their heads out again.

　There were four of them.

　Their hair colours were yellow, blue, red, and green, or the colours of earth, water, fire, and wind, respectively.

　So they’re pixies of their respective attributes.

　But why are they here?

　pat, pat, pat

　Once again, the pixies hit the roof to get my attention.

　Then two of them swayed and hid behind the roof.

　The remaining two are waving their hands.

　Their hair colours are red and green.
But then another green one came out.

　Eh? What is this? Is this some kind of message?

　I don’t think a shy pixie would do something like this for no reason.

　So, I guess they’re …… trying to tell me something?

　If there’s one thing that I don’t understand and the pixies do, it’s …… magic power.

　Because they are sensitive to magic power, they helped the previous Demon Lords choose their lands.

　The first four people who showed up had different hair colours.

　Each of them was the colour of one of the four attributes: earth, water, fire, and wind.

　Two of them went down, and one pixie with fire attribute and two pixies with wind attributes were left.

　This means that …….

“The magic of the four attributes is not balanced in this place.
There’s strong wind magic power and fire magic power, but weak water power and earth magic power?”

　I mumbled, and the pixies made a clapping motion.

　They didn’t say anything, but it seema to be the right answer.

“What’s wrong Thor-sama?”

“Well, I was thinking about the magic powers of this land.”

“The magic power of this land?”

“I was wondering if the reason nothing grows in my vegetable garden is that the magic power in this land is weak.”

“….Ah.”

　Mabel’s face became flushed.

‘R-right? Normally, there would be weeds growing.
The fact that there aren’t any means that the …… soil might not be strong enough.
It’s quite possible that the earth magic power is weakening!”

“…… I knew it.”

　Then I looked at Randel-san.

“Um, Randel-san…”

“What’s wrong? Thor-dono”

“Could it be that the well in this building is …… dried out?”

“What are you talking about, Thor-dono? Hahaha.”

“You’re right, Thor Canaan-sama.
The well is dry…….”

Agnis shouted, lifting up the boards and stones that covered the well.

“It’s empty, not even a shred of moisture is in there.”

“That’s ridiculous.
…… regular maintenances should have been done.
……”

　Randel-san peered into the well.

　Mabel and I looked down as well, and…

“It’s dried.”

“The soil is even cracking.”

“There’s no sign of water.”

　The pixies sure are amazing.

　In the blink of an eye, they saw what kind of magic power this place had…….

　When I looked at them earlier, the pixie with water attributes had completely disappeared.

　That means the magic of the water here is really weak.

　Maybe the flow of the underground water has changed.

Maybe that’s why the merchant who was here quit his job.

“How did you know this, Thor Canaan-dono!”

　The butler, Randel-san, looked at me excitedly.

“I can’t believe that seen through the state of the well with just a glance.
This is the land that that boy Reisenga manages, and he himself visits it at least once a month.
Even I didn’t notice that the well had run dry.
…… How!?”

“…… Well…”

　I turned my gaze to the roof of the building.

　I saw a white arm.

　The pixies were making a cross with their arms sticking out of the roof.

　I think it means for me to shut up.

　As I thought about it for a while, a green-haired girl – a wind pixie – popped up.

　She’s lying on her stomach on the roof, frantically making an “X” mark.
Oh, her leafy clothes got caught in the wisps of the shingles.
With a flap of her hand, the …… clothes came undone.

　She hurriedly hid on the other side of the roof.

　Even with her clothing undone, she’s still making the x sign.
They must be really desperate.

　They truly are really shy.

　Oh well…

　I’ll explain it to them later but for now…

“The reason I noticed was…… well intuition!”

“The power of an alchemist is incredible!”

“It’s amazing that you can tell without looking in the well.”

　Randel-san and Agnis are both impressed.

　As for Mabel…

“As expected of Thor-sama.
Um….
you’re very kind.”

　She said while looking sideways at the roof….

　It seems that she noticed that something has happened

　Even the pixies could not deceive Mabel’s eyes.

“Can you put this place on hold for now and take us to the next place?”

　I said.

Randel-san nodded.

“Understood, Thor Caanan-sama!”

“By the way, where is the next location?”

“The mansion is a little south of here, along the main road.
There’s a hot spring nearby, so I greatly recommend it.”

“A mansion a little south of here, along the road, with a hot spring nearby?”

“Why do you keep repeating it?”

“It’s just a spur of a moment.”

　If you look at the building, you’ll see that the pixies are sticking their thumbs up on the roof.

　It seems that they will be following us too.

“Thor-sama dose some unprecedented things…….”

　Mabel said, taking my hand.

　She was still looking sideways at the roof, looking happy.

“But this is the first time in my life that I have had such a pleasant trip.
Let’s go to the next place, Thor-sama.”

“Okay, let’s go together.”

“Okay, Thor-sama.”

　Mabel declared with a smile, and the pixies clapped on the roof.

　Agnis went back to the carriage to check the documents, while Randel-san went to the coachman’s seat.

　Once Mabel and I got into the carriage, something landed on the ceiling of the carriage.

　Even though the sound was mixed in with the sounds of the carriage, Mabel’s ears still perked up

　Of course, that was the sound of the pixies riding on the roof of the carriage.

　It seems that they will continue to guide us.

　Oh, by the way, while Mabel and Agnis were making the [Light Attribute Clothings] in the West Forest, I talked to René, the Dark pixie.
I told René,  that I was going to check out the workshop.

　I wonder if they heard that and came along.

　…… Oh well.

　I’ll thank them later, but for now, let’s continue our tour of potential workshop locations.

“Then, let’s depart, Randel-san.”

“Understood, Thor-sama!”

　With the voice of Randel-sama, the carriage started to move.

　There was a banging sound on the roof of the carriage.

　As we listened, Mabel, Agnis, and I looked at the materials for the next location.

　And so we headed for the next potential location.