World’s Cutest Alchemist

I was really considering it. What’s a few headaches anyways?

If I could get all my strawberry bushes to C+ grade, wouldn’t that be a fair trade-off?

“Hm…” I tapped my thigh a couple times before shaking my head.

I’ll think about it more later, even now I’ve just barely recovered. Though my core has filled up a fourth of the way to capacity, I’m still feeling the aftereffects of mana exhaustion.

Carefully picking off a strawberry, it was time for the most important part.

Tasting.

D grade strawberries were delicious—delectable even. They had an extremely addictingly sweet taste. So, I couldn’t help but get my hopes up for a C+ grade strawberry.

I gulped before smelling the strawberry.

A sweet, fruity aroma wafted to me. It smelt absolutely delicious. My mouth watered as I thought about eating this.

With a hopeful mind, I slowly bit down on the bottom half of the strawberry. It was way too big to eat in one bite with my small mouth.

Flavor literally exploded in my mouth. It felt as if my taste buds were being filled with sweetness. The juiciness of the strawberry covered every part of my tongue and I felt bliss.

My eyes nearly rolled back because of how good it was. The luscious sweetness of the strawberry was divine.

After I swallowed, I couldn’t help but take another bite. And another. And another. All the way until the strawberry vanished from my hand like a magician.

My hand felt empty and I stared at it. Soon, my eyes locked onto another strawberry.

I really shouldn’t—

I did.

It took three more strawberries after that to calm me down and my mind to kick back into gear.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t eat all the fruited strawberries. I needed some to plant more seeds, I was curious to see if they’d be better seeds since they were made from a C+ grade plant.

There were so many things I wanted to test with these strawberries. A lot related to cooking and alchemy.

But alas, that’ll have to wait due to a limited number of supply.

“Phew…” I calmed myself down, forcefully stopping my hand reaching for another one.

Those strawberries did set something in my mind though.

Looking around, I saw a bunch of plants that have yet to bear fruit or flower: Basil, cherry tomatoes, lettuce, peppers, rosemary… These were all plants I planted when I first awakened.

At the time, I didn’t know anything about gardening or my skill. So, I simply searched the top 10 plants for beginners and found those.

But now that I have a little more knowledge and more information on my personal preferences…It was time to remodel.

Today, I’d completely reshape the garden.

…

[I think Raccoon used our Alchemy Lab?]

User: I Hate This Job

I’m an alchemist working for a guild and our guild leader purchased several Alchemy Lab machines to place in arcades for recipe discovery.

He believes that we have a chance to find a useful recipe from the collective mass, saying stuff like “The children have imaginative minds” or something like that.

Anyways, once a month I have to go check the Alchemy Lab results and write a report on them.

For two years, the combined result from all of our machines were only around two useful recipes.

I’ve honestly thought that this was a complete waste of time for the longest time.

But today, as usual I was checking each location and I couldn’t believe what I saw on one of our machines.

A new recipe had been discovered for a healing potion!

Overall graded SS. They used a completely new recipe to create a C grade healing potion.

Immediately, I went to check the name and the name inputted was ‘Raccoon’.

Now, I don’t know if this is just someone playing a prank or if it’s actually Raccoon, but I’ll be damned.

The recipe they created was way cheaper than the usual C grade potion recipes we use.

I won’t disclose the recipe, but I couldn’t believe it when I saw ‘Opara Grass’ used in it. We haven’t completely researched or found out the specific methods they used yet, just the ingredients. So, I’m on the fence whether or not this is a real ingredient or bait to hide their recipe, but if it’s the former I’m completely flabbergasted.

TLDR; Raccoon(?) went to an arcade and created a C grade healing potion recipe.

→ [Is this real??]

→ [Why would Raccoon use some random guild’s Alchemy Lab? Lol sounds like BS]

↳ [(Author): I can’t believe it myself. (Photo) All I know is the name listed for a new recipe is ‘Raccoon’]

→ [Where is this arcade located?]

↳ [(Author): Florida. But, it’s not some niche location, it’s at a popular mall.]

↳ [Why would Raccoon expose themselves so lazily when they’ve been hiding so well until now? This seems like bait or some hidden plan is in motion.]

↳ [She was at an arcade, right? Maybe she just wanted to impress her date lol.]

↳ [No!!! My horn! She can’t be dating some dude!!]

↳ [?]

→ [Basically, if this story is true, your guild is the closest to finding out the Little Bomber’s identity?]

↳ [This is hilarious LMAO. Exposed identity because of a date.]

↳ [(Author): Maybe? Maybe not? Even if this is actually Raccoon, there’s no way of knowing when the machine was played. It could’ve happened at any point from my last check up until today.

↳ [There’s cameras though, can’t you just go through all of them and find a short girl with long hair who played the machine?]

↳ [(Author: There’s no cameras specifically pointing at the machine. Plus, hundreds of people walk in and out of the arcade every day, it’s nigh impossible to find them especially when all we know(?) is that Raccoon is a short girl with long hair.

↳ [Why the hell isn’t a camera pointing at the machine?]

↳ [(Author): Legal issues.]

→ [It would be absolutely hilarious if this is actually Raccoon, so I’ll believe it is LMAO]

→ [The Little Bomber went on an arcade date? Is this why some days she doesn’t sell potions?]

↳ [No!!!]

↳ [LOLOL]

→ [I can’t believe the Little Bomber goes on dates…I’m 27 and have never been on a date in my life…]

↳ [Sucks to suck.]

→ [So, Raccoon is a Floridian? Makes sense she’s a little crazy then.]

↳ [Real. Always knew something was up with her when I saw the bombs she was using.]

↳ [I’m from the same land as the Little Bomber? I’ve never been prouder to be a Floridian!]

→ [The part that makes this believable is the fact they got an SS overall grade. Those are notoriously difficult to achieve.]

→ [Opara Grass? Has Raccoon actually found a use for that weed?]

↳ [I think this is the most interesting part of the story that a lot of people skipped. It could be a red herring, but if it’s real, then Opara Grass was used as a material to make a C grade healing potion? Have they found out a use that even analysts and botanists couldn’t find?]

↳ [This reminds me, wasn’t someone buying Opara Grass a few months ago? Any relation?]

↳ [Ah, I remember this. It was so out of left field that it stuck.]

↳ [Good times…They bought me chicken just for harvesting some weeds.]

→ [So, you’re telling me…The hottest alchemist out right now; The one almost every guild is looking for; The one that even government agencies are scouring the world for; The ‘Little Bomber’—Someone who has never revealed themselves in any sort of capacity, went to some random arcade, played the Alchemy Lab machine, created a new recipe and left their name to impress their date?]

↳ [Hilarious if true.]

…

The first thing I did after setting my mind is select all the plants I’d be getting rid of.

Which…Was pretty much all of them. Everything except for my strawberries and materials had to go.

With a small trowel, I began uprooting all the plants I’d sell. I didn’t know how quick they’d sell on the exchange or if they’d sell at all, but surely someone will buy them?

They’re all plants with a quality buff after all. Even if the growth buff gets removed, that doesn’t remove the growth it’s achieved.

Plus, those who are looking to buy plants would probably appreciate the apt item description.

[Basil Plant]

Grade D

This plant was grown from a small seed and raised with love and care. Due to consistent gentle injections of mana since seedling, this plant is more open to mana and accepts mana easier. A hopeful wish by the tender has reached the plant’s properties, aiding the quality of all future harvests.

“Grow up big and strong!~”

I smiled at the plant. It felt like I was sending a child off to live on their own which made me feel a little bitter. But, it’d be better than staying with me. I still love it, of course, but, staying with someone else would be better for the little plant.

I tenderly caressed the basil’s leaves,

“Goodbye, little basil. I pray you find a better caretaker.” I said, using my skill on it ever so gently before listing it on the exchange.

Of course, I didn’t list it as ‘Raccoon’, but rather ‘BinLover’. There was already a precedent with that account and plants since I’ve purchased opara grass.

Shortly after, I listed the rest of my plants on the exchange. A small sniffle coming to my nose as the last plant left.

Though it was for the better, I couldn’t help but feel a little sad. But, the thought and hope of them finding a good gardener to take care of them lifted my spirits.

Not wanting to dwell on it for too long, I purchased a large container and moved the soil from the empty planter boxes into it.

Since I was remodeling, I was changing everything.

Well, except the planter boxes, I quite like their design. They look cute.

“Hm…What soil should I use…”

Almost all of the soil I’ve been using have been different grades—in other words, extremely inconsistent. That couldn’t be helped since I was broke when I first purchased it. As I sold more and more potions, I was able to afford better soil, but it went up in stages.

Now that I have an consistent income, I was looking to buy the same soil for every planter box.

Unfortunately, B grade soil wasn’t happening. Even with a steady income, I couldn’t afford to fill all my planter boxes with them.

C grade soil is possible but then I’d be ringing my points dry. So, unfortunately, I’d have to settle with D grade soil.

The soil soon appeared in front of me and I filled each empty planter box.

I was left with a few bags of soil for future use.

The pleasant scent of soil filled the room, it really makes me feel connected to nature.

With that done, I slowly started to move every planter box into rows. I was planning to make this room quite aesthetically pleasing but also functional. My strawberries would all be lined up. And I’d organize the materials based on their properties.

I even purchased a place to plant hiroki shrooms. Since they liked dark, humid places, I placed those in the far corner of the room, away from the window.

And, just a few hours later, it all came together.

The garden looked—albeit empty—stunning. Rows of planter boxes lined the room, the strawberry bushes were thriving and the materials on the other side of the room were pleasant to look at.

All that was left was to plant a few more strawberry seeds—C+ grade seeds—and some more materials.

Originally, I had planned on creating a new potion today, but I got side-tracked and focused on the garden. And, due to my now unfortunate point situation, brewing a new potion will have to wait.

Tomorrow, I’m back to selling mana potions—The most profitable potion I have.

…

The old man watered the basil plant with a smile. After retiring, he took up gardening as a hobby and quite enjoyed spending the remainder of his days nurturing plants.

Just recently, he purchased a new batch of plants to tend to after reading their descriptions.

Their previous gardener seemed to have cared for them quite a lot. Considering that even the item description mentioned it.

Though he didn’t know for what reasons their previous tender had to sell them, he would gladly take over and tend to them just as well as they did.

“Grow up big and strong, huh…” He mumbled.