World’s Cutest Alchemist

As we approached the receptionist, she stood up and warmly greeted us.

“Good afternoon, how many I be of assistance today?” She asked.

“Picking up some reservations.” Luna replied, handing the receptionist her awakener’s card.

The receptionist scanned the card and I heard a ‘beeping’ noise, it reminded me of the checkout counter at publix. After typing a few things on the computer, she nodded and returned Luna’s awakener’s card.

“Someone will be here in just a moment,” She said with a polite smile, “Is there anything else I can help you two with?”

“I’m fine,” Luna said, “Bin?” She turned to me.

“Mm…” I thought for a moment and then remembered something, “Is stalker—Ahem! I mean, is Nero mister here?” I asked.

“Nero?” The receptionist repeated, “Are you referring to department head Nero?”

“Um…Maybe? He had a level 5 access card if that helps.”

“That would be him then, yes. And who is asking?”

“Can you tell him that his idol is here?” I asked.

“…” The receptionist paused before grabbing her radio, she clicked the button on the side and spoke, “Reception to department head Nero.”

A moment later, a male voice returned over the radio,

“Yes? What’s the matter?”

Pfft, that’s him alright. I remembered his voice.

“I have someone at the desk for you, it’s your idol.”

“What? My idol…?” Nero replied with a confused tone but then after a moment something seemed to click as he continued, “…Oh, I believe I know who it is. I’ll be there in a moment.”

After he finished speaking, the radio communications didn’t stop one bit. Several more voices, ones I didn’t recognize, all started speaking,

“Nero’s idol!?”

“Nero has an idol?!”

“Pfft! That guy has someone he idolizes?!”

“Department head Yona to department head Nero, direct. Hey! Who’s your idol?! Is it an awakener? Musician? Actor? Tell me, I need to know!”

But, Nero never responded. No matter how much they tried to pester him over the radio, his voice never came through. He must’ve turned it off or something.

“You’re his idol?” Luna asked with an amused smile.

“Of course I am.” I said, “The evidence is obvious~”

While Luna and I casually chatted back and forth, I noticed the receptionist looking at me strangely. I think she was scrutinizing me. Her head turned to me and then to the right—which I presumed was her system since there was nothing else there. After a moment her brows raised as she leaned in,

“Um…Excuse me.” She started.

“Yes?” I turned to her.

“Are you, perchance, the Little Bomber?” She asked, she looked noticeably more excited than she did earlier.

Pfft! I kind of figured that’s what she was thinking. Actually, since Luna and I first stepped into the building, I noticed that people were looking at me. Now, I didn’t know if they weren’t confident that I was the Little Bomber or if they were just being respectful, but, they at least had some thoughts.

Honestly, that was expected. Ever since I changed the anonymous setting on my replays, both Luna and I knew that I’d be recognized in public. And we were both fine with that.

“Yep!” I said with a smile, “That’s me.”

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“Oh!” She gasped, covering her mouth with both palms. “Oh my goodness, I wasn’t expecting this today.” She said, “Um, could you autograph my badge?” She asked, holding out her association badge and a sharpie.

“Of course!” I said, taking both, “Where do you want me to sign?”

“Anywhere above the bar code is fine, please!”

I already knew exactly what to sign. Technically, this wasn’t my first time giving autographs; I had snuck in a few signed bottles to my parents when I gave them the potions.

A few months ago, I had practiced my signature in preparation for when I’d have to sign autographs. Now, was it a little egotistical of me to practice that back then? Nah! Not when you’re me! Hehe!

I found an apt spot and signed: ‘Raccoon, the Cutest Little Bomber 0˶ᵕ˶0♡’

“Here you go,” I handed her the badge with a smile.

“Thank you so much!” She said excitedly, looking at her newly signed badge, “Um…Is it alright if I post this?” She asked.

“Go ahead.” I nodded.

“Yes! Thank you!”

I wonder if she’s a part of the Little Bomber fan club?

I didn’t ask as a moment later, I saw a familiar face approaching.

“Ms. Raccoon, Ms. Luna, you’re here.” Nero said with a polite smile. He didn’t look as sleep deprived since I last saw him.

“Hi!” I waved, “You’re looking better, stalker mister!”

“Stalker-No, haah…” He sighed, giving up on defending himself, “Yes, I’ve been getting a bit more sleep lately. So, what brings you here today?” He asked.

“Well, actually, we’re mainly here for Mouse’s reservations.” I gestured to Luna, “But! Since I’m here anyways, I do have a question for you!”

“Reservations? Ah, then, I’ll guide you there,” He turned to the receptionist, “Ms. Dream, where do they need to go?” He asked.

“It would be temporary storage room 3, Mr. Nero.” The receptionist answered.

“Affirm,” He turned back to us, “Then, Ms. Luna, Ms. Raccoon, if you would follow me, please.”

Luna and I nodded.

When we were out of the main room, Nero continued speaking,

“So, Ms. Raccoon, what question do you have for me?”

“You’re a professional stalker, right?” I asked.

“…I track unregistered awakeners for the association, yes.” He answered.

“Right, right,” I nodded, “Pop quiz! From this exact location, where would someone be if there is a trade fee of 20,000 points?” I asked.

“Pop quiz…?” He repeated, “Alright, fine.” He showed an amused smile, “From this exact location? Is the total trade fee 20,000 or is that just one half?” He asked.

“Both halves paid 20,000.”

“Affirm,” he nodded, “Then, from here, there’s several possible places they could be. First, there’s a very small part of Mexico. Then, in U.S states, theres: Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Virginia.” He said, “For a more narrowed down view, I’d have to be in front of a map.” He said.

“Wow!” I clapped my hands, “As expected from a professionally paid stalker!”

“…” Nero’s brows twitched a bit.

Hehe!

That was interesting information though. That meant Anonymous, the rank one awakener, is currently in one of those places he mentioned. Now, did that mean he lived there? No idea, he could just be traveling or something.

Did this information matter? Nope! I wasn’t going to do anything with it at all. But, it was fun to know.

Eventually, we stopped in front of a door. Next to it was a sign that read: ‘Temporary Gate Storage #3’.

“Right this way,” Nero opened the door and held it for us.

Luna and I gave him grateful nods as we stepped inside.

My eyes widened as I looked around. There were so many materials in here! Everything was nicely organized and separated like we were in a supermarket! I felt like I should grab a shopping basket and start browsing like I’m shopping for groceries!

“I can see why they took so long to let us come here now.” I said.

If I had to prepare all of these materials on my own? That’d take days! Even if efficiency mister guided me, there was simply too much work! Plus, everything looks to be high quality too, it seems like they didn’t skimp out on the effort.

“Yes, pretty much after everyone collects their reservations, the association will start selling them.” Luna said.

“So we only get to pick out prepared materials? What if I want to prepare them myself?” I asked.

“That’s something you’d have to call the association for.” She said.

“Hm…”

I thought about it for a moment and shrugged. It didn’t matter for these materials, but for more precious materials, I’d like to do it myself.

Luna and I headed to the section with the toxic spitting goat materials. Everything was nicely stored and separated.

Now, I didn’t actually reserve many materials, since I don’t really have a use for them at the moment. I’m focusing on the bouncy potions after all. But, even the little amount I did reserve weren’t cheap, they were C- grade materials after all.

“What if we take more materials then we reserved?” I asked.

“Well, there’s a bunch of cameras in here so you’d be caught. Plus, the guide usually knows what materials are reserved. You’ll be charged for any extra materials you take.” She said, “But, if you’re caught trying to steal them, you’ll be suspended and you’ll end up with a strike on your awakener’s card.”

“What happens when you get a strike?”

“It shows on the database. People will be less inclined to accepting a party with you in it. And if you get enough strikes, you’ll be punished. I’m not too sure about the punishment in specific though.” She shrugged.

Hm…I wonder how many strikes I can collect? That’d be kind of fun. It’d be like checking off a bingo board, no?

For some reason, Nero shivered and rubbed his arms.

The toxic spitting goat cores were all lined up nicely. They were stored in clear containers that made sure the mana didn’t run rampant.

“Hm~” I hummed as I glanced at all the cores. There was a lot of them, over 50. Since I only reserved 5 of them, I wanted to pick out the best quality.

There were two main ways to determine that. First, you could get an estimate based on how vibrant the core was. And second, you could inject a little mana into it.

The second method took longer and the first one was accurate enough, so, I opted for that one. Could you say I was picking based on aesthetics? Debatably.

After a few minutes, I picked out the five best-looking ones.

“I’ll carry them.” Luna said.

“Thank you~” I nodded and headed to the venom sacs. They were stored separately in little containers filled with ice.

I also bought 5 of these. It was a little harder to guesstimate the best quality ones from appearance alone, but, if you knew what to look for and had a keen eye, it was possible. The only problem was that I had never worked with these before, so, I was just going based on description and feeling.

The most important thing to look for was to make sure that the one you’re choosing doesn’t have any ruptures or holes in it. Though, I think the association screened any of those ones out. Perhaps that’s why there’s less of the venom sacs than there are cores?

Next, you don’t want to pick one that looks deflated. That likely means the monster depleted its venom in battle and there isn’t much left in the sac. So, basically, I’m looking for a fat one!

But! Be careful! You have to avoid the bloated ones filled with air. Those’ll trick you. These ones appear when the monster was killed just as it was about to spit venom.

The way to determine if they’re bloated or actually full of venom is to inject mana into it. If it doesn’t corrode fast enough, it’s likely filled with air.

Ten minutes later, I had picked out the best five venom sacs I found. After the new year, I have a few poison potions I’d like to make! There’s some things I want to try…Hehe.

“This is it.” I said, holding the stacked boxes.

“Would you two like them shipped?” Nero asked as we approached him.

“Um…” I looked at Luna, who only shrugged.

Honestly, she was doing most of the work. I was only carrying two of them while Luna held the rest.

“Is there a fee?” I asked.

“No, we’ll ship them for free.” Nero said.

“Ah! Perfect, then! We’ll have them shipped.” I said, putting down the boxes. They weren’t heavy, just inconvenient.

Luna also put down her boxes.

“Affirm.” Nero nodded.

I gave him the shipping address—though, I’m sure he already knew it. And just like that, we were done at the association. It really was a simple in and out.

“See you later, stalker mister!” I waved.

“…Feel free to stop by anytime.” Nero said, sounding defeated.

“Pfft, hehe.” I giggled as Luna and I headed to the car.

“He’s given up defending himself.” Luna commented with a chuckle.

“Well, am I wrong?”

“…You’ll be mad at me if I answer incorrectly.”

“That’s right!” I nodded.

“Then, that’s that.” Luna smiled as we got in the car.

As she turned on the ignition, I got a text.

It was from chairman gramps.