Kurt and I will be leaving, but he doesn't seem to be able to leave Weminia anytime soon.
　So I've decided to train on my own.
　It's a way to get money, too, so I'm killing two birds with one stone.

"Ah.

Yoo-hoo!

　When I came out of the inn, Ral was waiting for me.

What can I do for you?

I mean, I'm not really here for anything. I just wonder what you're doing.

I'm going to train in magic.

　Come to think of it, Ral had a large trade association .
　If you get an appraisal of what you're going to make, you might be able to get a good price for it.

What do you do?

I'd like to make something for you. If it's good quality, I'd like you to buy it from Ral's Trading Company.

"Ho-ho!　That smells like money!

　Lal was suddenly excited.

'And then what?　What the hell are you making?

I don't know if I can make it yet, but I was thinking of making some salt.

Salt!　Nice. . the demand is pretty high, and it's going to be worth it.

"You won't make good salt, though. I think it'll be coarse.

I'll be fine. As long as we get the quantity right, we should have no problem.

Okay. Let's go to the beach first, shall we?

Oh!

Coo!




　◇



　We're coming to the beach.
　It was the first time I'd ever been to the sea.
　The sea breeze was blowing and I could smell the ocean.

So how do you make salt?

I'm going to try to evaporate the seawater.

Yeah, that's a stretch, isn't it?　Besides, even if you vaporize it, it's going to be swept away by a wave or something.

I'm thinking of building an artificial pond to prevent that from happening.

　I'll use earth magic to surround the sea with an earthen wall.
　Transmit magic to the ground and build the wall where I want it to be.
　There is plenty of magic power, but it's my first time, so I created an artificial pond without making it too big.

...... I wonder if it can be created in an instant like this.

A lot of people can if they want to. My magic is still in its infancy.

　I still don't understand 5% of all the magical knowledge available to me through Wisdom.
　We still have a long way to go.
　You cannot be satisfied with just this level of knowledge.

" ...... greenhorn?　...... Yeah?

　Next, I will vaporize the seawater in the man-made pond.
　It will vaporize as it is, but we need to raise the temperature of the water to make it more efficient.
　I've decided to raise the temperature of the water directly.
　The theory of fire magic is temperature change.
　I'm creating fire by raising the temperature.
　And so, too, is ice magic.
　But to make it easier to compartmentalize, we call fire magic the positive temperature change. We call it ice magic when the temperature is changed negatively.

　The water is getting warmer and boiling fast.
　It would take several magic power depletion times to vaporize all the seawater in the artificial pool.

''Hey, ...... is your magic power okay?

　Lal looked a little worried.

''I'm only going to get depleted a few times, so I'll be fine.

That's not okay at all!

　...... Indeed .
　Lately it has become so commonplace to be in a state of magic depletion that it seems to have numbed him a bit.
　This is normally a very painful situation and if you were to become one, it would not be okay.

Here, I've got a potion for you.

　Saying that, Ral pulled out a vial of a reddish-purple liquid from inside the bag.
　So this is a potion.
　I've never seen this before.

"...... Can I drink this?

Of course I did. I got something for you.

...... Do they charge you a crazy amount of money for potions or something later?

What do you think I am? ......

'No, that's how bad my initial impression was: ......

　That story about how you used Pete and his friends as bait.

I feel bad about that, too, you know?　But if we just run away in that condition, without taking any action, all four of us will die. Then wouldn't it be reasonable to hire three of us to escort them, even if it was just me, to do my best to survive?　...... Hah, it's not a good impression either way . This is the way a merchant lives.



No, Ral's ideas made sense to me.

What?

Ral is right to do what he's doing. I think it's an admirable way to live your life, to feel bad for the other person, but not to change your mind.

Come on. It's not a compliment. It's reprehensible.

"Maybe. But Ral's a good guy. I'd appreciate a potion.

　He picked up the vial and drank down the reddish-purple liquid.

"...... mazes

"Pfft. Hahahahahaha!　I was just trying to be cool, but that doesn't make it any tighter.

Was that ...... cool?

Yeah. I was trying to be cool.

　...... I don't understand.



　◇



I didn't know you could make this much salt in such a short amount of time: ......

　The seawater evaporated, and we had salt.
　It must weigh about 100 kilos.
　That alone is worth about 50 gold coins.

　Thanks to the potion Lal gave me, I didn't become magically depleted.
　but I'm grateful for Lal's kindness.

It's a pain in the ass to transport it. I've got to go back to town.

No, just give me a minute and I should be able to transport it.

'What?　Why?

I'm getting a skill.

'Skills!　There's no way you can get it by waiting a little while!

How do you know if you don't?

...... Then I'll just wait a little while.


　I checked the skill acquisition requirements and it didn't seem like I could do it, so I figured it wouldn't take too long.
　And this is a very useful skill.
　Let's take this opportunity to get it!