Side Story: Let Me Be of Help to Him
My name is Hanna, and I live in the <Nameless Starter Village>.
Even though the village has no name, it’s a lovely and fun place.
We have all kinds of shops—weapon shops, armor shops, potion shops, general stores, clothing stores, instrument shops, and alchemy shops.
There aren’t many villagers, but everyone is cheerful and kind.
My home is the alchemy shop. I grew up watching my dad make items and my mom sell them at the store since I was little.
Naturally, I always thought I'd become an 【Alchemist】 someday and take over the shop.
I still remember how happy I was when my dad gave me a <『Alchemy Lv 1』 Bracelet> when I turned ten. He told me, You can't become an 【Alchemist】 without training, and ever since then, I’ve been practicing 『Alchemy』 every day.
Still, he warned me that whether I could actually become one or not depended on my talent. He himself never made it past being an 【Alchemist Apprentice】, and he often said he regretted not training more when he was younger instead of playing around.
But I’m going to train properly and become a full-fledged 【Alchemist】!
I grew up safely in that village for 16 years, and now, following the country’s policy, I’ve enrolled in an academy that manages many dungeons.
I’m not entirely sure how it happened, but apparently the village chief pulled some strings with one of his contacts and got me into the main school, or something like that.
Now it’s finally time to see whether I truly have what it takes to become an 【Alchemist】.
But the day before I was supposed to leave for the academy, something really scary happened.
I had gone into the forest to gather materials for potions to take with me, and I was suddenly attacked by a slime. Monsters aren’t supposed to be anywhere near the forest edge like that.
For kids under sixteen who don’t have the benefit of a job yet, running into a monster can literally mean death.
I was so scared that I froze and couldn’t move. I really thought it was the end for me.
But right before the slime could reach me—someone saved me.
It was Zephyrus-kun, a boy I grew up with in the same village. He lost both his parents when he was young, and the village chief took him in and raised him. I don’t remember seeing him play much in the village. We barely ever exchanged more than greetings.
But that day, he came running to my rescue and took out the slime in an instant—without even having a job.
"Are you okay? That was close. I’ve taken care of the slime, so you’re safe now."
The moment he said that, all my fear melted away like it had never been there, and I suddenly felt my face grow hot.
My heart was pounding like crazy. I couldn’t even speak for a while—it was the first time I’d ever felt anything like that.
Zephyrus-kun is a mysterious boy.
When I nervously invited him to my house to thank him, he immediately handed me some <Mud Water> and <Slime Jelly> and asked me to perform 『Alchemy』 on them.
I told him for sure it would end in a big failure (a "Desert Fumble", as we call it), but he seemed like he actually wanted that to happen. I couldn’t understand him at all. The flutters in my chest quickly calmed down.
It was only after he taught me about the Slime Pop Marathon that I understood.
Even though he had no job, he knew easy ways to defeat monsters—and he showed me how. It felt like a whole new world opened up for me.
At that point, I stopped even wondering how he knew such things. It didn’t matter anymore.
Once I started doing the Slime Pop Marathon, I couldn’t stop.
Even though my family runs an alchemy shop, we were always short on materials. I wasn’t even allowed to use the ones we sold in the shop for my own training.
Maybe that’s why I got so obsessed. Slime Pop drops <Magic Stones (Tiny)>, and I got hooked on collecting them.
On the day we were leaving for the academy, I decided to visit Zephyrus-kun’s house. Since we were heading to the same place, I thought we could walk together to the village chief’s place.
But I couldn’t believe it—Zephyrus-kun didn’t even know my age.
To make matters worse, he said I was "small." What’s wrong with being small?! Geez!
Okay, fine—my height hasn’t really changed much these last few years. But I do have some confidence in my chest and hips, you know. I consider myself a proper young lady! Not that I’d say it out loud—that would be way too embarrassing.
After the entrance ceremony, we were given our uniforms, student ID, and weapons for dungeon use.
I picked a two-handed mace that looked good for smacking slimes.
That feeling when I landed a hit was amazing, and I ended up loving the Slime pop Marathon even more.
I really can’t thank Zephyrus-kun enough.
The academy is incredibly big.
Even though we’d been spending so much time together these past few days, it turns out Zephyrus-kun and I will be living in different dorms and studying in separate school buildings.
The thought of being apart made my chest ache. I tried my best to spend more time with him whenever I could.
Whenever I did, that heavy feeling in my chest would go away.
At the Job Assessment, I finally obtained the job of 【Alchemist】—my long-held dream.
I was so happy I could burst. Maybe it was thanks to Zephyrus-kun telling me, You’ve got this, Hanna. You can become an alchemist.
And Zephyrus-kun himself? He was amazing. He obtained the legendary 【Hero】 job, and the entire academy couldn’t stop talking about it.
That same day, invitations to form dungeon parties kept coming non-stop, and I couldn’t even get close to him.
My chest feels all fuzzy.
Zephyrus-kun has gotten so popular that he’s apparently moving dorms.
Not to the boys’ dorm, but to the nobles’ dormitory.
T-This might actually be a chance for me. The nobles' dorm doesn’t separate boys and girls into different buildings. It seems they’re separated by floor, but even if someone of the opposite sex visits a room, it’s not really considered a problem.
When Professor Phyllis came to collect Zephyrus-kun’s things, I offered to help and followed her to the nobles’ dorm. There, I managed to speak with the dorm mother. As a result, I’ve been granted permission to enter and exit the nobles’ dorm—but only when visiting Zephyrus-kun.
Now I’ll have more chances to be with him. Besides, party invitations won’t be chasing him down in the nobles’ dorm.
Today, Zephyrus-kun invited me to the dungeon.
I understand that Professor Phyllis is really beautiful, but isn’t he being a little too lovey-dovey with her?
Okay, I’ve decided—I’ll ambush his room tonight.
After selling some of the materials and resources we got from the dungeon, I went back, took a shower, and headed over to Zephyrus-kun’s room to cook dinner for him. I used ingredients we picked up in the dungeon today.
I learned how to cook from my mom, who’s really good at it, so I’m confident in my skills.
As expected, Zephyrus-kun ate with this completely melted, blissful expression on his face.
Hehe, when he looks that happy, it really feels worth the effort.
After that, Zephyrus-kun gave me hands-on lessons about 『Alchemy Lv. 10』 and 『Mixing Lv. 5』.
How does he even know recipes like that? Well, it’s Zephyrus-kun—I'm used to it by now.
What surprised me most was learning that you can combine two <Magic Stones (Tiny)> with 『Alchemy Lv. 10』 to create a <Magic Stone (Small)>. I had no idea. With <Magic Stones (Small)>, you can make all sorts of potions.
<Magic Stones (Small)> are super versatile as ingredients, but they don’t have a very high drop rate.
I was so impressed that there was such an easy way to get them.
Starting tomorrow, I’m going to work even harder on the Slime Pop Marathon. I want to be of help to Zephyrus-kun.
That’s the decision I’ve made.
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