Chapter 9: No, what about this item?

“It was a heavenly dish! If I could eat it every day, I wouldn’t have any regrets!”

The mage elegantly wiped her mouth, her face completely revitalized.

However, contrary to her graceful actions, the plate was in a state of utter destruction.

A mountain of chicken bones piled high!

Not a single crumb of the crispy coating was left, and the plate was so neatly arranged that it made me feel a bit down.

‘To think she ate all five chickens by herself…’

She even almost finished the pickles by herself.

I was hoping to have some leftovers to take home as a late-night snack, but…

It seems I underestimated the mage race a bit too much.

Still, since I couldn’t really complain about her eating, I just nodded.

Anyway, the mage, who had accomplished the feat of eating five whole chickens and nearly an entire jar of pickles, introduced herself late.

“I’m Rachel Diabelsta, a mage from the [Teal Magic Tower]! And you?”

“I’m Kyle, the owner of the chicken restaurant.”

“Chicken restaurant? Is that the name of this place?”

“I’m talking about the restaurant that specializes in the chicken dish you just had.”

“Chicken restaurant! I like that name! It sounds great!”

She cleared her throat and changed the subject.

“Anyway, I must repay you for your kindness as a mage!”

“You don’t need to go that far…”

“No, no! This is a very important matter as a mage!”

Rachel said, placing her hand on her chest with a proud pose.

“People often think of mages as crazy, dangerous beings, friends of those plotting evil conspiracies… but at least I’m not like those kinds!”

“Is there really someone who thinks that way?”

“Quite a few!”

“Really.”

It seems there are quite a few mage haters in the world.

I think I finally understand why some mages struggle so much.

“Anyway, because of that, as a mage, I’ll have to pay you back in a fair way!”

“A fair way?”

“If you have any broken magical tools, I can fix them!”

“I don’t really have any of those.”

“How about I write a review for your restaurant? I have pretty good handwriting!”

“That’s a bit hard since it hasn’t opened yet.”

“Then… How about I do night patrol for you?”

Again, my restaurant hasn’t even opened yet.

Noticing my silent response, the mage lowered her head sadly.

“I’m sorry for being an incompetent mage…”

“You really don’t have to do anything. I did say it was a new menu test from the start, didn’t I?”

“Well, yes… but the mage’s pride…”

She seems like someone with quite a strong sense of pride.

I didn’t expect that kind of behavior, as she had bowed without hesitation.

‘Does she not compromise when it comes to things related to her beliefs?’

In that sense, she reminded me a lot of Daisy.

Daisy, too, became serious whenever it came to matters related to magic.

As I remembered old times, something suddenly crossed my mind.

“Come to think of it, didn’t she say her last name was Diabelsta?”

Diabelsta… I’ve heard that name before…

After racking my brain, I realized where I had heard it.

“Are you perhaps the daughter of Baron Diabelsta?”

“Huh? Do you know my father?”

“Yes. I once owed him a favor.”

Baron Diabelsta was a merchant I met during my adventurer days.

He was a successful merchant who ran a pretty large trading company.

Though he was a noble, his personality was down-to-earth, and he enjoyed making friends, so he didn’t come across as the typical aristocrat.

He also had a strong adventuring spirit.

“I wonder what’s beyond that place!”

That was the first thing he said when he accepted a request for a trading caravan escort.

He showed great interest in discovering new islands and new trade routes, and I accompanied him on various journeys as part of his escort.

When I started talking about those days, Rachel clapped her hands as if remembering something.

“Then, you must be the adventurer my father mentioned! The one he called his lifesaver!”

“I only completed the request, but yes. So, did the baron discover any new islands?”

“He didn’t discover a new island, but he did find a new trade route!”

Wow, a new trade route?

That’s an incredible discovery.

Any trading company that succeeds in discovering a new trade route becomes immensely wealthy, so I’m sure the baron’s company has now joined the ranks of prestigious trading houses.

But to my surprise, Rachel’s expression became glum.

“So, my father brought in new goods through that route, but they’re not selling well…”

“Don’t tell me… the company…?”

“We’ve managed to hold out thanks to our savings, but it’s a dangerous situation. He even rejected support from the family, so we didn’t even have enough money to buy food…”

Oh no. I thought it was good news, but it’s actually bad news.

Still, if she’s at the point where she doesn’t have enough money for food, she could have asked the family for help, but Rachel is enduring it alone, which is quite impressive.

Wait, why is Rachel, who majors in magic, struggling to even get food?

“If it’s the Teal Magic Tower… it should have been a place known for creating magical tools.”

I know a bit about the magic towers thanks to Daisy.

Originally, there were three magic towers.

The Red Magic Tower, the Green Magic Tower, and the Blue Magic Tower.

These three towers were called the “Three Primordial Towers,” and any mage from these towers, even if they were an apprentice, was respected by everyone.

“Daisy is from the Red Magic Tower, right?”

She was also an elite, even mentioned as a candidate to become a tower master.

When I asked her why she left such a prestigious position to become an adventurer, her answer left a strong impression on me.

“The food in the tower is terrible.”

Mages eat a lot, so the focus is only on quantity, not quality!

Rather than eating that kind of food for the rest of her life, she decided to roam the world and enjoy delicious food, so she left.

Perhaps because of this reason, Daisy was particularly passionate about food.

Even at taverns, she wouldn’t drink alcohol but would just eat the appetizers, so the staff would have to bring extra dishes whenever she passed by.

It’s a good thing Gatos, who drinks like Daisy eats, was there, so we had to order drinks as well.

“Now that I think about it, it was just a party that really loved to eat.”

I’m not exactly sure, but I think our party might have single-handedly brought in the monthly sales for an entire tavern.

Anyway, that’s not the important part right now.

I’ve heard that the more colors mixed into a magic tower, the lower its rank becomes, with the three main towers being at the top.

And the Teal Magic Tower is a combination of two colors.

In other words, it’s a prestigious tower located right below the Three Primordial Towers.

If a mage from such a tower made something, it would surely sell like hotcakes, right?

Could it be that there’s a shortage of materials to make magic tools?

Rachel shook her head in response to my question.

“No, that’s not it. When my family was supporting me, I made quite a few.”

“Then, why not sell those?”

“I’ve already tried that.”

“Then what’s the problem? Did you have trouble finding buyers?”

“I’ve secured quite a few through my father’s connections…”

“Then, what’s going on?”

I asked with pure curiosity, and Rachel muttered under her breath.

“…They don’t sell.”

“What?”

“They don’t sell! They won’t sell!”

She suddenly stood up from her seat, as if overwhelmed by her emotions.

“No matter how much I make, the magic tools I create won’t sell! These are works I poured my heart into!”

“What? A magic tool made by a mage from the Teal Magic Tower doesn’t sell?”

“It sold a little at first! But then the nobles who bought them spread rumors, saying the tools made by the Teal Magic Tower have low output, or they’re not stylish enough, so now nobody buys them!”

“I see.”

I understood the situation from her words.

Someone like me might buy a magic tool for practical use, but the most common buyers of magic tools are the wealthy nobles who buy them as luxury items to show off to other nobles.

And with luxury items, it’s less about performance and more about triggering the owner’s desire to own it.

An example of this would be a watch that doesn’t tell time or a sports car sold in a place where there’s no highway to drive it on.

Unfortunately, it seems Rachel failed to satisfy that desire to own with her tools.

She had learned the hard truth that creating and selling are two entirely different things.

I spoke to her, who had her head down on the table.

“By the way, what kind of items do you mainly make?”

“I’ve made various kinds of magic tools for home use… I originally made them thinking they’d be useful around the house, so…”

“Anything that could be used in a restaurant?”

“Well… there are some, but…”

Rachel looked at me with a hopeful expression.

I nodded, as if to answer her unspoken question.

“Can I see those items?”

Let’s take a look at what kind of things she’s made.

I made an appointment to visit her workshop the next day, then went home and ate the chicken stew that Selly made.

And the next day.

When I visited Rachel’s workshop, I couldn’t help but be amazed at the items she had made.

“Wait, this…?”

Why is this here?