Chapter 22 The Pharmacist, Alchemist, And Adventurer
The next day, Sara and Rebecca were led by a maid to the conference room, where the other members were already seated. Robert, James, Benjamin, Pollux, and Castor were sitting on one side of the large conference table, while 3 people Sara didn't know were sitting on the other side. They were probably the representatives of the Pharmacist, Alchemist, and Adventurer guilds.
In the corner of the room, the maids were waiting, with one of them acting as a scribe at a small desk. The other members already had tea prepared for them, and as soon as Sara and Rebecca sat down next to Robert, a maid quickly prepared herbal tea for them.
It seemed that the seats facing the guild representatives were empty, indicating that they were reserved for Sara and Rebecca.
"I apologize for the wait."
The guild representatives couldn't hide their surprise at Rebecca and Sara taking their seats.
"Um... who are these people?"
A slender man in a white robe spoke up. Then, Robert said.
"Are you Alexander from the pharmacist?"
"Yes, I'm the vice-head of the Pharmacist Guild."
"Then this is my niece, Sara, who is sitting next to me. And next to her is Rebecca, her governess and the daughter of Viscount Orson."
"I see."
Then, a tall man wearing a hooded robe sitting next to him asked a question.
"I'm Theofrastos of the Alchemist Guild. I was told that Lady Sara wanted to observe the meeting today, but is that correct?"
"No, it's the other way around. I'm the one who called you, and it's more like I'm observing her."
"""What?"""
This surprised the 3 of them.
Even the quiet, well-built man spoke up.
"Excuse me, but we're not just free to attend a noble's whim. It's too much to ask us to play along with a young lady's game..."
"Are you Jean of the Adventurer Guild?"
"That's correct."
"I see. But I don't intend to treat you like children playing a game. I think your attitude is quite something, considering you're here to listen to our discussion."
To his surprise, Robert's anger was palpable. His body even radiated an intimidating aura.
"Hey, Rob. Your magic is leaking out. Ms. Sara is getting startled,"
Rebecca hastily scolded Robert.
"This is impolite. I seem to have lost control of my magic. Sorry, Sara. Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, uncle, but are you guys okay?"
Jean, who had received the full brunt of Robert's magical intimidation, was a bit pale but didn't lose his composure. However, Alexander and Theofrastos, who were standing on either side of him, were sweating bullets with pale faces. Nevertheless, all 3 of them, as representatives of the guild, didn't utter a word of weakness.
By the way, when someone with a lot of magic fails to convert it into "magic" and releases it externally, it becomes this kind of intimidation. This kind of magic, which can't be directed, randomly affects the surrounding magical elements, causing various phenomena to occur. The effects vary depending on the magic attribute and the reacting magical elements, making it difficult to achieve a specific effect. However, people like Robert, who have a lot of magic and are nobles or knights, can intentionally cause intimidation. Robert seemed to have gotten angry for Sara's sake.
'This is intimidation, right? I've never seen it before. Maybe my uncle did it on purpose.'
"I-I apologize."
Jean hastily bowed his head. He was, of course, flustered, having made a remark that belittled the lord's granddaughter in Grandchester Castle.
"It's no wonder everyone from the guild is surprised. But I don't intend to waste your time, so let's get started right away."
Without paying attention to the others' attitudes, Sara spread out the map and pointed to the location of the magic stone mine.
"We want to request the Adventurer's Guild to exterminate the monsters around the magic stone mine. This area, to be exact."
"Monster subjugation, you say?"
"Yes. First, we need to investigate what kind of monsters are living there."
"No, we already have a rough idea of the monsters that appear in this area."
"Is that documented in the Adventurer's Guild?"
"It's not like we're keeping records or anything, but when adventurers defeat monsters, they report the type of monster and the location. We also accept eyewitness accounts and use that information to eliminate monsters, and we pay a reward for it."
"Does that mean the information is shared among adventurers?"
Then, Jean furrowed his brow and made a stern face.
"Shared... I wouldn't say that. The guild staff writes down the reports, but there are few adventurers who can read, and basically, they just hunt in their usual spots and take down their usual prey. We might get some new hunting grounds through interactions with staff or other adventurers, but there's a lot of misinformation going around, so it's not like we're making a profit or anything."
"That's a waste, isn't it? If you could share accurate information, it would be beneficial for many adventurers. And do you issue subjugation requests or something?"
"Yeah, like when Mad Boars and other pests appear near the wheat fields, we issue subjugation requests. We might also organize a subjugation team as needed."
"By the way, what happens to the monsters after they're subjugated?"
"That depends on the monster. We might dissect them and sell the materials, or incinerate them on the spot. For example, Mad Boars are edible, and their skin and teeth are used as materials for weapons. But Poison Frogs that live in swamps are toxic and can't be eaten, so we incinerate them. However, adventurer need to bring back proof of subjugation to get the reward, so they take the rear legs as evidence."
Then, Alexander the pharmacist, who was standing nearby, raised his voice.
"What?! You're incinerating Poison Frogs?!"
"Uh, yeah..."
"You idiot! The heart of a Poison Frog is a valuable material for medicine What a waste!"
"Is that so?"
"Yeah. You can also make antidotes from the extracted poison."
Theofrastos also agreed.
"Poison Frogs are also used as materials for alchemy. The mucus and the membrane between their fingers are often used."
"Why didn't you say so earlier?"
"Well, we didn't know that Poison Frogs lived in the Grandchester territory."
'This is the harm of not sharing information within the organization. We can't work together because the information isn't being shared.'
The guild representative started arguing loudly. If she left things as they were, it would be impossible to gather information. Sara clapped her hands together to stop them.
"Yes. Everyone, let's just calm down for now. It seems like you all don't properly understand the value of 'information'."
"What do you mean by the value of information?"
Jean looked puzzled.
"Yes, that's right. First, the Adventurer's Guild has information on what kind of monsters are living in which areas of Grandchester. However, they don't know the true value of those monsters, so the adventurers are burning through their rewards."
"Burning through their rewards..."
"And the ones who have information on the value of those monsters are the Pharmacist Guild and the Alchemist Guild. Maybe the Craftsmen Guild also has useful materials. In other words, the Adventurer's Guild should quickly release information on the monsters living in the territory and make an effort to increase the adventurers' income."
"I see."
"To increase the information, you should also pay the adventurers for providing information. However, if you just blindly pay rewards, people might report inaccurate information. You need to discuss the payment method and amount for eyewitness accounts without concrete evidence."
"We'll discuss that later."
Jean bowed deeply.
"This is the same for the Pharmacist Guild and the Alchemist Guild. Are you actively sending out information on what kind of materials you need?"
Theofrastos answered.
"Alchemists handle various materials, so the Alchemist Guild buys them in bulk from merchant houses that can handle those materials. By buying in bulk, we get discounts, and guild members can purchase them at a low price from the guild shop. We also make sure to order scarce materials early."
"That means you're not actively sending out information on what's needed, but rather buying based on the merchants' recommendations. The merchants who have existing trade relationships with the Alchemist Guild have valuable information on the trends of materials needed by alchemists. In other words, it's a vested interest."
"Is that so?"
"Didn't Mr. Theofrastos just say that? 'Buy from a merchant who's familiar with the material' and all that. In other words, for merchants who don't have information related to alchemy materials and the routes to obtain them, it's difficult to enter the market."
"I see, that makes sense."
Sara smiled elegantly, just like Rebecca, and said, "It seems to me that you're not discussing this thoroughly enough," before letting out a slow sigh.
"It's not bad for specialized merchants to thrive, but you should avoid concentrating on just a few of them."
Robert and the bureaucrats looked like they understood the issue, and Rebecca was smiling nobly, probably aware of it too.
However, the guild representatives looked puzzled, glancing at each other.
"May I ask the reason for that?" Theofrastos asked, and the other guild members leaned in, waiting for Sara's answer.
"It's because the principle of competition doesn't work. If there's no competition, the merchant can set the price of the material as they please. Since you can't buy it anywhere else, you have no choice but to buy it at the seller's price."
"I see."
"This is also true for adventurers and hunters who want to sell their materials. If a specific merchant is the only one who handles that material, they'll have to sell it to that merchant at their price. Don't you think that's unfair?"
"That's exactly right. In fact, there have been many cases like that."
Jean looked shocked.
"The market should be maintained through competition. And information is a weapon that gives you an advantage in that competition. For example, if a merchant is the only one who handles a certain material and buys it from an adventurer for 10 Dal, but knows that it's an essential material for the Alchemist Guild, they might sell it for 1,000 Dal."
If an adventurer were to sell their materials directly to the Alchemist Guild for 10 Dal, they might be able to trade for 100 Dal. This would be beneficial for both the adventurer and the Alchemist Guild. To make this happen, the Alchemist Guild needs to share information with the adventurer about what materials they require."
'I think it was a good idea not to call anyone from the Merchant Guild here. I'd definitely be hated.'
Alexander spoke up at that point.
"As for purchasing from merchants, the Pharmacist Guild does the same. However, we actively buy high-demand herbs from adventurers and villagers as well. In the event of an epidemic or large-scale disaster, we'd face a shortage of materials, so we also issue collection requests to the Adventurer Guild."
It seems that information sharing is also being done in high-priority areas.
"That's wonderful. I'm sorry for my ignorance, but is the Pharmacist Guild a guild that aims to create medicine?"
"We refer to those who mix and prepare medicinal products for treating illnesses and injuries as pharmacist. In fact, many of those who mix medicinal products are also members of the Alchemist Guild."
"I thought only priests could heal people."
"That's correct, but priests who can use light-attribute magic are extremely rare, and the cost of their treatment is not cheap. That's why many commoners rely on medicines prescribed by pharmacist. Of course, it's essential to confirm the patient's symptoms and prescribe the appropriate medicine."
'Ah, so it's like a job that combines pharmacists and doctors from my previous life.'
Theofrastos from alchemy guild responded to Alexander's explanation.
"Originally, pharmacist branched out from alchemists, so many pharmacist are also alchemists. There are common materials used by both, and if the effectiveness of a new medicine developed by an alchemist is confirmed, the recipe may be made public to the Pharmacist Guild."
"That's where information sharing and collaboration come in."
Alexander countered this.
"No, many recipes are kept secret. Unless it's a very simple recipe or has a significant impact, the recipe for a new medicine won't be made public unless the royal family doesn't exert pressure."
"That's not the same as the Pharmacy Guild, is it? The recipe for the fever-reducing medicine that was all the talk last year is still unpublished, you know."
"Besides, what's the Alchemy Guild going to use the fever-reducing medicine for, anyway?"
"Maybe we can create a new medicine based on that, who knows?"
It didn't seem like they were cooperating as smoothly as I thought.
"Let's save that kind of talk for later, among ourselves, okay?"
As Alexander and Theofrastos turned around, Sara was gazing at them with a smile. However, her eyes weren't laughing at all, and it was strange how she had an eerie, intimidating aura despite not being intimidating.
"I'm sorry, too..."
At that moment, Jean thought.
'It's bad, Lady Sara is scarier than Sir Robert..."
For an adventurer who always gauges their opponent's strength during battles with monsters, this kind of feeling can't be underestimated. Moreover, what Jean feared the most was his own wife, who was also an adventurer.
Personally, I think a "fearful wife" is just a loving wife.
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