The Meeting with an Alchemist

The town center was if you can say, a rather unique novelty as a great blooming tree adorned the center with fountain and pond surrounding it like an island. It was interconnected with the river nearby supplying it with fresh water as colorful fishes were swimming peacefully under its crystal water. Children were running, and playing around it and in the playground beside it. A pair of parents were feeding the fishes with bread crumbs as their baby giggling on the sight of the fishes swarming to them.

A passerby could revel in the fresh air around it, taking a shade between the wooden benches that been provided.

Shirou was examining the board that been placed in the front of the flower shop. He didn't know the people around here, as greeting people out of nowhere, when you even don't know them, is rather odd, Shirou thought. Being spiritually and physically alone for a thousand millennia tends to do that.

He might as well, established a reputation again, taking requests are his morning breakfasts after all. Every good deed shall be repaid. He once too lost his faith in these words, but it might not the same again. Not when these people will be his neighbor.

At some point, he considered to torn off all this request and be done with them all at once… but, he may upset the balance, there's must be some other people that take the request as their living.

Cleaning the garden… Help! Mouse infestation… Fetch a key that been lost in a dungeon… nope. Stroking his chin, reading each request paper that been posted on the board for a long minute, he finally took a paper that suitably suits him… before pausing his hand midway.

Wait… how you supposed to do that, tearing the paper and give it to the requester, or you simply talk to them. There's rather no information about it, so after a few moments, he decided to leave the paper as it is, and read the sender of the note instead.

Gathering Herb. Urgently needs a full basket of Grass herb and medicinal herb. ASAP.

Detail, Atelier Rorona.

Sender, Rorona Frixell.

But… where's the place anyway? He peered off his sight to the left side, there's stood a board containing a map of Sharance Town.

Bless his E-rank Luck.

Let's see… There it is. It was situated just beside the town center, a small two-story building facing the waterway.

He gripped the handle of the door, as a bell chime resounded announcing a guest.

'Yes! Please wait a minute'

Then the girl came out of the door. She's enwrapped in a strawberry color, of her hair and clothing being mixed in pure white color. A white simple cape draped her shoulder adorned with a cute frill and a short leather dress with two bags of potion on either side of her petite figure.

"May for whom I'm speaking?" She speaks politely, though there's a hint of nervousness.

Thinking it may be a good time to introduce his name, "I'm Shirou Emiya, I just moved to the Miyako inn. Though I couldn't help but see your request."

"Ah, you must be the young men, Shino talked about. Nice to meet, you, Shirou. I'm Rorona Frixell," Gone was her nervousness, replace with a soothing energetic voice that could melt any nearby butter away.

"Oh! That request, I've been waiting since morning. Thank god, someone for taking it."

"No, I thought it would be easy to bring a bunch of herbs in the forest. By the way, I'm sorry if these a bit offending, but what's Atelier?"

"Atelier is a workshop of an alchemist, Shirou. Though my hands rather tied right now, I need to meet the demand next week. Now, to the business, do you know what's the herb, Shirou?"

"I'm sorry, I don't know."

"Oh, don't be, it's pretty easy to recognize. Even the amateur me only need to see the picture once."

She's searching over something on the shelf nearby the counter, picking the example of the herb perhaps.

"AH, these. I need you to gather these herbs before the afternoon."

She placed the requested herb on the counter.

Shirou didn't take any punches, immediately, structure grasps the grass.

Red, orange, yellow, and black grass. And some other assortment of green herb, and chamomile. No wonder she's said it should be easy to recognize.

"I see, I think I get it."

"Ehm, they're rather easy to be found in the entrance of the lake of Privera Forest. Though, you need to be careful of the monsters that inhibiting it."

"I understand."

Shirou nodded, gripping the sheath of his katana which earns a slight look of the Alchemist.

"You don't intend to go to the forest with that sword aren't you Shirou?"

She's staring nervously at the sight of the katana.

"Yes, Something wrong with it?"

"Of course! You don't have Tamitaya magic cast on them!" Rorona's outburst was a shock to him. He didn't expect the calm, and gentle girl to be upset over his weapon.

"Tamitaya?" He tilted his head incredulously.

"You don't know, Shirou?' She stated as it was the obvious thing in the world.

"I'm sorry, my memory is a bit hazy. I apologize if there's something wrong."

"No, it also was my fault. I shouldn't shout you like that." She shook her hand upon seeing Shirou bow in apologize.

"Then what is it?"

"Hmm, I suppose if you don't know what Tamitaya is, I need to explain to you since the beginning. There's no choice, now come sit with me Shirou."

She nudged a seat beside her to Shirou. He promptly accepted her offer.

Then she raised a finger, like taking one of those Tohsaka teaching poses. A rather happy line was forming, and twitching in her lips.

"You know Shirou, Monster is not originally come from this world. Though I don't know their exact origin, legend believed they came from the place called the forest of the beginning. This is a place where monsters are born and raised, and a place to return to after they died.

A long time ago, humans and any other races used to kill them ruthlessly since they are perceived as something evil and out of the world. The problem is, the slain souls of the monsters were not returning to the forest of the beginning, instead they collecting inside a vast pool of negative emotion, ultimately birthing the Evil dragon and Demon king. You can imagine the havoc they cause by judging from their sheer name alone.

So long story short, after those incidents, Heavenly dragons the protector of the land, gave the races a spell, that is Tamitaya. It made the soul of the monster to peacefully pass to the Forest of the beginning to be reincarnated again. Oh incidentally, the Tamitaya also make the weapon to not harm human or other races either, it will hurt but only incapacitate them no matter how mighty the weapon is.

And a final advice Shirou, if you going to the wilderness, better watch out of Gateway. They're short of a portal that connects this side of the world to that Forest of the beginning, and it will continuously spawn monsters until destroyed."

Shirou took time to discern all this information. The spell is rather useful, but how he could apply it to his marble phantasm or traced blades. No, the important thing was could he learn the spell himself? Giving a weapon incapable of killing people are useful in its own way, especially if you don't want to accidentally kill someone.

"And how do you exactly learn the Spell, Rorona?"

"Ehm, usually they teach you the spell after your coming ceremony birthday. I can teach you. It's rather easy since it only required a few chants to spell, and you only need to remember it."

She said, in a smug face. Like reversing the sensation that someone was under her. Though it's a cute gesture for Shirou, as managing an alchemist workshop isn't a young girl's job to do, must be a lot of stress being under tutelage. She's stating that she was still an apprentice before.

Shirou would be surprised at how easy it will be to learn a spell in here, much to his own irritation of his old world magecraft, when remembering his pain and struggle to maintain a basic reinforcement.