AK - The Alchemy Kingdom

Fortunately, Nora remembered something Mason said when he pleaded for permission to work as a porter with the Adventurer group. Why couldn’t they have a better life? Hadn’t they work for it? When did they ever hide from work? Had they committed a crime that condemned them to a life of suffering? No, they didn’t. Her family and herself deserved better, and her son had finally found a way to get it. She looked at her husband’s complicated expression and put on a brave front.

“What’re them for if not for us to use? Did you expect Mason to find such a nice home and clean it so thoroughly, just for our dirty rags to mess it? Otto, I know we haven’t care about our appearance lately, but we can’t lose face for our son! Let’s clean ourselves and put on those nice garments before he’s back.”

The man forced a smile and didn’t dwell on it anymore. She was right, their son had done enough already. Now they have to do their best to help him.

Half an hour later, the couple was enjoying the comfortable bed when they heard Mason arriving. They ignored their bodies’ protests against leaving the bed and went to the entrance room. There, the boy was waiting with a lot of dishes, which occupied the small table entirely. Nora quickly counted two soups, one common bread and another one visible stuffed with something, a steak of the size of her hand, and a pot with vegetables.

Besides the sumptuous quantities, the steak was what truly shocked her. Before, they only managed to get some leftovers of fat, but now, their son was offering so much meat. How much had this cost? They could never afford such an expensive meal, not even if they sold themselves.

“What…”

Mason laughed embarrassedly and explained.

“Things here are a little different… But this isn’t what I usually eat. The meals are great, and all options have some meat or at least broth. I planned to get three portions of the cheapest meal, which could be the soup and loaf or the stuffed bread, but when I told Rachel about your arrival, she insisted on giving me these dishes for that price.”

“Is Rachel your…?”

“No, dad! She manages AP and the pub, with her HUSBAND, Ben.”

“Oh, sorry…”

“It’s OK… The people responsible for AP are really different from those in the Kingdom… They are nice and never treated me as inferior.”

Mason urged his dazed parents to start eating while he explained more about AP. Even so, they still stared at the food for quite some time before they finally started to eat.

“I know of eight employees working under Ben and Rachel. Two in the pub’s kitchen, one in its the counter, one in registration, two working with transportation across the lake, another fixing and moving things around, and the last one selling the potions on the main office… But that’s only the people we see working. The Adventurers say they probably have a lot of people working behind them. I don’t believe everything, but nobody ever saw how they build these perfect wooden huts and furniture. Also, they think someone is always watching at the other side of the lake, or else, how would they send a boat at the perfect time to ferry people across the lake?”

Mason’s parents didn’t think it was so strange, but maybe they were too focused on how good the food tasted. They didn’t have anything to compare it to, but it definitely tasted Originly.

“The Adventurers have a theory. Actually, they have a dozen or more, but one seems to be more acceptable… They think there’s a group of powerful Mages running everything from behind. I just don’t understand why someone so powerful would do all of this… Anyway, I’m just happy I found this place, and you’re here now.”

From now on, their lives would never be the same.

***

“Mom, can you finish cleaning the huts? Ben told me a group of Adventurers should arrive soon. I want to receive them and leave a good first impression…”

Nora cleaned the sweat out of her forehead and nodded. The next day after arriving, she launched herself at work, trying to help Mason serve as many Adventurers as possible. Her job mainly was cleaning, organizing, and as since yesterday, mending clothes. Surprisingly, when she approached Mrs. Mathilda looking for extra work, the woman suggested that she mend the Adventurer’s clothes and even gave her a needle and thread.

Mason loved the idea and quickly started to advertise the service to all of his clients. Since her youth, Nora had a gift for sewing, but she never had the opportunity of working with something other than their ragged clothes. But now, even if amateurishly, she was earning roughly six crystals every week with the craft.

An optimistic thought appeared on her mind as she scrubbed a pair of boots, but she pushed it away before it transformed into hope. Today, her husband looked more energetic and even helped Mason carry food to a few huts, but she shouldn’t start hopping for recovery, not after years of seeing him bedridden. Her son argued that the magic-infused food could be helping him recover but still, hopping was just too dangerous.

Even so, she agreed with buying a better meal at least one day every week. The food might not cure Otto, but it would definitely make them healthier. After a month, she was finally accepting AP prices, but they still made her hesitate every time she was paying for something. Even getting her payment felt strange.

Together, mother and son offered services to an average of 15 Adventurers every day, earning almost 500 crystals per month. Even including the weekly meat dish and an individual meal they were sharing every evening, their expenses only amounted to 300 crystals. She finally understood why her son didn’t mind spending so much on food and rent. They were earning too much to care.

For the first time, she was living a good life, and the future looked even brighter.