Omniscient First-Person’s Viewpoint
Chapter 331: Be Careful With the Word 'Anything'

The longer the journey, the more leisurely the start should be.

Otherwise, you would get tired before you reached your destination.

We had just entered the Fallen Dominion and if we took the wrong direction now, any missteps down the road would lead us in circles around the vast, ever-changing expanse with no way of getting out.

The Regressor intended to head east toward Claudia, but if the Golden Palace lay to the west, even the distance we’d have covered would become our enemy.

The Regressor hated that idea, so she employed every method possible to get at least a rough idea of where the palace was—while trying to be as economical as possible.

The Fallen Dominion’s camp was currently undergoing a happy economic backlash, courtesy of the Regressor’s injected funds.

Tsk. She should’ve given that money to me.

Regardless, while people may lie, money does not.

Thanks to the Regressor’s overwhelming financial tactics, she was able to get some results, though it took some time.

As a result, we had to stay at the camp for the day.

The Fallen Dominion’s camp wasn’t as silent as the nights in the Military State.

Even late into the night, people went in and out of others’ tents without hesitation.

People rode horses at full speed down the narrow paths, and those who leaped aside to avoid them cursed loudly as they continued on their way.

There were no streetlights, but the camp was filled with a soft glow from the lamps people carried and the alchemic light produced by the alchemists working by the roadside.

In the middle of it all, I was walking through the camp, holding a deck of cards in my hand.

“At last, I’m getting a proper resupply.”

Lately, I’d only been using my cards without replenishing them.

While the mana contained in the Clovers could be restored slowly, I’d been burning through the Diamonds at an alarming rate.

Many had been lost, some had worn out to the point where the backs of the cards were transparent, making them useless for games.

At least the skewers I had made in the Abyss were still hanging around… but now my deck only had two diamond cards left, which was extremely annoying.

A magician should have matching pairs, but this was just a haphazard deck.

However, with a busy journey ahead, I didn’t have time to make more myself.

I’d received some allowance from the Regressor, so I figured I’d leave it to a skilled alchemist.

I strolled through the camp’s marketplace, searching for an alchemist.

In the Fallen Dominion, the Dholes sold off the discarded remnants left behind by the Golden Lord.

That meant that someone was buying them.

There were companies in the Fallen Dominion that could transform all sorts of materials into products.

While they didn’t have Juggernauts, smaller companies set up shop in camps where people gathered.

I just needed to find a suitable one.

Unlike the highly regulated markets of the Military State, the Fallen Dominion’s marketplace was a chaotic battlefield where you practically had to fight a war just to buy a piece of scrap metal.

“That’s a certified Drum company rum! 50 liters for 990 Alkeis! No haggling!”

“Damn it! The official price is 500, and you’re selling it for double! What’s your game?”

“If you don’t like it, go sell it yourself. Next!”

Even for simple purchases, lengthy negotiations were inevitable.

“I need someone to fix my vehicle!”

“What kind?”

“A Gearwheel bike!”

“A Gearwheel? Is that a Maximilien model? Damn, you’re riding a relic….”

“What’s it to you what I ride? If you’re not going to fix it, then get lost!”

“When did I say I wouldn’t fix it? Lead the way. Make sure you’ve got plenty of payment ready.”

Both parts and people were so different that everything had to be individually negotiated.

“You rich?”

“Excuse me, sir… if it’s not too much trouble, could you spare a drink of rum for me…?”

And of course, there were always beggars trying to mooch off others.

The marketplace was a melting pot of humanity, full of chaos.

Naturally, among these people, there were also swindlers.

Right in front of me, an old man in rags grabbed the collar of someone behind a desk.

“Cough, cough. You bastard, are you joking? How is this worth only 14 Alkeis?!”

“Sir, please calm down and look at the scale. How can I pay more for only this much scrap metal?”

“This is a broken arrowhead I found in a castle’s crevice! How can it be scrap metal?! According to my senses, this weighs over 30 kg! So why does it say 28 kg here?!”

“Would the scale lie? Perhaps your senses are off. Maybe it’s because you’re working with only three fingers, after all.”

Laughter from onlookers filled the air.

The old man’s face turned red with rage, but no matter how angry he got, the scale’s reading wouldn’t change.

You’d have to press the pedal next to it to change the reading.

“Oops, my foot slipped!”

The scale appeared to be sitting on a wooden box, but the box itself was part of a set.

I slipped my foot on the side pedal while pretending to stumble.

The scale’s needle shifted, jumping three notches.

The marketplace fell silent for a moment.

I casually walked through the brief hush, remarking as I passed.

“Oh dear, my apologies! I hope you make lots of sales~”

“You, you….”

Moments later, shouts and curses erupted behind me.

The old man’s three-fingered fist smashed into the merchant’s face, knocking out three of his teeth.

The old man hesitated as if he hadn’t meant to hit that hard, but those teeth were valuable gold inlays.

The merchant scrambled to gather them, but the opportunistic scavengers had already pocketed them.

It was a whole mess, but none of it concerned me in the slightest.

“It’s a bit noisy around here. Don’t they regulate this place?”

Muttering to myself, I moved away from the commotion and looked around the now quieter part of the market.

What I needed was an alchemic tool focused on portability rather than power or durability—a complex product that required a lot of hands-on work.

I needed a highly skilled alchemist, but could I find someone who could finish it in just one night?

As I pondered, a small tent with a lackluster sign caught my eye.

Anything.

Hmm, sounds interesting.

But is it really okay?

I’ve never seen anyone who says “anything” and likes it when you actually ask for anything.

Well, let’s see what they’ve got.

I pulled the tent flap aside and stepped inside.

“Helloooo~ a customer has arriv–….”

“…Spy.”

A familiar face looked up at me.

Ah, it’s that woman from earlier.

I wondered why a high-ranking official from the Fallen Dominion was doing menial work like this, but then again, even I, the King of Humans, was scraping by on the streets.

Everyone’s got their own circumstances, so I won’t ask.

I just need to confirm one thing.

“You really make anything here, right? Not just turn things into dust, right? I happened to witness a plow turning into ashes not long ago.”

“…Get out.”

“I want to commission this alchemic tool.”

I spread my cards out on the desk.

They had once been a deck of playing cards, but now many were scorched and worn away.

The woman picked up one of the cards, frayed as if it had unraveled.

It was the Eight of Diamonds, a tool I had used extensively.

She inspected it closely and muttered.

“…This.”

“What do you think? It’s pretty worn, but it’s been useful….”

“…Garbage. Whoever made this was a fool.”

Hey, she’s badmouthing my creation!

Hold on, calm down.

She doesn’t know I made this.

Even if she lacks communication skills, surely she wouldn’t insult someone’s work right in front of the creator.

This is an opportunity to make her feel embarrassed by revealing I’m the creator.

“Ahem. Actually, I made that. It was a project I put together in my younger years, pooling all my knowledge and resources….”

“…Figures.”

“Figures? Figures? Excuse you? You criticize something I worked hard to make without knowing anything! Don’t you know what consideration is? I held back earlier, but now I’ll be honest. You’re terrible at farming! Even the laziest farmer would be a god of agriculture compared to you!”

As I burst out in anger, the woman flinched a little and offered a half-hearted excuse.

“…Useless. Wasteful.”

Is that an excuse or a provocation? Let’s see what she’s really thinking.

｢…It’s expensive and overly complicated. Too much effort for too little reward. Precious alchemic resources and advanced techniques for a tool that’s basically just a thin wire. Extremely inefficient. It would be better to make a different weapon altogether.｣

After reading her thoughts, I couldn’t help but agree.

Since I can read minds, I’ll let it slide.

But if I weren’t a Mind Reader, I might have grabbed her by the collar right then and there, so be careful next time!

“…What do you want? Repairs?”

“I guess you could call it that. I want to restore the full set of 13 cards in this style. Can you do that? I’ll pay you whatever it costs.”

Skewer, hook, a composite bow, a spear, a sickle, a revolver, wire, a hand axe, and a sword and shield.

Most of them had been consumed or broken during battles when I left Amitengrad.

The revolver was left with Ria and despite my best efforts, more than half of the wire was lost.

I hadn’t had time to replenish my supplies until now, but this was my chance to restore my full strength.

Not that I expected to use it all.

The woman stared intently at the cards before shaking her head.

“…No.”

“You insult my work, then say you can’t do it? Is this how you run a business? Is this how you treat customers?”

“…No. It’s easy. But…”

“But?”

“…A hassle.”

Is this really someone trying to do business?

Saying no because it’s a hassle?

Of course, that’s not her real reason…

Let’s check her thoughts.

｢…It’s not about difficulty. It’s too labor-intensive. Creating a transforming weapon is easy, but making it fold into a card shape? That’s like weaving something stitch by stitch. Plus, crafting it into a specific form crosses into the realm of art rather than skill.｣

Seems like she’s competent, at least.

To figure that out so quickly.

It was a pain to make.

The simplest design, the versatile One of Diamond, the skewer, took me an entire night.

I can’t even begin to describe how long the rest of the set took.

Tsk. That’s why I was hoping to outsource it.

“If you work overnight, you could finish three cards, right?”

“…No.”

“Are you here to work or not? What kind of business refuses customers because it’s a hassle? Do you even want to make money?”

｢…Noisy. I’m not here for money.｣

The woman sighed and raised her hand.

“…Instead.”

She placed her palm on the desk.

The tattoo on her arm glowed, and her magic flowed into the iron desk, heating it white-hot.

As soon as her palm lifted, something strange happened.

The desk, made of steel, peeled away as if it were flour stuck to her hand.

Sparkling light fell like powder.

It hadn’t melted.

Alchemy had softened the metal, turning it into a malleable state while still cool.

It looked like she was pulling a shimmering thread of light.

She spun the thread around her hand several times, thinning it further, then suddenly grabbed it and poured it onto my cards.

There was a flash of light, and moments later…

“…Here.”

The Eight on the card in front of me was completely restored.

I couldn’t help but express my amazement.

“Hold on. You fixed this in one second? And you’ve been whining all this time?”

“…It’s the same structure, repeated. I just copied it.”

Even if the structure was the same, to transmute it all at once?

She even restored the elasticity of the wire!

No wonder lone alchemists like her could carry the names of a company in their lonesome.

If you can process raw materials and produce finished products on your own, that’s basically a one-person factory.

What else do you need to be a company?

This was alchemy, the power to understand and alter structures in an instant.

That’s why people here didn’t rely much on others here.

If they needed something, they made it themselves.

They only traded for what they couldn’t get on their own.

It’s probably why the Fallen Dominion didn’t develop into a larger society—there was little need for cooperation.

“Nice! Let’s keep up this momentum and fix the rest of the cards!”

“…No.”

｢…I just had to replace the missing wire here, but for the other cards, their forms are predetermined when they transform. That crosses into the realm of art. Too difficult.｣

“Tch. Fine. So, how much do I owe you?”

This part was important.

The Regressor had given me some allowance, but she hadn’t asked for the change.

That meant I could pocket whatever I saved by bargaining.

I had to earn money like a wolf if I wanted to spend it like a noble.

I waited, reading her mind to see what price she’d name.