Eleventh Meal - Ebi Fry (1)

"Master, did you finish refining the glue?"

"Huh? Right, I was supposed to do that earlier. I forgot, so can you do it for me?"

With a sigh, Rigur said, "Master, did you really forget?"

When he heard this, the master couldn't help trembling before saying with a whistle, "What do you mean? It was just a slip of the mind, why else would I not refine it?"

Rigur gave another sigh before pulling out a piece of paper from behind him and saying, "This bill came in the mail the other day…"

When he saw the piece of paper, the master immediately jumped at it to grab it from Rigur's hand, but Rigur pulled it back away from him. Since he was taller, he was able to hold it high up, just out of reach of the master as he said, "Master, you can't keep wasting all of our research funds like this. If the department finds out, they will send another inquisitor down. If that happens, we might get fired this time…"

But the master revealed a strong look and said, "Who said that it's a waste! It's important research!"

Rigur sighed once more before asking, "Alright, then can you tell me what are the benefits of this research?"

The master's expression froze when he heard this and he opened his mouth several times, but he wasn't able to say anything in the end since he knew that Rigur was right.

His past research had been considered a waste and he had been forced to swap his topic to a new field which had proven to be useful, but he had never forgotten about his past research. So whenever he could, he would always use the research fund that he was given for his new research topic on his old research topic.

But he didn't have the courage to use all of it since he knew that he would get in trouble if he did, so he had always made sure to use only just the right amount.

However, this time…he had used too much and Rigur had no choice but to step in.

Rigur knew about his master's obsession with his past research topic, so he had always turned a blind eye, but really couldn't do that this time.

After all, if he didn't say anything and his master lost control, they would all get fired.

It wasn't just his master in this research lab, but also him and several other assistants.

If they were all fired, then it would be hard for them to find another job.

This was already the last place that they had fallen.

His master was known as an eccentric researcher, so the hiring requirements were quite lax for this research lab. The ones that were recruited were all those that had talent, but didn't have the right credentials to work in different labs because they had never formally gone to school for different reasons.

Some just didn't have the money, some just couldn't pass the tests because of their skewed knowledge, and some couldn't go because of other circumstances.

In short, this was the only place that would accept them, so they couldn't lose this job or they would have nothing.

Finally, Rigur said, "As long as you can refine the glue and complete the order, we should be able to earn some money to make up for the amount that you used up."

The master's eyes lit up when he heard this.

He always trusted Rigur with this matter because he knew how great Rigur was with stuff like this.

If it wasn't for Rigur, he might have already lost all of his research funds and this laboratory already. After all, this wasn't the first time that something like this had happened.

When it happened before, Rigur would always find a way to move around some money so that they could make up for the deficit like he did this time.

The master was even sure that if Rigur hadn't chosen to become an alchemist like him, he would have become famous in the economic world as one of the top businessmen. However, for some reason, Rigur was dead set on being an alchemist which was why he had landed under him.

The master blessed the luck of his previous lives for letting someone like Rigur fall under him.

So he said, "Alright, I'll get the glue done tonight. Will that be enough time?"

Rigur thought about it before giving a nod, but then he still said with a sigh, "Master, it doesn't seem like you've learned your lesson yet…"

The master quickly raised his hand in surrender and said, "I'll reflect, I'll reflect."

Though he said this, both of them knew that it was impossible for him to reflect. He was someone that would act on his instincts and his instincts had already been set to do what he wanted for his experiment.

Rigur gave another sigh before saying, "I'm heading out for my lunch. If there's anything else that you need, you can just tell Haruna."

The master gave a nod before saying with a wave of his hand, "Take a long lunch, you deserve it."

When Rigur heard this, he couldn't help stopping himself from turning around. His eyes narrowed as he looked at his master and asked, "What have you done?"

The master trembled when he heard these words and he quickly looked in a certain direction before looking back.

Looking in the direction that he looked in, Rigur saw that he had been staring at a cabinet by his desk.

Shaking his head, he walked over to open it.

Before he did, the master tried to stop him, but it was already too late.

When he opened it, he felt a burst of coldness coming out from the cabinet and when he looked in, he found that there was an ice blue crystal that was sitting inside of the cabinet.

Seeing this ice blue crystal, he brought his hand to his face and said with a sigh, "Master, how much did it cost?"

He didn't bother asking when he bought it or who he bought it from, he just asked him directly how much it cost.

The master revealed an awkward smile as he said, "One hun…"

Before he could finish, he saw Rigur suddenly turning to glare at him and he swallowed his words. After a long moment of hesitation, he said in a small voice, "Five hundred…"

Rigur's expression completely fell apart when he heard this and he pointed his finger in the master's face as he said, "Five hundred? Do you really think that piece of trash ice crystal is worth five hundred? You can see the impurities all over it, it's worth no more than fifty gold coins!"

The master's awkward look became even more awkward, but he quickly went over to check the ice crystal and he found that it was indeed as Rigur had said.

The merchant that he had bought this ice crystal from had completely scammed him.

When he thought about it, he understood how he had been scammed.

The light had been shining down on the ice crystal when he had checked it and they had used the light to hide the impurities. Otherwise, if he looked at it properly, an alchemist of his level would have easily been able to find the impurities.

They had taken advantage of his excitement and agitation to sell him this inferior product at a highly marked up price.

But even if he was angry at being taken advantage of like this, it wasn't as if he could say anything.

That was because he had bought this ice crystal in secret with his research funds, so he couldn't complain to the merchants even if he wanted. If he did, his misappropriation of the research funds would be discovered and his research funds would be taken away.

After taking a moment to calm down, Rigur suddenly stood up and said, "I'm going into the warehouse."

The master was still in a daze and he was anxious about losing his research funds, but he didn't dare stop Rigur from going. He just waved his hand and said, "Take your time."

When Rigur looked back at him, it was as if he was looking at a piece of trash, but the master really couldn't say anything.

He knew that Rigur was heading into the warehouse to vent his anger towards him and he couldn't stop him since it was indeed his fault. This was something that everyone in their alchemy lab knew, so they all avoided the warehouse when Rigur was there.

After sulking for a bit, the master suddenly perked himself up and said, "I'll go and refine the glue. Rigur will definitely think of a way out of this dilemma."

Down in the warehouse…

"That idiot master! He knows that he shouldn't be buying goods! All he knows is how to do alchemy!"

That was the main reason why Rigur had chosen to go under this master. He was someone who was renowned for his alchemy skills, but his management of his alchemy lab was what created his terrible reputation.

He always wasted money from overpaying for items and he was taken advantage of by assistants who knew about his inability to maintain his finances.

It wasn't until Rigur came that they were finally able to get things under control.

After stomping on the ground one more time, Rigur suddenly gave a sigh and shook his head before saying, "I'll have to look at the finances again and see what I can cut. There's also those people that need the manure, perhaps they'll buy another batch…"

Even if he was angry, he still tried to figure out a way to solve the master's mistake.

That was because he truly respected the master as an alchemist.

He had learned quite a lot under the master and he wanted to repay him even if he acted like an idiot sometimes.

So Rigur was about to head back to his office to see if he could find some money somewhere, but before he could take a single step, there was a sudden flash of light.

This light was so bright that he couldn't look at it directly and he had no choice but to cover his eyes with his hand.

When the light faded, he turned in the direction that it came from and he found that there was a door that had suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

This was a very common looking wooden door without anything special about it.

No, there was one thing that was special about it.

There was a dog's paw that had been painted right in the center of the door.