AN: Well, hello. Your lazy author present you chapter 48 :D. Enjoy!

PR by Bboybrian

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I had already started to furnish the workshop with the necessary basic tools. I decided to get some rough products out using the better equipped academy facilities, then go into deeper, finer details at home. The last room on the upper floor would become my study. I should start thinking of some measures to prevent intrusions and thievery. All credits must go to me.

For alchemy, I was thinking of making cosmetics and other hygiene products to attract the eyes of the nobles. After all, nobles liked their comfortable living style and high quality products, and wouldn't hesitate to get their hands on expensive things. I also decided not to focus on just products for the body. I could try to emulate some of the maintenance products from my former world, at least as much as my skills, materials and memories would allow me to.

The second use for alchemy was concerning those really valuables metals which could be commonly found in ores, but nigh impossible to extract, such as aluminium, titanium and chrome. They were quite abundant in nature, but easily mixed with other elements, thus making it hard to isolate them. Being able to produce ingots of these metals would not only bring me a lot of money, I would also be able to make better equipment and reinforce our means of transportation.

As for smithing, I should refine my steel production, learn how to make more complex pieces of metal, and start work on mecanic systems. Also, I was thinking of learning how to make ceramics. They are mostly used to make recipients, covers for certain roofs, or for high quality furnaces. Ceramics can be as hard as some metals while being lighter, and there is no problem of corrodation. Used on means of transportation, it would mean less maintenance issues.

Lastly, as I got to talk with several nobles and sons of merchants, I got a better idea of what games they used for entertainment, and selected some games to introduce to this world. There were some I wanted to introduce through nobles, others through merchants, and the rest through the crafting guild. All professional crafters were affiliated with the crafting guild. The majority worked for themselves, but some worked exclusively for the guild, and their products would have the crafting guild crest on them.

Noble crests and guild crests act like brands, reducing copyrights issues. As such, I would sell them the posh and fancy products, fit for a man of high standing. As for the products to be sold to the merchants, they would be cheaper and simpler. For those, I wanted to use my own crest of sorts, but only after my name as a talented mage and crafter had started to spread. That would take a few months giving me some time to adapt to the games of this world.

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During the following 4 months I managed to develop some cosmetic prototypes, and I completed 2 deodorants, 1 for males and the second for females. I tested their efficiency against odors using my stinky products. To avoid problems with people with sensitive skins, I used some ingredients from health recovery potions. Some particular leaves and flowers were used for the men's version, and some flowers and fruits for the women version.

One day, after a meeting student council meeting, I held Eliane back. Once the others were gone, I motioned to her to sit down, and I sat in front of her.

Eliane: “Aenthar, I like you a lot, but I'm sorry, I can't be with a commoner. I appreciate your feelings, and I'm sure you'll find happiness with someone else.”

Aenthar: “... Did you meet with another potential fiance lately?”

Eliane: “Yes, in a little less than 2 months it will be the mid year holiday, and my parents are thinking of having me spend some time with the family of my future husband. I can find a good man myself! Well, you commoners shouldn't concern yourselves with noble's problems”

Aenthar: “Right. Maybe they will listen to one of your requests if you give them something nice. I just happen to have something nice that I wanted you and your family to try.”

Eliane: “So, you commoner think you have something that will catch the interest of a noble? We can get our hands on many quality products, more than what would be available to you. I sincerely doubt you got your hands on something we can't get on our own.”

I grinned at her, then took out 2 flasks from my bag and presented it to her. She glanced at the flasks then set her eyes back to me. This time I pulled out my alchemy card and put it next to the flasks. After looking at it her eyes widened, she glanced at the flasks once again before focusing her gaze on me, her eyes very serious. My grin grew wider.

Aenthar: “You nobles like to be fresh and clean, especially during summer when the heat makes you pespire a lot and the ammount of body odor rises. There are enchanted items to keep the air around cool, but they aren't very handy and a mage must be available. What I have here is something more effective and cheaper than your favored Ephamina.”

She opened her eyes wide again. After all, Ephamina was a luxury product made by the crafter guild, and a small flask cost 15 silver coins. The best product in this field was made by the crafter guild, and their crafters are quite proud. It would have been troublesome to sell them the receipt of a product superior to theirs without being pressured into joining them, so I decided to go to a noble house first. The nobles would be proof of my talent and ability to rip profits without them. Once I try to sell something to them later they wouldn't be arrogant.

Aenthar: “You can confirm its effectiveness yourself, the flask with the red ribbon is for women, and the flask with the blue ribbon is for men. The only difference between the 2 is the scent, there are some scents that are better on men and some that are better on women. Use it after cleaning yourself up in the morning, in the evening you will see the results. Take your time testing them, and if your family gets interested...”

With that said, I took back my card, stood up and left after bidding her a good night.

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Not everything that happened these past 4 months were nice. At the beginning of Nendia, as I was making my rounds as a member of the student council, I was attacked. More precisely, someone threw a stone at me from behind. It was at a time when there was a fair bit of people around. As I was walking, I sensed a projectile heading my way from behind and barely dodged it. My mana sense picked it up when it was already quite close. I was able to react, but it whirled quite close to my ear.

When I looked behind, I saw some surprised faces, and people started to look at each others, wondering who was the one who threw the stone at me. Whoever did it did a good job at pretending to be innocent. Or maybe it was because everyone among them looked a bit scared of me. Nobody wanted to be punished for attacking me, neither the innocents nor the perpetrator. As I was intensely glaring at them, each started to plead for their innocence and non-involvment with what had happened. I had to give up this time, and left without saying anything.

I could easily pick up magic attacks without concentrating, but being guarded against physical attacks all the time using mana sense would be too much for my mind. This time I barely had the time to react. If someone tried to inflict more harm than that done by a thrown stone, it could be dangerous for me. After school, I warned the girls about possible attacks on them. After all, after the team battles, it was well known that the girls and I were more than just simple acquaintances (though they still didn't know we were lovers, else the targets on their back would have been huge).

The following 2 months, there were several attempts to harm me both within and without the premise of the academy. Since it was easy for me to pick up presences within a certain range, I was always able to detect people following us or trying to ambush us in the streets of the capital. Of course, that was when Komodo wasn't around. I started to make plans to bait them into attacking me to follow them later to their commanditor. After all, Komodo was an excellent tracker...

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AN: Yep, I know, I've been lazy lately (and spent more time on a side project).

If everything goes well, at the end of September I will have my driving license. I'm sorry for those who will cross my path... NOT!! I'm a decent driver (I still make a few mistakes, but my instructor think it will be fine)