My Servant System

"Well... like I said, that was really all I came over to say; of course I was also curious to see Alamar and Minuvae in person for the first time in a long time, as well as to see how my oh so incredible Knight and Saintess were doing. If you have any need of me, I'll be in the Sanctum, preparing for Lilith's arrival. Hopefully she decides to show up before the week is out!"

Standing up after finishing her tea, the Empress gestured for both Lady Igna and Lady Yusa to continue walking with her, the two curvaceous yet different women taking either side of their wife and giving us nods, only to leave quietly, more focused on their wife than they were on anyone else.

With those heavy presences finally gone from the room, Bessie was able to stop shaking somewhat and get to work without fear of spilling everything, though by now there was little need to actually make tea and prepare some biscuits, but I wasn't going to say no to her doing so...

I could always go for a pot of tea and some biscuits, especially when it seemed we were in for some more conversation with the two newcomers who had returned to the couch; already, they were back to amusing the two babies and keeping quiet.

"Since it's back to just us, why don't you go and spar with Jahi, Mother? Chat with her about the things she's missed, about our family..."

Mother Ria was smiling tiredly as she looked between her parents, both of whom glanced back up at the rest of us and blinked a few times before nodding, like they just remembered that there was more people in this room then just them.

It was... a certain type of eccentricity to be able to do that so quickly, and yet they were capable of losing track of everything in the room besides the things right on their laps with such ease it was almost frightening, though after they gently brought the two babies over to Mother Ria and Mother, they turned towards us and nodded.

"Yes, I probably should... hopefully you aren't an exact copy of her in all regards... and from what I've heard, you are quite accomplished already. Fiends and a pseudo war... quite impressive for someone your age."

Grandma gestured for Jahi to follow her, whilst Grandpa smiled at us three and said "And I heard that the three of you are all artisans in your own regards, correct? What was it... a blacksmith, an alchemist, and an enchantress? Quite the lineup of lucrative professions! Have you sold any of your works just yet?"

As Grandma and Jahi left the room, we followed them a moment later, Grandpa's eyes sparkling in a way that they hadn't even when he had Lakshmi on his lap; it seemed that the businessman was one of those types, the ones who were cutthroat and obsessed with money and profits to the point of it being an unhealthy obsession.

But of course, those were the types of people who were extremely capable of making gigantic leaps in any sort of field thanks to that obsession to make money; the problem always just laid in how they went about making those leaps and whether or not they wanted to share their findings.

"We haven't sold anything that we've honestly put a lot of effort into; all of Anput's practice and warm up weapons were enchanted by me and sold at a store down in the city, while Leone has traded her potions around instead of selling them directly. Most of our 'art' is kept personal..."

"For now, anyways. When we finally get a long period of peace and don't need to worry about running around like headless chickens, I wanted to crank out some high grade weapons and have you both help enchant them and fortify them with different alchemical thingies. I read about that somewhere but don't really get it..?"

Anput glanced at Leone, who was frowning before she asked "Are you asking about chemical baths and infusing? Most of the time that's simply ornamental in nature; it makes any forge lines or patterns in the metal more obvious, it can darken or lighten the metal, or it just gives it a nice gloss that does little for the structure of the weapon... and infusing is only beneficial if you're trying to make something simple like steel have an elemental attunement."

"Ah, not entirely accurate, Lady Leone. Infusing can be used to bolster the elemental attunement and make it stronger, or if you create the right concoction, it can actually strengthen the overall structure of the weapon and make it harder, softer, denser or lighter. You just need the right herbs to do so! But... most of the time, yes, it is ornamental."

Glancing back at us, Grandpa smiled softly as he added "However, just like with food, people are more likely to enjoy things that have an appealing visual style, so if you decide to make anything with metals that are more bland and boring, infusing can be of great importance for making a larger sale. And any important work that you make that utilizes something as beautiful as Damascus or any other folding patterns would benefit from the chemical baths to enunciate those patterns and display its artistic beauty even better!"

While Leone and I just nodded, Anput was smiling as well as her gaze wandered up towards the ceiling, imaging the swords she could forge and make more visually appealing with those chemical baths or infusings, the blacksmith inside of her becoming giddy at that idea.

"Additionally, were you aware that there are ways to make your enchantments more visible than before? To add a colorful sheen to the weapon and make it even more visually stunning?"

Grandpa looked towards me with that question, only to enter the training grounds and quickly stick to the wall as he found a nice spot to occupy that was far away from his wife and granddaughter, who had picked up some of the simple metal training weapons and now stood across from one another in the middle of the sandy area.

"Unless it was an item that wasn't required to be used in battle, making the enchantments more visible is counterintuitive; yes, people assume you have an enchanted weapon when you reach a certain level, but otherwise, letting them confirm that with no effort at all is not the greatest idea."

His smile wilted somewhat at that, before returning completely as he pointed out "You said if it was to be used in a battle; otherwise, this would be ideal, no? It's a basic enchantment, should be in any workbook that involves enchanting! Tableware, jewelry, clothing... all of those could benefit from it!"

I shrugged at that, making the man sigh slightly before turning towards Leone to finish off his spiel to convince us to do things that could make more money; and honestly, his advice for Anput was solid enough to consider for anything, since it could either improve the weapon for ourselves or for when we sell it.

So I was curious to see what ideas he had for Leone, and if they were things we had considered already or at the very least a twist on the things we already knew.

"Obviously, potions aren't the end all be all of alchemy, as you surely know. Salves and creams, the herbs by themselves, soups and pills... there are a lot of different things that you can utilize alchemy for, but one of the more ignored, but one of the most lucrative fields of alchemy has always been using it not for healing or for getting stronger, but instead for beauty."

That made me smile wryly as I leaned against the wall, my eyes seeking out the battle between Jahi and her Grandma as the two clashed together swiftly, their blades sparking against one anothers as they displayed to different, yet effective fighting styles.

Jahi utilized power and her size to keep the Elf at bay and threaten her whenever she tried to get within her blades range, whilst Grandma darted around swiftly with a longsword and a dagger, testing the Demoness' defenses.

"Concocting salves and creams that nourish the skin and keep one looking youthful for far longer than normal, concocting perfumes to have scents that you can't find with normal herbs, creating makeup that helps your skin instead of damages it... surprisingly enough, few alchemists want to utilize their skills for it, but unsurprisingly enough, people want to remain young and beautiful for as long as possible, and those without strong Cores only live for so long in their prime.

A single vial of skin cream sells for a couple gold each, and if you dilute the formula and sell it for silvers instead... well, your customer base explodes, meaning more and more people will come to you for this cream that maintains their beauty!"

His excitement at the idea was slightly infectious, if only because the amount of money that could be made was extremely appealing...