Who Is the World’s Strongest Appraiser? ~Living in Another World With Satisfying Meals~

I Obtained My Very Own Alchemy Cauldron

“Wow, that’s amazing…”

Yuuri couldn’t help but let out a voice of admiration. And it was no wonder, as before Yuuri’s eyes stood a gigantic alchemy cauldron. It was so large that Yuuri could easily fit inside it. Putting materials in and taking them out would require using the ladder attached to it due to its size.

But that wasn’t the only thing that surprised Yuuri. Next to the massive cauldron stood a man. He was small but muscular, covered in hair, and had a dark complexion that clearly indicated he wasn’t human. Judging by the wrinkles etched into his face, he was probably quite old.

“…A dwarf?”

Yuuri muttered to himself, but both Ali, who was beside him, and the man before him tilted their heads in confusion. To Yuuri, the man looked like a dwarf, but in this world, they were called by a different name.

“Yuuri, this old man is an alchemy blacksmith of the Mountain Folk, and his name is Gurgal.”

“So, you’re today’s guest? Hmph, bringing along such a novice, what were you thinking, Ali boy?”

“Stop calling me ‘boy,’ old man.”

“Um, I’m Yuuri. Pleased to meet you.”

Even under Gurgal’s sharp, glaring gaze, Yuuri bowed politely. Despite his gentle appearance, Yuuri was surprisingly calm under pressure. Gurgal squinted his already narrow eyes with interest at Yuuri, who didn’t flinch.

Gurgal belonged to a race known as the Mountain Folk. They live in the mountains, excel at mining and processing minerals, and despite their small stature, they possess great strength. Their bodies, hardened by blacksmithing, are far more robust than those of ordinary warriors. Both men and women are strong and are unmatched when it comes to handling precious metals. In the field of blacksmithing, they are said to be as skilled as halflings.

Halflings are known for their craftsmanship, creating intricate works with their dexterous hands and artistic sense. On the other hand, the Mountain Folk are masters of metalworking and are unmatched in creating weapons and armor. If you were to generalize, the Mountain Folk excel in manufacturing, while halflings excel in fine craftsmanship. However, both races are skilled in both tasks.

Now, Gurgal, a member of the Mountain Folk, held a job known as an alchemy blacksmith, as Ali had mentioned. As the name suggests, an alchemy blacksmith is skilled in both alchemy and blacksmithing. Their most significant feature is the ability to create alchemy cauldrons.

Originally, the first alchemy cauldron was an artifact unearthed from ancient ruins. It was as large as the one now before Yuuri’s eyes. In the past, people studied its structure and painstakingly recreated it by hand. But now, in a rather complicated situation, only custom-made alchemy blacksmiths can handle the creation of these massive cauldrons using specialized tools.

…Even back when they were made by hand, the craftsmen would scratch their heads, wondering, “How does this even work?” Even the ones who made them couldn’t fully understand the structure of these mysterious objects. And yet, they became the most powerful magical items known as alchemy cauldrons.

“So, you’re giving this novice an alchemy cauldron?”

“…I figured it would be better to give him his own than to have him mess up with mine.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Don’t ask.”

Ali averted his gaze, looking slightly embarrassed. Gurgal frowned in confusion, while Yuuri politely bowed once again, keeping a low profile. He remembered all too well the times Ali had scolded him. …Though he would end up doing something similar again. It’s not that Yuuri had a bad memory, but he tended to see alchemy cauldrons as convenient tools for making seasonings. Humans are always drawn to what’s convenient.

Gurgal, sensing that it might be better not to pry further, handed Yuuri a small metal rod. At its tip, countless thread-like wires extended, leading to the shelves filled with ingots and gemstones.

“…What is this?”

“When ordering an alchemy cauldron, you start by selecting the materials.”

“So, holding this will determine the materials?”

“That’s right.”

Though he didn’t fully understand, Yuuri grasped the metal rod as Gurgal instructed. Ali didn’t say anything, so Yuuri assumed it was the correct procedure. As he held it, his body heat transferred to the metal rod, and then, gradually, the transparent threads gained color, which quickly traveled along them.

The threads stopped with one red and two orange colors. Yuuri followed the threads with his gaze, while Ali quickly checked and then looked away. Gurgal’s usually narrow eyes widened in shock.

“…Ali boy.”

“Stop calling me ‘boy.’”

“What in the world have you brought here?!”

“He’s our household cook!”

“Don’t be ridiculous!”

Gurgal, being of the Mountain Folk, had a booming voice. His natural speaking voice was unnecessarily loud. Yuuri, who had been right next to him when he yelled, felt the sound echoing in his head, causing him to crouch down in pain. It genuinely hurt. But Gurgal ignored Yuuri’s reaction and continued to berate Ali, who responded in a desperate tone. Ali’s response wasn’t entirely wrong, but he wasn’t giving all the information, so it was understandable that Gurgal was angry.

The reason for Gurgal’s outburst was that the materials deemed suitable for Yuuri’s alchemy cauldron were completely out of the ordinary. Red indicated optimal, and orange indicated a high compatibility rate. The color changed depending on the person’s abilities and compatibility, but the materials that Yuuri selected were problematic in many ways.

“…In what world does a human have a perfect compatibility rate with Hihiirokane?!”

“There’s one right here.”

“Ali boy!”

“Don’t shout at me, old man! I didn’t think he’d cause this much trouble either!”

One of the legendary metals, Hihiirokane.

A rare metal that can only be obtained from a certain dungeon, with no other means of acquisition.

It has a high affinity with magic stones, and if used to craft magic items, the resulting weapons would be of the highest quality.

However, there are very few who can actually handle this metal in an alchemy cauldron.

Now, the red material was Hihiirokane, and at this point, Gurgal was already screaming, but the two orange ones were also quite unusual.

Orichalcum, known as the rare metal next to Hihiirokane.

This one is more widely recognized by name and is known by everyone as a top-quality metal.

By the way, the reason Orichalcum was orange was not because “Yuuri’s abilities were lacking”, but because “Orichalcum couldn’t fully bring out Yuuri’s abilities.”, which is why it was orange.

If possible, it would have likely chosen all Hihiirokane.

The last one was also orange. This was because the ratio was decided to be two metals and one gemstone, making it a gemstone. And this gemstone was also quite odd.

While diamonds are known as precious gemstones, this one was a rare bicolor diamond, a very rare type that contains two colors within a single diamond.

“…Why do you even have something like that?”

“Hmph. If you obtain it, you should display it, right?”

“…Just make it with that.”

“And what about the payment? That kid can’t possibly afford it, right?”

“…I’ll cover it for now.”

“…Are you really going that far, Ali-boy?”

Gurgal asked curiously, and Ali grumbled in a tiresome tone.

It was how he truly felt.

“Honestly, giving him a proper cauldron will save my own cauldron from being destroyed.”

“…Ali-san, I have no intention of breaking any cauldrons, though?”

“Shut up. You’re just going to use it on a whim again!”

“…Hehe?”

“Hehe? Don’t ‘Hehe’ me!”

As Yuuri tried to play innocent by tilting his head, Ali just got angrier.

Even though his baby face made him look even more childlike, Ali knew his actual age and all the trouble he had caused so far, leaving him no choice but to be the frustrated guardian.

Seeing the exchange between the two, Gurgal sighed as he took out the Hihiirokane.

He then retrieved the Orichalcum and bicolor diamond, all while giving Ali a look that said, “Where did you find someone who could pull this off?”

But Ali felt like, “It’s not my fault!”

After all, they met purely by chance.

“…Kid.”

“Yes.”

“I’ll make your alchemy cauldron with these materials.”

“Thank you very much.”

“It will take a few days to complete.

Also, I’ll need a drop of your blood.”

Yuuri blinked in surprise as a needle was handed to him.

Seeing this, Ali explained…

“An order-made alchemy cauldron incorporates the owner’s blood to increase compatibility.”

“And they don’t do that for pre-made cauldrons?”

“Nope. Those are mass-produced with different materials.”

“Just so you know, pre-made cauldrons have worse compatibility.”

Gurgal interjected, explaining, “If you want a cauldron that works well and is easy to use, you should have it custom-made.”

…Of course, beginner alchemists can’t afford custom-made ones, so they buy cheap, pre-made products.

The reason Ali brought Yuuri to Gurgal, a custom cauldron craftsman, was because of Yuuri’s unique skills and job.

Ali, knowing Yuuri’s abilities, figured a pre-made cauldron wouldn’t suffice.

However, he couldn’t tell Gurgal that, so he ended up dodging the old man’s probing questions.

“By the way, kid, do you have any design requests?”

“Design?”

“If you can sketch it out, I can try to match it.”

“Well, I don’t need a sketch, but I would like handles on both sides to make it easier to carry.”

“…Ali-boy, is this kid planning to carry his cauldron around?”

“…Seems like he is.”

Normally, a cauldron stays in the room where it’s used, with no need to carry it around.

But Yuuri often borrowed Ali’s cauldron to work in the dining room, and he would probably do the same with his own, using it in places like the dining or living room.

Predicting this, Ali let out a small sigh.

“Fine. I’ll add the handles.”

“Thank you very much.”

“…Still, this kid… using these materials…”

“”…””

Gurgal seemed unconvinced.

The two quietly averted their gazes.

They both felt, “Please, let’s not talk about that.”

It would be troublesome if the issue was pressed.

They planned to avoid any further questions in the future as well.

Later, when the cauldron was completed, Yuuri was overjoyed and continued to make various items, which led to more of Ali’s scolding.