I admittedly don't appreciate architecture nor nature as much as some would. I'm not one to step outside and take in the beauty of the world around me. Understanding the "perfection" of nature is a must for any magician worth their salt, so said Cesarina in her earlier lecture, but I was far from a magician, and far from being worth my salt in anything. I'm not special. I'd say I'm worth my ash, at best, but nothing as valuable as salt (which is really taken for granted these days). I never expected myself to be worth my salt at anything, but I have a better shot at being so in just about everything except magic. Magic wasn't a field of interest, only a requirement, something I was told I needed to learn. So I wasn't worried about being worth my salt in magic, because to me that salt would be worthless. I choose to have no specialty so I can make use of just about any skill there is, the only downside is that I can't be great at anything. Only proficient at best. I hate this phrase, but what was it. Jack of all trades, master of none? That's the best way to put it, but I don't think it entirely makes sense. The way I see it, there's one thing the jack is a master at. Dedication, or reverse dedication, but not the opposite. After a while of being a jack of all trades, you'll find a trade that just feels like it's the trade for you. A calling, or a passion. Normally one will decicate themselves to that one trade or field to become extremely versed in it, and nobody can be blamed for doing that. After all, it just feels right. However, a true Jack of all trades will resist the strong desire they have to sprint down one avenue. True masters of none will dedicate every fiber of their being to not dedicate to anything at all. Once you know what your calling is, you'll be dedicating yourself to the resistance of that for the rest of your life. You become a master of reverse dedication. A former master of none. Once you find your calling, you lose the right to call yourself a master of none. I still have this right, however I dislike the phrase to begin with. I'm more like a versatile savant. I'm not outstanding at anything, nor am I worth my salt at anything, but as long as I'm somewhat proficient, being worth my salt has no value to me. Being worth worthless salt would just make me worthless.
Did any of that make sense? Did you find gaps in my logic? If your answers are yes, then I'm doing my job well so far.
Not all salt is worthless, only the figurative kind. Even the value of that is subjective. Certain kinds of salt sell high, as evident by the many spice vendors lining the city streets in stands. So many merchants there were peddling salt as their main commodity that you'd think it was a salt only market.
Again, I say that I'm not one to appreciate the 'perfection' of nature, and as such would not be considered a magician worth my salt according to Cesarina, nor do I care to be one as it would end my versatile savant status prematurely, but I did appreciate the aroma of the unusual salts dissolved into boiling water by a woman at a cart Riho and I passed by. "That smells quite good," I remarked.
"That's just a byproduct," he said somewhat enthusiastically, as if he was waiting for an opportunity to talk about just this. "An unintended result of the diffusion process. That kind of salt is used to create potions and alternative medicine, but it also happens to create this pleasant scent as a sort of side effect when dissolved in water."
Alternative medicine... I know it was just his wording, but he made it sound like some herbal remedy that only slightly relieves symptoms. I understood that the implications were of a far greater field than home remedies, but it was his wording.
"You're knowledgeable." the woman at the cart said to Riho as we walked past her. He stopped for a chat.
"Oh, no, I'm just well read. I haven't experienced much of this firsthand."
Lying through his teeth already. I didn't know that for sure, but he made it obvious. "You sound like you're quite experienced with this yourself." Even the woman knew, but she didn't press him about it. "This salt produces a scent when burned, but that scent is also an essence. It may be a byproduct, but that essence can be used to create many other things. It's an old practice that was lost at some point. We rediscovered it not too long ago."
I interjected by name dropping the recently found time-lost book containing the earliest mention of recycling the byproduct essence. It was something I didn't know I knew. The woman looked at me. "And you may be even more knowledgeable than your friend."
"I doubt that." I replied.
"I think both of you might know more about the practice than you're leading me to believe."
I looked at Riho. He was planning something. There was an intention of his that I couldn't pinpoint, but I didn't sense danger. I said nothing and let him brainstorm. "I'm going ahead to look at some things. Talk with this nice woman for a bit. Catch up with me in a little while, will ya? We're still going to take care of your other errands." He said, then briskly walked ahead, leaving me with the woman.
"You're rather young," she pointed out. "Did your parents have you start brewing potions early?"
"Most of my knowledge in this field is from the scientific side. I've spent a decent amount of time in a club run by a teacher who specializes in pharmaceuticals."
"That doesn't explain how you'd know about that book. Science is on the polar opposite end of the medicinal spectrum from alchemy."
"Trade secret, I guess." I bluffed. Easier than explaining that I have memories of a past life and then getting her to believe me.
"You're an interesting one, that's for sure. Here's my number. Call me if you need my services. I'm an alchemist, so you should have an idea of what kinds of things I can help you with. First requests for you and your friend are on the house, but I normally charge a premium, so put some thought into whether you really need me before you give me a ring."
She wrote her number on a piece of paper and handed it to me. I pocketed it for later as I had yet to procure another phone.
I exchanged thank yous with the woman for the brief chat, then went to catch up with Riho.
What was the point of telling you about this? Foreshadowing? I probably had a reason when I started, but now I can't think of it for the life of me. I could have skipped straight to the battle at the- actually, I don't want to spoil too much, though I suppose it's too late now. Sorry. Inotani Takuya formally apologizes. It's a bit ahead of schedule, but I've already spilled the beans so I might as well let the entire cat out of the bag. To make up for being so careless while storytelling, I'll inform you now that a bit of a skirmish happens when I arrive at the cellphone store. A little more than a skirmish. And then some.
And don't you get impatient just yet. I wouldn't be telling you anything at all if I thought the whole story was boring.