The results of the first day were undoubtedly somewhat disheartening. As the imperial capital, those able to run potion shops in Langard's Midtown naturally had a decent amount of knowledge and experience. Yet if even they had never heard of them, the chances of acquiring these two materials were infinitesimally small.
The Dragon's Dream Fruit was somewhat better off, as a few older shopkeepers had at least heard of it. The Hadra Stygian Fish, on the other hand, was hopeless—not a single person knew what it was!
“...Could it be that the Hadra Stygian Fish is already extinct?”
When Shulim thought about Semilis's sense of time, she suddenly felt it wasn't impossible...
The next day.
Standing at the boundary between Midtown and Downtown, Shulim hesitated, pacing back and forth.
She had not given up yet, but yesterday's failure in Midtown made her hesitant about whether to keep searching there. Langard was vast; searching like this, it was questionable whether she could visit every potion shop in Midtown even within ten days. Perhaps she would find them, but it was far more likely that the underground organization's people would find her first.
They seemed busy with something recently, which was why they temporarily had no time to bother with her, but Shulim did not think they would continue to leave her alone once that matter was handled.
Ultimately, Shulim chose not to continue searching in Midtown and instead walked into Downtown.
Logically speaking, the standard of potion shops in Midtown should be higher than those in Downtown, but—
“Semilis once said that if you are hesitating over whether to take a certain path, don't hesitate—just change to another one, because that path lacks conviction for you...”
...
Even though it was Downtown, in a place like Langard, one couldn't see the impoverished, rundown streets typically found in ordinary lower districts.
It was still exceptionally prosperous, and public security was excellent.
In fact, the headquarters of the Royal Capital Defense Knights and the royal capital branch of the Adventurers' Guild, among multiple other major organizations, were located in Downtown.
Looking at it this way, the differences between districts in Langard were not nearly as pronounced as in ordinary cities.
Shulim searched for a long time in Downtown.
She visited three potion shops in a row, and the results were entirely as expected.
Not only that, but just as expected, Downtown's standards fell short of Midtown's. The stock of materials in these shops could not compare to Midtown, lacking even many of the common ingredients for Dragon's Dream Incense.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang...
Without realizing it, Shulim had walked onto a street lined with quite a few blacksmith shops. There were noticeably fewer ordinary people here, while those dressed as adventurers were far more common.
Since there clearly wouldn't be any potion shops here, Shulim quickened her pace.
“Moo—!”
“Watch out! Make way!”
As she reached a blacksmith shop at an intersection, a wagon was parked sideways right in front of the entrance, blocking Shulim's path. A dwarf stepped out of the blacksmith shop and began scolding the cart driver furiously.
“Why are you so slow?! Don't you know how busy I've been lately?!”
“Calm down, calm down!”
The driver smiled appeasingly as he opened the wagon, revealing the metal ore loaded inside.
“I'll definitely be on time next time!”
“Hmph!”
The dwarf glanced at the ore.
“The quality's decent enough. Don't let it happen again!”
Then he turned his head and bellowed into the blacksmith shop,
“What are you lot standing around in there for? Get out here and unload the goods!”
Looking at the wagon blocking the path before her, Shulim, who had intended to walk quickly through the street, was forced to stop.
“...”
After a moment's thought, she glanced toward a narrower side street. In the end, rather than skirting around the wagon, she turned and headed down this alley instead...
Shulim walked for quite a while, yet the street showed no sign of ending. Instead, it grew narrower and narrower, with fewer and fewer pedestrians. Just as Shulim was wondering if she really should have just gone around the wagon, a plain-looking shop bearing the sign of a potion shop came into view.
“...”
Looking at this potion shop that had only a generic symbol and not even a store name, Shulim held no hope for it whatsoever.
“...Might as well give it a try.”
Shulim still chose to step inside the potion shop...
Jingle!
As the wind chime at the entrance chimed, Shulim stepped into the potion shop.
The moment she entered, she sensed that this shop was somehow different from the others.
Whether it was the scent or the magic elements... both seemed distinct.
“Is there something you need, little miss?”
“...!?”
Startled, Shulim dodged sharply to the left, her eyes widening as she stared at the person who had abruptly materialized to her right.
When did she appear?! She hadn't noticed her at all!
“My, what an amusing reaction. Rest assured, no one can harm you here, little miss.”
The shopkeeper spoke in a calm, gentle tone.
Those words seemed to carry a strange, wondrous magic, causing the tense Shulim to relax before she even realized it.
But then, she noticed something was off.
“How did you know I'm a girl?”
Ever since arriving in Langard, Shulim had kept herself concealed beneath a black robe and face covering. Normally, it should have been impossible to determine her gender purely from her outward appearance. Furthermore, Shulim remembered clearly that she hadn't spoken a single word since entering the shop.
“Oh, that? Isn't it obvious at a glance?”
The shopkeeper replied with a smile, her tone playfully rhetorical.
Shulim: “...”
...Right. People like that did exist.
“More importantly, little miss, you haven't answered my question yet, have you?”
The shopkeeper drew closer. Because the shop only had a single soft light source, and the outside was bathed in bright sunlight, the interior appeared somewhat dim, preventing Shulim—who had been standing near the sunlit entrance—from seeing the other's appearance clearly before now.
However, the moment the woman stepped into the sunlight streaming through the doorway, Shulim froze.
What a beautiful person...
The person was an elf woman. Platinum-blonde hair cascaded down to her waist, shimmering brilliantly under the sunlight. Her eyes, as clear as green crystals, seemed to hold a swirling galaxy within them, overflowing with radiance. Her skin was exquisitely delicate, and her figure was flawless, as if sculpted by the gods themselves!
Most importantly, she radiated an aura of absolute peace and tranquility at all times, making one feel as relaxed as resting in the shade of a great tree across an open plain.
“U-Um...”
This rare lapse in composure shook Shulim inwardly, and she quickly steadied herself.
“...I would like to buy some ingredients.”
“Mm-hmm. This is a potion shop, after all. Anyone who comes here is naturally looking for potions or ingredients~”
Shulim: “...”
The elf walked toward the back of the shop, asking at the same time, “So, what ingredients would you like to buy, little miss?”
Watching her back, Shulim hesitated for a moment before following her inside.
“...Um, do you have Dragon's Dream Fruit juice and Hadra Stygian Fish?”
“...”
The elf stopped abruptly in her tracks and turned back with a look of astonishment.
Seeing her expression, Shulim couldn't help but feel a pang of disappointment. Did she not know either—
“What do you need those for?”
“Eh—?”
Shulim blinked in surprise. “You know what those two things are?!”
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