The elf smiled gently. “Of course I know, and I also know what they're used for~. Little miss, these aren't exactly ingredients for your everyday potion~.”
Shulim: “...”
“Well, whatever. What you want to do with them has nothing to do with me. Looking at how you were when you entered, you must have run into some tricky trouble. But as a student of Manacos, while solving problems on your own is admirable, it's also perfectly fine to rely on the academy when necessary, you know.”
Shulim: “...!?”
“How did you know—?”
Shulim stared at her in shock.
“Is it really that hard to guess?” the elf said with a smile. “A child so young who is already C-Class in strength—in Langard, you could only be a student of Manacos, right?”
Shulim was completely stunned.
She was... she was completely seen through?!
“...How did you know?”
The elf seemed to find Shulim's reaction highly amusing. With a slightly teasing smile, she repeated her answer. “Is it really that hard~?”
“........................................................”
“Alright, I'll stop teasing you~!” The elf seemed to have had her fun, offering an apologetic smile. “Wait here for a moment.”
With that, she walked into the deeper parts of the shop, opened a door, and stepped into a back room.
...What a strange elf, Shulim thought to herself after the elf left.
Ever since stepping into this shop, she had been led by the nose the entire time. It was the first time Shulim had ever experienced anything like this. “But what is she doing?”
Before long, the elf emerged from behind the door, carrying two items: a bottle and a box.
“Sorry for the wait, little miss. Here is the Dragon's Dream Fruit juice and Hadra Stygian Fish scales you wanted.”
“...???”
Shulim stared at the two items in the elf's hands, completely dumbfounded. Her gaze darted back and forth between the elf and the ingredients.
“You actually have them???”
“My, what an interesting thing to say, little miss. Aren't these the two ingredients you asked for? Why are you so surprised~?”
This... Although she had indeed asked for them at the start, she had never actually expected the elf to have both! And besides—she had originally specified the Hadra Stygian Fish, so why did the elf bring out the scales directly?
The elf noticed Shulim's gaze and smiled immediately. “Are you wondering about the scales? Well, since you only need the scales, I just brought them out.”
“But I never said I only needed the scales.”
“Even though you didn't say it, there are only a few potions that use both Dragon's Dream Fruit juice and Hadra Stygian Fish, right? Considering your situation, little miss...” The elf sized Shulim up. “The only thing you could be brewing is Dragon's Dream Incense!”
“...”
This time, Shulim wasn't surprised at all, for she had already guessed that the elf before her would figure it out.
“Dragon's Dream Incense... that isn't a potion you see every day~. Little miss, big sister is starting to get a bit curious about your identity~.”
“...I'm just a student,” Shulim replied in a very flat tone.
“Oh~?” The elf drawled, staring at Shulim, but Shulim remained completely unfazed.
“Well, whatever. Prying into a customer's business goes against professional ethics, so I'll just sell these two items to you!”
Professional ethics. It was the first time those words felt so incredibly foreign. How could someone who practically exposed her entire background the moment she walked into the shop think she possessed such a thing? Shulim thought to herself, though she naturally didn't let it show on her face.
She reached for her coin purse. “How much will it be?”
“Hmm, let me calculate~. Eight hundred and eighty thousand Cole. I'll waive the change as an apology for teasing you.”
Shulim's hand froze as she grabbed her coin purse. She slowly raised her head. “Um... could it be a bit cheaper?”
Although she had anticipated that these two rare ingredients would be expensive, still... eight hundred and eighty thousand! Wasn't this price a bit too absurd?!
“Oh, that won't do. Don't you know how difficult it is to obtain these two materials, little miss? First, there's the Dragon's Dream Fruit. It's the dragon race's favorite. Trying to get one is equivalent to making an enemy of a giant dragon. How hard do you think that is? As for the Hadra Stygian Fish, though they aren't difficult to catch themselves, they only live in underground rivers that never see the light of day. Getting them is even more difficult than the Dragon's Dream Fruit!”
“If these two items were posted as quests in the Adventurers' Guild, they would easily be top-tier B-Class quests. Depending on the situation, they could even become A-Class quests~! Little miss, do you still think this price is expensive?”
“...But this is all I have.” Shulim held her coin purse, then dug out another pouch filled with a large amount of gold coins from her bag.
Seeing the money Shulim held out, it was the elf's turn to be astonished. “You really have that much money...”
Shulim sensed something off from her words. “Huh? If you didn't think I could afford them, then why did you bring them out?”
“Well, about that...” The elf looked behind Shulim—more specifically, at the long case she carried on her back.
“Don't you have a rather nice mithril sword? If you use it as collateral, eight hundred and eighty thousand would be fine.”
“No way!” Shulim quickly hugged her mithril sword, staring at the elf warily. “How did you—never mind...”
Had even her actual appearance been seen through?
“Hahaha~!” The elf was amused by Shulim's reaction and explained with a laugh: “I won't steal your things~! You'll be needing that next, right?”
Shulim: “...”
“Hmm, then what should we do now~? Ah, whatever, forget it—” The elf seemed to give up thinking.
“Just take these two items. You can pay me back once you've saved up enough!”
“Eh?” Shulim was incredibly surprised. “Is that really alright?”
“It's perfectly fine!”
“But I have nothing to offer as collateral.”
“No need for all that trouble. Promissory notes and IOUs are just annoying to look at. I'll just keep it in mind. Anyway, you're at Manacos Magic Academy, right? If you don't come back to pay me, I'll just go to your academy and find you!”
Won't you go bankrupt doing business like this... and speaking of which, you definitely saw what I look like, didn't you?
“Alright, don't dawdle. You have things to do, don't you? Take the materials and go do what you need to do.” The elf handed the two ingredients to Shulim.
“...”
Shulim looked at her silently. She put her coin purses back into her bag and took the ingredients handed to her.
“...Thank you, Miss Elf. I will definitely repay the money.”
“You're welcome~!” the elf said with a smile.
...
Jingle! The chime of the door closing rang behind her.
Carrying the gathered materials, Shulim walked out of the elf shopkeeper's potion shop.
“Oh, little miss.” The elf shopkeeper's voice came from inside the shop.
Shulim turned back and looked at her.
“If only for the sake of my money, don't go dying on me~!”
“...”
Shulim gave a silent nod, turned, and departed...
Watching her retreating figure fade into the distance, the elf shopkeeper murmured to herself: “A girl of eleven or twelve who is already close to B-Class...? What an interesting customer indeed. It seems things won't be boring from now on.”
...
...
Rate on N.U.
