I Shall Survive Using Potions! Volume 3

by Funa

  ...They wouldn’t be waiting for me until I was done, would they? I mean, I already told them I may take a while since this was my first visit and I’d probably be speaking to the person in charge of ordering and maybe take a look around, so I doubted they would...

  I was taken to a room with a nameplate on the door: “Second Battalion Commander’s Room.”

  ...I thought I was being taken to the person in charge here!

  Well, we were dealing with important strategic goods (for his soldiers), so maybe he was being cautious about reselling and pilfering.

  “Welcome.”

  I was seeing Lieutenant Colonel Vonsas for the first time in five days. He was all smiles and seemed to be in a good mood.

  “Because of you, I was able to settle various negotiations and conflicts with other battalions. I thank you.”

  Huh...

  The bags were heavy, so I took out the medicine boxes and placed them on the visitors’ table. I put one of the now-empty bags into the other bag, along with the emptied medicine box.

  “Three boxes of seventy-two bottles worth three small gold coins each. One box of twenty-four bottles worth three silver coin each. The total comes to twenty-two gold coins, three small gold coins, and two silver coins.”

  “Very well. Here.”

  The soldier who guided me there brought out a small cloth bag from the lieutenant colonel’s desk.

  The quantity and price had already been written in a letter that was delivered by the messenger from the orphanage. This was common courtesy as a working adult. It would’ve been troublesome if I had requested such a large amount to be paid upfront in cash on the spot.

  I pretended to put the cloth money bag in my own bag, but put it inside my Item Box. A capable woman doesn’t walk around carelessly with a huge sum of money.

  “I’ve put out a notice to go through me for any inquiries about the medicine. I presume there haven’t been any issues at your shop?”

  “No, thanks to you...”

  There had been several soldiers coming in for medicine for two or three days since that day, but I was able to handle anyone asking for bulk purchases on their superior’s orders with the lieutenant colonel’s authority. I treated any soldier who didn’t know about the circumstances as a normal customer, so there hadn’t been any issues.

  “Well then, I’ll be looking forward to the future deliveries. Do you have any requests from your end?” he said with courtesy, perhaps because we were children.

  Maybe he was just saying it for the sake of politeness, but he had committed by saying it, so I was going to take advantage of it, because that’s how I roll!

  “Then please show me around! I may come back to deliver medicine somewhere else here, and I find these places interesting!”

  Yeah, that wasn’t a lie. My earnings with the soldier’s disease medicine would probably slow down in about two months, so I wanted to scope out the area to search for other potential business opportunities. I could also accomplish my original goal to get recognized and look for handsome men at the same time.

  That’s right, I’m a go-getter!

  Thought it wasn’t as if I was desperate or anything.

  No, really.

  “Let’s go then.” The lieutenant colonel rose.

  You’re gonna show me around? Not your subordinate?!

  “Well, I’m just glad a cute young lady has interest in the workings of the military.”

  Really? I had a feeling there was more to it...

  In any case, the lieutenant colonel showed us around the property as per his suggestion. We had a sort of placard displayed on our chests and backs as we walked around. I’d written the following on the signs the previous night:

  “Medicine Shop Layette’s Atelier.”

  This was to show everyone that the medicine for soldier’s disease was being supplied by our shop. This was half the reason I was there making deliveries in the first place.

  We were the center of attention! It was customary for everyone to look and salute as soon as the lieutenant colonel appeared. There was an even greater visual impact with little girls like Layette and myself next to him, along with the signs. How could we not attract attention?

  I wasn’t sure if the lieutenant colonel knew what I was up to, or just thought I was advertising my shop... But in any case, we succeeded in imprinting in the minds of the royal army’s soldiers that if something were to happen to us two, their beacon of hope, the soldier’s disease medicine would no longer be attainable.

  ＊　　　＊

  After the lieutenant colonel showed us around, he brought us to the mess hall. It was a military mess hall, so it wasn’t open around the clock or anything. They only served food during the soldiers’ meal times for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Any other time, they were prepping and ordering food, cleaning equipment, and handling office work, so they were never just sitting there bored. But those sorts of tasks were done at the cooking grounds or offices instead of the food storage area, so there was no one at the mess hall at the moment.

  “This is the mess hall for corporals and lower ranks. Officers have a separate mess hall of their own. Though company commanders and higher are to take their food to their room unless we are having a group meal together.”

  “Hmm. So that way, the higher-ups won’t all go down at once if there’s a disease going around or the food gets poisoned...”

  “Huh?”

  The lieutenant colonel seemed a bit surprised. Maybe that wasn’t why it was set up that way after all.

  “We sell medicine for illnesses, and antidotes, too, just so you know.”

  “R-Right...” He seemed to be a bit taken aback.

  Huh, maybe in this world, they didn’t do things like sneaking into enemy posts to poison their wells or chop up plague-infested corpses and launch them into enemy territory with catapults during a siege. Those were common tactics on Earth...

  Oh, there are some things posted on the board.

  “I will be purchasing the soldier’s disease medicine in bulk. Soldiers are to refrain from visiting the retailer of their own accord, and must receive treatment at the infirmary.”

  Huh, this must be the notice the lieutenant colonel put out for me...

  There were various other pieces of paper pinned to the board, like a recruitment notice for the swordsmanship society or a puppy needing a home.

  I’d seen these sorts of notices on the board at my company’s food court too. It seemed it was the same wherever you went.

  Next, he took us to the outdoor training grounds, where soldiers were busy doing drills. Apparently, the large-scale military exercises were done at the spacious maneuvering ground outside the city gates, or they did marching drills on their way to a location some distance away to train there.

  I looked over next to the training grounds and saw a small group of people operating what seemed to be some sort of box. The lieutenant colonel explained when he saw me watching with curiosity.

  “Ah, that’s communication training. That box contains hand flags in the day and candles in the night, and the front can be opened and closed to send out signals. It’s still daytime, so they’re practicing with red cloth instead of candles.”

  Huh, so they had flag and flash signals here. Sort of like Morse code.

  “I can read them to a degree, but never officially trained for it. I can’t read it when they signal that quickly. Though I wouldn’t need to send signals myself in my position, so I can just take my time should the need ever arise. I say leave the signaling to the signalers and cooking to the cooks.”

  Yeah, he had a point. Higher-ups should leave tasks to whoever’s in charge of them instead of butting in every time. That sales manager badly needed to learn...

  Uh, never mind. That was all in the past...

  “Huh? What’s that?” I noticed them making signals for us. “‘Who are they’... ‘Medicine shop sisters’... ‘Why are they here’... ‘To come see me’... ‘The lit
tle one is mine’... Do you mind if I go punch them in the head?”

  “...How are you able to read that? But yes, I’ll allow it.”

  “Ah...”

  Yes, it was because of “that”: The ability to speak, read, and write any language.

  Their Morse code counts as a language too?!

  “...”

  “...”

  “...”

  “...”

  “...So, that’s about everything there is to see at this base.”

  Yes, I won! I ran over to the signalers and kicked them.

  But this was considered a “base,” huh... Even though it was part of the royal capital?

  Speaking of which, there were naval and air bases, while the army had garrisons. Maybe it was like how ships and planes couldn’t operate without a home base, but the army could go anywhere so long as they had supplies, so “base” just meant where they were currently and was used interchangeably with “post.”

  Though, unlike the navy or air force that deployed out of their base every time, the army didn’t necessarily return every time they went out, so maybe it wasn’t a “base” in that sense. Maybe because the royal army didn’t tend to fight outside the kingdom from one battle to another, the place they were stationed at was considered their base.

  As I had completed my goals and returned to my shop, there was no way for me to know...

  A rumor had been going around between the soldiers that “the older sister from the potion shop with the mean eyes provided great services by kicking you”...

  ＊　　　＊

  Three days later...

  “I would like to purchase the soldier’s disease medicine in bulk.”

  A somewhat elderly, officer-looking man arrived at the shop. This was odd, seeing as the lieutenant colonel should’ve told him about our arrangement...

  “Um, about that... The royal army second battalion commander, Lieutenant Colonel Vonsas should’ve...”

  But the man scowled, and basically spit out his next words.

  “The royal army second battalion commander, Lieutenant Colonel Vonsas... That man monopolized the medicine for the royal army and hasn’t supplied the guard regiment with a single bottle! But when my men come here, they’re told to contact him instead... You must do something. If you don’t, there will be conflict between the guards and royal armies! We work as security at the royal palace, protection for nobles, and honor guards for ceremonies, so we cannot just scratch freely like the royal army can! Why do you give them favorable treatment and give us nothing?!”

  Ahhh, that was unfortunate...

  Lieutenant colonel, you’ve only been giving it to your own men?!

  But I supposed there’d be no merit for him to provide for other organizations...

  Yet I couldn’t just let this pass. Even though I didn’t know about the guard regiment, this was pretty horrible.

  “Very well. My next delivery will be sent to the guard regiment. How many guards are there?”

  “Ah! Ahhh! That’s fantastic! Thank you, I truly appreciate it! Due to our station, there aren’t very many of us. There are four platoons, headquarters, support personnel—all together about 200 men.”

  According to the officer, who was apparently a captain of the guard regiment, the transportation units and such who accompanied the royal family on their foreign travels came from other teams, and wasn’t on the scale of a standard company size. Perhaps the lieutenant colonel was ignoring them because of their small troop size, or they simply didn’t get along.

  Well, 200 or so didn’t sound like a problem. It would only take twenty-five bottles of the medicine worth three small gold coins. I doubted every one of them had the condition, but a box of twenty-four should be more than enough.

  It was a bit odd that this man was a captain leading platoons though. Platoons were usually led by a second or first lieutenant, so maybe the ranks were inflated in the guard regiment. Oh, but if they made the top rank of the guard regiment a captain or major, it would cause major problems within their power structure! I guessed it just ended up that way when they assigned ranks from the top without considering the number of men.

  “I actually have one more request, though it’s a bit hard to bring up, considering you just granted me a favor...”

  “Oh? What is it?” He seemed hesitant, but I decided to hear him out.

  “I was hoping you could supply your medicine to the royal sentries as well...”

  What?! The sentries were basically like police officers on Earth, and served to maintain the peace at the royal capital. Their daily work consisted of mock training, and unlike the royal army, who could earn accolades and promotions for their performance, every day was a battle on the job for them. They had to deal with criminals and drunk soldiers or hunters swinging swords around, and certainly didn’t get praise or treated like a hero for facing such dangers or capturing criminals.

  Was he saying these people weren’t getting any of the medicine either? I messed up! Because of my ignorance, I thought all soldiers of different branches were simply soldiers, and didn’t consider how they could all be separate entities. This captain was even considering organizations other than his own, but that lieutenant colonel...

  Oh, I got it. A “capable” person was the type who was good at gathering profits for themselves. This, in turn, meant keeping others from benefiting as well. But just how far did this notion apply? I’d need to be careful too...

  “Very well. It seems I’ve been trusting the royal army a little too much. Please tell the sentries to send someone over my way.”

  They probably had already, and I must’ve sent them away to contact Lieutenant Colonel Vonsas. So then they must’ve come by as an individual, but I’d been limiting daily sales to avoid suspicion, so it was probably sold out by the time they visited after work.

  I felt bad... Though I chose to sell the type of medicine nobles and rich people would be interested in instead of the type that cured injuries or illnesses to avoid this sort of trouble, so why was I dealing with this now? Was soldier’s disease that horrible of a condition?

  ...Yeah, it probably was.

  Damn it. I guess I’ll increase my numbers for general sales.

  ...Sales for my other medicines weren’t doing so well. And why weren’t my shampoo, conditioner, and other cosmetics selling? I wondered if that noble wife was advertising for me...

  ＊　　　＊

  “Hey, lady, want me to hold your stuff?”

  After I finished shopping at the marketplace and began heading back to the shop, a voice out called to me. An orphan child had offered to help me every time as of late. Guess I was sort of a regular.

  “Yeah, if you don’t mi... Huh?”

  It was an unfamiliar face. I wasn’t good at memorizing people’s faces, so it wasn’t like I knew what all the orphans looked like, but it was usually the same few kids who went to the marketplace to find work. This one looked more ragged than the children from the orphanage too...

  I thought about this idly as I started handing over my bags, when...

  “Hey, what are you doing?!” It was the usual boy. “Kaoru is ours! Don’t even think about it!”

  Huh? Since when did I belong to the orphanage?

  Oh... So this was a competitor. Did that mean this child wasn’t from the orphanage?

  “You’re from the riverbank, aren’t you? You can do business here, but you aren’t touching Kaoru!”

  “What? It’s none of your business who I work for! I’m putting my life on the line out here. I don’t have it easy and get spoon-fed two meals a day like you!”

  Huh... If he thought an orphanage child had it easy, there was only one explanation; those who thought even kids in an orphanage were wealthy and blessed.

  A street urchin.

  “Whoever’s faster and provides the better offer wins. That’s business. So, how much?”

  “Two bronze coins.”

  I guess the rate was the sa
me, as expected.

  “Okay then, deal.”

  I handed my bags to the street urchin child, and the boy from the orphanage watched with a dumbfounded expression.

  “Huh...?”

  There was a look of disbelief and betrayal in his eyes, but... it’s not like I owed him anything.

  As we walked together, I began gathering more information as usual. Of course, the children at the orphanage weren’t the only orphans in the royal capital in a world like this. I should’ve known that after seeing everyone at “The Eyes of the Goddess.” At the very least, the orphanage kids wouldn’t be starving to death. These street urchins were a different story, since there was no one here to help them.

  “I have a former street urchin at my place too. He’s working under me as a guard now.”

  “Huh...?”

  “Emile, Belle, I need you to get the cart for me again. We’re going out with it tomorrow.”

  ““Huh...?””

  Emile and Belle would do anything to protect Kaoru. They’d memorized all the faces of the children at the orphanage, thinking they could be useful as a shield for Kaoru, should the need ever arise. But the boy carrying her bags earlier was unfamiliar, and his clothes should’ve been a bit more presentable if he were from that facility.

  They had a bad feeling about this...

  The next day...

  The three of them packed supplies onto the cart and headed toward the riverbank. Kaoru was also there this time, assuming there’d be no cooking tools or seasoning available.

  And so...

  “You guys used to be street urchins?”

  “Y-Yeah...”

  “How did you earn such nice equipment so quickly?”

  “W-Well...”

  Emile turned around to find Belle had already backed some distance away.

  A few days later...

  When Kaoru went shopping at the marketplace, numerous children were following her closely. They were divided in two groups and glaring at each other behind her...