by Funa
“And you?” I asked the girl who had been watching all of this happen.
She seemed nervous to be called out so suddenly.
“Huh? M-Me? I-I’m the master’s disciple, Taona...”
The old man had called himself an apothecary, so I thought there was a chance she could have been his client, but he had spoken on the girl’s behalf earlier, so I guess she was with him after all. So, she was just as guilty... I mean, she hadn’t really done anything wrong, but she was this jerk’s companion...
“I suppose we are done here...”
“W-Wait! I may be the only one in this city who knows how to make Longevity Medicine! You wouldn’t want to lose a regular customer...”
“Regular customer? You mean the first-timer who only paid six silver coins? The one who profited off of us losing nearly forty gold coins, at that?”
“Urgh... But, for our transactions from here on out...”
“Here on? We are no longer handling plant-based ingredients. Do you intend on buying enough portable foods and daily wares to earn us forty gold coins in profits?”
The old man closed his mouth.
“Our customers are leaving now. Francette, Emile, please see them out.”
“Right away!”
“Yes, ma’am!” Francette and Emile responded, expressions serious.
They seemed to be happy to be doing bodyguard-like work for the first time in a while. But they were just kicking out a tired old man and a helpless little girl, so it wasn’t all that knightly of a task...
Mainly, I figured they were glad to get an order from me and sort of reconfirm their place and sense of purpose here. Belle looked regretful about not being chosen for the task, but she was just as weak as the two we were kicking out.
Emile ignored the girl, who was closer to him, and approached the old man. It seemed he had reservations about laying hands on and using force with a young girl, and so, Francette went with her instead.
I hoped they wouldn’t break any bones by accident.
“Unhand me, I’m not done talking here! Who do you think I am...?”
The old man resisted and was dragged out of the room by Emile, while the girl simply followed after them, without Francette needing to touch her at all.
I was exhausted...
But, thanks to the old man’s attitude, I was able to play off my mistake of selling some odd products for a horribly abnormal price. Now it was like that ‘mysterious triple plant set’ never existed. Good.
...So, what the heck is Longevity Medicine?
＊ ＊
I explained the whole ordeal to the others after we’d kicked out the two guests. When I told them, “I handled it, so now everything’s a-okay!” Roland and Francette gave me an incredulous look.
But Emile and Belle were nodding in agreement...
“...There’s no way that’s the end of it,” Roland muttered quietly, and Francette nodded in response.
Why?
“Francette, what’s Longevity Medicine?”
I was talking about the medicine that the old apothecary guy, Oredeim, had mentioned.
He had said he might be the only person in the city who could make it, so it must have been quite valuable. It also likely meant that the old man was very skilled. He must’ve been, if he was one of the top apothecaries around, although this was just a provincial city. His haughty attitude made it all the more likely, too.
“Kaoru, you don’t even know that...? Well, I suppose it’s not your fault. It has nothing to do with the Goddess, and you wouldn’t need anything like that, since you can make the Tears of the Goddess. And you’re not the Goddess of this world in the first place...”
She was right.
Then Francette straightened her back and began explaining the situation to me with a serious look on her face.
Apparently, she was in ‘normal mode’ earlier, and her explanation would now be carried out in ‘work mode.’
“Longevity Medicine is, as the name implies, medicine that’s said to prolong one’s life. Its method of creation is passed down from master to disciple, and it’s often mentioned in old stories, too. It’s said to use all sorts of rare ingredients, cure all sorts of ailments, and extend one’s lifespan...”
“But, in reality, it’s just normal medicine,” Roland said, interrupting Francette.
“Wha...?” Francette and I trailed off, gaping.
Francette is surprised too?!
“It’s not that it doesn’t work. It’s very effective for certain ailments, and if given to someone who’s on the verge of death, it’ll even slightly increase their chances of survival. So it’s true that some people have been saved and lived longer thanks to Longevity Medicine, and it’s understandable why it’s so sought after, even when it goes for an extremely high price. It certainly isn’t foolish to do so. But this isn’t a magical drug that cures all ailments, or the medicine of the gods. Just an expensive and effective medicine. It’s not anything like Kaoru’s potions. Word of Kaoru’s potions has probably only reached the top officials around here, so most people would think of Longevity Medicine if they were asked what the ultimate medicine is.”
Huh, so it was like ginseng in the Edo period. Ginseng later became available for wealthier commoners too, but in places like China and Korea, only the emperor, royals, and nobles could purchase it, and in Japan’s case, it was only accessible for the shoguns, daimyo, and powerful families. I wouldn’t be surprised if something like that was worth millions of yen.
But instead of a magical elixir that could immediately cure all symptoms upon consumption, it made the user more healthy over time, gradually improving their condition... So instead of curing your symptoms and thus making you healthy, it makes you healthy, so the symptoms are eventually cured. Kind of like vitamins and nutrients.
“And the price is so high because those three plants are essential ingredients, but they’re also hard to obtain. They can only be harvested in distant countries, and they’re hard to come by because they can’t be cultivated. The hemort seeds are one thing, but the mortgul fruits and kurcul leaves can only be harvested during certain seasons, and their effectiveness declines sharply when they’re dried out... and Kaoru sold all three of them, fresh, for six small silver coins total. Mortgul fruits can’t be harvested this time of year, by the way. They likely ran low on hemort seeds and were searching high and low for more, and although they were unlikely to find them here, they stopped by, without really expecting anything, because we handle plant-based products here. When the girl found out we had them, she must have asked about the mortgul fruit and kurcul leaves as a kind of joke. The ones they have must be dried and low-quality. But you...”
Gah! I’d made a terrible mistake. I couldn’t be mad at Taona for mistaking ‘six small silver coins’ for ‘six mithril coins.’ She was expecting to be quoted a ridiculously high price, so it was natural to hear it the way she did.
I’ve experienced something similar myself. And that Oredeim guy didn’t seem to blame Taona for her mistake. This all could’ve been avoided if she just paid the six silver coins and pretended not to notice anything. He probably couldn’t have blamed her then, either.
Well, that may have been the case this time, but I probably would have looked up the market price for next time, so I would’ve found out about the appropriate pricing eventually. But I would have been upset about her not mentioning the fact that the price was ridiculously low, and upset at myself for selling such a thing so carelessly, and removed that type of product from our inventory. So, in the end, the result would’ve been the same.
But...
“Why do you know so much about Longevity Medicine, Roland? You even know about the ingredients... I thought only a select few apothecaries know about it?”
I was curious as to why he was so knowledgeable on the subject. It was almost as if he could mix it himself.
“I was forced to take it. For a long time, too, after I was injured and I could
n’t move my arm. I insisted there was no point in taking it, because I wasn’t weakened by any kind of sickness, but my parents and retainers wouldn’t listen. To think, how much of the kingdom’s funds they wasted... So, I intently questioned the apothecaries and researched everything there is to know about the medicine, all to convince everyone that it was pointless to take it for my injury.”
Wow. I felt bad for asking. He probably couldn’t allow himself to waste funds that were supposed to be used for the people. It must have been a painful memory for him.
“...Sorry.”
Roland waved his hand lightly, telling me not to worry about it. But my question had been answered, and I found out that this Longevity Medicine wasn’t all that it’s cracked up to be. Case closed!
I had a little too much free time here, but it was way better than abandoning everything and running away. All I needed was a decent number of customers and a steady income. And meeting people! That was all I was asking for!
Honestly, though, I wasn’t in any kind of rush. My body wouldn’t get any older, so I didn’t need to worry about being a suitable age for marriage. Francette and the others probably assumed I was tens of thousands of years old anyway, so a few more years weren’t going to change anything.
50,019 years old, 50,024 years old... It didn’t matter. Maybe I could even travel around some, then return to Balmore once I was done, and have Francette and Roland marry. While I’m at it, have Emile and Belle get married, and maybe find Layette a husband, too. Then I could go on a solo adventure from there...
Actually, going on a journey with just Layette might be better. Then I could depart right away, without waiting around too long. Being alone would be a bit lonely.
When we get back to Balmore, I can always find an Aligot ship at some port town and hop on... There was a time when I thought about things like that.
＊ ＊
“Is this the place that sells materials for the Longevity Medicine?!”
Here we go! Why did they come at all?! I clearly told that old man that I wouldn’t be restocking any more of those ingredients...
Besides, there shouldn’t have been any reason for him to tell anyone else about them. How annoying...
“No, it isn’t. Please look elsewhere.”
“But this is Convenience Store Belle, is it not?!”
Hmm... He seemed like a nobleman’s middle-aged retainer, or maybe a rich merchant’s protégé, but where had he heard about this...? I needed to confirm that first to figure out how to proceed.
I had to find out what he did and didn’t know, or I could end up giving him unnecessary information and making things worse.
But first...
*pull, pull*
I gave the string under the counter a few light tugs, in a specific rhythm.
The string was for calling Francette, who was relaxing upstairs. Pulling the string would ring the bell in everyone’s rooms and make their lights blink. We had a system so that information could be relayed by the number of and intervals between the blinking lights. The signal this time indicated, “Urgency level: four, threat level: four, number of people: 1.”
This should be low enough that she would come down the stairs normally instead of skipping three steps at a time...
*thud thud thud thud thud!*
Never mind.
Emile and Belle were out for hunter training and earning money. They tried to give me all of their earnings, but I only accepted half of what they made and stored their wages in a container inside the Item Box for when they got married.
Roland was out somewhere, so he was also absent. It wasn’t as if he was cooped up in his room all day, every day. I sometimes went out with Francette while Emile and Belle were home. So, that left...
“You there! Prepare yourself!”
Yup, just Francette.
“Francette, the signal was for urgency level four and threat level four...”
But that didn’t matter to Francette. In her eyes, everything was either harmless or a serious potential danger to me. It was one or the other, and she would face the latter with full force, regardless of how low the threat appeared to be. And the thought of handling things in a controlled or peaceful manner never really occurred to her.
Yeah, I knew that.
“Wha...” The middle-aged man cringed in surprise.
It was only natural, considering he had only gone out shopping and now he had an armed swordswoman pointing her blade at him. Maybe he was planning on leading up to threats and the use of force, but we weren’t quite there yet, and he probably didn’t expect a guard at a small store like this one. That explained why he came alone, despite having that high-handed attitude.
Judging by how he couldn’t react coherently to Francette’s sword, I could tell he wasn’t very strong... But compared to Francette, most people would probably fall into that category. But now I could take my time and calmly get the information I wanted.
＊ ＊
“So, you’re saying the child of this Baron Dorivell is in danger...”
“D-Don’t say such nonsense out loud!”
The middle-aged man, the one who had denied my words while getting all flustered, introduced himself as the knightly retainer of the baronial family.
Well, it wasn’t as if all knights had to be young and handsome. They could accomplish feats in their youth and leave the field for a managerial position, eventually ending up with a big belly and bald head. The passage of time can be a cruel thing indeed...
“But isn’t that what you just said? Besides, unless this is the crown prince we’re talking about, you wouldn’t use such a medicine unless he was dying, right?”
I’d already learned about this stuff from Roland. You know, just in case.
“B-Be that as it may, what if your careless, inappropriate comments reach someone’s ears?! There is a big difference between being in poor health and being in danger!”
Ah, he was right... Especially when it came to the son and heir of a noble family, such rumors spreading around could lead to internal trouble, or worse. I was in the wrong here.
“...I’m sorry.”
I had no choice but to apologize. And by apologizing, my mistake was wiped clean. It was my turn to go on the offensive again.
“So, where and how did you hear about these rare medicine ingredients being sold here?”
It could only be that old man, but conjecture and confirmation were very different things. Plus, I had to find out just how much he had revealed.
“I’m sure you’ve guessed by now, but I heard from Oredeim, the apothecary. The baron heard the child of a merchant family had taken this Longevity Medicine, and threa— convinced the merchant to tell him where he obtained it. He found out the merchant had requested Oredeim, who obtained the highest-quality materials for eighty gold coins, and thus made him the medicine for a hundred gold coins. Then, the baron prayed for the safety of Oredeim and his disciple, and for some reason, he revealed the source of his materials, despite resisting so much at first... By the way, Oredeim said to tell you, ‘If you’re going to that store, please tell her I didn’t want to tell you where I obtained the ingredients,’ so there you are.”
...I didn’t know where to begin. First of all, that damned geezer! He was up-charging like crazy!! Roland had told me that medicine’s price mostly came from the cost to obtain those three ingredients. The other ingredients were far more reasonably priced, and comparatively easy to obtain. Which means... He was charging eighty gold coins for something he acquired for six small silver coins. Plus, a twenty-gold fee on top just to make it! Dirty old geezer...
Wait, but maybe this was a good thing? The price he’d sold his medicine for had no effect on me, and maybe this was far better than him blabbing about buying the ingredients for six small silver coins... That price was less suspicious, considering the time of year and the quality of the goods, and considering the high price, resellers wouldn’t be tempted to flock here, even
if the source was leaked to the general public.
Had the geezer actually done a good job? If so, then there was no need for me to go out of my way to tell them I sold the ingredients for six silver coins... Wait, that must have been that geezer’s plan all along!
“Has he informed you we no longer carry them here?”
“He has. However, you were able to obtain the items at such a high quality before... It should be possible for you to use the same route to get more. Please, I beg of you. Help us, for the sake of Master Challotte...”
I was surprised. This proud-looking, portly, middle-aged man, a man who served a noble family, was bowing his head to some girl like me...
But at the same time, I was conflicted. I would have treated him coldly if he had come in here acting all high-and-mighty and trying to order me around, but I couldn’t just turn down a nice, middle-aged man lowering his head to a little girl for the sake of his master’s son.
Urrrgh...
Francette saw my struggle and gave me an exasperated look. Damn it Francette, aren’t you a protector of middle-aged men too?! Well, she did admire Roland, so pretty princes and young knights were probably more her type. She still didn’t understand how good the grizzled ones are. So young...
Wait, now’s not the time to be thinking about this!
Hmm...
But there was only one answer I could give...
“I no longer have access to that connection. When we decided to stop selling plant-based items as a consequence of this particular case, I had my connection change their location, so that I could avoid a situation where a person of power could pressure me into giving up that information. So, even if I were to send an order now, it would just get sent back to me, as there would be no one to receive it. I wouldn’t be able to find them, either. Also, I’ve already told them that if someone tried reaching out using my name, it would be an imposter faking my identity, so it would be best to make an excuse to cut contact, or assume it’s coming from scoundrels who had threatened or tortured me, and act accordingly.”