Chapter 275: The Mark of the Tempting Serpent.

Chapter 275: The Mark of the Tempting Serpent.

Elven yeast?

I picked up a small satchel made from a single green leaf that felt very much like paper. Opening it up, I saw a handful of pink powder. Looking at it closer, each individual powder piece had a small, spikey form. Like a virus.

Tasianna? I handed her the satchel.

Tasianna looked at it before giving it a deep smell. Hmm, yes, fruity with a hint of mushroom spices. The shape of the yeast also has that authentic spikiness. Yes, this is actual, real elven yeast, Miss Saori.

Ahhh, wonderful, honored customers! the foxian merchant exclaimed in excitement, drawing in a few other customers around his stand. It is as the honored elven lady has said, Miss Wolfkin. This is authentic elven yeast, imported and sold to me and my associates by a trustworthy provider. I can assure you, once you use this yeast in your bread, you will feel like heaven.

I looked at the pink product once again. The yeast Hestia and Tamae are making is the pudding-like version, stored inside bottles or other suitable vessels. The liquid yeast was also the recipe Hestia gave Arcanuess Helvas and Duke Greenveil, so it was obvious why the two looked so different.

I could trust Tasianna that this yeast was made by the elves. She might not know how to make it, but she had seen and eaten it before enough times to tell the difference between the authentic and the fake. In other words, the elves are selling the dried version of yeast. The one you would find in industry packages.

I presume this will cost a lot? I asked and the merchant confirmed it. I see who is your supplier? I thought the elves did not sell their products to human countries.jA

They do not, honored customer! Outside of the northern and western countries, elves are forbidden from selling their products to us eastern folks. And most elven merchants act like ass, uhm, I presume this doesnt offend you, dear elven customer?

He looked over at Tasianna but she simply shook her head. Pleased, the foxian continued speaking. I cannot tell you who my contact is, but please be assured that I received it through, well, gray routes. Nothing illegal. So, would you like to make a purchase, dear customers?

I nodded and handed enough money to the foxian merchant for a single satchel. After we left the area, Gael began speaking.

It isnt illegal, its just heavily frowned upon. He probably got it from a dubious source, but I wouldnt count out a dragonewt or levianewt making a deal with him.

Gray routes, huh? I guess it came through the train station, I deduced with Gaels comment. Which means, this yeast is probably more widespread inside Gleisvale than Artorias. Gael, how does elven yeast make it to Artorian nobility? Before we came, it was a luxury product there.

The main reason why our yeast sold like a storm was due to how greedy the nobility was for soft bread and pastries. Elven yeast has been circulating inside the kingdom in small amounts, according to Lord Helvas and Ellaine. It was very expensive, since it was technically black market goods, and mostly reserved for the greifnobles and royalty.

Estralia and Ankor-Nazta. Gaels answer was simple but very obvious. Black market, as you might guess. A few gangs from Shaturein go to Gleisvale or to the dwarves, and they buy some yeast and come back. Profit. But, as youve seen before, Shatu isnt popular in Estralia. And it aint easier with the dwarves, since they are honor bound to not sell it to us. There are still; plenty of fences inside the dwarven capital, you understand?

And that was why Gael didnt presume a dwarf sold the foxian yeast. Considering how stubborn Grimnir described his race, dwarven merchants probably wouldnt sell any eleven products to anybody outside of their northern alliance, which meant the source had to be a Loatryxian or Caedhulen. There was also the chance for a thief, but the foxian mentioned gray routes. Then again, I should take what the merchant said with a grain of salt.

There is probably a shop or two selling this yeast and its products. Well, depending on how much is imported. Hmm, I guess Ellaine, Haruka, and Amelia will probably have some trouble on their side. Competition for the Sarlenzia company we will probably need Tamaes help. Or, maybe Hestia has some interesting product ideas.

Putting the satchel of yeast on my belt for now, trying to not attract attention by using [Storage Magic] here, the three of us continued walking through the black market of Gleisvale.

Aside from a few tough-looking guards protecting their contractors, this whole place just seemed like any other market. Sure, you had more shady-looking people around, but I guessed it was normal since a cartels territory was close by. Most likely, every area around this market belonged to a gang.

When I brought that up to Gael, he vaguely confirmed it. He mentioned Gleisvale had been ruled by the Layavete cartel for as long as he knew about it up until now. Something probably happened in the underworld scene, or Layavetes senate support was toppled in some way.

However, since we only arrived in the city today, information was scarce. Gael said he would look around, but since he didnt have any birds in the city, it will probably take a bit. I offered to help him out, and he gladly accepted it. Would be nice to have some muscles around so I can concentrate on the information gathering, he said. So I smacked him on the head.

He was a B rank adventurer. He should act like one. Considering hes older than me even with my two lives combined, he really should act more like a role model.

In any case, our search for the owner of this broken emblem continued. A round copper piece with a snake slithering along a potion vial; it did look similar to the medical symbol on Earth. Still, it was cracked and broken on the top and its right side. You couldnt see the snakes head nor the top of the potion.

Asking the merchants around the market, they gave pretty much the same answer the thug gave. I would have thought it would be harder for them to identify it since the emblem wasnt whole, but it seemed the alchemists using it were more well-known than we presumed.

Slaves! Slaves! Its time to get the show going! And then my ears picked up on that.

Clapping, cheers, and the fanfare followed the hype-bringing voice of an announcer. Gael and Tasianan noticed my attention shifting and told me we should go over if I was curious about it. I thanked them and followed the trail of people.

But when I got to the location, I couldnt help but frown. Men and women from different races were trapped in cages and placed on a stage like goods to buy. Most of them were wounded but the majority looked malnourished and weak, far too feeble to fight back as a guard pulled one of them out of it.

Hear up, people! The Kishnak gang just pulled in some potential new slaves! We got them all weakened, so just prepare your wallets and coins for the runic tats! The infectious noise of the announcers voice drew people to him despite not using a microphone or sound amplifier. First off, we got ourselves here a human D rank adventurer. Sword and shield. You see these muscles here? Still strong enough to probably kick my ass down the stage despite not having eaten or drunk anything for the last five days. Deaths door now, but you can get him going after a meal. So, lets start out! Starting price: three large silvites!

Two small silvites!

Three silvites!

Three silvites and 1 small copper!

They raised and raised onto the starting bid.

It was an auction. An open-air slave auction in the middle of the day. No guards in sight to stop this, only the laughs and cheers of some thug-looking people in the back and the haggling of the suit-wearing people in the front, sitting in their chairs and sipping wine.

Nobody was protesting against this event. Everybody simply enjoyed it, harassing the people in the cages despite contributing nothing to the ever-increasing price of the poor man being sold. They were all being sadistic scum.

Why I mumbled under my breath, but Gael managed to pick up on it despite all the noise.

Thats how it is, Saori. If Artorias and Shatu didnt have any laws against slavery, this probably would be happening there too. Most countries believe slavery is just part of daily life, and that criminals should pay for their sins through labor. Debt criminals who were forced into this lifestyle or even people willingly selling themselves to pay back something, Gael pointed out. From the looks of it, most of those people were travelers and adventurers. Let the slaves starve before selling them, since the people they are selling slaves to will probably want a slave tattoo made using their emblem as a sign of prestige.

Barbaric I began walking forward only for Gael to grab my shoulder.

Nah, dont think about causing trouble now, Saori. Shatu is already unpopular around this area. You storming this auction now will only bring attention to us from all the gangs inside this city.

What does it matter? I shook off his hand. If the Layavete knows about us, it's only a matter of time before all the others will. I bet most already do.

Yeah, I know, but are you willing to antagonize all of them? Were here to fulfill your end of the deal for Lady Grengar. Get her people a spot in the city so she can send her people to the Empire and get information on your students over there. Think of the bigger picture. If they become hostile, they wont let Lady Grengar work in peace.

And even if we crushed them, syndicates will arise from their ashes to fight back. Gael was right, and I wanted to agree with him, but after rescuing all those people from Hamils slave auction, I definitely felt the itch to save those before me once again. I guess Hestia infected me with that heroine act.

Defiance was part of humanitys nature. History has shown it over and over again how people will do everything they can to strive for their own interests. The plebeian and patrician conflict in ancient Rome where the commoners sought political equality between the classes, or the French revolution, for a more modern and well-known event, were all driven by wants and interests.

I wanted to free these slaves before the runic tattoo was placed on them, but if I angered some people now, even if I managed to destroy all of them, all I would do was place a seed of vengeance for the future while the slave trade would simply return once I left.

Dont forget, Saori. Gleisvale is ruled by money. If you want to do something, do it from above. Besides Gael looked over to Tasianna, who was scaring off two men who tried to flirt with her. We probably shouldnt stay around here for too long.

I agree, Miss Saori. I would like to leave this place as soon as possible. She then turned her head around, nearly shoving two floating ice spikes into the thugs throat. And you two, the next time I see you trying to touch me, I will make sure you will meet an icy prison. Now, leave or die.

The men made a hasty retreat.

I massaged my temples and sighed, before looking back to the slave auction. The man on the stage had been sold and the buyer came up on the stage, handing the slavers his emblem. A runic tattooist came up and took it from him before applying it on the slaves face. The sound of the mans screams was like a hillarious punch line for the cheering crowd.

Despicable.

Lightning began to crackle around my arms, as I wanted to stop this show, but it immediately died down when I suddenly noticed gazes directed at me. I looked around, seeing a few guards looking our way, including the presence of those now hiding and trailing behind us. I understood we were being watched now.

I sighed once again and the three of us moved on to the location the merchants had told us about. Once there, the sight of common merchants was replaced by a couple of people manning stands with potions readily available on their tables. I could see alembics behind them, brewing something while the shopkeepers read or did everything else but promote their products.

They looked bored.

Excuse me, do you know about this emblem? I asked one of them, rolling his eyes when I wasnt here to buy stuff.

Just go already. The shop is around the corner, the first left. Cant miss the damn thing.

I thanked him and began moving, only to stop when I saw Tasianna not make a move. Instead, she bent forwards and inspected the potions on the stand.

Your potions are undercooked and you used too little alcohol to make them. This one looked more like you placed some ingredients into a pot and forgot to grind them properly. You can even see some solid reminants whirling around.

I didnt know if the criticism was correct, but it certainly made the shopkeeper turn red in rage. Arck, piss off you damn knife-ear! Not everybody got the chance to learn proper technique! Get the fuck out of here already!

Cranky.

The sudden outburst from the man made the other potion sellers hurl insults at us to get going already, prompting us to move faster than we planned. Gael looked over at Tasianna, asking her why she did that, but all Tasianna could say was What did I do?

Did you already forget? Some wannabe alchemists either banned or declined by the alchemists guild are selling their stuff around here on the edge of the market. Those people had to be the ones the guy from before talked about. Nobody likes being told their products suck!

But, I was merely pointing out the flaws so he could learn. Thats what Master Krymdar and even Cernust explained to me. Learning from your faults, since alchemy is a very unpredictable profession, Tasianna replied, still confused about what was happening. She has a sweet personality at times, but she really needed to learn how to read the mood better.

Using the instructions we received, we left the screaming alchemist booths behind and ended up at another neighborhood at the end of an alleyway. Seeing all these stone buildings really scratched that itch I had to visit Greece one day, wanting to see the ruins of all its ancient buildings.

In any case, we did manage to find the shop which we couldnt miss as the potion seller from before mentioned. It had guards standing in the front with a shop sign clearly depicting a snake curling around a vial. However, against my expectations, the snake looked different from what I was expecting.

The snake was smirking, for example, and it also had two horns growing from its head. The cork on top of the potion was in the shape of a heart with a skeletons face edged onto it. It gave off a comical impression from the snake but, due to the heart-shaped skull, it seemed too morbid. There were too many contradictions surrounding this emblem.

The Hearts Healing Gael mumbled. Strange name for an alchemist shop. Guess they are more focused on healing potions?

Isnt that what is mostly sold, Gael? I asked, remembering how Tasiannas healing potions sold out more often than her mana ones.

I mean, sure. Yeah, I guess, but the thing with alchemists is that they also provide potions that give buffs. Strength and Agility are the most popular ones, since it directly increases the combat effectiveness for an adventurer or soldier. Healing is mandatory, but stat-increasing potions are equally popular.

Tasianna took note of that bit of information before we entered the shop. Inside, the place was what you would expect from a potion shop. Potions could be found at the front with the shopkeeper managing them while there were shelves and barrels filled with ingredients like plants, monster materials, and mana water.

I could see some macula plants growing inside a plant pot, which reminded me of just how many our company had in storage with all the mana cleansing we had to do after every time we trained outside. In a potion shop, your ingredients were also your decorations. You could really feel the nature-like atmosphere inside this place. Very earthy, you could say.

Welcome, welcome to the Hearts Healing, a human woman greeted us. Please take your time if you need any ingredients. If you require potions, please come forward.

There were three other women inside this place all of them were human guards in leather-metal armor holding sheathed swords on their belts. Seeing them keep watch of us turned the more comfy impression I had at first around, making me feel slightly wary of why they needed five guards.

Then I figured we were inside an area where a lot of gangs roamed around. Protection and security were paramount if the shop offered any expensive potions. Still, the fact they needed so many people in such a small shop like this was uncomfortable.

We went to the desk and Gael pulled out the emblem to question her. Yes, we do have some business. Could you tell me if this belongs to you?

The clerk took the copper piece and inspected it, nodding after a few seconds. Yes, I believe so. Although, what exactly happened with it? Where did you find it?

A few bandits attacked us on the street a few days ago and two of them had this on them, I told her truthfully, since there was no need to hide it.

Oh, by the Goddess?! I hope nothing happened to any of you, or did something happen and you are here for potions? If so, then we have quite a few quality products. Do you require a small, medium, or large? Multiple ones?

Sending a shiver down my spine, the clerk somehow was to feign compassionion with our plight before using it to promote her products. Certainly, money ruled this place and Gleisvale could be considered a city of the merchants, but the juxtaposition in her behavioral shift was incredibly jarring.

No, wait, I stopped her. We didnt come here to buy anything, we just wanted to know if this emblem was yours or not.

Oooh oh. Her smile twitched, looking like she didnt enjoy what we said. W-Well, to answer your question, customer. Yes, this emblem does belong to our shop. It is given by our master to the employees to signify their employment to the Hearts Healing, giving us the protection needed to live inside this city. Since you are newcomers, you should understand that living around this area requires constant support by somebody so we can live properly and we can only keep it if we work.

Taking the hint, Tasianna asked her to bring out her potions again, brightening up her wry smile.

Thank you! she exclaimed. Seeing us now as customers, she continued speaking. I heard we lost two people recently and that they took the emblems with them. Its a matter of faith and trust, so we cannot let people keep the coin when they leave. Since the two men didnt come back, I presume they died?

I nodded, but she didnt show any emotions. Simply shrugging it off like happens, I guess.

The two men were captured and turned into slaves when we met them. Could you tell us if you had any enemies who could have done that? I asked.

But once again, she shrugged. Not likely. If they were men, then they were either guards or just some laborers. If I could give a guess, they were debtors and got themselves in trouble. If you are in debt with one of the gangs or the Layavete cartel, youll get hunted down and turned into a slave.

Uhm, what do you meant by If they were men? Gael asked her.

Our Mistress doesnt like male employees working with the ingredients she procured or the potions she made, so usually if you are a man, you work outside as a laborer or guard. Thats why the shop guards are only women. But, I guess, since they had these emblems on them, they probably were more important than laborers. But I really couldnt care less.

Seeing Gael frowning and that we werent bombarding her with questions, she returned her attention to Tasianna, showing her a wide smile. Is there anything you need, Miss elf?

Hmm, yes, I can see that the medium-sized potions were made with more potent ingredients. The lighter red, almost pink, suggests you diluted it? Tasianna brought up to the clerks surprise.

W-Well, yes, that is correct. The medium healing potion was made using healing herbs from the Morgiana duchy of Artorias. They arent as strong as Belzac herbs, but they perform well enough even if diluted. However, unlike normal potions, the taste is so intense that you cant cover it up with fruits. Its bitter. Very bitter. But its good for you!

[Enhanced Vitality Enforcement Lv. 4] (+2)

[Enhanced Wisdom Growth Lv.8] (+1)

[Enhanced Wisdom Enforcement Lv. 6] (+2)

[Enhanced Agility Growth Lv. 8] (+1)

[Enhanced Agility Enforcement Lv. 5] (+1)

[Enhanced Stamina Growth Lv. 5] (+1)

[Enhanced Stamina Enforcement Lv. 4] (+2)

Others:

[Singing Lv. 8] (+3) [Dancing Lv. 5] (+2) [Identify Blocker Lv. 10]

[Identify Lv. 10] [Cooking Lv. 9] [Dismantle Lv. 8]

[Herbalist Lv. 8] (+1) [Alchemy Lv. 4] (+2) [Brewing Lv. 8] (+1)

[Sewing Lv. 4] (+1) [Battle Mind Lv. 8] (+2)

[Terror Aura Lv. 6] (+3) [Fae Talk Lv. 2] (+1) [Royal Etiquette Lv. 7]

[Elvenize Lv. 10] [Frost Body Lv. 3] (+1) [Cryokinesis] [Telepathy]

Spell List:

Custom spells:

[Create Water] [Greater Create Water] [Marine Lungs] [Oceans Blast]

[Aifli eir Vintral (Fairy of Winter)]

[Tor Eicleres Finulaflei (Ice Ages Paradise)]

[Slithering Frost Serpent]

Ice spells:

[Ice Spike] [Frozen Shield] [Icicle Gust] [Glacial Protection]

[Winters Golem]

Water spells:

[Water Ball] [Water Wall] [Water Bolt] [Cleanse] [Protective Water]

[Droplet Torrent] [Aqua Prison] [Aqua Beam] [Torrential Rain]

[Ocean Healing] [Azure Blade] [Sapphire Membrane]

[Krakens Destruction] [Perilous Tidefall]

Wind spells:

[Wind Bullet] [Wind Cutter] [Air Shield] [Wind Slash]

[Swift Winds] [Wind Blast] [Featherfall] [Aerial Blitz] [Tornado Bullet]

[Sylphids Cloak] [Tailwind] [Cyclone Madness]

Titles:

[Hestias Retainer]

A note from AbyssRaven

Former bodies hype. Garm getting old body back?!

If you guys want to support me, Hestia and "A Dragon Idol's Reincarnation Tale" (or just read up to 20 advance chapters + any Patreon-only chapters) please check out my Patreon: Rawr!

For two dollars, for the cost of a coffee, you can read up to four chapters for the whole month! You will have my eternal gratitude for any support you can give me!

Thank you for reading this chapter.

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About the author



1 Fictions 7 Posts 1 Threads

Sunday, March 20, 2022 11:59:23 PM Germany [Member of Zard Skwad]

Bio: Hey there, AbyssRaven here. I'm just an avid Light Novel and Fantasy story reader who randomly thought of a story and began writing about it.

I eventually found out that I've been spending a bit too much time with building, planning, and researching for the story, that I've decided to just share it with others.

Writing is mostly a hobby for me, but I would still love any kind of criticism to improve on it.

I'm also german, so please excuse anything that sounds a bit weird...I wouldn't mind you pointing it out though.

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