Volume 5 - CH 7

Chapter 5-7 : Planning And Preparation Ⅱ

「If only I still had plenty of alchemy materials in my storage, I might be able to use them to make some equipment…」(Sarasa)

「I’m sorry, Store Owner-dono… You used almost all of them to save us, right?」(Iris)

Listening to my mutter, Iris-san lowered her head.

「No, it’s alright. I’m not blaming you. Of course, it’s not that I regret it either. I’m glad I did it. I was able to rescue you guys because of it.」(Sarasa)

I used most of the materials I had saved up to make artifacts that could be used for rescuing Iris-san and the others. As a result, my storage is almost empty now.

No, it’s not really empty actually.

I still have some artifacts there for the time being. I have to think about how to deal with them later.

「Store Owner-san, you’re too kind… I will give you Iris’ body to repay your kindness. You can do whatever you want to her.」(Kate)

「That’s right! You can do whatever you want to my boー Hey, what does that mean!? You should have said, “we will repay your kindness with labor”!」(Iris)

「Of course, we will repay her with labor too. Look. Our remaining debt to Store Owner-san is so huge that we couldn’t complain if she wanted to sell us to a brothel. Let’s say that your body is for the interest. She can hug you instead of a hot water bottle on cold nights.」(Kate)

「Wait, so I’m just a replacement for a hot water bottle? That’s terrible! If that’s the case, Store Owner-dono, you can use Kate’s body instead of mine. I hate to admit it but she has bigger boobs than mine, and she has a warm body. She will make a nice and soft body pillow!」(Iris)

I knew they were just fooling around, but I looked at them alternately with a serious face.

Certainly, Kate’s body seemed to be more comfortable to hold.

I approached her and hugged her.

「S, Store Owner-san!?」(Kate)

「Hmm… I see, I see…」(Sarasa)

Just like Iris-san said, Kate-san’s body is warm and very comfortable. She smells nice too.

But then I glanced at Lorea-chan who was standing next to us. I lowered my gaze and looked at her chest.

Kate-san’s not bad, but… I think Lorea-chan is more comfortable to hug than her…

「Sarasa-san…?」(Lorea)

「A, Ahaha… I’m just kidding. I just wanted to try hugging Kate-san.」(Sarasa)

Saying that, I let go of Kate-san.

「I see. Well, I think Kate-san is too big to use as a hugging pillow, so why don’t you try using me instead?」(Lorea)

「Eeeehh!?」(Sarasa)

I never thought Lorea-chan would recommend herself to be used as a hugging pillow.

As I recalled the night when I slept together with her in the same bed, I blushed a bit.

「Ca, Can I…?」(Sarasa)

「Fufu. I’m sorry. I’m also just joking.」(Lorea)

It’s a joke, huh? That’s kinda disappointing…

「Anyway, even if you can do whatever you want with Iris-san and Kate-san’s bodies, you won’t get money from it.」(Lorea)

「Well, that’s true.」(Sarasa)

「Alright, I was the one who started this but let’s stop fooling around. Store Owner-san, how are we going to make money before we can go to collect Misanon Roots on the snowy mountain? Shall we collect different materials first?」(Kate)

「That’s not a bad idea but we don’t have much time until spring, and I don’t want to trouble my master again…」(Sarasa)

Going to the forest to collect materials and sell them to make money is not a bad idea. However, I think we will need a lot of time to wander around the forest to collect materials, return to the village, and go to South Strugg to sell them.

I can send them to Master and ask her to sell them for me in the royal capital, but… I feel like I’ve been relying on her too much lately.

I was her disciple, but I’m now a full-fledged alchemist myself.

Iris-san and Kate-san’s lives were at stake last time, so I had no choice but to rely on her, but this time, I want to do it by myself.

「Umm, it would be nice if I could help you, but I can’t fight or walk around the snowy forest to collect materials… I can go around the village, trying to sell artifacts and potions, but…」(Lorea)

Lorea-chan murmured. Hoping that she could do something to help, but after listening to her, I got an idea.

「That’s right! We can sell artifacts!」(Sarasa)

「Umm, I know it came from me, but I don’t think it’s a good idea… You know that most villagers and Collectors in this village can’t afford your artifacts, right?」(Lorea)

「No, no. We won’t sell them in this village. We will sell them at South Strugg. Well, if Leonora-san would give me permission to do that though.」(Sarasa)

Selling artifacts or potions in a town that has an alchemy shop is the same as picking a fight with the alchemist who owns the shop.

Even for me, if someone did that in this village without my permission, I would definitely consider it an act of hostility.

However, I can also sell my artifacts to Leonora-san instead at a lower price than the market price for her to sell to the townspeople.

Either way, I need to talk to her first.

「I have to go to South Strugg to buy some materials anyway, so I will ask her about this while I’m there.」(Sarasa)

The worst-case scenario is that Leonora-san won’t let me sell my artifacts at South Strugg and she doesn’t want to buy my artifacts. I won’t be able to make money and I will most likely fail to make a Hair Growth Agent for Prince Ferik.

If that happened, my businessー No, my life would be over.

Prince Ferik didn’t seem tyrannical, but I want to avoid failing a request from a royal family member no matter what.

If I can’t sell my artifacts, perhaps I will ask Leonora-san if I can borrow her money.

Or… Since the alchemists I saved from Yok Baal still owe me money, I can hand over the rights over their debt to Leonora-san.

「Anyway, I have to go to South Strugg and negotiate with Leonora-san sooner or later, but before that, we need to gather information.」(Sarasa)

「Kate and I will do that for you. First, we will gather information about the habitat of Misanon Roots.」(Iris)

「That would be great. Also, please ask around about things like the knowledge and necessary items to climb a snowy mountain if possible.」(Sarasa)

「Alright, but don’t expect too much, okay?」(Kate)

Saying that, Kate-san nodded and turned her gaze toward the shop floor where nobody was around.

「People with such knowledge and experience won’t take a break during winter after all.」(Kate)

「Ah, you’re right. Anyway, please ask the Collectors at Diral-san’s inn and gather as much information as you can get from them.」(Sarasa)

「「Roger that!」」(Iris & Kate)