Chapter 17
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 17
Chapter Title: Gathering Materials Yourself
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3. Gather materials yourself.
From overhearing their mutterings, it seemed they'd taken an orc extermination request.
Judging by the weapons they were carrying, they looked like swordsmen... In that case, synthetic tar potion wouldn't be the best choice.
Orcs, unless they were some special shaman type, always fought by closing in for close-range melee.
And they had incredibly ferocious temperaments with no sense of fear—if a dragon was near their habitat, they'd charge at the dragon too.
In other words, even if their bodies caught fire, they wouldn't flee in pain; they'd just madly cling and charge.
That made close-range positions highly dangerous.
Fire was definitely an orc's weakness, but unless you planned to set them ablaze and run away, using synthetic tar on orcs wasn't a good idea.
Flame magic for instant burn damage was far more effective.
"......"
I wanted to tell them.
I was now officially an employee of the academy, and as the owner of the general store, I needed to teach these customers—who were also students—all sorts of things.
But if some outsider-looking guy suddenly spoke up, wouldn't they be startled?
Would they ignore me completely, not even bothering to listen?
I hesitated a bit, feeling a touch of worry.
No, what was there to hesitate about?
I was the general store uncle now.
Butting in and meddling with the students was part of my role from here on out, wasn't it?
"Student. If you're up against orcs, tar isn't a good choice. They'll charge right at you while still burning, which puts our side at high risk of getting burned too."
"...Pardon?"
As I spoke, the female student who'd been eyeing the tar potion jumped in surprise and looked my way.
She had sleek, jet-black long straight hair like polished ebony, calm eyes, and striking black irises that seemed perfectly embedded.
Her appearance overflowed with charm, like obsidian personified.
"It's better to exploit their ferocity and poor self-control with a pheromone pouch or traps. Unless there's an orc shaman or chieftain-level one, they won't dodge most traps."
"Ah... Okay."
She seemed a bit dazed, but she listened attentively anyway.
Even to meddling from a total stranger, she showed such good manners.
I thought she must be a good kid.
"Thank you for the advice. Oh, but who might you be...?"
She was asking that now?
What an interesting girl.
Still, since I was openly wandering around the academy general store, it probably signaled I wasn't some dangerous character.
That likely helped ease her wariness.
"Ah, I'm the new guy starting work at the general store today."
"Ahh! I see."
With that, the lingering caution and doubt faded from her face.
"As expected of the future store owner—you're so knowledgeable."
"Haha, you think so?"
Well, in my case, I had to know stuff like this to survive as an adventurer.
And I thought it'd be helpful, so I'd memorized it all desperately.
"Then, as you suggested, a Monster Lure Pheromone Pouch and..."
The Monster Lure Pheromone Pouch to draw monsters in, sprouted thorn plant seeds for traps, and acid potions too.
She was preparing pretty thoroughly.
It was probably just a D-rank level request at best, so even if there were a lot of orcs, maybe a dozen or so.
One might wonder if she really needed to prep this much.
But relatively weaker folks had no choice.
From what I could tell, this girl looked a bit too weak to handle orcs on her own.
So she probably wanted to prepare as thoroughly as possible.
Overpreparing wasn't a bad thing, for sure.
The only ones who didn't need that kind of help were monsters like Claude.
Of course, buying all this would cost a pretty penny.
But the academy general store prices were about a fifth of regular shops, so the burden was much lighter.
"The pheromone pouch is sealed inside right now. Pull this string to release the scent, then toss it."
"The thorn plant seeds grow almost explosively on impact, so handle them carefully. Well... unless you're hacking at them with a sword, they won't sprout suddenly, so you should be fine."
"You really have to be careful with the acid potion. It's basically a thrown weapon, and since it's in a regular glass bottle, it shatters easily on impact. It's packed with shock-absorbing material to neutralize the acid if it touches you, but..."
Oh no.
It had been so long since I'd explained item usage like this that I got carried away and rambled on.
Had I been too nosy? I glanced at the girl.
"Yes, yes... Ah, I wrote it all down so I won't forget later."
She beamed and showed me the small notebook in her hand.
She'd been jotting down everything I said.
Wow... Listening so enthusiastically to my explanations and even taking notes.
I could see why teachers loved diligent students.
This felt really rewarding.
A sense of fulfillment welled up inside me, like something was filling a void.
I'd followed Claude on countless requests, saved tons of people, but this satisfaction was different.
No, maybe it was even greater.
"Hey! Why are you buying all that junk?"
Right then, three boys about her age approached from behind her.
"Just grab a few healing potions and call it good."
"What's this? A pouch?"
"Hey! Isn't that acid potion? Why buy something that dangerous?"
From how they were butting in so freely, they seemed to be her party members.
Judging by their presence, they were definitely stronger than her.
In terms of raw physical ability or aura, they were around my level or a bit less.
About C-rank adventurer level.
Meanwhile, the girl was D-rank mid-to-low at best, even being generous.
She probably knew her own limits and was trying to bolster her party's strength with potions and consumables from the store.
"Don't waste money—grab whatever."
"Yeah, use that cash to grab tea with us at the teahouse over there."
"Sounds good?"
"B-but..."
"......"
The three stronger boys ignored the girl's opinion and tried to drag her off.
For some reason, the scene looked familiar.
It overlapped with me, Claude, Mary, and Sophia... It wasn't just my imagination.
"L-let me just buy this and go."
"Eh, you don't need that stuff."
"Let it go~ Weaklings need their own prep, right?"
"Kekeke, yeah. Mess up and you might die. We'll protect you~"
Subtly mocking the weak one.
The moment I stepped toward them to say something—
Smack! Thwack!
"Ack!"
"Ow!!"
Suddenly, someone appeared behind them and smacked the boys on the backs of their heads.
"You idiots. Overpreparing is always better."
It was Teacher Rasen.
I hadn't properly learned swordsmanship, but he was a teacher I'd seen in passing during my academy days.
He'd been one of the examiners for the general store owner test before.
"Urgh..."
"That hurts!"
The boys rubbed their heads and complained.
But Teacher Rasen just stated it matter-of-factly.
"Of course it does. I hit you so it'd hurt."
Then he glanced at me and continued.
"Potions and consumables are like a second life to adventurers. Even A-rank adventurers shell out for them—not just healing potions, but ones for all sorts of situations."
Scoffing at that was insulting adventurers.
With that, Teacher Rasen looked down at the boys.
"......"
I knew potions and consumables were important to adventurers.
Not everyone had a powerful mage or priest in their party.
Especially high-grade ones—even A- or S-rank adventurers bought them at great expense, like spare lives.
But since I'd always been with Claude, who never needed such things...
I might have forgotten their true importance a little.
...Potions and consumables were essentially essential for adventurers.
That's why the academy had a general store.
Maybe I'd been undervaluing their importance... the value of what I created.
'Out of all the alchemists I've seen, no one matched your performance for time and materials invested. You think I'd invite you to my party for no reason?'
'That's exactly what Lunarin told me. You still don't seem to grasp your own worth.'
'Don't worry. Working here, you'll realize your value in no time.'
Suddenly, Lunarin's and the chairman's words flashed through my mind.
Maybe after being treated as worthless for so long...
I'd been undervaluing myself.
It was a moment to rethink that.
...Thank you, Teacher Rasen.
As expected of an academy teacher—giving guidance even to a long-graduated guy like me.
"...?"
I shot him a look full of gratitude and respect, but Teacher Rasen just tilted his head.
Can't blame him.
I'd just gained insight from his casual words on my own.
"Um, excuse me."
"...?"
Then, another student approached me from the side.
Not the girl with the ebony hair from before, but a different boy.
He hesitated awkwardly for a moment before speaking.
"Uh... It wasn't on purpose, but I overheard you talking to Riley earlier."
Ah, I see.
Her name was Riley, huh.
He must've overheard me enthusiastically meddling with Riley from nearby.
I hoped he wasn't offended or anything... Probably not.
"Could you maybe tell me some useful stuff for kobolds too?"
Contrary to my worries, he was actually asking for help.
"Ah, I'm on a dire wolf extermination too..."
"Our party's mostly ranged, so then..."
Apparently, quite a few students had overheard my excited explanations, because they swarmed over, asking for advice.
Teacher Rasen's talk about how vital potions and consumables were probably spurred them on.
"Uh, uh, well, that would be..."
Wow.
This was the first time in my life so many people crowded around asking questions... I was totally flustered.
But on the other hand, a sense of joy was bubbling up.
This job... it might suit me even better than I thought.