Evans (2)
Everyone...
"Everyone, heads up."
"The Young Lady commands you to rise!"
The moment Panata bellowed, the people sprawled across the ground snapped to their feet in perfect unison. A military unit wouldn't have drilled itself into better formation, even if a general's life depended on it.
Looking at their terrified faces was giving me a headache. I had clearly come into this village to rest, so why was I getting more tired? Maybe I should have just covered my face and slipped in unnoticed.
No. Even then, the second Panata latched onto my side, my identity would have been blown anyway.
I ordered Panata to send the villagers of Evans on their way, and they scattered the instant he opened his mouth—apparently my "get lost" was the sweetest thing they'd heard all day.
Once the village entrance had gone quiet, I wiped the exhaustion from my face and called out. "Carl."
"Yes, my Lady."
About me...
"What in the world is my reputation like around here?"
"I would advise against hearing it, my Lady."
Just tell me the truth.
"If it's pathetic, tell it to me as pathetically as it is."
"Understood."
According to the rumors Carl relayed, the Lucy of popular imagination was a demon wearing human skin.
I mean, sure. Rumors that she had a rotten personality, an insufferable way of speaking, that she delighted in tormenting people, that she was an irredeemable piece of trash—those I could understand. They were facts, after all.
But seriously. Anyone who displeases her becomes a training dummy for the knights?! What is THAT supposed to mean?!
She locks people she doesn't like in a dungeon and tortures them? And what's that about? And one more thing! Even if Lucy were completely out of her mind, stomping on another noble girl with her boots is going too far, isn't it?! I know rumors get exaggerated, but this crosses a line!
"My Lady, this is no time to be shocked. These are merely a portion of the rumors."
There's MORE?!
"Are you serious right now?!"
"I, Carl, stake my knight's honor that not a word of it was false."
THIS is only a fraction of it?! Staggered, I turned my eyes toward Panata and my personal maid—and both of them averted their gazes.
It's real? This isn't some exaggerated joke—these rumors are genuinely circulating?! Oh. God. Damn it.
How much bad karma did Lucy manage to accumulate during her two years on this earth? How rampantly must she have terrorized the household for rumors like these to spread?
...Though it does worry me, just a little, that some truth might be buried in among all of this. I don't know exactly what kind of life Lucy lived before I possessed her. I can only speculate. Whether there's real substance hiding among those supposedly exaggerated rumors is something nobody knows.
One of these days, when someone comes crawling to me begging, I'll have to ask them: what exactly did you suffer at Lucy's hands?
I'm tired. So tired. It's still too early for bed, but I want to lock myself in my room and shove my face into a pillow forever. If it weren't for the item I needed to find in Evans, I would have spent the entire day living as a hikikomori.
Village chief...
"Panata. Where can I buy potions around here?"
"A potion shop, you say? There is one quite nearby."
Take me there.
"Lead the way."
I was going to wrap up my business as fast as humanly possible and hole up at home. ...It's not going to be like this everywhere I go, right? Right?
Sure enough, ominous premonitions always come true. The same scene played out two more times on the road to the potion shop alone.
After enduring those ordeals, I understood firsthand what they meant by being mentally drained. I'd always considered my stamina and grit to be exceptional—but that only applied under normal circumstances. Being shoved into situations I never anticipated was simply unbearable. By the time I reached the potion shop, half my soul had already left my body.
Can I even manage to enter a dungeon tomorrow, at this rate? Come to think of it, this is all Forsell's fault. He's the one who shoved me into the village, which is why this mess happened in the first place. If he'd just let us camp together like we were originally planning, I wouldn't have had to suffer through any of this!
I seriously want revenge. Forsell. Just you wait. My grudge runs deep and dark. Someday, I will repay this grievance tenfold.
I opened the door and stepped into the shop, and the sound of a commotion washed over me.
"That's way too expensive!"
Ugh. What a voice. My ears are bleeding.
Just as I was furrowing my brow, Panata hastily raised his voice beside me. "Rell! Bemi!"
At the village chief's shout, the two people inside stopped their argument and turned to look our way. They still bristled at each other with unresolved resentment, but the moment their eyes met mine, they floundered and bowed their heads in a frantic rush.
"We're sorry, Young Lady!"
"Forgive us! Please, spare our lives!"
Look, I'm not going to DO anything. Realistically, what could I possibly say to you two that would be worse than you not even noticing my presence while fighting?
Both of you, get up.
"Pathetic weaklings. Get up."
"Please, no!"
"Young Lady, please—"
Please just get up.
"Your ears seem to work just fine, so why can't you hear me? Get up."
When the mesugaki translation landed as a threat, the two of them scrambled to their feet. Terror was written plain across both faces, but the woman who'd been shouting just moments ago was trembling on the verge of tears, ready to bawl at any second.
Poke her a little more and I'd get to watch a full breakdown. Ugh. Damn it.
Um...
"You two idiots. What were you fighting about?"
I had no idea what the problem was, but within my limits, I'd sort it out—so let's finish this up quickly and leave me alone, shall we? If you two keep this up, my mind and body are going to wear down even further.
Despite my question, the two of them kept sneaking glances at each other, holding their tongues. Ha. So this is what a kindergarten teacher feels like, mediating between squabbling children.
"Speak up. The Young Lady is waiting."
"Well, you see..."
Only after the village chief broke the silence did the shouting woman slowly find her voice. "I am deeply honored. I came to this shop to purchase a stamina recovery potion. But the owner learned of my desperate circumstances and tried to gouge me with an unfair price, so I was taking him to task over it."
"That is slander!"
The instant one spoke, rebuttal burst from the other's mouth. "I was merely charging the standard price!"
"Weren't these potions cheaper than this just yesterday?!"
"Yesterday's stock was of lower quality than this!"
Watching them shout at each other, having entirely forgotten my existence, I could tell the resentment carved into each of their hearts was no small thing. Left alone, they'd argue until the sun went down.
Well, either way, it all boiled down to a dispute over a single potion, didn't it?
So...
"How much is that potion, anyway?"
"Well, you see..."
Listening to the shopkeeper, the potion wasn't actually that expensive. I practically have the game's economy memorized, after all. Measured against that standard, it was a bit pricey, yes, but within the range of understandable. Nothing you'd call profiteering. Though then again, that might just be my perspective. To poor commoners, every last coin counts.
I'll pay for it.
"I'll cover it."
"...Pardon?"
I said I'm buying it for her.
"Might want to clean out your ears. I said I'm paying."
I currently had enough money to casually buy a potion or two without blinking. On the way out of the estate, Benedict had pressed a pouch of gold coins into my hands, telling me to use them if anything came up. Even for a Count's family, a handful of gold coins is serious money—yet he'd forcibly pushed them into my hands. Benedict's doting on his daughter truly knows no end.
"Thank you! Young Lady!"
The woman chewed over my words on her own for a moment, then bowed her head over and over in gratitude. I'd only bought the potion because I wanted a excuse to browse the shop at leisure, but being thanked didn't feel bad. People really should live kindly, after all.
After seeing the woman off, I glanced back to find Carl and the maid regarding me with strange looks. What? Why are you staring at me like that?
"Er... pardon, Young Lady. If there is anything you seek, I could bring it to you..."
It's fine. I'll look around myself.
"Stay put, weakling. I'll browse on my own."
Left alone after the woman departed, the shopkeeper stammered out his offer, which I declined. What I'm looking for right now is something you probably don't even know you have.
An Elixir is hidden in this shop. I don't know what story lies behind it, but that hardly matters. What matters is that a precious, precious elixir can be bought dirt cheap right here. I remember exactly where it sits.
Surely—check the far corner at the end of the display shelf on the right side of the store. There. A potion bottle caked in dust, unsold for years on end.
Yes. That's the one. The item I was searching for: the Mana Enhancement Elixir. I couldn't Appraise it, but it looked identical to the one from the game—no doubt about it.
It's not something I can consume, and now that I've committed to the tank build, I have no reason to drink it. Still, an Elixir is an Elixir. If you can snag one, you snag it. Just remember how the Count family vault held only three elixirs in total. Elixirs are precious. I'd stake anything that if I showed this one to a mage of the Magic Tower, their eyes would pop out of their skulls.
Since I'd feel guilty buying only this, maybe I should grab a few things that'd come in handy in the dungeon later. Something for stamina recovery, an antidote, and...
After some careful deliberation, I lined up my chosen items in front of the shopkeeper.
I'll take all of it. How much?
"How much?"
"You may simply take them all, my Lady."
Really? I can just have them for free? The word "free" tempted me for a split second before I came to my senses. If I fleeced this poor shopkeeper out of this much merchandise, one more item would definitely be added to Lucy's rumor list. Her reputation is already in the gutter—I don't want to watch it sink any further.
Just tell me the price.
"Just tell me. How much?"
"Er... well, you see. All of this would come to about two silver coins."
Isn't that WAY too cheap? Even if you don't know there's an Elixir hidden in here, two silver coins is not the right price. Are you too scared to squeeze money out of me? Or did you quote the real price and then panic that I'd find fault with it? Hmmm. If I want to pay a proper price, I'll have no choice but to make the first offer myself. Since my conscience stings at just pocketing the Elixir and walking away, I should pay something reasonable.
I fished two gold coins from my pocket and set them on the table.
Take these.
"Take this."
"That's... that's far too much. No matter how pricey these items are—"
The moment the shopkeeper saw the gold coins, terrified of being accused of gouging a villainess, he immediately made his conscience declaration in a trembling voice. Just think of it as fleecing some clueless little girl and take it. Ah. But Panata's standing right there, so I suppose that won't fly?
Just take it. I have no use for this money anyway.
"Are you talking back to me? Take it quietly. A pathetic shopkeeper like you couldn't earn this in a lifetime of work."
I genuinely have no need for money right now. There's nothing to spend it on, and frankly, if I want money later, I can make as much as I please.
When I declared it firmly, the shopkeeper, looking none too comfortable about it, tucked the gold coins away. Hey. Consider this enough to eat and drink your fill for the rest of your life? Now go spread a rumor that "the Young Lady Lucy is a paragon of mercy," got it? If I hear anyone calling me a wastebag drunk on my own bravado, I'm coming back here angry. Understood?
The moment I gathered my potions and stepped out of the shop, Carl's voice came from behind me.
"My Lady, you paid far too much. For everything in that store combined."
Carl, listen up.
"Weakling. Shut that stinking mouth of yours and listen."
I cut off Carl's incoming lecture, leaned close to his ear, and told him the truth: that battered old potion bottle was an Elixir. Carl's eyebrows shot up, and he asked cautiously.
"Truly?"
Dead serious.
"Are you doubting me? That's knight disqualification, you know."
"My apologies, my Lady. But how could you possibly—"
That's a secret.
"Weaklings don't get to know yet."
Heh heh. I just scored a Mana Enhancement Elixir for free. Now, how best to put it to use? Selling it to a suitably desperate mage would be ideal, I suppose—but where am I going to find one of those lying around?