Chapter 11. The Start of the Solo Run (2)
Chapter 11. The Start of the Solo Run (2)
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-Hey, zombie. Do you know what's the most important thing when it comes to getting tutoring?
"First of all, I'd really appreciate it if you stopped calling me a zombie."
-It's the tuition fee.
After finishing everything we had to do at the Merchant Alliance headquarters, we came out.
Broad daylight. As lunchtime approached, the streets were lively. Hunters who had retired from the front lines had opened restaurants and general stores, and they were eagerly hawking their wares.
Of course, among them were plenty of shops where flies were the only customers. At those shops, the owners were always sitting by the door, staring blankly with their mouths hanging open. Those who are meant to make it, make it. Those who aren't, don't. Cruel, but it was an unchanging truth whether in the outside world or in Babylon.
-And you just secured your tuition fee. Now, what else do you need?
"Hmm, a skilled tutor?"
-Ahem. That person is already standing right before your eyes.
The guardian spirit said shamelessly. Without so much as a change in expression.
-A good reference book! You need a textbook that will speed up your growth.
"A textbook......"
-Yeah, like a secret manual or a spiritual elixir. But even if you read a secret manual, there's no way you'd understand it at your current level, right? In the end, there's no answer but to scrape together some goddamn expensive elixirs.
This old man always managed to say even correct things in the most obnoxious way possible.
-For the record, I don't deal in cheap elixirs. What was it, the Alchemy Ministry? There's a guild that doctors and pharmacists join. Get only elixirs made by the top-tier artisans there.
"Ugh."
-Don't worry about where the shop is, I know. There's a place old man Marcus frequents too. If we go there and sweep up all the elixirs......
"H-hold on, wait a second."
-Hm? Why?
I lowered my voice. Because pedestrians were passing nearby on the street.
"...Aren't elixirs like that really, insanely expensive?"
-Of course they're insanely expensive. They charge whatever they want. You'll probably gasp when you hear the price.
The guardian spirit chuckled.
-Want me to give you a rough idea?
"...Let's hear it."
The guardian spirit whispered in my ear. After hearing the price, my eyes flew open. The cost was beyond imagination.
"Even if I poured in all the money I have left, I could only buy about four!"
-Heh heh. If you buy in bulk, you'll get a bit of a discount, so you could probably order about five. Those people know how to do business. This is why doctors who've tasted money are the scariest people in the world.
"Th-that's too expensive......."
Good lord. At this rate, I was about to become poor again. I'd thought that after winning first prize in the lottery, I'd live comfortably.
-Well, it might feel like a waste to see the money you worked so hard to earn slip away so easily, but what can you do? It's a tragedy caused by your lack of talent. Just think of it all as your fate... Hm!
The guardian spirit's face stiffened.
-Gong-ja, hide.
"Huh?"
-Hurry.
His voice was serious. Without realizing it, I hid behind a nearby tin trash can. A fishy, sour stench. It was a trash can used by a restaurant to dump food waste. I frowned.
"What's going on that you're suddenly telling me to hide?"
-Careful, it's old man Marcus.
"......."
I held my breath. Carefully, I peeked out at the street from beyond the trash can. An old man with white hair tied back. The current rank 1 and holder of [Detective's Insight], the Sword Saint, was walking far off in the distance.
'If he spots me, things get messy.'
My heart pounded. Maybe my tension was contagious. The guardian spirit also dropped his too-much-talker tendencies and kept his mouth shut for a while. The two of us hid side by side behind the trash can, tracking the Sword Saint with our eyes.
"...Again, so noisy......."
Fortunately, the Sword Saint didn't seem to notice us. The old man was muttering to himself as usual, heading somewhere.
-Ah, shit.
Seeing the Sword Saint enter a certain building, the guardian spirit scowled.
-Tch! That's torn it. That place is the best shop.
"The best shop?"
-For elixirs, I mean. The pharmacist who makes the best ones set up shop there. Ugh, seriously! Everyone except her is a hack potion-peddler. We should buy from there if at all possible......!
The guardian spirit stamped his feet. It was the first time I'd seen this ghost genuinely upset. Beside him, I sank deep into thought.
'Using the same shop as the Sword Saint is too risky. But a pharmacist who can make good elixirs.'
I searched for top-rankers on my smartphone.
Starting from rank 1, the list scrolled down.
+
1st. Sword Saint / Affiliation: None.
2nd. Black Witch / Affiliation: Black Dragon (Guild Master).
3rd. The Count / Affiliation: Merchant Alliance (Guild Master).
4th. Heretic Questioner / Affiliation: Pantheon (Guild Master).
5th. Viper / Affiliation: Heavenly Martial Sect (Guild Master).
6th. Linguist of Babel / Affiliation: All Learning (Deputy Guild Master).
7th. Wide-Area Communicator / Affiliation: Hwanmun Newspaper (Deputy Guild Master).
8th. Paladin / Affiliation: Vigilante Corps (Deputy Guild Master).
.
.
.
+
"Not there."
I muttered, tossing the words out.
The guardian spirit, who had been stamping his feet, reacted to my muttering.
-Huh? What's not there? Your luck?
"No. If anything, it's the exact opposite."
Far from lacking luck, it was overflowing.
"It might not cost much at all."
-What?
"I'm saying we might only need to spend pocket change to get top-grade elixirs."
I grinned.
"I happen to know an incredible pharmacist."
We left the bustling streets and entered a secluded alleyway.
A poor neighborhood. People who struggled to make a living and had no choice but to live in run-down places. In a word, it was a neighborhood close to a slum. In the dark alley, the eyes of the hunters watching us were unsettling.
-...A truly skilled pharmacist lives here?
The guardian spirit's disbelief was written all over his face.
"Not just ordinarily skilled. A pharmacist with once-in-a-generation overflowing talent."
-Cut the bullshit. Why would a person with that kind of talent live in a dump like this?
"Oh, if you don't want to believe it, then don't."
From the far end of the alley came a tsk, the sound of someone clicking their tongue. The hunters who had been watching us turned their heads away.
They must have seen me talking to myself and mistaken me for a lunatic. This kind of slum had the worst public safety, but people generally didn't mess with lunatics.
I smirked inwardly.
'What would happen if they found out my wallet was full of gold coins right now?'
It was obvious. Their eyes would roll back and they'd charge at me like beasts.
Of course, I had no obligation to kindly reveal the state of my wallet to them. Smelling the stench of a corpse rotting somewhere, I turned into an even deeper alley.
It was around then that I heard a voice that sounded like it was being torn apart.
"P-please, just don't touch my lab equipment!"
A young person's voice.
Following it, rough voices rang out.
"How many times has it been now, and you're still saying that crap!"
"It's already been half a year past the deadline. So you have to pay the price."
I headed toward the direction of the voices. A point where alleys intersected like the center of a spider's web. In that slightly more open space stood a shabby shop.
That was also where people were arguing.
"Ugh. I-if you take even my tools... I really won't be able to make a living......."
"Enough, there's nothing more to see. Take it all!"
Burly thugs were loading machines onto a handcart. Late twenties, maybe? A woman who appeared to be the owner of that run-down shop was clinging to the cart, pleading.
"A week! Just give me one more week. No, if you just give me five more days......."
"That one week became a month, and that month became half a year, didn't it!"
Thud. As the thugs shoved the cart forward, the shop owner couldn't put up any resistance and collapsed onto the ground. Even as her knees scraped, the shop owner reached out toward the cart.
"Ah... the potion I haven't finished yet......!"
"Good grief. Stuck dealing with some crazy pharmacist. Miss! I'm giving you sincere advice—never go near potion-making again!"
The cart creaked and disappeared into the alley.
All that remained here was the shop owner kneeling in despair. And the neighborhood people, including me, who had crawled out to watch the commotion. The onlookers whispered among themselves.
"Tsk tsk. I knew that shop was going to go under sooner or later."
"Her potions are way too expensive. What kind of stamina potion costs 40 gold?"
"She took business too lightly at such a young age......."
Maybe she heard the onlookers talking.
The shop owner, who had been staring blankly at the ground, whipped her head up.
"E-expensive?! I barely charge above cost!"
She looked utterly wretched. Her long hair was matted, as if she hadn't washed it in days. The glasses on her face were as worn as old antiques. Even her voice was shrill—not like the rolling of jade, but closer to the shattering of jade.
"There's no other shop in Babylon that provides potions this good at this price! I-if anything, I should be receiving thanks for setting up shop in a shabby neighborhood like this! Yes!"
"Oh dear, she still hasn't come to her senses."
"Let's go. Honestly. Bragging like she's something special......."
The onlookers shook their heads and dispersed.
Unfavorable!
No matter how you looked at it, there stood a shop owner who seemed impossible to feel any goodwill toward.
"Oh... j-just a moment. Everyone, since you've all gathered here anyway, how about at least one stamina potion....... One shot of my special potion and even a hunter on the verge of death will be bouncing around."
"N-no thanks, not buying!"
The shop owner belatedly tried to grab the onlookers, but it was useless. Spilled milk. The onlookers cursed under their breath and quickly vanished.
"It really is effective... it's not a lie......."
In the end, the shop owner plopped down onto the ground.
-Hey.
After watching the whole sorry spectacle unfold before his eyes, the guardian spirit muttered.
-Don't tell me that 'once-in-a-generation pharmacist' you mentioned... isn't that loser, is it?
"What if I said it is?"
-Then I'd seriously worry about your mental state. I'd think, this kid died over 4,000 times and now even his brain's gone wrong. And then I'd introduce you to the best psychiatrist in Babylon.
I snorted.
"The moment I started seeing ghosts, my mental state was already worth worrying about. That owner really is a once-in-a-generation pharmacist, so don't worry."
-Not a once-in-a-generation pharmacist, a once-in-a-generation loser! You lunatic!
The guardian spirit made a racket, but I ignored him. I strode toward the shop owner slumped on the ground.
"Excuse me."
"Uh......?"
The shop owner looked up at me. Up close, she looked even more shabby. Her top and bottom were both too long, as if she'd picked up her clothes from somewhere. The only reason I could barely tell, "Ah, she's a pharmacist, not a beggar," was the white coat she wore over them.
"Ma'am, are you still open for business?"
Of course, this person was no beggar.
And she was even less an ordinary pharmacist.
"If you're still open, I'd like to order some potions."
Alchemy Ministry Head (鍊金省主).
A pharmacist who would later rise to rank 5.
At this point in time, she was outside the rankings, but she was someone destined for greatness.
"They're a bit expensive. Is that all right?"
"Ah, yes. Yes! Of course! I can make anything!"
Color returned to the pharmacist's face. Her shop had just been on the verge of ruin, and now a customer had come asking for expensive potions. It was only natural she'd feel like she'd been brought back from the brink of death.
"Um, but when you say expensive... how expensive are we talking......?"
"Well."
In the future, she would be a pharmacist whom even the wealthiest wouldn't dare place an order with, but this time was different.
"For now, I'd like to buy about 20,000 gold's worth."
"......."
The pharmacist's mouth fell open.
So what if she looked a bit wretched? To me, the pharmacist before my eyes looked like a goose that laid golden eggs. And not just any golden eggs—100% pure gold ones!
I smiled.
"What are you doing? You should be taking my order, ma'am."
I'm going to become a regular customer down to the bone.