No Way... A Beastfolk?

If you could make a single potion, what kind of potion would you make?

An elixir said to revive everyone except the dead?

A formless poison that could kill with a single drop, without anyone knowing?

The ultimate love potion that beguiles with just its scent?

If I had to pick just one, I'd go with a hair loss remedy.

In case you get the wrong idea, let me say this upfront: I am not balding.

I'm an orphan, and if hereditary hair loss got added on top of that, wouldn't that just be too sad?

Even though two horns were visible at my hairline and a crater was visible on my crown.

That was caused by stress from the assholes I ran into at the convenience store.

Anyway, that's how it was.

...Fuck.

I'm not balding, but hair loss is a problem every man worries about at least once.

Which meant demand was high, and that meant I could make a fortune.

And in Potion Forest, there existed a 'Hair Growth Potion' that could solve hair loss.

So was it hard to make?

It wasn't.

The ingredients only required herbs, and the recipe grade was a mere 2-star.

It was the exact opposite of other potion recipes, where production difficulty rose along with demand.

Players who found this suspicious each guessed at their own reasons.

Many said it was because most customers were fluffy beastfolk, so demand for hair growth products was low.

My theory was different.

I suspected the developers were also balding and had deliberately lowered the difficulty.

Whatever the reason, I could make it now, so that was great!

This world also had hair loss, and just as much demand for hair loss remedies.

On top of that, as long as Countess Veloz held me in favor, I might be able to sell not only on the black market but also to nobles.

If that worked out, I wouldn't have to worry about money for a while.

I was originally the type to stockpile resources nice and solid before pushing the main story.

Conveniently, today was the day the black market opened.

I went to Countess Veloz's mansion intending to run the hair growth potion factory until nightfall, but....

"The countess has not yet returned."

The countess wasn't at the mansion.

"The countess said that Master Star may stay at the mansion at any time. She is not present, but will you come in?"

"No, I'm fine."

I was still too inexperienced to handle alchemy tools on my own, and.

With the owner absent, I didn't feel right about just taking ingredients from the storage.

"Then might you know when she will return?"

"I'm not certain, but she will likely return the day after tomorrow, once her schedule is finished. Since it is her first social engagement in a long while, she will probably stay until the very end."

If nothing else, I wanted to make a painkiller.

Because of the Petrification Disease, the pain worsened whenever night came, so it wasn't easy to browse the black market comfortably.

She wouldn't be back until the day after tomorrow.

What a shame.

"Please come by whenever it is convenient."

The butler bowed with a friendly smile he hadn't shown when he first came to recruit me.

It was uncomfortable having someone who looked twice my age treat me so deferentially.

I told him he didn't need to be so formal, but.

He said that since I had resolved his master's long-cherished wish, I was a benefactor to him as well, and he wouldn't straighten up.

The only way to get the butler to straighten his back was to vanish from his sight quickly, so.

I hurried into the carriage.

Taira was waiting inside the carriage.

I sat on the seat across from her and said.

"Today, you can do whatever you want at the black market right away."

"Are you sure?"

Our usual black market routine went like this.

Open the potion shop, and Taira helped me beside it.

Occasionally, when a customer crossed the line, Taira, who also served as a guard, threw them out.

Partway through, I left ‍‍‌‌⁠⁠‌‍‍‌⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠‌‌‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the shop to Taira and went to the auction house to look at the catalog.

Then, when the promised 4 o'clock came, I gave Taira free time.

But today, I didn't need her help.

"I'm not doing business today."

"Did something happen?"

"I don't have many potions to sell. I've been busy in various ways lately."

"...I'm sorry."

"Huh? Why are you sorry? Anyway, it's partly that I don't have potions to sell, but I'm also planning to go to the auction house."

I had to put the remaining two bottles of scar treatment potion up for auction.

After all, the fun of an auction was watching the price of your item soar moment by moment.

If necessary, I could even act as a shill bidder myself.

***

The pain of the Petrification Disease was, to put it in terms, tick damage.

It wasn't a faint, constant ache, but intense pain that came periodically.

If someone kept tapping your cheek beside you, you might eventually adapt and fall asleep.

But if someone slapped your cheek hard every five minutes and vanished, you could never fall into a deep ‍‍‌‌⁠⁠‌‍‍‌⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠‌‌‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠sleep.

If I'd had Petrification Disease in school, maybe I'd have ranked first in the whole school—I wouldn't have been ‍‍‌‌⁠⁠‌‍‍‌⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠‌‌‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠able to sleep at all.

Or not?

Even if I'd stayed up all night, I wouldn't have studied anyway.

Still, on ordinary days I only had to sleep at night, so it was bearable.

But on black market days, it was pure torment.

Even while walking along fine, the pain would suddenly strike.

That pain wasn't something I could endure; my body twisted and collapsed on its own.

It didn't just hurt my body, either. It hurt my feelings, too.

A person who suddenly flinched and collapsed while walking down the street.

And if that person was also suspiciously wearing a mask, how would others see him?

As a crazy pervert, probably.

Every time I got those looks, I was so mortified that lately I sat in a ‍‍‌‌⁠⁠‌‍‍‌⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠‌‌‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠corner beforehand whenever the pain was about to hit.

Like a game character who runs until their stamina is completely drained, then stands still to refill it.

I walked hard, then sat and filled up on pain.

After repeating that walk-and-rest cycle, the auction house came right up before me.

You ask why I didn't just get Taira's help to walk?

"No matter how much you like your free time, isn't that too much? You're not even going to escort me to the auction house and just leave coldly?"

As soon as the path split between the auction house and the information shop, Taira didn't even hesitate and just headed toward the information shop.

I'd given her free time early, so she could at least help a little.

If I ended up rescuing her younger sister at the auction house, what was she going to do about all this karma she was piling up?

But on the other hand, a selfish worry crept in.

What if Taira found her sister before I did?

Or what if she learned through the information shop that her sister would be at the auction house before I told her?

Then my trump card for raising Affection would become useless.

Some might criticize this thinking as selfish, but.

My life was on the line here.

I had to help Taira so she could help me later.

I had to raise her Affection to avoid assassination.

Even if she learned her sister would be at the auction house, would she ask me for help?

She'd rather die than accept my help.

She'd just buy her with her own money.

Wait, wasn't Taira broke?

In the main story, Taira was so poor she paid with useless weeds she'd picked.

She received a maid's salary now, but it would be nowhere near enough to buy something at the auction house.

As long as the fact that Taira's sister would appear at the auction house didn't change.

She would have no choice but to ask me for help in the end.

Money really was the answer.

Just as I approached the auction house counter to earn that unchanging value.

"Careful up there!"

"Huh? Ah—."

The moment I placed my hand on the counter, I felt a sting.

I yanked my hand back.

But my finger had already been cut.

"What the?"

The counter was smooth.

It wasn't a rough wooden table with splinters.

But my hand had a cut from something sharp.

"It's an Invisible Dagger artifact."

The owner of the Invisible Dagger standing in front of the counter explained.

There had clearly been no one in front of me.

That was why I'd come straight to the counter without waiting.

I must have missed him while my mind was elsewhere.

It was my fault for putting my hand on the counter when there was a customer, but.

How was I supposed to know there was an invisible weapon?

"If it's an invisible weapon, isn't it dangerous to just leave it lying around? You should at least wrap it with a cord or cloth."

"Oh? I was just wondering how to prove an invisible sword at the auction house. That's a clever idea!"

The man spread his palm as if asking for a high-five.

Swept up in the mood, I smacked my palm against his.

"Oh, wait, aren't you Star?"

"You know me?"

"Haha, who on the black market doesn't know Star? You're the most famous potion merchant around."

The man didn't stop there.

He went on for a while about how amazing, delicious, and unique my potions were.

With all that flattery, the pain in my finger seemed to fade.

"Anyway, pleased to meet you. I'm Melio, a fourth-grade mercenary."

Fourth-grade meant a mercenary with upper-mid-grade skill.

His enthusiastic welcome made some sense.

Upper-mid-grade mercenaries were the loyal customers who bought the most potions on the black market.

They had enough money to buy potions and took on dangerous missions.

And they weren't nobles, so they couldn't obtain potions through official channels.

"Coming to the counter means you're here to sell, right? What kind of item is it? Potions, as expected?"

"Yes, potions."

Mercenaries had wide networks, so letting him know in advance would be good publicity.

I took the two prepared potion bottles from my pocket and showed them.

"The effect is scar removal."

"Oh! Isn't this... a first? Not just on the black market, but in the alchemy world too."

"Even if it already exists, its performance wouldn't compare to this potion. It can remove all scars."

Melio's already small eyes got even smaller.

"Is that so? A mercenary colleague of mine would love this. I'll have to let him know."

The auction house employee who had gone inside carrying the cloth-wrapped Invisible Dagger returned, and.

Melio received a receipt with the item name and number written on it.

"Nice to meet you, Star. We may very well meet again."

Melio left with those meaningful words.

His gaze stayed on the potions in my hand until he was out the door.

-Drip