Naming Esila

The moment I backtracked and said I'd meet the client, the receptionist at the request counter's face brightened up instantly.

"Y-yeah, in that case, I'll contact them right now!"

"Yes, please do."

She immediately started dialing somewhere while scribbling something on a piece of paper. I silently watched the receptionist from in front of the request counter for a moment.

"……."

"……."

But the call, which I'd expected to go smoothly and quickly, ended up dragging on a bit longer than anticipated. After about a minute on the phone, the staff member cautiously glanced at me.

"Ah, they're not picking up…."

"Pardon?"

It was clearly 11 a.m. on a weekday. Sleeping in didn't make any sense as an excuse. If anything, they were probably tied up with other work during business hours.

"Any idea when I might hear back?"

"W-well… The truth is, the client isn't exactly consistent about answering calls…."

"……."

"S-so… usually in situations like this…."

I couldn't afford to wait around forever for contact, so I made another proposal, notifying her matter-of-factly.

"If you do reach them, could you ask if we can meet at the Association Guild around 8 p.m. today?"

"T-today?"

"I figure it'll be about that time once I wrap up today's schedule."

Last time, clearing those three requests had taken over ten hours total. This being the second one, I calculated I could handle it all in around ten hours combined.

"If that doesn't work, ask them to set another date."

"Ah, yes! I'll pass that along!"

After hearing her final response, I headed straight to the dungeon management counter and entered the Ebony Cave. After ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠all, I had plenty to do today if I wanted to raise my hunter rank.

Same day.

Lakeside Pharmacy.

"Ugh, grrr…."

Just like always, Choi Hwayoung rose from the blankets at ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a leisurely hour that matched her relaxed pace.

The time she finally woke up and came to her senses was approaching 1 p.m.

Even for a self-employed person, starting the day this lazily was downright arrogant. But for Choi Hwayoung, whose special talent meant she had virtually zero worries about losing her job, it didn't apply.

The ability that allowed her to run the Lakeside Pharmacy—and her other specialty besides fire magic—was pharmacy.

Among hunters, awakening abilities related to pharmacy were an incredibly rare talent. Far more so than the fire magic she'd wielded daily back in her S-rank hunter days.

Recovery magic, pharmacy, protective gear crafting. For hunters who hunted daily under constant threat to their lives, the means to protect themselves were always essential.

It was the kind of business where even the laziest person wouldn't starve.

That said, the talent she possessed for pharmacy was a slightly different category from her awakening ability.

It wasn't something she'd go around advertising to everyone, but hiding it deliberately wouldn't serve much purpose either—an ambiguous secret like that.

Only a few former party members knew it, and thanks to that secret, Choi Hwayoung could operate the Lakeside Pharmacy.

And so freely that she could open whenever she felt like it.

"Ugh, haaaaaam…."

Last night, she'd gotten bored during a decoction process and mindlessly opened a mobile game, only to stay hooked even after the potion brewing finished, falling asleep late.

The night before, while steeping ingredients to boost potency, she'd started watching YouTube and suddenly hours had flown by.

Her lifestyle, twisting further out of shape day by day like this, showed no signs of straightening out.

In fact, the Lakeside Pharmacy—Choi Hwayoung's shop—was open for just 4-5 hours out of the 24 in a day, most of the time.

Even without walk-in customers, most transactions came from potion deliveries to guilds anyway.

Dealing with people was one of the things she found endlessly annoying, so in her own way, she preferred it that way.

She grabbed the white gown slung haphazardly over the headboard and threw it on over her ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠underwear without a second thought.

She perched the round glasses she'd left by the pillow on her face.

The gown, bought a few sizes up to fit her bust, dragged on the floor behind the 151cm Choi Hwayoung.

But she wandered the room without a care, as if it didn't bother her at all.

She could've easily found one tailored to her height and chest with a quick search, or at least dropped it at a tailor for an hour to get it hemmed.

But even that was far too much hassle for Choi Hwayoung.

"Born to live lazily" fit her perfectly.

Awakened to fire magic, so she became a hunter.

Wanted to smoke tar cigarettes, so she opened the Lakeside Pharmacy after retiring.

Did just enough work to get by.

Made the potions she was obligated to deliver, then spent most of her time spacing out or sleeping.

A woman like that.

There had been a time when she'd taken joy in her high-output fire magic and hunter life.

But as her comrades retired one by one and her own magic output weakened, Choi Hwayoung quit hunting and instantly lost all drive for everything.

Ordinary civilian life felt unbearably dull to her after ending the hunter days that had provided a decent sense of purpose through crises and adventures.

The only comfort in this existence was the tar cigarettes made from Black Slime secretions.

She poured the Black Slime secretion from a vial that had barely come into her possession recently into her pipe.

"Ignite."

Crackle, pop.

The thick nicotine from the burning tobacco leaves mixed with Black Slime secretion slammed into her lungs.

It lifted the mood of Choi Hwayoung, who was already so addicted that normal air tasted bland.

Even so, she'd already burned through nearly half the tar cigarette materials she loved.

"Fuu…. I really need to ration these this time…."

The Black Slime secretion she'd received just a few days ago had hit empty on the fifth vial thanks to her recent smoking.

At two vials a day with no restraint, it'd be obvious she'd run out in less than a week.

She needed to meet that C-rank hunter who'd procured the material for her ASAP.

It had been three days since the Association Guild staff said they'd contact her again when that hunter showed up next.

She knew full well that if contact was coming, it should've arrived by now.

With no call from the Guild in three days, Choi Hwayoung started feeling a twinge of anxiety.

"What if they refuse without even meeting…."

If that hunter was solely focused on ranking up, it was entirely possible.

It wasn't an official or standard request—just her personal one, which wouldn't help much with B-rank promotion.

All she could offer was a bit more pay and promises of ongoing deals.

Anxiety crept into her chest.

If it came to that, she'd have to stretch the remaining five vials for another half year.

Maybe even longer.

She cursed her past self's careless curiosity for getting hooked on cigarettes made from this ultra-rare material that couldn't even be imported overseas.

"Back when I was active, I never worried about running out…."

She could've asked any sword- or spear-wielding comrade in her party to hunt materials together.

Or in a pinch, hire a B-rank hunter with her S-rank status and gather from the Tar Pit Dungeon.

Now, with her ability reduced to just enough flame for lighting cigarettes or boiling water, those days were gone.

"Haaah, guess I should get to work."

Even if there was a slim chance of striking a deal with the C-rank hunter who'd saved her materials, she'd need funds ready for transactions.

To keep up her habit, her savings from active days wouldn't last long on their own.

With that resolve, just as she prepared to start some proper work for once—

"The company wants twelve crates for next quarter, and the Association requested… huh?"

Choi Hwayoung's eyes widened as she checked her smartphone for the last transaction details and next quarter's requirements.

A missed call from the Association while she'd been asleep.

And the message that came with it excited her.

It was more than enough to snap her wandering mind back to attention.

After clearing the Ebony Cave and Necromancer's Cemetery, I entered the third dungeon when Esila's voice echoed in my head after a long while.

Thanks. Appreciate it.

It was knowledge I already had, but I gave a small thanks to Esila for confirming it, then gripped my sword facing the White Slime.

The moment I swung at the white blob monster, the White Slime morphed into an exact replica of my sword.

Clang!

Metal clashed against metal as we exchanged a single strike.

After that, just as Esila said, I created distance from the White Slime and immediately unleashed a level 3 fire magic spell.

……!!!

The White Slime, still holding the greatsword form, let out a strange screech as its body melted away in flames.

I picked up what remained—just the core, leaving no other traces—and stored the still-warm monster material in my subspace pouch.

Fourteen more of these, and today's requests are done.

If I can keep stacking requests like this, B-rank might come sooner than I think.

From searching requests to the final hunt—thanks to you, today's wrapping up quick, Esila.

Yeah. SI, so Esila. Name I came up with—what do you think?

Or do you prefer plain old SI Whatever?

Esila?

…Good.

Fortunately, she seemed to like it quite a bit.