Volume 1 - CH 12.2

Chapter 1-12 : Selling The Materials Ⅱ (part 2)

「Leonora-san, thank you very much. You’re also my lifesaver, you know?」(Sarasa)

「Eh? What do you mean?」(Leonora)

Leonora-san, who was storing the materials I sold on the shelf behind the counter, looked back at me and tilted her head.

「I heard that there’s no big difference between two alchemist stores in this town, but compared to the other one, your store is heaven!」(Sarasa)

「Aah… that guy’s store, huh? So you visited there first? What happened there?」(Leonora)

For some reason, Leonora-san made a face full of interest.

「Yeah. You know what? He wanted to buy the heart for 12,000 reas… ten times cheaper than the price you offered… 」(Sarasa)

After I said that with a bitter smile, Leonora-san burst into laughter.

「Bwahahaha! What a jerk!」(Leonora)

「This isn’t a laughing matter… If you were a jerk like him, I had planned to go to another town.」(Sarasa)

「Hahaha, I won’t stop you if you wanna go, but it’s quite far away, you know? Rather than go to another town, wouldn’t it be better if you sell your materials to your master?」(Leonora)

「Yeah, I also thought about it if I can’t sell them at your store.」(Sarasa)

Master told me to send her rare materials.

However, Anger Bear materials were not that rare, actually.

But if they are fresh and good quality like the ones I sold to Leonora-san, maybe Master wants to buy them.

Maybe…

Well, it doesn’t matter anymore, though.

「I don’t want to say bad things about other alchemists, but as far as I heard, that guy seems to be a little greedy.」(Leonora)

「’A little’, huh? 12,000 reas is not even 1/5th the market price, you know?」(Sarasa)

「Haha, I know. That guy evaluates people by their appearance, so maybe he thought that Sarasa could be deceived easily.」(Leonora)

「As I thought… he looked at me as easy prey, huh…?」(Sarasa)

When I made a stern look and shrugged, Leonora-san laughed again.

「Ahahaha! Thanks to that, I got good materials from you. I’m glad that he was so dumb!」(Leonora)

「Oh, well, since I will never go to his store again, he doesn’t matter anymore for me. By the way, Leonora-san, I will have my representative come to your store next time, is that okay?」(Sarasa)

「Ahh, you can’t visit here every time, huh? Well, your village is quite far after all. Okay, I understand. Of course, I will trade with your representative at a reasonable price. I hope we will have a good business relationship.」(Leonora)

「Yes!」(Sarasa)

After I nodded, we both shook each other’s hands.

Ahh, I’m glad it’s going well.

I can’t take days off very often, so I need to ask Daruna-san to act as my representative.

Of course, I would pay him well.

「By the way, did you come to this town by riding a horse? Because there’s no carriage that goes to that village.」(Leonora)

「Ah, no. I ran. Well, it took me half a day, but it was faster than riding a horse. Besides, I can’t afford a horse…」(Sarasa)

Other than being expensive, taking care of a horse is very troublesome and time-consuming.

Even if I bought a horse, it would be slower than me running, so it would be useless.

Well, if I didn’t have the backpack from Master that could store a lot of things, I might consider buying a horse.

「I see… Running, huh?…….Wait, wait. Running!? Moreover, only half a day!?」(Leonora)

「Ah, of course I wasn’t just running normally, I used physical strengthening magic. Actually, I’m not very good at it, so I had to take a break every two hours…」(Sarasa)

If only I could maintain it twice as long as I can now, I would be able to go and return in just a day, but I couldn’t do it even if I also drank physical strengthening potions.

If I go back now, the sun will set when I’m still on the way.

I really want to avoid running on the road at night alone even though this is a relatively safe region.

「No, no. Even though you took breaks, maintaining body strengthening for hours is very hard to do, you know?」(Leonora)

「Eh? But my master can do it while doing alchemy for a whole day without breaking a sweat, though?」(Sarasa)

「Don’t compare normal alchemists with master-class ones! Normally, we can only maintain it for a few tens of seconds, or for a few minutes at the longest, you know!?」(Leonora)

Being stared at by Leonora-san who was making an amazed face, I turned my face away.

Umm… I said that I’m not good at it, but commonly, it seems that I’m in the category of people who are good at it.

「W, Well… once you get used to it, you will be able to do it unconsciously, you know? Maybe… But of course you will get tired and need to take breaks.」(Sarasa)

「Sarasa… Not everyone can do that, you know? Now I’m convinced why Ophelia-sama made you her disciple.」(Leonora)

「A, Ahh… But, look! I have a thin body. Well, I’ve been training a little recently, but still…」(Sarasa)

I bent my arms, taking a pose like a bodybuilder, but my biceps didn’t show at all.

They were as soft as a marshmallow. As if there was no result from training at all.

Hmm… maybe just exercising in the morning and evening isn’t enough?

「Eeehhh~~~ Please stop training your body!! Your cuteness will go to waste if you become a macho girl!」(Leonora)

「C, Cute you say? Ehehe~ But don’t worry, I also don’t wanna be macho. I just want to improve my muscle strength a little. It’ll be easier to do things if I have more strength.」(Sarasa)

「I see… Well, indeed you look like a person who did nothing but studying.」(Leonora)

Exactly.

Other than practical training, all I’ve been doing is studying when I was at school.

Compared to me, Leonora-san was a little big and looked quite well-built.

「Leonora-san, do you train quite often?」(Sarasa)

「Well, yeah. You know? I used to go collecting materials myself. Ah, but you better not imitate me. The Great Sea of Trees is not a place for beginners to enter, after all.」(Leonora)

「I know, don’t worry.」(Sarasa)

Collecting materials by herself, huh… Leonora-san must be quite an active alchemist.

Regardless of whether I’ll go collecting materials myself, I might as well train my body a little.

I’m happy that she said I’m cute, but I hate it when someone looks down at me like the guy from the previous store.

Also, it might be good if I’m able to use a weapon, khufufu~

「By the way, Leonora-san, do you know a good inn where I can stay a night safely in this town?」(Sarasa)

「Ah, you’re going to spend a night in this town, huh? Well, running on the road at night is dangerous after all. Hmm… Sarasa, how about staying at my place? I still have a room up there.」(Leonora)

After thinking for a moment, Leonora-san pointed up to the ceiling.

I see. So this building’s second story is a living space like my store’s.

「Eh? Can I…?」(Sarasa)

「If you were a man, I couldn’t let you stay here, tho. But Sarasa is a cute girl, so it’s completely fine. You’ll be my business partner from now on, so you don’t have to hesitate. I’ll let you stay here for free.」(Leonora)

「That would be great, but…」(Sarasa)

「Okay, how about you also let me stay at your place when I go to your village?」(Leonora)

「Are you planning to visit my village?」(Sarasa)

「Well, I won’t be going for now, though.」(Leonora)

And I’m sure she won’t be going either in the future.

As long as I come to sell materials to her, she doesn’t have to come to my place after all.

But since she doesn’t seem to mind if I stay here, let’s gratefully accept her offer.

Besides, I don’t wanna spend money on an inn, to be honest.

「Alright then, I’ll be in your care tonight. Thank you very much.」(Sarasa)

「Please don’t mind it. It’s nothing more than me supporting the younger generation. Besides, I also want to hear about Ophelia-sama from you~」(Leonora)

「Ahh, I see. Okay~」(Sarasa)

In the end, I ended up staying at Leonora-san’s store.

I spent my night there listening about this town from her, and telling stories about Master to her.

Ah, by the way, I also told her about the cafe where I had lunch today.

She said that not only the atmosphere, but also all the menus there were wonderful.

However, I told her that there’s nothing special about the taste of the cake and tea I ordered.

「The sweets made by a female employee at Master’s store were a lot more delicious, you know?」(Sarasa)

「Eh? Is that so? As expected from a person who works at a master-class alchemist’s store! She’s on a whole different level!」(Leonora)

I think Maria-san is just special, though.

The other employees were average after all…

Well, that Maria-san for you.