CH 25

Episode 25 – Kind People 

“Then, from now on, can I continue to come here to do business?” (Lewin)

“Ah, of course. From this time’s transaction, I learned that you are definitely skilled in this field. This is a good opportunity to ask, but… in the past, after selling herbs wholesale to the Healers Guild, I’ve had a few instances where low quality herbs were sent back to me. Was this your doing?” (Shopkeeper)

“That’s right. I had a certain standard I had to maintain when I worked in the Healer’s Guild, so any herbs that were of too low quality would have to be sent back, unfortunately.” (Lewin)

“I see. Then, I can rest assured that the quality of the plants and herbs you brought today was truly good. Hmm… Now that you are no longer employed by the Healer’s Guild, that means their guard is down! Now I can wholesale whatever low quality plants I want to them and they won’t send them back! Kukuku… this is a great opportunity.” (Shopkeeper)

I gave a wry smile as I realized that this old lady was scheming something against the Healer’s Guild. I didn’t know what she was conspiring to do, but I just hoped she wouldn’t make any mistakes while going about it.

I continued to make conversation with the grandma, and I eventually asked her to tell me about the current situation over at the Healer’s Guild. Apparently, shortly after I was fired some big incident occurred, and to deal with that situation the Branch Chief left for the royal capital. So, it seemed that the net that the Healer’s Guild was trying to cast over me was not airtight at the moment.

Honestly, it wouldn’t be a lie to say that my thoughts about their situation were somewhere along the lines of ‘haha, serves you right!’ In fact, I might go so far as to say I would even rejoice if Brandon were to fall to ruin. But truly, one man’s fault is another man’s lesson. I decided that I should learn from Brandon’s bad examples, and continue living a good, honest life.

After the topic about the Healer’s Guild situation, our conversation reached a lull, so I decided to ask the grandma about the super expensive Immunity Grass I saw on display earlier.

“Um, by the way…about that extremely expensive Immunity Grass on display, can I ask you about it?” (Lewin)

“Ah, the Immunity Grass. Actually, I don’t know much about it either. The plant somewhat matches the description of rumors of a plant with the effect of potentially making you immune to any poisons, so I was putting it on sale for an extremely high price. I thought that…if someone took a fancy to it and decided to buy it, that would be easy money for me. Even if it didn’t sell, I thought that as a commodity, it was rare enough that just by having it on display here, it would build the reputation of this store. Well… in the end, it didn’t sell, and it didn’t build the reputation of the store either, so…” (Shopkeeper)

“Grandma, can I ask you another thing?” (Lewin)

“Hmm? If it’s something I know the answer to, of course.” (Shopkeeper)

“Dumbbell Weed…? No, I’ve never heard of this plant before. What kind of plant is it?” (Shopkeeper)

“It’s a plant that looks just like a weed, but it has a bitterness that makes the entire body numb.” (Lewin)

“Huh? Isn’t that just any ordinary weed? Judging by what you’ve told me so far, a plant that has the same effects, called Bitterweed, comes to mind.”

Hm. Even she doesn’t know? Perhaps, could it be that to the general public, it’s known by the name of Bitterweed since the effect is so unclear? Either way, no dice.

“Bitterweed, huh? I’ll look into it myself at a later time. Thank you so much for everything today! Next time I go plant harvesting and return, I’ll be sure to come here again. Until then, I look forward to working with you in the future!” (Lewin)

“I would like to thank you as well. I’ll definitely purchase them next time you come. Also… don’t let that Healer’s Guild Chief win!!” (Shopkeeper)

“I don’t exactly know what he would win at, but I definitely won’t lose!” (Lewin)

Waving goodbye to the warmly smiling grandma, I left Elf’s Tears. This grandma was truly a kind and knowledgeable person. It seems that I managed to have yet another fortunate encounter aside from that time with the [Azure Alliance].

As I stepped outside, I thought about how much had happened in just a few days. Looking back to when I was working at the Healer’s Guild, I guess I was really just a frog in a well, huh? I shuddered at the thought of how the well of the Healer’s Guild could have been all I ever knew, and I wouldn’t have known any better. All the wonderful people like [Azure Alliance] and that grandma… I would’ve thought all people were just like Brandon. Truly, I was so grateful I was brought out of that dark well to a brighter, sunnier place. I gazed towards the setting sun on the horizon. Man, I really wanted to see what was out there! There were so many things I could do, so many people I could meet! If I was lucky enough, one day I’d like to gain enough power to fight monsters and leave this city. Though I felt a little embarrassed about getting this worked up over just earning a little bit of money, I couldn’t help myself and cracked a smile as I embraced my dreams wholeheartedly.