NOVEL NEXT Chapter 130
“Thank you, but I’ll just accept the sentiment.”
“I understand.”
Unlike the highest-tier red potion, potions below purple rank have an expiration date. As soon as I finished making the potion, I headed to the team house to discuss with Saioji about what to do with it.
“For now, we don’t have any plans to head into difficult dungeons, nor do we have any injured members. So, please feel free to use the potions you made however you like.”
After some thought, I decided to take Eurua’s suggestion. I planned to give one of the three purple potions I made to the brigade, keeping the red potion for emergencies.
Ordinarily, a single potion would sell for several million, but if any brigade members needed it, I intended to sell it to them at a family price.
However, Saioji told me that there were no dangerous quests or high-risk adventures planned that would require a purple potion.
“Still, as long as you’re an adventurer, you never know what might happen. So, if it’s needed, please provide one, alright? You can charge the same price as the black market.”
“Even if you say ‘if it’s needed’… I can’t whip up a potion on the spot, you know?”
“That can’t be helped, can it? Just having a reliable source for purple potions is already a blessing.”
About three months had passed since we came to the capital, and the chaos around the move had settled. Saioji now had significantly more time to move around freely than before.
As we approached winter, the mornings and nights had become chilly enough to warrant warm clothing.
Saioji, who had been doing desk work for a while, had no intention of taking on high-difficulty quests or dungeons during the dangerous winter season. She planned to stick to manageable activities around the capital.
“Alright, then I’ll sell it to another adventurer. There was someone interested during the black market event.”
“Please do. It’s better for it to go to someone in need than to gather dust in the brigade.”
Satisfied that the brigade didn’t need a potion right now, I left the team house.
“Are you Maxwell?”
“Yes. I have the item you requested…”
“Forgive me for asking, but who might you be? Maxwell is one of the top adventurers in the capital. I don’t want to let anyone in who isn’t already known to him…”
In the southern district of the capital, there’s a large wooden building, even bigger than the surrounding structures, located in a corner of the main street often used for market stalls.
Above the massive entrance hangs a sign with a simple “Adventurers’ Guild” in large letters. Adventurers constantly stream in and out of the building, just as the sign suggests.
(This receptionist certainly gets straight to the point…)
The interior feels like a Japanese city office, with numerous staff working behind the reception counter. Several service windows separate the workspace from the lobby.
Though I’d heard about the guild’s system from Aina and others, it was my first time actually using it. I lined up at one of the shorter queues, and a few minutes later, a young female receptionist asked what I needed.
The guild uniform, a deep green outfit that resembled a modified server’s attire, was surprisingly cute. The receptionist herself was quite pretty—above the average beauty standard of the capital’s women.
For some reason, she even wore a frilly white headband reminiscent of a white-brimmed hat, showing that the guild likely valued appearance for its receptionists. Lately, I’d been encountering many beautiful women, starting with Saioji, and I felt a bit desensitized.
“May I see your guild card?”
“Here you go.”
The long-haired male adventurer Maxwell, whom I’d met at the capital’s black market, seemed to be an important figure in the guild. The receptionist recognized him instantly, without needing to check among the likely thousands of adventurers.
However, her responses felt somewhat prickly… It was obvious that she saw me as a suspicious character, which made me wonder if this was the right way for a receptionist to behave.
But this feeling was probably due to my Japanese sensibilities. In Asphial, government work tends to be blunt. They only seem to smile when dealing with major guild members.
(Well, I do look pretty suspicious…)
Despite taking all this into account, her treatment was still rough. I couldn’t blame her, though. I’d come to the guild dressed in a hooded outfit like some kind of shady figure, and KAEDE, who was waiting behind me, was dressed similarly.
Basically, we looked like assassins from the other day, so suspicion was understandable… You could say it was my own fault.
(I don’t really want to use this guild card…)
When trading potions, I’d asked Sakakibara to prepare a guild card under a pseudonym to avoid drawing unnecessary attention.
The card bore the name “Hakuba Issei,” Sakakibara’s favorite character, printed in a wine-red color. Although I’d managed to obtain this alias guild card, using it usually caused a stir, so I preferred not to use it.
“Ah…!”
The receptionist, who had been coolly dismissive, gasped when she saw the wine-red guild card I handed her. Being guild personnel, she immediately recognized the significance of that color.
“I’m here incognito today… so please, don’t cause a scene.”
“U-understood.”
She looked like she was about to call her supervisor, so before she could make a sound, I put a finger to my lips with a quiet “Shh” to politely ask her to keep it quiet.
The receptionist responded in a subdued voice and nodded twice in understanding.