chapter 40
Responsibility (3)
Upper Lantern, Findel Branch.
“Irvin-sama, I prepared as you requested… … .”
The head of the branch there hesitated and blurted out his words, and I could guess the meaning easily, so I answered with a smile.
“Don’t worry. As much as the sheep are sheep, I will pay for them in moderation.”
“Well, then we thank you, but we were warned not to accept any payment from Mr. Irvin.”
“Tell the owner of the upper house that I paid for it on my own. Oh, you can call it additional investment money.”
After putting the money bag on the table, he got up without further delay and nodded.
“Where did you put your things?”
“Oh, please follow me this way.”
When I arrived at a warehouse following the branch manager, I could see things piled up like a mountain. It was by no means a small amount, but it seemed to me that it was a little lacking.
Still, the schedule was tighter than I thought, so I scraped it together in a hurry, so even this much was appreciated.
The branch manager, who looked curiously at the items being swept into the space expansion bag, asked as if he had suddenly remembered it.
“But what are you going to spend all that much on? Could it be that there will be some kind of war?”
“I’m sorry, but the branch manager is not willing to intervene.”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
I was judging whether someone smelled like money in case someone wasn’t a merchant.
As far as I remember, he was a fairly competent person, so the Findel branch will grow.
It would be better to help out later, even if it means thinking of Rize.
After making the deal, I immediately rode my horse and headed northwest from Findel. It was a long distance that would take two full weeks on horseback, but it was reduced to three days at once using the space movement magic circle.
Originally, it would have cost a considerable amount, but thanks to the magic tower, I was able to use it for free.
This is why people should live kindly.
After killing several days in the village right in front of my destination, the inn where I was staying was filled with loud noises by the people who came after a while.
“hahahaha, let’s drink more!”
“You know you have to work tomorrow, right?”
“They’re goblins after all. It’s enough to do it while drinking.”
“Anyway.”
Such conversations were being heard in many places.
Most of the people here are mercenaries. At a glance, it looked like a B-class.
These were the people who gathered for the subjugation operation tomorrow.
All of their appearances were relaxed. It was because there were many people participating in the operation, and the subjugation target was the low-risk monster Goblin.
Even though the risk was low, this number of people participated because there was a report of an anomaly, and the guild deemed it necessary to investigate.
Nevertheless, the mercenaries were the ones who were greedy for fleeting pleasure.
Even in my opinion, it is difficult to maintain tension every time, but I thought it would be appropriate to show a serious attitude at least the day before the request.
That’s also the case, tomorrow’s commission will face a ‘miserable failure’.
“Professor, here’s another beer!”
“Let’s eat quickly. You won’t be able to eat properly tomorrow, hahahaha.”
“The number is significant, so it’s going to waste your time. I have to fill up the alcohol I can’t drink in advance.”
Those who did not know such a future were carefree and did not think about tomorrow.
Worn-out mercenaries wouldn’t do that, but they added that they had accumulated experience for no reason.
I received the beer glass that came out belatedly and took a sip.
Hmm, it’s different than I thought.
I was trying to quench my thirst for tomorrow, but it was nothing. Fortunately, the food was delicious, so we compromised.
While eating dinner, he listened to the mercenaries’ stories and obtained information such as tomorrow’s departure time and number of people.
Departure time is around 8 o’clock and there are about 20 people.
It was not different from the information he had checked through the Golden Bird Guild in advance, so fortunately there seemed to be no shortage of materials.
Instead, I should wake up a little earlier.
With a bittersweet feeling, I roughly poured in the bland beer.
* * *
Now, I raised my eyes for a moment to the sunlight that clearly emerged, and then inadvertently said a word.
“Why are these bastards so lazy?”
I was annihilated because I was so lazy.
I didn’t say it until the end, but I was a little annoyed.
Even so, my hands were engrossed in combining herbs and distributing them in bottles. The works were so familiar that one could do them even with closed eyes, so even if one went far away, one’s eyes looked beyond.
The mercenaries who were waiting were still not showing their noses.
If I knew this would happen, I would have prepared a little more slowly.
About 20 minutes to quickly toss them into the bag while displaying some of the things they made.
Finally, the human shadow slowly appeared.
“Oh, it’s annoying.”
“Let’s finish quickly and go have a drink.”
“I still have a hangover. Can I rest?”
Twenty mercenaries approaching while having stupid conversations. There was absolutely no tension whatsoever.
I thought it would be a natural attitude to deal with the goblins with that number, but I still wanted to have a proper sense of work.
No matter what our Rize does, please don’t do that.
As I was pretending to be engrossed in my work, hiding my feelings, I heard the voices of those who had discovered it.
“uh? excuse me.”
“Are you a person?”
“What are you doing over there?”
The mercenaries approached me, puzzled but without much vigilance, and I pretended to have discovered them late and smiled brightly as I raised my head.
“Oh, mercenaries! Welcome. I’ve been waiting for you, let’s go to sleep. Please take a look.”
As he waved his hand as if guiding with a slightly exaggerated gesture, the mercenaries slowly gathered one by one to the stall spread out on the table.
Displayed there are vials filled with liquids of various colors.
“alchemist?”
“Yes, that’s right! My name is Miles, an alchemist who wanders in search of mysteries following the wind and clouds.”
After the introduction was finished with a smile, various emotions were felt among the mercenaries. Most of them were interested and interested, but there were also annoyance and indifference.
Without protracting the matter, he gesticulated and quickly added an explanation.
“When I heard that mercenaries were coming to town, I was immediately prompted. You’re here for trouble. So I peeked inside first to be of some help.”
“You went in first?”
My place is a road leading to a wetland. That was the destination of the mercenaries.
I nodded, swallowed once, and continued talking.
“They were there, of course, the goblins. But, this was downright ugly. The face melted and the color of the skin was terrible.”
“Could it be a mutant?”
“Yes, it is! What I felt from them was definitely a terrible poison. But who am I? An alchemist with expertise in the manufacture of antidote. So just like this, I prepared an antidote to fight them.”
In such an unfortunate situation, even the most ignorant of them could not help but be suspicious.
So it was necessary to add a few words.
“This is all for the mercenaries who are suffering. If you give me a small example… … .”
“I guess money is tight.”
“Kuhm.”
At someone’s suggestion, I averted my gaze with a slight cough, and felt the majority of the gaze soften.
Most of the alchemists, whose job was to make various medicines, were suffering. It was because the drugs handled were special, so the demand was not so high.
Therefore, his eccentric appearance and obsession with money were common perceptions of an alchemist.
I’m not saying it’s wrong.
“If you say so, it’s a bit much, but… … Please know that we sell at a more conscientious price than anyone else.”
He said it with a face full of determination, but only laughter could be heard among the mercenaries.
It must have been that I was convinced that I was a typical alchemist from my behavior and appearance, disguised in a shabby appearance. Thanks to this, I was able to see that all remaining vigilance had disappeared.
“Come on, stop doing this and judge for yourself. 20 years of antidote research to be able to respond to all poisons! It’s also very easy to write. If you take it right away according to the initial symptoms, you don’t have to worry about anything. Hives, fever, dizziness, whatever. Yes, yes, please just take a look at it.”
Immediately after, he spit on the time and passionately explained the antidote, and only then did the mercenaries show interest in the medicine.
The mercenaries meticulously checked the quality to make sure they couldn’t handle drugs roughly no matter how nervous they were.
I can say it with my own mouth, but I am confident that the quality is superior to that sold in the market.
In addition, the poison in the swamp is a bit special, so only the one I made could completely detoxify it.
“Aigoo, thank you. Would you like to buy this too? Thank you thank you. Quality is guaranteed.”
Maybe because I was immersed in acting, I was able to sell quite a lot of sales with a little more desperate.
“I will continue to make medicine here. We look forward to using it again!”
After waving his hands excessively at the mercenaries leaving for the swamp to see them off, when they disappeared, he brought his raised hand to the back of his neck and massaged it.
After a long time acting like this, I suddenly felt stiff.
When I was an alchemist, I used to break money like this.
Should I say that I am glad that my senses are not dead?
Anyway, with this, step 1 was successfully completed. I gave them a little antidote, so at least they didn’t die in vain like usual.
Even if it becomes a little dangerous, I will make a gap to escape.
The poison that the goblins in that swamp were embracing was deadly.
It was clear that I wouldn’t last long and come back here again… … .
“Even if they run away, it would be nice to reduce the number of goblins.”
The reason I took on such a troublesome task was because dealing with goblins was annoying.
The fighting power of each one was not so high that those mercenaries could ignore it. It’s just that the number of them in that swamp right now was hard to count.
I had no choice but to have enough hands to handle everything.
I could do it if I wanted to, but I needed to cut the time somehow because of Claire’s work.
There, the existence of those mercenaries matched really well.
It’s good that I can leave the troublesome things on, and it’s good that they saved their lives, so that’s good and good.
After displaying the antidote I made earlier on the stall, I started making things for myself.
Unlike antidote, this was something that had no choice but to put a lot of effort into it, so I concentrated and put my heart and soul into it. This was also familiar to me, but I still needed to check it carefully in case I didn’t know.
How long has it been like that?
On the road to the swamp, a commotion began to emerge.
I put down what I was working on and calmly waited for them, pretending to make an antidote.
“Damn it, what the hell?!”
“There are degrees of variation. It’s too bad to do that.”
“Is the guild conducting a preliminary investigation or not?”
The appearance of the twenty mercenaries who appeared grumbling and complaining was truly spectacle.
There didn’t seem to be any serious injuries, but compared to when he entered, his appearance was very bleak.
Mud was smeared all over her clothes, including her shoes, along with a green liquid that was comparable to that.
Also, the smell was a bit strong.
The mercenary, who seemed to be the representative among them, quickly approached me and said a word with a firm face.
“The antidote, give me everything you have.”
also as expected.
I rubbed my palms together with the brightest smile I could.
“Thank you for always!”
They were satisfied and bought all the medicines only after making several bottles of antidote by removing the ingredients that had not yet been used.
While saying it was a service, he also included a piece of paper with instructions on how to use it according to the symptoms.
The mercenaries seemed to be trying to finish subjugating the goblins without running away.
Even if it’s a variant, there’s no change to being a goblin, and I thought it wouldn’t be too different if it could respond to poison.
In addition, there must have been a calculation that if the abnormal phenomenon was reported, the request fee would more than double, so the cost of the antidote would be more than enough.
As I expected, the mercenaries were doing well, so I also wanted to move my body for the second stage.
The surface of this situation is goblins, but… … What awaited them behind them were even more heinous things.