Chapter 1-20 : Monsters Are Coming! (part 2)
When I returned to the inn, I could do nothing but sit on the bed while feeling restless.
Everyone in this town was anxious because of the current situation, and I’m not an exception.
I planned to do some experiments as soon as I returned to my room, but I don’t feel like doing it now. I’m worried about Nyat and the other people who are fighting the monsters.
I wonder what else I can do other than wait…
Aa! That’s right! I collected a bunch of medical herbs today. Maybe I can sell them to the Merchant Guild.
Since people are fighting monsters, they will need a lot of potions. My herbs will surely come in handy.
「Alright, let’s do it!」(Kako)
Now that I’ve decided what to do, I got up from the bed and left the inn for the Merchant Guild.
I saw a lot of people when I arrived at the guild.
It’s a busy place, so it’s normal to have so many people here. However, the atmosphere was different from usual.
Most of the people here look angry for some reason. They were glaring and yelling at the staff members of the guild.
While I was wondering what was happening, I saw a sign on the wall saying, “Due to the state of emergency, there will be no transactions today.”
「Ugh… Seriously…?」(Kako)
Well, I can understand. After all, we need to be ready to evacuate anytime in case the monsters breached the gate, but… I really want to sell these herbs…
I think I should try to talk to the receptionist lady who usually assists me. She might understand how important medical herbs are in this situation.
I stepped deeper into the building and saw the receptionist lady talking to five other staff members. They seemed to be very busy.
「You two go to the adventurer shops and alchemy shops in this town and buy all the herbs and potions they have, after that, go to the Adventurer Guild and give them the items! And you three, go to the peddlers in the market and do the same! We need all the potions and herbs available in this town for the fighters!」(receptionist lady)
「「Yes, Ma’am!」」(employees)
Right after, the five staff members who had given the order ran toward the exit and left the building.
From the way she gave instructions to those staff members, it seemed that she was not an ordinary receptionist. She seemed to have a high position in this guild.
As soon as she finished giving orders, another staff member approached her and talked to her with a somewhat awkward expression.
「U, Umm… Boss, there’s a merchant who’s persistently trying to sell his accessories. He said his boss would fire him if he couldn’t sell them today. What should I do?」(staff member)
「Seriously? Just show him the sign over there and tell him to tell his boss he can’t sell his items today.」(receptionist lady)
「U, Understood.」(staff member)
After the staff member was gone, the receptionist lady let out a long sigh.
She seemed to be busy, but I really wanted to sell these herbs.
I mustered up the courage to slip through the crowd of angry merchants to get to the receptionist lady and call out to her.
「Onee-san, excuse meー」(Kako)
「ーI told you we dontー… Ara, Miss Kako Mayama? I’m sorry, but due to an emergency situation, we can’t make any transactions today. You should be prepared to evacuate just in case.」(receptionist lady)
As soon as she recognized me, she bent down and told me that while smiling at me.
Is it just my imagination that this lady is talking to me like she’s dealing with a little child?
Oh, well. At least she calls me ‘Miss Kako Mayama’ unlike the other people who call me with the L word.
「I know that, but I want to sell some medical herbs.」(Kako)
「Wait… Herbs, you say!?」(receptionist lady)
Soon after she heard what I said, she opened her eyes wider. She looked surprised.
「Y, yeah. You need them, right?」(Kako)
「Yes! We need them very badly right now! The knights and the adventurers are fighting a swarm of monsters to prevent them from approaching this town. We need a lot of herbs and potions for them, but of course, I hope no one will get injured.」(receptionist lady)
「Yeah, that’s for the best. Anyway, here are the herbs I collected.」(Kako)
I took out the herbs from my magic bag and put them on the nearby table.
「Whoaa… As always, you collected so many herbs… The number of herbs that can be collected in the forest has been decreasing lately, and because of that, there have been no herb collectors selling herbs for a while. How did you collect this many herbs? ーAa… No. I shouldn’t ask that. Forget it.」(receptionist lady)
「No, it’s okay. There are still many colonies of herbs around the Ball Slime habitat in the western part of the forest.」(Kako)
「Really!? It’s not that far from this town. But… Why did you tell me that? The information about the locations of herbs is a valuable asset for herb collectors, you know?」(receptionist lady)
By the way, not only did I collect random weeds and synthesize them into herbs in the forest today, but I also planted some herbs I created so that other people could collect them.
The price of herbs and potions might drop if people could easily collect herbs again and I might not be able to sell herbs at a high price again because of that, but I’m not so greedy that I want to monopolize the herbs in the forest for myself.
Maitena-san, Izack-san, Palfi-san, and Martz-san are my friends, and they are adventurers who need potions.
I want my Synthesis Skill to be useful for them and other people.
「It’s alright. You can tell the other herb collectors. I don’t mind. Besides, someone will eventually find that place anyway.」(Kako)
「I see… Miss Kako Mayama, you’re such a kind girl. Please wait for a moment.」(receptionist lady)
The receptionist lady smiled at me. She then put the herbs into a sack and took them to the back room.
Less than five minutes later, she returned with a small leather bag filled with gold coins.
「Miss Kako Mayama, I’m sorry to have kept you waiting.」(receptionist lady)
「No, it’s not even five minutes. That was fast.」(Kako)
「Well, there are no other transactions today, so we don’t have any other items waiting to be appraised. By the way, since the demand for herbs is at its peak right now, we decided to buy your herbs at a higher price than normal. We also decided to give you extra coins as the fees for the information about the herb location.」(receptionist lady)
「Really!? That’s awesome!」(Kako)
「Here’s your money for a total of a hundred and fifty gold coins.」(receptionist lady)
Saying that, the receptionist lady handed me the small leather bag.
「Thank you, Onee-san!」(Kako)
「You’re welcome!」(receptionist lady)
A hundred and fifty gold coins. That’s a lot!
I remember I got a hundred and twenty gold coins from selling herbs when I just came to this town. The price of herbs seems to have increased significantly.
「Oh, right. We can’t confirm how many herbs grow in the location you told us right now since monsters are attacking, so we have to wait until the situation settles down. If we find many herbs growing there, we may pay you additional compensation.」(receptionist lady)
「I see. Then, can you put it into my bank account when the time comes? Ah, I also want to put this money into my account too.」(Kako)
I took ten gold coins from the leather bag and put them into my pocket, and then I handed over the leather bag with the rest of a hundred and forty gold coins in it to the receptionist lady.
「Understood.」(receptionist lady)
「Thank you, Onee-san. I’ll be leaving now.」
Phew… It was an exhausting day, but I’m glad I was able to sell the herbs.
I would get in other people’s way if I stayed here, so I decided to go back to the inn.
However, the receptionist lady stopped me when I was about to leave.
「Miss Kako Mayama.」(receptionist lady)
「Yes?」(Kako)
「Once again, thank you very much. You’re truly a lifesaver.」(receptionist lady)
She bowed deeply at me and thanked me again.
The other staff members around us looked shocked when they saw their boss bowing at a girl like me.
「Ah, u-umm… You’re welcome.」(Kako)
I’m happy that she treats me like an important customer, but this is kind of awkward.
Thinking that I would stand out even more if I stayed any longer, I bowed back at her, turned around, and quickly left the building.
That aside, it feels nice to see that kind receptionist lady thanking me so much.
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