Chapter 1-9 : What They Think About Us (part 4)
「So, these are your friends?」(Nansa)
「Yes.」(Alice)
As soon as we entered the house, we were greeted by Nansa.
「My name is Rin.」(Rin)
「I’m Shougo.」(Shougo)
「You can call me Nansa. Have a seat.」(Nansa)
We sat in the small living room. The atmosphere was somewhat heavy, and because of that, the two’s expressions became serious.
「Do you know why I asked Alice to bring you here?」(Nansa)
「I… have no idea…」(Rin)
「Me neither…」(Shougo)
「Guess so… You two are in need of potions, aren’t you?」(Nansa)
Rin and Shougo looked a bit surprised when Nansa said that as if she could read their minds.
「We are indeed short on potions, but…」(Rin)
「Does that have anything to do with the reason why we were called here?」(Shougo)
「Of course. I’m a retired pharmacist, but I still can make high-quality potions, and this girl, Alice, asked me to make some for both of you.」(Nansa)
「I see.」(Rin)
「But the thing is… I hate Outworlders. I was hurt and treated badly by your kind. You people act like I was thin air.」(Nansa)
「That’s… Umm…」(Rin)
「Certainly, there are many playeー I mean, Outworlders with bad attitudes, so I can understand your feelings and I feel bad about it, but… You seem to be close to Alice.」(Shougo)
「A few days ago, a young Outworlder shoved me to the ground. I hurt my back and couldn’t get up. The other Outworlders around me pretended not to see me. They didn’t care about me, except for one girl… Alice. She helped me get up and took me home. Not only that, she even went to the forest to collect herbs for me.」(Nansa)
「Hee~ That’s Alice for you. She’s truly a kind girl!」(Rin)
「She is. I wasn’t the only one she helped. I heard that she also helped a lost child look for his house, helped an old man deliver goods, helped a woman find her precious ring, she helped many other people in this town. While she was helping people, being a useful good girl in this town, where were you people? You were busy with yourself, weren’t you?」(Nansa)
「I was… Umm… Collecting items outside the town and selling them to make money…」(Rin)
「I was hunting monsters in the dungeon with my friends all day…」(Shougo)
「See? I’m sure not all the Outworlders are bad people, but I haven’t met any who are as kind as Alice. I’m not telling you to do the same as this girl did and help everyone in this town. I just want you people to care about us. We’re not thin air. We’re not dolls. We have feelings too just like you. Don’t expect us to respect you and do whatever you ask if you can’t even treat us with respect.」(Nansa)
「Uhh… How should I put it… Umm…」(Rin)
「We feel sorry for you…」(Shougo)
Seeing both my best friends being scolded by Nansa, I couldn’t help but feel bad for them.
I felt like I shouldn’t have brought them here…
How should I apologize to them? What should I do if they end up hating me for this?
I couldn’t stop thinking about such things, and before I realized it, my eyes began to well up with tears.
「Uuu…」(Alice)
「A, Alice!?」(Rin)
「Wait, why are you crying?」(Shougo)
「Uuu… I don’t know, but… Seeing Nansa obaa-chan scolding you, I feel bad for bringing you here…」(Alice)
「Huh?」(Shougo)
「No, no. Alice, it’s not that I’m blaming both of your friends for the sin of the other Outworlders. I’m not scolding them.」(Nansa)
「Y, You’re not…?」(Alice)
「I’m not. Your friends didn’t do anything bad to us, did they? I was talking about the Outworlders who don’t respect us.」(Nansa)
「I, I see…」(Alice)
「Fufu. Alice, you’re a grown-up, but your heart stays a pure innocent little child, it seems. You’re so cute~」(Rin)
「Ugh…」(Alice)
Hwaaa~! How embarrassing!
I couldn’t help but feel that way because she looked somewhat mad.
「Ahem! …Anyway, at this rate, if the Outworlders don’t change their attitude toward us, townspeople, we might stop supporting you in the future. We would stop selling you equipment, potions, and food. We might even drive you away from this town. If that happened, who do you think would be hurt the most? The kind Outworlders like Alice who were trying to be friendly with the townspeople.」(Nansa)
「I see… You’re right… We don’t want that to happen either!」(Rin)
「Yeah, that would be very bad. Is there anything we can do?」(Shougo)
「Of course. You can warn the other Outworlders about this. Tell them to treat us with respect and stop pretending not to see us. I’m sure we can have a good relationship if we respect each other.」(Nansa)
「Alright, we understand.」(Rin)
「We will tell everyone and make sure they will treat the townspeople with respect.」(Shougo)
「Please do. I have something for you. Follow me.」(Nansa)
「Hm?」(Alice)
The three of us looked at each other, wondering. We then followed Nansa to her workshop in the back room.
「There are a hundred bottles of potions there. You can have them.」(Nansa)
Saying that, she pointed at the wooden box containing a lot of potions on the table.
「A, A hundred!? That’s so many!」(Rin)
「Nansa-san, are you sure?」(Shougo)
「Yeah, but you have to do me the favor in return. Don’t forget about it.」(Nansa)
「Of course! Thank you very much!」(Shougo)
「Nansa obaa-chan, thank you~!」(Alice)
Nansa was kind of stubborn, so I didn’t think she would give Rin and Shougo any potions today. I didn’t expect she had prepared a hundred for them!
Unable to hide my joy, I jumped and hugged her.
「Fufu. You two look like a grandma and a granddaughter.」(Rin)
「I don’t remember having a granddaughter this old. Your friend’s right. You’re a grown-up but you have the mind of a child.」(Nansa)
「Geez. Not you too!」(Alice)
I pouted at Nansa and released her. Then, I put all the potions in the wooden box into my【Storage】.
「You got your potions. You may leave now.」(Nansa)
「Once again, thank you very much, Nansa-san.」(Rin)
「We will definitely fulfill our promise.」(Shougo)
「Thank you, Nansa obaa-chan!」(Alice)
「You can come again anytime. Make sure you bring more herbs, and you should give me a shoulder massage next time.」(Nansa)
「Okay!」(Alice)
The three of us bowed to Nansa and left her house.
When we got outside, we could see Shougo’s friends sitting on the long bench by the house on the other side of the street, waiting for us.
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