episode_0004

The activities of the Potion Knights didn’t just end after a day or two.

It’s been over a week already, and it seems like everything is going quite well.

It’s no wonder, considering how much cleaner the slums have become since the establishment of the Potion Knights.

The area with shops is near the entrance to the slums.

When I was alone, I could only clean up in front of the shops, but now, with the people of the slums moving around and cleaning every nook and cranny, it has become very tidy.

In this way, the people of the slums were moving to change their area following the establishment of the knights.

Our village administrator Nari should hurry up and get her act together.

It would be nice if we could quickly develop the village by maintaining the basic facilities, increasing the population, and receiving the benefits of civilization.

If someone like me, a weak NPC with nothing, wants to live comfortably and safely, it’s better to be in a big city that receives the benefits of civilization.

While thinking about this and that, the mailman happened to visit the shop.

“Jack, you’ve got mail.”

Is there someone who would send me a letter?

It’s probably not related to shop operating taxes.

Or maybe it’s some kind of notice from the Potion Association to which the shop belongs.

But the envelope was very dirty, covered in dust and crumpled, unlike what would be expected if it were sent from an organization. Instead of a stamp that should have been there, there were only round, handwritten characters.

A smile formed on my lips as I read it.

It was a letter from the protagonist Alaina.

She woke up and wrote a letter. I’m really relieved.

I quickly sat down, tore open the envelope, and took out the letter.

The handwriting on the letter was round and cute, just like what was written on the envelope.

The contents of the letter were as follows.

* * * * *

Hello, Potion Sir.

I am Alaina, the adventurer who received potions and various tools for free from you a few months ago.

Thanks to the healing potions you generously gave me, I was able to overcome many dangerous situations.

With the fishing rod and various tools you provided, I could even survive outdoors and not freeze to death at night.

When I had to kill Dr. Madman in Leanso Village, as you said, the cucumber juice really helped me a lot.

And there, I met a man who taught me how to write.

I still don’t know if that boy will become my future husband.

Thanks to that boy, I was able to write in the notebook given by the man and read it until the pages wore out every night before bed.

Recently, I wrote about defeating a monster in a certain lake in that notebook. If not for that, I might have drowned.

Visiting the man’s shop at the beginning of the adventure was the biggest stroke of luck in my life.

I will often send news like this through letters in the future.

Stay healthy always.

* * * * *

A smile didn’t leave my face as I read the letter.

I immediately began writing a reply on paper.

Received your letter well.

I’m very glad that you are walking steadily on the path you need to take.

Everything you need is written in that strategy guide.

Walk upright with conviction, Alaina.

Oh, and don’t just rely on others; don’t neglect to find hidden equipment either.

Some equipment might save your life.

If this letter arrives in time, you’ll probably be passing through Kainak Canyon.

If you’ve passed it, go back. It’s that important.

There’s an abandoned temple in the southern desert of the village.

You must find the necklace hidden inside.

It’s a very fine necklace that can block almost any magic due to its magical resistance.

If you meet the Lich after passing through Kainak Canyon without it, your life may be in jeopardy.

It’s written in the strategy guide, but I’m writing this letter again out of concern.

At the entrance of the temple, a stone statue presents three riddles, and the answers to each are written below or something like that.

With Alaina’s name on the envelope, I hurriedly ran out of the shop.

I barely managed to send the letter by catching the departing mailman.

I wonder if it will reach Alaina this way.

When playing the game, typing a nickname sends it, but now it’s reality.

“Oppa! What letter is this?”

Surprised, I turned around to see Mirella holding the lid opener like a sword and looking at me.

“I sent it to someone I knew from the past. I’m traveling around here and there on adventures.”

“Is that so?”

“What’s with those eyes?”

“I thought you were exchanging letters with your childhood sweetheart again.”

“Even if you’re exchanging letters with your first love, it has nothing to do with you, buddy.”

Upon hearing this, Mirella bit her lip nervously.

However, such subtle facial expressions changed very briefly.

“But hey, oppa.”

Mirella turned the topic.

“A letter, you just write it and give it to the mailman, right?”

“That’s right. Instead, you have to write who it’s from and who it’s for on the envelope. Otherwise, it won’t arrive properly.”

“Hmm, I see.”

Mirella pondered deeply.

What kind of trouble is she going to cause now?

Mirella is the only top student among the students I teach who can write sentences.

It must have been about a week since the class started.

“Oh, hello… My name… is Mirel… la…”

Surprisingly, Mirella had already scribbled out a sentence on the paper.

The children gathered around Mirella, amazed.

“Wow, unni is amazing.”

“Pfft, it’s nothing.”

Mirella is showing remarkable progress in class.

In just a few days, she memorized all the spellings, and now she can write such simple sentences.

Perhaps Mirella is naturally very smart.

If her parents were alive, they might have immediately informed her and persuaded her to study abroad in a big city.

But Mirella is an orphan.

She lost both her parents in the war and somehow ended up here among the refugees.

If I were a little more capable, I would want to teach Mirella and send her to the city.

I’ve possessed an ordinary NPC, but by doing my best in that way, something will surely change.

Just like when I gave Alaina a cheap starter pack and a strategy guide.

If I could change Mirella’s life, that would be a very meaningful thing in itself.

* * * * *

A few days later, a letter arrived in front of the store.

What kind of letter could it be?

Surely Ilaina wouldn’t have sent a letter already.

Most of the letters that come to our store are official documents.

Demanding taxes, increasing potion association material costs, or various legal regulations.

So, most of it is not very pleasant.

Even the letter that came this time seems to have come from the Potion Association, judging by the envelope.

The Potion Association exercises authority over potions nationwide and grants potion shop operation permits to certified individuals.

So, in simple terms, the Potion Association is like a franchise, and I’m the franchisee.

From the logistics warehouse in Odelin City, they procure potion ingredients through private traders once a week.

The contents of the letter state that our store has been selected as a candidate for the outstanding store of the month.

They say that confirmation will be issued from headquarters soon.

I can’t suddenly figure out what this means.

Perplexed, as I read the official document, I became even more dumbfounded after reading the last part.

[As the evaluation has been confirmed, if anyone among your acquaintances continues to send recommendation letters to the headquarters, please stop them. Too many recommendation letters are causing disruptions in our operations.]

Sending recommendation letters?

Who on earth?

Certainly not me, but could it be the people from the slums’ knights?

But someone who knows how to write well enough to write a recommendation letter…

“Hey? Has it arrived properly?”

Before I knew it, Mirael, stepping lightly beside me, proudly shrugged her shoulders as she read the official document.

“I wrote a little bit of a letter where your shop boss is. I asked for a reward because you do a lot of good things.”

It was indeed Mirael.

After just a few days of lessons, Mirael mastered all the characters, and a week later, she wrote a complete sentence as an excellent student.

But after teaching her how to write, she’s terrorizing the headquarters with recommendation letters?

“You? Suddenly? Why? No, more importantly, how much is ‘a little,’ to the extent that it’s causing disruptions at headquarters? And how did you know about the Potion Association?”

“It’s posted on the wall.”

Come to think of it, the potion sales permit was prominently displayed on the wall.

This is quite… well, it’s absurd, but admirable and appreciated.

She’s quite clever too.

Seeing my smile, Mirael straightened her small chest.

“If your shop does well, then I do well.”

“What does that mean? Save those words for your future husband.”

She made a joke, but Mirella’s face stiffened.

“You’re saying it now!”

Mirella got angry.

“No, you get mad at everything I say.”

* * * * *

Mirella spoke the truth.

Jack is Mirella’s future husband.

Mirella’s success lies in her future husband’s successful business.

It’s an undeniable fact.