Chapter 79: Potion and Saintess – 4

Chapter 79: Potion and Saintess – 4

“…A contract?”

“Yeah, simply put, I want to hire you.”

The girl, who had been quite dazed by my words, soon seemed to regain her senses and spoke again.

…Well, I guess even I wouldn’t just readily accept if someone wanted to hire me at this strange, unknown shop…

“I’ll do it! I don’t know what it is, but still!”

“……Huh? Don’t people usually ask what the job is? No, at the very least, don’t they ask about the salary?”

“…We’re not in a position to be picky about such things… My mother not only injured her hand but also fell ill this time, and our living expenses are dwindling…”

“I think I can pretty much guess the situation without you having to say more, so that’s fine.”

Poor people struggling to survive, and situations where parents, the breadwinners, are sick or dead, leaving young children to support the family.

…Well, in this world, it probably wasn’t an unfamiliar concept, and it wasn’t an unfamiliar concept to me either.

Honestly, in a class-based society, the hardships of the lowest class were very easy to imagine.

‘…Originally, I was just planning to exploit her for about a month.’

*Well, isn’t that even better? You’ll need to make potions soon, so having an employee like this is good, isn’t it?*

‘No, it is, but it’s quite sudden, you know.’

*Anyway, the system would have sent a similar type of employee soon, whether it was a quest or something else.

We want to see you doing various things rather than just resting idly in the shop.*

Anyway, that’s how our shop gained a cleaner, an employee, and a conversational partner.

Honestly, I wasn’t sure about the necessity yet… but it was definitely good to have.

Well, at least it’s good to have someone to talk to besides Ria.

Honestly, when the time came for me to be alone, including the potion-making time, it was getting a bit hard to endure the silence these days.

I had clearly lived and endured alone for a long time, and because of that, I had gotten used to it and thought I would always get used to it again… but it seemed that wasn’t the case.

It was only now that I realized I felt happiness in many ways while talking with Christie, as well as other people.

Therefore, hiring her as an employee was not just because the shop needed more hands, but also because of my personal desires.

…It’s a bit heartbreaking to see her say thank you for hiring her when I’m planning to exploit her.

“So, what should I do now?”

“…There’s nothing specific right now, you know. Oh, take as many potions as you need. I’m giving them to you separately from your salary, so feel free to take them.”

“Really?! Thank you!”

The girl said that, explained her current situation of being hired at this shop to her younger sister, and then sent her home with two potions.

…Come to think of it, I don’t think I even properly asked her name.

“And what was your name again?”

“It’s Lily. Please take care of me from now on, Master-nim!”

“…That’s a bit much, so just call me Boss-nim or Employer-nim. What’s with ‘Master’?”

At my words, Lily nodded, and her unique, almost white silver hair and orange eyes sparkled.

……I had a feeling that the employee and the Boss-nim wouldn’t be lacking in visuals anywhere they went.

If I had an image of someone who needed to be protected, Lily, despite being young and small, had a feeling of being somehow dependable.

More precisely, she felt much more mature than her peers.

…Of course, her height and build were petite like mine, probably because she hadn’t eaten well.

“……Is there a problem?”

“No, I just thought that those black-hearted bastards would really love our shop.”

“Ah…”

Perhaps she had been through something herself, as Lily let out a small groan and began to ponder with a serious expression, trying to think of a solution.

…Of course, the problem was that to others, that serious look conveyed more cuteness than seriousness.

Hmm, she’s definitely much more helpful than Ria, who’s only full of teasing thoughts.

*Excuse me? And anyway, if there’s a scoundrel who approaches you because of your looks, you’re just going to beat them up, so there’s nothing to worry about, you know?*

Ria’s brief retort followed, but I cleanly ignored it.

It didn’t seem like the time to worry about such things.

“Lily? Get ready for customers. They seem to be coming soon.”

“Yes? Oh! Yes!”

…For some unknown reason, quite a few people were approaching this way simultaneously.

The problem was… most of them had erased their presence.

***

“This is it…”

“It looks incredibly bright and cheerful, though?”

“…I can definitely feel a faint but distinct aura of ‘Trace of God’ from inside.”

After getting permission from the escorts, things went smoothly.

In fact, there was nothing particularly difficult.

With a shop openly existing and rumors spreading that many adventurers had bought potions, finding the shop’s location was very easy.

The only regrettable thing was that they couldn’t find out much about the shop owner… but that was something they would discover once they met her in person.

“Excuse me.”

“Oh, welcome!”

As we opened the door and entered, a silver-haired, orange-eyed clerk greeted us.

…Judging by her poor complexion, she seemed like a street pauper.

‘Did the owner of this place hire such children, or are they exploiting them?’

‘Who knows? It’s hard to tell.’

I quietly used a light divine magic to convey my thoughts to my friend, Claudia, who had kindly accompanied me, and a reply came back a little later.

……Indeed, there was nothing we could know yet, just as she said, but the feeling was strange.

‘By the way, the person who made this is truly amazing. To use ‘Trace of God’ in such a way.’

‘Do you think there are any side effects?’

‘None at all. Rather, it seems to have a clean healing effect? At first glance, the potion itself doesn’t seem to have any particular abnormalities.’

As we exchanged thoughts briefly using magic and looked around the display case where the same potions were arranged, another voice was heard from beside us.

…It was a voice that subtly conveyed a feeling of discomfort with the situation.

“…Everything in the display case is the same, so you don’t have to stare so intently.”

“You are…?”

“I am the owner of this shop, and the creator of the potion you are interested in.”

At those words, I couldn’t help but freeze for a moment.

They say the world is wide and it’s forbidden to have prejudices… but the girl in front of me was so fundamentally different from the ‘heretics’ I had seen before.

If the ‘heretics’ I had seen until now were mostly people who clearly looked like they had committed some sin…

The girl in front of me was not such a heretic; rather, she was someone who seemed like she needed to be protected from such heretics.

‘…Her movements have grace. Though she doesn’t seem to realize it herself.’

She also gave off the same feeling as high-ranking nobles of the Empire or royalty from other nations.

Given that she was running a shop like this, she probably wasn’t of such status… but for such grace to appear unconsciously was certainly distinctive.

‘Claudia… hmm, she’s already gone off the rails.’

As could be easily inferred from the fact that she was on the path of a Holy Knight, Claudia was someone who liked to protect others and considered it her mission to protect the weak.

…Though why I, the Saintess, was included among the weak was a mystery… anyway.

Therefore, even when she first saw the young clerk who welcomed us, her expression, which had been quite displeased, was now changing moment by moment.

Of course, besides that… she was also a girl with a strangely captivating charm just by looking at her.

She was a girl with a captivating charm, as if she had used some kind of magic.

‘…Was it intentional? If so, I really need to be wary.’

However, despite those words, my gaze was already fixed on the girl.

***

‘Emergency, emergenccyyyyy!! Why the hell is that Saintess already here to stir up this shop?!!’

The Saintess had arrived.

No, not just the Saintess, but also her companion who looked like a Holy Knight, and even the escorts who had skillfully hidden their presence, all together.

My hand subtly reached for the greatsword strapped to my back.

If the Holy Kingdom had spouted some strange bullshit, and if the Saintess had fallen for it and was now trying to do something by force…

I’d have to resist, at least.

*Calm down. You’re only acting like this because you know the Saintess’s appearance, or rather, what disguise she uses, but ordinary people wouldn’t know!*

‘…Oh? Now that you mention it, she came in disguise?’

*Honestly, you’re always so careless at important moments. And of course, the escorts are supposed to follow wherever the Saintess is. Your senses are unnecessarily good, so you even detect things like that.*

Just as I was regaining my composure at Ria’s words, the Saintess spoke.

…What she said next was very obvious… but from my perspective, it was truly unsettling.

“Can I buy a few of these?”

Hmm, it seems the Holy Kingdom had already marked me.

……And, at this point, I guess I have no choice but to cook the Saintess.