Chapter 153: Black Slime Material Delivery (3)

“Twenty skeleton shinbones and twenty skeleton cores. I’ve confirmed the requested items.”

I finished settling the request at the counter manned by the attendant I’d greeted when I entered the dungeon this morning. As a bonus, I also handled the disposal of other materials that weren’t part of the request.

“We’ve confirmed all the remaining materials as well. Are you taking the payment in cash again this time?”

“Yes, I am.”

“Just a moment, then….”

As soon as I answered, the clerk, wearing a look that said, ‘Just as I thought,’ handed me an envelope filled with the amount corresponding to the request fee.

“Here you go, Kim Sungchul-ssi.”

“You don’t ask me to open the vault anymore, do you?”

“I’ve gotten used to it. Ah, I’ve excluded the payment for the black slime materials. You mentioned you’d be delivering those directly and receiving payment in kind.”

“That’s right.”

“Just in case, I’m telling you this, but due to its toxicity, you shouldn’t trade black slime materials with anyone other than the client for this request. It’s fine if you use it yourself, though.”

“I know.”

“Yes, well, thank you for your hard work today.”

I gave a slight bow to the attendant who’d nodded at me, then sent Choi Hwayoung Sunbae a KakaoTalk message saying I was just leaving.

「I just left the Hunter’s Union Guild. I’ll head straight to the Lakeside Pharmacy.」

I expected to be ignored again, but this time, a reply came back almost immediately after I sent the message.

「Come quickly. I miss you.」

「Huh?」

「Black slime fluid. Quickly. I’m in a hurry.」

Seeing the first message, I momentarily thought I’d sent it to the wrong person, but it seemed to be a misunderstanding caused by omitting the subject. Just what kind of important medicine is she trying to make that she’s acting this desperate? I replied to her saying I’d take a taxi.

「I’ll take a taxi. You know it still takes about 30 minutes, right?」

「Take the Gate. It only takes 5 minutes if you use that.」

「It’s way more expensive than a taxi fare.」

「I’ll pay for it. Just take it.」

What on earth is this material that she’s telling me to take a warp gate, which costs hundreds of thousands per trip, for? Of course, it wouldn’t be polite to refuse when she’s offering to cover the gate fee.

「Okay. Then I’ll take the warp gate.」

「K.」

Indeed, in this world where warp gates exist, time was a commodity that could be bought with money. Moved by the taste of such capitalism, I stepped onto the warp gate bound for Gangnam District. This was the first time I would see her since our last meeting at the Hunter’s Union Guild.

AA Road 1002, BB Tower, Gangnam District.

Following the address written on the business card Choi Hwayoung Sunbae gave me last time, I arrived and found a three-story commercial building. A commercial building with a sign that read ‘Lakeside Pharmacy’ on the first floor.

“…It doesn’t really seem like the kind of place you’d call a ‘Tower’.”

Of course, being a three-story commercial building in Gangnam District, the price itself would be as high as a general shopping mall in a new city. The downside was that it was a small commercial building, only large enough for about one shop per floor. Even then, aside from the sign on the first floor, the other two floors didn’t seem to be operating any business.

“I came to the right place… right?”

If I exaggerated a bit, I might have thought it was an abandoned building where the business had closed down and the space was vacant. However, looking at the display cases of the first-floor shop, where various potions were lined up, it didn’t seem entirely like that. I was cautiously guessing that the second and third floors might be living quarters.

While I was wondering how to get inside, a KakaoTalk message chimed.

「When are you actually coming?」

It was a text message that seemed to contain a hint of annoyance.

「I’ve arrived. I’m on the first floor right now.」

「You should have said so earlier.」

With a click, the sound of the first-floor shop door opening from the inside was heard.

「I unlocked it. Close the door as you come in.」

「Okay.」

「Come up to the second floor. We’ll check the materials first before the transaction.」

Although I wanted to take a moment to look around the inside of the pharmacy with its various medicines displayed, my main objective was to build rapport with the client, so I went straight up to the second floor without doing anything unnecessary. As a slightly messy indoor scene came into view, and a strangely pungent smell of tobacco reached my nose, I finally saw Hwayoung Sunbae. She had a petite height, but possessed a chest that was anything but petite.

“You’re late.”

“……”

For the record, evaluating her breast size immediately upon meeting her after a long time was unavoidable. It was simply that her chest caught my eye first, so the assessment was involuntary.

“…Choi Hwayoung Sunbae-nim?”

“Yeah, what?”

Because Hwayoung Sunbae was facing me dressed in an outfit so revealing it could almost be considered semi-nude. She, presumably having just crawled out of bed, was wearing only two pieces of underwear, top and bottom. Since she already had a large chest that didn’t seem to match her small stature, it was natural for such thoughts to cross my mind.

“Your attire is a bit… much.”

“……Ah.”

Hearing my words, Hwayoung Sunbae glanced down at herself, then grabbed the robe draped over a chair and wrapped it around her body. Even so, the black underwear paired with the white robe wasn’t something that could be hidden even if she tried.

“Right, you’re a guy…. I’m so used to seeing only female hunters, I forgot….”

“It’s fine. I’ll just consider it good sightseeing.”

“…Tsk, sorry for showing you something you shouldn’t have seen.”

I meant it sincerely, but Hwayoung Sunbae seemed to think I was being sarcastic, blushing and pouting slightly. Like Cha Yuri, she apparently wasn’t very fond of her short height and lack of muscle.

“Enough of that, just give me the black slime fluid quickly. I’m in a hurry.”

“Ah, yes.”

I took out the bottle containing the black slime fluid and the cores from the bag disguised as a monster material pouch, placing them on the desk.

“Two, four, six, eight… huh?”

“What’s wrong?”

“…Isn’t this a bit much? I thought we agreed you’d sell ten of each last time we talked.”

“Since I delivered them a few days later than originally planned. As an apology, I collected 10 more of each.”

In reality, it was closer to the fact that I ended up hunting more because I was engrossed in sword training. As I mentioned before, black slime materials don’t fetch a good price when sold to the guild, so I figured it was better to utilize them this way. Since I wasn’t selling them to someone else, just delivering the extra materials to her, the person I was originally supposed to supply, there shouldn’t be any particular problem. The question was whether Hwayoung Sunbae would accept my goodwill straightforwardly as goodwill.

“Youuuu……”

“Yes?”

“Looking at you now, you’re totally an awesome guy!”

“…I appreciate you thinking so highly of me.”

I was momentarily taken aback by the sudden use of a decade-old catchphrase, but thankfully, maintaining my composure wasn’t difficult. Right, even if she looks like that, she’s a senior who was active and retired before me, so it’s not strange for her to use old slang.

After receiving the black slime materials, she suddenly started gauging my reaction.

“……Do you dislike cigarette smoke?”

“I don’t particularly like it, but I don’t particularly dislike it either.”

“Really? Then excuse me for a moment.”

“Huh?”

While I couldn’t immediately understand what she meant by ‘excuse me,’ she suddenly opened the second-floor room window outwards. She took out a tobacco pipe from her desk drawer and immediately held it in her hand. Then, she put tobacco leaves and a few drops of black slime fluid inside, flicked her finger, and lit the contents of the pipe.

…So that was the source of the cigarette smell evenly spreading throughout the room. I was momentarily flustered by the fact that the material was indeed purchased for smoking tar cigarettes, something I’d only half-believed, but since it wasn’t something I particularly needed to worry about, I just stayed quiet.

“Ssssuuuck.”

“……”

“Puhahahaha….”

I had never closely observed anyone smoking before, but seeing her smoke so deliciously made me feel like I wanted to try it myself. She definitely couldn’t be used as a model for a smoking cessation campaign.

“Puhah…. I feel alive….”

Her expression softened with a smile as she sat cross-legged on the chair. The underwear beneath the white robe she had bothered to tie was carelessly exposed.

Not wanting to remind her again, I just sat quietly this time and admired her figure. Her large breasts that seemed too big to fit in one hand. Her soft-looking thighs. And her belly, protruding just the right amount. It was a body type I had never seen before, as most women I had met so far were very strict about their self-management. I wondered what it would feel like to grab those plump hips like handles and move her body. If she, with her small frame, were to be held like that, she surely wouldn’t be able to resist and would be pulled right into my hands.

As I was having such slightly rude thoughts, Hwayoung Sunbae, who was taking a few more puffs, met my gaze.

“After retiring as a hunter, I really couldn’t find any way to get it. Just like last time, you really saved me, that…”

“It’s Kim Sungchul.”

“Oh, yeah. Sungchul Hubae.”

In response to her thanks, I nodded dumbly.

“Since it’s a request I took on, I have to complete it diligently.”

“Ah, right. Speaking of which, the payment settlement is still pending. …Take this.”

Saying that, Hwayoung Sunbae took out a relatively thick book from the desk and tossed it towards me.

“Those are the items our pharmacy handles. Just tell me the quantity and type of anything you like. I’ll adjust the price to match the request fee.”

“Everything in this book…?”

“Some might take time because we lack the materials, but more than 70% are items we currently sell or can make immediately. For the rest, if you procure the materials yourself, I’ll make them for you, minus just the production cost.”

Even though it looked like a considerably thick pharmacopoeia, she could make everything? …No, wait. Didn’t she clearly use fire magic just now to light the pipe? Could she be a dual-awakened individual?

“What are you doing? Don’t you need potions?”

“…No.”

Then again, we aren’t exactly close, so she probably wouldn’t answer honestly even if I asked right now. For now, I opened the first page of the pharmacopoeia to get an idea of what kind of medicines Hwayoung Sunbae handles. Right from the first page, I was confronted with a rather confusing sight.

“…Um, Hwayoung Sunbae.”

“What, have you already chosen?”

“…This is all written in a foreign language, so I can’t read any of it.”

When I opened the pharmacopoeia she handed me and showed it to her, she wore a slightly embarrassed expression.

“…Sorry, my mistake. This was supposed to be the translated version.”

Saying that, she swapped the pharmacopoeia I had for a new one and put the original book back in its place. If it had been in English or Chinese, I might have at least tried to read it. A pharmacopoeia written in bizarre characters I had never seen before was simply beyond my mental capacity to decipher. It wasn’t Russian, nor Arabic, but strange script. Do all the pharmacists in this world read and study books like these? It was a moment where my respect for potion manufacturers bloomed anew.