episode_0017

From what I heard muttering, it seemed like they had probably received a request to exterminate orcs.

Looking at the weapon he’s wearing, it looks like he’s a swordsman… Then synthetic tar potion is a bad choice.

Unless there are special cases such as shamans, orcs always fight at close range.

And because they have a very ferocious and fearless personality, they will even attack a dragon if it is near their habitat.

In other words, even if the body is on fire, rather than running away from the pain, it clings to it like crazy and rushes at it.

Then, close positions are likely to be dangerous.

Fire is definitely the orc’s weakness, but it is not a good idea to use synthetic tar on the orcs unless you want to set them on fire and run away.

It is effective to aim for instantaneous burn damage with fire magic.

“……”

I want to let you know.

I have now officially become an employee of the Academy, and as the owner of a general store, I need to teach my customers and students various things.

But wouldn’t you be surprised if someone who looked like an outsider suddenly started talking to you?

Wouldn’t they just not hear it and ignore it?

I hesitated because I was a little worried.

No, what reason is there to hesitate?

Now I’m a general store guy.

Isn’t it my role from now on to meddle with students and make a fuss about them?

“Student. If your opponent is an Orc, Tar is not a good choice. If the orcs rush in with fire on them, then there is a high risk that we will get burned.”

“…Yes?”

When I spoke, the female student who was looking at the tar potion looked at me in surprise.

Long black hair as smooth as ebony and beautiful black eyes set into calm eyes.

It looks like a personification of obsidian, full of charm.

“It is more effective to take advantage of the fact that they are ferocious and have difficulty controlling the opposite sex, and use pheromone bags or traps. Unless you have an orc shaman or chieftain, you cannot avoid many traps.”

“Ah… Yes.”

He looks dazed, but still listens.

You show a good attitude of listening even to the nonsense of someone you meet for the first time.

I think he is a good student.

“Thank you for letting us know. Ah, but who are you…”

Are you asking that now?

What an amazing friend.

Still, the fact that he’s hanging around the Academy General Store so openly means that he’s not a dangerous person.

It may be that there is no such thing as great vigilance.

“Ah, I am the successor to the general store where I started working today.”

“Ahh! I see.”

Then, any remaining caution and doubt disappeared from my face.

“As expected, you are a store owner, so you are very knowledgeable.”

“Haha, is that so.”

Well, in my case, I need to know these things to make life easier as an adventurer.

Also, I desperately memorized it because I thought it would be helpful.

“Then, as you said, a bag of pheromones to attract monsters…”

A pheromone bag that attracts monsters, as well as sprouted seeds of thorny plants and acid potions that can be used to lay traps.

Prepare quite thoroughly.

At most, it would be a D-rank level request, so the number of orcs would be fifteen at most.

You may be wondering if there is a need to prepare that much.

Those who are inherently relatively weak have no choice.

From the looks of it, that girl also seems a bit weak to deal with orcs.

So you probably want to prepare as thoroughly as possible.

There is certainly nothing wrong with being overly thorough in preparation.

The only people who don’t need help with things like that are monsters like Claude.

Of course, if you buy a lot of things, it will cost a bit more money.

That’s right, the Academy miscellaneous goods store is almost one-fifth the price of the existing store, so it’s much less burdensome.

“The pheromone bag is now sealed inside. If you pull this line, it will come loose and a smell will come out, so just pull it and throw it.”

“Thorn plant seeds grow almost as if they explode when shocked, so be as careful as possible. Well… unless you hit it with a knife, it won’t grow suddenly, so it’ll be okay.”

“You have to be really careful with acidic potions. Since it’s basically a throwing weapon, it’s a regular glass bottle, so it breaks easily when hit. It is packaged with a shock absorber that neutralizes acidic substances once they come into contact…”

Oops.

It’s been a while since I explained how to use items like this, so I got excited and started talking.

I glanced at the female student, wondering if I was being too reckless.

“Yes, yes… Oh, I wrote it all down so I wouldn’t forget it later.”

He smiles and shows the small note he is holding in his hand.

It looks like he was taking notes on everything I said.

Oh my… I can’t believe he listened to my explanation so passionately and even took notes.

I thought I could understand why teachers like students who work hard.

This really makes me very proud.

Could it be said that there is a feeling of satisfaction as if something is welling up in one’s heart?

Although I followed Claude and solved numerous requests and saved many people, the sense of satisfaction I felt back then was different.

No, perhaps I feel greater satisfaction.

“Hey! What are you buying?”

At that time, three male students who appeared to be the same age suddenly approached the female student from behind.

“You just need to bring a few healing potions.”

“What is this? Pocket?”

“Hey! This is not an acid potion. Buy this dangerous thing?”

Seeing them meddling so recklessly, it looks like they are her party members.

Judging by the spirit he felt, he was definitely stronger than her.

In terms of simple physical ability and aura, he is at the same level as me or slightly lower.

He is at least a C-rank adventurer.

On the other hand, even if the female student plays well, she is in the mid to low D rank.

I think he was probably aware of his lack of ability and tried to somehow supplement his power with potions and consumables from the general store.

“Don’t spend money for no reason, buy roughly.”

“Okay, if you have that money, let’s go to the tea shop over there for a cup of tea.”

“Is that good?”

“Ha, but…”

“……”

Three relatively strong male students ignore the female student’s opinion and try to lead her along.

For some reason, that image looks a little familiar.

The fact that the images of me, Claude, Mary, and Sophia overlap… I guess it’s not just my mood.

“, I’ll just buy this and go.”

“Ah, there’s no need for that either.”

“Leave it alone~ Weak people need their own preparations.”

“Kkkk, that’s right. Because if you do it wrong, you could die. We have to protect it~”

A look that subtly mocks the weak.

The moment when I was about to approach them to say something.

Bah! Wow!

“Uhm!”

“Evil!!”

Suddenly, someone appeared behind them and hit the boys on the back of the head.

“Stupid guys. The more prepared you are, the better.”

This is Mr. Larsen.

I didn’t learn swordsmanship properly, so I was just a teacher I saw in passing when I was at the academy.

Previously, I was one of the judges in the general store owner test.

“Ugh…”

“It hurts!”

The male students protest by stroking the back of their heads after being hit.

But Mr. Larsen said it as if it were obvious.

“Of course. Because I hit him until it hurt.”

Then he glanced at me and continued speaking.

“For adventurers, potions and consumables are like another life. Even A-rank adventurers spend money to buy potions. Things that can help you deal with various situations other than healing potions.”

Laughing at it as unnecessary is an act of insulting adventurers.

After saying those words, Mr. Larsen looked down at the male students.

“……”

I knew that potions and consumables were important to adventurers.

Because not everyone has a powerful wizard and a powerful priest.

In particular, I heard that A-rank and S-rank adventurers spend a lot of money to buy high-grade potions and consumables.

It felt like a spare life.

But I’ve always been with Claude, who doesn’t need anything like that.

Perhaps I had forgotten its importance a little.

…In fact, potions and consumables are essential for adventurers.

So, there is a miscellaneous goods store at the academy.

Maybe I was underestimating its importance, the value of the things I create… a little.

‘Of all the alchemists I’ve seen so far, you were the only one who achieved that level of performance given the time and materials required. ‘Why did I ask you to party with me for no reason?’

‘It’s just like what I heard from Lunarin. ‘I don’t think you know your own value yet.’

‘Do not worry. ‘If you work here, you’ll quickly see your worth.’

Suddenly, the words of Lunarin and the Chairman pass through my mind.

Maybe it’s because I’ve been treated as worthless for too long.

Could it be that I am undermining my own worth?

It gave me an opportunity to think again.

…Thank you, Mr. Larsen.

Perhaps because he is an academy teacher, he also teaches people who graduated a long time ago.

“…?”

When I gave him a look filled with gratitude and respect, Mr. Larsen just tilted his head.

You just don’t know.

Because I just gained enlightenment from what he said, according to my own will.

“There, there.”

“…?”

At that time, another student came up to me next to me.

Not the girl with the ebony hair from earlier, but another male student.

He hesitated for a moment in a hesitant manner, then opened his mouth.

“Well… I didn’t mean to, but I heard you talking to Riley earlier.”

Ahhh.

Right.

That girl… her name is Riley.

I think I overheard him talking excitedly to Riley.

Maybe you were in a bad mood… I guess that’s not the case.

“Can you tell me something useful when dealing with kobolds?”

Contrary to his worries, he was actually asking me for help.

“Oh, me too… It’s about clearing out dire wolves.”

“Our party is focused on long distances, but then…”

Quite a few students must have heard what I excitedly explained, and they started flocking to me and asking for advice.

I probably felt that way more because I had just heard Professor Larsen talk about ‘how important potions and consumables are.’

“Uh, uh, that means…”

oh my god.

This is the first time in my life that so many people are asking me questions… I’m so embarrassed.

But on the other hand, joy was blooming.

This job… might be a better fit for you than you thought?