By the time the sun had climbed considerably higher, Raphtalia had been waiting for me to wake up.
"Are we going to the Castle Town? *Cough*"
"Yeah."
She was coughing again.
Without a word, I handed her a Basic Medicine. Raphtalia made a face but drank it anyway.
After that, we headed to the Potion Shop to request a buyback.
"Hmm... the quality isn't bad. Are you well-versed in pharmacology, Hero?"
I was starting to feel like a regular customer here, but I showed her the potions I'd made.
"No, I just made them for the first time yesterday. Which is more profitable — selling herbs directly or selling potions?"
"That's a tough call. Herbs are more versatile, but potions have their own advantages in many situations."
The Potion Shop owner glanced at Raphtalia with a grim expression, but either she understood that trying to shortchange me or feed me lies would get her caught, or she simply chose to be honest.
"Lately, sales have been good thanks to the effects of the prophecy, so for now at least, the buyback price for potions is higher."
"Hmm..."
I considered the risk of failure against the buyback price, and how much money would vanish if I needed to acquire all the equipment. No way to know for that last one.
But times were what they were. Better to have the tools ready — no loss in that.
"Hey, do you have any equipment you're not using anymore?"
"...About two weeks of you selling herbs here. I figured you'd ask eventually."
The Potion Shop owner's face was unreadable — I couldn't tell if she was smiling. But she understood what I was getting at.
This time, on the condition that I give her some lessons, she gave me the herbs for free, agreed to buy the potions, and threw in some secondhand equipment.
Beyond the mortar, I received all sorts of tools.
A pill grinder, measuring instruments, a flask, a distiller, and more.
The kind of stuff that would cost a decent amount if bought new.
"These are just used items that have been gathering dust in my warehouse, so there's no telling when they might break."
"They're good tools for a beginner though."
Either way, I could now attempt mixing and compounding.
All that was left was disposing of the Balloons.
While having the buyback merchant purchase the Balloon balloons from me...
A child passing by caught my eye.
It looked like torn Balloon balloons had been sewn together into a ball and were being sold. The kids were bouncing the Balloons around and playing with them like a ball.
Raphtalia was watching them with envy in her eyes.
"Hey, what's that over there?"
"Hm?"
I pointed at the ball the child was holding and asked the buyback merchant.
"Ah, an alternative use for the Balloon balloons."
"I see. Could you make one for me, deducting the cost from the buyback amount?"
"Um, well... I suppose that's fine."
The buyback merchant accepted the items, handed over the payment, and gave me one ball made from Balloon balloons.
"Here."
I tossed the ball I'd received over to Raphtalia.
Raphtalia looked back and forth between the ball and my face several times, her eyes going wide.
"What? You don't want it?"
"N-no..."
Raphtalia shook her head rapidly and broke into a happy smile.
First time she'd smiled.
"Once you're done with today's work, you can go play, alright?"
"Yeah!"
She seemed to cheer up a bit. Good sign.
If Raphtalia got her spirits up, I was the one who'd benefit.
After that, we walked to the same forest as yesterday and repeated the cycle of gathering and monster hunting.
I pushed the boundaries of how far I could venture using my own high defense.
...There was supposedly a village beyond the forest, but that miserable woman's recommendation of that route pissed me off, so I rejected it.
Things went fairly well — I found all sorts of things, and since I still had room to spare, I extended my range closer to the mountain.
Oh? An enemy I hadn't seen before.
Some kind of egg-shaped creature.
Ecologically, they seemed like relatives of the Balloons.
"First time fighting this monster. I'll go in first to check it out. If it looks safe, you thrust, got it?"
"Okay!"
Good response.
I charged toward the monster, and it noticed me and bared its fangs.
*BANG!*
Still zero damage, as expected. Didn't feel a thing — not even an itch.
I put it in a chokehold and positioned it so Raphtalia could get a clean thrust.
"Tah!"
Her thrust pierced through the monster with more force than yesterday.
Eggg
That was the enemy from just now.
The Eggg cracked apart with a sharp snap, and the yolk scattered everywhere.
"Bleh, gross!"
I wondered if the shell was sellable. What a waste.
It smelled rotten too, so eating it was probably out of the question.
I had the shield absorb the shell for now.
Similarly, several more Egggs appeared, and Raphtalia dispatched them with practiced ease.
**Egg Shield** conditions unlocked.
**Egg Shield** Ability not yet unlocked... Equipment Bonus, Cooking 1
Another skill-based one.
Cooking this time.
And sure enough, a color-variant monster appeared, and we kept hunting.
**Blue Egg Shield** conditions unlocked.
**Sky Egg Shield** conditions unlocked.
**Blue Egg Shield** Ability not yet unlocked... Equipment Bonus, Appraise 1
**Sky Egg Shield** Ability not yet unlocked... Equipment Bonus, Beginner Cooking Recipes
Why was it always skill-based drops?
Did it depend on the monster type?
Well, in the meantime I'd been gathering unfamiliar herbs and all sorts of things too.
If we kept going deeper into the mountain, it was going to get dark soon.
Right now, Raphtalia's equipment still left me uneasy.
And then, the day's harvest:
Me — Lv 8
Raphtalia — Lv 7
Damn. She was starting to catch up.
It wasn't really her fault since she was the one getting the kills, but still...
Ugh...
"I'm hungry..."
Raphtalia said to me with a troubled look.
"Yeah, let's head back and eat."
We called off the exploration and headed back to the Castle Town.
Once inside the Castle Town, I had the buyback merchant purchase the Eggg shells and other materials that didn't seem useful for compounding.
Combined with what I'd sold earlier in the day, it came to nine Silver Coins.
I had my doubts about what those shells could possibly be used for, but the surprisingly high buyback price was a welcome surprise.
The herbs and potions had sold well too. Now, what should we eat today?
Just as I was thinking about it, I noticed Raphtalia staring at a food stall, drooling.
I didn't intend to spoil her, but she'd been earning her keep. Fine, then.
"Let's get that today."
"Huh? Really?"
"You want to eat it, don't you?"
At my question, Raphtalia gave a firm nod.
She was starting to open up.
"*Cough*..."
She was coughing again.
Without a word, I handed her a Basic Medicine and ordered what looked like mashed potato formed into a shape and threaded onto a stick from the stall.
"Here. You did great today."
When I handed her the stick, Raphtalia had finished her medicine and accepted it with a bright smile, stuffing her cheeks.
"Thank you!"
"O-oh..."
...I was glad she was back in good spirits.
Munching as we walked, I looked for a cheap inn and ducked inside.
"Are we staying here tonight?"
"Yeah."
I wasn't about to stay up all night because of Raphtalia's night crying, and fighting Balloons was backbreaking work.
We stepped into the inn.
The owner took one look at me and openly twisted his face in distaste, but quickly switched to his business smile.
"I've got a companion here who might cry at night. Would you mind putting us up?"
I half-threatenedly flashed a Balloon hidden inside my cloak.
"That... that's—"
"You'll do it, right? I'll keep her as quiet as possible."
"Y-yes."
Since coming to this world, I'd learned that intimidation was a necessary element of doing business.
The people in the kingdom treated me as a target for mockery, but even if damage occurred, they couldn't exactly report it to the king.
Well, even if they could report it, they'd probably just let me run free anyway.
What a half-assed other world.
I paid the fee, rented a room, and we set down our luggage.
Raphtalia was clutching the ball, her eyes shining.
"Make sure you're back before the sun sets completely. Also, try to play somewhere close to the inn."
"Okay!"
She really was just a kid her age, after all.
Demi-humans were apparently objects of contempt, but if she was treated as an adventurer, it shouldn't cause too many problems.
From the window, I watched Raphtalia playing ball below while I studied compounding.
Then... about twenty minutes later, maybe?
A child's loud voice carried up from below.
"Why's a Demi-human playing in our turf?!"
What was that? I looked out the window.
Some obnoxious little brats were getting in Raphtalia's face, talking aggressively.
Wherever you go in any world, there are always kids like that.
"This kid's got some good stuff — hand it over."
"Huh? Umm, that..."
Raphtalia apparently knew that Demi-humans had a low social standing. She showed no sign of pushing back.
Sigh...
I left the room and headed down the stairs.
"I said hand it over."
"N-no..."
Raphtalia was refusing weakly, but the brats were closing in as a group, clearly planning to take it by force.
"Wait a second, you little punks."
"What do you want, old man?"
Guh — old man?!
Whatever. I was technically twenty in this world, but I didn't know the age of adulthood here. Could be an old man for all I knew.
"What kind of twisted logic lets you demand someone else's belongings?"
"Huh? That ball isn't yours, is it?"
"It is mine. I lent it to this child. Taking it from her means taking it from me."
"What are you talking about, old man?"
Sigh... apparently their blood was pumping too hard to think straight.
I wouldn't show mercy even to kids. Anyone who tried to steal from others deserved to learn a lesson.
"Is that so? Well then, let me give you a special ball I've been saving."
At my tone, Raphtalia let out a sharp breath and choked out a warning to the other kids.
"Run!"
But the brats were looking at me with contemptuous smirks.
Laughing on the inside, I pulled out the Balloon that had been gnawing on my arm.
*BITE!*
"GYAAAAAAAAHH!"
I let the Balloon chomp down on one of the kids, then immediately tucked it back inside my cloak.
"Sooo — are you sure I should give you this ball after all?"
"OWWW!"
"You gotta be kidding me, you crazy bastard!"
"Drop dead! Idiot!"
"Don't mess with me, you little shits!"
I hurled insults at the brats as they ran off, then headed back inside.
"U-um..."
Raphtalia tugged at my cloak.
"Hey, there's a Balloon in there."
She flinched and yanked her hand away in fear, but tentatively looked up at my face and smiled.
"Thank you."
What was she even saying.
"Ah..."
I ruffled Raphtalia's hair until it was messy, then headed back into the inn.