Chapter 109: The Apothecary’s Melancholy
“…Merlin-san?”
Curled up in the far corner of the garden plot was Merlin-san, the apothecary who was always helping us out.
“Wh-what happened? What about the shop…?”
“Aaaan–ta–no–seeei–yo!!”
“Wah!?”
The moment I nervously stepped closer, she suddenly sprang to her feet and lunged at me. The eyes peeking out from behind her long bangs were shining with a feverish madness.
“I’ll kill you… and then I’ll die too…”
“P-please calm down! What happened!?”
“Hah… hah…”
“You’re already out of breath!?”
Her stamina really is nonexistent… exactly as she looks.
The strength drained from the hands gripping my shoulders, and Merlin-san collapsed where she stood, wheezing harshly.
“If… if it’s come to this… I’ll just use poison… and end it…”
“H-hey, stop that!?”
Why does she have this much murderous intent toward me…?
“Merlin, are you okay? You look even more worn out than usual.”
Anii-san called out in concern.
I’d like her to be at least a little concerned about the one almost getting murdered.
“Merlin-san, what happened?”
“She must be overworking! This is why humans shouldn’t work at all!”
Even Shiifa-san worried for her.
Sena, please be quiet.
At last, seeming slightly calmer, Merlin-san muttered in her usual faint voice.
“…Apothecarys… keep showing up at my place… asking me to share my recipes… or where I gather my materials… Some even want to become my apprentices… I refuse, of course… but they keep coming back… sneaking into my home… until late at night…”
It sounded like her name had spread so widely that even stalker-like people had begun showing up. For someone as shy as Merlin-san, that was sheer torment, and she hadn’t been sleeping well for days.
Is that… my fault…?
Well, in a roundabout way, maybe… but I really don’t want to be murdered over it.
Either way, in her current state she couldn’t possibly work properly. Shiifa-san still had some stock of the potions she usually bought from Merlin-san, but sooner or later they’d run out.
“So basically, you need a place to hide out for a while, right?”
Saying that, I looked toward one corner of the garden.
〈Would you like to generate a hut?〉
I nodded at the voice, and a small hut appeared there.
“Eh? H-hold on, something just popped up out of nowhere?”
“…A hut?”
“That… wasn’t there a moment ago, right?”
Come to think of it, I hadn’t shown them this skill yet.
Ignoring everyone’s shock, I turned to Merlin-san.
“You can use this hut however you like.”
And just like that, Merlin-san ended up living in my yard for a while.
“Thank you so much, Geo-san. I think Merlin-san will be able to work quietly here. But still… did you really build this hut just for her?”
Denis-kun had hurried over and thanked me as well. Apparently Merlin-san had disappeared so suddenly that he’d been searching everywhere for her.
“I was really worried, you know. At least tell me first next time.”
“…Sorry…”
“Well, you’re safe, so that’s what matters. And don’t worry about the shop. Leave that to me.”
“…Mm.”
Denis-kun—this may sound odd, but he’s surprisingly dependable.
From now on, anything Merlin-san made here would be carried to the shop by Denis-kun and sold there. He already came to my place to pick up herbs anyway, so it wouldn’t add that much extra work.
“Denis-chan, you should come live here too…”
“I’ll pass.”
He rejected Merlin-san’s suggestion without hesitation.
Come to think of it, where does Denis-kun live?
“Me? At the orphanage. My parents abandoned me when I was small, so I grew up there. But things have been difficult financially. I wanted to help, so I worked hard looking for a job, but nothing came up… That’s when Merlin-san reached out to me.”
“I just knew it…! This child would look absolutely perfect in a maid uniform! …And that was that.”
That was the reason…?
Still, it was unusual for Merlin-san to approach someone herself. She almost never even went outside.
“My previous assistant quit… so I was about to put up a job notice when Denis-chan just happened to walk by…”
“She suddenly sprinted toward me so fast I nearly ran away…”
In the end, what convinced him was simply the good pay. Despite appearances, Merlin-san’s skills as an apothecary had been well-regarded for a long time, and he earned a respectable income.
“Well… when I heard the uniform was a maid outfit, I did consider turning the job down…”
“I added a uniform allowance…”
So that’s why he wears it even though he hates it that much… a sneaky tactic based on knowing his financial situation…
“I tried offering a ‘lover allowance’ too, but he refused…”
“If you abuse your authority any more, Denis-kun really will quit…”