Chapter 15: Selling Even More Herbs
“What… what… is this…?”
Merlin’s eyes widened beneath the shadow of her bangs.
What she was staring at so intently was the healing potion she had just brewed moments ago.
Healing potions were categorized by quality and effectiveness: common, superior, and finest. Normally, the effects were immediately obvious when used, but Merlin possessed the gift of Herbalist’s Insight, allowing her to judge the potion’s quality at a glance.
“Superior… no, that’s not right… this is… definitely finest…”
Finest-grade healing potions were nearly impossible to find in the market. Even Merlin had never managed to brew one herself; she had only ever seen one in her entire life, and that was years ago.
“There’s no way… just by brewing it normally… I could produce a finest-grade healing potion… That Aim Herb… where on earth did you even find it…?”
If something like this were sold openly in a shop, it could cause serious problems. This was, after all, just a small, privately run herbalist shop.
“I’ll have to dilute it a bit before selling….”
She resolved to adjust it to at least superior-grade quality, just to play it safe.
◇ ◇ ◇
“Onii-chan! Guess what I heard!”
My younger sister burst into the house with all the energy of a whirlwind, stomping noisily across the wooden floor.
“You sold a bunch of herbs to Merlin-san!”
“Yeah, now we can cultivate them ourselves.”
“Thanks to that, we got tons of healing potions! And cheap, too!”
“That’s great.”
“Not great at all! That just means we’ll be able to go on even longer adventures.”
Her dissatisfaction was clear—she looked as if to say, “Thanks a lot for making things more complicated.”
“But Shifa-oneechan seemed really happy! She said she wants to thank you somehow next time.”
“R-really?”
Yes! Just as planned.
I wonder… what kind of thanks will Shifa-san give…?
Could it… possibly be a date!?
“What’s wrong, Onii-chan? Smiling like that?”
“N-nothing.”
“You look creepier than usual.”
“Shut up.”
Just then, Sena’s eyes, trained on the window outside, widened in astonishment.
“Wha—Onii-chan!? Doesn’t the garden look… bigger!?”
“It’s bigger now.”
“The house next door is gone, and it’s connected to ours!? What does that mean!?”
“That’s part of our land now. I expanded the vegetable garden.”
“Wow… did the golem increase too?”
“Yeah, one isn’t enough to guard everything properly.”
With the garden expansion, the area that needed defending had also increased, so two more golems were added for protection.
“Everything’s just… possible now, huh?”
“Not everything. You can only expand the garden on land you own; turning a random road into a garden is impossible.”
“Huh… so as long as it’s unowned land, you can grow as much as you want?”
“Not unlimited. There’s a maximum area.”
Higher levels would increase that limit, but realistically, there was no need to push it that far.
The next day, I brought the newly cultivated herbs to Merlin’s shop.
“Welcome! Ah, it’s you from the other day—”
“Hello, Denis-chan—uh, I mean, Denis-kun.”
“Ugh… everyone sees me as a girl anyway…”
I had only made a small mistake; he shouldn’t make that face. It just makes him look even more like a girl.
“…Welcome…”
Merlin emerged from the back of the shop, still carrying that slightly undead aura about her.
“You brought… the Aim Herb…?”
“Yes. Here it is.”
“…Amazing… this much…”
Her eyes widened, and she stared at the pile before her.
“Really… where are you finding these…? The quality is unreal… they’re saturated with magic… around here, you’d have to go deep into a dungeon to find anything like this…”
“Uh… well… that’s a trade secret.”
Merlin shot me a skeptical glance, but didn’t press further. I then placed the other plants I had grown onto the counter.
“And these…?”
“Anything that might be useful?”
She examined each one carefully.
“…This Bira Herb… poisonous… could coat a sword… effective even against large monsters… This Shi Herb, on the other hand, is an antidote… Deef Herb, also called Numb Herb… eating it causes numbness… sometimes used as anesthesia… Jiich Herb is Sleep Herb… can be made into a sleeping potion…”
As expected of a skilled herbalist—her knowledge was encyclopedic.
“…And this… Fai Herb…? Also called Fire-Spitting Herb… can be thrown to make fire potions explode…”
I hadn’t realized potions could be thrown. I always assumed they were just for drinking.
“This is rare too… Hiyari Herb… only seen in the encyclopedia… first time seeing it in real life… and this Air Herb… Pika-Pika Herb glows even in darkness… can be used as a torch… Magari Herb… used to make potions that repel monsters…”
Leaning over the counter, Merlin’s eyes gleamed beneath her bangs, sparkling with a strange intensity. Scary.
“You… you’re going to sell me all of this…?”
“Sure.”
“Yes… finally, I can put my skills to work…”
Merlin looked genuinely happy. A little eccentric, yes, but clearly a highly skilled herbalist.
“Guhahaha… with Numb Herb… I could… Denis-chan…”
…Maybe some things shouldn’t have been handed over to her.
Sorry, Denis-kun… I can’t do anything, but I’ll be cheering for you quietly from the sidelines. You’ve got this.