"It's right here!"
A boy's energetic voice rang out through the surroundings.
At the sound, Rei turned his gaze to the shop before him.
It wasn't quite in a back alley, but it sat quietly off the main street—a place that looked decidedly shady at a glance.
That said, since he'd heard about it from the Abuelo Stall Owner and the Children had led him here, there was no mistaking that this was the shop he'd been searching for—one that sold potions and the like.
"Got it. I'm going to do some shopping, so you guys play with Set."
"Yaaay!"
At Rei's words, the leader-like boy beamed with delight.
Following their leader's lead, the others showed equally happy expressions.
Initially, a few among the Children had been afraid of Set, but on the walk over, Set had played with them just as he did back in Gilm.
As a result, even the children who had once been frightened no longer saw Set as a threat—they now regarded him as a friend who would play with them.
In that regard, it was probably because they were children that they could adapt so readily.
"Hehe, Set really is amazing."
Watching Set become friends with the Children in the blink of an eye, Vihera murmured her admiration.
Rei agreed. He watched the sight of Set carrying a child on his back for a moment... then, after about thirty seconds, decided to head inside the shop.
"Welcome."
Huh, Rei thought.
Called out to the instant he stepped inside, Rei was slightly surprised by how quickly the clerk responded.
At shops like this, it wasn't uncommon for clerks to fail to notice a customer—or even if they did, to not bother calling out unless the person clearly looked like a wealthy patron.
...Of course, Rei was another matter entirely. His Dragon Robe's concealment effect masked its true quality, making him look like nothing more than a young mage apprentice. Vihera, however, was clad in a garment so sheer that the opposite side was nearly visible, giving her the appearance of a Dancer or one of the Prostitutes.
Setting Rei aside, with the latter's appearance, it wouldn't be strange for Vihera to be judged as a high-paying customer with money to spend.
(But the biggest reason is probably that they were making noise out front, huh.)
Even now, the cheerful shouts of the Children playing with Set could be heard from inside the shop.
Given that, it wasn't hard for the clerk to sense someone was at the entrance.
The fact that she had called out to them under those circumstances led Rei to conclude that she was likely a decent person.
"Just to confirm—this is a shop that sells Magic Items, right?"
"Yes, of course. We have a variety of items. What sort of thing are you looking for?"
The clerk didn't look down on Rei based on his appearance—though she did seem somewhat captivated by Vihera's beauty and figure—and that earned Rei's further approval.
"My main goal is potions. If I asked for everything in stock... the residents here might be in trouble, so give me all you can spare."
"...Huh?"
The words that came out of Rei's mouth were apparently far beyond expectation, and the clerk stood there with her mouth hanging open in astonishment.
That said, it was a natural reaction. A shopping trip like Rei's—walking into a shop and saying "I'll take everything from here to there"—was rare, after all.
Then, to the still-stunned clerk, Rei delivered a follow-up blow... or rather, another line.
"Besides potions, I'd also like to buy any special... unusual Magic Items you might have. Any recommendations?"
"Um, well..."
Even after Rei finished speaking and several tens of seconds had passed, the clerk still couldn't pull herself together from the shock. But after about a minute, she finally managed to find her voice.
"Setting aside recommended Magic Items, buying all the sellable potions will come to quite a price, you know..."
The clerk was implicitly asking whether Rei could pay, but he reached into his Misty Ring, withdrew five Platinum Coins, and placed them on the counter.
"!"
The clerk startled at the sudden appearance of the Platinum Coins... but in the next instant, Rei placed a single Light Gold Coin on the counter beside them.
"!"
By now, the clerk was so thoroughly stunned that she couldn't even make a sound.
Since the shop dealt in Magic Items, high-value items naturally carried considerable price tags. In fact, this shop did stock Magic Items priced at several Platinum Coins.
However, such Magic Items naturally didn't find buyers easily, and above all, the clerk had never expected someone like Rei to so casually lay down items like Platinum Coins and Light Gold Coins.
If the clerk had an eye for appraising Magic Items, she might have noticed the true quality of Rei's and Vihera's equipment. Unfortunately, while she sold Magic Items, she didn't possess the kind of discerning eye that could judge their quality.
That was probably why she never imagined Rei was that kind of top-tier customer.
That said, it wasn't particularly strange. If this city were a Frontier like Gilm or a major metropolis like the Royal Capital, there would likely be clerks with a fair appraisal eye. But this city had nothing noteworthy about it—it was truly just an ordinary city.
Given that it was a shop in such a place, it was certain that the clerk's discerning skills were by no means exceptional.
"So, could you bring me all the potions I can buy? Like I said earlier, just enough that the residents of this city won't be left short, alright?"
Given her earlier astonishment, Rei figured that if he simply told her to bring potions, she might well bring every last one in stock.
With that in mind, he made a point of reiterating that she didn't need to bring everything.
"Y-yes. I'll go get them, so please wait a moment."
Saying that, the clerk headed toward the back of the shop.
That left only Rei and Vihera inside. The fact that the clerk wasn't wary of Magic Items being stolen... or rather, that she was too shocked to even consider it, left Rei feeling exasperated.
(Well, if it were a village, that'd be one thing, but this is a fairly large city. Would someone actually try something like that?)
Even as he thought that, it was actually not at all unusual to Rei.
It went back to when he was still in Japan, before coming to Elgin.
The area where Rei had lived was the countryside, and they only ever locked their doors at night. Even when going out during the day, more often than not the doors were left unlocked.
And yet, it was perfectly normal for someone to stop by while the family was out and leave a share of food inside the entrance... things like that happened all the time.
Or in the case of a shop, the owner might step out for an errand and casually leave someone to watch over the place.
Having grown up in that kind of environment, Rei had been genuinely surprised when he saw on TV that people in the city locked their doors just to take out the trash.
"Isn't she a bit careless?"
Vihera murmured, apparently having the same impression of the clerk's attitude.
"It was so sudden—she was probably just caught off guard. Besides, it's proof that this city is peaceful, isn't it?"
If it were a village, that'd be one thing, but this was a city of a larger scale.
Given that, there were no doubt a fair number of people who could be called villains, but in that sense, Vihera probably felt there was no particular cause for concern here.
Or perhaps it was simply that no blatantly wicked types happened to be around this shop.
(Then again, this is a shop that sells Magic Items. When you think about it that way, it wouldn't be strange for people with bad intentions to be drawn to it.)
Fundamentally, Magic Items were expensive.
Well, there were some that were commonly used and affordable even to those who didn't earn a living as an Adventurer.
For instance, cheap potions used by ordinary people as a substitute for wound medicine sold reasonably well.
What Rei wanted, though, was not the kind of potions that ordinary people used.
"Thank you for waiting! Here's the first batch!"
The clerk emerged from the back carrying a box.
Inside was a considerable number of potions—easily enough to satisfy Rei.
If this was only the first batch, there must be many more similar potions besides.
For Rei, having this many potions available was a real help.
A real help, yes—but if she kept bringing every last potion in the shop like this, he couldn't help wondering if she was also bringing potions meant for use in this city, just as he'd cautioned at the start.
"Having a lot of potions is great and all, but is it really okay for this city's share? I don't want any blame later if you sell us everything and then, when it comes down to it, there aren't enough potions and it ends up being our fault."
If, for some reason down the line, the potions used in this city ran out, Rei didn't want to be told that an Adventurer named Rei... the adventurer with the alias of Crimson had bought them all out, and that was why the shelves were empty.
That was what he was thinking, but the clerk simply smiled, showing there was nothing to worry about.
"It's fine. There's a Pharmacist in this city who's good at making potions."
"...I don't mean to be rude, but wouldn't a pharmacist like that be better off working somewhere where potions are in higher demand?"
Vihera voiced the question, and the clerk replied with a complicated expression.
"Well, you see... that pharmacist is amazing when it comes to the speed of making potions, but the effects are only so-so. Ah, of course, that's by the standards of an Adventurer using them."
"I see. But even for potions like that, I'd think there are plenty of people who'd want them."
In a Frontier like Gilm or a Labyrinth City, one needed to minimize baggage as much as possible, so carrying around a large quantity of mediocre potions simply wasn't feasible.
If you had a Misty Ring like Rei, that was another story—but of course, people like that weren't exactly a dime a dozen.
"It's fine. We're not the only shop selling potions, you know. As you can see, we have quite a lot in stock, so I'd actually appreciate it if you bought them."
"Well, if there's no problem for this city and you're willing to sell, I'll gladly buy them, but... are you absolutely sure?"
"Yes, of course. Please, buy them all."
She stated it so readily, and the casualness of her attitude still didn't sit entirely right with Rei. But if she was willing to go that far, he nodded and accepted it.
"Got it. Then sell me everything you can."
"Thank you very much!"
At Rei's words, the clerk bowed deeply.
From her perspective, Rei was probably the best customer she could possibly ask for.
Selling off all the sellable potions would deplete the shop's stock, but all she had to do then was restock—that was the simple reality of it.
Given that, the option of not selling here didn't even exist.
"Then, there's still more besides this, so I'll go bring it. Please wait just a little longer."
With that, she disappeared into the back once again.
Rei watched her go, then turned to inspect the potions inside the box.
The potions in the bottles were by no means high quality compared to those sold in Gilm.
No—it would be more accurate to call them low quality.
But considering that a frontier had abundant materials, drawing in skilled Alchemists and Pharmacists seeking them out, the difference in quality was only natural.
Besides, even potions like these had a reasonable restorative effect, so they had plenty of uses.
"So-so, huh."
Vihera, who had leaned in to peer at the potions Rei was examining, offered her assessment.
Vihera had been active as an Adventurer ever since fleeing the Bestia Empire.
Naturally, she'd purchased potions herself on many occasions, and she had the eye to judge their quality.
Even from her perspective, the quality of these potions was apparently at the so-so level.
They were neither so shoddy that one would hesitate to buy them, nor so exceptional that one would pay a fortune to obtain them... to put it simply, they were goods worth their price.
Well, he hadn't actually heard the exact price yet, so whether they were truly worth it remained to be seen.
"I think this shop was an unexpected find, though. What do you think?"
"That might be true for the potions, but none of the other Magic Items here look like they'll stimulate your interest, Rei."
At Vihera's words, Rei looked around the shop... and found himself nodding in agreement.