“Next.”
At the gates of Baker City, the guard responsible for registration was just about to yawn when a massive shadow suddenly blocked out the sunlight in front of him.
The guard froze, then looked up. His mouth slowly dropped open, and the yawn stuck in his throat.
A makeshift cart, pieced together from a few wooden planks, was slowly rolling towards the city gate.
Pulling the cart was not a cow or a horse, but a young man carrying a greatsword on his back.
And stacked like firewood on the cart behind him were more than a dozen people.
Sitting atop this pile of “human cargo” was a young girl.
“This group of yours… is a bit odd.” The guard stared for a long time before finally blurting this out.
Could it be anything but odd?
Celia complained inwardly.
There weren’t any spare oxen or horses in the village, and Aunt Colton wasn’t here. Even the cart they took to the city had been cobbled together at the last minute.
She couldn’t very well be the one pulling the cart like some draft animal, could she?
So, the only choice was to let the Hero Candidate suffer a bit.
“Could you let us through? I need to go to the Association to sell materials.” Elent wiped the sweat from his forehead and gave a simple, honest smile.
……
Inside the Association hall, the place was packed with people.
Adventurers searching for quests crowded around the commission board, and the clerks behind the counter were busy beyond belief.
“Excuse me, please make way.”
Dragging the cart that attracted a hundred percent of the stares, Elent squeezed out a path through the throng in the bustling hall.
The adventurers who had been bragging loudly fell silent in an instant, consciously parting to either side and giving the strange group the center stage.
Elent stopped the cart in the middle of the hall, untied the rope, and dumped more than a dozen people onto the floor as if unloading cargo.
“Ow!”
“That hurts, damn it!”
Garr immediately let out a miserable scream. But as soon as he lifted his head and saw the circle of onlooking adventurers—and that young menace standing in front of him—he instantly shrank back and played dead.
Celia hopped off the cart and walked over to the counter.
Behind the counter, the old Appraiser who had previously bought the Magical Wolf Hide for twenty Gold Coins was studying a piece of ore with his Magnifying Glass.
Hearing the commotion, the old Appraiser looked up. But when he saw it was the big oaf and the Priestess, his hand trembled and he nearly dropped his Magnifying Glass.
Especially when he recognized the familiar pile of merchandise on the floor—the elite members of the Adventuring Party Red Fang—his face went a bit pale.
“Well, look who it is, fancy seeing you again.”
Celia leaned on the counter, her emerald eyes staring at the Appraiser.
“Did you sleep well last night, old man?”
“Er, well enough, I suppose.” The Appraiser avoided Celia’s gaze, pretending to busy himself with the documents on the desk.
“Are you here to sell materials again? What is it this time—hides?”
“Not hides this time. People.”
Celia pointed at the pile of bandits behind her.
“These folks say someone told them I had some nice goods here, so they came all the way to collect. Since it was a business introduced by a mutual acquaintance, I figured I’d drop by for a return visit.”
Cold sweat beaded on the Appraiser’s forehead.
“I wouldn’t know anything about that. People come and go at the Association every day—who knows who told them.”
“Really?”
This old man’s act was even worse than Elent’s lies.
Celia didn’t bother to expose him. She simply pulled out a glass bottle.
Inside the bottle was a black liquid swirling with sinister bubbles. Occasionally, a purple arc of lightning would flicker inside.
“Well, if it’s all just a misunderstanding, then never mind.”
Celia began to shake the bottle violently. The already restless black liquid frothed and surged, bubbling even more furiously.
“What’s that?” The Appraiser stared at the bottle, a sense of dread rising in his heart.
“Oh, this is a new Alchemical Potion I developed. Supposedly, it works wonders for blindness and guilty consciences,” Celia said offhandedly, still shaking the bottle.
“Since you say you don’t know anything, how about helping me appraise this?”
With that, Celia pointed the mouth of the bottle right at the Appraiser.
“That won’t be necessary. That thing looks unstable—”
“Oops, slipped.”
Before the Appraiser could finish, Celia flicked open the bottle.
A jet of black liquid shot out along with a spray of foam, splattering all over the Appraiser’s face.
“Ahh, my eyes!!!”
The Appraiser screamed as black foam covered his entire face. The liquid, laced with a trace of Thunder Element, poured into his nose and mouth.
The surrounding adventurers gasped—was this girl really so ruthless?
But in the next instant, the Appraiser’s screams abruptly stopped.
He opened his eyes wide and stuck out his tongue to lick the foam from his lips.
It was intense, but oddly delicious.
A sensation he’d never felt before exploded on the tip of his tongue, tingling electric currents shooting straight up to his crown.
“Hic!”
Unable to hold it in, the Appraiser let out a loud, resounding burp that echoed through the silent hall.
He smacked his lips in disbelief.
“What—what flavor is this? It’s strong, but kind of invigorating?”
Celia placed the half-empty bottle of ‘Happy Water’ on the counter. Her smile vanished, replaced by a look of pained indignation.
“This is none other than Abyssal Black Dragon’s Breath, brewed by myself with forty-nine rare ingredients over three days and nights!”
“I’d planned to save it for the finale at the auction house, but now it’s all ruined.”
Celia slammed her hand on the counter.
“This potion, plus my mental anguish, plus the disposal fee for that pile of trash on the floor…”
“Thank you for your patronage. Fifty Gold Coins.”
“Fifty?!” The Appraiser’s eyes bulged as he was about to protest this was daylight robbery.
“Hmm?”
Elent, who’d been standing quietly behind Celia, stepped forward.
The Hero Candidate lifted Garr one-handed, like picking up a chick, and with his other hand idly spun a curved blade he’d seized from the bandits.
Since the magnetic energy in his body hadn’t completely faded, the curved blade seemed to move of its own accord in his hand, spinning and hopping, even sparking now and then.
Seeing the menace who’d once shocked him into foaming at the mouth, Garr very cooperatively let out a pig-like squeal for help:
“Pay him! Just pay him!”
The Appraiser glanced at the scene, then at Celia’s uncompromising posture, and finally at the bottle still bubbling on the counter.
That taste that cut straight to the soul—if only he could get the formula…
The old Appraiser gritted his teeth and fished out his money pouch.
“Fifty it is! But I want the rest of that bottle!”
Celia weighed the pouch in her hand, satisfied, and tucked it into her clothes.
“Pleasure doing business.”
The surrounding adventurers were dumbfounded.
Fifty Gold Coins for that bottle of pitch-black liquid?
“What the heck is that stuff?” someone couldn’t help but ask.
“Looks like poison, but the old guy seemed to really enjoy it?”
“Didn’t the priestess say? It’s called Abyssal Black Dragon’s Breath!”
“Just the name sounds fierce!”
Listening to the chatter around her, Celia’s lips curled slightly. Revenge and compensation were just the appetizer—now for the main course.
Celia pulled out several more bottles of Happy Water she’d prepared in advance from Elent’s backpack. This time, they were in more exquisite Crystal Bottles.
“As you can see, this potion restores stamina and refreshes the mind. Even someone crawling out of a dungeon could feel invigorated after a sip.”
“Moreover, it grants the drinker temporary Thunder Element affinity, making your attacks paralyzing by default.”
She pointed at Elent, who was still sparking, and Elent helpfully flexed his muscles, making the arcs dance more wildly on his body.
“That’s the best proof.”
The adventurers’ eyes lit up.
A potion that adds an elemental enchantment?
This was high-end stuff!
“How much for one bottle?” someone called out.
Celia held up three fingers.
“Three Gold Coins.”
“But since today is the new product launch, the first batch is a special price—just one Gold Coin.”
“Only ten bottles. First come, first served.”
“I want one!”
“Give me two!”
“Don’t push, I was here first!”
The onlookers transformed into eager buyers, waving their coin pouches as they surged toward Celia.
A Gold Coin couldn’t buy you a loss or a scam, but this was a miraculous potion that gave you a taste of Black Dragon’s Breath!
What a bargain!
Standing in the center of the crowd, Celia nimbly collected payments and distributed the goods, as deft as a seasoned merchant.
Elent was in charge of keeping order, making sure no one tried to run off without paying.
In less than ten minutes, all the stock was gone.
Celia patted the bulging pouch at her chest, her mood soaring. She pulled out a Gold Coin and tossed it into the air.
The coin glittered in the sunlight before Elent scrambled to catch it.
“As for those people? Let the Association have them as a bonus.”
With her hands clasped behind her back, Celia strolled cheerfully toward the door.
“After all, we are law-abiding citizens.”
“And that coin’s for your cart-pulling fee. Keep the change.”
What a gangter.