This dude’s seriously getting worked up. I made the thing, and yet he was the one celebrating.
Suddenly, the manager bowed so quickly, he slammed his head onto the counter. Smack!
“I’m begging you, lad, let my store sell your potions!”
“Yeah, of course,” I replied. “That’s why I came here to begin with.”
“I know, I know. Selling such a revolutionary product at a local general store is a waste. But please!” the manager continued.
“Listen to me for a sec! Look, it’s fine,” I repeated. “Seriously. I’m happy to sell you these.”
“Please! We just had our fifth kid, and the family finances are in the red. I might have to shut this store down. Please, sell us your breakthrough potions! Let’s start this revolution together!”
He was really down for the “revolution.” Almost too much, actually. “How many bottles do you want?” The nasty “regular” potions came in fairly small containers. If that’s the standard size, I should be able to make quite a few.
“I’ll put them in these and sell them, if you…” the manager paused. “Wait, are you sure?”
“Master say okay. You not listen,” Noela pointed out.
“Th-thank you so much! What’s your name, lad? I need the name of this revolution’s hero!”
“Kirio Reiji. You can call me Reiji.”
We exchanged a firm handshake. “The revolutionary hero Reiji,” chuckled the manager. “Rolls right off the tongue. Heh heh!”
Buddy, could you please let go of my hand?
I began pouring my homemade potion into the manager’s small containers. My bottle wasn’t full, since Noela drank some earlier, but it still held more than enough liquid to fill twenty-five smaller vials.
According to the manager, regular potions sold for about ten thousand rin. I wonder how much that is in yen?
Seeing me puzzled, he explained. “If you want to stay overnight at the local inn, for example, it runs you five thousand rin. Lunch costs about six hundred.”
Doesn’t seem all that different from yen, actually.
“I’m gonna start advertising this ‘tasty-tasty’ potion’s effectiveness!” declared the manager.
“Oh, before you do that—we should sell this breakthrough potion a little more cheaply than normal potions,” I suggested. “That’ll make it easier for customers to impulse-buy. It’ll help word of mouth.”
“Whoa! Spoken like a true revolutionary!”
We decided to sell the first twenty-five potions for eight thousand rin each, which was under the standard market price. However, I’d receive about two thousand rin per bottle.
Just like that, I’d earned myself fifty thousand rin! Now, I wouldn’t have to worry about food or shelter for the next few days.
The manager ran out to advertise his new product, leaving his wife in charge of the general store. She came over to Noela and me. “Sorry about my hubby.”
Noela crouched behind me. “Master protect. Protect Noela.”
I patted her head, shooting a smile at the manager’s wife. “I’m sure these potions will sell.”
“You have our thanks.”
After chatting with her for a bit, Noela and I exited the store. The manager had kind of gone crazy with excitement, but I would’ve been lying if I said it didn’t feel good to be appreciated like that.
Noela and I ended up going to a big dining hall she frequented, and the two of us grabbed a bite to eat.
The menu was full of all kinds of strange characters, but mysteriously, I had no problem reading any of them. I’d been worried that the dining hall would serve weird foods, but much to my surprise, the menu contained easy-to-eat dishes like teriyaki, pickles, and so on. I could even order soup and bread.
Eventually, Noela and I left the restaurant in search of an inn. Then we heard a ruckus coming from the general store.
What’s going on?
We peeked inside, only to discover men filling the store. I saw farmer-looking dudes, lumberjack types, and lightly armored soldiers—all sorts of people who’d be in danger of getting hurt at work.
“One per person!” the manager’s wife yelled out.
A young soldier exited the store, tilting his head at the potion in his hand. “What a weird-colored potion. I bought one because she said it’d be easy to drink, but… Let’s see, here.” He sipped it. “Whoa! What is this stuff?!”
The young soldier looked as though his eyes were about to pop out of his head. “This is a potion?!” he exclaimed. “For real?! It doesn’t taste like fresh trash!”
Noela simply nodded in quiet agreement.
So, that’s what regular potions taste like. Man, I’m glad I never gave them a try. What kind of recipe would you have to follow to make something flavored like that?
The folks who tasted my homemade potions while leaving the store all trembled on the spot at its flavor.
“This is revolutionary!”
“This potion’s starting a revolution!”
“This is such a breakthrough, it’s a downright revolution!”
Man, these guys really like the word “revolution,” huh? I was pretty sure that the potions would work as my skill described, though, so I wasn’t too worried about “revolution” being hyperbole.
Finally, the manager came and expressed his gratitude. “Thank you so much, lad! I knew this revolutionary potion would sell! Think you could make some more? Folks are asking, and, well…”
“Sure,” I replied. “I’ll bring them over tomorrow.”
“Thank you!” the older man replied, beaming.
If I sold the potions directly to customers, I could’ve made a lot more profit, but it wasn’t like my goal was to get rich. I just needed enough money to be comfortable.
“Do you know where you’re spending the night, lad? Would you like to stay with me and my lot? My house can get a bit rowdy, but I’d love to thank you for all you’ve done.”
“We’ll grab a room at an inn, since I have money from the potions,” I replied. “But thanks! I appreciate the thought.”
And so, Noela and I parted ways with the manager. Since we were two complete strangers to him until today, his willingness to put us up overnight meant that he had a good heart. I hoped this would all work out for him.
“Master, what wrong? Say something?”
“Nah, it’s nothing.”
With a lightness to my step, I began searching for an inn, and my first day in another world came to a close.