Chapter 426. Mancini’s Apothecary
Walking through the slum-like alleyways, we eventually arrived in front of a shop with a sign that read Mancini’s Apothecary.
Clutching the cloth bag tightly, Karin wore an expression like she was heading into battle as she opened the shop’s door.
With a creaking sound from the hinges, she stepped inside.
Since we’d come this far, we followed Karin into the shop as well.
The interior was cramped and cluttered.
Shelves on either side were packed with various kinds of medicines, leaving little room to spare.
A man who appeared to be the shopkeeper sat behind the counter at the far end.
A somewhat rough-looking middle-aged dwarf of a man, he didn’t even offer a greeting.
His eyes scrutinized Karin—and then us as we entered—as if sizing us up. At least, that was the impression I got.
Though Karin seemed slightly intimidated by the shopkeeper’s demeanor, she quickly steeled herself and spoke up.
“Um, I heard you have a medicine called Lacrata. A miracle drug that can restore sight to the blind. Do you still have any in stock?”
“Lacrata? …Oh, yeah, I think we had something like that. Where was it now? Should be on one of those shelves over there.”
The shopkeeper replied lazily, pointing to the shelf on Karin’s right.
Karin searched the indicated shelf and soon exclaimed, “Found it!” with a voice full of joy.
There, a glass bottle containing a thick, greenish liquid sat with a tag that read Lacrata / Price Varies.
It matched the description of the medicine she’d heard about from the doctor.
Carefully picking up the bottle, Karin carried it to the counter in front of the shopkeeper.
“Please sell this to me! With this, my little sister might be able to see again. I was told it costs thirty gold coins, so I’ve brought them with me.”
Karin pulled out the coins from her cloth bag and began lining them up on the counter.
After about a dozen gold coins, the rest were mostly silver.
As Karin desperately counted and arranged the coins, the shopkeeper eyed her face and chest with a calculating gaze.
Then, his eyes flickered toward Kazane and me as well.
“This should add up to thirty gold coins. Please check.”
Karin finished laying out the coins.
The shopkeeper glanced at us and replied,
“Hey, girl. What’s with those three? Adventurers? Here to shake me down or somethin’?”
“Huh…? N-No, that’s not—”
Karin floundered in panic.
Us, threatening him?
Why would we even need to do that?
Well, I guess adventurers with power like ours could seem intimidating to regular folks.
Maybe it’s just the natural wariness of outsiders in a place like this.
The shopkeeper, looking displeased, continued.
“Then how ’bout you three scram? You’re interruptin’ business.”
“Interrupting business? She’s just askin’ to buy the medicine, right?”
Kazane voiced her confusion, but the shopkeeper clicked his tongue and snapped back.
“I got things to discuss with this girl. If you ain’t here to threaten me, then piss off. Otherwise, no deal.”
“The hell’s that supposed to mean?”
Kazane looked ready to argue, but Karin frantically interjected.
“I-I’m sorry, Hotaru. I really appreciate you coming this far, but I’ll be fine now. Daichi, Kazane, thank you both so much for everything. You’ve helped me a ton.”
Karin gently urged us to leave.
She must’ve panicked, thinking the deal wouldn’t go through if we stayed.
Something about this didn’t sit right, but if we were just getting in Karin’s way, there was no point in staying.
Still, I was worried about her, especially on the way back.
“Then we’ll wait outside. We still need to escort you home, so that’s fine, right?”
“Nope. Get lost. Now.”
The shopkeeper stubbornly insisted we leave immediately.
“Why? We have no intention of threatening you.”
Even Kazane protested, but the shopkeeper wouldn’t budge.
“Adventurers like you? Your very existence is a threat. Just get the hell out. Otherwise, no medicine for the girl. That’s final.”
No good. This wasn’t going anywhere.
We had zero intention of threatening him, but if the shopkeeper was this adamant, there was nothing we could do.
Karin needed to buy that medicine here.
It wasn’t available anywhere else.
“Please, everyone. I’m so, so sorry, but could you do as the shopkeeper says?”
Karin pleaded with us too.
As much as it frustrated me, we couldn’t afford to ruin this for her.
Reluctantly, we left the shop.
Once outside, the shopkeeper shooed us away with a dismissive wave.
With no other choice, we retreated to a spot where Mancini’s Apothecary was no longer visible.
“That was shady as hell. What was his deal?”
Kazane grumbled, her frustration palpable.
“Yeah. That whole attitude was off. —Daichi-kun.”
“I know.”
I nodded at Kazane’s meaningful glance.