Me, the Weakest Member of the Hero’s Party? I’m the Villain Though? - Chapter 46
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When we found Gerard with the group, he was at the entrance to the market. He was in the middle of a shouting match with some man we’d never seen before, both of them pointing fingers at each other.
“What, you’re saying you’ll buy this potion for only 3 pent? Are you out of your mind? Did you even listen to a word I said?”
Gerard yelled at the man holding the glass bottle, but the man replied coolly,
“I heard you just fine. Didn’t you say it cures poison or paralysis or something?”
“Exactly! And you want to buy such an amazing magic potion for just three silver coins? I even wrote the price right here on this board!”
Frustrated, Gerard pounded his chest and pointed to a wooden sign he’d set up nearby. Only then did I notice the writing on the sign:
[Special Potion Sale. Merchant’s gone crazy. 3 bottles = 1 fleur]
So this was what he’d been doing off on his own, selling magic potions. Even in a situation like this, he was trying to make money. Truly a man obsessed with it.
But the man, even after confirming this, shamelessly replied as if it was no problem.
“But I only have three silver coins.”
This customer was no pushover. He was like one of those buyers on the secondhand market who tries to haggle down the price without reason.
Gerard’s face turned red with rage, and he looked about to shout at him to get lost, but Elonen suddenly appeared and stepped between them.
“Gerard, are you trying to scam people here again?”
“What, scam?”
The man who had been nonchalantly trying to haggle now burst out,
“Scam? Elonen, watch your mouth! These are potions I made with care. People should be grateful I’m selling them at all.”
Elonen’s interference made Gerard’s face twist in frustration.
“I know. That’s why you sell them at about ten times the normal price.”
“What? T-Ten times?”
At Elonen’s words, the customer spat at Gerard’s feet.
“No wonder, you looked like bad news. See, they say never trust a guy with blue hair!”
“It’s not blue, it’s navy, you idiot. If you don’t want to buy, then go. I’m not selling a single one to someone who can’t appreciate the value of this potion.”
Gerard waved the man away dismissively, shooing him off. Then he shot a sour look at Elonen, who had ruined his business.
“What? Why are you all looking at me like that?”
I expected him to be annoyed, but he seemed unable to really get angry at Elonen.
Then, noticing that the party had something to say, Gerard quickly caught on to the situation.
“What did the lord ask you for, anyway?”
“It’s nothing difficult. He wants us to get rid of the rats that are stealing from the storeroom.”
This time, it was Kyle, following behind, who answered instead of Elonen.
Gerard had figured the lord would have a request, but apparently hadn’t expected it to be rat-catching, and looked taken aback.
“What, rats? Does he want me to make rat poison or something? I do have a potion just for that purpose…”
Gerard started rummaging through his bottles with a grimace, but Kyle shook his head and corrected him.
“They’re not ordinary rats. They’re monsters.”
“Monsters? Well, that’s a whole different story.”
For the first time, a hint of excitement appeared on Gerard’s previously sour face. He skillfully packed his potions back into his subspace and muttered,
“Business wasn’t going well anyway, so this is perfect. Who knows what kind of rare new ingredients we’ll get from a new monster.”
“Right. Since Kakaros can track their trail, let’s get going right away.”
Kyle gave Gerard a pat on the shoulder, as if he’d expected him to agree, and started walking.
“But isn’t finding the Black Flame Dragon more urgent? Couldn’t we take care of that first and then help…”
Gerard asked the reasonable question at just the right moment. But Kyle, having made up his mind, didn’t even slow down as he answered,
“It won’t take long. We’ll get it over with quickly. The damage seems pretty serious. Besides, we might find a clue related to the magic stones Archbishop Fremlyn mentioned.”
I hadn’t realized Kyle was thinking about that too. I’d been considering the same thing.
“Yeah, that’s possible. Then let’s hurry and get it done.”
Finally, Gerard started walking after the group.
