My Protect skill can take my life but it can also help me flirt and make love with cold beauties!
Chapter 17: Potion Pharmacist Fine

In the end, my level only went up by one, but I guess it’s enough for me to have accomplished my first level up.

I walked towards the capital city as the sun began to set on the grasslands. It would be difficult to find any gelatin once it gets dark, and more importantly, more ferocious monsters seem to start wandering around at night.

By the time I passed through the city gate, the street had already started to darken, but the stalls were still crowded. I'll sell today's spoils before the shops close. When the nine bells ring, the street vendors have to close up. That's the rule in the capital.

I looked at several stores and searched for a store that would buy my Gelatin cores. There are stores that sold food, hardware, and various other items lined up. Among them, I found a shop with a suspicious selection of goods such as dried lizards and tree roots.

When I asked if they were doing any purchases here, the shopkeeper glanced at my face and nodded.

"Ah, Gelatin cores. One orange core one maars." He said with a slightly mocking tone as he looked at the sphere I handed him. One maars means one copper coin. Well, this is probably the price for a drop item of the weakest monster.

"What are you going to do? This shop is only the place around here that buys such things," the shopkeeper pointed to the street with his chin. Certainly, there was no store around here that seemed to handle drop items of monsters.

"Then I'll sell it."

"No, I won’t let you," someone interrupted my words, and an arm reached out from behind to snatch both cores I was about to hand him.

"W-who are you?"

When I turned around, there was Gates-san standing there.

"Hey," he said. "What's up?"

"Gates-san?"

"Sorry, but you can't sell these for just one copper coin,"

When he said this, the shopkeeper stared at him, looking clearly unhappy with Gates-san. He shook his head and waved his hand to shoo us away. I have no idea what had just happened. All I could do was watch Gates-san's back as he walked away, still holding the cores.

"Hey, what are you doing? Hurry up and come on," Gates-san said, noticing that I wasn't following him.

"But where are we going?" I asked.

"Geez, you really are a beginner. You have to sell it where it's really needed," Gates-san replied, holding out the core he was holding in front of my eyes.

Where it's really needed? I raised my eyebrows with doubt, but followed Gates-san down the street and onto a narrow road from the square. This is definitely the back alley where I was first taken to the guild on my first day. I think Eva-san's house was also ahead.

"Hey, this way…"

Gates-san walked a little further down the street and stopped in front of a house. Without knocking, he opened the door and walked in. Elle said something like, "Excuse me. Sorry

I was left alone in front of the house and hurriedly went inside. The house was dimly lit, but it did not feel like a private home. The door suddenly opens into a large room with a counter and a number of shelves, making it look like a store.

"What can I do for you today?" A girl with long, unkempt black hair came out from the back of the house, noticing our presence. She wore a long, black robe-like dress.

"A fairy? How rare. I'll buy it at a high price." Without changing her expression, the girl looked at the floating El with a fixed gaze.

"No, no. We're here to sell this." Gates-san placed two orange balls on the counter.

"Ah, Chinko (P***s). If it's orange, it's 3 maars per piece. I won't pay more than that." (Here, the girl is saying ノドチンコ – meaning ‘Uvula’, the dangly thing in the back of the throat. However, ノドチンコ also directly translates to ‘Throat P***s’.)

Chinko, it is a vulgar abbreviation for a girl to say... but 3 maars per piece? That's three times what the street vendors sell for!

"Hehehe, right?" Gates-san grinned and looked at my face. Indeed, we would have lost out if we sold it there.

"Three maarss is fine," I nodded vigorously to the displeased girl.

Upon seeing this, the girl took out six copper coins from her robe's pocket. It’s the same as half a day's worth of carrying cargo. I can hunt gelatin in the afternoon after carrying cargo in the morning. I can keep up this routine from tomorrow.

"Since you're here, let me introduce you, Kazuya," Gates-san called out to me. "This is Fine. She is one of the most skilled pharmacists in the capital."

"Nice to meet you, Fine-chan," I looked at the girl called Fine again.

She looked like a junior high school student... no, maybe even an elementary school student if I had to guess. Maybe she's one of those child prodigies?

(The black girl in the poster, and Eva is the tanned one. I guess, its more than easy to know without me saying.)

"Anyway, this is Kazuya, a complete novice adventurer. He’s ignorant of way around here," Gates-san continued. "So, I was wondering if could you teach him the basics of magic potions?"

"Well, today, no customers are going to come anyway, so whatever," Fine let out a sigh, seeming annoyed.

"Hehehe. I'm grateful for that," Gates-san is truly a kind person. He even went as far as to ask Fine-chan to teach me.

"Well then, I'll go out for a drink," Gates-san made a drinking gesture and left the shop.

As soon as he left, the room became silent. The air became heavy. However, suddenly, the room became brighter. When I turned around, Fine had removed the lamp cover.

"Well, then, I'll explain it to you simply," Fine said in a lazy voice and began to speak.