My Protect skill can take my life but it can also help me flirt and make love with cold beauties!
Chapter 18: Half Elf, a taboo existence

"First, about magic potions... How much do you know about them?"

"Well, when you say 'how much,' I'm not sure..." I shrugged and gave a vague smile. Seeing my gesture, Fine let out a big sigh.

"Well then, let me explain from the very basics. Magic potions refer to all medicines made with magic power. Medicines that are effective for injuries are popular not only among adventurers, but among common people too. There are also potions that neutralize poison or cure petrification. "

"I see. So, it's a healing potion…"

"The effect is not limited to healing. There are also potions infused with fire magic that can be thrown at the enemy and set them on fire. So, they can be used for attacks as well.

"Even skilled adventurers are not omnipotent. That's why they use magic potions to make up for their shortcomings. They are also necessary when the healer is unable to use spells. So, even in a party of experienced adventurers, magic potions are always necessary."

"Wow!" I let out an impressed sigh.

"You're impressed by something like that. Are you really an adventurer?" Fine exhaled with a different emotion from mine. "So, we magic potion makers put magic power into the medicine, but not everything can be imbued with magic power."

"Hmm."

"We have to use materials that can hold magic power and materials that can exhibit their effects when infused with magic power. That's why we need to use materials like that."

"So, adventurers sell the materials they've obtained to you?"

"You have some intelligence. That's reassuring." Fine stared at me with a stern look. It's partly my fault, but Fine can be rude sometimes.

"For example, the Chinko (P***s) that I bought from you today." She said Chinko again.

"Actually, it doesn't have any effect on its own. But Chinko has a characteristic of absorbing a small amount of magic power. By mixing it with medicinal herbs and imbuing it with magic power, we can create magic potions with enhanced healing power."

"Hmm. That's interesting." I looked at the orange sphere on the counter. Come to think of it, I never wondered why the shop would buy monster drop items. But since they pay money to buy them, there must be a reason.

"Actually, Chinko is an important material that is needed to make most magic potions."

"If it's such an important material, couldn't you buy it at a higher price?"

"Well, if it's a rare color, we'll buy it at a higher price." Fine explained in exasperation.

"Color?"

"Yes. We get plenty of orange one even without requesting. But, for luxury ones like gold, we will buy them at an appropriate price."

"Gold?"

"Don't tell me you don't even know about it?"

"Eheheh," I replied with a vague smile, scratching my head. Fine-chan covered her face and let out a sigh.

"There are other types of gelatin besides orange, you know. The famous ones include blue and green. The silver and gold ones are rare and precious. And there's even one that's considered a phantom, called rainbow."

"Rainbow…"

"Well, there are many other types too, and the value of the core changes depending on the color."

"I see. So it's like Pokémon with different colors?"

"Different colors...? Well, it's something like that," Fine-chan said, nodding in agreement. "Also, Chinko is just one of the representative materials, but there are many others as well, like the spotted wolf's fang, the giant bat's

(Longeo might be a fictional name, if not then please enlighten me.)

"Wow, that's really helpful. Fine-chan, you're amazing even though you're so small."

"...It's always like this...can you stop treating me like a child?" Fine-chan replied with an overtly unhappy voice, furrowing her brow.

"Sorry, sorry. I was just impressed by how amazing you are," I said, apologizing.

"That's not the point. I'm not a child pretending to be an adult. I'm older than you," Fine-chan said, her hair brushing away with an annoyed expression.

One of her ears, which had a slightly different shape from that of a human, became visible behind her hair. It was short and pointed backward.

"Pointed ears...an elf?"

"I'm a 'half' elf."

"I see."

Elves are often seen in fantasy works. They look similar to humans but have pointed ears and are said to be long-lived.

In this world too, elves are probably long-lived. So even though she looks like a child, her actual age is probably much higher. But if she's a half-elf, does that mean she's a hybrid with a human?

"What, is that all you have to say?" Fine-chan raised her voice in surprise.

Oh no, did I respond wrongly? Perhaps, since half-elves are a rare existence, I should have taken a more respectful attitude.

"It's the first time I've seen a half-elf, but you really are intelligent and…"

"Are you nuts?"

Harsh! But it seems I once again responded in the wrong way.

"Oh, come on! Don't you get it? Half-elves are a taboo existence," Fine-chan explained, getting fed up with my puzzled expression. "We are the cursed offspring of elves and humans who should never have come together. And that's what I am."

"I see..."

"Don't just say 'I see'! Try to understand! Both elves and humans hate me! And why do I even have to explain this to you?"

Even though she said that, I, who had grown up in a world without elves, truly couldn't comprehend. It wasn't like being half-Japanese and half-foreigner, it seemed to be on another level entirely.

I don’t know what to say except that it was okay, but I don’t want to say that, lest I make her even angrier.

"Um, why did we start talking about this again...oh, I remember now." Fine-chan seemed to come to a realization on her own. She is a busy person who always seems to have something to do.

"So, in short, despite appearances, I'm older than you, so please don't call me '-chan' anymore."

"Understood, Fine-san."

"Mmm, that's better. It was throwing me off." Fine-san ran her fingers through her messy hair. She did have an adult-like way of talking and acting, but she still looked like a child.

"I'm done explaining the magic potions, so if you don't have any other business, can you leave?"

It seemed like I had upset her, so I thanked her and left the shop with El. "Hey, how should I interact with half-elves?"

"Even El doesn't really know."

"Should I be distant and treat them like a sore spot?"

"That would be unfair to the apothecary."

"Yeah, I guess so..."

Muttering to ourselves, we returned to the inn with six copper coins in our pockets. As we walked, I thought about Fine-chan's words and tried to understand the difficulties she must face as a half-elf.