The Elf smiled softly. "Of course I know. And I also know what they’re used for~. Little miss, these aren’t ingredients for legitimate potions~."

  Hulim: "......"

  "Well~, never mind. What you use them for is none of my business. From the look on your face when you came in, you must be in some trouble. But as a student of Manacos, while it’s great to solve problems on your own, it’s okay to rely on the academy when necessary~."

  Hulim: "——！？"

  "How do you know——"

  Hulim stared at her in shock.

  "Is it hard to guess?"

  The Elf smiled and said,

  "A young child with C-rank strength in Langard must be a student of Manacos, right?"

  "——！！？"

  Hulim was completely stunned.

  S-she saw through me?!

  "......How did you know?"

  The Elf seemed amused by Hulim’s reaction, and with a slightly teasing smile, she repeated the same answer.

  "Is it that hard~?"

  "........................................................"

  "Alright, I’ll stop teasing you~!"

  The Elf seemed to have had her fill of fun, smiled apologetically,

  "Wait here for me a moment."

  With that, she walked to the back of the shop, opened a door, and entered a room.

  ......What a strange Elf.

  After the Elf left, Hulim thought to herself.

  Ever since stepping into this shop, she’d been led along by the nose. It was the first time Hulim had experienced such a thing.

  "But where did she go?"

  Before long, the Elf walked out from behind the door, holding two things in her hands—a bottle and a box.

  "Sorry to keep you waiting, little miss. Here’s the Dragon’s Slumber Fruit Juice and Hadra Abyssal Fish Scales you asked for."

  "......？？？"

  Hulim stared at the two items in the Elf’s hands, dumbfounded. Her gaze darted back and forth between the Elf and the materials.

  "You have them???"

  "Ah, little miss, that’s a funny thing to say~. Didn’t you come here asking for these two materials? Why are you so surprised~?"

  Well...... While it’s true she’d asked for them in the first place, she never actually thought the Elf would have both! And besides—

  She was sure she’d said "Hadra Abyssal Fish," not just the scales. Why did the Elf bring out scales directly?

  Noticing Hulim’s gaze, the Elf smiled immediately.

  "You’re wondering about the scales? Hmm——because you only need the scales, right? So I just took the scales out."

  If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

  "But I never said I only wanted the scales?"

  "Even though you didn’t say it, there are only a few potions that use both Dragon’s Slumber Fruit Juice and Hadra Abyssal Fish. Considering your situation......"

  The Elf glanced at Hulim,

  "The only potion you could be making is Dragon Sleep Incense!"

  "......"

  This time, Hulim wasn’t surprised at all—she’d already guessed the Elf had figured it out.

  "Dragon Sleep Incense~. That’s not a potion you see every day~. Little miss, sister is a bit curious about your identity~."

  "......Just a student."

  Hulim replied in a very flat tone.

  "Ehh——"

  The Elf drew out her voice, looking at Hulim, but Hulim remained completely unmoved.

  "Well, never mind. Prying into customers’ business goes against professional ethics. I’ll sell you these two things!"

  Professional ethics? For the first time, Hulim felt this term was so unfamiliar. Someone who’d figured out almost everything about her as soon as she walked in—why did she think she had that kind of thing?

  Hulim thought to herself, but of course, she didn’t show it.

  She reached for her money pouch.

  "How much do I owe you?"

  "Hmm, let’s see~. 880,000 Kohl. I’ll waive the change as an apology for teasing you."

  Hulim’s hand froze mid-reach for the money pouch. She slowly lifted her head.

  "Um...... Can you make it cheaper?"

  Even though she’d anticipated these rare materials would be expensive, but...... 880,000! Wasn’t this a bit too outrageous!?!

  "Ah, that’s not possible, little miss. Don’t you know how hard these two materials are to obtain? First, Dragon’s Slumber Fruit—this is a favorite of dragons. Obtaining it is equivalent to declaring war on a giant dragon. How difficult do you think that is? As for the Hadra Abyssal Fish, while the creature itself isn’t hard to catch, they only live in underground rivers that never see the light of day. Obtaining it is no less difficult than getting Dragon’s Slumber Fruit!"

  "If these two materials were posted as a quest on the Adventurers’ Guild, it would definitely be a top-tier Rank B quest. Depending on the circumstances, it might even be a Rank A quest~! Little miss, do you still think the price is too high?"

  "......But this is all I have."

  Hulim held out her money pouch, then pulled out another bag filled with gold coins from her backpack.

  Looking at the money Hulim handed over, it was the Elf’s turn to look surprised.

  "You actually have this much money......"

  Hulim sensed something was off from her words.

  "Huh? If you didn’t think I could afford these two things, why did you take them out?"

  "Well, that’s because......"

  The Elf looked behind Hulim—more precisely, at one of the long chests she was carrying.

  "You have a nice Mithril Sword, don’t you? If you use that as collateral, 880,000 Kohl is acceptable."

  "I can’t do that!"

  Hulim quickly hugged her Mithril Sword, staring warily at the Elf. "How did you——never mind......"

  Could it be she’d even seen through her appearance?

  "Hahaha~!"

  The Elf was amused by Hulim’s reaction, laughing as she explained:

  "I won’t steal your things~! You’ll still need this next, won’t you?"

  Hulim: "......"

  "Hmm——so what do we do now~? Ah, never mind—never mind—"

  The Elf seemed to give up thinking.

  "Take these two things. You can pay me back whenever you have the money!"

  "Huh?"

  Hulim was very surprised.

  "That’s okay?"

  "That’s okay!"

  "But I have nothing to use as collateral."

  "No need for all that trouble. IOUs and promissory notes—they just look annoying. I’ll remember it. Anyway, you’re at Manacos Magic Academy, right? If you don’t come to pay me back, I’ll go find you at your academy!"

  Won’t you go bankrupt doing this...... Come to think of it, you really did see my appearance, didn’t you?

  "Alright, stop dawdling. You have things to do, don’t you? Take the materials and get on with your business."

  The Elf handed the two materials to Hulim.

  "......"

  Hulim looked at her silently, put her money pouch back into her backpack, and took the materials.

  "......Thank you, Miss Elf. I will definitely pay you back."

  "You’re welcome~!"

  The Elf said with a smile.

  ......

  "Jingle~!"

  The sound of the wind chime at the closing door rang behind her.

  Hulim walked out of the Elf shopkeeper’s potion shop, holding the collected materials.

  "Ah, little miss."

  The Elf shopkeeper’s voice came from inside the shop.

  Hulim turned around, looking at her.

  "Even for the sake of my money—don’t die~!"

  "......"

  Hulim nodded silently, then turned and left......

  Watching her receding figure, the Elf shopkeeper muttered to herself:

  "An eleven or twelve-year-old girl almost at Rank B...... What an interesting person has arrived. It seems things won’t be boring from now on."

  ......

  ......