Mmm....

　A young man, a Class A adventurer, looks at one of the potions with a difficult look on his face as he walks. Watching the young man next to him is a girl who is in a party with him.

　The young man has been in a staring contest with the potion for a long time and shows no signs of stopping.

''We're almost to the location of the request... but what happened earlier?''
'No, I bought this potion at a store I don't know, and I just can't believe how well it works.
And you bought it?
'No, well, yeah, but...'

　A young man who has been sluggish in his abilities lately, he couldn't help but buy the potion, even though he was suspicious of it. He doesn't regret it, but he still can't believe in the efficacy of the potion.

''By the way, what kind of effect is it?''
"Improving physical capacity for a period of time," he said.
Hmmm, never heard of it...
'Right?　Well, now that I've bought it, I'll use it.

　He tucks the potion into his breast pocket and makes his way through the large cave. The two of them are here today on a request. The content of the request is to defeat the demons. It is the extermination of the spider-shaped demons that live in the cave.

''........Stop.

　The girl stopped dead in her tracks and warned the young man. The young man stopped in his tracks and carefully observed his surroundings. The two of them are still A-class adventurers. As adventurers, they are in the first-class category.

　The two men, who were looking at him warily with serious eyes, heard a sound as if something was crawling in their ears. The two of them, who were firmly listening to the sound, react instantly. They jump away from the spot in a big way.

　Then, a large, venomous purple spider falls on the spot where they were standing just now. It is a huge body that could swallow at least one person whole. Even in the face of such a monster, the two of them seemed to have calmed down.

　The young man takes out a potion from his breast pocket and drinks it in one go. As soon as he throws down the empty bottle, the spider releases a thread. Staring at the thread flying straight at him, the young man put strength into his legs.

''Well, how effective is it...''

　I took a step as usual - and the scenery flowed behind me at once.

''........Huh?''

　Before the young man could understand what had happened, a cave wall loomed in front of him. He quickly tried to flip his body around, but his momentum was not enough to kill it. The young man had no choice but to point his foot at the wall and land, then kick the wall and accelerate toward the spider.

　He pulls out his sword from his waist and swings it vigorously. Then easily one of the legs of the spider flew through the air. Purple blood was splattered on the ground, and the demon's ugly screams echoed out.

　The young man who stopped walking looked at his body with an expression of disbelief.

''What, what is this........''

　Compared to the usual, his speed has obviously increased. The sharpness and weight of the attacks are also much different. The young man looks at the bottle he just threw away and gives a drawn-out smile.

''Really........''

　It would mean that it was real. The power of the potion that he bought from that young alchemist was indeed the real thing. The young man, who was in good shape, held his sword and accelerated in a straight line. With a speed that doesn't allow for a reaction, he fleshes out the body of the demon with a single flash.

　Easily, the demon was doomed.

　The girl, who was watching the battle without time to do anything about it, is terribly surprised. Judging from the fact that her mouth is open with a pout, the young man's move must have been that improbable.

　For a girl who has been partying with the young man for a long time, she understands how unusual the movement just now is. And the high efficacy of the potion that was the cause of that movement.

''Who is it, who made this potion........''


　*****


　In the past few days, certain information had been flying around the royal capital. According to them, there was a shop that sold ridiculously powerful potions and magical tools.

　One adventurer said his body became impossibly light, while another mage said his magic power had visibly improved. Others say that deep wounds were instantly healed, or that they were able to perform household chores, and so on.

　However, the common denominator in all the stories is a young male alchemist, a beautiful, expressionless girl, and a cute fox with three tails.

　Unaware of such rumors, Wraith was preparing for business again today.

''Good day.''

　He takes down a box full of potions and places it in an empty display cabinet. It was an unthinkable sight when the store first opened. Perhaps it's the effect of Rotia and Mimi, but the number of customers had visibly increased over the past few days.

　The number of customers has visibly increased over the past few days, and the number of idle time has decreased considerably, and the place is turning into a worthwhile place to work. Wraiths are motivated to work hard.

''Okay, I guess it's something like this.

　I've looked at all the areas that should be checked before the business, including the location of the potions as well as the magic tools. Wraith breathes a sigh of satisfaction.

''I hope things continue to work out well...''

　So far, I'd say it's going well. At least it's a huge leap forward from when Wraith was on his own.

'Shall we do our best?'

　As Lace is making up her mind, Rotia comes in with Mimi on top of her head. She too has gotten used to the job in the past few days, and her speeches and such are perfect. However, she couldn't help but change her expression.

　Even if you are not conscious of it, Rotia's default expressionlessness is not something that can be easily changed. It's like a habit of his own.

''Good morning, Rotia. Let's do our best today.
"Good morning.... Yeah, I'll do my best........

　In contrast to Rotia, who returns the words and shows her motivation, Mimi looks sleepy as usual. In terms of sleep time, Rotia is undoubtedly the first to be shorter, but why does Mimi's absenteeism never stop?

　Maybe she's being pampered by mainly female customers, so she's tired.

　By the way, Rotia is taking time to learn about the magic circle after the shop is over. As the person himself is smug, he learns quickly, and this is also a moderately meaningful time.

''Well then, shall we begin today?''

　Wraith opened the door to change the plaque outside to read "Open for Business" as usual--

...?

　He opens the door and closes it vigorously in less than a few seconds. The bell rings a little violently, but Wraith doesn't seem to mind. He keeps staring at the door with a quizzical expression.

　Looking at the strange Wraith, Rotia also tilted her head.

　Wraith, who had been staring at the door, eventually placed his hand on the door again and slowly opened it. Wraith blinked repeatedly at the scene spread out in front of him, confirming that it wasn't a dream.

''........What?''

　A single voice like that involuntarily leaked out, but as if to drown it out, a large wave of people who seemed to be guests in front of the door emitted their voices. The force of the voices emanating from countless people was so great that Wraith closed the door again.

What the hell is going on here...

　He muttered in a daze. Even Rotia had seen the scene outside the door and looked unusually wide-eyed and surprised. The voices from outside the door didn't stop, and Wraith and Rotia were both puzzled.

''Is that it, some new mass scam or something...?''
Eh....

　The two men, both of whom had been caught in the same scam, were traumatized and had anxiety in their eyes. However, that's not a normal thing to do.

　The two confused people wondered what to do, and then decided to open the store anyway. Although they were surprised, if the crowd in front of the door were all customers, then there was no reason to refuse to enter the store.

　That state of affairs is exactly what Wraith had always wanted, a thriving business.

　Wraith went outside again and turned the plate to the words 'Open for Business'. Then the crowd of people in front of the store came rushing inside all at once.

''Oh, oh........''

　It was a strange feeling to see a large number of customers in the shop. Some were adventurers and mages, while others seemed to be mere housewives.

　The scene was right in front of my eyes, as if this is what would happen if we gathered the various people living in the royal capital. Probably all of them were people who had come for Wraith's goods.

''Excuse me, can I have this, please?''
Oh, yes!

　Wraith was approached by a girl who looked like an adventurer and responded in a hurry.

''Um, why are there so many people...?''

　While she settled the bill, Wraith couldn't help but ask. The girl looked at Wraith curiously and then pointed to the flame symbol on the potion bottle.

'You don't know?　In the past few days, this store has become famous for selling amazing potions and magic tools, this store. Some people seem to have come to rely on this flame logo.
Oh, really...

　I made the logo with the hope that it would spread as a wraith, but the effect was much faster than I thought it would be. Is this also the power of beautiful girls and small animals?

　Anyway, I'm still happy about it.

　The waves of people didn't stop coming in after noon, and it wasn't until a little past dusk that the crowds finally settled in. Naturally, today's profit was the best so far.

　In the store where the setting sun was shining, Wraith was half stunned. Looking at the store, which instantly became quiet, one would think that today was a dream.

　But it's true that the store's merchandise is dwindling, and today alone has yielded a huge profit. After opening the store, I finally see a hope that seems like hope.

'Alright!'

　Wraith smiles to himself. Behind him was Rotia, propped up against the counter. It was the biggest labor ever, so maybe it couldn't be helped, but maybe this would be the norm starting tomorrow.

''Are you okay, Rotia?''
I can't....I'm tired....
'They could come tomorrow as much as they did today.
Yes....

　Rotia looks endlessly disgusted when she hears Wraith's words. This may be the first time that she has revealed emotions that seem to be emotions to Wraith.

　For the troublesome Rotia, it was probably easier for her to spend her time doing nothing so far. For Lace, though, it was nothing but pain.

''Tiring.......tedious.......''
You didn't forget your promise, did you?

　A promise is a promise, no matter how much trouble it is. Wraith would teach Rotia alchemy, and she would work in the shop in return.

　Realizing that there was no escaping it, Rotia sighed with a sigh of melancholy.