Unfairly Fired From the Healer's Guild After Five Years of Dedicated Service

Episode 22 – Elf’s Tears 

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“So, what were you hoping to trade?” (Male Staff Member)

The bald employee looked at me with an excited gaze. I did bring a ton of plants, but now I wondered… would it really live up to his expectations?

“I was planning to sell plants and herbs today, is that okay?” (Lewin)

“This is all the plants I have with me today, would it be possible to get a quote?” (Lewin)

“These are all useful plants and herbs! How the hell did you gather this many…? Well, I understand. Honestly, plants are not my specialty, so I’ll get another staff member to put together a quote for you. Also, since there are so many plants, it might take a while, so you can go ahead and kill some time somewhere else if you’d like.” (Male Staff Member)

“I understand. Thank you very much!” (Lewin)

I bowed slightly to the bald employee. At first, I felt a little sorry for this kind yet interested employee, since I only packed low and medium quality plants in the bag, I thought he would for sure be disappointed. But if a different employee was going to do it, it’d probably be for the better. After receiving a number tag, I left the Adventurer’s Guild to kill some time.

I was racking my brain over where to go, but I suddenly remembered a certain piece of information, and quickly decided to go to this one store that I heard of. Back when I was working in the Healer’s Guild, being the one in charge of appraising meant that I had to differentiate between good and bad quality herbs and screening them accordingly. At that time, we needed a last minute order fulfilled, and only that certain store was able to fulfill such a request, sending sufficient herbs at a level of quality that I was satisfied with.

If I remember correctly, that store’s name was Elf’s Tears. I didn’t have any connections whatsoever, and I didn’t know what kind of store it was, but I was pretty curious what kind of person was in charge of the wholesale of the herbs. I don’t quite know if they will purchase the herbs that I’ve collected, but it might be worth going there once. This shop seemed to be pretty particular about the quality of their products, so they might be able to fully understand the value of the high-quality plants and herbs I had to offer. With such a notion in mind, I headed for [Elf’s Tears] while asking people here and there for directions.

“So this is Elf’s Tears…?” (Lewin)

After asking around, I eventually arrived at a small shop on the outskirts of the city. In my imagination, I envisioned a really big shop, so I thought for a while that the person whom I asked directions was trying to pull my leg. Only after closely examining the sign in front of the small store that had the words “Elf’s Tears” written on it did I realize I had arrived.

I could already smell the characteristic scent of herbs from outside the shop, but instead of the peculiar, astringent stink of herbs that I was used to, it had a subtle, soothing fragrance that set one’s heart at ease. There was no one else in front of the shop, so I took a deep breath, taking in the gentle fragrance, and then opened the door to Elf’s Tears.

When the door opened, the soft tingle of the bell attached to the door resounded out in a pleasant manner. The interior was by no means large, and the potions and herbs lined up in the shop display were rather few in number. There were no customers around, nor was there a shopkeeper, so it seemed like I was the only one inside the shop. I wasn’t really sure what to do, so I decided to call out to see if there was a shopkeeper around. Shortly after doing so, I heard the clunking sound of a walking cane resounding on the hard floor as the sound of footsteps approached my location from the back of the shop.

“Oh? It’s rare to have a customer at this time.” (Shopkeeper)

The person that came out from the back of the shop was an unusually long-eared grandma. Her hair was half blonde, streaked with a gray that attested to her age. It was clear that in her younger years, she was once a beautiful person, evidenced by the grin on her weathered face that gave off a cheerful and soft impression.

“I apologize for entering so suddenly. This is my first time coming here, I hope that’s alright with you.” (Lewin)

“Ah, of course there’s no problem. As you can see, I don’t get many customers here, so I don’t really have the leeway to be turning away a first-time customer.” The shopkeeper stifled a giggle while saying so. After what happened with the Healer’s Guild, I was totally expecting to be refused entrance to the shop, so the fact that I wasn’t so far made me feel relieved. Well, there was also the chance that she just didn’t know of my identity yet.

“So, for what business did you come to this shop today?” (Shopkeeper)

“To be honest, I paid a visit today to see if you would be interested in buying the herbs I have to offer… is that okay?” (Lewin)

When I told her that, the shopkeeper’s eyes, which were up to this point gentle and warm, suddenly became sharp. The glint in her gaze made me straighten my back unconsciously.

“If that’s what you want, then don’t blame me if you don’t match up to my expectations. After all, I’m extremely particular about the herbs that I sell in this store. Half-assed quality herbs can just be sold at the Adventurer’s Guild for all I care.” (Shopkeeper)

Hearing those words, I unintentionally broke out into a grin. As I expected, this shop might be able to recognize the value of the high-quality plants and herbs that I collected!