“Welcome, sir! What would you like to order?”

  As soon as Samuel stepped into the shop, the store owner greeted him warmly.

  “I’m here to sell healing potions. I heard you buy them.” Samuel spoke as he slightly unzipped his backpack, revealing several vials of green liquid inside.

  The store owner’s eyes flickered with curiosity as he gave Samuel a once-over. “Who sent you?”

  “I don’t think that’s important,” Samuel replied calmly. “As long as the potions are real.”

  The store owner nodded, gesturing for Samuel to come inside. “You’ve come at the right time. A friend of mine—an apothecary—is here at the shop.”

  With that, the store owner disappeared into the back room. Moments ter, he returned with a young apothecary in tow.

  “Huh? You’re Samuel, the apothecary?” The newcomer raised an eyebrow in mild surprise, recognizing Samuel instantly. The st time they had met was at Baron Reiser’s estate, where the two of them had butted heads over a disagreement.

  So this really is a meeting point for apothecaries… Samuel felt a sense of relief. He had been cautious, testing the waters before revealing too much. A necessary precaution.

  He studied the apothecary in front of him, quickly recalling their previous encounter. Fate really had a sense of humor.

  “Nice to see you again, Link,” Samuel said with a friendly smile, extending his hand. He wasn’t the type to hold grudges over past disputes.

  “I’m surprised you even remember me, Samuel,” Link said, shaking his hand, clearly fttered. Just like that, their previous rivalry seemed to fade into familiarity.

  It wasn’t long before they were chatting like old friends. Link was a straightforward guy—if he had been the scheming type, he wouldn’t have been so blunt back at Baron Reiser’s estate.

  “So, you’re here to sell potions?” Link eventually steered the conversation back to business.

  Finally, back to the main topic. This guy sure talks a lot… Samuel chuckled, nodding as he set his backpack on the table.

  Inside were 32 vials of healing potion, carefully saved up over time.

  Link picked up one of the vials, popped the cork, took a whiff—then, to Samuel’s surprise, took a full swig of the potion as if it were a casual drink.

  You’re not even worried about poison?! Samuel’s expression twitched slightly, but he kept his polite smile intact.

  “Impressive. This is definitely your work, Samuel.” Link smacked his lips in approval. Then, as an afterthought, he added, “I haven’t slept in three days.”

  The store owner blinked in shock. But seeing Link suddenly appear reenergized, he quickly became a believer.

  Of course, formalities had to be observed. Link still went through the process of carefully inspecting every single vial. Once he was satisfied, he nodded to the store owner.

  The store owner’s face lit up as he turned to Samuel with a grin. “According to market price, a standard healing potion goes for three silver coins per vial—”

  Before he could finish, Link abruptly shook his head. “Mr. Hawke, it should be five silver coins.”

  The store owner’s expression froze. He looked at Link as if he had just swallowed a rotten Pecha Berry. With a forced smile, he amended, “Normal healing potions go for three silver coins, but if Link believes they’re worth five, that means Samuel’s potions must be of superior quality. Alright then, five it is.”

  Wow, Link is a great friend… but a terrible business partner. Samuel couldn’t help but chuckle internally.

  The store owner had clearly intended to haggle, probably aiming to settle at four silver coins per vial after some back-and-forth. But thanks to Link’s unintentional "betrayal," the price was locked in at five.

  After a bit more discussion, they settled on the final deal:

  Samuel had 32 vials of healing potion. After offering two vials as a goodwill gesture, he sold the remaining 30 vials at five silver coins each, totaling 150 silver coins, or 15 gold coins.

  “Pleasure doing business!” Link whistled, completely oblivious to the store owner’s bitter, exasperated gre.

  “Likewise,” Samuel replied with a smile. However, he didn’t immediately pocket the gold. Instead, he continued, “Actually, I’d also like to purchase some potion-making ingredients.”

  That immediately caught Link’s interest. “Oh? You’re brewing something new?”

  “Yes, some personal formus.” Samuel handed over a prepared list of ingredients.

  Link gnced over it and nodded. “Most of these supplementary ingredients aren’t rare—we have them here.”

  Then, his eyes nded on the st section of the list. His expression shifted.

  “Wait… four different Monster venoms? Samuel, are you making poison?”

  Samuel didn’t answer immediately, instead watching Link carefully.

  This guy really has no sense of subtlety…

  Asking about another apothecary’s potion formu was highly inappropriate—recipes were valuable trade secrets.

  After a few seconds, Link seemed to realize his mistake. He scratched the back of his head awkwardly. “Ah… Sorry, I shouldn’t have asked that.”

  “No worries,” Samuel said lightly.

  Link gnced at the list again. “I can get these for you, but venom from Monsters is rare and expensive.”

  Samuel took out 10 gold coins from his bag. “I don’t need a rge quantity, just whatever you can get.”

  “Got it. Leave it to me.” Link nodded, took 25 gold coins, and left the shop.

  He’s not just gonna run off with my money, is he…? Samuel couldn’t help but feel a flicker of doubt. He eyed the fruit shop around him, then exhaled slowly.

  No, this shop is established. My potions are still here. He won’t just disappear.

  Of course, Samuel had taken precautions. The formu he had given Link was a simplified version of the actual poison he intended to make—diluted with unnecessary ingredients.

  Even with the Oran Berry* extract acting as a key poison element, the Monster venoms alone weren’t enough to recreate the real thing. If Link tried to analyze the formu, it would lead to a dead end.

  “Samuel, why don’t you wait in the back room?” the store owner offered warmly.

  “If you’re an apothecary, consider this pce your home.”

  Samuel nodded and followed him inside.

  As he stepped into the back room, he stopped in his tracks, eyes widening slightly.

  The room was filled with high-end potion-making equipment, some even advanced enough to analyze potion compositions and effects. Alongside the tools, shelves lined the walls, stocked with a wide variety of rare ingredients.

  A quick gnce was enough to spot several key components for crafting deadly poisons, including some extremely rare Berries…

  ---

  TL/N: The raw says Oran Berry and not Pecha Berry or other poison-reted berry. I'm not sure if the author made a mistake here or if Oran Berry has other uses in concocting poison, even though it is mainly used for healing.

  -----

  If you want to support me and read advance chapters, head over to my Patreón by clicking this [Madbot] or the one in signature.