Episode 4: The Man Who Finished His Story
So this is what they call a trendy… no, is it not trendy anymore? I’m not sure, but if this were one of those “reincarnation cheat” stories, then my story would be over already.
Because, think about it, right?
Rising from an unfortunate birth, all the guys who persecuted me are dead and gone, serves them right! Living with a beautiful Demon race slave girl in a castle town on the edge of nowhere, in a house with a garden!
An adventurer… or rather, a “Strider” as they call it in this world, at a mid-level rank, and my main job is an Apothecary!
Living a slow life while secretly working as a mage on the side!
Yeah, it’s the best. It’s like the kind of life a middle schooler fantasizes about before going to sleep.
Of course, a lot happened before I got here.
I did a lot of things to rise from the position of an orphaned ruffian to become the town’s Apothecary, and I worked hard enough as a Strider to be considered a veteran.
I became a Strider when I was twelve, so it’s been thirteen years now.
I’ve had my share of hardships, seen acquaintances die, and even had a few near-death experiences myself.
But that’s all in the past now.
Right now, there’s nothing, absolutely nothing.
I’ll probably just keep working as an Apothecary in this town until I die, right?
Well, dying for personal reasons seems like it’s going to be a long way off…
Anyway, right now there’s nothing.
But that doesn’t mean it’s the start of a meaningless, dry, and pointless life without any goals!
The content I’ve been hooked on lately is…
“Welcome, Nya, Dru-san!”
“Oh, Dru! You came~!”
“Good morning, Dru.”
A free hostess club.
…This is the Strider Guild’s tavern.
Logically speaking, there’s no way a guild would have a tavern inside, but the Strider Guild is using a high-level technique of providing the guild as a tavern to the gathering place for ruffians like Striders, so that the rude Striders don’t walk in front of the kind general citizens.
…After that, there’s also the thing about collecting reward money at the speed of sound from the stupid Striders whose purse strings have loosened after completing a request, but that’s beside the point.
Anyway, this is what happens at the Strider Guild’s tavern.
The guild master’s wife manages this tavern, and the guild master’s daughter is the poster girl.
And this energetic beauty with chestnut-colored short hair and cat ears is that poster girl, Mirei-chan.
Mirei loves me because I have money, I have a stable job as an Apothecary, and on top of that, I have a good face and a sophisticated appearance that is different from other rough Striders, so she fawns over me like crazy.
Every time I come to the guild’s tavern, she treats me like I’m in a hostess club or something, so it’s really fun.
“What would you like to drink, Nya? Would you like wine, Nya?”
This girl casually recommends wine, but this town… “Midford,” is located in the north, so alcohol made from grapes that only grow in warm lands is imported from the south… making it a luxury item.
The price is a whopping ten times that of ale, which is commonly drunk by Striders! She’s really taking me for a ride…
“Ah, can I get a glass?”
But Mirei is cute, so I’ll order it.
“Okay! ♡”
The other Striders are giving me faces and attitudes like, “Hey, that guy’s crazy,” but I don’t care.
I have plenty of money.
After all, I’m the one who supplies the brothels in this town with scented soap. Furthermore, I also sell it to the nobles.
I sell thousands of soaps every year, each costing the same as a glass of wine, so I have plenty of money.
Of course, I also sell a lot of things like recovery potions, tonics, antidotes, painkillers, and ointments.
The amount is 20 million Lido per year…
I earn twice as much as a typical craftsman.
On top of that, I use magic to cheat in various ways with the medicine, so I hardly spend any money on raw materials. The cost is 0 yen.
My actual take-home pay is probably around 18 million?
This amount is enough to support multiple mistresses.
In addition to that, I use the hunting rights that are granted to any Strider to get fresh meat myself, and I also use magic to get vegetables. My food expenses are almost zero.
And… including the wages for the “jobs” brought in by the Lord, it far exceeds even the annual income of a knight.
Anyway, I’m not short on money.
“Hey, Dru-san, when are you joining our Clan?”
“Hmm…, should join.”
And it’s not just the poster girl of the guild tavern who gets involved.
Two female Striders as well.
One is slender (a gentle expression), with sun-tanned brown skin and dazzling black hair.
The other is a quiet and cool elf beauty with fragile white hair and white skin.
Shio and Margot.
Shio is the daughter of a southern warrior tribe, and a full-fledged female warrior despite her young age.
Margot is, surprisingly, a rare mage.
I’ve earned favors from these two, and as I deepened my relationship with them, they came to like me like this.
“Well, I’m busy with my Apothecary work.”
“Then become our exclusive Apothecary! Then, I’ll have you make my meals every day!”
“I… want you to teach me… ‘studying’…”
Yeah… it’s the best!
I haven’t done anything, but I’m liked by multiple beautiful women like this!
Haven’t done anything? Well, unlike the rough guys in this world, I’m clean, handsome, and considerate, so maybe that’s it? But that’s fine.
Anyway, it’s helpful to be popular with three beautiful women.
Besides that, I’m also very popular with the townspeople and other female Striders, so there’s really nothing to complain about!
“Hey, I want to eat the food Dru made! Conquering the Demon Lair the other day was so tiring! Give me a reward!”
“Hmm? What should I do…”
“Hmm.”
Oh?
Margot secretly handed me a small piece of stone…
This is… the Magic Stone, the core of the Demon Lair!
It’s a small piece, but it’s a high-end item worth hundreds of thousands of Lido, and it’s the central part of a Magic Item… a magical tool!
“Is this… okay?”
“Hmm, for the sake of fellow mages, right?”
Ah, that’s right.
Margot has found out that I’m a mage.
She said that she could tell if someone was a mage by looking at the magical power waves.
So, in exchange for keeping quiet, I teach her a little magic and give her food.
It’s been a few years since we met, but Margot hasn’t told anyone and even shares Magic Stones with me.
I really like this girl.
“Ah, you gave him a stone again. I’m not a mage, so if I wanted a Magic Stone, it would be suspicious, so I don’t have anything, sorry?”
By the way, Shio also knows that I’m a mage.
She overheard me and Margot secretly talking about magic in the past… but she’s been keeping quiet.
“No, your feelings are enough. If there’s anything I really need, I’ll put in a request under the store’s name.”
“Don’t say that, you can rely on me a little more~? I’m always in your debt.”
“Hmm, agree.”
In this way, I’m popular with girls, doing a moderate amount of work, and living comfortably.
The world after clearing the game is quite fun…