That Time a Shut-in for 300 Years Continued to Make Antiques , but All of It Turned out to Be Cheat-Level Magic Tools - Chapter 31

“Well then, Frog, why don’t you explain to us? What exactly did you see in those Aloy herbs that made you think they weren’t worth taking?”

As Roat pressed in, I learned for the first time that the clerk’s name was Frog.

The man clenched his back teeth in frustration, a whirlwind of doubts swirling in his mind.

“Hey, that’s the apothecary Roat, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, he’s the best apothecary in town. I’ve been saved by Roat’s medicine several times myself.”

“His potions work differently, too—there’s something special about the ones made by old man Roat.”

“But when did he get here?”

“True, it felt like he was suddenly right next to them, didn’t it?”

From a distance, the murmuring voices of adventurers could be heard. Indeed, this old man’s skills seem to be well-recognized.

This is a time to be thankful to the Furenzu Commerce Guild for the information. They sure have a wide network; it certainly helped me out.

“Why now, there was no one there just a moment ago! How come!”

“What are you even talking about? I’ve been here the whole time. It’s just your eyes that are bad, just like your judgment of Aloy herbs!”

“Ughhhhhhh!”

He groaned, his face turning bright red in frustration.

“But, you really didn’t notice him until now, did you?”

“Master’s magical tools are perfect,” Mei responded to Alecto, who seemed puzzled. Well, perfect is an exaggeration. Rather, a researcher like me always questions the concept of perfection.

Well, that aside, things are going as expected. After being introduced by the Furenzu Commerce Guild, I made a deal with them.

One of the terms was accompanying them to the adventurers’ guild. Of course, I didn’t just honestly follow them. As proof, no one noticed Roat while he was with me all along.

This is thanks to my developed magical tool, the Shadow Light Diffuser Kageusukunaaru.

This tool literally thins out the shadow when sprayed on, making the presence of the shadow’s owner less noticeable and unrecognized by those around.

The diffuser has two spray nozzles; spraying from the opposite side intensifies the shadow and returns it to normal, making it noticeable again. This time, I had Mei use the device to intensify the shadow.

“Was I overlooking this man? Impossible, but he’s actually right in front of…”

Frog still couldn’t catch up with his understanding. Now, to press on further.

“Let’s clarify once more. You were saying that the Aloy herbs we brought were clearly in poor condition, right? But Mr. Roat here disagrees.”

“Indeed, it’s strange. I was asked to inspect the Aloy herbs beforehand, and there was nothing wrong with them. They were in perfect condition.”

“Roat-san, isn’t this too much?”

“Too much? What do you mean?”

Roat has proven that there was nothing wrong with our Aloy herbs, but this man is still not convinced. He really is hard to deal with.

“Everything. This is like a trick.”

“What nonsense. How did I trick anyone? As I said, I’ve been here the whole time!”

“That… But, that’s it! I don’t know what influenced you, but you can’t just make wild claims without having properly looked yourself!”

“Not looked properly, you say?”

“That’s right! It’s all strange! They just collected Aloy herbs today. There were 20,000 of them! There’s no way you could check that much in such a short time.”

“Here’s the proof (Bang! Bang! Bang!)”

“What! What is this!”

Books piled up on the counter, astonishing Frog. He then picked up the book and flipped through it in further shock.

“This is, could it be the appraisal report of the harvested Aloy herbs? You checked all 20,000 of them? How!”

“Well, when I really put my mind to it, this is nothing.”

Saying so, Roat winked at me. Lately, he had been complaining about the poor quality of Aloy herbs from the adventurers’ guild.

When he saw the Aloy herbs we brought, he was quite surprised. This implies that the guild had been accepting even poorer quality herbs than what we had brought.

Despite this, they rejected the Aloy herbs we brought this time. It’s nothing but harassment.

However, even if Roat is a well-known apothecary around here, it was originally impossible to inspect that number of herbs within one day as he mentioned. Especially since he is particular about his work, he initially even requested three days.

That’s when the magical tool came into play. I created a Time Control Watch, a magical device that allows one to freely control time for an individual or within a specific area. With this, I could advance or rewind the time of the results for the person involved while keeping the current time constant.

In other words, I advanced Roat’s time by three days using this magical device. As a result, the appraisal of the Aloy herbs, which would normally take three days, was completed in just a few seconds. These are the results from that appraisal.

However, seeing Frog’s panicked face, Roat couldn’t help but grin. It seems he has been frustrated with the adventurers’ guild lately, so seeing Frog’s surprised face must be quite satisfying for him. I feel similarly.

“Indeed, it’s quite something. But, this cannot be accepted! This isn’t a legitimate appraisal result and is ultimately just an apothecary’s work! You can’t beat the adventurers’ guild with mere eye for detail!”

“Are you serious? An apothecary is a specialist in concocting medicines. Naturally, he has a deep knowledge of medicinal and magical herbs. He always meticulously inspects the herbs he purchases. Are you saying his appraisal can’t be trusted?”

“No matter what you say, I cannot accept this! There’s a lack of basis to believe that your appraisal results are correct!”

“Really? I remember clearly. As you said earlier, you claimed that the Aloy herbs we brought were in terribly poor condition, so obvious that even a layman could tell. However, at the very least, Mr. Roat’s appraisal has negated that. Shouldn’t it be normal to assume there’s a problem on the adventurers’ guild side?”

Frog choked, his face twitching as he struggled against the barrage of words from me, Roat, and Mei. Amidst this, only Alecto looked bewildered, consistently clueless.

“I may have spoken too hastily earlier. Even a layman might see that. But, but!”

“What’s wrong? You seem to be losing your composure.”

“Argh!”

“Well, we’ve shown this much proof. If you still can’t accept it, shouldn’t you show your side too?”

“Show it? You mean bring the appraisal results?”

“That would be fastest, wouldn’t it?”

“No, no way! That’s confidential information! I cannot show it!”

“What’s confidential about it? You’re making this unacceptable fuss. Just bring it already.”

“I refuse!”

He’s truly desperate now. At this point, his refusal is practically an admission that they haven’t properly appraised anything.

“So, you absolutely refuse? Then, I have a thought.”

“A thought?”

Roat stared at Frog, continuing in a growling tone.

“Don’t underestimate the connections of us apothecaries. We’ll discuss this incident thoroughly and openly, highlighting the issues.”

“Ughhhhh!”

Clearly, after being pushed this far, Frog couldn’t maintain his boldness. Losing the trust of the apothecaries could mean losing all his sources for medicinal and magical herbs.

“So, what do you intend to do now?” I asked Frog again. The man’s face showed clear signs of turmoil, sweat dripping down. He looked like a literal frog.

“Alright, I understand. But showing the appraisal results is difficult; however, just to be sure, let me confirm it once more. Can you wait a bit?”

“Well, you better hurry and go look. Make sure you properly appraise it this time.”

“Ughhhhh!”

After grunting and showing a reluctant face, Frog stepped back momentarily. Suddenly, Roat slapped my back.

“Ahhahaha! Delightfully splendid! For such a small kid, you’re quite something!”

That sort of sums it up. But, wow, he’s stronger than he looks! Ouch!

“It’s too early to celebrate. The real challenge starts now.”

“Right! That’s true. Haha, it’ll be quite the sight to see how we press them further!”

With that, he opened his mouth wide in laughter. Indeed, fulfilling this request isn’t our only goal.

And as we were talking, Frog came back—