Nicole and the Apothecary Family Live Freely
Alt decided to go and study the basics at an alchemy workshop, introduced by the pharmacist guild.
Just because you gain a skill doesn’t mean you can instantly become an alchemist.
Even I spent several years training before I could make high-grade potions.
Mom found work as a seamstress at a nearby clothing workshop.
On her days off, she visits elderly people’s homes and helps out with small tasks.
And, of course, we couldn’t stay at the inn forever, so through the pharmacist guild’s referral, we managed to rent a house located behind the inn.
It’s super convenient since it’s right behind the inn, and if you take the residents-only path, you end up at the back entrance of the nearby pharmacist guild.
I still can’t believe there was such a conveniently located vacant house!
Since I stuffed all our belongings into a magic bag, we just needed to set up a bed, and we were ready to start living there.
For some reason, Uncle Arthur and Aunt Dahlia are also living with us.
They split the rent with us, which is nice.
Because our new place is so close to the inn, Jane keeps coming over to slack off.
And Dad just walks into our kitchen and leaves food behind?
Is this really okay??
Unfortunately, since it’s a regular civilian house, there’s no potion-making room.
Dad and I are still commuting to the pharmacist guild to continue making potions and medicine.
As summer rushed by and autumn arrived, we started running low on medicinal herbs. So, I decided to leave the potion-making to Dad and head outside Tokaran Town to gather herbs.
I wasn’t allowed to go alone, so Aunt Dahlia came along as my escort.
Tokaran Town is located in a flat area surrounded by a few shallow forests, but the places with good medicinal herbs are far away, too far for a day trip.
So, I directly confronted Dad and Uncle Arthur.
“I want to go to a distant forest to gather herbs for a few days! I want autumn’s bounty! And I want to climb apple trees!!”
“The last part is weird!”
I got sharply called out!
“No way~! I wanna go, I’m going!!!”
When I threw a tantrum like a child, Aunt Dahlia patted my head.
“After running around here with her a few times, I noticed there really aren’t many medicinal herbs in the nearby forests. We should leave the herbs in the nearby plains and forests for the rookie adventurers…”
Even a veteran adventurer like her seems troubled.
I personally believe I’ve long surpassed the rookie adventurer level.
Yes, I’m already a pro at walking through forests!
“Nicole, on the other hand, can easily climb mountains and has handy appraisal skills. Plus, her detection and awareness skills are perfect. After years of experience, she’s practically a wild child of the forest and mountains. If we don’t let her out into the wild once in a while, she’ll get stressed and explode someday?”
Though Aunt Dahlia ’s words gave me mixed feelings, overall, she wasn’t wrong, so I nodded vigorously.
Dad made a grimace.
Mom sighed, saying “What a troublesome child,” while touching her cheek and tilting her head.
Uncle Arthur burst into laughter.
I shouted.
“Dad, you know that the medicinal herbs around here don’t have enough magical power! The herbs from the forests near human settlements won’t do! Besides, winter is approaching, and we’ll run even lower on herbs. This is our last chance!! Plus, I’ll hunt some slime jelly, mountain birds, and horn rabbits while I’m at it!!”
Dad’s resolve started wavering toward my side!
Then Uncle Arthur raised his hand and suggested,
“Why don’t Nicole file a request at the adventurer’s guild to hire escorts? Hire me and Dahlia officially. It’s not uncommon for pharmacists or alchemists to issue requests. And we’ll train Nicole while we’re at it?”
“That sounds good. I’ll teach her how to camp too!”
With Aunt Dahlia jumping on board, Dad finally relented.
“It’s about a three-day round trip to the southern forest from here. Add herb gathering, and it’ll take five days! If you’re not back by evening, you’re never doing anything dangerous again!! Is that okay!?”
“Understood! Love you, Dad!!”
I jumped up and hugged him, while Uncle Arthur looked enviously on.
◆◇◆
And so, the next day, we filed a designated request at the adventurer’s guild, setting off early in the morning three days later.
The day before, Dad and I went to the magic item shop and bought everything we’d need.
A simple assembly tent, anti-magic lanterns, leather gloves.
We also prepared plenty of hemp bags for gathering herbs.
Mom asked me to bring back mushrooms if I found any, and Alt cheerfully sent me off, saying “I’m looking forward to those apples!”
“Leave it to me, sis!”
With way too much energy, I dashed out of Tokaran Town.
“Alright, let’s jog there for training~”
At Uncle Arthur’s call, Aunt Dahlia and I started running.
For a wild child who runs through forests, this was nothing!
Luck was on our side weather-wise, and by evening, we arrived near the entrance of our target forest.
“I didn’t think we’d make it here in one day…”
Uncle Arthur muttered while preparing the camp.
“Nicole can use body enhancement too, huh? What a waste to just keep her as a pharmacist.”
Aunt Dahlia chuckled as she built a simple hearth with stones and started a fire.
“Auntie! Try this pot, the one I found in the magic item shop in spring! You just put water in it and heat it, and it turns into soup!”
I bought it but hadn’t had time to test it.
I think Mom forgot about it too, since she left it in the magic bag!
My family is pretty laid-back!
Handing the pot with handles to Aunt Dahlia , she examined it curiously.
“This is dungeon-made. It’s not something you see everywhere; it’s a rare item!”
“Didn’t the old man at the magic item shop say something similar? It was lying carelessly on the floor, and I only noticed it when I kicked it!”
“What? Such a rare item left on the floor? That’s one strange shop.”
Aunt Dahlia widened her eyes in surprise, and Uncle Arthur laughed after finishing assembling the tent.
Pouring water from a canteen imbued with magic power into the pot and placing it over the fire, it began to boil, gradually changing color.
In front of the three of us watching intently, a dramatic change occurred!
Suddenly, ingredients appeared in the pot, turning into a creamy white stew!?
“What the heck!?”
“This is surprising!”
“Are you serious!?”
We were completely shocked and froze.
Pulling ourselves together, I handed white bread sandwiches filled with vegetables and grilled bacon to Uncle and Aunt, then asked them to divide the pot’s contents into three bowls.
The pot was small, so it felt a bit insufficient for three people, but we could always make more if needed, right?
Tentatively tasting it, it turned out to be a rich and creamy stew!
“What kind of meat is this!? It melts without chewing!”
Uncle Arthur exclaimed.
“The vegetables’ umami is concentrated! This tastes as good as something from a high-end restaurant!”
“Ah, warming up delicious~”
Though the daytime temperature was comfortable, it gets chilly at night.
We quickly finished the creamy stew, so after purifying the pot with magic to clean it, we poured water again and boiled it.
This time, minestrone appeared, and the three of us laughed and enjoyed it.
Magic pot, the best!