I was able to sell 27 cigarettes and 2 giselles before the start time of the afternoon duty.
Indeed, dwarves were fond of alcohol.
Subsequently, I was tasked with purchasing a peculiar mushroom called Remula for a Hobbit prisoner.
Despite its name, the Remula mushroom was not a suspicious substance with hallucinogenic effects.
Among the Hobbit race, Remula mushrooms were highly favored and often graced their dining tables.
They were readily available on the market, and I had even savored their unique bitterness a few times.
They had a unique bitterness, but the taste was no different from regular mushrooms.
Perhaps they contained some special substance that only Hobbits could perceive.
The mystery of what captivated the Hobbits was unknown, but thanks to that, I received a fee of 500 gil.
When I totaled it up, today’s profit was 1370 gil.
Finally, I would be able to afford a new needle and thread with this.
In the prison, it was a strict rule that all the chores were to be done by the inmates themselves. Cleaning, meal preparation, and even other miscellaneous tasks were assigned to the prisoners.
For instance, cutting hair was one of the tasks assigned to the inmates. Male prisoners had a rule that their hair should not exceed 3 centimeters in length. As a result, they often needed frequent haircuts. However, since it was done by amateurs, most prisoners ended up with buzz cuts.
Nevertheless, there were some cases where prisoners who had been doing this task for over a year became quite skilled and even pursued a career as professional barbers after their release.
Of course, these were rare cases.
The guards didn’t participate in the tasks; their role was to supervise the work and manage the staffing.
This afternoon was spent supervising the “cleaning duties.”
As evening approached, I carried the prepared dinner and headed towards the cell of the esteemed hero. Naturally, Kimberly accompanied me.
Today’s dinner consisted of offal patties, which was known to be the least popular among the prisoners. I felt a tinge of guilt for serving her such a dish, but the esteemed hero didn’t seem to mind and accepted the tray without any concern.
“This time, I’ve prepared three types of magic spells,” Fuyu announced.
Before touching her meal, the esteemed hero handed me something, as promised. It was a magic scroll filled with celestial script and intricate symbols. Just copying it would take quite a bit of time.
It seemed like the esteemed hero wrote the characters with a serious expression.
“You have excellent handwriting,” I complimented.
“Me? I dislike my own handwriting. My nervous nature shows in my writing…” Fuyu responded.
Although I got the impression of meticulousness rather than nervousness, I didn’t voice my thoughts.
“Thank you. Is this a fire magic spell?” I asked.
“Yes. Since you can read the characters, you should have a rough understanding of what it says, right?”
As the hero said, I could somewhat grasp what kind of magic was written. It included a simple fire spell, a basic body enhancement spell, and a very basic healing spell.
Although it was possible to create more advanced magic scrolls, the longer the incantations, the more magic power they required. It was also mentioned that even a slight mistake in the characters or symbols could prevent the magic from working properly. So, it was recommended to start with shorter spells for practice.
“Furthermore, I have gathered all the ingredients for the ink you’ll be using,” Fuyu continued.
Regular ink – 10 melano
Anhydrous ethanol – 10 melano
Moonflower powder – 3 mamlombs
Genka Leaf powder – 3 mamlombs
Fairy dust – 1 mamlombs
Personal blood – 5 melano
Both moonflower and Genka Leaf powders are said to soothe heat and reduce bruises, and they can be purchased at the apothecary.
“Obtaining fairy dust is quite challenging, but prison guard Wolf has Kim (Kimberly) so there’s no need to worry,” Fuyu explained.
It seemed like finding fairy dust would have been incredibly difficult otherwise.
“But where does Kimberly get the fairy dust from?” I asked.
Kimberly’s feathers were translucent and didn’t seem to have any scales or powder.
“Fairy dust? It appears when we do this,”
Kimberly suddenly started vigorously rubbing her hair.
As a result, a faint powder shimmering with seven colors began to scatter in the air.
“Dandruff? Is it dandruff?” I questioned.
“No! Fairies don’t produce dandruff or dirt like humans do! I won’t share it with rude Barton!” Kimberly exclaimed.
“But it really looks like dandruff, you know…”
To be honest, it definitely looked like dandruff.
The esteemed hero watched our reactions with a smile that seemed to find the scene amusing.
Perhaps this was the first time I had seen that person smile.
“Once you get used to it, I’ll teach you some more complex spells. Until then, you can practice with this. By the way, you can show it to other humans too. After all, magic scrolls can only be created by someone like you, blessed with innate talent,”
“I don’t know how to thank you enough. If there’s anything I can do for you, please don’t hesitate to ask,” I replied.
“…Well, I had plenty of time to spare and was getting bored anyway. Don’t worry about it,” Fuyu responded.
The hero said that in a blunt manner, but there was a hint of excitement in her expression.
“Oh, by the way, I’ve started reading that book you lent me, ‘When You Find the Killer Bee.’ It’s quite interesting, I must say. Right now, they are planning to unleash a swarm of bees on the cliffside hive in Barkley Valley and have the eagles attack them….”
For as long as time allowed, we engaged in a lively conversation about the books.
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