I Thought I Was Married, But I Was Left Alone, So I'll Live as I Please. So Please Don't Mind Me Anymore, My Lord of the Border - Chapter 3

I entered the alley the stall vendor had told me about.

It wasn’t as noisy as the main street, but it didn’t feel rundown at all.

If anything, the shop eaves and simple wooden signs created an atmosphere reminiscent of an artisan’s district.

At the dead end stood a shop with small vines crawling up the window frames.

A medicine bottle sign.

Unmistakably an apothecary.

“Hello!”

When I opened the door, the interior revealed itself to be much more spacious than the exterior suggested.

Neatly arranged shelves. The contents of the bottles were crystal clear – even from a distance, you could tell they were top quality.

The higher the quality of medicine, the clearer it appears.

One look was enough to know this was a genuine artisan’s shop.

Beyond the counter stood a gruff old man.

His worn robe was steeped in the scent of medicinal herbs, giving him the distinct air of a skilled alchemist.

My first impression was of a typical stubborn craftsman.

“Hey, kid. What brings you? Running an errand?”

“I’d like to sell some medicine.”

“Hmm, let’s see it.”

He tapped the counter with his finger, and I opened my trunk.

I took out my well-used medicine case and lined up the bottles on the counter.

“Healing potions, antidotes, paralysis cures, and nutrient solutions.”

The old man silently picked them up, held them to the light, opened the lids, and checked the scents.

This silent inspection period was subtly the most nerve-wracking part.

I was confident. But you never knew how someone seeing your work for the first time would judge it.

The old man’s eyebrow twitched upward.

He gently grabbed the healing potion bottle with green liquid and stared intently.

“…Did you make these, kid?”

“Yes!”

I answered proudly.

Then the old man, who had been scowling until now, suddenly smiled.

“The quality is excellent. You made some fine products. I’ll buy them.”

“Really!?”

“Ten healing potions for ten silver coins, two antidotes for… twenty-two silver coins total.”

One silver coin was enough for two nights at a standard inn. With this much medicine, I could live at an inn for a month.

“Eh!? That much!?”

“The quality is top-notch. Not inferior to the court-approved products from Kreuz.”

Hearing the old man’s evaluation warmed me deep inside.

My medicines had been treated as the highest quality in that territory.

It was true they’d been delivered to the royal palace.

…So being properly recognized felt strangely gratifying.

“Not many your age can make something like this.”

“Hehe… I really love alchemy.”

“Anyone can see that. First time seeing your face – did you just move here?”

“I just arrived today and haven’t even found an inn yet. Ah, but I’m hoping to get my own workshop eventually…”

“…Hmm. So, you haven’t decided where to live yet.”

The shop owner stroked his chin while looking at me.

“Yes. I don’t have any savings either.”

“So that’s why you came to sell those medicines.”

“Yes.”

The old man crossed his arms and grunted, “Hmm.”

“Alright, kid. You can live here starting today.”

“…Huh?”

“There’s an empty room. It’s too big for one person. And I’m getting old – making medicine is getting tough. I was thinking about closing the shop soon. If you want, you can live here and make medicines.”

“Eh, eh… really!? But we just met!”

I was flustered by this sudden stroke of luck.

“Hmph. Anyone can tell from looking in that trunk. Bad people don’t treat their tools like that.”

Following his words, I looked down at my feet.

Inside the open trunk were the precious alchemy tools I’d inherited from my parents and carefully maintained.

…Well, I suppose any alchemist would understand just by looking.

“What do you say?”

The old man, who had been scowling until now, lowered his wrinkled eyes and smiled softly.

Seeing that smile made the tension leave my shoulders, and I nodded vigorously.

“Absolutely!!”

“Now that’s what I like to hear. I’m Tom. And you?”

“I’m Ash!”

“Alright Ash. Starting today, you’re an employee of this shop.”

“Yes!!”

To encounter such luck on my very first day of freedom…

Graphica really is the best.

By the time the outside lights came on, I was lying in a fluffy futon with my eyes closed.

Even though I’d been prepared to sleep rough if necessary, ending up living in an apothecary with my own room and spacious workshop was almost too fortunate.

Outside air came in through the open window.

I closed my eyes while breathing in air carrying the scent of grasses different from Kreuz.

Here, I would live as an alchemist.

Having made that resolution, I began my life in Graphica.

Before I knew it, six months had passed in this enjoyable life.

“Tom! Good morning! Time to wake up!”

“Mmm, what, morning already?”

“You drank too much yesterday… Randa sent this over, you know?”

Randa was the blacksmith next door.

“That so. Well, yesterday’s sake was delicious.”

“You should take it easy at your age.”

“Got carried away having found a good successor, sorry.”

Being praised out of nowhere made me flinch involuntarily.

I couldn’t stop my face from heating up.

“Guh… breakfast is ready, so get up.”

“Right.”

Outside, there were plenty of materials for sale, and back home I could practice alchemy as much as I wanted.

While maintaining the shop’s inventory, I devoted myself to developing new medicines.

Tom’s knowledge was extensive, particularly about medicinal herbs – his understanding was more detailed than even the herbology books I’d owned, and there was much to learn from him.

During free time, he let me observe the herb gardens and processing methods. Every day was busy but enjoyable.

While eating breakfast facing Tom, we heard knocking at the shop door.

“I wonder what? We’re not open yet.”

“Might be an emergency. Go see.”

“Okay!”

When I opened the curtain and unlocked the door, the young man outside relaxed his expression with relief.

“Sorry! Healing potion, please! My little brother fell and gashed his leg badly!”

“Understood!”

Whether he’d tried first aid, there were bloodstains on the man’s sleeves and hem.

“Where’s the injury? How deep? I’ll come with you.”

As I spoke, I packed medicines and cloth into my bag.

“Right outer calf, gashed it good.”

“Understood. I’ll bring clean cloth too.”

“Appreciate it.”

“Tom! I’m heading out!”

“Alright, be careful out there!”

Hearing his reply from afar, I started running with the man.

“This way.”

Turning the corner revealed a large square, where we could see a boy crouching beside a flower bed.

“Hey, Liam. I brought medicine.”

“Brother…”

The boy called Liam looked up at Darryl’s return with a pale face.

“You’ll be fine now, Liam.”

When Darryl nodded firmly, Liam relaxed his expression slightly.

The badly cut calf peeking from his shorts.

The bleeding was severe, and the torn wound looked painful.

Nearby lay a tree branch that had broken in yesterday’s strong wind, its sharp end exposed.

He must have caught his foot on this.

Deep cuts and scrapes marked his calf.

“This might sting a bit.”

“…”

Liam nodded slightly and clung to Darryl’s arm.

I took out the healing potion and applied it to the wound.

“…Ugh”

Fine bubbles fizzled up, and Liam groaned.

“It’s hot… ugh”

“Liam, bear with it.”

Thirty seconds… twenty seconds… the bubbles subsided, and the medicine’s reaction settled.

“Phew… that should do it.”

I wiped the blood from the wound with cloth.

There was no trace of injury whatsoever – just smooth, clean calf glowing in the morning sun.

“Eh, not even a scar!?”

“Amazing…”

The two stared down at the wound in astonishment.

“Can you stand?”

At my words, Liam cautiously moved his leg.

“It doesn’t hurt!”

“…It’s like there was never any injury to begin with.”

If not for the torn shorts and bloodstains on the ground, you’d never know he’d been hurt.

“Fufun, our medicines are top quality.”

I was confident in the quality.

But hearing “top quality” made Liam and Darryl flinch and shrink their shoulders.

“Um, how much is it? Is installment payment possible?”

“One silver coin.”

“…Huh?”

“For this amazing medicine?”

“Yes! It’s only possible because of the territory’s herbs.”

If sold in the royal capital, it would cost ten times this much, but this is our shop’s price.

In Graphica, the herbs themselves were high quality, and until now it had been a land where “raw herbs alone could handle things,” so there weren’t many apothecaries.

Whether they’d heard from Tom or been requested by local alchemists, we even held workshops on production methods. Now, every apothecary in this territory had good quality.

The complete opposite of Kreuz territory, which relied heavily on medicines.

“Um, thank you for coming so early in the morning.”

“Can we come buy other medicines later?”

As Darryl bowed his head, Liam hurriedly bowed too.

“Please do!”

Receiving one silver coin, I returned to the shop.

“Tom! I’m back!”

“Right, how’d it go?”

“Perfectly healed! They said they’ll come buy other medicines later too.”

“That’s our Ash for you.”

“Hehe”

The medicines I made helped people. This was the true honor of an alchemist.

Outside, the morning light still illuminated the town.

Light shimmered in the bottle I was about to place on the shelf.

With this medicine, I could save someone else too.

Thinking that filled my heart with happiness.