Chapter 38
Light novel: Episode 38
Manhwa: Chapter 16
“Thank you for the compliment.”
“I was only stating the truth. Ah! I forgot to introduce myself.”
The woman placed her right hand over her left chest and gave a deep bow at the waist.
Perhaps due to her bold features and the muscles visible beneath her short sleeves, even such an exaggerated greeting suited her perfectly.
“I am Jun Rudmin, the vice-captain of the merchant guild ‘Lumen,’ affiliated with Duke Sieri.”
In short, she was the one who would be in charge of distributing our potions from today onward.
Considering that Lute is the master of the merchant guild, most of the actual work would likely fall to her.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Ordell, the Saintess of the grand temple of the Sun God.”
Without meaning to, I found myself glancing not at Jun’s face, but at her arm muscles as I introduced myself.
I know it’s impolite. But those muscles were so well-defined, I couldn’t help my eyes from being drawn to them.
“Ooooh!”
But just as quickly, that moment passed as Jun suddenly let out a loud exclamation, and I looked at her, startled. Her face was lit up with a joyful smile.
“You’re really different from how the guild master and Yuri described you.”
A sense of foreboding stabbed through me like a knife.
“And what exactly did those two say about me?”
“That ill-tempered lord of ours said we must never act rashly around the Saintess and must always be on his best behavior!”
So this one knew full well that Lute Sieri had a bad temper, huh.
But that damn Lute. How dare he say it like I’m the one with the nasty temper, when he’s the one who should be looking in the mirror?
I’ve worked so hard to maintain a gentle image lately!
“Yuri also said that you were no ordinary person, so I came here fully prepared, but from what I can tell, you’re far kinder than either the guild master or Yuri!”
I immediately softened my expression.
“For a vice-captain, your eye for people is remarkably sharp. I’d say your judgment is even better than theirs.”
“Isn’t that right? Haha, I do take pride in that!”
We laughed heartily and shook hands.
I had a good feeling that Jun was going to be a great business partner.
“Ah, I’d love to chat more with you, Saintess, but I came here for business today, so I don’t really have time to spare.”
Jun seemed to share my sentiment, looking genuinely disappointed.
“Then please make sure to visit again when you have more time. We can sit down for tea and talk more then.”
“Oh! That’s a promise. I’ll be looking forward to that day!”
With a wide grin, Jun gestured to the merchant guild members she came with.
The guild members, who had been waiting, then carefully transferred the potion bottles to a box equipped with safety devices so that they would not break.
They even brought something like that. This just shows how meticulous and well-prepared a successful guild can be.
“I’ve been fully briefed by the guild master regarding precautions and sales proceeds, so there’s nothing to worry about. Just leave everything to me.”
“I’ll count on you, Vice-captain.”
“Yes! I’ll make sure these beauties get sold far and wide and return with good news!”
Once everything was packed, Jun placed her hand confidently on her forehead and declared boldly.
Her figure, as she left with the guild members, gave off such a dependable and reassuring vibe.
Is it because of her arm muscles? And now that I took a look at it, her back muscles are just as amazing.
Haah. I really envy her body.
“I was a bit surprised.”
As I was still staring at that sturdy back, clearly visible even through the shirt, Airek spoke beside me.
“Hmm? Surprised about what?”
“That Vice-captain Rudmin would be in charge of distribution herself. It seems that Duke Sieri is serious about investing in this business.”
Airek let out a sigh of relief, clearly reassured.
However, I didn’t quite understand what he meant.
“Why? Isn’t it normal for the vice-captain to handle most of the work, especially since Duke Sieri, the guild master, is probably busy?”
“Ah, I guess you didn’t know. The Lumen merchant guild is so large that there are three teams under the vice-captain, each handling different tasks. When the guild master gives an order, the vice-captain typically relays it to the teams.”
“What? Then that means the vice-captain—”
“The vice-captain only steps in personally when the guild master, Duke Sieri, gives a direct order. She’s an incredibly capable person.”
Which meant Jun coming here herself could only mean one thing and that was Lute had instructed her directly.
To entrust the entire potion business to the most important figure in the guild… it showed just how seriously he was taking this business venture.
I was genuinely shocked.
…Wait a minute. The most important figure in the merchant guild?
Ah, damn it. A grim setting from the original story suddenly came rushing back to me, something I had completely forgotten.
The reason I hadn’t recognized her, despite her distinctive appearance and prominent role.
It was because the name Jun Rudmin had never once been properly mentioned in the original work.
But that doesn’t mean she was some background extra, far from it. On the contrary, she’s an extremely important character.
The event that caused Lute to lose all humanity and become a complete villain was the downfall of the Lumen merchant guild.
And the spark that triggered that collapse was none other than the death of Jun Rudmin, the vice-captain who had acted as the bridge between Lute and the guild.
* * *
“Ha… those bastards are getting worse by the day…”
Martin, who had just come out of the alchemy potion shop, muttered irritably as he kicked a loose stone on the ground.
As a member of a mercenary group primarily tasked with monster subjugation, he had come out to the streets to buy potions.
The most effective ones were those made by the Great Sea God, but they were far out of reach for someone on a mercenary’s income. So, as usual, he had aimed to buy an alchemy potion.
But then—
“Those sons of bitches! They raised the price again?!”
This was already the third time this year alone.
The effect is the same, but the price kept going up.
They were outright crooks.
“…But it’s not like I have a choice.”
Still fuming, Martin marched down the street but it wasn’t long before he came to a stop.
He couldn’t hunt monsters without potions. Doing so was basically a death wish, so he had to buy them, no matter what.
However, other potions were not as effective for its cost, which meant his only remaining option was to go back to the place he just stormed out of.
Just as Martin clenched his eyes shut, steeling himself to turn back—
“Hello!”
A woman with purple hair suddenly appeared in front of him.
“You just came out of the potion shop, right?”
“…Yeah, so?”
“I wasn’t trying to spy or anything, but we just happened to launch our own potion business, so you naturally caught our attention!”
Potion business?
Martin perked up before he could even think.
And for good reason, as merchants who had just launched and started selling their products often offered discounts to attract customers.
If her potions were cheaper than those crooks’, and the effects weren’t bad, then buying in bulk from her wouldn’t be a bad idea at all.
“What alchemy guild are you with?”
“We’re not part of any alchemy guild. While there is some alchemy mixed in, the main ingredient is something else entirely.”
“Huh? What do you mean by that—?”
“The potions sold by our merchant guild are a completely new kind! One that has never existed before! It’s made by combining alchemy with the divine power of the Sun God!”
At the woman’s bold declaration, Martin’s eyes widened in surprise.
The same was true for the people who happened to be passing by and overheard the conversation.
“Divine power? Sun God? Was there even a god like that…?”
“Oh, now that you mention it, I think one of the Three Main Gods was the Sun God.”
“Really? I always wondered who the third one was… So it was the Sun God. But now they’re selling potions?”
“Huh. I only ever knew about potions made by the temple of the Great Sea God.”
As the murmurs continued, more and more people began to cautiously approach the woman, Jun, and started asking questions.
“Are these potions really imbued with divine power?”
It was only natural that they were curious, as it was a basic fact that divine power had stronger healing properties than alchemy.
“Of course! And you all know this, right? The divine power of the Sun God is known for having the greatest healing strength.”
Most of the crowd looked like they were hearing this for the first time, but Jun didn’t mind and pressed on confidently with her explanation.
“Right now, you can buy potions made with that very Sun God’s divine power at a discounted rate, our special launch price!”
Martin’s eyes lit up as he realized that the potions were much cheaper than the Great Sea God potions and priced similarly to alchemy potions.
“Where else can you buy potions imbued with divine power at this price? Only our merchant guild can make that possible.”
Now was the time to drive the point home.
Jun pointed to a massive shop located at the heart of the street and shouted:
“And for your information, the Sun God’s potions are sold exclusively by our Lumen Merchant Guild!”
Not only Martin, but everyone snapped to attention.
The Lumen Merchant Guild?! Isn’t that one of the top three largest merchant guilds in the empire, known for dealing only in verified, high-quality goods?
And they had exclusive rights to the product?
‘I have to buy this, no matter what!’
If it had Lumen’s name on it, there was no need for doubt.
“I’ll buy some right now!”
Martin shouted loudly and sprinted straight toward the Lumen store.
The others, who had been quietly watching, immediately followed suit as if a dam had burst.
Jun, watching the scene unfold from behind, smiled in satisfaction.
“There’s no way I’ll be returning empty-handed to our Saintess.”
Things were looking promising right from the start.
She needed to inform their guild master, who had a deep interest in this business, as soon as possible.
Humming a tune, Jun cheerfully began pitching the product to people around her once again.
SoundlessWind21’s Notes:
If there are any errors, whether it be grammatical, spelling, translation, or website-related issues, feel free to let me know. (´◡`) Anyway, thank you for reading!