Chapter 13: The Apothecary's Dilemma
After a day's hard work, Takemikazuchi's food stall once again enjoyed great success.
The day's earnings were more than double that of the previous day. Takemikazuchi generously gave half of the proceeds to Shirou as his wage for working.
Faced with such a generous reward, Hestia was so overjoyed that she could barely contain her excitement.
On the way home, she kept patting Shirou on the shoulder, offering heartfelt praise, saying that being able to recruit a capable follower like Shirou was the greatest blessing a goddess like her could ask for.
Shirou responded with a smile, quietly accepting her praise.
"By the way, Shirou,"
Once they returned to the Familia's base, Hestia suddenly began rummaging through a cabinet in the room and pulled out a thick coin purse.
"This is money I saved up from working part-time. I originally planned to use it to buy equipment for Bell, but right now, your situation is more urgent. Take all of it. Tomorrow, I'll take you to see a famous healer to try treating your injuries."
"This… doesn't feel right."
Shirou hadn't expected Hestia to prioritize his needs. A look of hesitation appeared on his face.
But without saying another word, Hestia shoved the purse into Shirou's hands and said:
"What are you talking about? You're my Familia now, which means you're family. Is there any need to be polite in this kind of situation? Besides, even if we told Bell, he'd definitely agree too."
Just as Hestia finished speaking, a dust-covered Bell walked in from outside.
After hearing about Hestia's plan to take Shirou to a healer, he immediately expressed his support and even brought out the money he earned in the dungeon that day, adding it to the fund for Shirou's treatment.
"I feel so ashamed. If I was stronger, I could've earned more money in the dungeon."
Bell wore a guilty expression as he spoke, not the least bit hesitant about giving his earnings for Shirou's treatment.
Seeing both Hestia and Bell being so kind, Shirou didn't know what to say for a moment. In the end, he silently accepted their money and made a decision in his heart.
Once his injuries were healed, he would use his own strength to change the situation of this Familia as much as possible.
"By the way, Shirou-nii, the advice you gave me yesterday really helped!" Bell suddenly perked up. "Today, I deliberately fought monsters in the dungeon that were a bit stronger than me. I got beaten up badly at first, but little by little, I figured out how to fight them and managed to defeat the enemies on the third floor!"
"Oh? Well done, Bell-kun!" Hestia beamed. "In that case, once Shirou's treatment is finished, let's go find a pub and celebrate!"
Shirou calmly responded, "I only told you how to grow stronger. The results are all thanks to your own efforts."
"Hehe, I'll keep working hard!"
Embarrassed by their praise, Bell scratched his head sheepishly.
And so, the Hestia Familia spent a joyful night. Bell and Hestia kept playing around until late before finally going to bed.
Shirou, however, didn't sleep for long. He soon got up to train his Projection magic.
It was a habit he had formed over many years—so much so that he often forgot to sleep, spending the entire night practicing magic.
.
.
.
The next morning, Bell once again enthusiastically headed off to the dungeon for another adventure.
Hestia took the day off from Takemikazuchi and led Shirou in the opposite direction of the commercial district.
Eventually, the two arrived at a street completely unlike the bustling commercial area—a quiet street so serene it was almost surreal.
"This is Apothecary Street, where most of the healers who offer treatment services gather."
While explaining this to Shirou, Hestia confidently walked deeper into the street.
Just as she described, the street was lined with shops bearing signs indicating they were run by apothecaries. Each shop bore different Familia crests, indicating that the healers belonged to various Familias.
Shirou learned from Hestia that most healers only provided treatment to their own Familia's adventurers and would also accompany them into the dungeon to serve as support. However,
there were also many Familias that didn't focus on dungeon exploration and instead sold healing services as a business.
Hestia didn't seem to be particularly familiar with Apothecary Street. Faced with the overwhelming number of shop signs, she appeared at a loss, unsure which one to choose.
"Are you here to buy potions?"
While both Hestia and Shirou were overwhelmed and unsure what to do, a voice suddenly spoke from nearby.
It was a beastwoman with dog-like ears and a tail. Her brown hair draped over her shoulders, and her right hand seemed to be deliberately hiding something.
"And you are?"
"I'm Naaza Erisuis, a clerk from the Azure Apothecary. You two seem to be looking for potions—how about coming to my shop?"
"Uh…" Caught off guard by the sales pitch, Hestia hesitated. "We're not looking for potions. We're here to receive healing magic."
"Healing magic?" Naaza looked surprised by Hestia's response, but then smiled. "No worries. The Azure Apothecary also offers treatment services."
"Huh? You can use healing magic?"
Hestia looked surprised. Healing magic was extremely rare, and very few people could use it.
Naaza nodded without hesitation. "Of course. If I didn't have that kind of skill, how could I run an apothecary business?"
"Huh…"
Though still doubtful, Hestia hesitated but looked like she was about to follow Naaza to her store.
Shirou felt something was a bit off, but he didn't know enough about this world to raise any objections, so he silently followed.
However, just as the two were about to follow Naaza to the Azure Apothecary, a sharp voice suddenly rang out:
"Passing by here again, I didn't expect to see you pulling your tricks again, Naaza Erisuis."
The voice continued, "For the god Miach to have a Familia member like you—it's truly disgraceful."
Everyone turned toward the voice and saw a petite girl standing not far away.
Her silver-white, silky hair cascaded down as she bowed slightly. Her large eyes were framed by long, dreamy lashes, and she wore a white dress, giving off a stern impression.
"Airmid Teasanare?" Naaza clearly recognized her, her expression stiffening. "Our Miach Familia and your Dian Cecht Familia have always minded our own business. Do you really need to damage my reputation like this?"
"You know full well whether I'm damaging your reputation or not," Amid responded coldly. "I just don't want to see someone else getting tricked again, so I stepped in.
And as a fellow apothecary, I find your actions disgraceful—they tarnish the honor of all healers."
"You—!"
Faced with the two women's heated exchange, both Hestia and Shirou found themselves in a very awkward position.
Neither of them knew enough about the healer profession to tell which of the two was in the right.