Given this guy's usual way of doing things, even if he had stolen the spotlight this time, he definitely would not take on any clearing missions that required charging into hordes of monsters afterward.
He would most likely retreat back into his shell and keep doing those inconspicuous gathering commissions.
Those jobs involved the dirtiest, most exhausting, and most thankless work.
Crawling through thickets, digging through muddy ponds, identifying magical beast droppings.
They were simply a match made in heaven.
It would be perfect for letting his old friend's precious apprentice properly experience what the life of a true low-level adventurer was like.
"Let's toss this delicate violet into the mud and see what happens."
Necros curled his lips into a mischievous grin.
He would let Raven thoroughly stain that young lady's pristine white skirts.
He could hardly wait to see the wonderful expression on his old friend's face when the internship ended and he saw his once-neat apprentice looking dusty and bedraggled.
"Hahahahahaha!"
His hearty laughter echoed through the office in the early hours of the morning.
The old man picked up a quill and solemnly wrote the name of the independent adventurer Raven beside Cecilia's name on the internship list.
Now, he only needed to wait until that adventurer came to accept another commission, then invite him over for a proper chat.
That night, Lance slept deeply and even had a bizarre dream.
In his dream, he was no longer a scribe at a small-town guild, but a famed Legendary adventurer.
His footsteps had crossed every corner of the world.
All around him were beautiful companions with wildly different personalities.
There was an adorable Catfolk girl with fluffy ears and a long tail that swayed nimbly behind her.
Her distinctive vertical pupils changed color with the brightness of the light. The two little fangs she showed when she smiled were cute, yet somehow rather irritating.
There was also a Snow Woman with a cold, aloof temperament.
She had long silver-white hair tinted with faint icy blue, and she always watched him with those gentle blue-green eyes.
Just as those two beautiful nonhuman girls were arguing over who got to stand beside him.
Lance suddenly felt a chill run down his back.
When he turned around, he saw a white-haired girl standing behind him with her head lowered.
He could not see her face. All he could see was the staff in her hand, its icy tip pressed firmly against his lower back.
"Go... die... scum..."
"Hiss!"
Lance sucked in a sharp breath and sprang up from the bed.
The aching pain in his waist was crystal clear.
Turning his head, he saw the culprit lying quietly on the bedsheet.
It was the brick-thick Basic Guide to Class Advancement.
He had read too late last night, and the book had accidentally slipped off the desk, landing right against his waist.
"What kind of ridiculous dream was that..."
Lance rubbed his aching back and complained helplessly.
No wonder it had been a dream. In reality, he definitely would not be caught so easily.
After quickly washing up, Lance looked at his energetic face in the mirror and spat out the foam in his mouth.
He had two clear plans for today.
First, he would go find Flora and check on the Hemostatic Ointment.
If the ointment was selling well, he would prepare to submit his resignation to the Adventurers' Guild.
Back when he had applied for the scribe position, it had purely been to scrape together a living while he was weak, and to seek the guild's protection along the way.
Now that he had gained enough strength to protect himself, that clerical job seemed rather unnecessary if the ointment business could provide a stable cash flow.
He had never been the sort of person who wanted to hide in the beginner village until he reached max level before venturing out.
He preferred experiencing a vivid life full of unknowns.
Otherwise, he would not have made the grand vow to visit bustling Ostella as soon as he arrived in this world.
Of course, all of that had to be done while ensuring his own safety.
As his horizons broadened, a corner of the mysterious world of Classes had already been unveiled before him.
When he became strong enough one day, he truly wanted to measure this world's vastness with his own eyes.
Perhaps even achieve something like what he had done in his dream...
He was getting ahead of himself.
Lance shook his head, changed into a comfortable set of casual clothes, and headed out.
Before going to the potion shop, he deliberately took a detour to the town's most famous pastry shop.
By the time he arrived at Morwenna Potion Shop, nearly two hours had passed.
All the desserts he bought today had been freshly made and were available only in limited quantities.
Making him compete with a crowd of town girls for pastries had been far too difficult.
No matter the world, desserts could still drive girls crazy.
Morwenna Potion Shop was located on the eastern side of town.
An oak sign hung above the entrance from thick iron chains, swaying faintly in the morning breeze.
Two small blackboards hung conspicuously in the display window beside the front door.
The promotion notices were written in neat, elegant handwriting. One look was enough to tell they were Flora's work.
One read: [Adventurer-exclusive insect repellent powder: buy two, get one free.]
The other read: [New product! Special Hemostatic Ointment, comparable to Troll's Blood, only 25 copper coins!]
Seeing those words, Lance could not stop the corners of his mouth from lifting.
That was the pricing strategy he had casually mentioned yesterday while stuffing the ointment into her shoulder bag. He had not expected the girl to be so efficient.
It seemed she had successfully convinced Aunt Morwenna, or at least gotten her to agree to put it in the shop for a trial sale.
"Ding-dong."
As he pushed open the wooden door, the brass bell above it rang crisply.
"Welcome!"
Flora, who had been reading behind the counter with her head lowered, immediately stood up on reflex, a professional sweet smile on her face.
However, when she saw that the person entering was Lance.
That sweet smile instantly froze, then collapsed at a visible speed.
The girl's originally fair little face puffed up like a bun, and her lips jutted out high.
"Hmph."
She gave a soft snort through her nose, plopped back into her chair, and raised that thick book to block her face again.
Yesterday, she had rushed about handling the task Lance gave her. She had finally managed to convince Aunt Morwenna and had even waited in the shop until closing.
And what happened?
She had not seen Lance at all before the shop closed that evening.
Later, Aunt Morwenna told her that someone had seen Lance duck into the bookstore on the street.
That guy had completely forgotten about her!
And she had even deliberately saved room for the promised feast.
Being stood up like that made honest Flora extremely unhappy.
"Please choose your own potions, customer. They're all on the shelves."
The girl's voice came muffled from behind the book, her tone so perfunctory that she could not even be bothered to pretend otherwise.
Watching her deliberately ignore him, Lance found it rather amusing.
But he did not rush to explain. Instead, he put on a show of walking over to the display shelves, picking up several bottles of potion to examine, and clicking his tongue.
Before you continue