Fame Rises (Part 2)

Just as he was lost in wild thoughts, several people came in from outside, laughing. The moment they entered, one of them shouted, "Romon, that new potion from last time really works! Do you have any more? I want ten bottles!"

The speaker was the very first adventurer to receive a free potion. As he spoke, he walked up to Romon, rolled up his sleeve, and revealed a faint scar on his arm.

"That potion worked quite well. It was much more effective than the ones I bought from you before. Thanks to it, my wound healed much faster."

"Really? That's wonderful." Romon smiled.

As if they had arranged it beforehand, on that very same day, seven or eight people who had received the new potion came back to buy more after using it. Those who had not tried it also quickly learned how effective it was through their companions' recommendations.

"It really is better than that old potion," the adventurers all said after trying it. For a time, adventurers flocked in to buy it.

Romon's Potion Shop, which had been neglected for so long, was revitalized by the popularity of this new potion.

Romon's new potion was welcomed by countless adventurers. This month, as his new potions continued to sell, his potion shop had begun bringing in money by the bucketful every day.

The steadily growing piles of silver coins in his spatial space made him unable to resist taking a look whenever he checked it.

However, he had not been blinded by money. He still carried out his original plan.

Even before the potion shop had opened, he had already decided how its future profits would be divided. According to his plan, twenty percent of the shop's monthly net profit would go to Nick, twenty percent to Fafier, and the rest would be his own income.

After all, as the shop manager, Nick had always worked very hard and responsibly. He absolutely deserved twenty percent of the profits.

As for Fafier, although he did not come by often, he and Romon were brothers who had fought through life-and-death battles together. Fafier needed money now, so giving him twenty percent was necessary as well.

When Nick first heard that he would receive twenty percent of the profits, he was shocked—and then overjoyed.

After all, in Rika Town, no one besides the nobles was truly well-off. A sum of money might change someone's fate. Sometimes, money really was important.

Nick was not the type to stand on ceremony. Once he learned that Romon was giving him such generous treatment, he did not refuse. Instead, he threw himself into his work with a hundred times more enthusiasm.

Since becoming the potion shop's manager, he had been able to bring home quite a few silver coins every month, along with his twenty-percent profit share. Nick's family situation had improved greatly. Their house had been repaired, and they had savings now.

Nick had even spent his own money on several arithmetic books, reading them in his spare time. It was worth mentioning that, unlike on Earth, all books were extremely expensive in this world.

Knowledge represented wealth. For a child from a poor family to learn to read, the hardship and price they had to pay were beyond anything a child from a noble family could imagine.

The price of a book was roughly equivalent to the price of a sheep. And to an ordinary farming family, a sheep was already a considerable fortune.

No one would spend so much money on books when they were poor enough to haggle over every meal. Therefore, most children from poor families were illiterate. Even if they learned a little from others, it was pitifully little.

Romon had made quite a haul from the Thieves' Guild last time. Not only had he obtained a great deal of money, but he had also acquired some books collected by the thieves.

Those books covered every imaginable category. There were even several of the most expensive kind—magic books—found in the Thieves' Guild's possession. Though they were only basic introductory texts, they were still things ordinary people found difficult to buy even if they wanted to.

Moreover, Romon had earned quite a bit of money recently, so he bought some simple law books and books on financial arithmetic and placed them in the shop.

Everyone in the shop could read those books for free.

Although Nick had previously learned some characters and barely managed to read a few law books, his limited knowledge meant that he only half-understood many things.

This had caused him to end in defeat several times when dealing with the tax officer. To ensure that Romon's Potion Shop could operate better, Nick, as the manager, felt the lack of knowledge deeply. So ever since the books had been placed in the shop, he had studied with a ravenous hunger. Since the shop lacked books on finance, he had even spent a considerable sum buying them himself to study.

Because Fafier had received a share of the spoils taken from the thieves, his life had also improved greatly recently. He finally had money to study martial arts. And because he had always dreamed of becoming a powerful warrior, he continued training without interruption even through the coldest days of winter.

Romon often trained with him in a clearing in the forest during his free time. Yet even Romon had to admit that Fafier, whose ancestors had included mercenaries, worked far harder than he did at martial training.

It was already February. The weather was warming, winter was about to pass, and spring was approaching.

Hard work paid off. After five months of constant training, Romon's martial skills had become far more polished. The data within the Shennong Horn had begun moving toward Third-Level Swordsmanship and Third-Level Footwork.

Of course, Third-Level Swordsmanship and Third-Level Footwork alone did not make one a Third-Level Warrior. But through repeated training, he had gradually begun to develop a warrior's sense of rhythm, a clear sign of reaching a certain warrior level.

Still, to truly gain strength comparable to a formal warrior, he would have to wait until that state stabilized. Fafier's training results, however, were even more noticeable because he worked harder than Romon.

Romon even had the illusion that this youth, who had never before had the chance to learn proper martial arts, might perhaps leap straight into becoming a Second-Level Warrior when spring arrived.

"Romon, I suddenly realized that you're getting more handsome by the day. You're out in the wind and sun all the time, yet your skin is still so fair. It makes no sense. Are Druids all like this?" One day, after finishing their martial training, the two friends bathed in a small lake in the forest. Looking at Romon's increasingly solid physique, Fafier showed a distinctly jealous expression.

It would have been one thing if Romon had merely become tall and well-built. But he had somehow retained that refined, delicate appearance, while his bearing had become increasingly calm and graceful. Even Fafier, his friend, felt a little sour about it.

Romon burst out laughing. "No way. Haven't you always prided yourself on being exceptionally brave and mighty? How did you start envying other people?" As he spoke, he got out of the water and put on his clothes.

"Isn't it because of Miss Eileen? I heard even Miss Eileen likes you. I'm really jealous. When will some girl like me?" Fafier deliberately put on an exaggerated expression and laughed heartily.

"Heard?" Romon frowned slightly. "Who did you hear that from?"

Fafier climbed out of the lake as well and said with a grin, "A lot of people are saying it. I heard it from a warrior teaching me. They said that since Miss Eileen likes you, you might become the lord's son-in-law in the future. Now they're all desperately trying to get close to me, hoping to build ties with the friend of the future lord's son-in-law ahead of time."

Romon's frown deepened. How had such a baseless rumor spread until everyone knew about it?

"What, don't you like Miss Eileen?" Fafier got dressed, saw that Romon was still standing there in a daze, and grinned as he gave him a pat.

"They're talking nonsense, and you believe them?" Romon said thoughtfully.

"Hey! It's still light out. You're heading back already?" Seeing Romon turn and walk toward the edge of the forest, Fafier hurried after him. They said nothing along the way. At the town entrance, a townsman who encountered Romon suddenly revealed a knowing expression.

"Romon, someone's looking for you. Hurry back." With that, he gave a lewd chuckle, wore an ambiguous expression, and ran off.

"What's that about?" Romon watched him leave in confusion, then quickened his pace.

At last, he returned to the potion shop, only to see several townspeople peering curiously inside from outside. A sense of foreboding rose in Romon's heart.

Had something happened at the potion shop?

He quickly entered the shop and saw a young girl speaking quietly with Nick. Hearing the footsteps, she turned lightly around.

"Miss Eileen?" Not only Romon, but even Fafier, who had returned with him, froze. The beautiful young girl standing before them was the second daughter of Rika Town's lord, Miss Eileen, a Second-Level Priest.

Priests of the Earth Goddess were generally stationed at the Temple. As a Second-Level Priest, Eileen gave people a sense of tranquil composure whenever she appeared in public. Unless something important happened, Miss Eileen rarely appeared in town.

Romon, and you still deny it. Fafier grumbled inwardly. After giving Romon an ambiguous look, he greeted Eileen first, then, with the air of someone who knew when to leave, pulled Nick aside.

Only Romon and Eileen remained, standing face-to-face.

"Romon, I never expected your business to be doing so well, yet you never invited me to visit." Eileen was the first to break the awkward silence, glancing at the busy shop. "What, won't you even show me around?"

"Hehe." Romon laughed foolishly, but inwardly he thought, Where do I have an office or anything like that?

Still, Romon felt it was not appropriate to remain standing there while they talked, so he hurriedly led Eileen into the small separate room in the shop that served as a reading room.

There was a table and several chairs inside, and the two sat down facing each other.

Eileen smiled as she looked around, then casually flipped through a magic book lying on the table. Curious, she asked, "You actually have magic books here? Who is reading them?"

Romon looked at the book and was a little curious as well. But then he recalled that Luo Laike had been coming here often lately, so it was most likely him.

After hearing his explanation, Eileen shook her head and said, "If someone lacks magical talent, reading books will not be of much use. I didn't expect you to be willing to spend money on such expensive introductory magic books. That really surprises me."

Romon chuckled. These books had all come to him for free, so of course he was willing to keep them. Unfortunately, he could not tell Eileen that.

After chatting for a while longer, Eileen finally revealed why she had come.

It turned out that Romon's new potion had attracted her here. As a priest, potion brewing was also something she needed to study, and she was quite interested in it. The moment she heard that Romon's new potion was even more effective than the old one, she had been drawn over.

Naturally, Romon could not reveal the secret of the new potion to Eileen. However, the two exchanged views and discussed potion brewing.

Not only did Romon, a half-baked Druid, benefit greatly, but some knowledge Romon had acquired through other channels also broadened Eileen's horizons.

The two had a very pleasant conversation.

Across from Romon's Potion Shop, a tense atmosphere filled the shop manager's office.

"Well? I didn't lie to you, did I?" the tax officer sneered.

Across from him, a teenage girl stared through the window. Over there, a young man was smiling as he saw Eileen off.

"I never thought Romon was such a despicable person!" The girl withdrew her gaze and said viciously.

The tax officer added more fuel to the fire. "Exactly. How could a pure girl like Miss Eileen possibly see through his true face? Pitiful. She's being used and doesn't even know it."

"That's what I said! How could a Second-Level Druid possibly develop some new potion? So he tricked it out of Eileen! This... this is utterly despicable! Taking an earlier generation's potion formula and claiming it as his own achievement! Too despicable!"

"Yes. Even with Master Jefa's abilities, he could not develop a new potion, yet Romon did. Anyone who saw that would think Master Jefa was inferior to him... Still, Miss Weiwan, Romon truly is very talented. Even after leaving Master Jefa's guidance, he advanced to Second-Level Druid so quickly. Tsk, tsk, what a genius. Miss Weiwan, you're only First-Level now, aren't you?" the tax officer said with a smile.

Weiwan huffed angrily. "He's just a fraud. What's so great about him?"

"But you know it, and I know it. Other people don't." The tax officer clicked his tongue. "I think that before long, Romon's shop will certainly become the largest potion shop in Rika Town, Miss Weiwan..."

Seeing the girl turn away in anger to fiddle with potions, the tax officer smiled.