Elincia’s voice startled me. Even in complete silence, I didn't hear her arrive around the corner of the manor. Her muffled steps must have been the bane of multiple prank attempts around the orphanage, and now there were mine.

“You shouldn’t make a promise you can’t keep.”

Elincia had been watching longer than I had expected, and wasn’t about to let me off the hook so easily.

“I really meant it. I’m not letting them conscript Ilya.” I replied.

It had been a while since we had a big disagreement, during the last weeks, all had been smooth sailing between Elincia and me.

“And you are going to fight the whole city guard, Captain Kiln, Sir Janus, and the Marquis to achieve that?” Elincia raised her eyebrow.

The mere memory of Captain Kiln’s character sheet made me shudder. Even if I could intimidate a group of low level scrubs, Captain Kiln and the guard veterans were a completely different beast.

Elincia’s piercing gaze was hard to hold.

“I have a plan. I just can’t tell you right now.” I sparsely said.

“Another of your secrets? I have been patient with you, but remember, I hate liars.” Elincia said.

“If Ilya fails, I’ll take her to a faraway place where she will be safe from the Marquis if you allow it… and we will probably never meet again.” I replied. “I just can’t tell you where.”

Elincia covered the distance between us with a long stride. A parade of emotions crossed her face. Fear, anger, anxiety, despair. For an instant I thought she was going to punch me, but instead she hugged me tight and hid her face in the curve of my neck.

“I’ll leave it to you, then.” The woman said with a small voice.

We stayed embraced for a few moments until Elincia stepped back.

“Alright Rosebud, no time to feel down, we have so much to do.”

Elincia spoke as if we didn’t just have discussed Ilya’s potential death. Then, she looked around to ensure there were no orphans nearby before speaking again.

“We need money, Rob. Urgently.” Elincia said with a hint of panic in her voice.

It wasn’t the first time we discussed the matter, the gold Captain Kiln had given me wasn’t going to last forever. Food for winter, medicine, clothing for the older kids. Even if we survived the winter and got the kids in the Imperial Academy, we will need money for the caravan fare, appropriate clothing, supplies, weapons, and an emergency fund in case something happened.

The answer was pretty obvious.

“You are an Alchemist and I am a Scholar, we only need ingredients so we can start brewing and selling high quality potions.” I said.

Elincia sighed, that wasn’t a good sign.

“It’s not as easy. For starters, I don’t have a permit to sell potions.”

Of course it wasn’t going to be that easy.

“This is outrageous. Why would you need a selling permit? You are an Alchemist.” I muttered. Ilya’s voice came from the backyard calling the older orphans to have lunch. She sounded as bossy as ever, so that was a good sign at least.

“Potions are dangerous, Rob. High toxicity can cause permanent mana corruption, and people don’t want to end up as a Wendigo or other corrupted vermin.” Elincia said in a whisper. “Also, unlike you, normal people can’t identify potions. Ashthorn Poison looks the same as a Healing Potion and a vial of water.”

That was a hell of a good reason to not allow anyone to deal with potions. I didn’t want a low level merchant to sell me a deadly potion by mistake.

“So, what can we do?” I asked.

“Let’s go pay a visit to the Alchemists Guild.”

* * *

Farcrest was as lively as ever. Despite the cold, traveling merchants moved their goods through the city on the back of their carts, farmers advertised their products, and half orcs carried heavy construction materials on their shoulders. The whole city was getting ready for winter. Elincia walked holding my arm as we walked through the crowd so we wouldn’t get separated.

“Look.” Elincia said as she pointed down the street.

Suddenly, the crowd parted ways and a group of ragged looking individuals walked at a fast pace towards the Great Hall. Leading them was a man hardened by experience and years with a long gray beard and a green hood covering his head. The grip of a sword poked through his cloak and on his shoulder he carried a longbow.

“Sentinels.” Elincia said as the well-worn capes billowed up the street.

As soon as the group passed, the crowd continued with their usual affairs.

“Farcrest exists to monitor the Farlands and protect the kingdom from the monsters that inhabit it, and the Sentinels are the vanguard.” Elincia explained as she tried to catch a last glimpse of the group before they entered the inner wall. “They spend most of the time in the Farlands, watching and surveying the movements of the monsters. They are the kingdom’s shield against the Farlands.”

“Sounds like a tailor-made job for you.” I replied.

“Maybe if I was a Hunter.” Elincia said and I knew I touched a sensitive fiber.

We continued our stroll around the inner wall and away from the main market. The crowded streets were replaced with opulent houses and famous workshops and stores of all kinds. Elincia stopped outside a store and we looked at shiny jewelry through the window. The pieces were nothing like Earth gems. These ones glowed and shined with a life of their own.

“It’s right there.” Elincia pointed out at a tall four-stories building at the end of the street. There was a line of carts waiting for their turn to unload thousands of bundles of dried herbs and boxes with contents I could only imagine.

“Busy business, eh?” I asked.

“Let’s hope the reception area isn’t as crowded.” Elincia replied.

Over the entrance there was a hanging sign with a bubbling cauldron that threw real purple and golden sparks. The idea of spending money on an enchanted sign made me laugh. Back on Earth, I also wasted my money on useless vanity items but now that I was fighting to feed an army of orphans, I found it outrageous.

As soon as we entered the building, a wave of warm air hit my face. The interior was well lit with hundreds of light stones neatly embedded in the walls and ceiling. On the opposite side of the room there was a long counter with employees attending the public. Other than us, there were only a couple alchemists and providers filing paperwork.

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A human woman behind the counter made a gesture for Elincia to approach. She wore a long gray robe with wide sleeves and a broad belt from which hung several pouches and vials. I wondered if they were full of potions or if it was just for the looks.

“How can I help you today?” The clerk asked with a polite voice.

“I want to put a sale order. No more than three weeks from today.” Elincia replied.

The fact we were selling, or rather announcing our intention to sell, without even gathering materials seemed odd. I could only think about a strictly controlled monopoly.

“Our current rates for antidotes, health, mana, and effect potions are thirty five percent for low grade potions, twenty five percent for mid grade potions, and fifteen percent for high grade potions.” The clerk said.

Up to that moment, the only number that had hurt me was my student loans.

“This year you are really fleecing Alchemists.” Elincia commented with an annoyed voice.

“Farcrest has grown and the supply lines are a living hell.” The clerk coldly replied. “Name, class, and level, please.”

Elincia sighed before answering. “Elincia Rosebud, Alchemist, Level 30.”

The clerk scribbled something on a piece of paper and disappeared behind a door.

“What’s the deal with these control freaks?” I whispered near Elincia’s ear.

“I don’t know. It has been like this for a few years now.” She replied. “Last time I barely broke even due to penalty fees because I forgot to queue a sale.”

When the door opened, instead of the clerk a man with leather armor and a grim face appeared. For a moment, I thought it was the city guard but then I realized the man didn’t wear the Marquis colors. He looked like an angry bouncer dressed as a regular adventurer.

“The guild is not accepting sale orders from non-affiliated Alchemists at the moment. Thank you for your time.” The man growled before turning around.

“What? How are low level Alchemists supposed to sell our stuff then?” Elincia barked back.

If this didn’t smell fishy, I didn’t know what was.

“Not my problem, Guild’s rules.” The man said, unfazed by Elincia’s display of rage. “You need to go, Governess.”

Two guards had approached us from behind but Elincia wasn’t having any of it. She slammed her hand on the counter, everyone in the room had their eyes focused on us.

“This is not what the Guild was made for. This place was created to protect Alchemists from greedy merchants, not to suppress us!” Elincia said.

I didn’t even need [Awareness] to tell me this was an attempt of the Marquis to keep the orphanage poor. It was unfair. We were not begging for donations or grants, we were just trying to sell the work of Elincia’s hard-earned levels.

My blood boiled. The Guild didn’t have the decency of giving us a straight answer. Instead, they had just called their goons on us as if we were thieves.

One of the guards grabbed Elincia by the wrist and pulled back from the counter. My body acted on its own and I violently pushed the guard away. What I didn’t expect was a huge hand grabbing my shoulder and forcing me to turn around.

I barely had time to see the fist before it impacted against my face, let alone raise my guard. Pain exploded around my eye socket as I stumbled back. The world spun around me like an expressionist blur.

Elincia grabbed me before I hit the floor. She must’ve dragged me out of the Guild because when I could focus my eyes we were sitting on a bench in a dark alley across the street.

“I got pummeled.” Was the only thing I managed to say.

It sounded funnier in my head.

“You got lucky back there.” Elincia grabbed my face and inspected my eye. “Ongo is the gentlest half-orc in Farcrest.”

The punch felt as if a whole tree had fallen upon my face.

“You knew them?” I asked, clenching my teeth as Elincia pressed my cheekbone.

“Yeah, they are Guild’s staples. They usually escort Alchemists into the Farlands during the harvest seasons.” Elincia replied tiredly. “I got to elbow Indar in the face, so I think we are even.”

It didn’t feel even for my face. Moreso, with that brawl we had compromised any possibility to make amends with the Guild.

“I'm sorry for snapping.” I said.

It might be my Earthly upbringing making me feel that way, but violence left a sour taste in my mouth. Sure, the Guild and the guards had mistreated us, but I had preached anti-violence teachings for years.

“Don’t mind. Combatant classes get into brawls every other week.” Elincia grinned as she finished her examination. “As expected from Ongo, not a single broken bone. I’ll blend something for the bruises when we arrive at the orphanage.”

“What now?” I asked.

The punch had smacked all my ideas out of my mind.

“I’ll go to the System Hall to check if they have any clothing handouts.” Elincia said, handing me a shopping bag. “Be a good Scholar and grab a few things from the market for me. We need salt, butter, and eggs. You can get candy with the spare change.”

Elincia gave me a soft jab on the shoulder and disappeared through the alleys. Why was she in such a good mood after what happened? I hoped she had a contingency plan, because I was getting out of ideas.

And I needed a drink.

* * *

Elincia scolded me in front of the kids for spending money irresponsibly.

Firana instantly jumped to my defense, starting a small civil war between the orphans that believed in my innocence and those who wanted to see Elincia scolding me even more. When Elincia told me I could buy some candy with the spare change, apparently she didn’t mean a small cask of berry wine.

The fact it was dirt cheap passed unnoticed by her.

“This has to be the best purchase of the year.” Elincia said as she nurtured a cup of cheap berry wine.

The kids were already sleeping and Elincia had summoned me to the kitchen, allegedly to discuss our next step. In reality she wanted to tap the keg. The light orbs were running out of mana but I didn’t bother to refill them. The dim light and the fire from the stove gave the kitchen a cozy atmosphere perfect for a late night drink.

Elincia was sitting in front of me, peering into the depths of her wine glass. The flames from the stove cast rust colored shadows on Elincia’s platinum hair, giving her a mysterious aura. No matter how much I studied her, it was hard to tell where her human blood ended and her elven heritage began.

“Farcrest’s goal was to defend the kingdom from Monster Surges. The Marquis has special concessions regarding royal tax to ensure the continuity of the city.” Elincia said. “Purchases of grains, potions, weapons, and construction materials are partially deducted from the total tax the Marquis is required to pay.”

I nodded in silence. The Marquis had relocated the farmers far from Farcrest to buy their grain at discounted price. That also had brought down the population of the city, reducing the amount of troops he had to tribute to the royal army.

Not only was the Marquis turning Farcrest into a trading hub, he was creating his personal tax haven. I could respect the Marquis for stealing from the Crown and promoting local development. If I were in his position I might have done the same. But he had crossed the line by instrumentalizing the orphan’s lives.

“The Guild produces potions, the Marquis buys with royal money, and then they resell them to the public at a higher price.” I said as the pieces of the puzzle came together. “Wicked.”

Elincia angrily slammed the table with her cup, spreading drops of alcohol all over the table. We were running an uphill race against the wind.

“Don’t say it.” Elincia said.

But it was too late. Our chances of making clean money were running thin and the alternatives weren’t particularly safe.

“Where there is a monopoly there is a black market.” I pointed out.

Given Elincia’s expression, she was already aware of such black market.

“If we bring down the prices and spoil his business, he will notice.” Elincia said with a sulky voice.

“But can we really bring down the prices?” I pointed out. After all, our ‘brewery’ had only one mid-level Alchemist and a novice Scholar helper.

Elincia glanced at me with the same old confused expression she adopted when I asked obvious questions about this world’s lore. As always, she seemed to be debating if I was a genius or a madman.

“Rob, high grade potions are exceptionally rare. Even those with high toxicity.” Elincia sighed. “To have a chance to brew a high grade potion you need at least a Lv. 45 Alchemist and premium ingredients. What we are doing is easily the work of a Lv. 55 Alchemist, and, as you might know, there are not a lot of level fifty-fives in Farcrest.”

I nodded.

“I swear, Rob, you are something else. Killing a level 39 Wendigo as a support class and brewing high grade potions without experience? In any other situation I’d hate you.” She grinned.

“So, you don’t hate me?” I jokingly said.

The conversation was taking a gloomy turn to really enjoy my drink.

“Only from time to time.” Elincia gave me a mischievous smile as she brought her cup to her lips.

Elincia gulped down her drink and gestured for me to refill the cup. I obliged. She might be an Alchemist but she had the thirst of a Hunter. As much as it was an irresponsible purchase, it was the best silver I had spent since I arrived at Farcrest for the sole reason Elincia seemed to be enjoying the moment.

“I’m guessing you know someone who can help us sell illegal potions.” I said.

Elincia knew lots of people in Farcrest despite the fact she didn’t have any friends.

“I hate you.” Elincia sighed.