"That's one hella nasty gash ya got there, boy!" The Guild's Barber spat out in a raspy voice as his rough, calloused hands examined my wound.

'No shit... Thanks for stating the obvious, you old fart...' I cursed inwardly as I tried to endure the throbbing pain in my arm.

I raised my head to look at the old Barber, who appeared kind of menacing as he stood between the flickering shadows that danced upon the walls of the dimly lit closet we found ourselves in.

His face was wrinkled, with a few missing teeth and a scruffy beard. Yet he still exuded a certain aura of confidence as he moved about - an unmistakable evidence of his countless years of wielding the blade.

When he finally finished his examination, he muttered a curse under his breath and shook his head.

"I've got too little ointments as it is... I can't spare any for ya Recruits! Ya gotta keep it clean and hope yer hand won't rot away. But don't ya worry! If it comes to that, I can always help ya out with my blade, hahaha!"

The Barber's face twisted into a sly grin before letting out a loud, hearty laugh. I widened my eyes in horror as I quickly backed out of the nasty, cramped closet, which was apparently his office.

'What's this quack blabbing about? There's no way I would let him touch me!' I ran from there as fast as I could, not stopping until I was all the way back in the Guild's parlor.

Vixen, who had been waiting there for us, noticed the apparent distress on my face and rushed to my side. "What did he say?" she asked, her voice full of concern.

I didn't answer her as I was still livid from that unnerving experience. Instead, I threw an accusing look at the nervously smiling Ram, who hurried after me.

"Sorry! I had no idea he would be like that!" Ram apologized before quickly adding. "I know it isn't much, but I also heard of a certain place where you can get ointments for cheap! And with such nice profits from the Hunt, I'm sure we could afford some!"

I eyed him suspiciously, not trusting him with any further treatment. Yet, seeing his pleading face, I couldn't help but give him a short, reluctant nod as I had a feeling I wouldn't be able to get rid of him otherwise.

Besides, if I bought some cheap medicine, it doesn't matter if it is effective or not; I can simply heal it myself and then pretend it was the ointment doing.

Having come up with such a convenient solution, I happily nodded to myself and followed after Ram, who interpreted my eagerness to be finally done with this charade as gratitude and smiled excitedly.

"Don't worry! I'll make sure you fully recover!" He proclaimed as we quickly exited the Guild and delved into the Ostengard's bustling streets.

Seeing his contagious, carefree smile, I sighed and hurried after him as, despite the dismal encounter with the Guild's Barber, I couldn't bring myself to hold it against him since he had proven himself to be nothing but a helpful comrade throughout our journey so far.

Noticing that Vixen was following after us, too, I raised an eyebrow, but then I also spotted Weasel emerging from somewhere and quietly joining our evening outing.

Vixen saw my silent question and simply smiled. "What? We're a party, after all... Besides, we owe you our lives. You've really saved us back there, so making sure you'll be okay is the least we can do."

Weasel, although remaining silent, eagerly nodded, offering a shy smile before quickly hiding behind Vixen's back.

I couldn't help but blink a few times as being faced with such unexpected camaraderie was a totally new experience for me, and I didn't know what to do.

But I was quickly thrown out of my confusion by Ram's impatient voice, who urged us forward. Thus, I could only shake my head as I quickly turned back toward the dimly lit street and hurried after Ram.

The air was filled with the enticing aroma of roasted meat wafting from the nearby taverns as we navigated the dense traffic on the lively main street full of people.

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Vixen kept a watchful eye on our surroundings, her hand always touching the hilt of her dagger. I admired her constant vigilance as it reminded me there was always danger lurking, even in such a seemingly peaceful environment.

Ram guided us towards a small, rundown shop that was tucked away in a narrow alleyway some distance from the Town's square.

The doors bore no sign, and the worn-out setting seemed sketchy. Still, I swallowed my doubts and cautiously squeezed through the narrow entrance.

Inside the cramped shop, a wrinkled man with a sly look and a thin thatch of gray hair greeted us from behind the counter.

"Welcome, welcome," he said in a raspy voice. "What brings you to my humble shop on this fine evening?"

His eyes, sharp and observant, seemed to size us up as we approached. I was actually kind of impressed with his visage as the shopkeeper looked like the epitome of a snake oil salesman.

The air inside the shop was thick with the scent of dried herbs and stale booze. As I looked around, it was evident by the piles of haphazardly placed items with no prices on them that this was no lawful establishment.

I glanced at Ram, who cleared his throat before stepping forward. "We're in need of some ointments for a wound," he replied, gesturing to the bandaged gash on my hand.

The old man's eyes flickered with interest as he examined my injury. "Ah, a nasty deep cut. Looks like you've had quite the adventure," he remarked, his sly smile widening. "But fear not, young ones. I have just the remedy for such wounds!"

With a quick shuffle, he moved behind the counter and rummaged through his disorganized assortment of jars and vials.

His hands danced among them for a brief moment before picking out several suspicious-looking substances, measuring precise amounts, and mixing them all together.

Finally, he emerged with a small jar filled with a thick, green ointment.

"This here is my special healing salve!" he declared, proudly presenting the jar to us. "It's made from a rare blend of herbs, guaranteed to heal any mild injury!"

Vixen, ever cautious, eyed the ointment skeptically. "What's in it?" she asked, her voice laden with suspicion.

The old man chuckled, revealing a row of yellowed teeth. "Ah, my dear, that's a trade secret," he replied, his voice dripping with mischief. "But rest assured, I have only the finest medicines you'll find in all of Ostengard!"

Vixen glanced at me, probably wanting to hear my thoughts on this. Yet I paid no attention to the sketchy substance before me. Instead, my sight was firmly glued onto the top shelf.

A particular vial caught my eye, hidden all the way in the very back. It was a bright yellowish concoction that seemed weirdly familiar. 'Wait a second... That's one of my elixirs!'

I jerked my head down, focusing again on the scene before me. Then, with a bright smile, I addressed the sly merchant. "How much?"

He blinked a few times in confusion, probably not expecting such a quick agreement, before breaking into a pleased grin. "Huh? Oh... For such a prospective young hunter, I'll give you a discount! A mere three silver pennies! It's a steal, really!"

'It sure is...' I thought. Still, without breaking my smile, I promptly produced the coins from my pocket before placing them on the counter.

Vixen widened her eyes and said. "You're really going to buy it? It seems kind of suspicious to me..."

I quickly pocketed the ointment and turned toward the confused-looking Vixen. "What do you mean? You heard the man... He has the best medicines in all of Ostengard!"

Then I turned back toward the merchant and added with the same bright smile as before. "I'm sure we'll be seeing each other a lot in the future!"

While taken aback, the merchant only offered me a nervous smile, overwhelmed by my sudden forwardness.

As we were exiting the hidden alley, I glanced back at the rundown store, imprinting its precise location to memory.

'It cost me almost all my profits from the Hunt, but it doesn't matter. Now, at last, I have my first real lead...' I thought on the way back with a mischievous smile playing on my lips.

Later that night, I finally managed to get rid of my overly caring comrades and found myself in a nice, quiet corner where nobody disturbed me.

I then eagerly ripped off the dirty bandage and quickly wiped off the weirdly smelling concoction before meticulously cleaning the already festering wound with plenty of water until no traces of the substance were left.

'Let's just say this ointment proved to be much more effective than it might seem at first glance...' I smiled mischievously as I quickly applied a generous dose of my elixir to the wound,

"Ahhhh! That's more like it!" I gasped pleasantly as both the pain and the gash itself quickly faded away.

***

"Ya okay to train, kid? I heard ya got some nasty wound on the Hunt the other day..." Wolf said with a raised eyebrow and concerned voice as he saw me preparing for my morning lesson.

"Oh, it was nothing! Just a small scratch...See? It's already gone!" I laughed heartily as I pointed at my fully healed arm.

I gave a thought or two about skipping the training for a few days to keep up appearances, but if the recent battle taught me something, it was the fact that I was still very much lacking in the art of the sword; thus, I didn't want to pass up any opportunity to get better at it.

Unbeknownst to me then, this miraculous recovery apparently became a widely-discussed sensation among the Recruits, and the supposed qualities of the sly merchant's concoctions quickly attracted large crowds of excited beast hunters into his humble store.