Chapter 405: Specimen Shop

"Magic consultant?"

Lady Kali had only just broken through to the seventh tier not long ago, and on top of that, elves themselves accumulate magic power and spirituality slowly.

Thirty years ago, she was probably only at the upper end of the fifth tier.

Going to other dimensions with the Magic Control Union's cleanup squads to sweep out cosmic creatures?

Probably not qualified enough, right?

"What kind of look is that? Doubt? Human, you don't think that just because those people are high-ranked and their magic is powerful, they know everything, do you?"

Lady Kali's expression was unhappy.

The innate pride of elves made them hate this kind of doubting look very much.

Rod laughed:

"No, I'm just surprised. I didn't expect you to be so impressive thirty years ago — thirty years ago, I hadn't even been born yet."

Tally, who had been sleeping all along, suddenly poked half her head out from the shadows:

"Aha, I get it, Master, you're mocking this elf for being old, right! Hahaha — old hag elf —"

Just as she was laughing, she saw Lady Kali raise her jade-white hand with a cold face.

Tally got a fright and hurriedly shrank back into the shadows.

Bang!

A magic missile exploded in the dirt where her head had just been, leaving a shallow earthen crater, with grass clippings flying everywhere.

"Master! Look, she hit me~~"

Tally jumped out of the shadows again, hiding behind Rod and wailing, while in reality her face was turned toward Lady Kali with a smug, wicked cackle.

Not far away, Pan Ni, who had been staring at Bernhard's face with a resentful, jealous expression, seemed to have some keyword triggered.

"What? Who's going to hit someone? Hit someone in front of Pan Ni, the ghoul of the forest's first line of defense!? Master, don't be afraid, Pan Ni is here to protect you!"

She leaped to the front, and then saw the ice-cold elf Lady Kali.

Immediately her neck shrank in, then she looked up at the sky, and walked off again as if nothing had happened.

The elf Bernhard took a few steps back.

Watching the forest crowd's horseplay, he inexplicably felt a little envious.

That afternoon, Rod went to the Magic Control Union again.

His free teleportation quota as an internal employee was used up.

He spent 230 Jin Along as the teleportation fee.

Expensive enough to be scary.

Although Rod had the friendship fee Bernhard had handed over and could be considered a rich man, he still felt the pinch.

The posted dragon-slaying commission was no cheap matter.

Recently the continent had been in chaos everywhere, prices soaring, and adventure commission fees had risen in tandem.

With inflation on all sides, it was estimated that at least four or five hundred thousand Jin Along would be needed before anyone was willing to take it.

Of course.

If you could spend money to let someone else handle it, that was always a good thing.

Rod knew that facing a giant dragon was unavoidable, but he also didn't want to see the scene of the girls in the forest getting hurt.

Soon.

He arrived at the market district.

Based on the address Lady Kali had recalled, Rod stopped at the end of one of the streets that didn't have many people.

Before him was an old door made of thick oak, its surface covered with a faint patina of verdigris, with winding vines carved into the lintel.

He looked up.

Hanging there was a weathered, dark wooden sign, its edges badly worn, with the slightly faded lettering "Shi Difen Ni ~ Specimen Shop ~" still clearly visible.

"At least a shop that's been here for thirty years."

One couldn't really call it old either — after all, for some long-lived races, thirty years was but a fleeting instant.

But then again, it was strange.

He had wandered through the market district quite a few times, yet he had almost no impression of this shop.

Rod placed his hand on the cold iron door handle and gently turned it.

"Ting-a-ling—"

The brass-colored metal bell on the inside of the door rang out crisply, gentle and not jarring.

He stepped through the door.

A distinctly stale, heavy smell, mingled with the fragrance of old wood, came rushing toward him.

Then there was a counter piled high with books and manuscripts, with amber paperweights of various colors scattered haphazardly on the table.

The left side and center of the shop formed an open display area, displaying various biological specimens; the right side was a hollowed-out wall displaying large specimens.

Rod didn't recognize many of them.

He only knew the horned demon and a juvenile plesiosaur.

Compared to other shops run by magical puppets, this shop clearly had more of a marketplace feel to it.

"Welcome!"

A crisp girl's voice rang out from behind the counter piled high with books.

A familiar face also came into view, and its owner raised her eyebrows and said in pleasant surprise:

"Mr. Rod!"

"Oh! You're Pa-something, right?"

"Pavla!"

The human girl mage Pavla, flustered, hurriedly added.

Pavla, Vernon, and Leon — the unlucky trio of the Demon Control Alliance — together with the dog-girl youth Sharon, had once been dragged into a Dread Realm by a Dread Beast that suddenly emerged during a cutting ritual.

They were later rescued by Rod, and it seemed their aptitudes had all risen somewhat as a result.

"I remember you were working part-time at that magic accessory shop last time."

That jewelry shop belonged to a famous magic accessory designer in the trade — Master Danel.

The treasure 【Molar Earring】 had been found there.

Rod himself also rather liked that shop's jewelry style, so he bought a whole pile at once and still hadn't used them all up.

Pavla sighed:

"When you're poor you can only take more jobs. Besides Master Danel's and this one, I also have a job at a snack shop's back kitchen in the market district — it's Calvin the Brown Bear's tapeworm fried skewers! Come on over and try some!"

"."

Rod's gaze drifted to the side, and he decisively skipped the topic.

"Setting that aside, Pavla — I heard there's a specimen of a cosmic creature called a 'Star Realm Ambusher' here. I wonder if it's still around?"

"Star Realm Ambusher? Hold on, let me check the inventory."

The girl returned to the counter.

She pulled a black-brown hardcover book from a drawer in the counter and slammed it onto the tabletop with a thud, sending dust flying everywhere.

Pavla was clearly the chatty type.

As she flipped through the pages, she started talking again:

"How rare — Mr. Rod actually didn't bring a girl with him today."

"It's fine when no one's around, but when there's a beauty beside you, you're not allowed to say that — it affects my performance."

Rod said with a smile.

Pavla was also amused by him, and asked again:

"Mr. Rod, you're the hero from the half-deer people's prophecy, right?"

"Unfortunately, I'm not."

"Ah? You're not? When I first heard about the half-deer people's hero prophecy, the first person I thought of was you — these smelly half-deer people really don't know what's good in front of them."

"Hahaha — thanks for the comfort. By the way, where are those two little boyfriends of yours?"

"They're not little boyfriends at all! Vernon and Leon at most count as Passerby A and Cannon Fodder B in my life. Even Mr. Rod wasn't chosen, yet those two guys were actually judged as 【Hero Candidates】 by the same half-deer person. Isn't that weird? Hmph! Those two stinky things! It's been over a month and they still haven't come back to see me!"

Oh?

The two of them had been listed as 【Hero Candidates】 by the same half-deer person.

As everyone knew, a half-deer 【Hero Giver】 only corresponded to one 【Hero】.

Did that mean Vernon and Leon, the two friends, would fight over the title of 【Hero】?

That did sound a bit like a plot from a hot-blooded story.

"Ah! Found it — 'Star Realm Ambusher.' It hasn't been sold yet, wow, it's been ages. This specimen has been sitting in this shop for seventy years."

Pavla exclaimed.

Rod also breathed a sigh of relief.

Although it wasn't certain anyone would be interested in a specimen model — after all, Lady Kali had last seen one thirty years ago.

One couldn't rule out some accident happening, so this could be considered lucky.

"That's good then. How much?"

"Hold on, let me count — one, two, three, four."

Counting.

Counting what?

Rod's heart skipped a beat.

"That'll be 380,000 Jin Along, please!"

(End of chapter)