Chapter 156
Equality
"Uh, Ellie...about these herbs you mentioned, how much do they cost?" One villager asked directly. As soon as they heard that they would have to buy the herbs themselves, this person began to think deeply. They had heard about the herbs used to make miraculous potions, and they weren’t cheap. It wasn’t unusual for huntsmen to look for rare herbs while searching for game on the mountain, hoping to find something valuable.
"Yes? The herbs aren’t too expensive. They’re just level 1 herbs, costing about 50-60 copper coins per type. For 1 potion, it would take about 5-6 types of herbs."
As soon as they heard this, everyone’s eyes widened in shock. For herbs costing 50-60 copper coins each, and needing 6 types, it would amount to about 360 copper coins, which was nearly 4 silver coins.
"That! That’s too expensive, Paying 4 silver coins? How can we afford that!?"
"Exactly, the cost of those herbs is too high."
"Yes, and Ellie can make the potions herself. We shouldn’t have to pay that much."
"Is Ellie tricking us? If you don’t want to make the potions, you don’t need to make these excuses."
"That’s right. When she treated Jay-ar, he probably didn’t pay either. So why should we have to buy the herbs ourselves?"
"This isn’t fair!!" "Yes, it’s not fair at all." "Ellie should treat everyone equally. We’re all from the same village."
Upon realizing they couldn’t afford the herbs for the potions, many people started complaining. However, some still held out hope. They could save up to buy the herbs, which would be better than relying on village doctors who couldn’t cure them.
Those who had hope were generally better off, while many villagers couldn’t afford such expenses. Thus, it was no surprise that the complainers outnumbered the silent ones.
Seeing everyone’s reactions, Ellie sighed, looking guilty.
"I understand," she said briefly, causing everyone to fall silent. They thought with selfishness that, under pressure, Ellie would eventually give in and concoct the potions without asking for the herbs from them. After all...Jay-ar didn’t have to pay, so why should they be at a disadvantage!?
"Ellie..." Jay-ar hesitated. After hearing the high cost of the herbs for his treatment, he felt even more guilty. It was because of him that Ellie faced this problem. If he hadn’t told everyone about her abilities, she could still be living peacefully.
Just thinking that Ellie would have to concoct potions for everyone in the village, spending 4 silver coins for each person, and he didn’t believe that anyone wouldn’t want the potion, even if they weren’t sick or only had minor ailments. Out of greed, they would try to get as much of the potion as possible. This would mean Ellie would have to spend a large amount of money on others unnecessarily!
However, Jay-ar and everyone else were a bit mistaken. Ellie had never planned to concoct potions to help everyone from the beginning. When she treated Jay-ar, she already anticipated this situation. No matter the era, there were selfish people everywhere. Even if they weren’t inherently selfish, when they saw something as a right that everyone else got but they didn’t, they felt the need to claim it. Therefore, she had prepared for this scenario from the start.
"Everyone, regarding this matter...I’m sorry. Now I realize it was a mistake to treat Uncle Jay-ar when I can’t help everyone. So, from now on, I won’t concoct potions for anyone anymore."
"If I concoct a potion for one person, others will wonder why they don’t get the same and feel left out, even though we are all from the same village. So, if I know that not everyone can be treated equally, I won’t do this for anyone else."
"For treating Uncle Jay-ar, consider it an advance payment for him to look after the house. From now on, Uncle Jay-ar will take care of the house and look for any animals that come around. I’ll count the payment as 1 copper coin per day, meaning Uncle Jay-ar will need to look after the house and traps for the entire year."
"As for everyone else, if you want treatment, you can buy potions from the city. On my way to the village, I saw many potions for sale. If everyone buys their own, it wouldn’t be seen as favoritism, right?"
"Or you can wait until Nara becomes a more skilled apothecary. A skilled apothecary can use fewer herbs to concoct potions. I don’t have as much talent as Nara, so I need the full amount of herbs. Besides...Nara earns a lot of money from her missions, whereas I barely earn enough points from the institute and surely don’t have much money like Nara. So, if you really want to rely on someone, it should be Nara."
Ellie spoke with a sad tone. She had already achieved her goal of warning everyone about the traps, explaining the large house with Nara’s help, and proving her potion-concocting skill that it wasn’t worthless like they thought. There was no reason for her to maintain this role any longer. This matter had reached its conclusion...
"E-Ellie! What do you mean by this? This can’t be! I’ll try to save up the money. It’s just 4 silver coins. I have to manage it somehow. I’ll buy the herbs as you said. Please, make the potion for me. Don’t worry about those who want the potion without helping themselves. I’ll buy the herbs."
"Ellie, you can’t decide that. I’ll spend all my money to buy the herbs too. Buying herbs for just 4 silver coins is much cheaper than buying a ready-made potion for more than 30-40 silver coins per bottle. I understand how much you’re helping us. Please, don’t mind what others are saying."
"I have a harvest coming up. Just 4 silver coins. I’ll get it. Ellie, please help my son. He’s the mainstay of our family. If he wasn’t ill, our situation would be much better now."
Many people spoke reluctantly. These were the ones who had money and understood the real value of the potions. Some even planned that after they got the potions, they wouldn’t use them but resell them for profit. When they heard Ellie say she wouldn’t concoct potions for everyone to be fair, how could they accept that? It felt like more than 20 silver coins just disappeared before their eyes!
"What do you mean, why is everyone willing to pay!? Didn’t you see that Jay-ar got the potion without spending a single coin!? And now you’re saying we’re selfish? Who’s really selfish here!? It’s easy to talk when you have money to pay and live well! We want to pay, but we don’t have the money like others. So, we should just wait to die because we’re poor?"
"Calling us selfish for waiting for help, then why don’t you try being us!? We don’t even have money to buy a handful of rice, let alone herbs."
"That’s right. Rich people can talk all they want. And this old woman here...didn’t you borrow money from us before? Are you going to pay it back or not? Why are you spending money to treat your son? Give us our money back! We’re the ones who should be treated."
"Feels great to hear this! No one gets treated, perfect!! Great. This is great, haha."
With benefits at stake, arguments ensued. Those who felt they had no chance of getting treatment were pleased that others wouldn’t either, while those who should have been treated felt bitter towards those unwilling to help themselves and also harbored the thought of taking advantage of others, causing them to suffer as well. The situation escalated as people split into two factions.
"Everyone, quiet!" The village chief couldn’t tolerate the situation any longer. Although he disliked the selfish group that wouldn’t even pay 4 silver coins, as it caused trouble for him as well, he understood that as the village chief, he couldn’t openly show his feelings because there were many in that group.
"Is the village chief asking us to be quiet because he thinks the same? That the poor shouldn’t receive proper treatment?"
"The village chief has a back injury that prevents him from walking quickly like he did when he was younger. Isn’t he blaming us too? Besides...the village chief has a daughter who studied as well, so let her do something."
"That’s right. The other day, there was a grand feast to welcome your daughter. So why not have Nara do something to help the villagers for a change?"
"Exactly. If Ellie can’t do it, the only one with the money and capability is Nara, right? So, Nara, will you help us? Can the village chief cover the cost, and then have Nara prepare the potions for us?"
"Everyone understands that Ellie doesn’t have much money. She’s lost her entire family, and it’s tough for her to just get by. But those who have the money and skills, who’ve been bragging about how great they are, haven’t done anything at all."
The more they spoke, the more agitated they became. Many started to make comparisons. Ellie smirked slightly at the corner of her mouth. Wasn’t this what Nara had always wanted? To create a comparison between herself and Ellie? Well, now the comparison was genuinely happening. She hoped the heroine would be happy...
"Everyone, please calm down," the village chief felt dizzy. Who would have thought that a single comment from him would lead people to speak ill of his daughter?
"Calm down? How can we calm down? Do we look like the type who can calm down when we’ve been insulted and taken advantage of?!!" Before anyone else could speak further, Nara, who had been hiding in the background, spoke up with confidence.
"Everyone, please be quiet as my father asked. As for treating everyone...I’ll take responsibility. Since everyone needs treatment, please wait until I reach my third year, which is just 2 more years. I’ll come back and treat everyone myself. Of course, I won’t charge any money. By that time...I should be earning quite a bit already."
Nara spoke with confidence, her eyes shining brightly as if she knew how to become the spiritual leader of this village.
As a priestess, she also needed to accumulate points for helping people. For now, she promised to help everyone, but she asked them to wait until she finished her third year of study. Once she graduated, her duty as a priestess would be to help people. This way...she would gain merit points as a priestess and become a spiritual leader, making everyone in the village her followers, while Ellie would be seen as selfish forever!!
This could be described as killing two birds with one stone...
It was clear from just a glance what Nara was thinking. Ellie realized that Nara’s plan was indeed cunning. As a priestess, she would have a small fund available, which could buy a lot of herbs for concocting potions. Nara just had to spend a little of her own money initially, and then she would become a priestess with a high level of faith points in no time.
Being a priest was similar to being a spiritual leader. They have a point system, just like hunters, but the criteria for earning points were different. While hunters earned points based on the number of missions they complete, priests accumulated points based on the number of works in providing helps to others. However, they had a more precise detection on people’s mind. If they could deeply influence someone’s faith, they would earn special points that could be exchanged for sacred items from the Church’s treasury.
Therefore, it was not unusual for priests to try to persuade people to have faith in them or to help people, especially those in need. While they helped the needy without charge, they would charge the wealthy exorbitant fees. This strategy was because they knew that it was harder to gain the faith of the wealthy, who were usually well-aware of the priests’ motives. Thus, the wealthy wasn’t the primary focus of their goodwill efforts.
“Nara, my dear...”
“Father, Mother, for the sake of everyone in the village, I will work harder. Please don’t put pressure on Ellie. She sacrificed a lot to make the potions for Uncle Jay-ar. That money could have bought many meals. I hope Uncle Jay-ar will help Ellie with food from now on. I heard you brought wild boar meat to her, so I hope you continue to support Ellie well.”
Nara spoke with such apparent altruism that it sent shivers down the villagers’ spines. However, the truth about who was truly impoverished and without money was known only to the two girls.
No...Actually, Jay-ar and Lana also seemed to know the reality. The wild boar meat that everyone thought was at Ellie’s house wasn’t accepted by the girl. Her home was stocked with a large barrel of beast meat, perfectly polished rice, and an abundance of grains. If someone considered Ellie to be “financially struggling” based on the contents of her house, then they might as well call themselves “beggars”!!
Jay-ar and Lana understood this truth but kept it to themselves. At a time when the villagers were driven by greed, it was better to let Ellie be seen as less wealthy, allowing her to live in peace.
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