Ointment

First, I let everyone eat as much fruit as they wanted.

Once they were satisfied, I used the House Tree to create homes for them.

“Ohhh, a house appeared instantly!?”

“What is this… the work of the gods…?”

Smiling wryly at their exaggerated reactions, I explained the basic rules of the village. After that, I left the rest to Shekuri-san and returned to Ran-san and her companions.

It seemed they had already finished unloading their cargo and were now sitting down, resting from the fatigue of travel.

“Oh, Lord Woody. Sorry for being so relaxed like this.”

Ran-san and the others had taken off their shoes and were applying some sort of ointment.

Apparently, long marches in boots were very tough, and the soles of their feet had suffered greatly.

Ran-san looked fine, but Val-san in particular seemed to be in a lot of pain.

Even from a distance, his feet gave off a strong odor.

Could it be athlete’s foot…?

‘…Right, maybe this was the perfect chance to try that out.’

Since I was planning to accompany Ran-san’s group, it would be best if their health was in top condition.

Clapping my hands, I opened my pouch.

From it, I took out one of the prototype specialty goods we had been experimenting with.

“Val-san, if you don’t mind, would you try this?”

“Lord Woody, what is that…?”

In my hand was an ointment made from Element Peaches.

Its ingredients were only two things: monster fat and Element Peaches.

The main component was the Water Peach, which had the strongest healing effect.

But since that alone left a bit of a beastly smell, I also mixed in juice from the Fire Peach, which had the strongest fragrance.

This ointment carried the healing effect of the Element Peach. At the very least, it worked on burns. An auntie who got burned while making Fruit Tea Resemble had used it, and not a trace of a scar remained.

Athlete’s foot was also an abnormality of the skin, just like burns, so I thought the Element Peach’s properties might work on it too.

So I let him try it out.

The effect appeared immediately.

“Ohhh, no itching! Not itchy at all! Goodbye, athlete’s foot!”

Val-san slipped his socks back on and happily hopped around on the carpet.

So it really had been athlete’s foot.

“Lord Woody, could I try some as well?”

“M-me too!”

“Let me use it too, please!”

Three people quickly raised their hands and began applying the ointment to their feet.

During their “ointment time,” I struck up a conversation with Val-san.

“Do you think this ointment could sell?”

“It’ll sell! Without a doubt, it will sell! In the desert, thick boots are standard, so many people’s feet get sweaty and they develop athlete’s foot! I was already shocked when I saw Fruit Tea Resemble, but personally, I think this ointment has even more potential!”

Val-san’s mood was excellent.

Ran-san and the others were cheerful too, and it seemed I had successfully placed the product in their hands.

“Amazing… it also has pain-relieving effects.”

“Eh, really?”

“Why does Lord Woody not even know the effects of what he made?”

“Ah, ahaha…”

I had come up with the idea, but it was the villagers who actually made it.

I had confirmed its effects, but I didn’t know the details.

While I laughed it off awkwardly, the three of them finished applying the ointment.

They all looked refreshed, and like Val-san, insisted that this product would definitely sell.

I had only thought of it as something that worked on general skin troubles, but apparently this Peach Ointment… was enough to make Ran-san’s eyes sparkle.

“The ointment I use now costs one gold coin for a container this small. If you compare size and price… But first, I need to tell you about this trip.”

Clearing her throat, Ran-san began explaining.

It seemed the dried fruits and Fruit Tea Resemble we sent this time had sold out completely. Villagers, having heard of their reputation from before, rushed in and bought everything in no time.

Since Ran-san knew fruits were produced in abundance in Tree Village, she even took reservations for priority purchasing next time.

“This time, too, we made quite a profit. Honestly, both products were so popular they sold out instantly, so from now on, I plan to raise the prices a little—within reason, of course.”

Normally, I might have worried about unscrupulous price hikes, but with Ran-san, there was no need.

Since she had once run her trading at a loss, if she said “within reason,” then it really would be within reason.

“Well, if we have this Peach Ointment, we could even sell it cheaply at first, just to draw in customers who’d want to buy more… fufufu…”

Ran-san, unusually for her, wore the face of a merchant.

In any case, it looked like the ointment would become another specialty of this village, and I felt relieved.

No, wait, that wasn’t why I came here!

I had completely forgotten my original reason!

So, I asked Ran-san—her eyes now gleaming with money signs—to let me accompany her on her next trip…