Noah unwrapped the healing bread and took a big bite.
The sensation of healing spread through his body immediately, the effect of the bread accelerating his natural recovery processes.
The demoness watched in stunned silence as the puncture wounds on Noah’s arm began closing visibly.
The blood loss stopped, torn tissue regenerated, and within moments, only faint marks remained where the injury had been.
"What... what kind of bread is that?"
Noah smiled as he finished the healing loaf, already feeling the last traces of pain fade from his arm.
The bread had worked exactly as intended, thirty percent accelerated healing that turned potentially serious wounds into a minor inconvenience.
"I own a shop," he explained, tucking the empty wrapper back into his jacket.
"This is one of my products. Healing bread that boosts natural recovery by thirty percent."
You can never have enough customers... He thought with an inward smile.
The demoness stared at his completely healed arm with amazement. Her eyes tracked the faint marks where deep puncture wounds had been moments before, her expression going through disbelief and growing excitement.
"That’s... that’s better than most Tier 1 healing potions," she exhaled.
"The regeneration speed, the complete tissue repair... I’ve never seen anything like it."
Better than Tier 1 potions? That’s useful information for pricing strategies.
"How much does it cost?" She asked with interest etched in her face.
Noah considered his standard pricing structure versus what the demon market might bear for superior healing products. The bread had proven its worth in actual combat conditions—surely that justified premium pricing.
"Not much," he replied in a casual tone.
"Just ten golden coins."
Her eyebrow rose. Instead, her expression suggested someone evaluating an unexpectedly reasonable offer.
"Ten coins for healing that effective? That’s... actually not expensive at all."
Of course, it’s not expensive to you guys. The demons really are rich.
The demoness reached for her coin pouch with obvious enthusiasm, then paused as a new thought occurred to her.
"Do you still have more of that bread? Also, where is your shop located?"
"Yes, I do. And my shop is in the plaza, it’s quite open, you should be able to see it. ’Idle Shop.’"
"If you can’t find it, just ask around. Most people know where it is by now."
Word of mouth advertising. The gift that keeps giving.
"The plaza?" Her interest sharpened further.
"I know that area well. I can’t believe I haven’t noticed your shop before."
"It’s relatively new," Noah explained.
"Still building customer base."
Relatively new, as in ’appeared from another kingdom a few days ago,’ but she doesn’t need those details.
"Well, you’ve definitely got at least one new customer," she said, extending her hand in introduction.
"I’m Kelyss, by the way. Freelance adventurer, amateur hunter, and apparently terrible at watching for flanking attacks."
"Noah," he replied, accepting the handshake.
Kelyss let out a genuine laugh, rather than one coming from polite courtesy.
"Just a shopkeeper? You handled that double attack better than some experienced fighters I’ve seen. Sure, you took a hit, but you adapted quickly."
"Experience teaches harsh lessons," Noah replied, thinking of his recent encounters with demon extremists.
"Better to learn from small mistakes than big ones."
"Smart philosophy." Kelyss gestured toward the remaining beetles scattered across the hunting ground.
"Want to continue hunting together? Safety in numbers, and I promise to watch for flanking attacks this time."
Noah considered the offer for a second.
"Sounds good. Just remember, my healing bread works best when I don’t need to use it."
She’s already interested in my products. Cultivating customer relationships makes a business Bloom. It’s not like I will lose anything by hunting with her.
"Deal," Kelyss grinned, holding her spear with confidence.
"Though knowing you have emergency healing might make me slightly more aggressive in my tactics."
Noah’s mouth twitched. "I-I don’t though...that was the last one I had with me."
"O-Oh..." She responded, before a smirk broke out.
"Don’t worry, I guess I will drop down the intensity...just a little."
They approached the next cluster of beetles together. Kelyss positioned herself to cover Noah’s flanks while he took point with his superior sword skills.
The first beetle fell to their combined assault without landing a single attack. Noah’s blade had cut its life short.
"Good job," Kelyss observed.
They continued their hunting partnership across the beetle territory, accumulating experience and building team coordination.
As the afternoon passed, Noah found himself genuinely enjoying the partnership aspect of monster hunting.
Solo combat had been educational but isolating; having someone to share the experience with was nice.
"So," Kelyss said during a brief rest between encounters, "what other products does your shop carry? Just healing bread, or do you have more things?"
Noah gave her a mysterious smile.
"Secret...You can find out when you come to my shop."
Kelyss’s eyes sparked with interest rather than frustration at his evasiveness.
"Now I’m definitely interested. You’ve got my attention."
The hunting session continued for another hour, their teamwork growing better with each encounter. Noah used that time as an opportunity to learn how to coordinate with others; it was a good skill to have.
By the time his shadow started lengthening across the grass, Noah felt satisfied with his progress.
Level 5 swordsmanship had transformed his entire approach to monster hunting, turning dangerous encounters into manageable ones.
Time to call it a day. My arm’s healed, I’ve tested my new skill level, learnt how to coordinate better with others in a fight, and I’ve acquired a potential customer.
"I think that’s enough for today," Noah announced, wiping beetle ichor from his blade before sheathing the Zealous Quickblade.
Kelyss nodded in agreement, her spear held by her side. "It was a very good session. I learned a lot watching your technique."
"Are you heading back to your shop?" she asked with obvious hope.