The Former Poor Elf’s Alchemy and Potion Shop - 39: The Slums

39: The Slums 

It was a warm Sunday, perfect for a walk. 

By now, I had taken enough walks to become fairly familiar with the layout of the royal capital. 

The city had several districts: the commercial district (where I lived), the residential district, the agricultural district, the noble district, the royal palace, and finally, the slums—which was where I was headed today. 

Honestly, I didn’t want to go to the slums. But I felt it was important to see the reality of the city I lived in with my own eyes. 

Inside my backpack, I packed as many medicated herbal pastes and potions as I could make. Along with some honey candy and granola. 

The backpack was an alchemy-made magic tool with expanded storage capacity, allowing it to hold a lot. 

However, since it wasn’t a high-grade item, the expansion was only moderate. Villages in the countryside didn’t have the luxury of making such extravagant goods. 

In short, I was well-prepared. 

According to what I heard at the Adventurers’ Guild, the slums of the royal capital weren’t as dire as one might imagine—there weren’t many cases of people starving to death. 

Still, there was no denying the poverty. And I had heard that many children struggled to find food because there was no work for them. 

“Alright, shall we go?” 

“Yes.” 

“Yes!” 

Today’s “walk” was really just a cover for my slum outreach activity. I had already done some scouting beforehand. 

Worried about me, Sharo-chan and Marie-chan had decided to tag along. 

For safety, we all carried knives on our belts. 

The slums here weren’t the worst. But that didn’t mean there weren’t thieves or bandits lurking around. 

Also, I kept my wallet inside my backpack—wearing it on my belt would basically be an open invitation for pickpockets. 

The main roads were still lined with normal houses. 

But stepping into the narrow alleys, I entered a completely different world—the slums. 

The roads were cramped and littered with debris. 

The houses were all shabby, makeshift shacks. I saw bored-looking children sitting around idly. 

“Excuse me,” 

I called out to one of them. 

A boy had been staring off into space. He turned to look at me with a puzzled expression. 

“Hmm? What is it, lady?” 

“How many kids live around here?” 

“Huh? Uh… maybe around twenty?” 

“I see. Thanks—here, take this as a thank-you.” 

The number was lower than I expected. 

This might actually be manageable. 

I handed the boy a granola bar. 

He sniffed it first, then took a bite. 

“Mmm! This is really good! Thanks!” 

“You’re welcome.” 

“Hey… but you know, if you’re just giving handouts, it’s kinda pointless. Everyone here is hungry, not just me. If you’re gonna play charity, do it somewhere else.” 

He pointed toward the residential district. 

He had a point—if all I did was hand out food, it would just be empty charity. 

“No, I actually came here with a request.” 

“A request?” 

“Yeah. I want the kids around here to help me with a job.” 

“Huh? What kind of job? There’s no work for kids.” 

He was definitely a jaded one. 

“At least hear me out first. Can you gather the other kids? If you do, I’ll give each of you a granola bar.” 

“…Fine. As long as everyone gets one, I’ll do it.” 

With that, the boy ran off. He called out to the other children. 

One by one, he gathered them. 

In the end, thirteen kids showed up. 

“Since you all came to listen, I’ll hand out these granola bars first.” 

“Yay!” 

“Hurry up and gimme one!” 

“Thanks!” 

The kids had mixed reactions—some were polite, some were rowdy. 

They were all between six and thirteen years old. 

Younger kids were probably still living with their parents. 

Most kids in the capital spent their days playing. But in the slums, that wasn’t an option. 

At the same time, no shop would hire children from the slums—not only because of their age but also because of the stigma attached to them.

“Alright, here’s what I need. I want you all to form small groups and go to the southern plains to collect slimes and mana fruits for me.” 

“But we don’t have any weapons!” 

“Yeah, exactly!” 

“I’ll give you knives—as many as you need.” 

“Whoa!” 

“That’s pretty generous.” 

Slimes were weak monsters. 

Pom was bigger as it was older, but regular slimes weren’t too big. 

They had a core inside them. And if you attacked and removed the core, they would die instantly. 

Even a simple knife was enough to deal with them. 

“First, we’ll train you in small groups.” 

“Who wants to be in the first team?” 

And so, the great adventure of the slum kids in the southern plains began.