The Former Poor Elf’s Alchemy and Potion Shop - 50: It’s a Storage Backpack

50: It’s a Storage Backpack 

I put the storage backpacks up for sale. 

To get straight to the point—the first day, they sold like crazy. 

And not even to people who came looking for them, but to adventurers who just happened to stop by. 

“Hey, check this out.” 

“It’s a backpack. Uh, if it’s just a regular one, it’s way too expensive.” 

“Don’t be stupid.” 

“Yeah, yeah, I get it. I just couldn’t believe it. This is a storage backpack, right?” 

“Thought so.” 

“How much storage increase?” 

“Eight times.” 

“…And it’s priced like this?” 

“Yep.” 

“Seriously…?” 

The adventurers started having a conversation that sounded like a comedy skit. 

Ahh, yeah… I kind of overproduced them. So I was able to make the price super cheap. 

I also heard from other adventurers that storage magic tools available in the royal capital usually compress items to three times their normal size. Or at most five times for the really expensive ones. 

This one does about eight times. 

And the price? About a third of what a store in the royal capital would charge for a three-times compression bag. 

“Uh, just to confirm, how much?” 

“Exactly one gold coin.” 

“That’s expensive, but… also super cheap?” 

So, in a normal store, they go for about three gold coins. 

Since I can make multiple bags using a single batch of storage stone liquid, my cost efficiency is way higher than others. 

Magic potions—including recovery potions—cause “potion addiction” if consumed in large amounts. And in severe cases, it can even be fatal. 

Plus, the base backpacks themselves are a little pricey, which is another problem. 

I had been thinking about getting a portable alchemy furnace soon. But seeing how the kids used the storage backpacks made me realize the demand was there. 

Looks like my intuition was spot on. 

If I had been wrong, that would’ve been a disaster, though. 

Then, as word spread, more and more adventurers started showing up. 

“Do you still have any storage backpacks for sale?” 

“I heard about the storage backpacks and came to check them out!” 

“Apparently, these storage backpacks are an insane bargain?” 

They just kept coming. 

“Uh… could you sell me a storage backpack on credit…?” 

“Sorry, no credit. If you can borrow the money from somewhere else, that’s fine.” 

“I see…” 

A young man who looked a bit poor slumped his shoulders and left. 

Sorry, but I can’t sell on credit. I’m already selling them cheap, so the profit margin isn’t that high. 

…Wait, if I sold them at normal prices, I’d be raking in money, wouldn’t I? 

But if they’re too expensive, no one can buy them… 

High prices mean no sales. 

Low prices mean low profits. 

Finding the perfect balance is tough. 

This wasn’t something I could figure out based on past experience alone. 

Just then— 

“Hey, Mireille!” 

Huh? Mayra ran straight into my shop. That’s super rare. 

She looks gorgeous as always. 

“Ah, yes, I’m Mireille. A pleasure as always.” 

“Yeah, yeah, forget the greetings. What the hell is going on with these storage backpacks?” 

“You sure heard fast. Well, I kind of ended up mass-producing them, so I decided to do a clearance sale.” 

“…A clearance sale?” 

“Uh, well, I actually plan to sell them at this price permanently.” 

“That’s not a sale.” 

“Oh… right.” 

“How did this happen?” 

“Uhh… well…” 

“Mind if we talk in the back?” 

“Sure.” 

We went upstairs to continue the conversation. 

I explained how I had managed to buy storage stones at a discount, how I could mass-produce the backpacks, and how that led to the current situation. 

“Geez…” 

“I was just making some extras for the kids.” 

“And that turned into this?” 

“Haha… yeah, my bad.” 

“Can you make more?” 

“If I want to, yeah. But I’d need to buy more backpacks, and that’s a hassle.” 

“Got it. We’ll handle getting the backpacks.” 

“Huh?” 

“We’ll cooperate. Leave it to the guild.” 

“Oh, wow. I thought you were going to yell at me.” 

“If I wanted to, it’d be too late—you’ve already sold a ton.” 

“Fair point.” 

And just like that, the guild-affiliated shops started mass-producing the backpacks. And I got help managing the inventory.

The price was even cheaper than buying at retail—I got them at wholesale rates. 

Such a great deal! 

I diligently converted every gathered backpack into an eight-times compression storage magic tool. 

Even merchants were snapping them up like crazy. 

Unlike potions, which have a limited shelf life, these weren’t perishable. As long as there was stock, they would keep selling. 

But things didn’t stay that easy for long. 

The storage stone stock in the royal capital ran out. 

Other businesses were panicked by the sudden demand. They started scrambling to buy them up, causing the price of storage stones to rise. 

Storage stones were originally expensive, so they weren’t selling well. It led people to believe there wasn’t much demand. 

Because of that, the available stock had been low to begin with. And now that was a serious problem. 

Without storage stones, I couldn’t make storage backpacks. 

That meant I had no choice but to halt sales, at least for now. 

Still, the profit margin on high-ticket items was on a whole different level. So I managed to make a decent amount of money.