“Business hasn’t been good lately, so I have been trying to think of a way I could earn some extra valis,” I admitted.
The Headmaster glanced at the technique again, and then looked back at me. He steepled his fingers together and placed his elbows on the desk.
“Given how powerful this technique is, I am willing to pay 60,000 valis for it.”
“6-60,000 valis?!” Infile looked ready to faint.
I considered how much that was. A single loaf of bread cost ten valis. If I were to take this number as the standard for a loaf of bread, then it meant my room probably cost about thirty to forty times more. That was about 400 valis a month. That meant it was enough to pay my rent for 150 months. There were nine months in a year, so I could live off this much for about eleven or twelve years... give or take a few months when I took the cost of food into account.
After calculating the numbers in my head, I nodded. “I think that sounds good.”
“Then we have a deal.” The Headmaster reached into a drawer and pulled out a large bag that jingled as he set it on the desk. I wondered what this man was doing with a bag of valis just lying around like that, but then he began pulling platinum coins out of the bag.
“Could I get at least some of those in gold and silver coins?” I asked suddenly. “Platinum coins are hard to use for everyday spending.”
The Headmaster paused before nodding. “Certainly, how about I exchange two of these platinum coins for gold and silver? That means you’d get ten gold coins and one hundred silver coins.”
“That should be good. Thank you.”
I remained respectful as the man took out fifty-eight platinum coins, which equaled about 58,000 valis, and then withdrew that money bag and took out another two bags. From each of them, he withdrew ten gold and a hundred silver coins respectively. Then he handed them to me, and I placed them inside of my coin purse, which was strapped across my shoulder.
With my coin purse now much fatter and much happier, I thanked the two men for their help and left the Headmaster’s office.
Infile watched the door as it closed behind the young man, and then turned to the older man sitting behind the desk.
“Headmaster…”
The Headmaster raised a hand. “I know what you are going to say, but the money I just spent on this technique is well worth it. You know how valuable Spiritual Techniques are. Even C- and B-Rank Spiritual Techniques can cost as many as 20,000 to 30,000 valis. An A-Rank Spiritual Technique is nearly twice as powerful and a hundred times more rare than a B-Rank Spiritual Technique. Only the Three Heavenly Families and the Astralia Royal Family have techniques of this rank. What’s more…”
“What’s more?” Infile inquired.
“No, never mind.” The Headmaster shook his head. “In either event, please make sure to have someone keep an eye on that young man if possible. He says he is an orphan, but with a technique like this, he must come from a very prominent background. Perhaps his lineage can even be dated back to a family from before the Catastrophe.”
Infile was startled when he heard this, but he quickly nodded his head. “I understand. If at all possible, I will find someone who can keep an eye on him, Headmaster.”
It was night by the time I arrived back home. The matter of selling my Spiritual Technique Scroll took longer than I expected. Shutting the door behind me, I pried off my boots, pulled off my shirt, and then undid my belt and slid out of my pants. I left each article of clothing on the floor. I was too tired to pick them up.
Falling face-first onto the hard mattress of my bed, I winced as I realized that this wasn’t my bed back when Kari and I had formed Brave Vesperia, or even the one when we joined the Explorer’s Guild—our first sect. My nose felt like it had just been smashed against a rock.
I rolled over and tried to get comfortable. It was easier said than done. As I shut my eyes, I thought about all the things I needed to buy: An alchemy set, a bathtub, medicinal ingredients, weighted clothes for training, a map of Nevaria… there was so much I needed to get. Tomorrow was going to be even longer than today.
Well, at least I had gotten to see Kari again. That had been nice.
Chapter 4
Shopping for the Future
I was putting books back in their place as usual when I first saw her. At the time, I had no idea who she was. I would always find her at a table on the second floor of the library, a book sitting on the table before her as she slowly flipped through its pages. The way her eyes sparkled as she read made me keep my tongue, not that I could have talked anyway. This girl whose beauty made me think she was of divine origin made me tongue-tied to begin with.
Time continued to pass, I kept working at the library, and this girl kept appearing to read day after day after day. She wouldn’t always come. I would later learn it was only on the days when the Spiritualist Academy didn’t have classes that she stopped by. However, whenever classes were not in session, I would find her at the same table as always.
The girl had come again.
I was putting away several books near her, doing my best to seem unobtrusive. She was engrossed in her book. As someone who frequently read myself, I knew how annoying it would be if someone interrupted me.
Despite not wanting to disturb the girl, I made the mistake of looking at what she was reading, which caused me to nearly drop the books in my hand.
“That’s The Tale of Anderil!”
The girl’s entire body jerked as though startled, which caused me to realize my mistake. I opened my mouth to apologize. Just as I was getting ready to stutter out an apology, she turned around to look at me, and I could have sworn my heart stopped beating. Having seen her from a distance, I had already known she was beautiful. However, looking at her from up-close, her enchanting loveliness seemed to have been enhanced a hundred-fold.
“Have you read The Tale of Anderil?” she asked, her voice laced with excitement.
Somehow, I was able to miraculously reclaim my voice. “Are you kidding? I’ve read it over ten times! A young man leaves his home village.”
Her eyes grew brighter as she said, “He journeys across the land.”
“Exploring ruins,” I added.
“Confronting danger,” she pressed on.
“All for the sake of quenching his undying thirst for adventure,” we finished together before smiling.
“I’m Kari,” she introduced herself. “Do you come here often?”
“I’m Eryk,” I greeted before rubbing the back of my neck and offering her an embarrassed smile, “and I kind of work here, so…”
“You do?” Her eyes suddenly gained a hungry glint that would have made me take a step back, but there was a bookshelf immediately behind me, preventing it. “In that case, I hope you can recommend some new books to me. I’m almost out of reading material.”
I took a moment to consider her. She had pretty blue eyes, the fairest skin I’d ever seen, and hair that looked as if it had been spun from threads of gold. Her outfit was surprisingly plain. The simple purple gown had no adornments and went down to her feet, which were clad in a pair of basic sandals. For some reason, I imagined she’d look better in extravagant clothing like the stuff nobles wore.
While she appeared nearly a head shorter than myself, she had an impressive pair of breasts, which strained against the fabric of her gown. I didn’t know how big they were. However, they were definitely more than two handfuls.
I tried my best not to stare at her chest.
“I don’t mind offering you suggestions at all,” I said with a slight smile.
“Thank you!” The girl looked happier than I felt my simple act of agreeing to her request warranted, but seeing such a refreshing and joyful look on this girl’s face caused my own mind to feel like it was shutting down. I was pretty sure I’d become a puddle of goo.
And that was the day I met Kari.
I got up early the next morning. Given the ruined state of those clothes I had worn during my trek th
rough the forest between Nevaria and the Demon Beast Mountain Range, I needed to wash them down by the stream near my house.
Nevaria had a number of such streams, and all of them were connected through a series of channels and irrigation canals. It made washing clothes and getting water convenient. Well, that was what I assumed. If I was being honest, I didn’t think it was nearly as convenient as the waterways and sewers of Midgard. Being able to pull water directly from pipes built into a building was far more convenient, and that was to say nothing for the runes that helped heat the water, but I was digressing.
While I washed my clothes in the stream, I thought about the dream I had. It was more than just a dream. It had also been a memory of the time before the Demon Beast Invasion.
Kari and I had met before in a manner that was eerily similar to how we met this time around. That made me wonder if the day I’d gone back in time to was coincidentally the day she and I first conversed with each other. Perhaps our lives were tied together by the red thread of fate? It was an amusing thought, and one that made me smile, but I also would admit that it was unrealistic.
Whatever happened to get me sent back to this time had nothing to do with fate.
While a part of me did wonder why I had a dream about the first time I met Kari, I didn’t believe it ultimately mattered. I was here, in the past, and I had a chance to change our future for the better. Nothing else mattered to me.
After washing my clothing and hanging them on a clothing line inside of my room, I got dressed in a clean pair of clothes, black pants and another white shirt, and left my room for the library.
I opened today.
Work that day was awfully boring, but I’ll also admit I was quite restless. No matter how much busywork I did, some part of me couldn’t focus on anything I was doing. There was so much I wanted to do that day. I had to go shopping, and then I had to find a good training ground that was quiet and far enough from Nevaria that no one would discover me. I wasn’t sure how long the shopping would take, never mind finding a location where I could train without anybody stumbling upon me—and I wanted it to have a waterfall too.
I did what I could to make the day pass swiftly. I put away books, dusted the shelves, helped people who were looking for a specific book they couldn’t find, and read when there was nothing else to do. Kari didn’t show up that day, but I knew she wouldn’t. The Spiritualist Academy had classes today.
While Kari didn’t show up, several other people did. Most of them were in their early to late teens. They were likely students at one of the lower-end schools. Education was compulsory in Nevaria ever since Empress Hilda came to power. Most students only took a three-year course, which taught them reading, writing, and basic math. I helped some of these people when they had questions regarding books in the library, but most of them ignored me.
When Ms. Nadine finally came to relieve me, I couldn’t leave fast enough. I’m pretty sure I shocked my poor boss.
The first thing I wanted to do was buy a bathtub. It sounded like the least important item, but I would need a tub for part of my training.
Bathtubs were generally something used only by nobles and maybe a few well-off merchant families. Even in Midgard where baths were far more common, there weren’t that many people who had them outside of large sects, well-to-do individuals, and higher-end inns and bars. Having a bath in one’s home was considered a luxury that few could afford. Most people either wiped themselves down with a wet rag or bathed in a communal bathhouse.
On that note, communal bathing was very popular in the Northern Plains.
There was a section of Nevaria called the Merchant’s District. While numerous streets had stall venders and the like, the Merchant’s District was the busiest because a good number of businesses owned property there. A lot of people did trading in this district. Not only did they have street vendors, but they also had a lot of shops, many of which catered to wealthier commoners like merchants and government officials.
All of the buildings were much wider in the Merchant’s District, and while it was called a district, it was really more of a town square… or maybe a circle would be more accurate. This section of the city was built around a wide, circular path made of stone. A large statue of Elandile Astralia, the founder of the city state of Nevaria, stood in the center.
I looked at the stern face of Elandile. The statue depicted a tall man with a wide, muscular build, a barrel-like chest, and a thick beard. He stood in a pose that made me think he was about to attack someone. The mighty axe in his hand was raised as if in preparation to bring it down upon the head of his enemies.
Shaking my head, I turned back to gazing at the variety of shops as I wove between the numerous groups of people walking alongside me.
All of the buildings here were wide and spacious. I assumed it was because they had a lot of goods to sell and needed space to showcase them. Some of the buildings were only one story like the apothecary, but most of them were two. None of these buildings had windows. That made me pause for a moment, but then I vaguely recalled that windows were expensive in Nevaria because of how much time and effort glass took to make.
Maybe it was just me, but this place seemed a bit… behind the times.
I eventually found the place I was looking for. The shop was wide, two stories, and the walls were made entirely of brick. Ceramic red tiles were used for the roofing. Again, there were no windows. However, there was a wooden sign hanging above the door that had the image of a bathtub. I could only assume this was the place.
Stepping inside, the first thing I noticed about this place was that it was larger on the inside than it appeared on the outside. Of course, this was because it was longer than it was wide. At a general estimation, I’d say from the front to the back, it was about 120 meters long. Filling most of the store were a variety of different types of bathtubs, but they had other appliances too. Most of them were bathing appliances.
No one was around to greet me. It looked like all of the people who worked there were already busy helping other people. That was fine. I had only come to buy a simple bathtub.
Wandering further inside, I began looking at the different types of tubs. There were a lot of options. Most of the tubs were made of wood, but there were a few that appeared to have been made of stone. One of them even looked like it could fit at least ten people. I imagined getting that out of this shop and into a house would be a pain. This was probably just a display to show off a model that would be made inside of the house.
A good deal of the tubs were shaped like a square. I wanted a round tub, and it didn’t need to be too big. Aside from not being able to fit a large tub in my room, I really only needed something that would let me soak my whole body in water.
“Excuse me, ma’am. May I help you?” Someone finally came up to me. He was an older gentleman with graying hair and a goatee. His face was gaunt, and his eyebrows had strange curls at the ends. I was expecting them to wiggle any moment now.
“Did you just call me ‘ma’am’?” I asked with narrowed eyes.
The merchant paused, looked closer at me, and then blushed. “I apologize, sir. I made a mistake.”
“Yes, you did.”
I knew it couldn’t be helped, that I had a very feminine face (my current skinny physique certainly didn’t help), but it was always annoying when someone mistook me for a girl. Part of the reason I couldn’t wait to begin training was so I could lose some of my feminine appearance. Once I gained a body that was more muscular and lost some of the baby fat softening my face, I wouldn’t be mistaken for a woman as often.
“I’m looking for a bathtub,” I began. “I want one that is preferably round. It doesn’t need to be large. However, it does need to be large enough that the water will come up to my shoulders when I sit in it.”
“Hmmm…” The man stroked his goatee while studying me, and I knew he was taking in my threadbare clothes. He probably assumed, rightly so, that I was of the peasant class. Even so, th
is man was either a consummate professional, or he knew better than to judge a book by its cover. A smile appeared on his face. “I believe I have what you are looking for. Please follow me.”
Walking past numerous large tubs, shelves covered in appliances, and other people, the man led me all the way to the back, where a single tub sat. This bathtub was very simple. It was a sturdy wooden tub that resembled a basin. It wasn’t round. It was oval. However, when I judged its size, I determined that it was wide enough for me to sit in if I extended my legs. The tub’s walls featured a U-shaped dip in the middle, and the two ends curved enough that a person could lean against it and relax.
“While we do not have any truly round tubs, this one should suit your needs well,” the merchant said. “It’s made of lacquered cedar. Not only is it comparatively light and sturdy, but it’s well built. It was carved from one piece, so there are no seams. Water won’t leak out when you use it.”
I nodded while listening to his explanation. It wasn’t quite what I wanted, but I hadn’t seen anything resembling what I asked for inside this store. There were other shops that sold bathtubs. I was sure one would have exactly what I asked for. However, I had a lot that I needed to get done today, and I didn’t want to spend several hours buying a bathtub.
“How much?” I asked.
The merchant rubbed his hands together. “While this tub is well-crafted, it’s not very popular since most people prefer larger baths. The standard price for a tub is around 20,000 valis. However, given everything I just told you, I’ll sell this one for 12,000 valis.”
While the tub was important, I also needed to buy an alchemy set, ingredients for the pills I would need to refine, clothes for my training, and a map of Nevaria and the surrounding forest. I currently had 60,000 valis to my name thanks to the Spiritual Technique Scroll I sold to the Spiritualist Academy. This would bring me down to 48,000.
WIEDERGEBURT: Legend of the Reincarnated Warrior: Volume 1 Page 6
