Chapter 24: Chapter24: The Value of Her Debt
"That's a Unicorn, isn't it?"
Her fascinated gaze was following the carriage that just passed them.
"Correct, Rena. Finally, something you know."
"Stop teasing me." She pouted.
Rather than a horse carriage, it would be better to call it a unicorn carriage.
The ship just docked a moment ago at Fort Forenza, Valia Kingdom. After preparing his breakfast, Rena went to the town with Frei and Mirra. She had told him earlier that she wanted to go to the town. So, Frei who had a few things to do there brought along the girls with him.
"Hmm, it's very different from Tawarr." Mirra said.
"Yeah, people in the East Continent like using Cuckoobo as a means of transportation, while here, they prefer to use Unicorn, the creature has a gentle temperament, the stability of four legs animal, and elegance."
The city was neat and organized, not only the roads, the area was also divided into separate sections, the commerce area and the private housing area. Frei who was their guide, patiently explaining stuff the girls found interesting.
Their first destination was the Merchant Guild.
They walked to the main plaza, where important buildings were located. The merchant guild's building was next to the city hall, easily spot with its flashy appearance. The signboard on top of the entrance was made of iron plate painted with gold, encasing wealth which associated with this occupation.
{ Valia Kingdom Merchant Guild }
-Fort Forenza Branch-
When they entered the building, they were welcomed by a refreshing citrus scent and a person offering assistance. They were guided inside the lobby and be seated in one of the sofas there. The merchant guild was busy, at least ten other merchants were there, but instead waiting in line in front of receptionist desk, they sat on the sofa, waiting to be called.
The atmosphere was calm and relaxed, the lobby was bright and clean. The floor was made of white marble, and expensive carpets placed on it. The large crystal chandelier hung in the center of the room was reflecting the sunlight that penetrated the room from the windows above. Fresh flowers were put on each of the tables there.
When Rena and Mirra were shocked looking at such luxury, the person who greeted them at the entrance returned, carrying welcome drinks for them. Assessing her surrounding and the treatment they received, there was one place she could associate with.
(Isn't this like a five-star hotel?)
Mirra grabbed her drink and gulped it right away. "Yumm! Refreshing!"
Watching Mirra's reaction made her wanted to try it as well.
"Go ahead, just drink it." Frei said.
"You are not drinking it?" She asked.
"Hmm, alright. I'll drink it first."
He took the glasses in front of him and gave one to her. She held it with both hands while watching him drinking the liquid, even the way he held his glass and drank it looked elegant. Rena lifted the fancy glass which had the blue color liquid, the edge of the glass touched her lips and she sipped it.
(Ohh… It tastes like orange juice!)
Even a simple taste of orange juice made her happy, reminiscence of her life on earth where she drank orange juice every morning. She smiled looking at the drink on her palms. Only Mirra who noticed the change in Frei's expression when looking at her friend who was drinking the blue color liquid excitedly.
Finally, it was Frei's turned to be called. He stood from the sofa, and with a long stride, walking toward the mature beauty behind the desk. Rena and Mirra were following him.
The receptionist lady with wavy auburn hair spoke, "Frei, I have a bad news for you. An official request from the kingdom had come to detain your ship. You can't leave Valia until the problem is solved."
Rena frowned, but Frei didn't seem to be surprised by the news.
"Ok, I understand, Theresa. Is there anything more?" He said.
"No, not really." Theresa replied.
"Then this is the list of goods I brought from Tawarr." He placed a sheet of parchment on the desk. "Also, can I meet with the Guild Master?"
"Yes, let me talk to the Guild Master first. Please, wait a moment."
Theresa went inside the door behind the desk.
"What's wrong?" Rena said, after hearing their conversation.
"Just an expected problem. I need to stay here for a few days, taking care of this." He said.
When the door behind the desk was opened again, Theresa returned to her desk.
"The Guild Master said he is available tomorrow after 2 pm. Please come back tomorrow, Frei."
"Ok, thank you for your help, Theresa."
"I'm glad I can help you, please come here more often." Theresa twirled her hair, her cherry color lips formed a flirtatious smile.
"I'll be here for a few days." Frei returned her smile and then turned around, talking to Rena and Mirra. "Let's go, I'm done here for today."
They quit the Merchant Guild walking toward the busiest place in fort Forenza, the shopping district.
The town had many two stories houses with slanted rooftops with similar characteristics, but painted in many different colors, giving them a more distinctive feature. The round grey cobblestones, making nice clip-clop sounds when carriages passed by. Many of the passersby were wearing armors and carrying swords.
"Do you come here often?" Rena asked. Frei seemed familiar with the place already.
"Yeah, I come here a few times a year. The air here is cooler than where I come from, so I like to walk around here. I'll show you some of the good spots later."
"Hmm… What kind of place is Ardia Kingdom? Or the city you live in?"
Last night made her realized, she didn't know anything about him at all. She never had a chance to chat with him. By his description, Ardia Kingdom seemed more humid than this place.
"You'll see it when you arrive there." He smiled a little.
They arrived at the shop that was filled with lines of jars, she peered the inside of the shop which reminded her of a confectionary shop. The bronze bell hung on top of the door made a ding ding sound when they entered.
"Welcome!" A dark hair guy wearing glasses greeted them.
Frei went to the counter, while the girls looking around the shop. Jars of fruit and vegetable pickles, cookies, and hard candies were placed neatly in rows and lines. Rena approached one of the racks. In front of her, a row of mason jars in the size of her palm had labeled on it, Golden Carica 5 bronzes/jar. Other rows were labeled Blue Apple Pickles 5 bronzes/jar, Crescent Pickles 3 bronzes/jar, Croc Tongues 5 bronzes/jar, Naga Truffles 4 bronzes/jar.
(Hmm, a jar is 4-5 bronzes each.)
She was calculating the price in her mind, converting the value to the price of a jar in her original world. She could hear Frei talked with the shopkeeper from this distance.
"Oh, is Cordelia not here?"
"Madam went to the capital yesterday. Do you have any business with her?"
"Not really, we're just acquaintances. I'm looking for some Slime Jelly.
"I'm sorry, we don't sell it this year. The harvest season this time is close to the Silver Blade Tournament, so all the supplies go to Ladylake. Do you want something else?"
"Right, I forgot, it's tournament year. It would be hard to find one then."
He turned around, "Mirra, Rena, do you want something?"
"Yeah! I'll buy this then!" Mirra replied right away, snatching a star-shaped confetti jar, and ran to the counter.
"How about you, Rena?" He asked.
She shook her head. "Thanks, but I'm fine."
After buying the sweets, they quit the shop.
"You're not buying any?" Rena who knew Frei had serious sweet tooth was interested why he didn't buy any.
"Nah."
They turned left, and about 200 meters from the crossroad section, they arrived at a wide three stories building with a big red sign, Marcie's. Rena had specifically request for them to go to a regular clothing store, even went through such length by asking Jean, relying on his detailed knowledge. She really just wanted normal clothes.
Inside the store, they were greeted by a woman who soon recommended some choices for them. Honestly, she was relieved since there were hundreds of clothes on display here, all in the form of gowns and dresses.
"Purple sis, which one is better? The blue one or the yellow one?"
Mirra was having more fun picking outfits than her, saying this was her first time to do this. Since she wasn't sure which one she wanted, Rena suggested they both helped each other selecting clothes, giving their honest opinions about the items.
"I think the yellow one matches the color of your eyes, Mirra."
This was a little activity she missed, shopping with friends. She was happy Mirra was also enjoying this activity.
Frei was sitting on the couch near the entrance, talking with the owner of the place. Sometimes, he took a glance at the girls who smiled happily, fitting their outfits.
She bought seven pieces of clothes with decent quality and it all cost her 2 silvers and fifty coppers. She insisted to buy them herself but severely rejected by Frei. He reasoned that it wouldn't be fair since he also bought some for Mirra. In the end, she was forced to comply. They quit the shop with both hands carrying bags.
"What's wrong, Rena?" Frei noticed Rena who was busy with her own thoughts.
Rena looked at him, wondering whether it was alright to ask him the question that had been bothering her mind. She knew they used bronze, silver, and gold as currencies here. Earlier at the sweets shop and the clothing store, she surveyed the price of the goods there. If one jar about 4-5 bronzes and she compared it to the price of the same jar in the earth, it would probably be 4-5 dollars.
1 bronze, 1 dollar. Her seven pieces of clothes of 2 silvers and 50 bronzes, probably cost around 250 dollars. So, 1 silver was the same as 100 bronzes which were around 100 dollars. She didn't know the value of gold yet.
"Uhm, it's nothing. The people here seem to have better living than the ones in Tawarr, I just wondered about how much they earned."
If she wanted to know the value of the gold currency, their personal incomes could give her a hint.
"Hmm, I paid 1 gold coin per month for a regular worker. It's good enough for their monthly necessities."
"How many confetti jars you can buy with 1 gold coin?" Rena asked.
Frei stared at her curiously for a while and then said, "500 jars."
(That confetti jar is 5 bronze. So... 1 gold coin is 2500 bronzes? 2500 dollars?)
(Wait, how much is it the price he bought me at the auction house?)
She tried to recall the memory from back then and her face turned ashen.
"Rena?" Frei stared at her.
Mirra who walked beside her also tilting her head, puzzled. "Purple sis, are you sick?"
She didn't care about both of them now, their voices sounded very far. Right now, she only wanted to dig a well and jumped into it, never coming out again.
(Asdasdasd TWO AND A HALF MILLION DOLLARS?!! Are you kidding me?!!)
(How am I going to get that much money?! Selling myself?! Wait, I'm sold already!
It would be easier to seduce him than collecting that much money... Wait, what am I thinking?!)
"Rena!"
Frei pinched her cheek, but she still didn't budge.
"Hmmmph!!"
He pinched her nose, and her survival instinct distracted her thought, looking for air.
"What are you doing?! Stop it! I don't like it!"
She tried to push Frei's hand that pinching her nose with both of her hands.
"Are you alright, sis?"
Frei and Mirra looked at her with a concerned look on their face.
"No, ah, yeah, I'm alright." She forced a smile.
(No, how can I be alright after realizing 2,5 million dollars is the value I owe to this guy!)
"...Let's find a place to rest first."
Frei seemed to decide that she wasn't alright.
"No, it's okay, I told you I'm alright." Rena pulled his sleeve.
"I want to rest, there's a fountain park nearby."
He grabbed the shopping bags she carried.
"C'mon, purple sis, let's rest a little." Mirra said, holding her hand.
Rena smiled at her and they both following Frei who led them to a nice spot in the town. It was a small fountain park at the side of the road, the shade from the buildings surrounding the park protected them from the sun, flower bushes and trees were surrounding the park. Rena sat at the edge of the fountain with Mirra, eating the star shaped confetti they bought earlier.
After some time had passed, she finally spoke to Frei, "A lot of guys are wearing armors and carrying weapons here, I didn't see any at Tawarr."
Frei was standing nearby, leaning his back on the tree.
"Yeah, this is Valia Kingdom, the country of knights and warriors. It was normal to carry a weapon everywhere. But generally, the weapon regulation is easier in West Continent. Normal citizens could easily buy weapons without a permit. They could work as mercenaries, bounty hunters, or adventurers."
"Adventurers, eh..."
That word was familiar to her ears.
"What does an adventurer do?" She asked, wanted to match her knowledge from earth with the real situation here.
"They do any work depending on requests, like hunting pests, such as goblins or cockrorcs, collecting materials, or you could hire them as bodyguards as well. Basically, they are hired laborers. Sometimes, I also outsourced them."
"Oh... Can anyone become an adventurer?"
"Well, the job has low requirements, so yeah, almost anyone can become an adventurer. Actually, a lot of mercenaries and bounty hunters are also adventurers. The system was originally created to reduce unemployment, so people who couldn't secure a permanent job can make a living."
"I see..."
She thought that was a good system, instead of becoming a burden to the government, they could work for themselves.
"Then… Can an adventurer make a good living?"
"Ehm." Frei thought for a while. "You probably need to sweat blood to make a good living out of it, it was rare for people to solely depend on their income from being an adventurer."
He looked at her as he continued speaking, "As I said, the job has low requirements, it means low payments as well. Sometimes, there are good requests which pay well, but to get such a request, you need to accumulate experiences; your track record of completing requests, but even with all those experiences, it didn't guarantee you to get the work. Whoever faster gets the work. It is common for adventurers to fight over a request in the back alley."
"...You make it sound less interesting."
"And you sound like you are interested. I'm not letting you become one."
"Who said I want to become one?" Rena raised her tone.
"You are thinking about it already." He quickly replied.
(Well, if they could get a lot of money then maybe.)
"It doesn't mean I want to become one. I just want to know what they do." She threw him a sour look.
"Purple sis! Do you like the confetti?"Mirra meddled in, realizing the two people started to get heat up.
"Yeah, I like it. Thank you for sharing it with me, Mirra."
"It's nothing. You always give me food too. I think the sweets you made are still better though."
"Hehe, I'll make more later then." Rena smiled.
"The cookies last time were especially good, right?" Mirra nudged Frei with her elbow.
"Yeah, it's good." Frei said awkwardly.
(Wait, is this the first time he praised my food?)
She didn't know why she got embarrassed by this, her cheeks turned pink.
Because he never praised her cooking before, the impact of saying it was much bigger. She glanced down looking at her shoes, the tip slightly moving, showing her nervousness.
Only Mirra who realized the two's awkwardness, but she was still too green to understand the atmosphere. She was glad this move was effective. This was the trick she learned when her parents were quarreling. She hummed when chewing her confetti.
Their awkward silence was broken when Frei spoke again, "I think we have enough rest, shall we go now?"
"Uhm, right! I want to go to a bookstore! I want to buy some books!" Rena stood up abruptly.
When he looked at her unnatural behavior, he wanted to tease her, but Frei was holding himself so far because of Mirra. So he casually asked Rena, "What book do you want to buy?"
"Magic book." Rena answered right away.
"You know, Rena. They don't sell that kind of books in the bookstore. If you just want to read a regular book that's a different matter. I have many of them, you don't need to buy it."
Since Frei was taller, she looked up to see his face. "Is it alright if I borrow it?"
"Sure, I don't mind."
Rena was satisfied to be able to read books soon. She sincerely replied with a smile, "Thank you. I'll borrow it later."
Frei stopped blinking when that smile was directed at him. Rena never genuinely smiled at him. The corner of his lips raised up reflexively, mimicking her expression.
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CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
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Minus Note: To simplify thing, I just used USD, not JPY as a comparison. >.>
-Liya
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