章 8: Old Magic and Memories (II)
For weeks, my habit of staying cooped up in one place until I finished my task took over. I scoured and tore through the books that were in the library and quickly learned the necessary information about this kingdom's history.
What I did notice was that war rarely happened in the Kingdom of Leviathan, and the Kingdom of Hydra. Both races were considered a very peaceful race, but the Divine race was considered the strongest out of all the six species. The most heavily warring Kingdoms that always shifted its territories were the Beast-kin, Humans, and the Orcs. New Kings appeared and fell, but the boundaries of the six Kingdoms did not change.
Not a single book in the Duke Hon's Library had any information about magic. I was extremely disappointed because I was looking forward to learning how to use magic properly.
"Berry?" Phil's voice rang out as he knocked on the side of the door. I looked up, wondering what he wanted. "Do you want to go out and explore the town? You've been cooped up in here for three weeks now."
"That actually might not be a bad idea, though I haven't totally been cooped up in here. I did help out a bit with some maid work around the mansion every day." I got up and stretched. "Would there be a bank nearby?"
"Bank?"
I should have known, using modern terms was my ignorance. "I mean a place to change currency to the current ones."
"Yes, we do have something like. Follow me, my grandfather should be able to give you the currency that you need."
"Thanks." I quietly followed behind Phil and ended up back in the room where I met Duke Hons. He was still bent over underneath the sunlight doing paperwork.
Duke Hons looked up. "Welcome little lady and Phil. I am surprised that you have stopped by. I heard you were at the family library this whole time."
"Well, yes." I stared back in the same intensive gaze that Duke Hons was giving me.
"What is it that you need?"
"I'm wondering if you could exchange one of my Ancient Draconian coins for the current currency here."
"You have another one?"
"Yes, I was just saving it for later."
"Ah, I see. Then I am assuming that you still do not want to work?"
"Absolutely not, I just wanted to have a variety of different currencies at my disposal. I realized that it might be a bit dangerous to hand out Ancient Draconian Coins to the locals."
"That is true. You are quite cautious."
"No, sir. I am just lucky that I was able to meet you, who was kind enough to tell me how expensive Ancient Draconian Coins are."
"You have quite a way with words."
"Not at all." I humbly replied. It was just an unconscious answer.
"Well then..." Duke Hon rummaged through his drawers. "I had a hunch you would be coming back to me, so I have already prepared it ahead." A large sack of coins was brought out and placed on the table.
"In it are two gold, 50 silvers, and 100 coppers."
I rummaged through my pocket and handed him one Draconian coin.
"Thank you."
"Remember this one gold equals fifty silvers while one silver equals one hundred coppers."
"That's pretty simple."
I took the bag on hand and put it into my pocket. I could feel the weight of the bag in my pocket.
"Where would you be going today?"
"Um..."
"We're going out to the town for a little. Thought it would be a good chance to show her around."
"That's a splendid idea. Well, then, I hope you enjoy what you see."
"I will." I bowed and left with Phil.
Rummaging through the new coins, I picked out one copper, one silver, and one gold. I could feel the unusual tug in my guts telling me to eat all three of them. I took a bite out of the copper coin first. What the hell, it tastes kind of bland. There was a bit of sweetness, but it did not compare to what I usually ate.
"I should've known." Phil shook his head in defeat.
"What?" I ate the silver coin next. Ohhhhhhh~ this one has an entirely different taste. It was mixed with a bit of tanginess and sweetness, all combined in one. It was not bad.
"You're just eating the currency as if it's a snack."
"It's food to me." I shrugged. Finally, coming to the gold, I stopped and stared. With a sniff, I smelled an unusually licorice-like smell. Here I thought it would feel like money, but for some reason, it didn't. I popped it into my mouth.
Crunch. Crunch. Gulp.
My mouth watered, and I gave off a blissful sigh. Another great taste, though it did not compare to the Draconian coin, it did give a whole different flavor. It reminded me of licorice, while the Draconian coin did have a similar taste close to an apple with a mix of a strawberry. Maybe that was why apples seemed to curve my appetite a bit for gold.
"Don't you get sick from eating that?"
"No. My mouth has a natural disinfectant ability that completely melts the gold turning it into a liquid. No virus or bacteria can survive in my mouth."
"Virus? Bacteria?"
"I shouldn't have said that. Now I've got to explain it, don't I?"
Phil gave me a look that said to explain.
"Let's see, in a straightforward term, they are small invisible creatures. They are trillions of them around the world, and they are the gift and a curse to this world. They become food for the smaller species of creatures and plants, or they're invasive species that could cause you sickness. To stay healthy, I suggest washing your hands and taking baths more often. While many even live on your body."
"What? Isn't that dangerous, and what are you talking about?" Phil looked around himself, bewildered.
"Look, you're fine. It's modern science."
"Modern science?"
"Okay, let's just stop here. If I go into it any deeper, it's going to take days. Instead, I'll give you some books for you to read later down the line and you can learn from that. I'm not great at explaining things."
"I would like to understand more of these so-called little creatures."
I couldn't help myself but chuckled at his reaction. Phil was not a dumb person, in reality, he was highly intelligent and caught onto things pretty quickly. When compared to my memorization, he was pretty high up there. I didn't know how his mind worked, but I knew for a fact that Phil was a quick learner, astute, and conniving. Well, I say conniving because he is a demon lord.
"I would look forward to this so-called book you are talking about."
I would gladly share the knowledge, but the problem was that those books were back at the castle. I wonder if he would be able to understand it when he reads it. I shrugged it off. That was another problem to figure out later. Right now, I'm going out to enjoy the day.
The town wasn't too far. We took the carriage and stopped in the middle of the town square. It wasn't like what I expected. No clean streets, or beautiful looking houses, but more on the line of dirty, stinky, and battered looking. To my sensitive nose, it made me slightly sick in the stomach.
"Are you alright?"
"I-"
"You look pale. Why don't you sit down?"
I raised my hands. No way in hell am I going to sit down on the dirt where it looks like the horse took a dump on.
"Let's just go to the nearest store, please."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes." I hope that the other city or town squares weren't as dirty as this place. I am ashamed now that I am comparing this world's sanitation to the world on Earth. There is just a huge difference.
Phil took me to the first shop, a rickety run-down herbal store. The smell of the wide variety of herbs was so strong that it drowned out the smell of the sewage outside.
"Welcome." An old lady called out with a smile.
I nodded in acknowledgment and went around looking at the variety of exciting things.
週次パワーステータス
-- 推薦
ランキング 
-- 推薦
チケット