It's Harder to Spend Than to Earn (1)
I had a dream. Wow. Actually dreaming. That doesn't happen often. Sleep had always been nothing more than part of survival. I'd never had the luxury of resting deeply enough to dream. It must be the inn. The security here is solid, so I could sleep without staying on guard. That must be why the dream came.
I couldn't remember the details, but something had been crushing me. The moment I woke, I understood exactly why. Roughly half of Ar's body was draped across my chest. So that's what the dream was about.
Once I realized it, the suffocating feeling vanished completely. The pressure didn't feel oppressive anymore. Strangely, it felt... reassuring. Why? Of course, part of it was the way her chest pressed against me. Ugh. This is some kind of test. The sensation is impossible to ignore.
But it wasn't only that. It was the sense of being anchored. Not like a dandelion seed tossed wherever the wind blew, but something solid and heavy holding me steady. That's what Ar is. To someone who'd drifted without direction, she brought stability and a place to root. Not perfectly, not yet. Still, I closed my eyes again.
There was time to sleep more. No need to rise before dawn and rush around in this place. This wasn't laziness. It was rest. Leisure. Maybe I could allow myself a little of this luxury. With Ar beside me.
When I opened my eyes again, my body felt remarkably refreshed. Light. The chronic fatigue I usually carried seemed to have melted away. I turned my head and met Ar's gaze. She'd been watching me.
"Uh... you were already awake?"
She quickly looked away, then sat up with a rustle and murmured, "Just woke up."
It didn't look that way at all. But if she said so, I'd take her word for it.
It was around lunchtime, so we headed out together to eat. Unlike Luise, lunch here was relaxed. Most hunters left for the mountains at first light and returned near sunset, so the streets stayed quiet. Only a few resting beast hunters and fresh arrivals were around. We ate at our leisure, and the moment we finished, we made our way to a dessert shop.
"This is really interesting," I muttered.
Ar, who had been eating cake, peeked up at me. She kept chewing, eyes questioning. What is? they seemed to ask.
"You don't look like you ate lightly at lunch, yet you still have room for dessert. Your stomach must be tiny."
She subtly averted her gaze and quietly swallowed. Looking embarrassed.
"I'm not scolding you. Eat as much as you want."
Only then did she lift her fork and take another bite.
Hmm. I shouldn't have said anything while she was eating. Now I'd made her self-conscious.
"So? Between Luise and here, which tastes better?"
She rested the fork against her lips and sank into deep thought. It wasn't that serious a question. Why did she look so earnest?
After a long pause, she spoke carefully.
"Luise desserts have higher completion. Premium ingredients, nothing catches in the throat. Harmonious. Well-structured. Desserts here have personality. They don't feel trapped in a mold. Unique. Interesting. Fun to wonder what this even is. So I can't say which is better."
I stared at her, stunned. Ar had never spoken that much before. I'd learned something new: she was serious about desserts. From now on, we could never skip a dessert shop. After every hunt, we had to come. I didn't want to find out what might happen if we didn't.
"So overall, Luise has the higher average? But this place has higher individual peaks?"
She nodded several times, then scooped up more cake. She looked incredibly happy. Just watching her made me happy too. I ate my own cake slowly, savoring the moment. Eyes and mouth both satisfied. Maybe people are born just to enjoy moments like this.
Once we'd finished dessert, I asked her a few questions.
"Ar. Beastpeople don't use weapons or armor, right? At least that's what I know."
She nodded. So I was correct. Makes sense. Since they can transform their bodies, wielding weapons or wearing armor wouldn't be easy. They could manage it, but it didn't seem necessary. Light leather armor like what Ar wore was probably the limit.
Maybe that was why beastpeople fell to humans. Physically, beastpeople held the advantage. Only well-trained knights could match them. But humans had artifacts. And magic. That's how ordinary slave traders could overpower them. In utterly ridiculous ways.
"Beastpeople have shamans, right?"
Another nod. Humans had shamans too, of course, but they couldn't compare to beastperson ones. Humans had interpreted shamanism through magic and folded it into that system. The clearest example was my own Berserker magic. If you traced it to its roots, it was closer to shamanism.
Ah. That might explain why it worked so well on Ar. Shamanism had originally belonged to the demi-human races.
I had roughly 1.3 million marcas. Now I needed to figure out how to spend it. First, both Ar and I needed proper equipment. Ar was too vulnerable right now. Her natural beastperson abilities and my buffs had carried us so far, but trouble always appeared suddenly. From places you never expected.
Should we visit the Roderick Kingdom? When it came to magic tools and artifacts, they were the best. But first, I'd stop by the Nertin Trading Company. Since they traded with the Roderick Kingdom, they should carry their products. This town drew hordes of magic beast hunters. Plenty of people made fortunes selling beasts, so the selection should be excellent. At least they wouldn't stock junk.
We could head to the Roderick Kingdom later if we didn't find anything suitable here.
"All done? Want anything else?" I asked Ar, who sat before an empty plate.
She lightly bit her finger and considered it. Did she actually have room? It was astonishing.
"You can eat more. No rush. It's not like we're short on money."
She shook her head. Her expression made it clear she wanted more but was holding back.
We left the dessert shop and headed for the Nertin Trading Company. My reputation must have spread. The moment we entered, a dedicated clerk appeared. Wow. Grade 4 really did have its perks. I wondered how much better Grade 5 would be.
My guess had been right. The Nertin Trading Company had an impressive selection. Of course they did. This was profitable business. There was no reason they wouldn't carry these goods.
It would have been nice to find another Blank Bracelet. I asked, but the clerk said they didn't have it. Not even anything similar. So it really was a special artifact. I'd assumed the original merchant was just talking it up to make a sale, but if even Nertin hadn't heard of it, it must be genuine.
Next time I returned to Luise, I'd ask around. If I could get a few more, nothing would be better for Ar. Or for me.
Maybe that was why none of the items here caught my eye, even though they were quite good. There were artifacts enchanted with Grade 7 magic, but they felt incomplete to me. In reality they weren't, but my standards had grown unreasonably strict. I felt sorry for the clerk. If they hadn't known I'd taken down a Grade 7 magic beast, they wouldn't have kept smiling. Rank and reputation really were everything.
Still, even if nothing felt perfect, we needed equipment. Artifacts were one thing, but gear was another. I decided to invest in defense for both of us first. That mattered most. Catching beasts didn't matter if we got hurt.
"Ar. Try this on."
She ended up trying on piece after piece. The problem was that most of the armor, made from processed magic beast hides, looked terribly dull. Another issue was her small frame. Almost everything was too big. There weren't many hunters with her build. Custom work would be needed to fit her properly, but that would take time.
In the end, I bought a slightly oversized vest, a cloak, a leather helmet, and boots. Even the smallest cloak was large on her. It might drag on the ground. It was lucky I could use magic on it. Without that, outfitting Ar would have been nearly impossible. Still, without gloves, the overall look was a little strange. Nothing to be done about that.
Outfitting myself was much easier. I had a common build and had never struggled to find gear before. Since I deliberately chose items without magic effects, the price was reasonable. About 100,000 marcas for both of us combined.
Ah... Had I really just thought 100,000 marcas wasn't expensive? I was losing my mind. My sense of money had gone numb. No wonder people who suddenly earn a fortune go bankrupt so quickly. I was completely insane.
We left the Nertin shop. As we walked, I told Ar, "We'll have to visit the Roderick Kingdom. They can make custom armor that actually fits you there. A proper cloak too. Just hold on until then."
She shook her head. "No. I like it."
Her expression was completely serious. I could feel how sincere she was. We'd definitely have to go to the Roderick Kingdom. When she looked at me with that much gratitude, it only made me want to do more for her.
"Anyway, let's head to the temple now."
At the word temple, Ar tilted her head. It was sudden, so her confusion made sense.
"I'm going to buy a holy relic. Right now, a relic will be more useful than an artifact. That's why I bought gear without magic effects on purpose."
She nodded in understanding.
We went straight to the temple. There, they greeted me with great enthusiasm—the same person who had bought a huge quantity of potions just the day before.