Episode 23. Shopping and the start of the plan
Friday afternoon, after Professor Schulm’s lecture titled The Correlation between Artifacts and Magic Circles, a student came to me as I was tidying up my seat.
“Adrias Cromwell?”
“uh. Is that right?”
“Professor Caron Diplan told me to come to the office around 9:00.”
“okay? thank you.”
I was thinking of going to find him first, but he called just in time.
I thought it was good and thought about what to do until 9:00.
Coincidentally, since I had received the bounty money the day before, I thought I should go shopping.
’10 million Will. In Korea, it’s about 10 million won.’
It was a very similar feeling.
However, since this was the Middle Ages, prices and prices were extremely divided.
The luxury items and spices of the nobility were of enormous value, but the market price of daily necessities and general foods of the common people felt relatively stable.
The things to buy were already decided.
Of course, if I had enough money, I would get the signet ring back from the gravekeeper Piman right away, but 10 million Willow was not enough.
‘Isn’t it already acquired and then sold?’
With that thought in mind, I got on the Mana Train.
The destination was a downtown and shopping district within the academy grounds.
In fact, I didn’t want to spend money recklessly, but I was in a hurry because I thought I needed this.
What I realized from the last battle was that there are still many things I don’t know about in this world, but I never knew when those variables would strike me, so I had to always be prepared.
“This station is Alven Street Station. After stopping for 5 minutes, we depart for the next station Modban Hall.”
After sitting on the train and reading a book for about 15 minutes, I arrived at my destination.
As the name suggests, a fairly large portion of the shares in the academy were occupied by the Alven family.
A wizard is a hippo that eats money, but it is a family that has shown that if you succeed, you can become richer than anyone else.
On a Friday afternoon, probably because it was the end of the lecture, there were many students wandering around Alven Street.
Other than that, those who seemed to be teaching assistants, academy officials, and those living within the academy were diligently moving.
It was quite nice to see them laughing and chatting with each other through the setting sun.
Even though I wasn’t caught between them, I was happy just to see them.
‘Uncle, it’s over. They’re happy with everything.’
I unknowingly smiled and moved my feet.
There were all sorts of meetings and clubs within the academy.
And most of the connections were formed in such places.
Students in the same class compete with each other, but in the case of clubs and gatherings, it was easy to get close to each other as they united with the same hobbies or interests.
If it wasn’t urgent right now, I could have lived like a human being by attending meetings with them.
The further we went into the street, the less sunlight came in, so it only got darker.
But contrary to the darkness, the atmosphere was lively and intense.
The pounding of hammers that came from everywhere made my heart beat.
‘I never thought I’d actually see it here.’
Blacksmith’s Street, visited hundreds of times in the game.
Among them, the blacksmith I used the most.
‘My hammer is the best in the world.’
The name was a little unusual, but it was a blacksmith that was worthy of the name.
There are quite a few blacksmiths on the street, but in my experience, this one was the best.
I checked the signboard and went inside with a little pounding heart, and I ran into an unexpected person.
“ah.”
“uh?”
Diene Alven?
I was stiff for a while because I ran into an unexpected person, but soon I pretended to know it by bowing.
Diene also had a puzzled look on her face, but when she saw me bowing, she kept a poker face.
“Adrias Cromwell. Why are you here?”
“I came because I have business.”
Come to think of it, it was the first time we had a conversation.
We’ve met a few times in the meantime, but each time we were unnecessarily wary.
Now that I have adapted to this world to some extent, I realized that it was rather unnatural.
So you have to deal with it in moderation.
‘Of course, I’d have to be careful about setting a death flag.’
She was still looking at me with cold eyes, but I also looked at her and glanced sideways.
On the counter, the blacksmith’s assistant was carefully wrapping something, and judging from its shape and size, it looked like a sword.
‘knife. The person who bought it was Diene Alven. Who is it?’
It was easy to guess.
Is it a gift for my brother, Carlos Alven?
That meant that Carlos Alven would visit the academy soon, and it was as if the terror was just around the corner.
Recognizing my gaze, Diene hurriedly turned and covered her sword.
Are you ashamed to buy a present?
“You, the wizard, came to the forge because you had some business.”
Do I have to explain
But I didn’t want to touch her planting, so I answered meekly.
“I came to buy a sword.”
“knife?”
“yes.”
Diene looked at me with a look of incomprehension.
“What kind of sword are you?”
“I’ve been through a lot lately. I came to buy a sword for self-defense.”
When I finished speaking, Diene immediately burst into laughter.
I tried to contain it, but the laughter I couldn’t contain leaked out like a balloon with a hole in it.
“No, some wizard buys a sword for self-defense. Are you doing this on purpose to make me laugh?”
“How would they know the lady is here and do that on purpose?”
“…what. Were you stalking me?”
“That’s why it’s not.”
Just in time, the man at the counter called Diene.
“Here, we are done.”
Diene glared at me suspiciously, then passed by, hiding the sword the man had given her in her robe.
Hey Diene Alven. head hurts head hurts
“Adrias Cromwell.”
what. haven’t you gone yet
“Pretend I haven’t seen you here.”
“yes. All right.”
Is there any reason to hide it?
whatever you want There is no one to talk to in the first place.
It wasn’t until after she left that I could tell my business.
My assistant asked me about looking for a sword.
“You are looking for a sword? Are you custom-made?”
“no. I’ll just buy some of the things that are made.”
Of course, the heart wants custom-made, but in the case of custom-made, the price jumps several times.
In the case of swords, the price was not too high, but the money in my pocket was not worth it.
Guided by the blacksmith’s assistant, I looked at the swords on display.
I listened to them one by one to check the center of gravity and the grip, but the ones I really wanted to have were expensive.
Still, I didn’t want to buy a sword that I would buy at a very cheap price, so I chose something that was reasonably priced.
“It’s 3.4 million will.”
I tried to count the amount with my card, but my hands were shaking.
How much is 3.4 million? If I save it, it’s money that I can last for a year.
“customer?”
After handing over the card, he did not loosen up and was pulling the card as if in a tug-of-war.
“You have to let go to calculate?”
Is it my imagination that the smiling assistant’s face looks fierce even though he is clearly smiling?
In the end, the assistant who shook my hand as if to bounce off it quickly calculated the amount and returned the card.
“Payment complete. Please visit us again.”
When I unconsciously sent a resentful look, the assistant waved his hand as if to go.
“Maybe I am.”
“yes. customer. Aren’t you there yet?”
“Are there any free gifts?”
“….”
* * *
I picked up a sharpening stone as a free gift and decided to eat while I was out in the downtown area.
It seemed like a waste of money, but I wanted to feel like I had won a bounty because I had only studied.
‘There should be something like this. How can people live and die every day?’
It wasn’t that I visited an expensive store, but it was an ordinary commoner’s restaurant.
It was dinner time, so there were quite a few students in the cafeteria who had been walking around outside.
Apparently, because the place was a place, none of them looked like nobles, and all seemed to be commoner students, but they were gathered in groups of threes and threes, chatting and eating.
I told the waitress that I would like to order the best menu in the store and quietly watched the crowd.
‘Something is peaceful.’
The chaos that happened a few days ago was unbelievable.
When a person repeats the same experience, the sense becomes dull.
That’s right. But being dull and being forgotten are different.
I still can’t forget the time I killed Ethel.
No, to tell the truth, I remembered every single moment of death that had ever occurred.
I don’t know if I’m unusual.
But I don’t think I’m bad at all.
‘Because it’s like proof that I haven’t become a monster yet.’
It could be self-consolation or self-deception.
You may be mistaken for a human when you are already a monster.
How are you?
I saw food coming towards me.
“Special grilled ten-color chicken served with Mama’s special seasoning.”
“thank you.”
Was this store called Mama’s Paradise on Earth?
It looks like the chef is Mama.
I tore off the chicken-shaped leg and ate it with my hands.
And I almost shed tears at the unexpected nostalgic taste that I felt immediately after.
‘Spiced chicken?’
Of course, it wasn’t fried food.
However, perhaps because of the seasoning, the taste was similar to that of Korean chicken.
Thanks to that, I inhaled the food frantically and called the waiter to order more.
“yes. please wait for a moment.”
It was only then that I looked around and could see that the students at the table next to me were looking at me with pitiful expressions.
Did I eat too much in a hurry?
I vowed to eat the food ordered a little slower, but as soon as the food came out again, I realized that I was eating with both hands.
‘This…I can’t help it. It’s force majeure.’
I placed a third additional order, but the waiter gave me an apologetic look.
“sorry. customer. The store’s special sauce is out of stock today.”
“iced coffee.”
Unbelievable.
I sighed and forced myself to stand up.
“Ten colors. It was delicious.”
“I’m glad you liked it.”
When I went to the checkout counter to pay, the waiter waved his hand.
“The customers at the table next to us paid for it and left.”
“yes?”
I looked towards the store door, but they were gone.
Thanks to that, I was able to eat out for free, and I felt that the world was still worth living.
And at the same time, I felt a sense of wonder.
How pitiful have I been?
* * *
Returning to the Faculty of Magic, I headed to Charon’s office in advance with the time left.
I had about 30 minutes to spare, but when I arrived with the thought that I should read a book in front of the office, the light was on in Karon’s office.
I knocked on the door and said,
“professor. Adrias Cromwell.”
There was always the same silence, and when I counted to 30 in my head, I heard an answer.
“…Come in.”
When I went inside, Karon was sitting at her desk in the office, checking her tablet.
“Is there still time left?”
“I was going to come earlier and wait, but I saw that the light was on and knocked.”
“Then wait.”
I nodded and sat down at the table in front of the office desk.
Then, quietly, he began to read the book he had brought.
“Adrias.”
About 10 minutes later, Karon called me.
“I heard that you captured the warlock this time.”
“yes. you’re right. I was going to visit the professor about it, but the investigation was in full swing… ….”
“okay. Don’t talk for a second, wait.”
Charon arranged the mana and used unknown magic throughout the office.
“Now tell me.”
“Can I just talk?”
“I used magic to block out the noise. So tell me.”
Charon seemed to want to say everything from one to ten, but he couldn’t.
I decided to take the lead before explaining the whole story.
“Master, it seems I got the Codex Apocalypse.”
