After breakfast, I decided to ask Hime and Yuu-chan a question.
"Hime, about how much money would we need to get to Charlotte's house?" (Me)
I hadn't had the chance to ask Hime about this at all.
"Hmm… probably around 25 gold coins." (Hime replied)
Only 25 coins? If it's just that, wouldn't we be able to earn that quickly?
"Only 25 coins, that's not a problem, right—" (Me)
Hime looked a little confused and slightly panicked.
"YUKITO-SAMA, 25 gold coins is super expensive!" (Yuu-chan)
"Hah?" (I was confused)
"Don't tell me, you don't know the currency in this kingdom?" (Yuu-chan)
"Isn't it almost the same—" (Me)
Yuu-chan just sighed and looked at Hime.
"Hime, please take care of Yukito-sama… he's kinda dumb about this stuff." (Yuu-chan)
"HEY!" (Me)
Hime looked at me.
"Yukito-san, you might get sleepy if I explain… is that okay??" (Hime asked)
"Well, as long as it's not too long… it's fine, I guess." (Me)
Honestly, I was pretty curious if it had something to do with money.
With money, you can buy anything! A house, food, drinks, girls—
"So, here's how it works." (Hime)
"In this kingdom there are four types of coins: gold, large silver, small silver, and bronze." (Hime)
"Gold coins are the highest currency in this kingdom, and the smallest in value is bronze coins." (Hime)
"10 large silver coins equal 1 gold coin, 25 small silver coins equal 1 gold coin, and if you have 60 bronze coins, you can get 1 gold coin." (Hime)
Hime continued,
"To earn a gold coin, you have to complete a rank B mission or higher. Only then you can get gold coins." (Hime)
....
Ugh… my head hurts…
"So, we can't go directly to Charlotte's house? Then what should we do?" (Me)
My question made Yuu-chan and Hime fall silent.
"Can't we just walk?" (Me)
Hime answered with a slightly sad expression.
"The travel time would be long and… our supplies might run out before we arrive." (Hime)
"Besides, right now the northern part of the kingdom is in a crisis." (Hime)
Crisis? Doesn't the castle care about the north?
"Crisis? Is it a financial problem?" (Me)
Hime shook her head.
"The northern region is being attacked by the Abbys forces, so it's a bit difficult to go there." (Hime)
"Abbys? What's that?" (Me)
Hime looked at Yuu-chan, and Yuu-chan looked back at her, then sighed.
"Yukito-sama doesn't know anything about Abbys?" (Yuu-chan)
I shook my head.
"Abbys are one of the demon lord's forces. Abbys will move on their own unless the demon lord awakens." (Yuu-chan)
"DEMON LORD!?" (Me)
"Why are you so shocked?" (Yuu-chan)
"I thought there wasn't such a thing as a demon lord in this world…" (Me)
"Don't worry, Yukito-san. The demon lord hasn't awakened from his slumber for around 450 years." (Hime)
Well, I thought this world was peaceful… but if this is the reality, there's nothing I can do.
Yuu-chan and Hime lowered their heads slightly, looking sad.
Maybe they couldn't find a way to earn money and go north.
I'd probably be the same… just imagine, you have a close friend and when you want to go to their house, their parents forbid it.
"Don't worry!" (I said confidently)
"Since this is also my fault, I'll do my best!" (Me)
"Yukito-san…" (Hime)
"Yukito-sama…" (Yuu-chan)
"Acting like a hero~?" (Yuu-chan)
What's that supposed to mean!?
"No way, idiot!" (Me)
The three of us went to the guild to take a mission and earn some money.
"Hime, are you already registered at the guild?" (Me)
I hadn't asked her about this at all.
"Of course, you know, I'm already rank C!" (Hime replied)
"WHAAAT!?" (Me)
"Why are you so surprised, Yukito-san?" (Hime)
"No, n-no reason…" (Me)
Yuu-chan and Hime went to the bulletin board to look for missions they could take.
Meanwhile, I decided to go to Lyra's desk.
For those who don't know who Lyra is, go back and check chapter 3.
"Lyra-san." (I greeted)
"Oh, it's the young man from before! What brings you here again?" (Lyra)
I sat down in the chair provided.
"Lyra-san, what's the fastest way to get 25 gold coins?" (Me)
Lyra just sighed.
"25 gold coins can't be earned by someone with a new rank like you… unless you have a party and at least one member is rank D or higher." (Lyra)
"You can get extra coins if you complete missions because the exp is shared." (Lyra)
I was confused.
"Exp?" (Me)
"On your status screen, you see the word 'level,' right? Below that number, there's a bar showing how much exp you've gained." (Lyra)
"The more missions you complete, the more exp you get!" (Lyra)
I thought for a moment.
I wonder if I could form a party soon…
Now that I think about it, there really is an empty bar below the level number. If the level is high, does that mean I'll get more money?
"What's the minimum number of people in a party?" (Me)
"Hmmm… only 2 people minimum." (Lyra)
Two people, huh? Who could I invite to join my party??
"Yukito-san!! I found a good mission—" (Hime)
Hime ran toward me, then looked at Lyra with a cold, sharp gaze. Then she looked at me,
"Let's go, Yukito-san—" (Hime)
Lyra immediately stood up from her seat and hugged Hime tightly.
"This voice… you're Fuu-chan, aren't you?" (Lyra)
"W-what do you mean?" (Hime looked panicked)
"Fuu-chan, where have you been?" (Lyra)
Lyra looked at me.
"Young man, why didn't you tell me you were with Fuu-chan? You're going to be in the same party, right? Let me register it now!" (Lyra)
After that, Hime and I officially became a party.
"Hime, who's this 'Fuu-chan'?" (Me)
"W-w-who knows?" (Hime)
I looked at her.
Staaaaare (Staring)
"Fuu-chan is my alias… I used to wear a wizard outfit that was very different from now… I don't even know why Lyra still remembers me…" (Hime)
"So, you've been in the guild for a while, huh? Why didn't you say so?" (Me)
"T-there's a reason." (Hime)
After that, Hime told me about her past in the guild.
She used the alias "Fuu-chan" and was once a talented mage who reached rank C in only two months.
But after that, she disappeared without a word. Until eventually, Lyra recognized the current "Fuu-chan" wearing a purple outfit.
By the way, Hime rarely wears her wizard hat.
"Do you two want to earn 50 large silver coins—" (Lyra)
"YES!" (Hime answered quickly)
"You're too eager, Fuu-chan… but for this mission, you'll have to clear out monsters from the castle and then head north to Ulvur city." (Lyra)
"If you find a rare monster, you can get up to 5 gold coins! That's a lot, right?" (Lyra)
We both decided to take the mission, and after receiving it, we left the guild. (Well, technically only Hime accepted the mission)
"Hime, why did you accept that mission?" (Me)
"Ulvur is a city quite close to the Abbys attack area in the north." (Hime)
"If we get there, the amount we have to pay will be much less." (Hime)
"So, we're walking to Ulvur now?" (Me)
"Relax! The guild usually provides a horse carriage for missions like this." (Hime)
"Nice!" (Yuu-chan)
"What, you were going to walk?" (Me)
....
Hahahaha!
The three of us laughed