Inside the town's magic shop.
The shopkeeper was a short, older woman wearing a pointed hat.
"Zero Hero-sama… what on earth happened to you? Did you encounter a powerful monster?"
Standing before the magic shop's owner was none other than Kiriko.
At this moment, Kiriko looked quite pitiful: her clothes—the ones she'd worn upon being summoned—were in tatters, barely hanging onto her body. Fortunately, the essential parts were still covered.
The culprit behind this miserable state wasn't some fierce monster, but her newly-acquired skill—Golden Rule.
When she'd activated the skill out of curiosity…
Money itself started bullying her.
While Golden Rule was active, she'd trip over gold lying randomly on the road, or gold bricks would mysteriously drop from the sky…
Seriously, in Kiriko's eyes, gold was far more terrifying than monsters.
After all, monster attacks followed patterns; even if she didn't dodge, she could tank them with her face just fine.
But gold was unpredictable.
The road could look clear, yet when she stepped forward, suddenly a chunk of gold as large as a Saga Idol's head would appear out of nowhere, tripping her…
Or even the fruit she was biting into would transform into a golden apple, causing her to bite directly into solid gold.
In the end, Kiriko didn't even dare relieve herself during the entire skill duration.
Goddammit, it was terrifying.
Only after waiting for the cooldown could she comfortably relieve herself.
After such suffering, Kiriko thoroughly understood one thing:
Money was absolutely not "the more, the better."
In this life, one's eyes shouldn't only see money, nor should people become slaves to wealth.
After all, people arrive naked, and they'll leave naked; money is merely worldly baggage.
Having realized this truth, Kiriko took only as much gold as necessary and hid the rest in a cave…
She'd come back for it later after purchasing a magical item capable of holding it all.
"The magic item that meets your request would be a Dimensional Bag."
After hearing Kiriko's requirements, the shopkeeper brought out an object about the size of a small waist pouch.
After hearing the shopkeeper's explanation, Kiriko understood the gist of it.
The Dimensional Bag contained an internal magical pocket dimension capable of holding far more than its appearance suggested.
Naturally, the higher-quality bags held more items.
However, while a Dimensional Bag could last decades if properly used, its internal space would collapse if deliberately damaged, spilling everything out.
Dimensional Bags were extremely expensive, far beyond what ordinary people could afford. Only adventurers or wealthy merchants typically used basic-level bags. Intermediate-level or above were so costly that basically no one bought them.
Thus, even this shop only stocked Intermediate-level bags at most.
Even the cheapest basic Dimensional Bags cost gold coins instead of silver. Intermediate-level bags cost upwards of three-digit gold.
"I see…"
After hearing the price, Kiriko silently turned and walked out of the shop.
The shopkeeper put back the basic Dimensional Bag she'd displayed.
She'd seen plenty of customers like Kiriko, who'd ask questions but not buy anything. After all, Dimensional Bags were luxury items—even a hero probably didn't have that kind of money to spare.
Yet, to the shopkeeper's surprise, the girl returned shortly afterward, carrying a large, dirty linen sack.
"What's this…?"
The shopkeeper stared doubtfully at Kiriko.
Kiriko loosened the sack's opening, and the dazzling golden glow nearly blinded the shopkeeper.
This linen sack had been given to Kiriko by some kind villagers when she'd passed through a small settlement called Lute Village on her way back into town with the gold.
Earlier, she'd left this dirty-looking bag outside.
Since the sack was crudely made from inferior linen cloth and looked filthy, no one had paid it any attention when left outside.
Kiriko lifted the sack slightly, and gold pieces clattered loudly onto the counter.
"Is this enough?"
The shopkeeper's jaw dropped open, speechless.
Running a magic shop, the shopkeeper naturally knew magic; identifying authenticity was simple.
This gold was not only authentic but of extraordinary purity, practically without impurities.
In the end, aside from five Intermediate Dimensional Bags, Kiriko also bought a piece of magical armor that resembled a stylish black coat.
However, when Kiriko later returned to the cave for the rest of the gold, there was a small issue.
The cave's location had originally been very hidden, and Kiriko had intentionally felled two large trees to conceal its entrance before leaving.
But to her surprise, upon returning, she found a wyvern had occupied the cave.
In fantasy novels, dragons often had a penchant for shiny things. Somehow, during the mere two hours Kiriko had been gone, this wyvern had discovered her gold stash and claimed it as its own.
Even more absurdly, when the true owner returned, the wyvern thought Kiriko was an adventurer trying to steal "its treasure" and promptly attacked her.
Absolutely ridiculous!
Kiriko didn't bother being polite with the beast, quickly converting it into fresh ingredients.
The gold in the cave filled exactly five Intermediate Dimensional Bags. The remaining space was used to store the wyvern's meat—not for herself, but as a gift to the villagers of Lute Village who'd given her the linen sack, as a token of her gratitude.
Then, with the setting sun at her back, Kiriko began her journey back toward the town.
---
T/N: kiriko is so cute like why couldnt kirito just stay like that
bonus chaps
100 stones -> 1 chapter
200 stones -> 2 chapters
300 stones -> 3 chapters
and so on
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