Amelia
“Downtown..?”
“Uh, there’s a downtown here too. Are you looking down on us because this is the boonies?”
“Ah, I’m not looking down on you. It’s just that it’s been a while since I’ve been outside.”
“It’s been about two days since you came to our house.”
It's already been two days.
Time seemed to flow by so fast.
At first, I was worried about working in an unfamiliar place, but now I’m learning magic.
I don't know if I have the talent, but I certainly seem to have good luck.
Thinking that, I asked Silvia,
“So what should I buy?”
“Well, first…”
Silvia went inside for a moment and came back out, handing me a list of ingredients to buy.
I copied it directly into the comments of my old forum post.
I was using the forum as a notepad.
A lot of people used the forum like this.
It’s really convenient.
I didn’t have to worry about forgetting.
Not that I would forget, but just in case.
And a little later.
“Well then, be on your way.”
Silvia saw me off.
But there was one important thing.
“Uh… I don’t have any money.”
I didn’t have any money.
*
And so, I received money from Silvia.
100 gold.
It was a huge amount of money.
It’s not exact, but if I convert it to Korean won, it’s about 10 million won.
So Silvia gave me 10 million won and told me to go grocery shopping, even though we’ve only known each other for two days.
‘…There must be some kind of magic on the pocket.’
There’s no way she could trust me this much otherwise.
Because I haven’t shown Silvia anything trustworthy.
Thinking that, I carefully headed downtown with the gold in my hand.
As I said before, this place was the 3rd district of Baruk.
It wasn’t a very prosperous city, but it wasn’t a very backward town either.
It was a place with just the right amount of people, good air, and good water.
In other words, it was somewhere between the countryside and the city.
“Hmm..”
I couldn’t help but feel a little nervous.
This wasn’t Lukphelton, where I used to live.
Lukphelton had very good public security, so it was a nightmare for beggars like me.
But because the security was so good, there were no fights.
There were so many guards maintaining order that it was almost impossible to fight in an alley without the guards noticing.
You’d definitely get caught.
‘Ah, I should have read some books before I came.’
I should have read the second volume of Fundamentals of Magic before I came here.
Because I don’t know barrier magic yet.
Barrier magic is essential for wizards.
And yet I came out here without learning it.
“…It must be that safe.”
The fact that Silvia sent me out meant that she trusted this area that much.
Public security must be good.
Thinking that, I properly fastened my robe.
For some reason, Silvia told me to wear my robe properly and cover my face when I’m out.
How long did I walk along the road like that?
“Oh.”
The entrance to the 3rd district of Baruk appeared.
Silvia’s mansion was originally located outside the 3rd district.
Of course, it was a place where we could receive Baruk’s help.
But there was a reason why wizards built their residences outside.
Because if they caused damage to the surroundings while conducting experiments.
They would have to pay huge compensation, so they would move as far out as possible within the reach of Baruk’s power and conduct their experiments.
Of course, there were some wizards who took the risk and experimented within the district.
As I was thinking about that, I carefully waited in line.
‘It’s going to take a while.’
It seemed like it was going to take a little longer than expected.
Although it was called the 3rd district of Baruk, it was basically in the form of a castle.
If you imagine a circular castle, and divide that circle into five equal parts, that’s how the districts are divided, from the 1st to the 5th.
It was done that way to make management easier.
In fact, I heard that it became easier to manage after dividing the districts like that.
Thinking such thoughts, I waited at the gate.
How long had I been waiting?
“Next“
It was finally my turn.
The guard guarding the gate of the 3rd district looked very tired.
He smelled of alcohol, so it seemed like he had been drinking last night.
“Halt. Inspection time.”
The guard said so and started scanning my body with a strange device.
It looked like a scanner at an airport security checkpoint.
As I was thinking that, the inspection was over.
“You’re good to go.”
Fortunately, they let me pass through here.
I heard that in other cities, you have to pay money to pass through the gates.
Thinking such thoughts, I quickly passed through the gate.
Of course, I put the hood of my robe back on.
After entering the 3rd district of Baruk, I checked the map Silvia had given me.
“Medicinal herbs… candy. And one thing I want.”
Silvia seemed to know how to handle people.
Adding in the right to buy one thing I wanted at the end to motivate me.
As I thought that she was amazing, I followed the map.
Then I arrived at an antique-looking shop.
The signboard read:
{ Amelia's general store }
This was the place.
Silvia said she always bought her ingredients here.
Thinking that, I opened the door and entered—
Whoosh—!
Something came flying at me right away.
But I wasn’t going to just stand there and get hit.
There’s a prejudice that wizards are physically weak, but I’m not that weak.
I’ve been living on the streets for a long time, so I’m resistant to all sorts of things, and I’m quite strong…
My reflexes are fast too.
So I was able to easily deflect what was flying at me.
Clang—!
I deflected the flying object and checked what it was—
“…A steel ball?”
It was a steel ball.
And a very hard one at that.
It was so hard that my hand, which had blocked the steel ball, was red and swollen.
While I was a little flustered, someone rushed out from inside.
“I-I’m so sorry…!!”
A woman with pink hair and glasses came out, her clothes singed in places.
The moment I saw her like that, I knew.
This woman, she’s a wizard.
“Um, was this something important?”
“Oh, no? It’s just a steel ball that was rolling around in my workshop…”
“Then why was it flying at me?”
I speak softly.
I don’t know how strong she is.
But since I had no intention of fighting in the first place, I could speak softly.
“Ah, that… I made a mistake while experimenting… I’m so sorry…!!”
The pink-haired woman kept bowing her head, as if she was really sorry.
It made me feel even more sorry, but when I looked at my hand, that feeling disappeared.
My hand still tingled.
“Ah, okay… Well. Anyway, I’m here to buy something, can you check this for me?”
“Ah, yes…!”
I checked my memory against the comment on the forum post to make sure I hadn’t forgotten anything, and then I recited the list.
Then—
The pink-haired woman’s face went white.
It made me feel uneasy.
“Is it a difficult ingredient to obtain?”
This would be troublesome for me too.
Silvia had placed the order, so I thought it was an ingredient they definitely had, but if they said they didn’t, what was I supposed to say?
As I was sighing inwardly, the pink-haired woman in front of me shook her head vigorously and said,
“Of course, we have it…!!”
“Then why the expression…?”
Not to brag, but I’ve gotten good at reading people’s expressions while living on the streets.
You could say I know what emotion someone is feeling by how their muscles move.
Of course, it doesn’t work on people who are very good at controlling their expressions.
As I was thinking that and about to ask—
“Ah, um… Are you perhaps Asil’s disciple…?”
“Asil? No, I’m not.”
Asil was the name of an Archmage.
How could I possibly become the disciple of such a person?
That would be real luck.
As I said that, the woman in front of me made a strange expression.
Then she went to the storeroom for a moment and brought out the ingredients.
“That’ll be 64 gold.”
“…Okay.”
To be honest, I was very surprised.So this one ingredient cost 6.4 million won.
What on earth was it made of that a single ingredient cost 6.4 million won?
Could I even carry this?
Those thoughts crossed my mind, but I quickly brushed them aside and carefully put the bottle containing the ingredient into the pocket of my robe.
Then I paid.
“Here you go.”
“Ah, thank you.”
Her way of speaking sounded strangely calmer now.
Feeling something was off, I left the shop.
I looked back at the signboard.
{ Amelia's general store }
“…That must have been Amelia.”
I didn’t ask directly, so I wasn’t sure, but it seemed likely.
She looked like she belonged in a cartoon.
Pushing aside such useless thoughts, I left the shop and started moving to run the second errand.
I had to get moving before it got dark.
It could be dangerous if it got dark.
Thinking that, I checked the map and headed to the next destination.
“A candy store?”
I had checked earlier, but I was curious.
A candy store, of all things.
Finding it strange, I moved my feet.
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