episode_0006

“City, huh?”

“Yeah, there’s a city here too. Are you looking down on the outskirts?”

“Oh, no, I’m not looking down on them. It’s just been a while since I went outside.”

“It’s been two days since we arrived at our house.”

Already two days have passed.

Time seemed to flow quickly.

At first, I was worried about working in a strange place, but now I am learning magic.

I don’t know if I have talent, but I definitely seemed to have good luck.

With that thought in mind, I asked Sylvia.

“So, what should we buy?”

“Well, first…”

Sylvia went inside for a moment and then handed me a list of ingredients to buy.

I copied it directly into the comments section of my old post.

Using the gallery as a notepad.

Many people used the gallery like this.

It was quite convenient.

I didn’t have to worry about forgetting.

I usually don’t forget, but just in case.

And a little while later.

“Well then, off you go.”

Sylvia saw me off.

But there was one important point.

“I… I don’t have any money.”

I didn’t have any money.

*

So I received money from Sylvia.

100 gold.

It was a lot of money.

Although not exact, when converted to Korean currency, it would be around 10 million won.

So Sylvia gave me 10 million won even though we had only met two days ago.

“…There must be some magic in my pocket.”

Otherwise, she wouldn’t trust me like this.

I had never shown Sylvia a reliable side of me.

With that thought in mind, I cautiously headed to the city with the gold.

As I mentioned before, this was Baruk’s 3rd district.

It wasn’t a prosperous city, but it wasn’t a backward neighborhood either.

There were just enough people, good air, and good water.

It was like a mix between the countryside and the city.

“Um…”

It was inevitable that I felt a little nervous.

This wasn’t the same as Lucfeltan where I used to be.

Lucfeltan had very good security, so it was a nightmare for beggars like me.

But because the security was good, there was no need to fight.

There were so many security guards that it was almost impossible to fight secretly in the alleys.

I should have read a book before coming.

It would have been better to read the second volume of basic magic before coming.

I still didn’t know barrier magic.

Barrier magic was essential for a mage.

But I came without learning it.

“…It must be safe enough.”

Sylvia sending me meant she trusted this district.

The security must be good.

With that thought, I properly put on my robe.

I didn’t know why, but Sylvia told me to wear my robe properly and cover my face.

I wondered how far I had walked.

“Oh.”

The entrance to Baruk’s 3rd district appeared.

Sylvia’s mansion was originally outside the 3rd district.

Of course, it was a place where you could receive help from Baruk.

But there was a reason why mages built their living spaces outside.

They caused damage to the surroundings during experiments.

So they had to pay a huge compensation, so it was better to move as far outside as possible under Baruk’s influence to conduct experiments.

Of course, there were mages who took the risk and conducted experiments within the district.

With that thought, I waited carefully in line.

“It might take a while.”

It seemed like it would take a little longer than expected.

Although it was called Baruk’s 3rd district, it was essentially in the shape of a castle.

If you divided the circle into five parts, you could see it as divided into 1st to 5th districts.

It was done for easier management.

There were also claims that it became easier to manage after dividing the districts.

With that thought, I waited for the inspection.

How long did I wait like that?

“Next, please.”

Finally, it was my turn.

Area 3’s gatekeeper looked incredibly tired.

Judging by the smell of alcohol, it seemed like they had been drinking last night.

“Wait, stop. Starting item check.”

The guard said as they began to scan my body with a peculiar device.

It looked like the security scanners at airports.

Lost in thought, the inspection was soon over.

“You may pass.”

Luckily, I was able to pass through without any issues.

I heard that in other cities, you have to pay to pass through the gate.

Thinking about that, I quickly passed through the gate.

Of course, I also flipped the hood on my robe back up.

After entering Baruk’s Area 3, I checked the map Sylvia had given me.

“Herbs, candies, and one more thing I want.”

Sylvia seemed to know how to handle people.

Adding the authority to buy what I wanted at the end really boosted my morale.

Impressed, I followed the map to my destination.

Soon, I arrived at a quaint shop.

The sign read:

{ Amelia’s General Store }

This was the place.

Sylvia always bought her ingredients here.

Thinking that, I opened the door and entered—

Whoosh!

Something flew straight at me.

But it didn’t hit me.

There’s a common prejudice that mages are physically weak, but I’m not weak in that regard.

Having lived on the streets for a long time, I have a strong immune system and physical strength.

My reflexes are also fast.

So I was able to easily deflect the flying object.

Ping!

I deflected the object and checked its identity—

“…A metal bead?”

It was a metal bead.

And a very hard one at that.

My hand, which blocked the metal bead, was red and swollen from the impact.

Feeling a bit flustered, someone emerged from inside.

“I-I’m sorry…!!”

A pink-haired woman with glasses came out, her clothes charred in places.

Just by looking at her appearance, I could tell.

She was a mage.

“Is… is this important?”

“Oh, no? It’s just a metal bead rolling around in the workshop…”

“But why did it fly at me?”

I spoke gently.

I didn’t know how strong the other person was.

But since I had no intention of fighting in the first place, I could speak gently.

“Oh, that… I was experimenting and it went wrong… I’m sorry…!!!”

The pink-haired woman kept bowing apologetically.

Seeing her like that made me feel even more sorry, but when I looked at my hand, that emotion disappeared.

My hand was still throbbing.

“Oh, well… Anyway, I came to make a purchase. Can you check it for me?”

“Sure…!”

I confirmed that there were no mistakes by comparing the list with the comments on the gallery and my memory, and then I listed the items.

Upon hearing that, the pink-haired woman’s expression turned pale.

Feeling uneasy, I asked, “Is it a rare ingredient?”

If it was, then I was in trouble.

I thought the ingredients Sylvia ordered would be common, but if they weren’t, I didn’t know how to respond.

As I inwardly sighed, the pink-haired woman in front of me shook her head vigorously and said, “Of course not…!!”

“But why do you look like that…?”

It’s not something to boast about, but living on the streets has made me good at reading people’s expressions.

I can tell what emotion someone is feeling based on the movement of their muscles.

Of course, this doesn’t work on people who are good at controlling their expressions.

Thinking that, I asked, “Um, are you perhaps a student of Asil…?”

“Asil? No, I’m not.”

Asil was the name of a great mage.

I was not their student.

How could I ever become the student of such a person?

That would truly be lucky.

Thinking that, I spoke, and the woman’s expression became subtle.

Then, she went to the storage and brought out the ingredients.

“That will be 64 gold.”

“…Yes.”

To be honest, I was extremely flustered.

The fact that one ingredient cost 6.4 million won was just mind-boggling.

What could possibly make a single ingredient worth that much?

Can I even carry this?

Such thoughts crossed my mind, but I quickly pushed them aside and carefully placed the bottle containing the ingredient into the pocket of my robe.

Then, I paid the money.

“Here you go.”

“Ah, thank you.”

The tone seemed oddly sincere.

Feeling something off, I left the general store as it was and headed out.

And then, I saw the sign again.

{ Amelia’s General Store }

“…That person must be Amelia, right?”

I didn’t ask directly, so I wasn’t sure, but it seemed likely.

She looked like she could be in a manga.

With such pointless thoughts in my head, I left the general store and moved on to run the second errand.

I had to move before the day ended.

It could be dangerous once night falls.

With that thought in mind, I looked at the map and headed to the next location.

“A candy store?”

I had checked earlier, but I was curious.

A sudden candy store.

I thought it was fascinating as I walked on.