Spanning more than a hundred meters ih, a long line of people and carriages could be seen going towards the gates of the city. It was a line of iion which was quite on in every settlement.
For the first time in 3 long years, Grey was finally able to see civilization. He was so moved by such a remi se became quite emotional to the point where he might have cried had he traveled alone.
Life ihe forest was refreshing and calming, but something about human nature just made Grey long to live in a society. Especially since he was a ban who was born and died in a bustling city.
Like a line of ants, the line moved with the passing of every sed. And as the two moved further to the front, they soon realized that they cked something o enter a town or city.
An ID!
"Grey, are you sure this will work out?" ［Yuna］
"Yeah, just trust me. I got this." ［Grey］
Grey fidently respoo Yuna, backed up with a bright smile and a rge thumbs up. But iy, Grey was actually nervous too about his pn.
From the knowledge God imprinted into his "Memory Bank", one could enter a city with a temporary ID card made by the guards. As long as one pays a toll and doesn't have a criminal record, they freely go inside any town or city.
In Merusia, an ID card is something one should always have with them all the time. It allows passage to towns and cities, it is needed in doing transas, and in some cases, it be used as some sort of debit card.
Unlike Earth, ID cards in Merusia tains magical properties. One of which is its ability ts owner by their mana signature. The moment the owner's mana flows into the card, the card iion glows dimly, making it a strong proof of the legitimacy of one's identity.
There are two types of ID cards, a citizen card and a guild card. The citizen card is issued by the gover in reition to its citizens while the guild card is issued by either of the 5 guilds, one of which is the Adventurer's Guild. There are some differences on how the two are used but both are mainly for proof of one's identity.
As to why there is an iion of ID cards, it is because ID cards record one's criminal records. And as the ID card only responds to the owner, criminals have no way of faking their identities.
Those who will be caught stealing or using other people's cards without permission are subject to punishment. A w which is only viable because of the unique mana signature of each person.
"Your cards please." ［Guard］
Time passed and it was Yuna and Grey's turn for the iion. The two looked calm oside, but iheir hearts were about to burst out from their chests from how nervous they were.
"Actually, we don't have o. We came from a faraway vilge so we didn't have a ce to get one issued." ［Grey］
Betting everything on that single, Grey started praying to every God he knew inside his mind. He was so nervous, he even prayed to the Gods whily existed on animated TV shows.
"A faraway vilge, huh..." ［Guard］
The guard looked at the two with eyes filled with suspi as held his up as if he was thinking of something. As which made Yuna feel like her soul had left her body.
"Yeah, it was located deep ihe Haltea Great Forest." ［Grey］
"Eh?! That forest?! I did hear that there were vilges in there, but to think they really were true. It must have been hard traveling all the way here, huh?" ［Guard］
"Ah, y-yeah... It er long journey... haha..." ［Grey］
"I see, I see. You poor kids... Don't worry, as long as you pass the examination, we'll be able to hand you temporary ID cards. Just follow me, I'll make sure to help you out!" ［Guard］
From suspi to pity, the guard's attitude quickly shifted as soon as he heard how far the two had traveled just to get to Galderia. Just thinking about how much the two had suffered in their long journey moved his heart.
Of course, that was all a misuanding the guard brought to himself. While normal people may take a few long weeks to reach Galderia from the Haltea Great Forest, Grey and Yuna easily travel that distan the span of a couple of days.
Although they were fused why the guard reacted that way, Grey and Yuna just quietly followed him towards the barracks and thanked fate that they were able to get through without any difficulties.
Ihe barracks were a few seats, a set of equipment dispyed on the walls, and a circur table with a small gemstone fixed in the ter.
??Appraisal?? ［Grey］
-----------------------------------
[Magic Tool]
[Name]Heartstone
[Description]
A magic tool developed for nearly a tury by a group of geniuses. It is a device which turns red if the person toug it has criminal records. If the person has no criminal records, the device will turn blue.
-----------------------------------
While the magic tool was amazing, it was a critical fw. It is that it only detects criminal "records". Even if a person had itted a crime, if that crime was not recorded, the Heartstone would not respond. A loophole that many exploit.
"Please take a seat" ［Guard］
As per the guard's instrus, Grey and Yuna grabbed a seat and politely sat down. Although Grey khe guard had no ill iions, he still felt like he was being interrogated.
"The test is easy, just touch the Heartstone here, and if it doesn't glow red, then we'll be able to issue you temporary ID cards." ［Guard］
Short and simple, the guard expihe process to Grey and Yuna, and without wasting any more time, the two followed the guard's instrus and pced their hands on top of the Heartstone oer the other.
Although they khat they hadn't itted any crimes, they still became nervous as they touched the Heartstone, a nervousness which was repced with an equal magnitude of relief when the Heartstourned blue.
"Yosh. You're both clear. We'll be able to make you temporary cards now, so you two rex." ［Guard］
Notig the expressions on Grey and Yuna's faces, the guard smiled brightly to reassure the two. After all, it was also the job of a guard to reassure the residents of the city, which Grey and Yuna, although temporarily, now belong to.
"Haa... That was nerve-rag." ［Grey］
"Unnn..." ［Yuna］
"Hahaha! You weren't the only ohose who didn't have an ID before also had the same reas. It never really gets b here." ［Guard］
The guard ughed heartily as he took note of the two's results. It seemed like it was not the first time the guard had provided a temporary ID for other people. On the trary, he looked like an expert on handling such matters.
Frey and Yuna who hadn't ied with other people aside from each other for three years. The guard's ugh became a breath of fresh air to them.
"Now all that's left is the toll and cost for the making of the cards, that would be 40 kiels in total." ［Guard］
"Right, thenー" ［Grey］
Grey was about to pull out something from his "Iory" when he suddenly stopped on his tracks, as he realized something.
The reason why Grey stopped was not because he was about to expose his ability, sihere are ste rings avaible in circution which allows people to store items in a separate space just like "Iory" does. Of course, they have a limit to how much they store unlike Grey's ability.
As he had always worn his Armament Ring, he could just tell the guard it was his ste ring, and if the guard asks where he got the ste rings, he could just say that it was an heirloom.
The reasoopped was because of money. And not because he doesn't have any, but because he had way too much!
In Merusia, there is only one currency which is used iionally. This currency is called "Kiel" whies in and crystal denominations. The s from lowest to highest es in copper, nickel, bronze, silver, gold, and ptinum, with the copper valuing at 1 kiel and the succeeding s having 10 times more value than the previous one.
For denominations of even higher value, crystals in the shape of hexagonal prisms are used in pce of s. There is the Sky crystal, Moon crystal, Sun crystal, and stly the Void crystal. The Sky crystals cost 1 million kiels, and the others were 10 times more valuable than the ones before them.
If kiels were to be verted ih currencies, it would cost about ?25 in the Philippines, hly about ￠50 in US, or about ￥60 in Japan.
Inside Grey's "Iory" there are 10 Void crystals! That's right, there's 10 of them! That means Grey has about 10 billion kiels in money form alone. If he were to take into at the value of the materials and equipment he has, don't mention 10 billion, just a single Divine-Grade equipment is already invaluable!
Inside of Grey's mind, he was silently cursing that idiotid thoughtless God for such a huge blunder.
"If you don't have money, you sell other materials instead. While we might take 5% for the transa fee, it should still be better than nothing." ［Guard］
Thankfully, the guard that Grey and Yu by ce was very siderate. After seeing Grey's struggling expression, he immediately gave a suggestion which saved Grey from tless troubles.
With the guard's advice, Grey then sought out an item which was not too valuable nor too cheap, something he doesn't really have a use for, and something which could easily be sold. There was only oem which could fit Grey's requirements.
"Ohh～! Isn't this a Hobgoblin Spear?!" ［Guard］
As soon as the guard saw Grey pull out the spear, his eyes widened from shod amazement. He didn't even have time to pay notice to where Grey pulled the item from.
On the way talderia, Grey and Yuna had fought a lot of monsters. One of those was a horde of goblins led by a Goblin King. And as there were many monsters, Grey and Yuna had ced upon a lot of rare drops.
While Grey could have brought out the Goblin King's drops, it was too eye-catg and might earhe attention of nasty people. Instead, Grey thought it was best to sell a rare drop from a hobgoblin.
Although hobgoblins are just G-rank monsters, normal people still wouldn't be able to beat them. Seeing Grey and Yuna, who are just ieen years, possessing a Hobgoblin Spear impressed the guard by a high degree.
"Hahaha! Looks like we have some promising youths here!" ［Guard］
Rather than interrogating where Yuna and Grey got the spear from, the guard simply ughed as he admired the two youths before him.
"Alright, for the spear, I'll give you 800 kiels, minus the transa fee, the entrance fee, and the produ cost of the cards, that'll take your total down to... 720 kiels! Is that fih the both of you?" ［Guard］
"I'm fih that." ［Grey］
"Me too." ［Yuna］
Normally, once would be cautious when dealing with transas, but with Grey's knowledge and "Judgement", he was able to determihat the guard was not lying in the slightest. And Yuna, who trusted in Grey's abilities, also nodded along with him.
With the agreement of both sides, the deal was quickly made and the two received the payment from the guard. It was enough moo sustaiwo of them for a couple of days.
"By the way, the name's Dale." ［Dale］
"I'm Grey and this is Yuna." ［Grey］
"o meet you." ［Yuna］
"I see... Then Grey and Yuna, wele to Galderia!" ［Dale］
After his friendly introdu, Dale warmly weled Grey and Yuna to the city with a booming voice. It was a wele Grey and Yuna didn't expect to receive.
With their ID sorted out, Grey and Yuna finally ehe city of Galderia, and what greeted the both of them were a myriad of establishments ing in a variety of size, shape, and color, and the bustling of the city folks.
Just by a single g was easy to tell that there were at least a couple hundred people just in front of the two. Not to mention these people are of different races, peacefully coexisting with one another.
As she walked dowreets, Yuna became pletely immersed with the atmosphere of the city. She had imagihat cities would be amazing, but when she saw it with her own eyes, she was greatly mind blown.
The stalls lined up by the entrahe loud merts bantering with one another, and the children pying cheerfully by the sidewalk. Everything was a first in Yuna's eyes.
"This should be it..." ［Grey］
Befrey and Yuhe barracks, Dale had givewo a suggestion if they wao rent an inn. And following his dires, Grey searched for an inn with a signboard of a rabbit's foot and a carrot engraved into it.
As for Yuna, she was still admiring the sery withiy. Although amazingly, even when she was in her own world, she was still able to follow Grey's lead without any blunders.
"Good day, wele to the 'Rabbit's Den'. How may I help you?" ［Receptionist］
Whewo ehe inn, they were immediately greeted by the sound of chimes as they opehe door. Soon after, a woman about the same age as the two of them weled them to the inn.
"Oh, we heard from Mister Dale that the food and service is good, so we're here to che." ［Grey］
"From Dale...? Are you two perhaps new here?" ［Receptionist］
"Oh, yes. We just arrived a few moments ago. I'm Grey and this is Yuna." ［Grey］
"A-Ah, it's a pleasure to meet you!" ［Yuna］
As Grey introduced themselves, Yuna who was still curiously examining the building followed Grey's lead and introduced herself in panic. Luckily, she didn't bite her tongue even when she anig.
"Don't be too nervous. I'm Helen, just Helen, o add honorifiieet the both of you!" ［Helen］
Seeing Yuna panic made Helen giggle and fet her receptionist role and acted in a more casual way. It seemed like her normal personality was one as friendly as Dale.
"So, you want to che, right? What kind of room do you want?" ［Helen］
Knowing that Grey and Yuna were still new in town, Helen carefully expined what type of rooms their inn had and the price of ea. She also expined a few ruled about meals and bathing along them.
"Then we'll take 2 single rooms with breakfast for two people." ［Grey］
"2 single rooms... And breakfast for two people... Alright, that would be 180 kiels a day. How many days would you like to rent?" ［Helen］
"For now, we'll only rent for 3 days, but we still extend our stay after some time, right?" ［Grey］
"As long as the rental time hasn't expired and you have the money, extending your stay is not a problem!" ［Helen］
"Alright, then here's the 540 kiels for the first 3 days of our stay." ［Grey］
"Thank you very much! Here are your keys, and I hope you enjoy your stay here at the 'Rabbit's Den'!" ［Helen］
With a bright smile on her face, Helen hahe keys to their rooms. Although they had just barely met, Grey had a feeling that they'll bee good friends, not just to him but to Yuna as well.
Whilst Grey and Helen were dealing with the stay's details, Yuna was enjoying the view outside the window on the 3rd floor where their rooms were located. But rather thaement, her eyes were full of longing.
"Ah, Grey..." ［Yuna］
Unlike usual, Yuna's voice when she greeted Grey was that void of happiness or excitement. On the trary, it was a voice which tained little hints of sorrow.
"Is something wrong?" ［Grey］
"No, nothing... I just remembered the vilge when I saw the people outside. Although not as grand, it used to be this lively, but now..." ［Yuna］
Not even finishing her words, silence suddenly fell to the two of them. It was yet another situation where Grey doesn't know how exactly to respond.
Seeing Yuna act dejected made Grey realize his shortings as a friend. Even though he was beside her all the time, he didn't notice the glimpse of sadness in Yuna's eyes.
While it may have happened a long time ago, some wounds of the past just take a long time to heal. Even if a person has moved on, there will iably be times where they'll remember those wounds.
"Hey, Yuna, didn't you say you wao eat sweets from the city?" ［Grey］
"Huh?" ［Yuna］
"I was just w... If you want to, tomorrow, we go around and explore the city a all the sweets you want." ［Grey］
While Grey may have just been trying to cheer Yuna up, the way he pieced his words together made it have a pletely different meaning. A meaning which Yuna ainfully aware of.
A day where two people of opposite sex spend time with each other, expl the city, eating meals together, watg theaters, shop for things like clothing... It was totally a date!
Hearing Grey's nont proposal, Yuna's mi into overdrive, making her fet what she was reminisg about literally just a few seds ago. Too muformation just went inside of Yuna's brain that she wasn't able to process things pletely.
"Umm... Is that a no...? ［Grey］
"Ah, yes! I mean no! Ah, I meant that I'll go with you tomorrow! Then I'll be going to check my bedroom now!" ［Yuna］
Faster than the wind, Yuna quickly grabbed a key from Grey's hand and dashed in the corridors. The moment she found the room which the key beloo, she immediately opened in a inside. All just so that she hide her flustered face from Grey.
Grey oher hand became puzzled by Yuna's behavior, making him think back to his words to see if he had said something offeo Yuna, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't figure out what he said wrong.
It was only a few moments ter, with a face equally flustered as Yuna...
"Ah..." ［Grey］
... that he realized what kind of proposal he had made.
CHAPTER 9 END
