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Chapter 63: Of Magic Crests

“We do. I can take anything you have and don’t need off your hands right away.”

Admittedly, I do feel just a bit bad about having the hero blow all her cash on us, so I might as well grab myself some pocket change. I prepared to reach into my item box, but stopped myself short of activating the skill.

“Hey Nell. What do you humans think of item boxes?” I leaned over and began whispering to the hero.

“Item boxes? Oh, you mean storage magic?”

“Uhhh yeah. Sure, let’s go with that.”

“It’s a bit rare, but anyone with the affinity for it can use it, so it’s not anything particularly off putting.”

Sweet. No need to hold back then, I guess. I activated the skill and distorted the area near my right hand by creating what looked like a tear in space itself. I reached inside it and began to look around for something to sell. Let’s see… I probably shouldn’t sell the stuff that I need to work with Rir to take down. That stuff’s way too tasty. Cashing it in would be wasteful. I guess I’ll just dump a few of the monsters I can take out with just one punch.

I pulled out several corpses and placed them atop the counter.

“B-Bro, you see that? The guy just pulled out a Horned Tiger!”

“Aye. And that’s not all. Look, he’s got a god damned Bloody Bear!”

“Holy hell! There’s even a Marmodoltis!” [1]

The few people who happened to be looking my way reacted with shock. The extent of their surprise drew more gazes, leading to yet a second group exclaiming their surprise. The vicious cycle repeated itself until every single adventurer in the guild had their heads craned towards me.

“Fmph.” I crossed my arms. A large grin spread across my face as I looked over the shocked peanut gallery. Behold, peasants. Behold my power and understand your inferiority. Mwahahahaha!

“Cease your blatant idiocy, Yuki. Finish your business so that we can leave.”

“Oh come on…” I sighed as Lefi poured a figurative bucket of icy cold water right over my head. “Couldn’t you have let me bask in the sensation for a little? Why’d you have to butt in right away? Like, come on? A little fun can’t hurt, can it?”

“Yes, yes, you and your fun.” The dragon girl rolled her eyes. “Very well, do what you must, but emphasize speed. I am bored of this place. We have dawdled here for far too long.”

“Fine…” I reluctantly turned towards the receptionist, who was frozen stiff with her eyes and jaw wide open. “So uh, you mind getting me my cash?”

“R-Right, just one second.” The receptionist unfroze and fiddled around a bit before handing me a bag of coins. “T-thank you for your patience. Here’s what we owe you.”

“Aight, thanks.”

“T-Thank you very much for your patronage! Please come again!” I saw the receptionist bow out of the corner of my eye as I turned around and exited the guild.

***

“Hey Nell. Catch.”

“Huh? Wha!?”

I divided the cash I got from the guild in half right as we left the building. I dumped one half in storage and casually chucked the other, pouch and all, at the hero.

“What’s this for?”

“You know how we made you blow all that money while we were walking around town?”

“H-huh!? This is for that!? N-No way! This is like, way, way more than what I spent!” Shock filled her voice yet again as she opened the bag and examined its contents.

“I mean, what the hell am I supposed to do with it? It’s not like I’m going to be spending it or anything. Plus, I owe you for all the stuff you’ve taught me about human society. Just think of it as me paying tuition.”

“Really? Are you sure you won’t ask for it back later?”

“Naw. Just take it.”

“Thanks so much!” The hero fumbled around in panic and almost dropped the bag as she tried to figure out where to put it. That’s weird. I guess she must’ve had money trouble growing up or something.

Though she was more than strong enough to take out the monsters I just sold with ease, she clearly wasn’t used to having anything more than just a bit of pocket change.

“Oh right. What’s this thing anyway?” I pulled out the card I got from the Adventurers’ Guild and pointed to the pattern engraved upon it.

“That’s your magic crest.” The hero responded after finally deciding to fasten the bag of coins to her waist. “Your crest reflects your mana’s wavelength, and everyone’s is different. The crest will glow a bit if you channel your mana through it.”

“Does it?” I followed her prompt and cycled a tiny bit of my magical energy through the card. Sure enough, the wavelike crest began to give off a faint light.

“It only glows if its owner is the person channeling, so it makes for really good ID. You can’t just pretend to be someone you’re not.”

“Huh. I’m impressed. These cards have got a lot more to them than I was giving them credit for.” I said. “But wait, what about people that don’t have mana?”

“What do you mean people that don’t have mana? Everyone has mana.” The hero gave me the most incredulous look as she questioned my lack of common sense. Oh… I see. So this is one of those worlds.

“The closest thing you’ll get to someone without mana is someone that can’t really control the flow of their mana.” The hero continued. “They’re considered exceptions, and they tend to have their own specially made ID cards.”

Man, I have to say, this whole ID thing is really well put together. I guess mankind’s ingenuity really isn’t something to be underestimated, huh?

“So it’s like this everywhere?”

“Not really,” said the hero. “This city is one of the only places where everything is so nice and organised. It tends to be a lot more sloppy everywhere else.”

Or not. There goes that idea. I hadn’t realized it when I first met him, but I now understood that the city’s governor was actually quite the capable ruler.

“Oh, and does the crest mean anything?”

“There’s been some talk about how they’re supposed to take different forms based on the person’s elemental affinities, but no one really knows for sure since their patterns aren’t really that clear or consistent.”

Hmm… yeah, that seems about right. I’m best at water magic, and the crest I have kinda reminds me of both 水, the kanji for water, and 川, the kanji for river. You know what? I actually kinda like the way this crest thing of mine looks. I should try carving it into the next weapon I make. [2]

“What’s your crest look like, Lefi?” I turned towards the dragon girl off to my side.

“See it for yourself.” Lefi pulled her guild card out of one of the pockets in her dress and showed it to me.

“Looks like… fire…?”

“Indeed.” Lefi nodded. “Though I have refrained from demonstrating it, my greatest proficiency is in wreathing flame.”

“Yeah, I don’t really think I’ve seen you use it much, if at all.”

“I have yet to see an opportunity to demonstrate it.” Lefi smiled wryly. “Fire, by nature, has little purpose but burn and destroy. You have greater proficiency for both water and earth than you do the flame, and I thought it better to instruct you in aspects pertaining to your strengths.”

That’s a little too self-demeaning if you ask me.

“Iunno, Lefi. I think fire’s good for more than just reducing stuff to cinders. I think it’s awesome. It’s really flashy and cool. Plus, I mean, fire just, you know, suits you. It makes me think of passion and warmth.”

“Really?” Lefi seemed taken aback.

“Yeah. I mean, you’re you, Lefi. I’m sure your flames would be nice, warm and comfy.”

Lefi’s lips curved into a satisfied smile as she took an extra large step forward and began walking right by my side.

***

Notes:

[1] Marmodoltis = マーモドルティス I have no idea what this is supposed to be. I’m suspecting something in German or some other European language I don’t know.

[2] This is a bit hard to explain, but if you chicken scratch hard enough, they look kinda similar.