As they finally made their way back to Ms. Helmer's office, they stopped to get Si Sheng a couple pairs of shoes since the leather boots he made were pretty shoddy. The shoe shop was near the tailor's. They had many different styles of shoes—dress shoes, loafers, high-heels, stilettoes, etc. There were many different styles and colors, some as extreme as being a bright green. Si Sheng bought a few pairs of dress shoes, a pair of knee-high leather boots, and some loafers—of course, Ms. Helmer was the one that actually purchased the shoes. He didn't put them on right away and decided to just continue wearing bug-leather shoes he had entered with, at least until he retreated for the night.
They continued to take in the scenery walking back. Although they'd seen it before—Ms. Helmer hundreds, if not thousands of times, and Si Sheng just a few hours prior—they still found the Commercial District and Institution campus wondrous to look at, especially since it had become sunset. The sky was aflame with hues of red and purple mixed with the fiery-orange clouds above. The slight breeze and calm bustle of people around swirled to create a calm and refreshing atmosphere.
They arrived at the aforementioned office and went in. The office was large. The first thing you saw when you walked in was the large oak desk with many little knickknacks on top of it. There were bookcases lining that walls, which were filled up with books with topics ranging from magic theory to romance novels. There was nice flooring as well, it was made out of a polished mahogany-like wood. The reddish floor complemented the duller brown oak making a nice contrast, which increased the aesthetic appeal of the space. There was a quaint lounge area off to the left side, with an iron frame coffee table between two chocolate-brown fabric settees. Overall, it was a splendid office; the best part was the view, which was of the campus from above, since the office was on the uppermost floor.
As Si Sheng was admiring the office, he noticed a door to the right, near her desk, and asked Bythre about it.
"What's that door for?"
"Mm? That's my room. That's where I sleep, usually."
Seeing Si Sheng's somewhat confused and pondersome expression, she further explained.
"I often have to respond quickly to happenings on campus. If I live away from campus, it wouldn't be too favorable since I wouldn't be able to react quick enough. Additionally, I'm too lazy to walk home after work, hehe~," concluded Bythre in a frivolous tone.
Understanding Bythre's reasoning, Si Sheng nodded, expressing his comprehension. He thought it made sense since she was an essential figure at the institution. He continued the thought by thinking about how Bythre was devoted to being the Dean and how she gave off the impression of being reliable in this sense, despite her disposition.
"Well, it's getting late. Should we head off to bed then~?"
Bythre spoke up as Si Sheng was thinking. The sun had gone down at this point and the moons had risen. To be honest, if Si Sheng were to guess the time, he'd have to say it was around 19:00, which was pretty early to go to bed. But, today was different. Si Sheng had gone through a lot, probably more than he'd gone through since he had arrived in this world. He was exhausted because of this, so he obviously agreed with a slight nod.
With that, Si Sheng and Bythre filed in to the bedroom.
Inside Bythre's bedroom, there were bookshelves filled with timeworn books in a language Si Sheng couldn't immediately read alongside the wall to the left. The bed, which was abutting the wall immediately across from the entryway, was large enough to comfortably accommodate five people. The bed was a canopy bed, one with translucent white curtains made of a fabric similar to linen. The bed frame was made from the same oak wood that Bythre's desk had been made of. The bedding matched the drapes with a white silk and eggshell white mattress.
Alongside the bed, on the right to be precise, there was a large wardrobe made of the same wood as the chocolate-brown coffee table that had enough space for an entire four-person family to put all their clothes in.
Additionally, there was a door connecting the bathroom to the bedroom beside the wardrobe, closer to the bedroom entrance. The bathroom, as well, was large and spacious. Surprisingly enough, the bathroom looked similar to that from Si Sheng's home on Earth, although a lot larger and all-around better. There were a couple of sinks to the left of the entrance with cabinets and a large mirror built with the sinks. There was a large bathtub further along the left wall, it was white with a marble look to it. Then to the right of the bathtub was a shower, just a standard shower, nothing too fancy except for the gold trim on the outside of the shower and grainy, opaque glass obscuring the inside of the shower. Then, further alongside the right wall, closer to the entrance, was a place to hang garments and whatnot. The floor was also that of marble and blended into the bathtub's design. Not to forget the most important part—the toilet—it was situated in between the bathtub and the sinks. It had the same design as the toilets from Earth and the marble look with gold trim was reflected in its design, as well.
Bythre explained to the impressed Si Sheng that this was another "gift" from the Fujin Hero she previously mentioned. Apparently, after the shower, sink, bathtub, and toilet were introduced to this world, they spread like wildfire. Due to overproduction from the boom and the numerous competitors, they became fairly cheap, allowing even poorer people to have at least a sink, a toilet, and a shower, although not to the extent of Bythre's bathroom.
Because of the boom, sewers and running water became standard for city planning, as well as water treatment facilities. It was pretty advanced in its own right, but the basis was magic so it didn't help machine technology evolve. Apparently, they were all magic items that had easy to make engravings on them that allowed for the production of a shower, bathtub, water treatment, etc.
With that said, Si Sheng prepared for bed like he'd done back on Earth. He didn't need to brush his teeth thankfully, due to his Healing Magic which "healed" his teeth and gums, and Water Magic that cleaned the plaque and gunk out. Effectively, he didn't need to bathe, brush his teeth, or take care of his hygiene thanks to his magic. Despite this, Si Sheng took a bath. It wasn't to clean himself but to relax before going off to bed.
The warm, bubbly water soothed Si Sheng's worries. His taut muscles loosened and his body was finally able to relax in this new world. The bubbles floating on the surface of the warm water made him feel comforted as he slightly sank into the bubbles hiding his mouth.
One thing that slipped Si Sheng's mind was the bathroom entrance. There was no lock. That meant anyone could go in while he was bathing and he'd be defenseless to the intruder, he could only cover himself with bubbles. This is exactly what he did.
As one would expect, the mischievous Bythre barged in on Si Sheng's bath time dressed in a bath towel shouting "Let's take a bath together~!" To which, Si Sheng obviously and furiously told her to "get out", "pervert", etc.
Bythre eventually left while pouting and Si Sheng sighed in relief, getting back to his time alone.
"Crazy woman."
***
When Si Sheng left the bathroom, Bythre was already on the bed with a smirk on her face as if saying she was going to mess with him. Well, he didn't care. He just shrugged and laughed, then got down onto the bed and got under the blankets.
The sensation of laying down in a bed after not sleeping on one for months was heavenly for Si Sheng—it was euphoric. Si Sheng was in bliss as he sunk down into the soft, spongy mattress of the bed and the comfortable and supportive pillow behind his head, that is, until he heard the rustling of the blankets.
Si Sheng opened his eyes and looked to his right. There, Bythre was crawling "sneakily" through the blankets with a catlike expression on her face.
'Is she really just a cat on the inside?' Si Sheng seriously considered it, given everything Bythre had done and the way she had acted. Anyway, that wasn't important at the moment, Bythre was closing in, and fast.
With her eyes focused on Si Sheng, Bythre scuttled along. At this point, Si Sheng just let her do whatever, he was too tired to deal with her honestly. His eyelids were on the verge of closure and he had to forcefully keep himself awake if he wanted to deal with Bythre. The bed was the main problem, it was just too nice and continually tired to lull Si Sheng into a comfortable sleep.
Eventually, Si Sheng gave in to his desire for sleep and drifted into a world of dreams all the while Bythre approached the now sleeping Si Sheng.
When Bythre reached Si Sheng's side, she just looked down on his face highlighted by the faint moonlight drifting in from the windows nearby. She wore a comfortable and relieved expression on her face, one that didn't suit her normal appearance. She seemed content.
"I'm glad I got to meet you, I was starting to get lonely," said Bythre as she sank down into the blankets next to Si Sheng.
She laid there with her head resting on Si Sheng's chest. The scene of the two intertwined in a dance of drowsiness was peaceful and comfortable. With Bythre in her negligee and Si Sheng in a nightgown they bought, it was like a married couple retiring to bed after a hard day's work.
They laid there and enjoyed their rest, Bythre carrying a faint smile on her face being comforted by Si Sheng's presence. They soundly slept through the night and woke up to a brilliant, fiery morning sky.
***
Si Sheng woke up to Bythre sprawled out hugging him with a drowsy expression. Si Sheng couldn't help chuckle at Bythre's appearance as it was so far removed from her usual sly personality.
He hadn't felt as refreshed as he was in that moment in a long time, possibly even back on Earth. Si Sheng breathed in the brand new air of the elven morning as he carefully got out of bed, trying not to disturb Bythre, and went into Bythre's office.
When he walked in the prior night, he was particularly interested in the books decorating every wall. In particular, the history and magic books took Si Sheng's interest.
After he heard about the Fujin Empire, he had a thirst to learn about them. He considered them a liability as he knew virtually nothing about them, but he did know that they were supposed to be very powerful.
From the description of the empire that Bythre gave Si Sheng, the empire was great. He believed that their infrastructure should be at least that of post-industrial Great Britain, but other than that, he didn't know anything. He didn't know anything about their war technology, weaponry, vehicle technology, etc. Given that traditional guns could be rendered useless in this world, he'd guessed that they wouldn't be made or that they would be very poorly made if they were made since the interest would be low due to magic.
Given all the reasoning, he needed to and wanted to learn about the Fujin Empire.
Si Sheng browsed the bookcases for anything related to the Fujin Empire, as well as anything related to magic.
He found a couple of books on the empire, but, unfortunately, they were from hundreds of years ago. Still, it was good to learn about it even if it was about a time so long in the past.
Most of the books talked about the royalty and hero's of the empire in the past, the wars that took place, other events like a dragon raid, etc.
In all, the information wasn't helpful. It was fun to read about, but it gave little insight into what the empire might be like now.
Si Sheng did, however, learn that there was a standardized currency across all nations and races that was established some 2000 or more years ago when a worldwide empire was the ruling party.
That empire, unfortunately, collapsed after internal conflict due to greed causing it to implode in on itself. The result was an important war dubbed the "100 Years War" that established the borders after the breakup. Apparently, the boarders were established mainly by race, although there were some exceptions.
The elves, obviously, took the Elven Forest, while humans took most of the biggest area of the central continent, which was then broken up into different kingdoms.
In all, he learned that the currency of this world was called a Kreis, named after the imperial family of the fallen global empire—the Kreis Empire. Incidentally, the value of a Kreis was equivalent to about 10 American cents, or a dime. In the book he read about the currency, they talked about how much certain things would cost and he was able to compare that to prices back on Earth.
Further on the currency, there were multiple levels for it. The following was how the currency came out to be:
$0.10 = 1 Kreis
10 Kreis = 1 Zekreis
10 Zekreis = 1 Einkreis
10 Einkreis = 1 Taukreis
10 Taukreis = 1 Rokreis
Those were all the different values of currency. Despite the fact that this was the currency Si Sheng learned about, the actual value of the currency most likely changed since then due to the information being old; inflation and other various factors would change the value of the currency. However, the names and conversion rates between the different levels stayed the same. He knew this due to when Bythre paid for their afternoon snack.
Although the book Si Sheng read indicated 1 Kreis was the same as 10 cents, he'd have guessed that it was closer to 1 Kreis equaled 5 dollars, based on the previous day's snack. Furthermore, Bythre had used coins not detailed in the book, most likely new coins made for smaller transactions, like an American penny.
Nevertheless, "information is power" and what Si Sheng needed was power, so he continued his studies until Bythre woke up.