Spanning more than a hundred meters in length, a long line of people and carriages could be seen going towards the gates of the city. It was a line of inspection which was quite common 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 reminiscent scene became quite emotional to the point where he might have cried had he traveled alone.
Life inside the 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 second. And as the two moved further to the front, they soon realized that they lacked something needed to 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 confidently responded to Yuna, backed up with a bright smile and a large thumbs up. But in reality, Grey was actually nervous too about his plan.
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 can 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 transactions, and in some cases, it can be used as some sort of debit card.
Unlike Earth, ID cards in Merusia contains magical properties. One of which is its ability to recognize its owner by their mana signature. The moment the owner's mana flows into the card, the card in question 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 government in recognition 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 inspection of ID cards, it is because ID cards can 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 law 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 inspection. The two looked calm on the outside, but inside, their hearts were about to burst out from their chests from how nervous they were.
"Actually, we don't have one yet. We came from a faraway village so we didn't have a chance 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 which only existed on animated TV shows.
"A faraway village, huh..." ［Guard］
The guard looked at the two with eyes filled with suspicion as held his chin up as if he was thinking of something. Actions which made Yuna feel like her soul had left her body.
"Yeah, it was located deep inside the Haltea Great Forest." ［Grey］
"Eh?! That forest?! I did hear that there were villages 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 was a super 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 suspicion 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 misunderstanding 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 can easily travel that distance in the span of a couple of days.
Although they were confused 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.
Inside the barracks were a few seats, a set of equipment displayed on the walls, and a circular table with a small gemstone fixed in the center.
⟨⟨Appraisal⟩⟩ ［Grey］
-----------------------------------
[Magic Tool]
[Name]Heartstone
[Description]
A magic tool developed for nearly a century by a group of geniuses. It is a device which turns red if the person touching 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 flaw. It is that it only detects criminal "records". Even if a person had committed a crime, if that crime was not recorded, the Heartstone would not respond. A loophole that many can exploit.
"Please take a seat" ［Guard］
As per the guard's instructions, Grey and Yuna grabbed a seat and politely sat down. Although Grey knew the guard had no ill intentions, 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 explained the process to Grey and Yuna, and without wasting any more time, the two followed the guard's instructions and placed their hands on top of the Heartstone one after the other.
Although they knew that they hadn't committed any crimes, they still became nervous as they touched the Heartstone, a nervousness which was replaced with an equal magnitude of relief when the Heartstone turned blue.
"Yosh. You're both clear. We'll be able to make you temporary cards now, so you two can relax." ［Guard］
Noticing 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-racking." ［Grey］
"Unnn..." ［Yuna］
"Hahaha! You weren't the only ones. Those who didn't have an ID before also had the same reactions. It never really gets boring here." ［Guard］
The guard laughed 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 contrary, he looked like an expert on handling such matters.
For Grey and Yuna who hadn't interacted with other people aside from each other for three years. The guard's laugh 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 "Inventory" 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, since there are storage rings available in circulation which allows people to store items in a separate space just like "Inventory" does. Of course, they have a limit to how much they can store unlike Grey's ability.
As he had always worn his Armament Ring, he could just tell the guard it was his storage ring, and if the guard asks where he got the storage rings, he could just say that it was an heirloom.
The reason Grey stopped 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 internationally. This currency is called "Kiel" which comes in coin and crystal denominations. The coins from lowest to highest comes in copper, nickel, bronze, silver, gold, and platinum, with the copper coin valuing at 1 kiel and the succeeding coins 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 place of coins. There is the Sky crystal, Moon crystal, Sun crystal, and lastly 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 converted into Earth currencies, it would cost about ₱25 in the Philippines, or roughly about ¢50 in US, or about ¥60 in Japan.
Inside Grey's "Inventory" 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 account 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 idiotic and thoughtless God for such a huge blunder.
"If you don't have money, you can sell other materials instead. While we might take 5% for the transaction fee, it should still be better than nothing." ［Guard］
Thankfully, the guard that Grey and Yuna met by chance was very considerate. After seeing Grey's struggling expression, he immediately gave a suggestion which saved Grey from countless 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 one item 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 shock and amazement. He didn't even have time to pay notice to where Grey pulled the item from.
On the way towards Galderia, 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 chanced upon a lot of rare drops.
While Grey could have brought out the Goblin King's drops, it was too eye-catching and might earn them the 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 in their teen 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 laughed as he admired the two youths before him.
"Alright, for the spear, I'll give you 800 kiels, minus the transaction fee, the entrance fee, and the production cost of the cards, that'll take your total down to... 720 kiels! Is that fine with the both of you?" ［Guard］
"I'm fine with that." ［Grey］
"Me too." ［Yuna］
Normally, once would be cautious when dealing with transactions, but with Grey's knowledge and "Judgement", he was able to determine that 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 money to sustain the two of them for a couple of days.
"By the way, the name's Dale." ［Dale］
"I'm Grey and this is Yuna." ［Grey］
"Nice to meet you." ［Yuna］
"I see... Then Grey and Yuna, welcome to Galderia!" ［Dale］
After his friendly introduction, Dale warmly welcomed Grey and Yuna to the city with a booming voice. It was a welcome Grey and Yuna didn't expect to receive.
With their ID sorted out, Grey and Yuna finally entered the city of Galderia, and what greeted the both of them were a myriad of establishments coming in a variety of size, shape, and color, and the bustling of the city folks.
Just by a single glance, it 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 down the streets, Yuna became completely immersed with the atmosphere of the city. She had imagined that cities would be amazing, but when she saw it with her own eyes, she was greatly mind blown.
The stalls lined up by the entrance, the loud merchants bantering with one another, and the children playing cheerfully by the sidewalk. Everything was a first in Yuna's eyes.
"This should be it..." ［Grey］
Before Grey and Yuna left the barracks, Dale had given the two a suggestion if they wanted to rent an inn. And following his directions, 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 scenery within the city. Although amazingly, even when she was in her own world, she was still able to follow Grey's lead without any blunders.
"Good day, welcome to the 'Rabbit's Den'. How may I help you?" ［Receptionist］
When the two entered the inn, they were immediately greeted by the sound of chimes as they opened the door. Soon after, a woman about the same age as the two of them welcomed them to the inn.
"Oh, we heard from Mister Dale that the food and service is good, so we're here to check in." ［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 was panicking.
"Don't be too nervous. I'm Helen, just Helen, no need to add honorifics. Nice to meet the both of you!" ［Helen］
Seeing Yuna panic made Helen giggle and forget 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 check in, right? What kind of room do you want?" ［Helen］
Knowing that Grey and Yuna were still new in town, Helen carefully explained what type of rooms their inn had and the price of each room. She also explained 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 can 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 handed the keys to their rooms. Although they had just barely met, Grey had a feeling that they'll become 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 than excitement, 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 contrary, it was a voice which contained little hints of sorrow.
"Is something wrong?" ［Grey］
"No, nothing... I just remembered the village 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 shortcomings 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 inevitably be times where they'll remember those wounds.
"Hey, Yuna, didn't you say you wanted to eat sweets from the city?" ［Grey］
"Huh?" ［Yuna］
"I was just wondering... If you want to, tomorrow, we can go around and explore the city and eat 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 completely different meaning. A meaning which Yuna was painfully aware of.
A day where two people of opposite sex spend time with each other, exploring the city, eating meals together, watching theaters, shop for things like clothing... It was totally a date!
Hearing Grey's nonchalant proposal, Yuna's mind went into overdrive, making her forget what she was reminiscing about literally just a few seconds ago. Too much information just went inside of Yuna's brain that she wasn't able to process things completely.
"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 belonged to, she immediately opened in and went inside. All just so that she can hide her flustered face from Grey.
Grey on the other hand became puzzled by Yuna's behavior, making him think back to his words to see if he had said something offensive to Yuna, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't figure out what he said wrong.
It was only a few moments later, with a face equally flustered as Yuna...
"Ah..." ［Grey］
... that he realized what kind of proposal he had made.
CHAPTER 9 END