Empire's princess and Trade
[Ace POV],
It would not be surprising if I happened to run into two of my classmates at the same time, but this...
In front of me were at least five familiar faces from my college.
I even saw a senior.
Is it a coincidence that these people appeared close to each other after the change?
It's far too coincidental.
Though I was surprised, it was only for a moment, so I ignored them and followed the two who were still moving.
At the end, we were led upstairs to a particular room where i saw another familiar face that i had quite an impression on.
Adara Dawn, the Dawn empire's youngest princess.
We were in the building's study room, and she was sitting in the main seat.
There were other familiar faces in front of her, and two people behind her who I assume are her guards.
When I saw her and this, I knew the camp's management had something to do with her.
If my assumption is correct, then I am dealing with her rather than Eleanor.
And if it's her, this trade will be more comfortablet for me.
She is more straightforward unlike Eleanor.
At least with her, I can avoid tiresome talks.
Adara was much more comfortable to communicate with than some of the empire's high-ups' children who were also nobles, and others who, for some reason I don't understand, talk with their chin and nose raised.
Focusing on Adara, who had what I assumed was a surprised look on her face that was slowly fading, smiled and called out my name slowly.
"Ace," she said, continuing.
"What are you doing here?" she asked, motioning for me to take a seat in the chair in front of her.
Fortunately, Elsie had already stated my intention before I could respond.
When Adara learned the reason for my visit, she motioned to the people in front of her to leave the room.
They just looked at me strangely as they walked away.
Because Class A is so few, it's difficult to forget the face of my classmates.
So even if you forget or don't know a fellow classmate's name, you can still recognize them anywhere, and in Class A, I was also one of the top students in class.
Even though it was not in all subjects, I was able to top first in the subjects in which I majored.
After everyone else in the room left with the exception of the ones at her back, Adara turned her attention to me as these ideas raced through my head.
"So, Ace, how do we trade?" she inquired directly.
Hearing this, I placed the hand holding the storage ring on the table and took out a crystal core.
Adara, seeing this, asked a question without waiting for me to respond.
"Would you like to trade with this?" She inquired, and I nodded.
Seeing this, she asked another question, saying;
"How much food for one of this?" she questioned.
Hearing this, I spoke up because she asked how much food a core can exchange for rather than what the core is, implying she has seen one and most likely has one on hand.
"A cubic worth of food for a single one, and the higher the level, the more food that can be exchanged," I stated.
"So much?" she asked, surprised, to which I did not respond.
After some thought and consideration, she agreed and told a guard behind her to bring the 'red crystals' here.
This was what made me feel more comfortable dealing with her.
Unlike some others, she is straightforward.
I was also not surprised by the term she used to refer to the crystal core, because to those unfamiliar with it, it appears to be a red crystal.
And what I meant by the core level was also straightforward.
The color of the crystal will deepen depending on how powerful the monster from which it was extracted is.
So, even without the help of the primordial chronicle, distinguishing the cores is quite simple.
Fortunately, I didn't have to wait long before the guard who had gone out before me returned with a small loaded bag.
He returned to his previous position after carefully placing the bag on the table in front of me.
Adara stood up and opened the small bag, which was filled with crystal cores, making me wonder how many special zombies they killed in this camp to have this many crystal cores.
If that wasn't surprising enough, she reached into the bag and pulled out the crystals from the back one by one with her bare hands.
I was about to stop her, but her hands moved too quickly, allowing me to hold the speech I was about to release.
"Are you not worried about turning into a zombie?" I questioned.
When she heard this, she responded, saying;
"You don't have to worry about that," she continued.
"As long as you don't take zombie blood into your system or get bitten, you won't turn," she explained.
After hearing this, I was convinced that holding the crystal would not turn me into a zombie.
It's none of my business how she knew what could turn someone into a zombie.
Adara looked at me and asked a question after removing the entire crystal cores from the bag and placing them on the table.
"So, how much can this trade for?" she asked, motioning to the cores on the table.
I focused on the cores and used the primordial chronicle to check the level of the crystal cores on the table.
The crystal cores I've seen so far are all slightly larger than a thumb in size, as are the ones on the table in front of me.
There were 13 cores in total on the table.
2 level 12 crystal cores, 2 level 10 crystal cores, 4 level 8 crystal cores, and 5 level 6 crystal cores.
I quickly calculated how I should exchange the cores for food and when I came to a decision, I got up and went to a vacant side in the room.
I was in a large study room, so I was able to bring out a large number of supplies from my storage ring.
Apart from my team, everyone was surprised by the amount of supplies I brought out, which made me wonder if I brought out too much.
But since it was already out, I just left it be and went to the table to put the crystal cores in my storage ring.
I concluded this deal good after receiving a wave of considerable wealth and said to the others in the room who were still eyeing the supplies in the room, "Nice doing business with you."
I turned to leave after saying this but stopped when Adara called my name.
"Ace wait!"
"Let's talk," she said, and when she realized she had my attention, she sat back down and motioned for me to do the same.
I didn't have anywhere to go in the dark night, so when I heard my name called, I decided to listen to what she had to say and ask if I could stay here temporarily when she was done.
It's not that I believe this place will provide me with any sort of safety or security.
I just needed a side to get through the night before leaving tomorrow.
Maybe I'll be able to practice Alchemy tonight.
Adara began speaking shortly after I took my seat.