We reached the city of Vierre in less than an hour of walking. The city was on the 'Big' side of the spectrum, in the world of Arcadia. Lorraine said that we needed to have some for of identification to enter the city, but as she had an 'Emergency Ticket', which she got after she became a high level alchemist, she could invite in guests without an identity.
'Wow... The government trusts her enough to give her something so precious like that, even though it's clearly a threat to the city, as it could invite spies of an enemy country into the city...', I thought.
The city of Vierre was directly under the rule of the 3rd Imperial Prince, Lucius Von Evergreen. There were 5 Imperial children, 3 males and 2 females. Each of them governs cities and districts under strict supervision of a trusted servant of the Emperor himself (often a noble). The Emperor does this to make his children 'Practice' how to govern a large body of people. In reality, it just prepares a battlefield for the siblings to fight and decide who the next Emperor would be.
These estates were located close to the Imperial capital. The other lands were governed by other nobles, like dukes, marquis, counts, etc.
I got all of that information from Lorraine.
We went inside the city in no time at all. The guards were suspicious of me, as I was a sorcerer, but Lorraine convinced them that I wasn't a threat.
The city looked like a typical roman city. The roads were made of bricks, and the houses had slanting roofs. The tallest buildings were not higher than 3 floors. The only things that were different from a real roman city were the street lights. The street lights in Rome were illuminated using oil, but here they were illuminated using magic stones.
Lorraine took us to her place of employment and showed us around. Apparently, she was quite an important figure in the establishment. The employees asked her where she had been for the last few days, but she lied, saying she was sick and had to take a break.
"So, Do you guys have a place to stay?", Lorraine asked us.
"no, not really", I answered.
By the way, I had covered Anna's head with a hat that I took for myself, to cover her ears. Apparently, if people saw a high elf out on the streets, it would attract unwanted attention.
"oh, so do you guys wanna stay at my house?", Lorraine suggested.
"uh, no... thank you for offering though...", this time Anna answer her.
"ah! sorry... it must've been too forward of me to say that...", Lorraine apologized.
"But we don't have any money to rent some kind of Inn.", I included.
"That's fine, I'll give you guys some money.", said Lorraine.
"wait, no... That wasn't part of the deal, Lorraine. It's fine, We'll get it from somewhere else.", I tried to turn her down.
"It's fine. I got to see a High elf in real life, that deserves some money.", Lorraine insisted.
We accepted the money gratefully, and asked Lorraine to guide us to an Inn.
She obliged, and we reached the Inn within 10 minutes.
She booked the Inn for us, 2 rooms for 10 days. It took 2 silver coins and 5 copper coins. I didn't have any idea about the value of those coins, so I decided to check later.
We went up to the rooms to check them out, and it looked quite clean and nice. It didn't have a toilet though... I expected it to be like that, but I could see Anna get flustered about it.
After Lorraine left, I asked the Guide about the currency in this world.
[Query Received!]
[Required FP: 50]
[Answer: There are 5 types of currency in the world of Arcadia. 1 Shell = 1 £; 1 copper = 10 £; 1 silver = 100 £; 1 gold = 1000 £; 1 platinum = 10,000 £. Each empire and kingdom has different looking coins with the imprint of the crest of the royal or imperial family, but the value of each coin remains the same throughout the world of Arcadia.]
'HOLY SHIT! THIS TOILETSLESS INN TOOK 250 FUCKING POUNDS?!?!?', I exclaimed inwards.
It was absolutely bonkers! What kind of Inn was this?! Even if it is for 10 days, a toiletless Inn should never ask for so much!
I decided to not worry about it too much. I needed to get a good grasp of the market in this 'Evergreen' empire if I wanted to get rich ASAP.
'Right now, The primary goal is to get to the 6th circle as soon as possible and challenge the 'Sorcerer Doctor's Tomb' dungeon. I bet there will be awesome loot there for me to pick up! after all, the dungeon was an Undead type, meaning, the dungeon master was living once before, which meant that whoever created the dungeon must have a lot of skill as a sorcerer to be able to make the full dungeon. If I clear it, maybe I can take the dungeon master's gear for myself!', I was very, very excited. I hadn't felt like this in a long while. I forgot the last time I did feel this way...
"so, umm... what do we do now?", asked Anna.
"Firstly, let me tell yu some very important rules. Rule number 1) NEVER EVER USE YOUR KNOWLEDGE FROM EARTH! This is very important. Our knowledge can drastically change this planet. 2) Don't go into shady places without me. You'll get into trouble and I won't come to save you twice. 3) My personal space must not be invaded under any circumstances. 4) I won't share any money with you, and you won't share any money with me.", I explained some ground rules, making a mental barrier and distance between the two of us.
Anna had a confused look on her face but then it turned into a sad one.
"o-okay... I understand... but... I can't earn money on my own right now... just give me 1 month...?", she turned her head away while saying this. I could understand what she was feeling. She expected me to be nice to her and reunite with a long-lost friend. Unfortunately for Anna, I was no longer the Xavier she knew.
"20 days at max, I can't give you more. I recommend using your guide system as much as you can to gain more information about this world.", I gave Anna some advice.
"oh and also, If you break rule number 1, I'll personally kill you.", I looked at her with a cold gaze.
She shivered at my words, and then answered in a trembling voice, "I... I under...stand...".
"Don't look at me like that, Anna. I've changed a lot from back then. I'm no longer the Xavier you once knew.", I told Anna as she was staring at me with sorrowful eyes.
She started crying at my words.
'Shit... maybe that was a bit too far... I should calm her down...', I thought.
I went near Anna and hugged her tightly and said, "All that said, I will protect you to the best of my abilities whenever I can, after all, you are important to me."
She now started full-on bawling her eyes out and occasionally saying, "you better!".
'I might not trust Anna completely and be on guard with her, but it seems like I still have some kind of soft spot for her...', I concluded.