I (Veritas) and Aldo were relaxing on a bench in the square on a cloudy day during our last day here. Luckily, there were no executions today.
"I earned 180 silver coins in four days and plan to take 10 slaves with us on the journey to carry stuff and do chores. Interacting with so many people is really interesting. What have you been doing these past four days, Aldo?" I smiled, lightly patting his shoulder as I spoke.
"Reading books and trading slaves, earned 300 silver coins," Aldo replied emotionlessly, not even turning to look at me.
"How did you buy slaves at a low price and sell them for a higher price?" I asked curiously.
"Teaching them any skill that's sure to be useful and appealing to slave owners," Aldo's expressionless face replied to me in an unchanged tone.
"By the way, where are the other three? I remember they told us to gather here before continuing," Aldo asked with some irritation, furrowing his eyebrows.
"They probably have something to do at the Guild and should be done soon!" I replied cheerfully.
We continued waiting... until noon. The buildings cast shadows, and the golden sunlight shone on the poetic scene of the square.
"What are they doing that takes so long!? I finished two more chapters of advanced mathematics including difficult and advanced exercises and still haven't seen them?" Aldo asked with clear annoyance in his voice, even though his face showed no emotion.
"I think we should go to the city Guild," I decided, my eyes gazing distantly at the simple beauty of a young vegetable vendor at a market in the square.
"Where is the city Guild?" Aldo turned to me, cutting off my train of thought.
"Next to a main road on the west side of the city. So, are you planning to go now?" I asked in surprise.
"Yes," Aldo replied.
So we got up, walking hurriedly on the city's stone road. After a while, we arrived in front of a five-story building with Gothic architecture.
"Here it is, the place many protagonists in isekai anime frequent. Now it's our turn to go in," I turned to Aldo, speaking excitedly.
"It's rare to have to register as an Adventurer at the Guild. This place is essentially a merchant's guild, spending money to set up accident insurance and hiring those who can fight to protect the merchants on their routes with something called commissions," Aldo responded sarcastically.
"So, are we going to register as Adventurers to look for Ky, Quang Minh, and Hai? I mean, Helzard, Auburn, and Fermos!" I asked.
"No, we'll ask first, unless there's no other choice…" he said.
Suddenly, from behind, a young Albus man with white skin, blue eyes, and a prominent nose, taller than me but shorter than Aldo, deliberately bumped into us to pass. He shouted in pain before going in and turned back to curse at us angrily: "Are you made of iron or something!?" We were taken aback for a moment.
"Our fault, we blocked the entrance," Aldo sighed and walked into the building, and I followed.
Wow, just as I imagined. A sophisticated and modern interior, seemingly a reception area and common area. The space was well-lit, combining natural and artificial light to create a cozy and welcoming atmosphere. An open design with high ceilings increased the feeling of spaciousness and openness. At the center in the back was an elegant reception desk adorned with a green cover. In front were many wooden tables with X-shaped legs and matching benches, arranged cafeteria-style. Decorative elements included strategically placed potted plants adding a touch of greenery, along with wooden barrels and large vases near the walls providing rustic highlights. The walls had bulletin boards filled with papers and notices, indicating this was an area for announcements or information sharing. On the left side, a wooden staircase with a railing led upstairs or to a balcony overlooking the main area. The room was illuminated by hanging lanterns providing warm lighting, fitting the modern but slightly rustic aesthetic. The walls were built from solid textured brick, while the floor appeared to be neutral-toned tiles or stones. The overall color scheme combined earthy tones with green accents, evident in the potted plants, the cover on the reception desk, and the central wall behind the desk, creating a stylish and functional space that was both inviting and professional. We approached the reception desk, some eyes of the adventurers turned towards us, surely expecting us to post some commission on the task board.
"Oh! Veritas and Aldo, is it? What are you two doing here?" Fermos waved at us, his outfit unchanged.
"What are you doing here, Fermos? I thought you were out on a commissioned mission?" I asked, surprised.
"Well, I did go on one, but after completing 12 tasks and earning 90 silver coins, I decided to take a break," Fermos replied cheerfully.
"12 tasks for 90 silver coins? That's an average of 7.5 silver coins per task! What did you do to earn that much?" Aldo asked, skeptical.
"Killed two wyverns – small western-style dragons with dark grey to brown skin, captured three gangs of under 30 people, cleared six goblin nests (humanoid creatures about 3-3.5 feet tall, with pointed ears, green blood, green skin, and sharp teeth) under 20 individuals, and escorted a merchant caravan to Azarient. I earned 78 silver coins in total, but the generous merchant gave me an additional 12 silver coins, making it 90 silver coins," Fermos explained.
"12? Why not 10 or 20?" I continued to ask.
"Units of 12 can be divided in many ways: 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 12. It has more divisors than 10, which can only be divided by 1, 2, 5, and 10. This principle also applies to currency; for example, a string of coins usually has quantities that are multiples of 12. Fermos, you received a string of coins, right?" Aldo responded.
Fermos nodded.
"Alright, where are Auburn and Helzard?" Aldo asked, looking at Fermos.
"They're both on missions. Auburn is facing a witch, and Helzard is dealing with a group of zombies in a village," Fermos replied.
"One or two-star missions, right? Those inexperienced newbies are still at rank X, so they can't take on higher-level commissions," I said.
"Let me ask the receptionist," Fermos responded.
Fermos walked past Aldo and me to the reception desk, which acted like a barrier between him and the receptionist. Although the desk was quite high, reaching Fermos's chest, it was still comfortable enough for him to lean on, a subconscious gesture that the taller Albus fighter on his right and the Flavus archer on his left also did. Their equipment was old and the sharp parts were quite worn down. Fermos pressed the gold bell several times and waited. The two male Albus receptionists quietly discussed the missions the two men next to Fermos were about to undertake, ignoring everything around them. A few minutes later, a woman of mixed Albus and Flavus descent emerged from the staff changing room behind the door. Like her male colleagues, she wore a white shirt and a dark green vest (gilet) over a knee-length skirt.
"Yes, what do you need, Fermos?" the receptionist asked, tidying her disheveled hair, sounding a bit tired.
"Can you show me the commission information for Auburn and Helzard?" Fermos smiled.
"Sure," the receptionist smiled and handed him two sheets of paper with the commission details.
Fermos took the papers and read them intently, his eyes scanning for important information. Aldo moved closer to help with the search.
"What were you busy with that left your clothes messy, hair disheveled, and made you out of breath?" I asked, frowning slightly, looking at the receptionist, who was slightly shorter than me.
"Oh... haha, it's nothing. I was just doing some personal work," she replied, adjusting her hair and clothes to look more professional, smiling awkwardly at me.
"I have to go now!" Fermos shouted to the receptionist, startling everyone around, including me, the receptionist, and the four men nearby. He then ran off, pushing the door open loudly, drawing the attention of those around.
"Is he always like this?" the receptionist sighed, then looked at me and Aldo.
"I want to join!" I said to the receptionist, eagerly.
"Well, in that case, please fill in the important information like name, age, race, abilities, and weapons if you have any. If you don't have a weapon, you can choose from the basic weapons provided by the Guild for free," the receptionist said warmly. "And what about you?" she asked, turning to Aldo.
"I think I'll stay here. I'm not cut out for fighting," Aldo said hesitantly.
"Is that so? You can wait here then. We have an intelligence team that will provide information as soon as possible if there's any issue. I'll keep a registration form for you in case you change your mind at the last minute or... you decide to stay," she smiled brightly and winked at Aldo, a signal too blatant and confusing, or maybe we were too young to understand.
I hope Aldo doesn't misinterpret this as a sign that we've been exposed and decide to eliminate the receptionist.
I finished filling out the registration form and received an iron longsword (though quite rusty) and a round wooden shield. Excitedly, I ran after Fermos as fast as I could, repeating the same mistake he just made.
Aldo also left, but he secretly followed me.
The innkeeper, where Aldo had been staying for 7 days, suddenly saw his silhouette pass by as she glanced through the glass window.
"Wow, my son used to be this energetic too..." she sighed, saying to herself.
"Goodbye, mother," the librarian, whom Aldo and I had met at the library, hurriedly said as he left.
"Wait, my dear!" she called out, "You should find a wife. You're already 26 years old, and you can't keep paying the high 'single tax' that increases exponentially."
"Mother, I'm an adult now, and besides, this is my personal matter," the librarian replied, his voice tinged with anger.
"But my dear, men are only allowed to stay single until the age of 23. You've been lucky to escape the death penalty or forced 'mandatory reproduction', but this is your third year paying this tax, and it's more than doubled. I'm worried it will severely affect you; look at you, your health is visibly deteriorating!" the innkeeper said with concern.
"Mother, there's no need to worry so much. I must go now," the librarian diverted the topic and quickly left without looking back even once.
The innkeeper sighed, her eyes filled with sadness but she quickly returned to a cheerful and welcoming demeanor as the bell rang and another guest entered.
Meanwhile, Aldo, dressed in a black cloak with red trim, black leather gloves, black boots, and a black mask with the emblem of hye wo nhye in red, had reached a bamboo forest on a hill, silently observing me and Fermos approaching a village from a distance.
"Young man, would you like to buy some charcoal?" a woman's voice whispered into Aldo's ear.
Aldo turned to look, and the woman got close to Aldo, their heads touching. From this close distance, Aldo could feel the cold and chilling breath from the woman. When the lenses in his mask switched to night vision mode, he realized he was standing next to a materialized ghost. With sunken eyes, long black hair, and pale skin, the woman in a brown dress hugged Aldo tightly, using her dark energy to immobilize him.
"Are you a Spirit? Do you have any regrets or unfinished business from when you were alive?" Aldo calmly asked.
"Please buy my charcoal," the woman held out her basket of charcoal, still pressing herself against Aldo, causing a cold and eerie sensation that made Aldo feel nauseous.
"Please..." the woman pleaded, her voice a whisper, and Aldo's body started to tremble from the cold.
"Alright, I'll buy it," Aldo sighed, handing the woman 200 copper coins and receiving a heavy basket of charcoal in return.
Aldo waited for the woman to disappear. Instead, she kept hugging him tightly.
"Miss, I think we should stop..." Aldo's life force continued to drain, and his vision blurred.
"You're so warm, I don't want to let you go just yet. I know this will affect you, but I didn't get to hold my first love for long, so I have one request..." the woman responded.
"No!" Aldo pulled out a cross that shone brightly, illuminating the entire area and awakening all the nearby wild beasts.
"What's that light?" I curiously looked towards the source of the light and then Fermos and I ran towards the bamboo hill to check it out.
Although my health wasn't fully recovered, the enhanced speed and reflexes from becoming a non-pure human helped us reach the scene in minutes. When we arrived, I saw Aldo in an outfit similar to the one who had killed the two guards, holding a jerking doll, and putting on a mask with his other hand.
"Aldo, what are you doing here?" I asked, bewildered.
"I was following you two in case anything bad happened... mainly to ensure your safety," Aldo replied.
"But you didn't register as an adventurer?" Fermos questioned skeptically.
"No need, my main sources of income aren't from doing guild missions, plus you don't have to be an adventurer to own weapons and intervene in some missions," Aldo explained.
"Nice deflection, but what's with that jerking doll you're holding?" I suspiciously pointed to the doll in Aldo's hand.
"Well, while following you two, a materialized Spirit was causing a ruckus near me, so I trapped it. I also spent a bit of money to buy this basket of charcoal..." Aldo explained, lifting the basket for us to see. Fermos, curious, opened it to check.
"It's a baby!!!" Fermos exclaimed in shock.
"A baby!?" Aldo and I looked inside and discovered it was indeed a baby, and more importantly, it was alive.
"Aldo, why is this 'charcoal' so strange?" I squinted at Aldo.
"You should ask the Spirit in this doll, not me!" Aldo raised the doll.
"Give it to me!" Fermos grabbed the doll and disappeared into a bush, leaving Aldo staring, puzzled. Aldo looked at me, and I shrugged.
After a while, Fermos returned and handed the doll back to Aldo.
"So... what did you and the doll talk about?" I eagerly asked.
"Aldoru, bring the baby in the basket home, keep it warm, and hand it over to the librarian. Veritas and I will head to the village to stop the witch as soon as possible," Fermos said, pulling me along.
"Did you strike a deal to exchange the baby for information about the witch?" Aldo asked, standing still.
"No need to know. But, yes, you guessed right. If only you could be as quick-witted in relationships as you are now, Aldoru~," Fermos smiled, then continued dragging me away.
Aldo just nodded slightly and headed back to Jejimon. I couldn't see his expression due to the mask and the darkness.
Now it was just me and Fermos, rushing towards the village.
"Wait, how can she have a child if she's a Spirit?" I questioned, confused.
"She gave birth to the child before she died. The child, through her dark magic, remained in a frozen state with minimal life activities until someone adopted it, at which point the child's normal life functions would return. That's when the child would truly be born," Fermos explained, handing me a piece of paper with the exact information.
"Aldo wrote this in such a short time?" I frowned, asking.
"Yes, Aldoru did," Fermos smiled, stopping and holding me back near the village.
"We're here, get ready!" with a sharp smile, I took out a brass pocket watch with a glass face, twelve Roman numerals from I to XII, and three hands for hours, minutes, and seconds. The watch currently showed 10:24:13.
"We have over 30 minutes," I replied calmly, putting the pocket watch away, gripping my shield and long sword. The two of us gathered our courage and charged into the village with high determination.