"Alright, Hero. That'll be 200 gold—but like I said, you're getting a 30% discount. So your total comes to 140 gold."
"That's actually a good price," Sophia whispered, leaning in.
"Okay. Thank you, Archevin," Jan said, handing over the gold.
"Anything for our Guardian!" Archevin beamed, checking the coins. Then he added, "And don't forget—if you ever bring back good loot from hunting, this is the place to sell it."
"You buy items too?!" Jan asked.
"Of course. And at a good price." Archevin winked.
"Well, I've got a few things in my room. I'll stop by when I have time."
"Good." Archevin nodded, then seemed to remember something. He reached under the counter and pulled out a small flyer. "I've heard you're managing the guild for now. Would you mind posting this on the mission board?"
"I don't mind." Jan glanced at the paper. "Is this a mission?"
"Yes. I need materials to craft some new items."
"You make them?!" Jan looked around in surprise.
"Every item in this shop is my own handiwork," Archevin said with pride.
"That's really cool!"
"I told you," Sophia added. "He's the best in Valkeries—he made my uncle's sword!"
"Haha..." Archevin chuckled modestly. "I still think I could've done better."
"Oh, stop!" Sophia said. "Soulbuster is a masterpiece."
"Thank you, Princess." He smiled, then tilted his head. "But I don't see yours."
"It… it broke."
"Broke?!" Archevin exclaimed. "How?!"
"He did it." She pointed at Jan.
"I didn't mean to!" Jan said nervously.
Sophia shrugged, almost sorrowfully. "It is what it is."
"But for such a fine sword to break..." Archevin shook his head. Then he smiled. "Well, maybe it was for the best."
Sophia gave a faint smile. "Maybe."
"If you ever want to make a new one, just stop by."
"I will. When I have the money. But for now..." She patted the sword on her hip. "I'm keeping this one."
Archevin nodded.
"Well then, farewell!" Sophia said, turning to leave.
Jan followed, then turned back. "Is it okay if I take this mission?"
"Even better, Hero!" Archevin's face lit up.
"Alright then." Jan smiled and stepped outside.
The girls were already checking out a nearby accessory stall.
He sighed.
'I didn't know that sword was expensive. I feel bad now…'
Thinking of how to make it up to Sophia, he walked toward the two, who were still admiring the merchandise.
"That one is really cute!"
"I know, right?!"
"But the stats on it are garbage!"
"It's like they can't make something both cute and good!"
"I know, I know!"
The two giggled together.
Jan smiled, slightly confused.
It seemed they're friends again.
He looked up. The sun was starting to set.
"Guys, I think we should call it a day."
Sophia didn't argue. "Yeah… I wanted to show you more, but it's already late."
Aeris looked around, then booed him dramatically.
"Party pooper," she muttered as she passed him.
Jan sighed deeply.
'Wasn't she the one against this in the beginning?'
Growl—
'It's getting worse…'
They wasted no time. The three of them left the market and made their way back to the inn.
It was empty again.
Predictable, but still… odd.
A silent reminder of the strange situation in Valkeries.
A town without its rulers.
"Mom would've hated this," Sophia said as she lit the lamps with a flick of her fingers.
"I know. It doesn't feel right." Jan nodded.
"It's funny," she added, "how I hated this inn when I was a kid."
"You hated it?"
"Yeah. Mom and Dad were always busy—Guild stuff, Church duties—and they spent most mornings and evenings here. Always serving strangers."
"What about the Council Hall?"
"It's mostly for show. They're called the Three Councilors, but they do most of their work here. Weird, huh?" Sophia chuckled.
"Very weird, actually," Jan smiled. "But I get it."
"I thought you would." Sophia smiled back, softly.
Aeris rolled her eyes. "You get her, she gets you… when do I get to eat?!"
"Youuuu…" Jan squinted at her.
"What?!"
"You were the one booing me for ending the market trip a second ago!"
"Well, I'm hungry now." Aeris ran a hand through her hair and looked away.
"Like Mom always says—if you want to eat, dirty your hands too."
"Me?!" Aeris looked scandalized.
"Yeah. It'll be fun, trust me," Sophia said, pushing her toward the kitchen.
"But I've never cooked in my life!"
"There's always a first!" Jan said, grinning.
Soon, the three of them entered the kitchen and began preparing what was no longer lunch—but dinner.
Jan moved swiftly around the tidy kitchen, while Sophia and Aeris stumbled here and there. Despite a few moments of chaos, it all went smoothly enough, and the food slowly came together.
Sophia took charge of cutting vegetables, while Aeris—who firmly refused to touch any of the ingredients—was ironically the one to help Jan get the fire going.
Before long, the meat was sizzling on the grill. Jan left it to cook on low heat and decided to prepare one more dish: a warm soup to complement the meal. Fortunately, there were extra ingredients tucked away in the kitchen that Sophia hadn't noticed. Jan chopped more vegetables, added small cuts of meat, sprinkled in some seasoning, and let it all simmer in a pot.
An hour later, everything was ready and neatly served at the table.
[Congratulations! You've obtained a new skill: "Cooking Lv.1"]
"Whoa!" Sophia exclaimed. "I had my doubts, but everything looks so delicious!"
"I have to say, you really surprised me, Books," Aeris added with a smirk.
"Books?! Are we giving each other nicknames now?"
"Hahaha, that's a good one, Leaf!" Sophia laughed.
"Hehehe," Aeris giggled proudly.
Maria, who had just arrived as the food was being served, took a seat beside Jan with a puzzled look, watching Sophia and Aeris whispering and laughing.
"Did I miss something?"
"Oh, they're friends now," Jan said casually.
"When?!"
"Right after we went to the market."
"You went to the market…" Maria's eyes widened.
"We made sure to hide Aeris' identity!" He scratched his head.
"...Without me?" Maria muttered, lowering her head.
'Ah. She's more upset about being left out…'
Sophia called over to her, "Maria! Why are you sitting way over there? Come here!"
"I'm fine here," Maria replied flatly.
"Oh come on, don't be like that!" Sophia stood up, grabbed her sister by the arm, and pulled her over to sit beside them at the table.
Before long, the sad expression faded from Maria's face, and the three girls were chatting and giggling like old friends—sharing childhood memories, talking about their interests, and occasionally making fun of Jan.
He didn't mind. It wasn't the cruel kind of teasing—just playful.
Jan mostly ate in silence, only chiming in when spoken to. That was how he always ate back in the day, alone, and quick enough to return to his books. But since coming to this world, things had changed. First, it was Rollo who broke the silence. Now it was the three girls.
And to his own surprise, Jan didn't mind the noise. It was comforting.
After they finished eating, Aeris offered to clean the dishes. With a few elegant gestures, the plates and table sparkled clean. It seemed fire wasn't her only element—Jan had seen her use wind, and now water.
Even Sophia and Maria clapped in surprise, genuinely impressed.
Not long after, the girls headed to their room for what they called "A girls' night." Despite the name, Sophia still half-jokingly tried to invite Jan along—but he declined, deciding to retreat to his room and call it a day.
Click—
Jan shut the door behind him and glanced at the small desk on the left side of the room.
He sighed with relief. "Finally… I can read a little."
He grabbed one of the books he'd taken earlier:
Threadlines of the Tower: A Study of Interfloor Communication and Passage
"I never thought I'd end up reading a book about communication, but here we are."
The book wasn't large—maybe 200 pages—but it was dense with detail. It covered both Blessed Messages and Pulse Messages, both of which, apparently, functioned through magic.
"Not surprising. Everything in this world runs on magic."
Everything Sophia and Aeris had told him about Pulse Messages checked out—the book confirmed what they'd said.
Blessed Messages, however, were different. Each race worships its own deity. When a priest sends a Blessed Message, they channel the will of said god, transmitting the message through a divine network. The message could only be received by another priest in a temple that served the same deity.
If the message had to reach someone from a different race, it would be forwarded to the last town on their floor—and from there, delivered manually by climbing through the connecting tower floor.
"Maybe that's why we haven't heard anything from Sir Marcus yet…"
Jan closed the book with a sigh.
"Tomorrow's going to be a long day again. Better get some sleep."
As he changed his clothes, Jan could still hear the girls' indistinguishable chatter through the thin wall.
They clearly weren't planning on sleeping anytime soon.
But he was exhausted. It had been a long day.
"Learning magic turned out to be way harder than I thought… even with Loris Thorne's help," he muttered to himself, lying back on the bed.
"I did make some progress, though. They didn't seem to believe it, but I can feel it—I'm close."
"Tomorrow, I'll finish reading the book for sure."
"Maybe I'll finally find answers to my questions…"
He turned slightly.
"And maybe even something about this poison."
"...And I still have to reorganize the library."
Jan kept mumbling to himself until, mid-thought, he drifted off to sleep.
The girls didn't last much longer either. One by one, they dropped off—Sophia first, followed soon after by Aeris.
Maria, however, stayed up, reading Loris Thorne's book.
She only meant to read a few pages… but before she knew it, she was halfway through. The content pulled her in more than she expected.
It was, without a doubt, a magic book—something that shouldn't have been accessible in a place like public libraries. She couldn't help but marvel at the fact that it had somehow ended up here.
'I'll have to talk to Mr. Basil about this… and maybe even confiscate it.'
Still, one thing was clear.
'Poison hasn't been mentioned even once.'
Snore—Snore—
She glanced toward Sophia and Aeris, both curled up and snoring lightly like children.
Maria's eyes lingered on Aeris for a moment longer.
'There's still something off about all this…'
She closed the book and sighed.
'Guess I'll have to figure this out on my own.'