The Human counted out several coins and put them in two pouches. "This one is for you, for the eradication of the bandit camp. Considering the Faith Vampire was not an official Guild mission, you will not receive compensation for it, however, I will request a special commendation for you considering the situation. You have also been given five percent of the reward for the Avarice Fiend, as you were with an officially recognized member of the Guild."

The total for the lives of an entire camp of living people and the destruction of an Avarice Fiend came down to thirty Trias, almost six times the amount I got from cleaning the risky areas of Lissana's home. I understood now why people would be attracted to being an Adventurer, dangerous work led to lucrative payment.

"You will need to pay Cier ten Trias." Nash said.

"What?" I asked. "This is the first time I'm hearing of this."

"It's for the emotional turmoil you put him through." Nash explained. "He may not show it, but he was deeply concerned for your well-being."

I nodded and set aside ten Trias for Cier. "Shall we look at equipment then?" I asked.

He nodded. I thanked the woman for her time- she introduced herself as Wyll when she realized she hadn't done so before- and Nash and I left the Guild Hall.

"Did you pay any attention to what the Adventurers were wearing?" He asked.

"Yeah." I said. "Lots of metal or leather armor, very little cloth." I said. "I'm assuming there are enchantments on the metal armor that reduces weight and improved mobility?"

He shot me a look. "What? No. Most armor can only have up to two enchantments on it at any given time, not counting armor made from materials that already provide some manner of magical enhancement." He said. "You simply become strong enough that the weight of the armor does not fatigue you."

"That's pretty unrealistic, though." I said. "It would take a lot of exercise to become that strong, which unless everyone in the world is a goddamn body builder at birth, there has to be other things to take into consideration, especially considering how thick some of those metal plates looked."

He nodded. "Ah, that was what drew your attention." He said. "In those instances, yes, there are weight reducing enchantments on armor that thick, though those Adventurers usually go after powerful beasts where having thick steel between them and a large weapon is vital." He nodded. "Having magical protection is more important overall as it diverts most of the force that would otherwise flatten or cut you in half."

I nodded. We came to an armorer's shop and entered. There was mostly leather and metal armors, with very few made of other materials. "You said that cloth armor is practically useless, yet it's still sold." I pointed out.

"In most instances, it is used for duels decided through strictly mundane means." Nash said. "And fighters in the arena are restricted to mundane weaponry, and thus find this to be a reasonable option."

I thought about what Nash had told me before. "Then if I don't need a whole lot of Felvore leather to keep myself protected, then I can get the bare minimum required to protect myself and have a gambeson for the sake of protecting myself from mundane damage, on the off chance that some damage still leaks through."

Nash sighed. "Very well, if you insist on wasting your money." He said.

Since Felvore leather would passively protect me regardless of how well-covered I was, that meant having it protect my extremities was better. I bought the gambeson, a pair of spaulders, a pair of vambraces, a pair of greaves, a pair of tassets, and leather boots. It was all fitted for me, and the price for it all being unenchanted was fifteen Trias out of the thirty total I had saved up.

"You at least look like you could take a hit or two." Nash remarked. "But what about your face?"

"I recall having a mask that would make for excellent face armor." I said. 'Now that I think about it, cursed items tend to be difficult to destroy regardless, and I do have a few things I want to test out later...'

"Fair enough." Nash said.

We left the shop and went to a weapon shop. Nash watched me as I considered various weapons, and I decided on a short sword with a minor sharpening enchantment, which cost five Trias.

"Is there someone I could speak with regarding making a custom scabbard for this?" I asked.

"Decorating a scabbard costs five Velkas." The shopkeeper said.

"Not decorating." I said. "Designing an entirely new one."

"What do you mean?" He asked.

I pulled out my phone and pulled up a schematic. "Well, I have this design for a scabbard designed to be worn on the back, called a 'Shabbard', named after the inventor." The shopkeeper gave me a look. "It's designed to allow quick and secure drawing and sheathing of a sword from the back, if you know someone who can make this, I'd be grateful."

"I could give it a try." He said, "This item doesn't do well for letting me see the smaller details-"

I just zoomed in, which made his eyes widen. It didn't take him long to figure out the touchscreen, and after some time, he had the schematic sketched out on some paper with some charcoal.

"This particular design is for a longsword." He noted. "But I could see how it could work for a short sword. It'll cost a Trias since I'm fairly certain I'm wasting materials on this."

I had no problem paying him. "Come back next Wyrandur." He said, which translated in my mind to something similar to Wednesday. "I'll have it finished by then."

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

"I look forward to it." I said.

With sword and armor purchased, we left the weapon shop and walked back to Lissana's manor.

"A 'Shabbard'." Nash said. "The name does not inspire much confidence in its quality."

"Just wait until you see it." I said. "You'll be begging for one before you know it."

"We will see in three days." He said. "Tomorrow, we will resume training where we left off, I hope you have not neglected yourself too much."

"Of course." I said.

When we arrived, Nash went to report to Lissana, and I went to the Cursed Item storage. In the time I'd been gone, more things had shown up, which meant Cier and I would have to go through everything again. I went over to the shelf where the things we'd 'solved' were set, or at least understood well enough to have someone more knowledgeable deal with them. My attention was drawn toward the white gloves that had covered me with a skin-tight suit, while fire was good at removing the magically constructed cloth, putting the gloves on again resulted in the same. Since there was little practical use for them, by most standards, and they couldn't be destroyed easily, there was little reason to keep them. I took them so I could test a few things out with them. Cier had given me permission to use them for testing purposes since they were understood enough to not cause problems. I also took the knife that had been reworked to never cut the wielder and went to my room.

After undressing, I put the gloves on, which triggered their curse. Within moments, I was covered. Whether it was an accident or a feature, the cloth didn't impair my vision, so even though there were no holes or gaps, I was uninhibited.

I tested an unenchanted knife against the cloth, which didn't give at all, nor did it allow me to be cut. The knife that couldn't cut me did work, though the cloth just mended itself immediately, and my sword did nick my arm, which interestingly enough caused the cloth to sew the cut closed. I wrote this down, stating that the gloves could act as an impromptu field surgeon. I meditated for a couple of hours, before using my one divine spell to remove the cursed gloves. I heard the bell ring for dinner and got dressed. I gathered the notes I'd made, the coins I'd set aside, and went to the dining hall. I saw a male Aelfan with Lissana outside the Dining Hall.

"-of course, the Human tripped over his words when he realized with whom he was speaking." He said in the same tone of voice Richt had spoken in after the whole Vampire thing, which told me this man was nobility. Lissana looked bored, though her expression lightened when she saw me. The Aelfan noticed at looked at me.

"Ah, and who is this?" He asked. "A bit richly dressed for a common man, but without the countenance of nobility." He paused. "Well, speak up, Human."

"My apologies." I said with a bow. "I am a stranger in these lands, and am unfortunately ignorant of how to properly address a Lord." I stood up straight. "Begging your pardon, do I introduce myself first, or explain my reason for being here?"

He clicked his tongue. "A foreigner. More trouble than you're worth, I'd wager." He looked me over. "I'd say you never worked a hard day in your life, a vagrant, perhaps?"

"A guest." Lissana stated. "And at times, a helpful one. He is the one who killed the Vampire who hid under the Temple's nose, who also saved my head servant's life, and by extension, my purse. I would ask that you offer him some degree of respect."

"Identify yourself, then." He said.

"Rex Bahrot Rotenkaiser." I said.

"A lie?" He noted.

"A curse, one that my Lady has graciously worked hard to remove." I said. "I owe her much, and at times I help where I can."

"In what manner?" He asked.

"Nothing scandalous, I assure you." I replied. "If there is something that falls under my talents, I am more than happy to oblige her."

Time froze, his right hand held over a dagger. I took a step backwards and to the right, dodging him drawing and slashing the dagger at me, he narrowed his eyes and he made to attack me again. A whack from Nash's tail made him stumble forward.

"Do not attack my Lady's guests." Nash hissed.

"I was merely testing him." The Aelfan stated, sheathing the dagger.

"Do not lie to my face." Lissana stated. "My brother you may be, you have no authority within my household. I know well your tendency to kill Humans for simply existing, do not forget my desire to help all who come to me."

He didn't answer, he simply walked into the Dining Hall.

"How do I say this politely?" I wondered as I looked at Lissana. "Your brother's a dick."

"He is only here to ensure I have not chosen a Human as a consort." She said. "He can be overzealous, but his intentions are meant well."

"The road to Hell's paved with good intentions." I said.

"Hell?" She asked. "I am not familiar with a concept such as this."

"It's a plane of eternal suffering as depicted in one of my Home world's major religions." I said. "The phrase basically means, even those with good intentions may find themselves in an unpleasant position as a result of their actions."

She nodded. "I understand." She said. "He will be staying here for the next three days, as he has business in the city."

I nodded. "If he picks a fight with me, I will refrain from engaging unless I have a good reason. I am, after all, your guest, and being violent within your home would be rude."

"Thank you." She said. "I do not want you to choose inaction only, but knowing you are at least willing to be peaceful is a relief."

I bowed to her. "It is the least I could do, Lady Wyrashe." I said.

We entered the Dining Hall. Her brother was sat where I usually sat, which I didn't particularly care about, she only allowed me to sit there because I made for interesting conversation. I ate in silence as he described an incident between him and a Human, describing in detail how horrible the Human acted, and how it fell upon him to punish his grave insolence. I knew he was trying to antagonize me, but I simply feigned neutrality.

"You're a strange Human." He remarked. "Are you retarded?"

"Yes, actually." I replied. "I'm barely capable of speaking two words, as can so clearly be demonstrated."

He did not look amused, though my sarcasm made Nash roar with laughter. "With permission, may I inquire as to what you do when you are not visiting my Lady?"

"I am the Lord of Coin in the Empire." He said with his head held high. "I manage the taxes and the budget of the Empire, it is a very important job." He smirked. "One I'm sure you would have trouble understanding."

He wasn't wrong, I'd never really understood taxes on Earth, I could only wonder at how complicated it could be here.

"Taxes are very important to the infrastructure of any government." I remarked. "In the nation I grew up in, they go to everything from maintaining roads and plumbing to free education and welfare for the less fortunate."

"A free education?" He scoffed. "That would be way too expensive."

"For a nation of, oh, 325.7 million people, not really." I replied. "I spent around twelve years attending school, and I've used my education to help as much as I can." I looked at Lissana. "By the way, how has Beatrice's work improved since I taught her what I know?"

Lissana smiled. "The quality of her work has improved greatly." She replied. "She's figured out a way to produce salt in large quantities, which I believe will relieve some of the tension on the Hunter's Guild since they will not have to pay a premium for making salted meat."

"Haven't Alchemists worked for years to create salt?" Lord Wyrashe asked. "Was it not deemed impossible?"

"The salt used in tonight's dinner was created by our esteemed Alchemist." Cier stated.

Lissana nodded. "The results of her experimentation have been sent to the Emperor for verification." She said. "We are certain it will help ease the financial stress the embargo against Latran goods has caused. I am certain that the process will have to be heavily regulated from how deceptively easy it is."

"You are telling me a Human discovered the means to create salt?" Lord Wyrashe asked.

"Even Humans are capable of discovering new things, Lodran." Lissana stated.

Lodran's face was red, it was amusing to see how angry this was making him.

"Lady Wyrashe." I said, and Lissana looked at me. "Today, I learned through Appraisal at the Adventurer's Guild Hall that I have a few useful abilities, as well as further context for how my magical talents work."

"Oh?" She asked.

I nodded. "It seems I passively generate what is defined as Mana Units, of which I can hold 100 at most as of the present moment, though using a Focus Crystal, I can accumulate up to 1000, which will allow me to cast a spell of equivalent power to a lesser spell." I said. "I can also gift this mana to another person, and in around eight minutes, I can restore a spell use to a mage, bypassing the need to rest. I can also meditate for two hours and restore the one spell gifted to me from Bahamut, rather than wait the full time needed to regain it otherwise. In essence, I could assist any spellcaster and give them more spells to cast in a day."

"This is excellent news!" She exclaimed. "Being able to heal more people would mean I could help those who require less immediate healing!"

The glare Lodran gave me sent a chill down my spine. I knew it was a little risky to reveal this in front of him, but I needed to have him know that he couldn't target me.

I wondered how he would react in the days to come...