13 - Shopping

The writing on the paper looked like squiggling nonsense in his eyes, and Ake sighed out loud to make his discomfort noticed. He placed the paper down and looked at the lady in the eyes, and he held it there until the woman cocked her head.

“Is there a problem with the contract?” She asked.

Ake shook his head, “I’m afraid that it will take me some time before I can read this language.”

The lady gasped, “Oh my, I’m sorry, you speak so well even with your accent until I forget that the tribes have their own set of languages. Only a select few ever learn the common tongue of the human Kingdom, and they only learn the speech part of it. All the studies showed that they didn’t learn any writing not because it was difficult for them, but because they wanted to preserve their own language. It’s quite brilliant if anyone has asked me. This addition of how chieftains had developed the fish-catching technique would be another-”

Ake cleared his throat softly, “I’m sure this finding is really interesting to you, but it won’t solve our current issue.”

“You are right,” the woman blushed slightly. “I’m sorry to go on like that. It is my first time to meet someone like you. An obviously Initiated soul with the memories of the great tribal people. I wonder at what Initiate stage you were before, you know, your soul departed. It is wildly interesting until it gives me goosebumps thinking about it.”

His existence was an interesting combination for the surprisingly studious lady. The woman was a nerd disguised as an alluring business-only woman. She would probably spread her legs just because he showed her algebra or something.

“I can understand that, but I believe there should be a solution to our current issue?”

Her eyes glinted as somehow his indifferent act had piqued her interest. She then subtly readjusted her seat as if something was bothering her.

“But of course, it will make no sense if there isn’t, right?” Pris-Acilla smiled before she took out a semi-circular crystal out of nowhere. “This is a reading orb, it is used in dealing with people who do not understand each other’s writing. Please, use it,” she offered it to him.

It was pretty obvious why the crystal had a flat surface, and by the look of her expecting big blue eyes, the lady was looking forward to seeing if he could figure out how to use it.

A jovial smile drew on her face when he placed the flat surface on the paper and traced the words as if he were using a see-through lens or a scanner. It might be silly in one look, but how to use the device was only obvious to him, a soul from a modern world.

A true tribal boy would have no idea what the flat surface was for and the most common reaction probably would be trying to directly look through it.

When Ake injected a tiny amount of mana into the device, words began to appear inside his head as if someone was narrating it without any sound. He went over the short contract until he was satisfied and nodded to the lady.

He also could probably use it to learn the written language, but the thing probably would cost a fortune if it even sold locally at all. No one needed to tell him that he was at the fringe of society. That much was pretty obvious.

“How do I give my approval to this contract?” Ake asked the astounded lady.

“Oh, just mark the paper with your mana. But don’t forget to go through your unique method to catch a fish in your mind. The orb and the contract paper will work together to translate and record the steps. It is more convenient that way, don’t you think?”

“Yes, of course, it is,” Ake replied.

‘But at what kind of cost?’ he added inside his head.

There was a chance it could be used to sample his mana for whatever reason. If it was as unique as she suggested then he could compare them to blood or DNA. There probably were a lot of things one could do with the sample. Despite his suspicions, Ake did as she had asked and handed over the paper and the crystal.

The lady smiled as she did something before the document rolled on its own. She then took two golden plates and handed them to him together with the crystal.

“This is more than we agreed upon,” Ake said while he already suspected that she would do something like this.

“It is a gift to remember me on, I guess,” she smiled and crossed her long sexy legs. “There is plenty where it came from,” she added while clearly trying to win him over.

“Thanks, it will be very useful,” Ake said.

“Say, might I interest you with something more peculiar later, a talk over dinner perhaps?” the lady hinted while giving him the most naturally alluring smile he had ever seen.

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

“I would love it my lady-” Ake stopped himself and cursed inside as he had almost agreed on the spot. He looked away for a moment to hide it and recover.

“But I’m sorry, perhaps some other time,” he said and got up without paying any more attention to her.

He knew a scheming woman when he saw one. Whatever trap she was trying to lay, Ake rather not have any part of it.

He also didn’t even know if her interest was even genuine to begin with and he was not curious to learn what she had to offer. The beautiful noble might not be scheming at all but the dark depth he had been wouldn’t let up with its howls.

“But-”

“I’ll take my leave, then, Miss Pris-Acilla,” he cut the surprised lady off.

It was probably rude, but he still walked out of the room before she could gather her thoughts or say anything else to sway him. This was perhaps the best and only strategy he could take against such a lady.

Ake secretly breathed in relief as he got out.

Unlike other smooth players, he was able to pull it off only after a lot of practice, especially against such a woman. She perfectly fit in the gorgeous librarian slot inside his head. The old him would have easily swayed and panted at her like a dog and even licked her boots if she had asked.

Ake ignored the edgy cloaked person who was waiting outside. He was surprised that the girl had waited for so long but he wasn’t curious enough to ask why. Getting far away from the lady had become the first priority inside his head.

Before he left the premises, he went to the counter, placed a gold slate on the counter, and asked for a coin purse. How she could tell it was a gold slate was a mystery but the clerk handed over a tiny purse along with the change.

It was a simple fashioned small purse with a long thick cloth used to tighten the opening. Almost everyone had one and he had seen someone do the exchange and he could tell it was some sort of special coin purse with anti-theft measures.

“No one else can use this thing but me, right?”

“Yes, the purse can only store money and it is tied to your mana signature,” confirmed the clerk. “If the purse is lost, you’ll be able to trace it with a little bit of focus.”

Her eyes went wide when she looked up to see who she was dealing with, but Ake was already turning around at that moment. Magical purse or not, he had some shopping to do before anyone had a funny idea to rob him or something.

Thankfully, there was no sound when experimentally shook the tiny bag.

‘At least, I don’t have to carry jiggling coins everywhere,’ he mused.

Ake went to the shop where he had learned about the [Strand] and got himself a few pairs of the most common clothing for men. The thicker and studier tribal clothes were fine but they attracted too much attention to himself.

He changed to a plain cotton white shirt and black trousers in the shop’s changing room. He also paid extra for a simple leather bag to keep the old along with a few extra pairs of clothes. Ake learned there that no one would need more than a few spares, especially if he got the [Cleanse] sigil card with him.

The small talk had reminded him of the moment Liara dried herself up by the river. It was clear that she had wanted him to see her clothes sticking to her skin.

She had done it because she wanted him to undress her with his eyes. In hindsight, the tricky woman probably was using that moment to tell whether she should go forward with her plans for the night.

He never thought his terrible experience in the old world would someday save his life, and he was grateful the lady-girl felt guilty about him for whatever reason. If he wasn’t cursed, he might be able to get away with it neck still attached based on what she’d said.

Ake chuckled as he walked to the next recommended shop. He would need some leather work if he wanted to blend it as a ‘normal’ run-of-the-mill adventurer. Besides, being padded all over with thick leather made anyone feel a lot safer.

After the basic needs, Ake walked all over the town to do more sightseeing than actual shopping. Later on, he stopped by a random place for a very late lunch.

He walked in with the leather bag on his back, a dagger neatly sheathed on his reimbursed bandolier and two vials of potions secured in the said bandolier’s pocket. One of them was dyed red for healing and the other was dyed light blue for extra energy after a vigorous workout. The shopkeeper had wiggled his eyebrows at him when he asked the man about it and it confirmed its other very popular use among adults.

The reusable vials were made from spent [Ether] shards which made them almost unbreakable. This random small fact was more surprising than anything else the man could offer. He had to refuse the offered self-refilling vials as they were way beyond his budget but the fact did have greatly piqued his interest.

Nevertheless, it was a good sign when no one had gawked or had any noticeable reaction as he enjoyed the late lunch. The cute waitress hadn't scowled and that was already great news. The shop owner recognizing him and ordering a whole fish for himself was just icing on the cake. He refused at first but the promise of free dishes got him hooked in the end.

Of course, if he ignored the other equally enticing offers. The man had a lot of waitresses more than willing to do extra work for extra income.

The other reason Ake had agreed was because he would need more funds at this rate. The second-hand potion vials were terribly expensive but no doubt critical to anyone aiming to survive. He didn’t think he would ever need them anytime soon, but he still needed to act as such if he was to keep his tribal cursed-blessing combo a secret.

It was probably a pure accident when he caught a glance of the cloaked girl. He didn't react as it wasn’t really that surprising to be followed still but this had reminded him of something even more crucial.

He would need a final piece of the puzzle if he was to guarantee his survival. It would be needed before he could start to play around with [Skill]s.

It was almost dark when Ake returned to a cold empty place as Liara was nowhere to be seen. He was worried, of course, but he was told that she would be gone for a few days.

Regardless, Ake had to take this rare chance. It had been brewing in his mind since he was reminded of the fact.