Rein’s house was not that big. It only has a single bedroom, a bathroom, a kitchen, and a small work room. That work room is located at the garage, which made it feel quite congested.
“If you wanted to take advantage of me, it would’ve been long ago.” The girl explained.
Rein wore the expression of ‘Are you joking?’ but the girl remained silent.
In the end, he sighed deeply.
“Fine. You can take the bed. I’ll sleep on the sofa.”
“No. I couldn’t ask my savior to sacrifice for me.” The girl made a long pause before seemingly coming to a decision. “If you want…”
The girl’s gestures suggested something about her body.
The tail on Rein’s waist stood up in response to it.
“Forget about it! We’re going to be party members, remember? I believe you are good enough to survive in that forest. If you want to talk about reimbursement, let’s talk again by then.”
The girl seemed speechless by his decision.
‘He’s not like that..? Is he really… a good person?’
Just as he had guessed, the girl also has a story. Pursuers are adamant on capturing her, and it was only by sheer luck was she able to escape.
If she encountered them again…
Forget about her insane magic talent, she would’ve been suppressed by then. She doesn’t know what would’ve happened to her after that, but it could only be bad.
Everything that she experienced up until now is the result of betrayal, hence her doubts.
‘Mister Rein is also strange. He looks like someone my age, but…’
She could only lament that there are people in this world having it worse than her.
“Livia. You can call me that.”
“Alright… Livia. I’ll take care of some things. We’ll be going to some places next.”
*****
Their first stop wasn’t the adventurer’s guild, but an unofficial shop that buys scavenged materials.
“It’s not as much as your usual harvest. Did something go wrong?”
The old bearded dwarf behind the counter continued appraising the items.
“I almost died. A dragon appeared within the place I scavenged. If I wasn’t lucky…”
“Well, you really have it in you. You didn’t believe me before.”
“...Maybe.” Rein muttered. “So, how much?”
“It’s not worth much… but you managed to get a rare cyclic battery. It’s still usable for laser blades two or three generations behind the current one.”
The old and young stared at each other.
“80,000 gils. You know the market price for the usual cyclic battery is at 100,000 gils.”
Considering logistics and the effort to ‘re-sell’ it through the dwarf’s contacts, it was a reasonable quote.
“Here.”
Rein gave his metallic card. Once the old dwarf swiped it into a slider, he gave it back.
“That’s a total of 80,000 gils.”
‘Two months of expenses…’
The currency of all the five powers in this world are gils. It is said to have been used since the previous era. They simply picked up what was left behind.
80,000 gils are the equivalent of 80,000 Yen. They are enough to live for an entire month if they are frugal enough. However, scavenging required gas, weapons, consumables, and the likes.
Thus, 80,000 gils could only last the current Rein two weeks or so.
‘Half for restock and the rest goes to the living expenses…’
Rein didn’t forget to ‘look’ at the old dwarf’s skill panel.
======
[Kain]
Age: 72 | Rank: 51 | 11
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
[Strength]: 17/30
[Power]: 4/10
[Weapon Mastery]: 5/10
[Sword]: 2/10
[Axe]: 4/10
[Life]: 13/30
[Recovery]: 5/10
[Regeneration]: 1/5
[Immunity]: 4/10
[Perception]: 3/10
[Mana Perception]: 2/5
[Life Perception]: 2/5
[Stealth]: 0/10
[Control]: 14/30
[Burst]: 5/10
[Shatter]: 1/5
[Projectile]: 1/10
[Dexterity]: 3/10
[Balance]: 0/10
[Energy]: 3/30
[Mana Control]: 1/10
[Mana Engraving]: 1/10
[Mana Affinity]: 0/10
[Mind]: 5/30
[Analysis]: 0/10
[Intuition]: 4/10
[Memory]: 2/10
[Willpower]: 3/10
[Faith]: 1/5
[Charisma]: 0/10
===========
‘Old man Kain is this strong?!’
Kain, the owner of this store, was someone whom his adoptive grandfather knew. They go a long way back, which is why he was fed well-enough even in the slums. He even offered to resolve the people eyeing his house, but Rein did it first by beating them all up.
A new idea entered his mind.
‘If Old man Kain is this strong, my grandfather…’
He had a hunch that his adoptive grandfather might’ve had his story too.
His attention was then drawn towards the skill panel. There are several sub-skills that he hadn’t seen before.
‘So the stats with thirty are the base. It’ll be followed by those with a limit of ten, and then five. Going deeper within a specific skill is a specialization of sorts.’
“You must’ve been shocked by your near-death encounter.”
“Oh… I’m good.”
The two talked for a while before Rein left the store.
The robed Livia greeted him. His current strength was more than enough to carry everything in a sack, while the more precious items were placed in his pockets.
“I’ll introduce you to the adventurer’s guild… but before I do, is your ID… it couldn’t be used, no?”
“...Yes.”
“We’ll have to make an extra trip.”
The two walked in mazes before arriving at a specific ‘repair store’. They housed pieces of guns, exoskeletons, and even laser swords.
“Oh, it’s Kain’s boy. I assume you’re here for something?”
A middle-aged man greeted him. He is a human who has lived in this city since he was born. Currently, he is operating a repair shop on the surface. However, he has ‘extra services’ under the table.
“I need a new ID.”
“Hm..? It’s not a temporary one, isn’t it?”
“I need a permanent one.” Rein replied. “It’s up to you to create her background. It only needs to be believable.”
“From the scratch… You’ll have to be careful of human interference, though.” Herman replied. “I need her original card. I’ll base some of her unique numbers from it. That way, it’ll be recognizable in all places.”
“That’s fine.”
Rein looked back at Livia, who had already understood everything. She took out her unique identification card under her robes. What made it different from Rein’s, however, is the extra insignia placed on the center.
“You…”
“Mister Herman.”
“You kid…”
While Herman, the shop owner, was shocked, Rein took the opportunity to scan his skill panel.
‘Stealth… Assassination is its derivative? Mister Herman is proficient in daggers and projectiles. An assassin, perhaps…’
His world opened up little by little.
With the number of ‘strange’ people around his adoptive grandfather and his friend Kain, Rein is already certain that they are not simple.
‘Points in Mana Engraving… and there’s a derivative [Tool Making]. So that's how he modifies his weapons?’
While Herman might have less points than Kain, his specialization went further.
“I’m not going to talk about the nobles. 3,000,000 gils.”
“Deal.” Rein immediately accepted his offer. “But I can only fork out 200,000 gils for now. That’s my life savings.”
“I trust you, kiddo. Just pay me back when you can.”
Rein actually has 300,000 gils in total, but he didn’t say it upfront as the remaining 100,000 gils will be used by him to buy new equipment.
He had been saving for a long time for a residency in the better places in the outer area, but since he gained this skill panel, he chose to go all-in to develop himself.
He could’ve bought a house in a better place than the slums, but his perseverance told him not to. It would’ve been the same if the city was invaded—only the inner and core areas offer increased protection.
“Mister Rein…”
“A noble girl like you wouldn’t simply run home with that look. I guessed it might’ve something to do with your politics.” He explained. “Don’t worry about your ID. You would still be recorded on the database, but it will be hidden under the guise of ‘Livia’. You’ll be able to use it just like usual, but without the insignia.”
“No, it’s not that… Why… Why are you willing to help me?”
Rein looked at her straight in the eyes.
‘A comrade… I wanted one, huh…’
Considering Livia’s strength and the personality she showed him until now, he thought she could be a trustworthy person. After all, he only cared about the things ‘money’ could bring, not the money itself.
If he could have a trustworthy ally at the cost of his savings, he wouldn’t hesitate to do so.
“We’re already party members, aren’t we?”