Chapter 29

She stuttered like a buffering video, then suddenly shrieked.

“Why!?”

“Because when I sold to Master Falun, there were two feathers. Now there’s only one left. And as everyone knows, the rarer the item, the higher the price.”

“…You… rotten…”

Her face flushed so red that even her long ears turned crimson. I raised a finger right in front of her nose. She froze, the anger caught in her throat.

“Well, there is a way to match Falun’s price exactly. If you close your eyes and grant me one small request…”

“…A r-request? What kind of request?”

“Just brew me three more portions of that ‘Lake of Gouphus’ potion. Ingredients can come out of the change. Think of it as me being generous.”

“……”

“Go on. Make them.”

“…Fine.”

Moments later, three large beakers of bubbling devil’s sludge were set on the table. The stench was so vile she had a clothespin clamped tight on her nose.

She mumbled through it, nasal and muffled.

“I made it just as you asked, but… what do you plan on doing with these?”

The sight alone was enough to trigger my PTSD, but I swallowed the gag and grinned at her.

“What else? Potions are meant to be drunk.”

“…You’re going to drink more? But you already completed your Imagery. Drinking this now won’t change anything.”

“Why the hell would I drink it?”

“Then who…?”

“You.”

“……”

“……”

“…Excuse me?”

I shoved the beakers toward her with a bright smile.

“You drink it.”

“…Why me?”

“Because that’s the discount condition.”

“……!!!!!!”

Yes. That face. That’s exactly the expression I wanted to see.

Later, Shia and I took a table at a restaurant near the Purple Magic Tower. As soon as we finished ordering, we looked at each other and burst into giggles.

“Kuhuhu… Are you a demon, my dear? That elf actually cried at the end.”

“She started it. Ever heard of ‘reap what you sow’?”

“Still, three beakers was cruel. Did you not see the murderous gleam in her eyes? If she’d had the ‘Book of Danathephoros,’ the one said to kill anyone whose name was written inside, your name would have been on the first page.”

“Danathephoros? What’s that?”

“A mythical tome from the Age of Legends. Writing someone’s name in it supposedly caused their death.”

“…So basically a Death Note. Whatever. She was overjoyed when she got the feather, wasn’t she? That’s good enough.”

“…Somehow, I doubt that erased the resentment of nine pukes, seven fainting fits, and three accidents in her pants…”

Yeah. The way she clutched the feather while smiling through tears of blood… even I got a little nervous.

“Nothing comes free. She tried to wring ten million sels out of me for one feather, and I knocked it down to 3.5 million. She ought to be grateful.”

“You squeezed plenty out of her on top of that.”

“Well, that too.”

I chuckled and pulled out a pile of loot from the Hero’s Backpack—all extracted from the elf mage.

Shia shook her head at the sight.

“Wand, staff, five beginner spellbooks, assorted potions… quite the haul.”

“I even got her to promise at least five free lectures if I ever get stuck.”

“…Not a demon, but someone who could swindle a demon. Hahaha…”

“E-excuse me, your food is here.”

We cut the banter short as the waiter set down the plates, then devoured the meal like warriors.

Shia always loved eating, and I’d burned a ton of calories at the tower myself.

In thirty minutes we polished off enough for ten, then leisurely returned to dessert.

“Since you’re officially a mage now, show me a spell.”

“Here? Really?”

“Yes. At the very least, you should be able to use a first-tier spell.”

“…Well, true. Alright, let’s try.”

I closed one eye and focused, searching for my Imagery.

This was the so-called half-eye method, a beginner’s trick used by novices to accustom themselves to perceiving both Imagery and reality at the same time.

At once, part of my consciousness was drawn in, and the Imagery world opened before me.

‘…Got it.’

This wasn’t like before—I wasn’t completely dragged into the Imagery, separated from reality.

Now, with my open eye I saw reality, and with my closed eye I saw the world of my Imagery.

I glanced between the fake Shia welcoming me inside my Imagery and the real Shia beside me in reality, slipping into thought.

‘Using the half-eye method dulls the sense of reality a bit. Feels awkward, like I’m floating. And time flows the same here as it does in reality. So unless I’m tranced out by that potion, this is how I “connect.”’

Carefully, I moved the version of myself standing in the Imagery. Following the elf mage’s advice, I made sure my real body didn’t mimic the movement. Then, with a hand full of mind mana, I drew out the smallest meaningful unit of mystic power—the rune.

[ᚺ⋅ᚺ]

Once the rune pattern formed, I projected it into reality, invoked the activation word, and released the result.

“…Force Bullet, first level.”

Thunk!

The invisible blast struck the stone floor with a sharp crack.

Heads turned. A waiter rushed over, looking distressed.

“Sir, please don’t use magic in here.”

“Ah, sorry about that.”

I offered a sheepish smile.

‘“Don’t use magic in here,” huh…’

Which meant, in their eyes, I really was a mage now.

Yeah. I was officially a mage.

“…My dear, that wouldn’t even swat a fly.”

…Still, very much a low-level one.

A few days later.

One thing I realized after staying in the Kesala March for a while—it was actually a pretty decent place to settle down.

Just as Master Falun said, the domain itself was rich.

That meant Marquis Baltrak, the ruler, and his nobles could fill their coffers without squeezing the peasants to death. Thanks to that, the people here lived far better than the miserable souls in Sinan.

For example, Baltrak only taxed his subjects—including those in the capital city of Central—at forty percent.

Forty percent might not sound merciful, but in this backward medieval world, “peasants must be worked until they can neither live nor die” was considered wise governance. Compared to the standard sixty to seventy percent, forty was generosity incarnate.

On top of that, there were no extra taxes like window tax, defense tax, or head tax. Even the sub-lords who held fiefs under the Marquis rarely pushed beyond fifty percent, lest they draw his ire.

‘…Not bad at all.’

Of course, that didn’t mean it was paradise.

–Twenty percent of the population were slaves, mostly imported from elsewhere.

–Beggars rotted in the slums, worse off than the slaves.

–Even in Central, crimes like kidnapping, murder, and robbery were common.

–Nobles sometimes killed peasants just for blocking their carriage, then forced the families to pay “compensation.”

‘…Still, compared to other places, this really is livable.’

Shia agreed with me.

“True. It’s rare, even in the south, to see tax collectors and peasants greeting each other with smiles.”

“…So what do you think? Should we actually settle here?”

“If you ask me, I think it’s a fine idea. And it’s the Labyrinth City, no less. For someone who lives by the sword, there are few better options.”

I nodded. Right. With the Purple Magic Tower nearby and an acquaintance or two made, it wasn’t a bad place to learn magic either.

And if it turned out not to suit us, we could just leave.

“…Alright. Let’s give it a try.”

From then on, Shia and I spent days discussing where in Kesala we should put down roots.

The Kesala March was twice the size of the Korean peninsula, meaning conditions varied drastically from place to place.

“What if we just stay here in Central? Highest standard of living, all the conveniences…”

Shia tapped the guidebook and shook her head.

“Did you not read? The labyrinth entrance in Central is only open to the Marquis and a handful of nobles.”

“I know, but we could keep a house in Central and commute to another fief for labyrinth work. Look—Nailton Viscounty isn’t far. A single horse would be enough.”

“They tax outsiders an extra fifteen percent. If you don’t mind that…”

“Yeah, no.”

I immediately crossed Nailton off the list. No way was I paying fifteen percent extra.

“What about Gomung Barony? Adventurers only pay twenty-five percent there.”

“Too rural. The main industry is wheat farming, the labyrinth is an afterthought, and the infrastructure’s nonexistent. Cheap taxes don’t make up for that.”

“Hmm… then maybe…”

We pored over maps and notes for two and a half days before finally reaching an agreement.

“Phew. After all that, we’ve circled back here.”

Shia jabbed her finger at the map of Kesala with a triumphant grin.

“I told you there was no need to waste time.”

“Yeah. This is definitely the best choice.”

–The Seol Viscounty.

An oval-shaped domain stretching east to west, encompassing the sea to the east, plains in the center, and rugged mountains in the west—a miniature of the whole March.

It was the third largest fief after the Marquis’s own lands, with a population of 370,000. Roughly the size of Korea’s Gyeongsang Province—comparable to Daegu or Incheon.

‘And the real kicker—the adventurer tax rate.’

Starting at thirty-five percent, the rate decreased with adventurer rank, dropping as low as fifteen percent at the top.

“Perfect!”

Shia leapt to her feet and clenched a tiny fist.

“Then let’s pack and head out right away!”

“Right now?”

“Do we have anything else to do here?”

“…Not really.”

“Then what are we waiting for!? We leave at once!”

She clambered onto my shoulder with practiced ease, bouncing excitedly.

I sighed and stuffed clothes, books, and supplies into the Hero’s Backpack.

“Alright, fine, we’ll go. But why are you so hyped?”

“Because for the first time, I’ll have a place to live! My own home!”

“…What about the Demon King’s castle?”

“That was a prison, not a home! Who would call that hideous ice cage a house? Enough talk—let’s go! We’re buying the biggest, most luxurious mansion there!”

“Alright, alright, stop shaking me. Or get down and help pack.”

After dropping by the Purple Magic Tower to grab a letter of introduction from Sodin Cross, I joined a caravan heading straight to Seol Viscounty.

Not the main highway that detoured through every fief like a restaurant crawl, but a small trading company alliance taking a shortcut directly from Central to Seol.

The reason was simple: shorter travel time, and no tolls from every lord along the way.

I watched the caravan get ready and muttered under my breath.

“Wouldn’t it be easier to just use a portal? It’s not like I can’t afford it.”

Shia tugged hard on my hair and cackled.

“We’ve already tried portals, walking, and carriages. Now we’ll travel like ordinary folk do. That’s what you call romance!”

“…Sure. Whatever you say.”