Science/Magic

Chapter 53: Calice (3)

"Bloed, that Gerald is not a good person. He probably will try something funny." Liu Ying said as soon as we left Gerald's sight.

"I know." Bloed nodded. "But don't worry, he will not try anything."

"Huh? Why are you sure? His sister seemed dissatisfied."

This time, Regina replied with a snort. "Are you an idiot, demon? They obviously are wary of our background."

Liu Ying wanted to refute Regina's words, but to be honest, she still did not understand.

It was not that Liu Ying was stupid, however, she was not very good when it comes to plots and hidden intentions. As she said to Bloed before, she was not suited to be a ruler.

Fortunately, Bloed was here to explain to her. "Think about it, Liu Ying. What is the first thing that comes to your mind when Regina calls me master?"

Liu Ying tilted her head. A few seconds later, however, she understood. "... That you are a young noble."

"Bingo. I heard Gerald's butler whispering to him that we were probably of a noble background. Plus, anyone can see that the three of us are not simple people. They just need to feel our strength and our demeanor to realize that we are different than normal commoners. It's true that Gerald's intentions were not good, but he is not a fool. He will not make an enemy he doesn't know anything about just for a puppy for his sister."

"In other words, we are safe."

"Not completely." Bloed shook his head. "There is the possibility that I overestimated them and they are foolish enough to attack us. But if something like that happens, we just need to retaliate. At most, we will kill the people they sent."

Liu Ying nodded with a smile. "You are right. We just need to kill them."

In the end, Liu Ying was someone that survived inside the exiled lands where powerful monsters roam. She was not easily scared.

Besides, with Leto with them, they could escape if the situation turned dangerous.

"Let's not worry about them." Bloed shrugged indifferently. "Now, we need to worry about finding a place where to sleep."

"Master, I will go to ask in the inns."

Bloed shook his head. "No, let's go to the exchange center Gerald mentioned. Perhaps we will find something useful there"

The exchange center was the place where the city's administration buys mana cores and monster's materials. After the adventurers and hunters return from an expedition, they would bring their loot there to exchange it for money.

But with the time, the exchange center had become much more than that. Currently, you could not only sell materials there but also buy weapons, get information, and take missions between other things. You could say that the exchange center was the core of Calice's economy.

The group did not need much time to find it. As a popular place in the city, everybody knew about it. Bloed just needed to ask around to get detailed information on how to reach there.

When they arrived at the place, they were greeted by a completely crowded giant building. There were hawkers selling things, people shouting for missions, adventurers searching for a group, and people selling magic cores. For an instant, Bloed got the feeling he had entered a video game.

Of course, if you ignored the bothersome noise of the crowd talking and the stench of people in a middle-age-like city.

After Bloed asked around to know where to go, someone pointed to a line.

Bloed and the girls went there.

After he lined up for the second time today, a clerk-like woman attended them.

"Good morning, we are searching for a place to stay."

The woman nodded. She observed the group carefully and saw that their clothes and demeanor seemed refined. Quickly, she judged them to be nobles, in other words, people with money.

"Of course, what kind of place do you need?" She asked enthusiastically.

Bloed thought for a moment. His first idea was a simple inn, but now that he thought better about it, he decided to ask for a better place.

At least, he needed a place with three rooms, a bath, a kitchen, and a big courtyard where he could install his laboratory.

When the clerk heard Bloed's requirements, her face brightened. Only expensive places had big courtyards, and expensive places meant more commission for her.

"I understand. Let me see through our archives to see if we have something for you."

She then searched through a huge stack of papers until finally taking five of them out.

"These are the only places in the city that meet your requirements. What do you think about them?"

Bloed simply chose a random one between them without much thinking. He was just going to stay here for one week, after all, so he did not need to be so picky.

But when the clerk heard that Bloed and the girls only were renting the place for a week, her expression dimmed.

"One week?"

Bloed nodded. "Yes. We are not going to be in this city for long."

The clerk shook her head. "I'm sorry, young master. But you need to rent the place for at least one month. That is our rule."

Bloed furrowed his brows. He looked at the price of the house and fell silent.

It was very expensive.

In truth, Bloed did not care about the money. Money was nothing more than something slightly useful for him. If he wanted, he could mint his own money easily. In fact, simply selling the mana cores in his possession was enough to buy ten houses like this one.

But he did not like the feeling of paying for something he was not going to use.

Bloed sighed. But when he was about to concede and pay the entire month of rent, someone came and whispered something to the clerk.

The clerk's expression changed. She looked at Bloed and the girls nervously and nodded.

"Young master, we just received information about a place available, and the owner agreed to rent it for one week."