After three days at full gallop, with only the occasional stop to stretch our legs, we arrived at the Imperial Capital: Arwintar.

Honestly, the comparison between the countryside of the Kingdom and Empire was like night and day. Dirt paths gave way to cobble and stone fitted roads. Also, I can only speak for the road we traveled on, but we certainly didn't run into another group of bandits on our way.

Except for those times the homunculi alerted me that ‘bandits’ were approaching us when in reality they were just guards patrolling the roads. Apparently the armor the patrols wore was of ‘equally’ poor quality as the ‘first group’ we encountered.

I eventually hammered into them that not all poorly equipped individuals are bandits. It only took five groups of ‘bandits’ for it to stick.

Overall, our short time in the Empire was a refreshing change of pace from the droll and rural views of the Kingdom I had seen around E-Rathel.

Smiling, I looked at the two newly minted burnets. Due to their unique features, I used my [Alter Appearance] spell on the homunculi with me. Now they were fair skinned girls with matching brown hair and brown eyes. Much less conspicuous than the near albinos they actually are.

As we passed through the main gates into Arwintar, we settled on our ‘story’. I, the mage Lilly, and her two maids, Eva and Mya, were travelers from a distant land. We came here to explore and learn. Something, Something, Something. Figure out the rest as we go along.

The one thing that really stuck out about Arwintar as our carriage came upon its smooth brick road was how grand everything looked. All the buildings were made out of stone. From the smallest hut to the massive Hagia Sophia looking structure at the center of the city. The streets were orderly and clean. The road even was segmented into different lanes for oncoming traffic. Lanterns and light posts ran along the streets. While they were off right now due to it being a little past dawn, I could easily see them lighting the long streets at night.

Truly a marvelous city; by this world’s standards.

We eventually came to a stop near a tavern. I assume it's a tavern given the beer mug sign out front. Thankfully, none of the other horses around seemed put off by the less than natural steeds that were pulling our carriage.

I hopped out with a spring in my step. My heels clicked on the smooth stone beneath. Oh it was good to finally walk! Felt like I’d been sitting in that damn thing for weeks!

Okay, first things first! We need a place to stay.

“Eva, you take the carriage and find a place we can purchase. Use some of the gold we have. Mya, your with me.” I addressed the first one.

Quickly, one of the newly minted ‘maids’ rushed to my side and straightened her apron.

Eva took the reins of the carriage.

“Is there anything you wish for in particular My Lady,” she asked.

Hmmm. What did I want?

Humming, I ran off my list of wants. "It should be a house. Not too big, but neither too small. Could be more than one story, either up or down is fine. Should have some kind of stable or something to keep the striders. But I really just need it to have room to work with and a small secluded area where I can do my experiments in peace. If it's not in the best shape, that's fine. I can work with ‘fixer-uppers’ if I need to. If you have to pay a little more than the price of the place that’s also fine, we’re not struggling for gold.”

Eva digested my instruction and nodded. “Very good My Lady.”

“Good, remember to let me know when you have something.”

“Yes My Lady,” with that final acknowledgement, she took the reins again and directed the carriage onwards.

I waited until the carriage had cleared the corner before moving.

“What are we to do My Lady,” Mya questioned as we walked.

“First, lunch,” I declared.

Now while I was anxious to taste some food for the first time in days, ring of sustenance can only satiate my desire for real food for so long even if it keeps me from feeling any hunger, I actually had a second goal in mind. I needed to know how to use money.

More accurately, I needed to know the value of money.

There's no point in having money if you don't know how much something goes for here. Worst case scenario, I get scammed out of my money by merchants overcharging for everything when they see ‘silly foreigners not knowing the value of money’. I mean sure, I can always just transmute more gold when I need it. But I’d rather not just bungle my way from transaction to transaction.

Looking around at the storefronts as we passed, I was struck by the environment. The vibrant colors. The people. The sheer energy of it all. This was what I had been missing for so many years. Pure human interaction. I am, for a lack of better words, starved for interactions.

The bandits I killed don't count.

It was hard to hide the giddiness in my step at it all. Or hide my unabashed amazement at the surroundings. To be fair, that last one can be easily explained by my ‘backstory’. But if I saw a girl doing the stuff I was doing, I’m pretty sure I’d think this was their time in a city.

I know I was getting some stares. I blame both myself and the outfit. It makes me look awesome, sure, but it also makes me look like some adventurer rather than just a traveler. The machete sized sword at my waist is also not helping.

“My Lady,” I heard Mya begin. Turning back, I saw her pointing at a sign. It was wooden, with the image of a bottle of wine and a slice of cheese next to it. “This looks like a restaurant.”

“Excellent find Mya,” I congratulated her.

---
---
---

Ser Garth El Rex sighed into the empty bottle on his table. Surrounded by black dust and dead dreams.

Like many people, the Bloody Emperor stripped his family of their status. Then, his brothers and father tried to stage an assassination against the Emperor. Their plot was discovered within a fortnight and they were put to death soon after. What little wealth his family still held was seized.

Some at court called for his own death. ‘Traitors blood’ and all that. Truthfully, Garth had no idea that his relatives would do something so stupid. Sure, they talked about it. But there is a clear difference between talking about something, and actually following through with said talk. He assumed they were smarter than that.

Apparently not.

However the Emperor showed mercy in light of Garth’s exemplary military service in the Annual Wars with Re-Estize and knowing Garth himself was unaware of the plotted regicide. He was allowed to live at the cost of his place in the imperial army. But other than that, he was off the hook.

Just like that.

No blacklisting. No prison sentence. The Emperor had let him live out his life.

But what life could he live?

His career in the army was over. His betrothal to the daughter of a minor lord was ripped up the moment he lost his knighthood. His immediate family was dead, their heads left on spikes for days as a warning to other traitors. Any relatives he might have been able to reach out too for help treated him like a leper because of the stigma from the murder plot.

And in his darkest hour, when he was at his lowest, he took that poison known as Black Dust.

Anyone who fell into using Black Dust was just an addict he had rationalized. They choose their addiction. Garth told himself he had a stronger will than most people. Thought battered and weak, his mind would never yield to such addition. He just needed that little bit of relief that the powder could offer.

Oh how the tables had turned for Garth El Rex.

Now here he was, laying in the decrepit frame of his own home. Wallpapers peeled. Windows cracked and were broken. Wooden furniture rotting away from disrepair. Nothing was clean, everything had a layer of fine dust on it. Rats and other rodents lived in the basement and attic. Cobwebs covered enter door frames. And that was before you took into account the servants quarters and the overgrown yard.

Truly a pitiful sight.

Some even thought the house was abandoned given its state of disrepair. While he may have sold off his armor a time ago to process more Black Dust, he still kept his sword. Even if he was intoxicated most of the time, the sheer sight of his disheveled self waving his sword was enough to scare off most burglars.

To be fair even in his prime he would have thought twice before attacking a drug addled man with bloodshot eyes, waving a sword around screaming incoherent nonsense.

The sound of noise by the front brought him out of his self pity.

‘Collectors or burglars,’ Garth mused as he steadied himself up.

To feed his addictions, he had stopped paying off his loans. Garth gave the various collectors who came around bits and pieces of what he owed, but never enough to clear himself out of the debt spiral he was in.

He's sold so much already; his slaves, his mother’s jewelry, the family portraits, his father’s and brother’s clothes, his own clothes, even had to go as far as sell his mount and armor. He almost had nothing left for them to take, outside of the clothes on his back and his sword; which he assured them he would be more than welcome to give them a taste of that steel should they try to take it from him.

Despite his financial troubles, he has refused any offer of financial assistance from the Eight Fingers member who he bought his drugs from. Garth might be addled most of the day but he wasnt stupid. Better to rot in a dungeon or some work camp than suffer the horrors that the Eight Fingers would inflict upon him when he fails to pay back their disgusting interest rates.

Looking into his cracked mirror he tried to make himself presentable on the off chance it was someone official. Key word being tried. Hair greasy and unkempt, his shirt already looked like it was unraveling at the seams, his pants were caked in mud, his shoes had holes in them, and his eyes were bloodshot with dark bags under them.

Doing the best he could, he marshaled what little pride he still held and marched downstairs; sword and bottle in hand.

Garth soon realized that it wasn't the sound of knocking he heard, but of the door falling off its hinges.

Standing on the frame was a maid with brown hair. She was a small thing, delicate and pale. Almost inhuman. She was looking around the immediate area around the living room and down the hall to the kitchen, eyes betraying no emotion.

“Hey! You!” he called out to her, swinging his sword in the air as he walked down the steps. ”Get out of my home!”

She looked up at him, still no emotion. “I take it from your statement that you are the owner of this domicile?”

“This is my home,” Garth demanded. “Now I don't care which lord my father or brothers owed money to but as you can clearly see your master is a little late if they wanted to be paid back.”

She shook her head. “None of your relatives or kinsmen have had any interaction with My Lady. Therefore there is nothing to be paid back for.” Her words were cold and concise. Sounding more like the words found on contracts than from the mouths of people.

“Then what the hell are you here for?” He snapped.

“My Lady has requested that I acquire a residence for the duration of her stay in this city.” Again, her words were detached of any emotion. “Your domicile and its adjacent structures matches all her Ladyship’s criteria for a suitable residence.

“Your Lady wants this,” he interrupted. Gesturing to the peeling wallpapers and rotting wood.

“Such destruction and degradation falls within the confines of a ‘fixer-upper’. As do other key factors. It is a multi story home, large enough to comfortably accommodate multiple occupants, a secluded area to conduct experiments in peace-”

A bottle flew through the air, smashing against the wall above her. Bits of glass rained down around her. It did not phase her.

“Get out damn it!” This was his home! No matter how much it stunk, nor how it cracked and rotted around him, he’ll be damned before he just hands it over to some random Lady who wants a summer home! He’d sooner put it to the torch and burn with it than hand it over!

She blinked, reaching for a bag on her waist. “I have been granted permission to barter with-”

Before she finished, she was on the ground. Garth has closed the distance between the two of them and shoved the maid to the ground. Standing over her, he held her at sword point.

“I said get out! My home is not for sale!”

Having vented his frustration, Garth turned to walk up the stairs; sure that he had sufficiently scared the woman off. Hopefully this Lady of hers will move on to some other-

“So I am to assume you are not open to compensation?”

With a snarl he marched back down. She had gotten back on her feet, the coin purse was put away. In its place, he saw her holding a small phial of green ilcor like liquid in her gloved hand.

“No,” Garth used his height to intimidate the woman, sword at her throat. He wasn't really going to cut her. He’s a disgraced knight not some worker. A few hits with the flat side of his blade should get this overly insistent maid off his property.

“This is MY home. The only way you or anyone else is going to get this place is over my dead body.”

“Understood.”

Without warning, a great force pushed him away from her. He landed atop the rotted frame of a small table. Splinters of dead wood crunched beneath him. Coughing, Garth noticed the magic circle in the maid’s hand.

‘Magic caster? But-’

Before he could think any further, the maid threw the small phial at him. Years of training and drilling kicked in. His arm shot up to block the object from hitting his face. Moments later, the small glass phial shattered against this bare arm. Jagged edges of glass bit into the skin of his arm and nipped across his forehead as the pieces scattered. The strangely lukewarm liquid within splashed on him.

As he prepared for the caster’s follow up spell, he felt something strange. It felt as if his arm was going numb. Then his fingers. Then the numbness spread up to his shoulder. Then neck. As he looked to see what was going on, fearing the nature of the liquid he was dosed with, never in his blacked Dust riddled nightmares did he expect what he saw.

Or rather, what he didn’t see.

His arm was gone. Sword and all. Disintegrated into blackened ash. Along with all the other places where the, now obvious acid, had touched.

Before he could truly comprehend what was happening, to scream or roar in rage, another phial hit him square in the chest.

As the sensations spread across his body, a third phial struck his face.

He felt pain from the glass digging into his face; letting out a wet scream.

Then the numbness spread across his head.

Finally, he felt nothing at all.

----
---
---

Lunch was okay.

To my belly, it felt like the portion sizes were a bit on the small side. More like the appetizer you get served before the main meal. Of course intellectually, just by looking at all the other patron’s meals, I could tell that mine was on par with theirs. No matter how much my tummy grumbled, I knew that I was given a normal meal.

So the ‘small’ nature of the food was more my own bias and bottomless stomach than any actually lack of food.

And on the note of food, it was good. Not great, but certainly not terrible. The wine also tasted a bit off. Again, not because it was bad. It was all just missing...something. What that something was, I had no idea.

I mean I ate the meal. I’d even come back here again if I had to. But I won't go out of my way.

Did run into one little hiccup. Mainly that neither Mya or I could read the menus we were given. It was easy to forget that this world had some kind of universal translator working at all times for language, that did not extend to writing. And we had nothing to translate it.

So, playing it cool, I just ask what the specials for the day were and what they cost.

So we ordered through that and shared a bottle of wine between ourselves. And it only cost us ten silver coins. A steal if there ever was! Didn't even have to use any of the transmuted coins.

So: Bill paid. Tip given. And we were off to the Magic Academy.

As we walked, only pausing briefly to ask a passing guard for directions who had a bit of a noticeable stutter, I felt a ‘ping’ in the back of my head.

“My Lady,” the voice of a homunculi echoed in my head. Causing me to jump a little. “I have completed your assigned task.”

Oh right!

“That’s good to hear Eva,” I whispered. I had no idea if I could just mentally send my words through a message scroll. Looking at Mya, I nudged my head towards an empty alley so I could talk without looking like a crazy person.

“So what did you find?” Talking normally now that we had gotten off the main street.

“A small cluster of buildings that fit your criteria to the letter.”

Buildings?

“Please don’t tell me you bought a city block with the gold.”

“No My Lady,” she reassured me. “It is a relatively small property within the city limits. I believe it was a manor in its prime. Though nowhere near as grand as a few of the estates I have passed since we arrived, I believe it shall serve us well as a place of residence.”

I ask for a home, but they get a manor. Fair enough I guess.

“Okay then,” onto the big question. “How much did it cost.”

“Nothing. All the currency you gave me is still in my possession.”

What.

“So you got a manor, but didn’t buy it?” I tried to walk through what happened.

“Correct,” she replied. “This property is in a state of disrepair. Much of the furniture and glassware will have to be changed out. This goes for both the main building and a secondary building I believe is used as a domicile for servants. I have also seen no fewer than twenty-two rats within the depths of the cellar in the main building. And in the master bedroom I have discovered copious amounts of narcotic substances. The-”

“I get it,” I cut in. So she did not buy a home. She found a decrepit home, probably abandoned and used to store drugs, and just claimed it. Pretty sure that’s illegal to just claim a home is yours. Ugh. You know what? Fuck it. If someone comes knocking, I’ll just give them gold to make them go away and buy the house.

Sorry, Manor.

“I’m going to assume that it might need some work done in order to make it hospitable.”

“I’m afraid so My Lady.”

I swore to myself. “How long do you think it’ll take? To make it suitable enough to live in I mean.”

She hummed to herself across our connection. “It is hard to say My Lady. This is not my area of expertise. Outside of some basic magically assisted repairs, there is little I can do.”

So I technically have a home, but I just can't live in it. From the sounds of it, it sounds like it’ll be quite the job. I mean, I can always stay at an inn, money is not an issue for me. But, I really want a palace of my own. But I can’t really expect NPCs made for magical research to be all that good at home repair.

Wait...NPCs…

“Eva, you still have some message scrolls in your item box right?”

“Yes My Lady, do you require additional scrolls?”

“No. I want you to contact Nazarick and get them to send over some workers to refurbish that place.” Yeah I was using the resources of Nazarick when I wanted this ‘vacation’ to be a ‘me’ thing. But I certainly wasn't going to turn my nose up at possible help that could get this done quickly.

“Very good My Lady. Be aware that it will take several days for any possible workers from the Tomb to make the trek to the city.”

“No it won’t,” I countered her. “They can just teleport in. I have determined that the city has no means of either detecting, nullifying, or redirecting teleportations of any kind.”

Bullshit on my part, I knew they had no way to determine teleports without even having to check.

“You determined it so quickly My Lady,” she sounded genuinely surprised.

Even without hearing the other end of the conversation, Mya looked equally impressed.

“Even before we entered the city proper,” technically the truth. “It was obvious to me. Now, just keep me informed about the renovations. I want to know when I can move into my new home.”

“Of course My Lady,” I could practically hear her bowing through the connection between us. “Your will shall be done.”

The connection between us cut off.

I gestured back to the road, I explained the situation to Mya as we made our way to the Academy.

----
---

Some time later, we reached the Academy grounds. Or at least, we reached the outer gate of the grounds. I was kind of hoping for robes and pointy hats. Sadly, it looks like an ordinary school with a decidedly mundane looking collection of students and staff. Some robes, but only on teachers. Mostly I saw nice shirts, skits, and pants that would not be out of place in a ritzy private school.

While the grounds were open to anyone, I had honestly planned to come here initially. The whole thing I spun for Bonedaddy was just a story to get him to let me put some distance between myself and the Tomb. But now that I got two tagalongs, I actually have to do something.

So just one simple scan of the surroundings, then I’ll write this all off as a waste of time. Like a bat’s echolocation, I can use [Detect Magic] to sort of chart out any location based on what my spell bounces off of. I can even gauge basic magic capabilities based on the intensity of the ‘ping’ I get back.

‘Well, might as well get this over with.’

‘[Detect Magic]’

My spell flew forth, immediately pinging off hundreds of individuals. More pings came back as the radius of the spell expanded. Most of the ‘pings’ were clustered together in groups of twenty to thirty or so. Not hard to guess those are classes filled with students. Almost all of the return signals came back as weak.

There were two executions.

One was a small cluster at the far reaches of my spell’s periphery. The pings I got back from them seemed slightly stronger than all the others on the grounds; with one in particular coming back as ‘average’ rather than ‘weak’. Hmmm, what do we have here then?

But the signal that really threw me for a loop was the one that came back behind me. Maybe a few blocks back. I got a ping back that amounted to something ‘below average’.

By New World standards, ‘weak’ is the average here. Whereas ‘average’ is the epitome of power. So something coming back as ‘below average’ means they are quite the power house by said standards. Not the greatest, but certainly a ‘powerful’ magic caster.

Color me intrigued. A ‘powerful’ magic caster that I can confront to see what’s what while not walking through a university campus.

I turned towards the direction of the ping, firing off a second [Detect Magic] to see if whoever it was moved.

They had not.

Smiling, I made my way over.

“My Lady?” I heard Mya question as we walked away from the campus.

“Something this way has caught my attention,” was all I told her.

A few minutes later, and a couple further pings, I found the source of my ‘below average’ response.

Surprises keep coming. It was a young girl. Young in the sense that she was a teen; short blonde hair, blue eyes, doll like appearance overall. She was garbed in loose robes that clung to her sturdy looking clothes. I was under the impression that only the old and wizen of these people achieved such ‘power’.

She wasn't alone. Two men stood in front of her. Both had that ‘rough and tumble’ sort of look to them. Rouge like even. It looked like they were arguing about something. One of the men showed her a slip of paper and ran his finger along the lines.

I eventually got close enough to hear their conversation.

“-and twenty gold for the set of goblets. Bringing the total amount owed to one hundred and thirty gold pieces.”

The girl seethed with frustration, pinching the ridge of her nose. “Why are they...how could they be so stupid?”

“Couldn't say,” the man replied shrugging. “Stupid people do stupid things.”

“I only have twenty gold with me right now. Could you just give me until later today to pay back the rest?” She pleaded. “I swear you’ll get the gold before nightfall.”

The man shrugged, “yeah I can keep my boys of them till sundown. Sure.”

“Thanks,” she mumbled. Sighing, her earlier anxiety replaced with weary acceptance. Her hands reached into a pouch on her clothes and fished out handfuls of gold coins.

“No. They should be thanking you,” the man corrected, gesturing to his companion to count the coins being handed to them. “I honestly have no idea why you put up with their nonsense. Sooner or later, you’ll be drained down to the last drop by those parasites.”

“They’re my parents,” she countered, handing over another fistful of coins.

“And also parasites living off of your good will. Take my advice, cut ties with them now. Or else you’ll be dragged down with them.”

“Why do you even care?” the girl countered. “If you get your money, who cares who pays for them?”

“Oh we do care about the money; and I’ll still gladly yours to pay it off. But that doesn't mean I think you should be doing this for the rest of your life.”

“How kind of you.”

“You have a future, they don’t. Don’t throw your own life away because of their stupidity.”

She looked frustrated, unable to counter him. The girl emptied one final fistful of coins to the man’s companion. “There, twenty gold. I’ll have the rest by tonight.”

Wait, that's it!

Taking the newly filled coin purse from his companion, he weighted it in his hand before nodding. “Fine. You know, part of me wishes you’d cut them loose. You don’t owe Eight Fingers anything. If you just walked, nothing would happen to you.”

She frowned, ignoring his question. “I’ll see you here-”

“Hold on a moment!”

Both parties turned to me.

I approached them, betraying none of the anxiety I held in my body.

The girl was somewhat miffed by my intrusion. “Excuse me, but who are-”

“She still owes you a hundred and ten gold coins right?” I cut her off and addressed the loan shark.

“Look this is none of your-”

“That’s right, hundred and ten,” the loan shark confirmed, also ignoring the girl. “Otherwise we pay her parents a visit. Maybe break a bone here or there. Maybe do some other things. Who can say what we’d do?”

Without breaking a beat, I looked back to my trailing homunculi. “Mya, please give the man one hundred and ten gold coins.”

Without delay, Mya opened the purse and began to silently count and deposit coins into a fresh pouch. Thank god transmuted so many of the coins from our bandit encounter.

The girl stared in disbelief, first at Mya, then to me.

“What are you doing,” her voice was low, guarded almost.

“Helping you,” I replied. I turned to the loan shark, “I can pay on her behalf right?”

The loan shark seemed just as out of the loop as the girl was at this sporadic act of charity. “Ugh...sure.”

I nodded, “good. No issues then.”

We stood there in silence as Mya finished fishing out the coins into a separate pouch. Finished, she handed the pouch to me. I, in turn, handed it to the loan shark who looked at it in disbelief.

He looked into it for a moment. Satisfied, he handed it to his buddy, then turned to look at the girl.

“Looks like we have what we came for. They're off the hook for now. Take what I said to heart. Give’em two days before they ask for more.” He laughed at his own joke as the two of them walked off.

The girl didn't respond, still looking at me as they vanished around the corner.

“Why did you pay for me?” she asked.

“Why?” I repeated. Because I find you interesting and want to ingratiate myself to you and find out why a ‘powerful’ mage is so young and why you are in such dire financial straits.

Of course I couldn't say that. So, I gave her the warmest smile I could muster, and picked the most cliche response I could think of. “Because you were in need and I was able to help.”

She looked like I just revealed some hidden mysterious truth of the universe with the gaze she sent me. So she stood there, staring. Quiet as a mouse.

Well, looks like I’ll be the one that has to make the first move.

I extended my hand to her, “my name’s Lilly.”

She looked at my gloved hand. Hesitant for a moment, looking for some sign of ill intent. Rightly so. No normal person would ever pay off a random person’s debt to a loan shark for no reason. I hoped I gave off that ‘nice person’ vibe to get her to realize there really were no strings attached to my aid.

I honestly did this on a whim. She’s cute. Adorable even. And unlike most people, I can just make more gold coins out of copper coins. I could literally print money by changing the metals in my bare hands.

So I lost nothing in this exchange.

After scrutinizing me for long enough, she took my hand. No longer as apprehensive as she was before.

“Arche.”

I blinked, the name registering in that hamster wheel I call a brain.

Oh dear.