“Well, honestly, I am sure you already know what type of person Azeban is. Saleh, is also pretty much of the same, caliber. Azeban is a strange man, however, he often times comes off as direct. Many times too direct. The fact of the matter is, you treated me with respect. When others hear what he said, their attitude can often be seen the same way as you.”
Without pause, “They become respectful, only once they learn about my circumstance, their attitudes change. Seeing me as a leech that simply lives off others' success. You didn’t seem to change that, and while you could be a very good actor, your relationship with Azeban can be seen as ordinary. Even still, you didn’t outright treat him hostile. There was clear tension.”
Jessica looked at him and glanced at Saleh. Saleh too looked at her with a bit of confusion. It was only now she realized something. It wasn’t that she had made her displeasure known, she couldn’t. Mercury City was home grounds for the Adventurer’s Guild, while Azeban was an elder. She also didn’t really hide it. Azeban wasn’t the type to be that petty, she hoped.
If a person wasn’t observant enough, they like Saleh would have missed that. This tired individual who didn’t give a strong impression had a sharp look in his eyes. It was deeply hidden that was hard to see over his exhausted face. It appeared, while she had initially had little thoughts on him, he was closely observing her. For someone with mana to fail to notice this, she was losing her touch.
With a look of praise, Joe saw the look in her eyes change. It wasn’t what he expected. However, a raised guard was also not a bad expression to make. For a Grade E to raise their guard around a person without mana, could be seen as a compliment.
“Finally, there is Saleh.” Turning to look, “I am sorry my friend, but honestly you are very strong. I even hear for those around your age you could be said to still be considered strong. If only life was about only strength. Part of your strength you need to grow is intelligence.”
He spoke slowly in a gentle voice, “You grew up in the Blue Wolf Tribe. It isn’t surprising to see that you lack common sense to control your thoughts. Because of this, I could also gleam the type of person you were.”
Turning to Jessica, “While needing to keep your head down in front of Azeban, you also didn’t bow. You treat Saleh with a tiny bit of disregard, however you don’t disrespect him. From what Azeban let slip, it seems your status wouldn’t fall beneath Salehs’. Which means even though he is all brawn and lacks brain. Seeing this as obvious, you still don’t disregard him. Generally, people of the same status would see his condition as extremely lackluster. ”
Jessica could feel a soothing from the seal. It wasn’t Leo trying to sooth her, he was antagonizing her. However, Leo was right. She had the entire journey to remove her negative thoughts. Letting herself be read so easily is bad. Saleh had a valid excuse. He knew he had to learn this and had even talked to her a few times about it.
She, on the other hand. What could she say, oh she was going through something? It was one thing to not know how to do something, but she didn’t lack the ability. One couldn’t scold a child for lacking something they never learned they needed.
Jessica knew better, therefore it was time she learned to once again grab hold of the reigns. She couldn’t do anything about that situation, now she could only do her best to be less of a burden. This city was dangerous but from what she heard, it was just like Azeban had said. If you could survive, all you had to do was grasp it. The opportunity would be there, at least in Mercury City.
A small smile graced Joe’s tired face. Seeing her lost in thought, he wondered what her expression would be. There were too many ways it could go. However, regardless if she agreed with him or not. She seemed to have made her own decision.
“Is that enough of a reason to let me stay here?”
The smile on his face changed, “It seems Azeban failed to tell you your new reality. It doesn’t matter if you live here or anywhere else in Mercury City. Coming is easy, staying is the difficult part. While frowned upon, it is hard to sleep without one eye open. Here you can relax a bit more, but I would still advise you to not sleep with both eyes closed.”
Pondering for a moment, he spoke once more, “I am sure you noticed, they’re put there to be easily noticed. A name written in red ink at the entrance?”
“Yes.”
“Mercury City is a bit special. Anyone is welcome. Generally, only graded beings live here. This isn’t because non-graded beings aren’t welcomed. It is simply too hard to stay alive. Combined that with the living cost. You see, to stay in Mercury City, you need to produce ten gold coins a month.”
Seeing the strange expression on her face, Saleh spoke up from the side, “Produce doesn’t mean pay. Produce means to create or, more specifically, in this case, you have to gather ten gold a month. This is all from requests. On top of that, you also have to provide your living expenses. Worse, this rate increases every six months.”
Jessica’s face slowly drained of blood. The more she calculated, the worse her expression became. Ten gold wasn’t a seriously difficult amount to make. Thought, to make it through Adventurer’s Guild requests was an entirely different matter. Even if she assumed the requests here generated more money. On average for Grades F and E, the amount earned from one request was a few silver.
Most of the money didn’t come from requests but from byproducts. The only way this was possible had to do with the security of the request. Or to say it another way, the more difficult the request. Obviously, the increase in difficulty would mean getting more payment.
Adventurer’s Guild would rank the request from the information given. If one lied or failed to explain something, regardless of the outcome. That person would be fined horribly. In the worst scenario, that person could be killed or blacklisted from making another request. Lying about request details was a very serious crime.
