Chapter 44: Noble District
“Shall we head to the Royal Castle today?”
“I wonder what the castle is like.”
The next morning, we decided to make our way to the Royal Castle. There are some things you can only understand by seeing them in person. It seems we can get close enough to the castle to speak with the guards, so if we have any questions, we might as well ask them. After all, I couldn’t come up with any better ideas, and if all else fails, we can always inquire with the guards.
By the way, last night, I experimented with a few spells that suppress magic. Of course, they didn’t work out, but I felt that controlling them was more difficult than usual, so perhaps they weren’t entirely ineffective.
“Let’s take a leisurely walk.”
“Well, yeah…”
Rio seemed a bit hesitant, but I wondered if she was thinking about flying there directly.
“I’d like to ride in a carriage, but wandering around while sightseeing sounds nice too.”
Ah, I see. She did mention wanting to try it out. I was a bit curious myself.
“It seems there are tourists heading to the Royal Castle, so there might be a shared carriage going there.”
“That’s true.”
“Well, let’s think about it as we walk.”
“Yeah.”
I felt like I was forgetting something, but without realizing it, we started walking toward the castle.
After having breakfast at the inn, we headed north. Since our inn was near the Noble District, the entrance was close by. There was a guard at the gate, but we passed through without any trouble.
“They let us through surprisingly easily.”
“It seems ordinary people can enter, but they probably only stop those who look really suspicious.”
“Yeah… Still, this is definitely the Noble District.”
The quality of the buildings changed dramatically. The main street lined with mansions had fewer people walking about. There wasn’t a single piece of trash on the road, and street trees were planted, giving it an orderly appearance.
“It feels like a high-end residential area from another world.”
Exactly. The deeper we went, the larger the mansions became. The gardens grew wider, the houses larger, and the number of guards increased.
“Oh, a shopping district.”
We spotted a few high-end shops, but as we entered the square, we found ourselves in a bustling shopping area filled with luxury stores.
“Wow, I’m really curious about that magic tool shop…”
“Shall we check it out?”
Rio’s words drew me toward the shop, and as we approached, I was taken aback.
“What in the world is this?”
“…Huh?”
Displayed before us was a gun. Its stout silhouette and short barrel gleamed black. Next to it lay bullets about thirty millimeters in size, radiating a considerable amount of magic power. Instead of firing lead balls with gunpowder, it seemed like magic would be unleashed.
“This is so cool!”
“But it’s expensive.”
Caught up in the romance of the gun, I was suddenly directed to the price tag by Rio’s words.
“Yikes!”
The price listed was a staggering one hundred million Fron. Each bullet cost five million Fron, and some bullets were even priced at ten million. Given that the price varied based on attributes, it seemed that magic was indeed involved.
“Hmm, but it might not be necessary for us.”
Rio was being practical.
“Shuu, your magic activation speed is pretty decent, right?”
She was cutting through the romance with her straightforwardness.
“Uh, yeah, I suppose so.”
As Rio pointed out, our magic activation speed was on the faster side. Thanks to my master, I had been trained to use magic without consciously thinking about it. Even if pulling the trigger activated the magic, knowing that it would be fired from the barrel could make it easier to respond. My master had done some bizarre things with delayed remote magic activation, so I never knew when or where something would come flying at me.
“Are you looking for something in particular?”
As I pondered the gun, a well-dressed man, likely the shopkeeper, approached us with a smile. Since this was a shop in the Noble District, he was probably of noble descent himself.
“I’m curious about this gun here.”
I pointed to the weapon, and the shopkeeper beamed as he began to explain.
“This is a magic gun, a magic tool that can activate the magic contained within the bullets.”
It was pretty much as I had expected. The level of magic contained in the bullets varied based on their quality, with prices increasing from beginner to intermediate levels. There were reusable bullets as well as disposable ones, each with its own characteristics.
“Wow, that’s interesting. But unfortunately, my budget isn’t enough.”
“I see. We do have some lower-priced items available… If you don’t mind me asking, what is your budget?”
This guy was persistent. I suppose it was to be expected from a merchant trying to make a sale.
“I only have about nine hundred thousand Fron on hand.”
“I see. Our shop starts at five hundred thousand Fron for items. If you exclude the magic gun bullets, there are some items over there that might suit your budget.”
The moment he heard my available funds, the shopkeeper lost interest and pointed toward the corner of the store before quickly retreating. While he didn’t overtly show his disdain, I felt that being noticed by the customer was a sign of failure. Essentially, he was telling us that poor people should leave.
“What was that about…?”
Rio had clearly picked up on the shopkeeper’s attitude as well. But well, at least we figured out where the items we could afford were located. I considered that a minimum of useful information.
“Hmm, but everything here looks like tools I’ve seen before.”
“Yeah, it feels like just higher-end versions of what we already know.”
We rummaged through a corner of the store that resembled a clearance sale, but the items were not much different from those at the shop we visited yesterday. Sure, they might be high-quality and high-performance, but they were all familiar magic tools.
“…We’ve seen some interesting things, so let’s hurry to the castle.”
“Right.”