Chapter 4:
The Monkey and the Present
THE NEXT MORNING, I GOT UP, did my daily sword practice, ate breakfast, and headed out. I was planning to talk to the real estate agent whom Emma had introduced me to. This time, I brought Olivia along as well. Mr. Domado was already waiting in front of the estate we hoped to buy.
“Good morning. This is Olivia, the one who was interested in purchasing this place.”
“Wonderful to make your acquaintance,” said Mr. Domado. “Thank you for employing my services.”
“No problemo, little man, no problemo.” Olivia was being her usual flippant self.
Mr. Domado was a little taken aback. All I could really say was, well, you had to get used to her.
We looked around the house’s many rooms, including its huge living room. There were some minor details that Olivia seemed concerned about, and she pointed them out as we went along. Mr. Domado, diligent agent that he was, took notes. Her changes would cost extra, but Olivia had three hundred million at her disposal, so money wasn’t exactly a problem.
“Master, have you decided on this house?”
“Sure. It’s big, and it fits my tastes.”
I was glad things had gone so smoothly. Apparently, we just had to put down a small deposit and pay the rest when they handed over the property. The previous owner had left the furniture, so it could be cleaned up and reused. It wouldn’t be long before Olivia could move in.
Before we went, I told Mr. Domado about Mira. He seemed happy to earn another potential customer and asked me to introduce them as soon as possible.
As we left the house, Olivia raised her hands over her head and stretched.
“Don’t worry,” I said. “You’ll only have to live with me a little longer.”
“I guess I have a deadline to steal your virtue then.”
“I’m not sure you should be saying that to me,” I said. “Or in the middle of the street, attracting a bunch of attention. So I’m going to pretend I don’t know you. Bye!”
I ran away as fast as I could and hurried to where I’d planned to meet Luna. On my way, I ran into Emma.
“Noir, what are you up to?”
“I was just helping Olivia close on a house.”
“Where is she then?”
“Back at the new place. You should go talk to her. I’ve gotta get going.”
After all, I had already asked Olivia about training Emma.
I headed to the weapons shop to meet Luna and figured I’d do a little shopping first. Luna wasn’t there yet, so I headed inside—ignoring the splendid items on display and heading straight for the various cheap swords in the discount pile. I could discern how much LP they’d be worth by touching them. Most were between 10 and 100 LP. Not very much on their own, but if I bought ten, that could net me anything from a few hundred to a thousand LP—and for almost no effort. It was nothing to sneeze at. That said, money wasn’t exactly an infinite resource, so I selected the ones that would give me the most bang for my literal buck. When I brought them to the checkout, the shopkeep seemed puzzled.
“Kid, what are you gonna do with all these?”
“I practice a ton, so my blades get dull really quick.”
“Ooh, now that’s what I’m talking about! Since you’re such a hard worker, I’ll throw this one in as a bonus.”
He gave me a slender sword for free. This wasn’t a very common occurrence in weapons shops, and it was worth 80 LP to boot, so I was extra grateful.
While I waited for Luna, I converted the weapons I’d just bought. They earned me 880 LP in total. Not half bad. Soon after that, Luna arrived.
“Wow, you’re early. We weren’t supposed to meet for another ten minutes.”
“I thought I’d buy some weapons. I already converted them to LP.”
“You sure are working hard, and on a weekend too. You’re making me look bad.”
“I’m just trying to better myself. And you know I can’t compete with you, Luna. You’re a cleric. Your work actually helps other people.”
“Oh, now you’re embarrassing me. W-well, should we get going?”
We were heading to see Baron Trower. Schuren Trower was a forty-five-year-old bachelor. He wasn’t divorced, he’d just never married. It was unusual, to say the least. Most noble men got married by their late twenties, and surely there were plenty of candidates. He was a baron, after all. He had a maid, but his life was kind of a mess, and his health often suffered as a result. That was how Luna knew him.
“He collects enchanted items as a hobby. I asked him how he acquired them, and he mentioned he had an item that helped. He has an extra one too.”
“Wow, that’s incredible…”
If he had two, it was possible I’d be able to convince him to give me one of them.
The baron’s estate was smaller than I expected. The yard was much fancier than that of a regular person’s home, but it was unimpressive for a noble. Mind you, it was still nicer than my family’s yard. There was an older man mowing the lawn when we arrived. He spotted us and took us to the front door, where a maid took us to Schuren’s room.
“Lord Schuren, Ms. Luna is here to see you.”
“See her in, Mirenka.”
Schuren was a tall man with sharp eyes. He was much more handsome than I’d expected, but on closer inspection, he had dark circles under his eyes. Judging from the pile of books on his desk, he must’ve pulled an all-nighter.
“I see you’ve not slept again,” said Luna. “No amount of Healing Shots can help you with that, you know.”
“Ah ha ha… Don’t look at me like that. I appreciate all you’ve done for me. Is this your friend?”
“Yes, it is indeed.”
I bowed my head and introduced myself.
“The Stardia boy! You’re the one who saved the duke’s daughter, aren’t you?”
“I did help lift the curse, with the help of Luna and my other friends.”
“Incredible. I was looking for an enchanted item to lift the curse, but even the rarest of them was not powerful enough to break it.” The baron’s face was tinged with frustration for a moment, but he immediately cheered up. “I’m overjoyed to meet a real hero! You wanted to know about enchanted items? I’ll tell you whatever you’d like.”
Schuren seemed to be in a good mood. It put me at ease. I got straight to the point and told him that I was looking for something with Enchanted Item Perception, and that I was willing to pay a great sum. I also noted that, if he wasn’t willing to sell, I would appreciate it if he told me how to find one myself.
“Why do you want to collect enchanted items?” he asked.
“For dungeon exploration,” I said. “And to make myself stronger.”
“So you’re mostly concerned with utility. Excellent! I’m more of a collector myself. I generally obtain items from other kingdoms, or by visiting other continents.”
That was bad news for me. I didn’t have time to cross the ocean. If that was my only option, it would be easier to eat the cost of making the skill myself.
“That said,” Schuren went on, “since you saved the duke’s daughter, I feel obligated to help you. I can sell you one of my items for a reasonable price—”
“Are you sure?!”
He flashed me a toothy grin. “Under one condition.”