Chapter 643: Act 5 – Hello, I Am Your Creditor
In Brendel’s memory, he hadn’t come to the Ampere Seale workshop district many times. The most vivid recollection was of a rust-covered sign swaying slightly in the sea breeze by the Graywind Harbor docks, the disarray of the inner room, a stove that hadn’t been used in ages, and the old dwarven man reeking of alcohol.
It wasn’t that ‘Red-Nosed’ Odok was exceptionally skilled, but with just a small barrel of strong liquor, the old dwarf would take care of your gear—provided he wasn’t too drunk to function.
Ampere Seale was different.
After passing a fortress, the road narrowed and the houses were tightly packed, while the salty sea breeze in his memory faded, replaced by a heavy scent of smoke and fireworks. The bright red sign was made of brass, with flamboyant lettering exuding the unique cultural atmosphere of a harbor city.
The carriage passed by an old dwarf smoking tobacco at the door, leaning on a hammer. Or perhaps a wind sprite adorned in an elaborate robe, hailing from Corvado or the more northern forests beyond the Mistweaver Forest, wearing a ring that covered the entire third joint of their finger to prove their identity as an enchanter.
Most of these individuals were elites from various trades, their expressions carrying a hint of arrogance and significant worth. The workshop district of Ampere Seale represented in most minds a quality of expensive luxury and corresponding service.
It was as if the essence of nobility was stamped into this harbor city.
The history of Ampere Seale’s workshop district was even older than the harbor itself; it originally arose from trade fairs between the Erluin people and the southern mountain folks. Later, this fair became Eke’s military station, then developed into a deep-water anchorage, gradually evolving into its present scale. To this day, moss-covered stone columns still stand along the roads in the workshop district, swaying in the sea breeze, telling tales of the past.
The carriage slid into a narrow alley, and the distant sound of wheels turning in pottery or textile workshops faded away. Then, the uniquely crafted blackwood sign of ‘Lusetania’ came into view, with magical blackwood suspended between a filigree golden support, not physically attached, but floating magically and slowly rotating.
Although magic was common in the Vaunte world, the use of constant spells on the sign indirectly indicated the shop’s quality. This was not a shop related to magical items but rather the most ordinary weapons and armor store.
The carriage slowly stopped in front of the main entrance of ‘Lusetania’ Weapons and Armor Store, with no one greeting them. Normal people wouldn’t set up shop in such a secluded area. However, according to the princess, it was simply because the owner preferred peace, as fairies were inherently a quirky race.
Brendel and Princess Grifian entered the shop. Inside the spacious store was elegantly decorated with dark wood exuding a unique fragrance, arranged into many counters, each displaying a gleaming weapon protected by glass, with brass nameplates inscribed with the names of the weapons, ranging from the common rapier to spears and armor.
What surprised Brendel was that almost all the items displayed in the shop were magical equipment—not the low-quality glimmering works of alchemists, but true magical items, some even ancient artifacts. Among those Brendel recognized was a heavy axe with horned heads—‘Cutter Caelurus’, which ignored ten percent of armor with each strike and could penetrate half of the armor. An artifact beneath the elements, this was a good item. Brendel had initially thought of buying it for Balthom of the Bronzesteel Dragon mercenary group—he was the only one under his command who used an axe and was a rough giant as well. But upon seeing the price, Brendel pretended he had never considered it.
Cutter Caelurus was priced at five hundred fifty thousand Tor.
Brendel suddenly felt that the player merchants from the past games seemed like models of integrity and virtue. No wonder this store only catered to nobles. Who would bother with such outrageous prices except for those who treated money like trinkets?
He shifted his gaze to see that the princess was also curiously examining the arrangements inside the shop. However, her attention mostly lingered on the various longsword displays, and following her gaze, Brendel even spotted a Luminous Stab.
“Has Your Highness never been here before?” he asked curiously.
Princess Grifian raised a finger to her lips and replied quietly, “No, Mister Brendel. This is my first visit. But I know the owner here; Aunt Tanya saw me when I was very little.”
“Aunt Tanya.” Brendel thought that must be the name of the shop owner, fully embodying the characteristic naming style of fairies. Fairies in Vaunte liked to give themselves human names, though they were usually simple and lacked regularity.
He looked around and found that the spacious shop surprisingly had no one else present—no—should say there was one. The noise made by the three of them as they passed through the center of the hall startled the shop’s only employee. Brendel only noticed them when he saw a head popping out from a large pile of boxes.
However, it was a young girl with short brown hair and big eyes gazing at them curiously: “What are you here for?”
The question was loaded with meaning. Generally speaking, thieves wouldn’t come at this time unless they were very eager to register at the city guard’s prison. On the other hand, the remaining options could only be either customers or creditors.
The little girl skillfully avoided exposing her relationship with the shop, allowing the option of identifying as a creditor while having an excuse as a temporary worker or something else. Brendel was lost in thought when the little girl’s eyes suddenly widened.
“Ah, are you guests?” she said excitedly.
Brendel saw her hurriedly drop what she was working on and rush out. He and the princess barely had time to exclaim “Don’t! Be careful!” before the little girl ran headlong into the door of an open cabinet, bouncing back.
Amidst the clanging, the stacked weapons, armor, and jars scattered everywhere—
Brendel couldn’t help but exclaim internally, thinking that this store didn’t seem as reliable as the legends claimed.
……
“I’m sorry to have startled you two. This little girl is named Carla. Her father owes me a debt he can’t repay at the moment, so she’s helping me out for now.”
Brendel and Princess Grifian sat on a chair, while a fairy lady dressed somewhat like a loan shark in a gray-purple robe sat on the counter, wearing silver-rimmed glasses, looking a bit like a jeweler from the Perina area. However, she called herself the manager and investor of the ‘Silver Cross Guild’, mentioning that the weapons and armor store was merely a side business.
The Silver Cross Guild was an organization from the Naos—Deepwater Harbor region, reportedly connected to Bud, a craftsman sorcerer. Thus, Brendel was very skeptical of her self-introduction.
Fortunately, the silver sorcerers lacked any substantial influence over the populace on the earth since they’ve adhered to isolationism, so Brendel couldn’t be bothered to question further. He glanced at Carla, who was holding her reddened forehead, tears welling in her eyes, and thought this must be the legendary child labor.
Brendel felt sympathy for her.
“This child is too young. Aunt Tanya, how could you bear to let her do those things?” Princess Grifian reproached.
“How much does her father owe you, Aunt Tanya? I’ll pay it back for her.”
“Ha ha,” the fairy lady lifted a white porcelain tea cup that looked like a toy from a child’s game and took a sip. “The last time I saw you, Grifian, you were just a little one. But her father owes me a total of two million Tor. Are you sure you want to pay it back for her?”
“Ah!” Grifian was shocked: “Why so much!?” Two million Tor was an extraordinary sum not only for ordinary people but even for most nobles of Erluin. Even for the royal family and powerful dukes, it wasn’t a trivial amount.
Brendel couldn’t help but look curiously at the little girl, wondering what sort of character her father was to have accrued such a debt.
Unexpectedly, Tanya replied, “Her father was my friend when we adventured together. I agreed to lend him money to open this shop. So, in fact, the future owner of this shop will be Carla; I’m entrusting her with managing these affairs as she should learn everything as the future owner.”
“Of course, it coincidentally serves as a means of paying off the debt.”
“I see. But where is Carla’s father?” Princess Grifian inquired curiously.
“Her father has sacrificed his life in this war.”
“Ah!” The princess finally understood. Brendel felt a sense of clarity as well; it was supposedly a matter of taking on the responsibility of a friend’s daughter, yet it was twisted into a tale of debt. The temper of this fairy lady was indeed quite strange.
“You’re truly remarkable, Aunt Tanya,” the princess sincerely praised, though her expression turned a bit gloomy. “All of this is due to the descendants of the Corvado family failing to fulfill their responsibilities, leading to the spread of war in the kingdom. This time, many civilians were caught in the conflict in Ampere Seale.”
“That’s not your fault, Grifian,” Tanya replied. “The last time I saw you, you were an ignorant little girl, but in the blink of an eye, you’ve become a competent princess. However, I hear you still don’t have a suitable partner. Is this knight beside you the one you’ve taken a liking to?”
“N-No,” the princess’s face flushed as she hurriedly denied it. But then she explained, “Although Mister Brendel is indeed… my knight, it’s not what you think, Aunt Tanya.”
The fairy lady smiled silently, and Brendel suspected she was intentionally teasing them. Fairies were known for their pranks, and in various tales, they had a reputation for fooling the foolish, and this Aunt Tanya was evidently enjoying it.
But she quickly became serious.
“Oh?” The fairy lady turned her head curiously towards Brendel. “You are Brendel?”
Brendel suddenly felt a chill, but still nodded. Tanya then inquired, “I’ve heard you saved Ampere Seale, the hero of this port city, am I correct?”
“That… doesn’t really count.”
“You must not know about your grandfather owing me a holy sword?”
“Really?” Brendel was taken aback. “What!?” he exclaimed, thinking how he suddenly found himself with a new creditor. At this rhythm, it wouldn’t be the legendary script of paying off a debt incurred by one’s kin, right?
“You can’t possibly not know, the weapon of the Earth Sword Saint.”
“My grandfather’s weapon…” Brendel paused slightly, then suddenly remembered the Earth Sword Saint’s treasured sword—it was a mythic weapon called ‘Falling Star’. It was said to be a replica of the mythical blade that split the earth, Sylph’s Tooth.
Sylph’s Tooth belonged to the hero of the mountain folk, Kura. The myths of the mountain folk diverged from the epics of the Crusian, though Kura indeed existed in history and even had some adventures with the azure knight. This history wasn’t widely circulated, but Sylph’s Tooth was quite famous; it was said that the mountains of the Alcacheh were split open by this sword, creating how they came to be.
In the language of the mountain folk, Sylph’s Tooth was originally called Sylph-Anlida, meaning the treasure sword that splits the earth. This sword was, in some ways, even more famous than Kura himself. The Earth Sword Saint Darus earned his name primarily for this reason.
Brendel couldn’t help but glance over at the princess. Unexpectedly, Grifian, with an embarrassed expression, nodded at him: “Mister Brendel, I’m sorry I almost forgot… Your grandfather’s sword was given to him by Aunt Tanya in her youth.”
“That fellow even promised me he’d trade it for a real holy sword in the future, but he didn’t keep his word,” Aunt Tanya complained like a child. “But fortunately, his grandson has finally grown up now—”
My god, this really is a script of debt passing onto the children!
“Wait, what do you want!?” Brendel shouted. He suddenly felt that the biggest mistake he made today was coming here. He had originally intended to repair his equipment, but unexpectedly stumbled upon a creditor. This script definitely had problems.
“Don’t worry, I won’t actually make you look for a holy sword; that was a youthful wish of mine, but my adventurous spirit has faded now.” The fairy lady generously replied.
“I can’t even find one if you asked!” Brendel retorted indignantly. He did happen to have a genuine Earth Sword, which could barely be counted as a holy sword, but that was a belt he had worked hard to find. For her to ask him to use it to pay off a debt was simply out of the question. He couldn’t help but mutter in his heart, why is it that others encountering a powerful relative means all sorts of benefits, but it fell onto his head to load either enemies or creditors? What kind of hated deeds had the Sword Saint Darus committed during his lifetime?
To Brendel’s terrible attitude, the fairy lady was unfazed. Instead, she turned to Carla beside her: “Carla, could you help me get that box from inside?”
“Eh?”
“The one locked and inlaid with a ring of gems.”
“Oh.” The still teary-eyed girl said obediently and ran to the back. But Brendel couldn’t shake the feeling that this merchant-like fairy lady was trying to send the troublesome person away. Sure enough, she turned back and said, “Grifian, Mister Brendel, may I ask you to help me with something?”
“Is there something Aunt Tanya needs?” Before Brendel could respond, Princess Grifian had already spoken.
“I’d like you to help me find something.”
“Aunt Tanya… Those legendary holy swords have long since vanished in this day and age. This is no longer an era of holy wars,” Grifian smiled wryly upon hearing her mention it. She evidently understood this ‘aunt’ well.
“That’s not necessarily true,” the fairy lady dismissed with a wave of her hand as she set down her teacup. “The truly glorious era is just beginning, but without getting into that, what I’m not asking of you is to help me find a holy sword or anything.”
“Eh?” Grifian was momentarily taken aback. “What are you looking for, Aunt Tanya?”
“The Azure Lance. I’ve heard it is hidden somewhere near Ampere Seale.”
“Ah—”
Wasn’t this even more outrageous than looking for a holy sword? Brendel could only think of this one idea in his heart.
……
(PS: Since it has been KUSO’d, I’ll randomly recommend the game Lusetania. Although it’s just a fan-made game, its quality is genuinely high. I believe I played it about half a year ago and suddenly remembered it, just as I am writing about a mysterious magic shop, so I KUSO’d it.) (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please come to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote with your recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)
