Since Caleric was already there, he decided to go inside the cathedral; after all, it would be a waste not to.
Caleric made his way through the large open land, which at the time had relatively few people, perhaps because the sun was right above their heads.
He approached one of the four entrances of the giant cathedral. Up close, the structure was even more magnificent. It was so big that Caleric could not even see it entirely from a few meters away from the massive gate.
The cathedral was built with white and gray stones and marbles and had green details all over. When he got closer, he could see the fine details and the patterns on the walls and pillars. He could only wonder how many workers it took to create this marvel.
At the very top of the cathedral was a large green, shiny stone—a gem that glowed when sunlight shone through it. One could not tell exactly how big it was, but it was as big as a car!
According to legend, the gem used to have its own light. But the last time it ever glowed was during the reign of the Undead King, a thousand years ago.
Caleric made his way inside to the main prayer hall. The hall was massive and could easily seat about twenty thousand people! At the center of the massive prayer hall, there was a statue of a female figure carved out of pure white. She had her hand held outwards, supporting a green sphere.
The statue of Goddess Verdalia. It is facing North. I wonder if it has some significance.
What Caleric found more impressive was how the prayer hall would become completely packed with people on Saturday evenings during prayer services.
That day was Saturday.
I'll have to keep that in mind. Since I came in the afternoon, there wasn't much of a crowd, but if I stay too long, I might get stuck when it fills up by evening. I should probably head back before then.
Caleric made a mental note. He then stepped forward, clasped his hands, and brought them to his forehead while bowing his head slightly. It was the specific way of offering prayer to the Goddess.
After completing his prayer, he left without wasting any time. Caleric did not carry a pocket watch with him, so he couldn't tell the exact time, but he guessed it to be somewhere around three in the afternoon.
Leaving the cathedral the same way he had entered, he made his way across the long, empty open ground. It didn't take him long to reach the inner ring of buildings. Since there was still quite some time before evening, he decided to look around a little. His financial situation wasn't the best, but that didn't stop him from indulging in a bit of window shopping.
The inner ring only had the exquisite and luxury things, or the things which were overpriced. This was because the land price in the innermost ring was exponentially high. Which was of no surprise given their location.
Caleric looked around for a while. Everything was so expensive that he did not even have the urge to get anything. Just then, he spotted something strange; a clock shop.
A clock shop in the inner ring? How can a clock maker afford this expensive land?
Caleric was a little curious. He decided to go inside to see what type of luxury clocks were being sold there. As he entered, his vision was filled with clocks—clocks of different shapes, sizes, and colours.
A brawny man was sitting behind the counter. The shop wasn't big and did not have much room for walking. This was as Caleric had expected; after all, the land prices in the inner ring weren't what most could afford.
"What are you looking for?" the man behind the counter asked Caleric.
"A pocket watch."
Pocket watches were the fashion in this world. Although wristwatches existed, people preferred pocket watches. And Caleric, who wanted a fantasy feeling after having transmigrated into another world, also went for a pocket watch.
The man took out a few different pocket watches, placing them in front of Caleric.
"Each one is 5 Obel."
So expensive... my taxi fare was 6 Obel... Caleric thought.
"Is there a cheaper one?"
The man sized Caleric up and down before bending behind the counter to pick out another pocket watch. It was green in colour and did not have many details.
"This one is 2 Obel. This is the cheapest."
It is still a little expensive but it is alright.
"I'll take this one," Caleric said, holding the pocket watch in his hand. He then paid the man two 1 Obel notes and left the shop. Caleric really wanted to buy something. To him, it felt like being on a vacation and not buying a souvenir.
The currency system of this world is very strange. There are five different denominations. Crown, Milith, Obel, Hira, Der. One crown is equal to ten Milith which is equal to hundred Obel which is equal to thousand Hira and lastly that is equal to hundred thousandDer.
Whoever came up with this system is a mad man. Though one thing about this is actually good that the entire world follows the same system of currency. This means that there are no troublesome money exchanges required.
Having wasted some extra money, Caleric decided to head back. He made his way to the western main road and found himself a ride back. This cost him another 6 Obel. In total, he had wasted 14 Obel and 2 Hira. The extra 2 Hira he had used was for some fried chricks. This was a lot of money!
After walking down the Upper Street, he reached his neighbourhood. By the time he was back home, it was 5 in the evening.
On the way back, Caleric did some calculations and found that if he combined his monthly earnings, which he usually got by writing articles, giving speeches as an invited guest, or sometimes even teaching children who had recently had their point zero breakthrough, with Cally's earnings from working at the workshop, they both made a combined average of 3 to 4 Crowns every month.
This made him feel that Cally's plan of moving out was really dumb. They were barely sustaining. While they always had the choice to ask for Aron's assistance, Cally was against it.
In about a month, Caleric was going to start university. He had not attended schools; however, no one in the city would stop him from going to a university. After all, he was a prodigy in manalogy.
When I start university, I will have even less time to write stupid articles or give speeches. In fact, I don't think I can do that anyway. Cally also plans to attend university after turning eighteen. How are we going to manage?
Caleric, who had no actual experience in managing money because he had pathetically dropped out of school two years ago and had relied on his mother the entire time, wondered.
Then he remembered something—the book titled Manalogy!
Could it be that Caleric was perfecting his book on manalogy in hopes of publishing it and using the university and Aron's fame to promote it so that the education board adopts the book?
He had a new understanding of the person whose body he now inhabited. He also realised that he did not need to worry too much. Cally and Caleric were geniuses; if they had moved out, they probably had a plan. The only problem was that one of them was now unable to actually put the plan into motion. Caleric could only helplessly hope that Cally had something thought through.
...
After returning back, Caleric found the maid, who did not speak much, standing right beside the sofa where he was sitting.
"What?"
"There was a message from Master Aron. He wishes for you and Madam Cally to visit him tomorrow morning."
I wonder why is he calling us.
"Alright," Caleric replied to the maid, which made her leave the spot as she busied herself with chores again.
Cally returned home before seven. The maid informed her about the message from Aron.
It was already nine. Caleric, who was in his room reading the book titled Manalogy, felt a little hungry. He had bought some fried chricks for lunch, but it was barely enough.
He went downstairs; dinner was ready. Cally was also there. They both ate together—a rare sight because of their unusual eating habits. After deciding what time they would be leaving tomorrow, Caleric went back to his room.
The bed wasn't as comfortable as the ones in Gnalet Mansion or his own bed on Earth, yet this bed had a different feeling. This bed was bought with his own money. Technically, it was Caleric's money, but he was now Caleric, and Caleric's memories were loud and clear in his head, which gave him a sense of ownership.
...
Dining Hall, in the Gnalet Mansion.
"This is Madam Fera Hisaf, a member of the Central Circle of Virelia."