Chapter 64: A Corner of Front World
"Ten elemental crystals for a complete set of compatible resonance runes. To be honest, I'm losing money on this deal."
The burly, dark-skinned man named Eddie patted the stack of slim booklets on the counter.
"What's worse—I was even thinking of letting you pick one for free. Your God can bear witness: merchants as generous as me are a dying breed."
Charles made no comment.
He picked up one booklet and flipped through it. The pages were filled with fresh, tightly packed handwriting in fine characters, and when he leaned closer, a faint scent of ink lingered in the air.
He looked up at Eddie's exaggerated expression of pain with a strange look.
"You're still complaining over a deal that's a guaranteed profit?" the watch-shop owner chuckled, voicing what Charles had been thinking.
"If this weren't such a backwater town with barely any newcomers, you'd already be rich selling these."
"Hey, that's unfair," Eddie shot back loudly. "I take risks moving this stuff. Don't you know how strict things are on our side?"
He waved the topic away and turned to Charles.
"Fire, storm, and lightning—three beginner-grade defensive sigil sets. Perfect for a rookie like you. Pick one later. Right now, let's talk business."
"Business?" Charles raised a brow.
He had brought the dragon crystals yesterday, so this trade wasn't unexpected—but this other business had his attention.
He glanced at the shop owner.
Compared to Eddie's brutish presence, this elderly man with a monocle looked far more trustworthy.
"Eddie can help extend your sister's life," the old man said calmly, "but the price will be steep."
His eyes drifted toward the massive sack Charles had brought in and widened slightly.
"Dragon bones?"
"Yes."
"…That many?"
"Picked them up on a job," Charles replied without blinking. "Figured they might not be enough, so I brought everything."
"'Picked up'…" The old man looked at him silently.
So you're not going to tell the truth.
Fine. At least make the lie better next time.
"If you ever come across goods like this again, just send word," the shop owner said lightly. "I'll arrange transport. No need for you to haul them yourself."
"Thanks. I hope I do." Charles sighed dramatically.
This time, it wasn't entirely a lie.
He could still find more dragon bones in the other world—but turning them into cash too frequently was dangerous.
He had no plausible explanation for such wealth.
Once or twice could be coincidence.
Repeated appearances would become suspicion.
The Church protected him—for now.
But what if the Church itself discovered his secret?
Would they still be friendly then?
Charles wouldn't gamble on that.
This exchange?
It was his last liquidation—until he found a proper cover.
The old man, seeing nothing amiss, merely shook his head in regret.
"Alright. I'll weigh them."
He then glanced at Eddie.
"You two discuss terms. If it goes poorly, come back to me. You've got options, kid—don't sell yourself cheap."
Then he added casually:
"As a Church member, you probably don't need to worry about this 'Heart-of-Flame asshole' cheating you out of your pounds, so negotiate freely."
"Hey!" Eddie protested. "Watch your mouth!"
But his eyes were already darting toward Charles.
"…Alright," Eddie said briskly. "Let's get to the real subject."
"Bloodline Curse."
Charles nodded.
"What's the Church's stance?"
"They can fix it—but only when a higher authority arrives. So there'll be a delay."
True—but spoken casually.
Eddie snorted in disgust.
"Figures. 'Church will solve it'—sounds nice when you say it."
Charles merely shrugged.
Then he asked, seemingly out of curiosity:
"You're afraid of the Church?"
"Not exactly afraid." Eddie shifted his bulk on the chair.
"Everyone knows how your people operate. If you stay away from the dirty stuff, the Church won't bother you. I'm not scared of getting purified one day."
He grinned.
"But let's just say—it's better not to poke that bear."
"Why? I don't think we're all that powerful," Charles said lightly. "Take this for instance—we can't fix the problem at all."
Half truth.
Half bait.
No one noticed the quiet probing hidden in Charles's voice, so Eddie answered frankly. And because this was a rare, lucrative deal, the usually irritable fat man was in unusually good spirits. He snorted and said,
"The church in Pita City is nothing special—but you people have backing, and you stick together like glue."
"History's proved one thing over and over: never mess with the Church. You beat up one priest, they send a bishop. Beat the bishop, and some grand religious fossil crawls out of hiding. Beat him too, and boom—out comes a whole pack of ancient grandmas with halos."
"And if that still doesn't work? Fine—summon an angel. Call in a Pegasus knight. Hell, bring down an archangel. Those things hit like freight trains."
"Push it far enough, and you'll finally piss off your Pope. Then what? He starts calling down divine punishment, even summons the Thorned Lord himself. At that point—how are people like us supposed to survive?"
"…Divine punishment?"
Hearing the envy, awe, and bitterness all tangled together in Eddie's voice, Charles had no idea what kind of face he was supposed to make.
A part of him wanted to cry. Another part felt expected to laugh.
So he twitched his lips into something that barely passed for a smile.
"Then why don't you just join the Church?"
"You think I didn't want to?" Eddie scoffed. "By the time I figured out how powerful they were, I'd already lost the right to choose."
"Lost the right?" Charles frowned. "You mean once you learn other magic, you can't join?"
"Obviously. Or what—did you think anyone with talent could just walk in?"
"I kind of did." Charles paused. "By the way, can magic be dual-trained?"
"Of course." Eddie grunted. "Storm Apostles in Seinport can control both lightning and wind. Steel Sorcerers in the Iron Dominion command flame and metal at the same time. Further out, in the colonies, they say there are Plague Shamans and Wild Priests who use death and nature magic at once—never seen one myself."
"What about Church magic?"
"You mean dual-classing with holy arts?"
"Yes."
"I've never heard of it, but maybe." Eddie shot him a suspicious glance. "Why? Holy magic not doing it for you anymore? You want to branch out?"
"Maybe. But mostly because of these." Charles patted the stack of booklets. "Your runes and what I know don't feel like they belong to the same system at all."
"Worried they won't work for you?" Eddie laughed. "Looks like you never received formal training. Fine—let me teach you in place of your Thorned Lord."
"As long as you know the incantations, even an acid-spewing swamp demon could use those runes. They're classified as Zero-tier."
"Zero?"
"Your tier. Beginner-zero. The foundation of everything. No restrictions."
He coughed lightly, clearly feeling he'd chatted enough.
"Alright, enough talk. Let's discuss something real—your sister."
Charles let the topic shift easily.
"How do you plan to keep her alive?"
"I can steal life-fire from its source and use it to sustain your sister's spiritual flame. It comes with some conditions—but it's the safest method and leaves no permanent side effects."
"What conditions?"
"First, you must stay at the altar at all times while the flame burns. If it goes out, your sister dies instantly."
"And?"
"The ritual only lasts twelve days. Once the time is up, you must extinguish the flame yourself—even if it hasn't gone out."
"Why?"
"Because if it continues, the Crimson Furnace will notice I'm siphoning its power. And once it tracks the source…"
"…It will eat her first."
"Exactly."
"What's the Crimson Furnace?"
"Our power source."
"Our?"
"Not including you."
Then Eddie waved his hand impatiently.
"You just need to know this: I can buy her twelve days of life. Rotate guards if you must—no real impact on you. So? Decision time."
"It sounds… acceptable." Charles paused. "Price?"
Eddie grinned and looked toward the shop owner.
"Total value: 132.75 pounds," the old man said calmly. "Which converts to 1,328 gold pounds."
Eddie turned back.
"You pay half."
"665?" Charles thought for a moment, then looked at the shop owner.
"Do I have better options?"
"Not if you want speed and reliability."
"…Then fine."
Charles didn't bargain.
He met Eddie's eyes.
And nodded slowly.
"Deal."
-