The Golden-Haired Summoner - Ch. 24
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Accompanied by two knights, I wandered through the bustling marketplace, drawing the reluctant gazes of many.
I browsed a general store, took a look inside a weapon shop, and eventually stumbled upon a bookstore. However, nothing particularly caught my eye. Perhaps I had grown too accustomed to my luxurious environment.
As I began to feel a little hungry, I came across a fruit stall.
There were quite a few unfamiliar fruits, and I hesitated, wondering if I should try some.
“What’s this?” I asked.
“You’ve never had it before?” the vendor replied.
“No, this is my first time seeing it.”
“It’s a common fruit among the commoners. It’s called ‘Porya.’ It’s not very sweet, but it’s easy to grow and cheap, making it a good staple for filling one’s stomach.”
“Oh. Maybe I should give it a try.”
The fruit resembled an apple, but it was much larger and had a duller color, making it look rather unappetizing.
The price listed was three for 10 Copper, but since I rarely had the opportunity to buy things myself, I had no idea if that was expensive or cheap.
On the continent of Crancia, all nations used a unified currency.
This was an achievement dating back nearly five thousand years when the Great Emperor Mites, a legendary hero, unified the continent. Even though the nations had since fragmented, the currency system remained intact.
Mites was an essential historical figure taught in every class, not only for unifying the currency but also for creating a common language and standardizing maps.
“Hansen, is 10 Copper a fair price for these?” I asked.
“Normally, you can get five for 10 Copper, but this year’s harvest was poor, so the price isn’t bad.”
1 Copper was roughly equivalent to 100 Korean won.
The currency system was structured as follows:
– 1 Copper, 5 Copper, 10 Copper, and 50 Copper coins.
– 100 Copper equaled 1 Silver.
– 100 Silver equaled 1 Gold.
– The monthly living expenses of an average commoner were around 1 Gold.
– For nobles, spending 1 Gold on a single meal was nothing unusual.
– 10 Gold equaled 1 Golden.
– The highest denomination, Golden, was worth approximately 10 million won.
The coins were made of different materials, but due to their weight, people often used promissory notes for large transactions. As for me, I received 1 Gold per month as an allowance.
For a child, that made me quite wealthy.
“I’m hungry. Let’s try it.”
“My Lady, it may not suit your taste. There are other fruits available,” Hansen cautioned.
“But I’m curious about this one.”
“If that’s what you wish.”
“Ma’am, I’ll take three of these,” I said to the fruit vendor.
The vendor, who had the kind of face you’d see at any market stall, smiled in a practiced way and placed three Porya into a brown paper bag. I figured it would be nice to share them with the knights.
But then—
“Ah!”
Startled by my sudden exclamation, Philo and Hansen immediately tensed, their hands moving to their weapons.
I looked at them with a face ready to cry. This couldn’t be happening.
“I don’t have any money.”
“…Ah, I have some with me,” Hansen said.
Only now did I realize I hadn’t brought my purse. But it wasn’t surprising—I never carried money on me. Thankfully, Hansen had some.
“Thank you,” I said, taking a Porya from the bag and biting into it while waiting for him to pay.
As Hansen went through the classic ‘lost wallet dance,’ the already tasteless Porya somehow tasted even worse.
I should have listened when Hansen warned me. This fruit is terrible. It tastes like… nothing. So this was a staple for commoners.
“Philo, do you have any money?” I asked.
“I don’t either.”
What should I do? The awkward silence was unbearable.
The fruit vendor’s face hardened, and I slowly put the already-bitten Porya back into the paper bag. This was bad.
[Rai?]
[Yes, Master?]
Hidden under my cloak, Rai was coiled around my waist.
Since people usually freaked out at the sight of snakes, I had no choice but to keep him concealed in crowded areas.
[Do you have any money?]
[Why would a spirit have money?]
[But you’re a metal spirit, aren’t you? Spit some out.]
[Uh, that’s impossible.]
[Come on, be useful for once. I know metal spirits hoard all sorts of coins. Just hand it over while I’m asking nicely.]
Even as I said it, I felt a little like a thug.
[Master, you ate bread this morning, right?]
[Yeah, so?]
[Can you regurgitate it?]
Of course not… Damn it. Getting lectured by Rai of all things was embarrassing.
[It’s the same concept. Absorbing metal doesn’t require mana, but expelling it does—a lot of mana. Plus, shaping it into a coin is an advanced technique that’s beyond your current level.]
[Eugh, what kind of metal spirit is so useless?]
[Master! That’s unfair! You always favor Undine! You never appreciate me, you just keep picking on me!]
[You don’t do anything worth praising.]
[Ugh… I can’t make coins, but… I can produce a small amount of silver.]
[Oh? Let’s see it, then.]
Silver wasn’t currency, but it still had value. If I could trade it, I could pay for the Porya. Feeling hopeful, I took another bite.
And then—
“Pfft—!”
I choked. The fruit shot up my nose, and I nearly gagged.
Rubbing my burning nose, I gritted my teeth.
[Did you just drain all my mana?!]
[No… I left a little.]
This was ridiculous. How could producing a tiny bit of silver cost so much mana?
When too much mana left my body at once, I’d get stomach cramps—and that’s exactly what happened.
[Alright, let’s see how much you made.]
[This is the best I can do with your mana, Master.]
Rai spat out a tiny piece of silver, which rolled onto the ground.
Following its path, I picked it up.
It was the size of a grain of rice.
Unbelievable. All of my mana… for this?!
[Hey! I might as well have used a Water Ball instead!]
[What? My silver is way more valuable than that! At least it’s money!]
[This isn’t even enough to buy one Porya!]
[That can’t be!]
[You idiot!]
Who asked for a chunk of silver? I wanted a proper silver piece, not a speck of silver dust! I tried to remain composed, but Rai’s utter uselessness sometimes made me furious.
Honestly, he was an incredibly useless spirit.
Maybe she pitied me, or perhaps she felt bad seeing the knights fidgeting awkwardly at my distressed expression, but the fruit vendor gave me a Porya for free.
I couldn’t believe it. Roaming the market penniless? Accepting free food? It’s not like I was actually broke! Back at my lodging, I had a bag filled with dozens of gold coins.
With that money, I could buy… buy…
[Rai, how many Porya could I get for 10 Gold?]
[I’m not a spirit of mathematics, so…]
Bad at numbers? Like master, like spirit.
[I’m no good at math either… wait, is there even such a thing as a math spirit?]
[No idea. But there might be?]
[You’re a spirit! You should know these things!]
[Master, there are countless kinds of spirits. It’s not like you know every single human, right?]
[Well, that’s true, but…]
Having trivial conversations with Rai in my head was second nature to me.
He wasn’t so much a spirit as he was a friend I could always talk to.
[By the way, your mana efficiency is terrible.]
[No, Master. Your mana reserves are just too small.]
What a cheeky little thing.
[I’ve been training pretty hard, you know?]
[Still not enough. It’s not that I’m useless—it’s just that your capacity is too—]
[Do you want to die?]
[Ah, not yet. Just stating facts. Heh.]
[Tsk. But when you fixed that rusty lock, you didn’t use up this much mana. What’s the difference? I don’t get it.]
Mana was like air, abundant in the world, but in order to use it freely, I had to conquer it and store it within myself.
That part was the hardest.
Mana was naturally free-flowing, so forcing it into a human body required exhausting effort.
Every morning, I sat cross-legged, closed my eyes, and tried to feel mana.
Then, I had to capture and tame it in a silent battle.
Mana was like grains of sand slipping between my fingers. It constantly tried to escape, so I had to force it inside me and let it circulate through my body until it became familiar.
Like blood flowing through veins, I guided mana to circulate within me.
Some called this process “engraving mana” onto oneself, while others described it as “melting” it into the body.
For me, it felt like taming it.
Everyone had a different approach, but expanding one’s mana reserves wasn’t something that could be done overnight.
It required daily training—a lifelong process.
No shortcuts. No easy way out.
At least, not that I knew of.
[It’s the difference between creating something from nothing and fixing something that already exists.]
[You’re trying to sound complicated again, aren’t you?]
[Think about it. Fixing or repairing something is much easier than creating something new from scratch. When I absorb something, I reduce it to “nothing”—it completely loses its form.]
[Hmm.]
[To reshape it, I need to “birth” it again, which requires a lot of mana. But repairing an existing object is just filling in the gaps, so it’s a much easier process.]
[That… kind of makes sense.]
[Basically, creating something from nothing takes way more mana than just fixing what’s already there.]
Undine, Rai… No matter which spirit I used, my lack of mana was always a huge problem. I needed to find a way to use them more efficiently.
I was sick of always running out of mana.
It wasn’t just frustrating—it was humiliating.
If I were going to be lazy, I should at least drop my pride. Why am I so complicated?
[Master, you don’t need to worry so much. You’re still a young human. Your mana will naturally grow over time.]
[…How long are we talking? How many more years do I need before you actually become useful? Will that day ever come?]
[Of course! Maybe 30 or 40 years? That’s pretty soon.]
That’s soon?!
One thing I sometimes noticed when talking to Rai—he had a strangely long perspective on time.
[Rai, how old are you?]
[Age? That’s a human thing. Spirits don’t usually count years.]
[Just answer me. Even a spirit should know how long they’ve existed.]
[Hmm… About 12,000 years? Not sure exactly. Counting time is meaningless and boring.]
Did I hear that right?
Twelve thousand?! Not twelve hundred, not one hundred twenty… and definitely not twelve.
Are spirits naturally immortal? No wonder he’s so dumb… Wait, is he senile?!
[Over ten thousand years old?! No way!]
[Yeah, that’s on the older side. Most spirits fade away after a few thousand years.]
[Even that sounds crazy!]
[Humans still don’t know much about us… Master!]
What now?!
I was just about to toss away the Porya’s core when Rai suddenly shouted.
[What is it?]
[Look over there! Right next to the general store—on that mat!]
Still chewing on the Porya, I turned to look.
Rai was always overreacting, but this time, he seemed especially urgent.
Near the general store, there was a small mat on the ground.
[The kid sitting there?]
What caught my eye was a filthy-looking boy.
His thin, frail body looked like he hadn’t eaten in days.
Scattered across the mat in front of him were various trinkets.
[Yes! Go closer! Hurry!]
What the hell is he so excited about?