Chapter 248: The Akashic Record [3]
"Hey, you two. Mind if I ask something real quick?"
Ethan spoke while staring down at the full bowl of rose flavoured rosette sitting untouched on the table in front of him.
"Mhm?" Leon and Cyan responded at the same time without looking up. Both of them had already started eating. The rosette was warm and the restaurant around them was busy with the particular comfortable noise.
"It will get cold," Cyan said between spoonfuls. "Eat first if it is not urgent."
"Yeah, well. That is kind of the problem."
"Hm?" Leon finally glanced at him.
Ethan was sitting completely still. Spoon in hand, with a bowl full of rice. The expression on his face was the specific expression of someone who had only just realized something and was now deeply unhappy about the timing of that realization.
He had not taken a single bite.
Cyan looked at the bowl, then at Ethan’s face, and then back at the bowl again.
"Are you going to eat that or are you planning to stare it into submission?"
"I am thinking."
Leon added in between them.
"You can think and eat at the same time. That is a skill most people develop quite early in life."
"Leon."
"Yes."
"Have either of you thought about how we are going to pay for any of this?"
Cyan stopped chewing after he heard this.
He held the spoon near his mouth and slowly turned to look at Ethan.
"What do you mean?" he said carefully. "You do not have money on you?"
"I have money."
"Then what is the—"
"Cyan."
"Yeah."
"What kind of money do you have on you?"
A pause.
Cyan lowered the spoon.
He looked down at the bowl in front of him. Then at the table, and then at the other tables around them, filled with people using currency that had absolutely no connection to anything from the outside world.
"...oh."
"Yeah."
"Oh no."
"Yeah."
Leon set his spoon down calmly and waved one hand, lightly sneering to himself.
"It will be fine. I still have several artifacts and items I collected from the bandits and the cargo ship. Things like that tend to fetch a decent amount regardless of the currency system. We can trade or sell a few and cover ourselves for however long we need to stay."
Ethan stared at him.
"You just had that ready."
"I had it ready before we got on the boat."
Cyan picked his spoon back up immediately.
"Oh, that makes everything much easier." Ethan nodded, visibly relieved, and finally lifted his own spoon. "So your restroom trip was just an excuse."
Leon actually did not want them to witness how he had negotiated.
He watched them both return to their food without further comment.
He had known about the currency problem since before they entered the city. He had simply waited to see how long it would take the other two to notice.
Ethan had lasted until the food arrived.
That was longer than he expected.
’Such a letdown.’
Before coming to the restaurant with the two of them, Leon had slipped away to make a trade with a blacksmith and a pawn shop nearby.
Leon was not proud to admit it, but he had sold a ruby dagger and a red diamond bow for 190,000 Ě in paper currency.
"Tsk." It made him frustrated just recalling that blacksmith’s smug face.
’That dwarf made it far more difficult than it needed to be. She nearly scammed me.’
She had tried to take both items at an insanely low rate, but because Leon was the one selling, she had a rough time getting him to agree to her terms.
’Haru. How about a chocolate?’
’It is costly, Rumi.’
’...’
Rumi did not say a word for a full minute. Then finally she added.
’You have lost your power, Mr. Billionaire.’
’You can have as many sweets as you want once we are back. Not in Evana though.’
Rumi did not argue. She went back to her duties as Leon’s observer without another word.
After they finished eating, Leon paid the cashier with the new currency he had acquired.
Their system did have paper currency, but Leon noticed that most people were using a small black device, roughly 4x8 in size, with a screen, to make their purchases. Up close it looked similar to the device Irene had been using. It was not a smartphone exactly, but something comparable, though considerably more advanced.
It was a handheld supercomputer whose data was live connected to the Akashic Record. Everything it recorded or processed was stored directly into the Akashic Record for further use as needed.
The three of them walked out of the restaurant together.
"You saved us." Cyan patted Leon on the back lightly. "I will treat you to something good once we get back."
"Haha. Indeed," Ethan joined in. "I am still wondering why it did not occur to me earlier when we first decided to come here."
Leon wondered the same thing.
As they walked past the citizens of Evana, all three made their best effort not to stare at anyone’s face or features and acted as casual as possible.
The reason was simple. They don’t want to let them see that it was their first time seeing them.
Evana had various races coexisting together and welcomed outsiders of all kinds. Even demons were permitted under their laws, as long as they took a vow to coexist and cause no harm to others.
This had also been one of the points Dreamweaver had used to justify his move against Evana when he attempted to take control of it.
Several minutes passed, and the three finally arrived at the gate of the Akashic Record.
Up close it was enormous. Everything surrounding it was white, from the poles lining the path to the road beneath their feet.
"What exactly is this place?" Cyan asked, watching the steady flow of people moving in and out of the building.
"Looks like a tourist attraction to me," Leon said, pretending to guess while studying the entrance at the same time.
There were families. Several children who appeared to be on some kind of school visit.
As the three of them were discussing among themselves, a voice called out from behind them. It was slow in pace but full of energy.
"Travellers, are you looking for a guide?"
All three turned around.
The first thing their eyes landed on were two pointed ears twitching simultaneously on a small face framed by green hair and bright emerald eyes.
She came up to roughly Leon’s shoulder height. She was dressed in a black gothic dress with high boots to match, and even held a black umbrella in one hand.
"Uh, excuse me?" Ethan blinked at her sudden appearance.
Even Cyan was visibly caught off guard seeing an elf up close.
"Like I said," the elven girl repeated energetically, tapping her toe with each word she spoke, "if you are looking for a guide, then I, Lillian, would be the perfect choice." She held up three fingers. "I only ask for three pieces of copper!"
Leon’s eyes stayed on her face the entire time.
’What is she doing here of all places?’
He knew her.
Of course he did. She was the princess of Evana.