“Ximo, it’s time to get off.”
Xiliya’s voice pulled Ximo’s attention back to reality. After getting off, Ximo glanced back at the “public transit” that resembled a bus and followed Xiliya into the Free Market.
Facts proved that Ximo’s imagination was spot on. This place was just like an antique street—a flea market where stalls on both sides of the road sold all sorts of things.
Scrap magitools, imperial antiques, magic manuals… Finally, there were some rare treasures here that matched Ximo’s fantasies of another world.
“Don’t buy anything. It’s basically all fakes,” Xiliya reminded her in a low voice, then frowned at the street ahead. “There are still so many people… Here’s the plan: you wait here first. I’ll go ahead and check for a better spot. If there isn’t one, we’ll just set up nearby.”
Although the deeper parts of the Free Market had dedicated sections, there were simply too many people, and Xiliya didn’t want Ximo walking too much. So she planned to scout ahead herself.
“You just stand right here and wait for me. Don’t wander off.”
Like she was instructing a child, Xiliya handed the cloth-wrapped Decayed Wooden Staff to Ximo before her figure melted into the crowded throng. Ximo obediently found a spot by the side and stood there.
“Family heirloom secret treasure! Notes left behind by Gandalf, the empire’s greatest mage from a hundred years ago! Those with an eye for quality, come take a look—”
There were plenty of vendors hawking their wares. For instance, the little merchant next to Ximo. Although Xiliya had said most things here were fakes, Ximo still curiously leaned in.
A large sign on the stall read “Family misfortune forces cheap sale of heirloom treasures,” much like those “Boss ran off, clearing out stock at rock-bottom prices” shops.
The vendor’s stall was piled high with objects that looked ancient and worn. Ximo could only say… your family sure has a lot of heirlooms.
Ximo immediately spotted the so-called magic notes the vendor was touting. The tattered, yellowed pages were covered in writing. After transmigrating, Ximo could automatically understand this world’s language and script, but she couldn’t make heads or tails of the text on those pages.
It looked… sort of like Hanzi, probably pictographic script, but each character was so abstract it might as well have been scribbles. Ximo shrugged. She had no idea who would buy such an obvious fake.
Ximo was so absorbed in observing that she didn’t notice someone had appeared behind her at some point—a short figure wrapped head to toe, sniffing around like some kind of canine.
“Sniff sniff… sniff sniff…”
“Wah!”
Ximo turned around and jumped in fright, nearly colliding with the person behind her. But the other party didn’t care at all and just leaned in closer, sniffing at the staff in Ximo’s hands.
How dog-like… Ximo sized up the person before her. They were very short, looking completely like a child, but Ximo didn’t dare jump to conclusions—because they were wrapped up way too tightly.
Cantelot Imperial Capital wasn’t the Northern Border. It was already spring, so there was no need for such heavy padding. And those oversized sunglasses, mask, and hooded coat… How to put it? Full tactical gear, looking a bit like a human trafficker.
“Beastmen Clan stuff, right? Where’d you get it?”
The weirdo straightened up. Ximo blinked. It wasn’t until she spoke that Ximo confirmed it was a girl. But how could she tell what it was just by smell?
“Can I take a look?”
“Oh, sure, no problem.”
Only then did Ximo snap out of it. She quickly unwrapped the cloth from the Decayed Wooden Staff, and the weirdo immediately leaned in, her face practically pressed against the wood as she examined it.
“These ritual runes… this craftsmanship… It’s the real deal? Northern Border Beastmen Clan priest gear. Wanna sell it?”
“Huh?” Ximo was stumped. Xiliya wasn’t here, and she had no idea how much to ask for!
Xiliya had mentioned it briefly on the public transit earlier, but Ximo had been focused on System’s frantic private messaging and hadn’t paid attention. What had Xiliya said again? At least ten… ten mid-grade Magic Crystals or high-grade ones?
In the Roland Empire, Magic Crystals served as currency alongside money, processed and controlled by the empire and graded low, mid, and high based on mana capacity and purity.
With Xiliya gone, Ximo didn’t dare throw out a random price. What if she undersold it?
“I’ll give you this much,” seeing Ximo hesitate to name a price, the weirdo wiggled two fingers. “Twenty-five high-grade Magic Crystals. No haggling. You know this is a solid deal. How about it?”
Eh?
Ximo actually had no clue if it was a good deal, but the offer was clearly higher than what Xiliya had mentioned, so after a moment’s hesitation, she agreed.
The sight of the child-sized weirdo hoisting the staff taller than herself and puffing away into the crowd was pretty comical. Glancing at the bulging pouch of Magic Crystals in her hand, Ximo felt like she was in some kind of fantasy.
“Ximo—” Xiliya returned just then. “Forget it, all the inner stalls are taken. We’ll find a spot around here… Eh, where’s the item?”
“Sold it—for twenty high-grade Magic Crystals.”
Xiliya froze. People in the know usually shopped the classified sections deeper in the Free Market. She’d braced herself for a long sales pitch, but Ximo had already closed the deal?
After triple-checking the Magic Crystals in the pouch and finding no issues, Xiliya patted Ximo’s head like she was praising her.
“Not bad. Didn’t expect you to have such strong sales skills. Let’s head back.”
Twenty high-grade Magic Crystals—even auctioned at peak hype, that was about the top price.
Ximo knew it had nothing to do with her sales skills, though. It was that little rich girl throwing money around… But who exactly was she? So mysterious.
Ximo didn’t dwell on it and returned to the inn with Xiliya.
Back there, Xiliya told Ximo to rest in her room alone while she headed out again to deposit the Magic Crystals in the bank.
Twenty Magic Crystals converted to gold coins was no small windfall. It was quite important for their upcoming academy life, considering the Camberlan Family was actually pretty broke now.
Though the royals generously hadn’t pursued the Camberlan Family’s responsibility, Xiliya had proactively turned in all the smuggling proceeds Masha had left behind. Only after handing them over did she realize—wow, the Camberlan Family was this poor?
