Chapter 13: Guid?ance
“Good morning!”
I came down to the first floor and shouted with vigor, but for some reason, Ellie hadn’t been very responsive.
“Guhh…”
Ellie was sprawled over the counter, half-melting. It wasn’t just an act, as her normally perky ears and slowly wagging tail were both drooping.
“Ellie’s dead…?”
“Ughhh.”
Even when I poked her shoulder, all that came back was Ellie’s zombie-like voice. Thinking something must really be wrong, I approached her.
“Ah! You reek of alcohol…how much did you drink?!”
“……”
Ellie, facing me as I stepped back in shock, spread two fingers.
“What? You became like this after drinking two bottles? Ellie, you’re surprisingly weak to alcohol.”
“No…”
She corrected my guess with a voice that seemed to have crawled up from hell.
“Ah? So you’re saying you drank for another 2 hours after that! Well… this is what happens if you drink for 2 hours without pacing yourself. Come to think of it, you smoked a lot of cigarettes yesterday too. Are you really okay?”
“It’s not that, either…And, I’m not okay….”
Ellie’s complexion had turned pale at some point. No, then what on earth did those fingers mean?
It was only for a moment that I tilted my head in confusion. It didn’t take long to realize the identity of the unease.
Normally, bottles of alcohol would be crammed behind the counter, but they were empty today. The only ones left were two expensive-looking bottles.
Could it be that she drank all but those two bottles? That’s kind of scary.
“Ellie…what is the bar owner supposed to do if they drink all of their alcohol?”
“Jonah, you’ll understand too when you grow up…that there are times you want to get drunk….”
Why wouldn’t I know? Though my body was like this now, I had been a proper adult on Earth.
Still, I shrugged my shoulders and played along with Ellie’s words.
“Bah, adults! Why do they even drink alcohol?”
“Because there’s something they want to forget?”
“What is it that they want to forget?”
“Right. What was it? I’ve forgotten.”
Ellie still giggled, even as she was suffering from the hangover. Seeing her like that made me burst into laughter as well.
“Adults are dummies.”
“Dummies, that’s what adults are.”
Though I said that, there must have been some important reason Ellie had ended up like this. It was the first time I had seen such a gloomy expression on her face.
I didn’t know what it was…but I too had to give up various things to survive on the continent of Pan. Writing had been one of those things.
I couldn’t live without writing in my past life, but after dying once, I was able to turn my back on it for the sake of survival.
Well, who had time for writing when you were busy enough just trying to make enough of a living to scrape by?
Yet, every time I come across a setting I’d created in the Pan Continent, I couldn’t help but painfully miss Earth.
Even knowing I could never return, caught in a situation where I could neither move forward nor back, I caught myself suddenly thinking.
That I no longer cared about anything, so I wanted to get completely drunk. Forget everything about my past life and whatever, and just sleep in peace.
It wasn’t like this world was scheduled for destruction or anything either, so that urge had been even stronger.
It had become a little off-topic, but the point was, excessive emotions could cause a human to break down. Perhaps Ellie was in a similar situation.
Maybe because of her hangover, but Ellie took out a magic herb cigar as soon as she got up. She had habitually searched her pockets but stopped.
“Huh? Where did my lighter go? Has anyone seen my lighter?”
“…I don’t know about the lighter, but Ellie has me!”
I dashed over and lit Ellie’s cigar with a Weak Flame.
What a responsible thief I am.
Ellie, looking bewildered as she put the cigar to her lips, soon relaxed, the analgesic effect of the magic herb beginning to take hold.
Only after seeing Ellie looking more comfortable did I speak up.
“I’m planning to go to the commercial district for a bit today, so I’ll eat lunch on my own.”
“…I never said I’d take care of your lunch.”
“But you will if I keep hanging around, no?”
“……”
Ellie, saying nothing, just continued to smoke. Seeing her like that, I giggled and moved away.
When I was about halfway out, Ellie’s gentle voice reached me from behind.
“Hey. I’ve decided to trust Jonah.”
“What? What are you talking about all of a sudden? Don’t tell me you haven’t believed me until now…”
“I’m just saying. Go quickly if you’re going to go. Don’t talk to me; I’ve got a headache.”
A forced expulsion. At that, I sighed deeply and waved my hand.
“I’ll be back.”
“Yeah.”
I had fallen into the Pan Continent without a single copper to my name. But now, feeling like I have a place to return to, a ticklish feeling arose within me.
There was a simple reason why we decided to take a break today, even though it hadn’t been particularly strenuous.
It was my first time returning from the labyrinth. She had given me time to rest and reflect on what I was lacking and what I had been good at.
Additionally, she had told me to prepare any items I would need.
In other words, it was time for reorganization.
In my case, I planned to entrust the large amount of mana herbs and healing herbs I had obtained from the gacha to a suitable alchemist to refine them into elixirs.
…Though I had blown all the money to do so on the gacha.
Which was why I borrowed the lighter magic without Ellie knowing. It looked quite expensive, so I figured I could sell it, pay the commission, and still have plenty left over.
However, I too possessed what was known as a human heart.
Ellie seemed to have undergone some change of heart without me realizing it. It was just 10 minutes ago that she told me she trusted me, so how could I possibly sell Ellie’s lighter just like that?
“Let’s pawn it then.”
I can always come back to retrieve it later. See, that’s how thoughtful and warm-hearted I am.
Humming a tune, I entered a small pawnshop at the corner of Pangrave Square.
I appreciated how the elf running the shop began appraising the item without caring who I was or what I’d brought, staying true to the nature of an elf-run business.
“5 silver. However, if you promise to only use this place and no other pawnshops from now on, I’ll add another 50 copper.”
“Of course!”
No matter how fancy the magic tool might be, it’s at best a low-grade magic tool that can only light a fire. And this was a labyrinth city where magicians were as common as dirt.
So, 5 silver was already quite generous considering that I wasn’t selling it, but merely pawning it. And to add another 50 copper on top of that?
I knew I’d have to pay it back later, but there was no reason to refuse the money coming in now, so I quickly nodded.
There was actually no special reason why this elf was offering such generous terms.
It was simply because lending more attracted more people, and by winning the competition with the surrounding pawnshops, it was clear that they’d monopolize the market in about 100 years, so they lent the money generously.
Even though they say they lent a lot, it was because they were confident they could sell that lighter magic tool for more than 5 silver and 50 copper if needed.
After all, pawnshops were known to never incur losses in the labyrinth city, where adventurers were always dropping dead left and right.
“This is why elves make good business partners.”
I could tell they had their own schemes, but it’s too leisurely of a scheme for me not to benefit from it. The elves probably thought likewise.
A grin spread across my face, buoyed by the weight of a fuller wallet. My steps toward the alchemy shop I had scoped out earlier felt not just light but even joyous.
After losing their World Tree during the War of the Fallen Gods, the elves suffered from extreme mental emptiness for a while.
The World Tree was an undeniable divine being, yet its domain slightly differed from that of other gods.
It was the first tree to root in this land, and as the oldest living being, it simply existed as a marvel.
Impressive indeed, but it was just a big tree with no particular role. It was the elves, who lived around the World Tree, that endowed it with meaning.
Why? It’s a common tendency, isn’t it? The primitive animistic ideology where one venerates extraordinary natural phenomena as divine.
The elves revered the World Tree as a deity and honored it greatly. Thanks to them, the World Tree, which had been just an ordinary tree with greater vitality, was imbued with self-awareness and divinity.
Due to such origins, a strong mental connection, inseparable in nature, was formed between the World Tree and the elves. Based on this bond, their civilization progressed slowly but steadily. However…
Near the end of the War of the Fallen Gods, the World Tree sacrificed itself for the elves and the land they lived on.
Thus, their connection was severed, and the elves, having lost their mental pillar, wandered for a long time, experiencing hardship.
But wandering was always bound to end someday. Witnessing the continent of Pan rapidly rebuilt by the power of the labyrinth, the elves who had faltered began to stand up one by one.
At that moment, deciding to adapt and live in a world without the World Tree, the elves realized.
They already had a new mental pillar. And the name of the new god, fitting for their new era, was…
‘Capitalism.’
Humanity, which almost perished after a devastating war, learned the horrors of war. Thanks to that, large-scale conflicts and racial discrimination have mostly vanished.
Military power remained a valuable asset as long as the labyrinth existed, but it was natural that wealth also began to hold a value that could not be ignored.
Money! Only money can make elves great again!
The elves who realized this fact started to engage in various activities within the bounds of the law.
Using their beautiful appearance and long lifespan, they would repeatedly marry for political reasons and then become widowed, thereby increasing their land and wealth.
Or, capitalizing on the inevitable profits from rising prices over time, they would engage in long-term investments lasting up to 300 years.
Thus, with the capital amassed, even if it meant taking a loss at first, they aimed to win price wars and monopolize the surrounding market.
Gradually, they began to grasp the financial power of the continent, and though it might not be the case now, someday they will become the continent’s most corrupt race.
“Umm….”
The thought had lasted a bit long, but it wasn’t as if I suddenly dredged up the elf’s setting from my mind just because I managed to borrow some money from the pawnshop.
The point was that elves were serious about money, but since they knew they would benefit over time, they tended to pursue legal methods.
Therefore, elf criminals were extremely rare. If there were any, they would perhaps be the big shots who dominate the underworld.
It was only natural for a race that questioned the need to resort to crime if there wasn’t significant merit.
Thanks to that, it was immediately recognizable even in a crowd. The back of the head that exuded thuggishness despite being born with the unique beauty of an elf.
“Are those the b—hes from that time?”
A time before I had even realized the gacha system. I had encountered some elf thugs while wandering around begging.
I followed them, enticed by their pretty faces, only to have them extort all the money I had begged for.
I vowed that day that I would definitely return the humiliation someday.
“The opportunity has finally come.”
Concentrating, I lifted my heels slightly. Just enough so that it wouldn’t be noticeable to the average onlooker, but enough to reduce the sound of my footsteps.
Then, using my small stature, I weaved through the crowd. At a glance, it might just look like a child desperately trying to slip through the masses.
Bit by bit, but surely and carefully, I managed to reach a position right behind my target.
Up close, it was clearer. Those two were the cruel robbers who took the 8 copper I earned from begging all day.
The only thing you could even buy with that money was a loaf of cheap bread on the verge of molding too!
A kindness repaid twofold, a grudge returned tenfold. It might be someone else’s family motto, but what does that matter? For this moment, call me Jonah Dang.
From the closest distance I could naturally approach, I held my breath and let my body blend with the surrounding flow.
My presence faded to an extreme degree. I became part of the background, disappearing, and a strange sensation wrapped around my entire body, as if I was overlooking everything from above.
And then, as if hypnotized, my hand moved on its own.
Swoosh.
My hand, moving too fast to be followed by the eyes, traveled back and forth inside the pockets of two elf thieves. The final destination was, of course, my pocket.
…That was easy.
A perfect relocation unnoticed by anyone. I praised myself inwardly and slid my body to the side, eventually being pushed to the edge of the road as if bounced off by the crowd.
I smiled contentedly as I watched the backs of the elf thieves fading into the distance, leaving only their wallets behind.
That ought to teach them a lesson. This was just guidance.
Just as I was about to continue on my way, feeling uplifted, someone grabbed my shoulder from behind.
Pat.
“Jonah. Take your hand out of your pocket.”
“Aieeeeeee!!!”
Lydia?! Why Lydia?!?!
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