Five days of introductory lessons quickly taught Sylutia the basics of this world: copper coins, silver coins, gold coins, and how to judge origin, age, and value by the leaf-and-floral patterns stamped on them.

100–110 rotten copper coins = 1 silver leaf coin

100 silver leaf coins = 1 golden flower coin

“Most silver coins have leaf patterns on the reverse because the earliest silver coins were actual silver leaves taken from the World Tree by the elves and used as currency. Later, when the various races started minting their own coins, they kept that design and commonly used leaf motifs. Some coins, however, follow noble family crests—like the Marquis of Warren in the east, who uses a wolf-beast motif.”

“Although silver coins may differ in design, they follow a unified size standard, weight, and silver content. Those requirements apply across the continent.”

“Then there are gold coins, also called golden flower coins, because many gold coins have floral patterns on the back to indicate the royal house that minted them,” Winnie explained.

“Can other nobles—marquises or counts who aren’t royal—use flowers on their silver coins?” Sylutia asked curiously.

“No.” Winnie shook her head plainly.

“Only the royal family may use flowers as their emblem. That ties back to a very long history and the highest powers in the world.”

The current ruler of Regas is the seventeenth monarch, Asatis, who resides in White Cliff City. Because of decline, Regas is no longer a kingdom but has been reduced to a duchy, and the ruler is now called the Grand Duke of Regas.

Every autumn, large trade caravans depart from various places toward the royal capital, White Cliff City, to trade, then return before winter.

These trades supply the whole winter with provisions and grain. If any territory lacks winter reserves, it will spend huge sums to buy surplus grain from other territories to survive the season.

“Our lands are mostly forests, mountains, and plains, each producing different goods. The area where we are now—Scorchstone City—is mainly forest, so every autumn caravans are sent to buy grain reserves in case of winter shortages.”

“Of course, we also have our local specialties, like fir timber, tree resin, pelts, smoked meat, and some preserved fruits.”

Winnie then briefed Tia on the typical prices of common household goods so that the sheltered young lady wouldn’t be cheated.

...

Four days later, at Winnie’s home.

“Congratulations, Miss Tia. You’ve finished all the courses. You now understand the local situation better than 95% of the people in town,” Winnie said, closing the book with a smile as she congratulated Sylutia.

The girl thought back on everything she’d learned over the past days: crop growing seasons and animal husbandry points, the map and terrain distribution of the Regas domain, the origins and meanings of various noble crests, the general structure and functions of many guilds—Winnie had given her a comprehensive orientation to the local environment.

“Thank you, Teacher Winnie.” She rose and saluted.

“I’m glad to have such an intelligent student.” Winnie said with emotion. Tia’s speed of learning was the fastest she’d ever seen; many complex concepts needed hardly any explanation—just a mention of a term, and Tia could quickly deduce and understand it through logic and pattern recognition.

With a talent like that, Talier would probably never catch up in a lifetime. Winnie glanced at her distracted younger sister and could only helplessly pat her head.

“That’s enough for today. You’ve learned a lot—time to go out for a walk.”

“Talier.” She called her sister’s name, jolting the absent-minded girl awake.

“I’m here. What is it, sister?”

“Go out with Miss Tia this afternoon.” Winnie said directly, assigning the task.

“All right, no problem.” Talier brightened—finally, no more studying for now.

...

After lunch, Sylutia and Talier walked along the streets of Scorchstone City. The weather stayed clear and the city lively.

Sylutia wore a red-brown cloak and walked over the gray-black cobblestones with her hands at her sides and an unhurried pace.

“By the way, can ordinary people go to the Adventurers’ Guild to take a look?” she remembered the introduction letter Frien had given her.

“Of course, but most adventurers are far stronger than commoners; townsfolk don’t usually get close to them.”

“I see.” Sylutia suddenly wanted to know roughly what level the city’s adventurers were.

“Let’s go have a look.”

“I want to go, too.” Talier was actually very interested in adventurers, but her strength wasn’t enough; she’d already suppressed the desire to become one.

They soon arrived at the Adventurers’ Guild’s gate, sized for imposing entries, then stepped inside.

The foyer was particularly spacious—big enough to be a tavern—though it didn’t sell alcohol. Plenty of empty space was left for visitors to rest.

Everywhere they looked, adventurers and mercenaries carrying blades were visible. Most wore leather armor; a few had partial chainmail. Unlike soldiers, these adventurers carried all sorts of tools: ropes, iron clamps for capture, cages, lamp oil, and so on.

A cluster of people stood beneath the bulletin board, scanning the posted bounties.

“A monster attacked a trade caravan near Ditchtown; form unknown. Reward: 60 silver leaf coins.”

“Buying first-rank beast teeth: 3 silver leaf coins per tooth, 20 silver for long fangs.”

“Wanted: ‘Water Mist Orchid,’ 23 silver leaf coins per plant, need three plants.”

“Kill the mutated river otters upstream of Linxi Village, 2 silver per otter. About twenty of them.”

...

Beneath the bulletin board stood a party that looked slightly familiar to Sylutia, their eyes searching for a doable bounty.

“Big brother Jello, why don’t we go take care of those otters? That one looks easy,” a youth in simple leather armor said. His eyes slanted a bit, which made his face look a little fierce.

“Otters aren’t easy.” The burly man called Jello shook his head, setting his large palm on the boy’s head, almost covering it.

His rough fingers ruffled the boy’s hair as he grinned and explained, “If we want to kill those otters, we have to go into the water. Once we’re in the water, our combat power drops compared to being on land.”

“Those otters are probably animals tainted by Aspect energy; in water they’re extremely fast and clever. If we use a boat, they’ll gnaw holes in the hull.”

“I’ve seen many adventurers suffer losses from this before.” He shared past experience.

“Ah, so how do we handle this task? Do we need to call professional hunters?” The youth raised his hands over his head to ask.

“Hahaha, no need. I’m experienced with otters too. Come on—let’s accept the quest, then head to the Apothecary Guild next door to get some supplies.” He patted the youth’s shoulder and pushed his teammates forward to the bulletin to accept the bounty.

“We’ll take this quest.”

“All right, I’ll register you. As per the rules, please pay a 5-silver deposit first.” A front-desk woman came over when she heard them.

“Heh, let’s get a little snack to whet our appetites first,” one of them said as they moved to the side to register.

After they left, the area beneath the bulletin board quieted a little. People murmured about the other bounties.

“The Ditchtown monster reward is 60 silver—looks tempting.”

“I’d guess it’s a first-rank tusk beast; otherwise the reward wouldn’t be that high.”

“If it’s first-rank, 60 silver is still a bit low.” Someone shook his head.

“It depends on the haul. If that first-rank beast carries valuable materials, the hunting profits alone could make up for the reward.”

“Look at Jello’s group; the last time they caught that Crimson Wolf, the reward was only a small part—the big profit came from the pelt and materials.”

The chatter made the adventurer hall noisy. These sharp-edged men and women stared greedily at the bounties. Even with the dangers involved, those tangible silver coins were so alluring: capturing one bounty could equal a year’s ordinary work. That temptation was hard to resist.