MA: 100. Welcome To Aire - The Town At The Crossroads

Aire.

It was a town situated at the crossroads of the Justicia Highways. Long stretches of clearings divided the forest into seven major regions; the Central Forest, the Northern Forest, the Eastern Forest, the Southern Forest, the Western Forest, the Justicia Reserve (far west), and finally, the Tomb of Giants (far east).

Aire’s location granted it special advantages compared to regular settlements across the Highways. Being in the center of the crossroads enabled them to become a commercial hub for Adventurers, merchants and travelers alike.

As a result, it became one of the largest towns along the Highways, boasting a permanent population of 30,000 and a fluctuating population of 25,000. Six months ago, this number was at an astounding 40,000.

Today, that number was a strong 20,000. The drop off, as Arachni – the Hatchling Black Widow – explained that it was caused by the deactivation of the Relay Sites. But the largest drop off was ever since the world witnessed the Black Nexus.

Coincidentally, this event occurred when Red wished upon that star.

The scent of wheat immediately hit Red. Fields of golden crops with cat tails surrounded the walled city. They were miraculously untouched, as were the blackened walls which stood eight meters tall.

It was huge. Well, to Red, anything larger than the Village of Hearth was already massive. Still, she couldn’t help but feel giddy seeing how far those walls stretched, and how many armored humans on horseback patrolled the outer walls.

Not only that, but she waved wildly at farmers who tended to the crops. Their faces melted at the sight of the cheery girl. But, the moment their gazes fell onto Rockie…

“Damn, they wanna eat you too.” Red murmured.

“I don’t think… that’s the problem.” Snow wryly laughed. “Will it be ok to bring our pet Rock Bug in? He’s a generational pet. Without him, my dear sister might not be able to control herself.”

Arachni gave her a thumbs up.

“If my Captain didn’t kill it, then it’s good enough to live alongside people~! Besides, us Green Rangers love creepies and crawlies. Where do you think my name comes from~?”

Snow was a bit worried that they’d attract the wrong attention by bringing a rare variant of Rock Bug into town.

But then again, it might even keep them out of trouble.

Rockie made a cute sound as it brushed the fuzz along its head against Snow’s back.

“I’m more worried about my sister anyway.” Snow sighed. “… Red. Red?”

She had been holding Red’s hand this entire time, but when she looked down, it had been replaced with Three Paw’s tail.

“Bwa?”

“Hello! The name’s red! Fledgling Red!”

Red introduced herself to an old farmer, but the crooked-neck man did not respond as he plucked strawberries into a straw basket.

“Heh. I see. You must be a big shot then.”

“Red! You can wave, but let’s not start annoying people.” Snow called out, rushing over to Red after realizing she was missing.

“Oh, Mister over there is deaf.” Arachni pointed out, tapping the old man on the shoulder.

He turned slowly and tipped his straw hat with a friendly gesture.

Then, he held out the basket of strawberries, offering some to Red.

“Deaf? So he can’t hear me. But he knows where I stand. Heh.” Red smirked.

“Isn’t she so cute?” Arachni wiggled, scooping a few strawberries for Red and Snow to share. “Thanks, mister~ We’ll leave you alone now!”

“Wait, if he’s deaf, then can’t someone fix him?” Red lingered for a bit until she was tugged along.

She couldn’t help but hold her gaze on the old man as he went back to tending to the field.

“No. And it depends if it’s an injury or a birth defect.” Arachni hummed as they approached the front gates.

“Hu… People can be defective? Really?”

Three rows of lattice-iron gates rose one after the other.

The two didn’t need to be patted down like the visitors who lined up at the front. For some reason, these visitors seemed oddly relieved, and muttered: “Thank goodness we’re not late.”

Red didn’t think much of it. She was more interested in an answer to her query, as well as the source of the scent of roasting meat. It emanated from deep inside Aire, and she began lapping her lips hungrily.

Three Paw practically drooled.

Snow finally answered once they left the gravel path, and their boots clopped on cobblestone.

“You’d need one hell of a Healer to repair hearing loss. But no one can heal what you weren’t born with.”

Arachni paused.

“Yup. Such is life~”

She had brought them to town. Now, there was no need to continue escorting them.

“Aire’s a nice place to outsiders. That’s we do our best to keep everyone safe. As the Green Rangers. You find anything weird going on – anything at all – and you let me know! The town’s my web. I’ll probably find you before you find me, though I’ll probably be shi… I mean, bad at it~”

She patted Red’s hair. Then, she placed a figner behind her ear and plucked out a silver coin.

“You got one of those spatial storage thingies!?”

“Ahahaha. No, just a magic trick~ If I did, then I’d probably be in a better place. And don’t think I didn’t see you drooling. Go get something to eat~ She’s so thin.”

“Maybe you’re just too–”

“Wait… Is that…!?”

Arachni’s eyes trembled as she noticed a stall along the path. It sold various trinkets, ornaments and medallions of Associations, Offices, Bureaus, and even some infamous Syndicates.

They were not affiliate badges but were instead collectables.

Her eyes shimmered with delight. She rushed over to the stall, her hand rummaging through a pouch of coins till she retrieved a gold coin.

“Limited edition collectable medallions are back!? Hooooo!? Is that – Medallions of Incandescent Colors!? Orange Disruptor! White Wing! The Red Baron!? The late Brown Banquet!? HOOOO!? THE BLACK DOVE TOO!?”

“Did her mind break?” Red was just as confused as Rockie, who raised a leg to itch its head.

Arachni was not the only one ecstatic about the stall. Before they knew it, a large crowd formed. Merchandise with the names of certain Adventurers sold like hotcakes. The ones attached to an Incandescent Color were sold out in seconds.

Other stalls and stores looked on with envy. Immediately, some began branding Adventurer motifs into their bread, and started selling them at an upmarked price. The main street bustled with activity, and just like that, Snow’s fears of standing out were laid to rest.

“Oh! Snooow! Reeeed! Keep following the main street and head to the residential area! You’ll find the Nestary of our Office where we’re letting displaced villagers stay~! I hope you can find who you’re looking for!

Arachni’s cry came from somewhere in the crowd.

“Don’t worry about her, Red.” Snow sighed in relief. “Some people are way too into Adventurer icons.”

“Those names sound so cool~” Red spoke with glee, right before slapping her chest. “But obviously not cooler than mine, right Rockie?”

“Brrr…” Rockie tilted its head to the side.

“See? Even Three Paw agrees.”

“Bwa!” Three Paw drooled at the scent of all kinds of meals wafting from nearby stalls.

“And Snow! What do I do with this!?” She held out the silver coin into the sun, its sheen suddenly blinding Red temporarily. “Gaaah!”

“Currency. Coins, like I told you before.”

“It has countermeasures!?”

“No, you just… Let me show you. What food do you want to buy?”

“Good question!”

Red wandered from stall to stall, sniffing out what she wanted to eat. If it were up to her, then ‘Everything’ was her resounding answer. But given that she was limited to her stomach capacity, she had to make some heavy compromises.

Furthermore…

“Little miss, get yer mitts of the table. Yer gonna grill yer finger tips right off.” A store owner warned, right as Red was considering using her finger to taste test each of the stalls.

Apparently, that was a no-no.

Heaven forbid that someone wanted to know what they were putting into their stomachs!

That said, she eventually settled down on a meal that had everything in one simple, divine package.

“Brr…”

“Bwa...!”

“Bwurgar.”

Red drooled at the sight of thickly sliced meat stacked between two butter lathered buns. They were toasted to a golden perfection, had mayonnaise and a red tomato sauce, with vegetables, and even beetroot and pineapple.

“It’s a sandwich.” Snow corrected as she approached the stall, raising five fingers. “Five please~”

“You’re very sweet to people. But you can be mean to me. Why do you like wearing a fake voice?”

“A-Ahaha…” Snow held back an urge to pinch her cheek.

“Sister?” The cook smiled. “Reminds me of my own. That’ll be… 2 Silver, and 5 Copper.”

“… I only got one.” Red frowned.

So, she tried to snap it in half.

“Oh dear, please don’t do that! Your sister’s rummaging through a coffer.” The cook only became alarmed once he noticed that the coin made a cracking noise. “Stronger than she looks.”

“She really is~” Snow giggled. “Here. 2 Silver. 5 Copper.”

The freshly assembled sandwiches were given to them in a paper bag. Red immediately dug in, eating the butcher paper along with the contents. Three Paw did the same, all the while Snow took graceful nibbles.

“Shwo, hwo dowsh cuwwency wowk? (So, how does currency work?).”

It was a good opportunity to teach Red another lesson in common sense.

Coin in the world of Elysia had four tiers.

Copper, Silver, Gold and Platinum. The first three were the most used, whilst Platinum was incredibly rare. This was not because of how much value it had, but rather because they were rumored to be difficult to produce.

10 Copper coins were worth 1 Silver.

100 Silver could be exchanged for 1 Gold.

10 Gold could be exchanged for 1 Platinum.

“So each burger was around 5 Copper each.”

“Not a bad price.” Snow said.

Red could only nod because she had no frame of reference to compare this to.

Still, she was a little happy that she could keep her Silver coin.

And above all–

“Hmmm… Pwaaaaah! So many humans! So many people! It’s paradise!” Red cheered. “And they accept me as one of them~!”

Red couldn’t believe how warm and welcoming human civilization was.