WIEDERGEBURT Act V: Chapter 29

The Merchant’s Guild was the largest mercantile sect in the Northern Plains. Unlike most sects, which only had one base of operations and a branch office in Midgard, the Merchant’s Guild had branch offices all over. There was at least one branch office in every major city, sometimes more.

Not only were they the largest mercantile guild in the Northern Plains, they were actually the largest guild period, with somewhere over 1.6 million members.

While this seemed like a really shocking number, it was important to remember that most people were not Spiritualists.

Spiritualists comprised a shockingly small percentage of the world’s population. Kari did not know what the percentage was, but she believed it was something like for every one Spiritualist there would be at least two or three thousand regular people.

That being the case, the Merchant’s Guild was one of the few sects that did not have any of their own Spiritualists. Part of the agreement they had with Midgard was that their group would employ the Spiritualists from other sects for protection against bandits, Demon Beasts, and highwaymen. In return, they were exempt from taxes in every city within the Northern Plains.

Because they were such a large sect, their office within Midgard was also massive. It was not a branch office either. The Merchant’s Guild’s main office was located in Midgard because it was the center of the Northern Plains and therefore the center of commerce.

The building was around seven stories in height, made from stone and wood, and had the most decorative features Kari had ever seen in the Northern Plains. Columns lined the front. They weren’t regular columns either. Each one was distinguished by their decorate, bell-shaped capital with volutes, two rows of acanthus leaves, and an elaborate cornice. These extravagant columns were but one feature of the building.

The Merchant’s Guild was the only sect that had a building this ostentatious, but she guessed it made sense. After all, they were the wealthiest sect in the entire Northern Plains.

After walking past the columns, Kari entered the main lobby, where dozens of transactions were taking place. Tellers sat behind a long counter. Men and women who wanted to sell something, trade something, or enact some other transaction stood in front of those counters. Some presented jewels, others showed off scrolls. The tellers job was to determine the value of each item presented and decide to either buy or pass on the items in question.

Kari did not know what she should do. Dithering for a moment, she debated whether or not she should go see one of the tellers.

Perhaps it was fortunate that someone who worked at the Merchant’s Guild would come up to her. He was a young man around her age. Because he was not a Spiritualist like Kari, his skin was rougher, and he looked older. While Kari still looked like she was seventeen (the age she reached the Third State of Spiritualism), this man looked like he was in his twenties.

“Excuse me, miss, but can I help you?” the man asked with a smile. While it was polite and professional, Kari did not miss the way he dragged his eyes across her body.

Because she was used to being ogled, Kari did not let his admiring glances bother her. It wasn’t like he could do anything anyway. Even if Eryk was not here to protect her, she was more than capable of protecting herself.

“You might be able to assist me.” Kari summoned a scroll from her storage ring, grinning slightly when the man blinked several times and stared at the scroll that was now sitting in her hand. “I have an appointment with Mason Seller. This scroll is my letter of introduction.”

The moment he heard the name “Mason Seller,” the young man’s spine went ramrod straight and his face became a tad pale. Kari’s smile widened as she gestured at the scroll in her hand. Now wearing a strained smile, the man took the scroll, undid the seal—which also caused him to pale when he saw the Council of Six coat of arms—and read the contents.

Kari didn’t think his face could become any paler, but that was what happened.

“I-I see… so you are Kari Astralia.” The man gulped as he rolled the scroll back up and handed it to Kari. “P-please forgive me for my rudeness just now. My name is Jason Seller. Allow me to escort you to Lord Mason’s office.”

“Thank you.”

Now that he knew who she was, Jason did not look at her with that leering gaze anymore. It was amazing what having a reputation could do. Of course, everyone knew that Kari was Eryk Veiger’s wife, just like everyone knew that Eryk Veiger was responsible for the two kilometer wide trench that had taken nearly four months to fix.

The bigger reason for Jason’s reaction, however, was because of what Kari had come here to offer.

Mason Seller’s office was located on the sixth floor. While it was not the largest room in this building, it was the most extravagant. Paintings of all manner hung from the wall, vases that looked like they cost a fortune sat on shelves, and busts of beautiful women lined one wall. There were several stone tablets situated inside of glass pedestals. These tablets were something Kari recognized, having seen similar ones inside of the ruins she explored.

Ooooh, what she wouldn’t give to get her hands on even one of those…

“Fa—erm, no Lord Mason, I have brought Kari Astralia, who has an appointment with you,” Jason said upon entering the room.

Kari stopped drooling over the stone tablets and instead looked at the desk sitting in front of a large window that overlooked the main street in Midgard. A man sat behind the desk. He was much older than Jason by at least two decades. His hair was gray and his face was lined with age, but his dark eyes were sharp and intelligent. He had trimmed facial hair. He was also in surprisingly good shape for a merchant with no Spiritual Powers.

“Ah. Mrs. Astralia, it is a pleasure to finally be able to meet you.” Mason stood from his desk and came over to greet her, a wide smile on his face. “I’ve heard so much about you and your family already. Your exploits have already become legendary.”

Mason was obviously referring to the battle with Dunherr and the closing of the portal. Kari wore a polite and refined smile as she shook the man’s extended hand.

“You honor me with your praise. However, I did not do much. My husband is the one who defeated Dunherr and closed the portal. I merely figured out how to close it.”

Mason laughed. “You are being modest. Without you figuring out how to close that portal, our fair city might still be overrun with those monsters.”

Kari once more did not say anything and only smiled. It was important when enacting a business transaction to seem modest but appear powerful. By neither confirming or denying her part in the events of five months ago, she was essentially confirming that it happened without telling anyone how it all happened.

Her mother sometimes used this tactic when dealing with unruly nobles.

“Anyway, please, sit down. Let us talk business,” Mason continued.

He did not go back to his desk, but instead sat at a table off to the side and gestured for Kari to sit on the other side. It was a small table just big enough for two. Anyone sitting at it would probably feel more intimate and connected to the person they sat with. Kari didn’t particularly care for the tactic this man was using right now (the only man she wanted to be intimate with was Eryk), but she put up with it, sitting down with her back straight, hands in her lap, and the elegant smile of a princess on her face.

While Mason and Kari sat down, Jason quickly exited the door. He was not gone for long. He came back after another moment and stood behind Mason.

Kari made basic small talk with the Merchant’s Guild’s leader, speaking only of inconsequential matters. Neither of them probed the other too deeply. Of course, their conversation was in and of itself a probe into the other person’s personality. Both were trying to determine what kind of person the other was. In a negotiation like this, knowing more about the person you were doing business with would allow you to get the most out of the transaction. The one who knew more by the end of the conversation would always hold the upperhand.

“Commander Ashten and Lord Rainere have already informed me about the product you wish to sell through us. May I see the… what did you call it? Storage ring?” asked Mason.

“Yes, it’s called a storage ring, and of course you may see it,” Kari said.

Holding out her hand, Kari turned it over so her palm was facing the ceiling, then applied a bit of Spiritual Power into the storage ring on her index finger. It didn’t take long to find the other storage ring. She had several hundred of them inside. With a small application of will, she summoned the simple silver ring with numerous Runes engraved on it.

Mason sucked in a breath when he saw this happening. He was clearly aware that she had just demonstrated the storage ring’s abilities to him. With an almost reverent gaze, he took the storage ring she had summoned and began studying it.

“Hrm… although it is unadorned, the quality of this ring is superb, and these Runes are very complex. I cannot even fathom how they work,” he muttered.

“The ring was made by a race known as the dweorgs,” Kari explained. “You probably have not heard of them, but they are extraordinary craftsmen. The Runes were carved by me. That storage ring in your hand has a total of fifty square meters of space inside. Any item placed inside of the storage ring will also not be affected by time. I’m sure you can understand the benefits of having such an item.”

At this moment, there was a soft knock on the door before a maid came in. She wore a black and white dress that was elegant yet simple. Pushing in a cart with a tea set and kettle on it, she came up to the table and quietly served them tea before leaving with a bow.

“I can indeed,” Mason said, looking truly joyful. “I can definitely see the benefits in selling such an item. However, there is a small problem.”

Kari did not say anything at first, letting the silence stretch on as she raised the teacup to her lips. This tea set was a Chrysanthemum silver tea set. It had flowing curves, swirling vegetation, meandering tendrils, and exotic blossoming plants decorating the surface. She could not begin to guess how expensive this set was, but it was a clear showing of the Merchant’s Guild’s wealth.

A crack finally appeared on Mason’s face.

Kari hid her smile as she set the cup back down. “And what is the problem?”

With a slight blush, Mason coughed into his hand and said, “The problem is that I am not sure how to price these storage rings. Their value is not something I can measure since I have never seen anything like them before.”

“Hmmm…” Making a noise like she was thinking deeply, Kari gazed into the turbid liquid as she traced the lip of her cup with an index finger. Mason and Jason remained silent and ridgedly waited for her to speak. “I can see why this would be a problem, but I do believe you are making this into a bigger issue than it needs to be.”

“What do you mean?” asked Mason cautiously.

“You have an Auction House, do you not?” Kari asked with a growing smile. “Can you not judge the price by auctioning this item off and basing your price on how much it sold for?”

“Ah!” Mason released a soft gasp, then sighed in admiration. “That is truly an excellent idea. I was so excited by the prospect of selling these that I completely forgot about my Auction House. You are correct. That is a great way to determine the price of these storage rings. Since you understand these storage rings better than me, tell me how you wish to proceed.”

With those words, Kari understood that she had won their exchange and was now in the position of power. She didn’t much care for the position. That said, she was the daughter of Empress Hilda Astralia, and as the daughter of a ruler, she could never let herself be in a weaker position than someone else.

Unless that person’s name was with Eryk.

She was completely fine being underneath him.

Kari summoned two more storage rings and placed them on the table. Each one was silver and looked the same as the one in Mason’s hands. Mason and Jason gulped when they saw that she had more. She wondered what they would think if they learned that she had over one hundred inside of her storage ring right now.

“Sell these three at the Auction House. Set the base price at one hundred thousand valis. See how high each ring is auctioned for, then set your selling price at three-fourths that. Once you have your price, we can begin selling these. However, we won’t sell them on the open market. These storage rings are obviously very powerful and hard to manufacture items, so we should only sell them to sects who can afford the price. We also don’t want to oversaturate the market.”

Mason nodded at everything she said. As a merchant, how could he not understand how bad it would be if they released dozens or hundreds of these into the open market?

“I see you have a firm grasp on business.” Mason smiled at Kari, respect shining in his eyes. “I don’t suppose I could convince you to join the Merchant’s Guild?”

“The only person I will ever work for is my husband,” Kari said with an adamant shake of her head.

“Your husband is one lucky man,” Mason said with a wistful smile.

“Of course he is, but I am also a lucky woman to have a man like him in my life.”

Kari gave Mason and Jason her first true smile, stealing the pair’s breath away.

***

Fay stood before the looming tower for the Alchemist Association, which seemed to bore down on her with a unique pressure that could not be described with words. This tower was a symbol of the Alchemist Associations power. As one of the Six Great Sects, it had an authority that could not be matched by a normal sect, and it was renowned across the Northern Plains as the greatest sect for alchemy. Even the Alchemist Association in Nevaria could not compare to it.

There were a lot of people passing by her. Most of them were dressed in the robes of an alchemist. While every robe was predominantly white, there were some variations in the secondary color. The vast majority had blue as their secondary color, but there was also red, purple, silver, and gold. She determined the alchemists wearing gold were of the higher rank since they were the least numerous.

“Hey, who is that?”

“Don’t know, but she’s really gorgeous!”

“You think she’s here to take the Alchemist Test?”

“Maybe she just admires alchemists.”

“In that case, I should go up and test my luck with her. Heh heh. Maybe I can convince her to be my bed warmer.”

Because Fay had not been present during the fight for Midgard, no one actually knew who she was. Her face was not as well-recognized as Kari and Siv. Both of them were present during that time, and Siv had also transformed into a dragon, so it was only obvious that word of them would spread.

Perhaps this was why so many of these people were willing to talk about her within hearing distance. Fay frowned, but she did not say anything and instead began walking toward the Alchemist Association’s main entrance.

“Excuse me, Miss,” a voice suddenly said. Fay ignored it and continued walking. “Ah! Hey! I’m talking to you!”

A hand landed on her shoulder, and Fay was so startled she grabbed the offending hand, twisted it, and flipped whoever had touched her over her shoulder. There was a loud scream, followed by a choking sound as someone landed on the ground in front of her. Fay blinked several times as she stared at the man she had flipped over, who was now lying on his back, face pale as he tried to breathe without success.

When the people who had been talking about Fay and her beauty saw this, all of them hastily backed away and moved on. Fay didn’t pay any attention to them and instead frowned at the man she had thrown over her shoulder like a ragdoll.

“You should not startle people like that,” she admonished him. “Also, you should know it is improper to touch a woman you are not familiar with.”

“I… I know that now,” the man said with a pained and breathless smile. “Sorry.”

Fay continued to frown, but she still helped the man stand up before backing away a few steps. The man who had been tossed pressed a hand against his chest as if he still couldn’t breathe. During this time, Fay observed him more closely.

The person who she had thrown was maybe a year or two younger than her (it was hard to tell because she still looked like she was seventeen), had a head full of sandy blonde hair, and somewhat dull green eyes. His face was effeminate and his thin body was covered in black robes that made it clear he was not an alchemist yet. He had a very scholarly air about him.

“Whooo…” he breathed out. “You’re pretty violent, aren’t you?”

Fay frowned at the man. “It is not that I am violent. It is that a complete stranger came up to me from behind and touched me. How can I not react defensively to that?”

“Well… I guess it was my fault, but I did call out to you,” the man said, rubbing the back of his head.

“You called out ‘Miss,’” Fay corrected. “There are several women here. How am I supposed to know you were talking to me when you and I never met?”

“Erk. I guess you do bring up a good point.”

Fay studied the man for a second longer, then shook her head and began walking again. She was hoping this man would leave her alone. Sadly, her hopes were dashed when he fell into step with her and began talking.

“Are you also here to take the Alchemist Association’s test?” he asked.

“Yes,” she said, and then, because she was polite, she asked, “You are here for the same reason?”

“Of course.” The man grinned at her as he threw his hands behind his head. “I come from a family of alchemists. We’re one of the most powerful alchemy families within the Northern Plains. I am certain you’ve heard of the Remedium Family?”

“I have never heard of them,” Fay admitted.

The man nearly tripped over his own two feet. “Y-you haven’t?! B-but we’re ranked as the fourth most powerful alchemist family in the entire Northern Plains! Our contributions toward alchemy and the Alchemist Association are innumerable! Everyone who wants to become an alchemist knows about us!”

Fay shrugged. “I am not from the Northern Plains. I only arrived here six months ago.”

“Eh?”

While the man stared at her in shock, Fay finally entered the main lobby and saw that the interior was filled to the brim with people and incredibly hectic. There were several lines forming up in front of different counters. Each counter had an alchemist wearing either a silver or gold robe behind it. Through her observations, she saw that the one with the longest line was the counter where people not wearing alchemist robes were lined up. Meanwhile, the one with the smallest line had silver robed alchemists lining up. There were only three people lined up there.

Fay and the man she had tossed lined up in the longest of the lines. Much to her displeasure, the man continued chatting to her.

“Anyway, my name is Ruben. Ruben Remedium. And you are?”

“… Fay Valstine.”

“Fay… that’s a very lovely name. It suits you.”

“…”

“Anyway, since fate has brought us together, let me tell you what I know about the Alchemist Association’s test. I myself have not taken it yet. However, my two elder brothers have already taken it. Oh! My eldest brother is currently a Master Alchemist. He’s only twenty-five and has already reached such a lofty height! I’m so jealous! My second eldest brother is an Expert Alchemist. They became alchemists when they were only sixteen. I’m sort of the black sheep of the family. I’m seventeen, but I haven’t passed the Alchemist Association’s first test for novice-level alchemists.”

Fay could only sigh as the man continued talking her ear off. While she now knew this man was several years her junior, he didn’t even tell her what he knew about the alchemist test she was going to take like he promised, but instead went off on a tangent talking about his family and how he was considered a failure because he failed his first alchemist test two years ago.

The line seemed to move slowly to Fay, who was forced to listen to the chatterbox beside her. She didn’t have much experience with people like this. While Fay was not shy like Siv, she generally preferred being by herself or with her family. The only people outside of her family who she spent time with were the ones she beat into submission—um, the people she trained through sparring.

When it was finally her turn, Fay stood before the man in the silver robes. He was much older than anyone in line. Everyone in line was around the same age as Ruben, but this man was clearly in his forties. He had gray hair, a gray beard, and wrinkles lining his face.

“I will need your name and registration fee before you can take the Novice-level Alchemist Test,” he said.

“My name is Fay Valstine,” Fay said as she held out her hand and summoned a scroll from her storage ring. She ignored the shocked exclamations around her and set the scroll down in front of the stunned old man. “I was asked to give you this scroll before I take the test.”

The man stared at the scroll with a baffled expression, but his eyes grew to the size of gold valis when he saw the Alchemist Association’s seal on the wax. He took the scroll with trembling hands. After undoing the seal and unfurling the scroll, he read the contents, his eyes growing so wide she worried they might fall out of his skull.

“Ah… you… er… ahem… your registration fee is waved,” the alchemist said, looking for all the world like someone had just punched him really hard in the gut. “Also, after you finish taking the Novice Test, you can immediately take the next one. Your fee for that test will also be waved.”

“Ah! What is going on here?!” asked the shocked Ruben, but Fay did not pay him any attention.

She took the scroll back from the stunned alchemist and followed a woman dressed in blue robes down the hall. Behind her, Ruben gave his name, paid his registration fee, and quickly hurried to catch up with her. He asked her lots of questions, but Fay was not in the mood to answer.

She and Ruben were led to a large chamber that looked similar to the refining room for the Alchemist Association back home. There were around one hundred stations set up. Each station contained a basic alchemy set. All of the equipment was in relatively good shape.

Fay was not the first person to enter. She counted at least thirty other people inside, each of whom was already standing next to an alchemy set. Most of them looked like normal people, but there were a few who were more eye catching than the rest. There was a young woman with snow white skin, silver hair, and red eyes. She was bickering with another woman at the table next to her. That woman was a dark-haired beauty with olive skin and purple eyes. Aside from those two, there was also a handsome young man wearing golden robes, though his looks were ruined by the pompous expression on his face.

The moment she stepped into the room, all eyes turned toward her.