Author's Notes: Chapter edited and corrected by Scott Fellman.
Bellatrix Pov - 2nd day as a child of Miach.
It turns out that when you share some magically enhanced desserts and alcohol that would make even a god drool, the party continues. So last night, we spent much of the time just chatting and eating things Sera had prepared and stocked.
Miach used the confrontation with the Loki family as an excuse not to celebrate properly, so yes, we talked a lot —or rather, Miach talked a lot and asked a lot of questions.
Now, I was walking toward the guild building in Alucard's guise. And I stood out completely. Red isn't an easy color to camouflage, and Alucard's height — almost 2 meters — also made me stand out.
Still, I smiled playfully as I walked confidently towards the building. Once inside, I didn't stop; I continued walking to the reception as the others moved out of the way, once again in front of Eina Tulle, and I smiled widely at her.
"H-Hello! Welcome to the Guild! How may I help you?" Eina asked almost in a squeal. I took off my hat, placed it on my chest, and bowed slightly, mostly to look her in the eyes since I was more than a head taller than her. How did Sera get used to being so tall?
"Greetings, I'd like to sell some magic stones and monster drops." I said in a slightly hoarse, male voice. I took the storage bag out of my hat. Eina flinched slightly before recovering her smile.
"Of course! How many magic stones do you want to sell? " Eina asked professionally.
"1500 magic stones, between monsters from floors 5 to 17, and 150 drops." I said happily, Eina's smile froze.
"Excuse me... what family do you belong to?" Eina asked slowly. I laughed lightly and let my eyes shine.
"Now, I'm sure that's not important for business, is it? " I asked playfully, Eina's smile fell slightly.
"Of course not." Eina remained professional. "When can you bring the magic stones? We'll separate them and calculate the price once you bring everything," Eina said easily.
"Here they are." I said, holding up the small bag and bouncing it a couple of times to make a point. Eina gave me such a flat look; it was funny, then she sighed.
"Sir… please don't make jokes inside the Guild. If that's all, please leave the building. More customers are waiting." Eina said bluntly. I just laughed hoarsely. I opened the bag and turned it over.
A stone began to fall. Eina didn't seem at all impressed, then another stone, and another, and another, and then a cascade of stones started. Dozens, hundreds.
" Aaahhh, stop!" Eina squealed as she ran out of her spot and off the counter and to the side. "You can't just drop everything in here!" Eina exclaimed, I just kept letting the stones fall.
In no time, I was next to a mountain of magic stones, and then the drops from the monsters began to fall.
"For the gods! Stop! Misha! Rosa! Help me here! Don't let any other adventurers get close-" Eina stopped as the drops stopped mid-fall and slowly began to return to the bag, then the magic stones were sucked in like some kind of vacuum cleaner.
Within seconds, everything was back in the bag, and I smiled mischievously as I bounced the bag.
"So? Sale? " I asked playfully, I could see Eina's incredulous face turn into a furious one before she closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
"Misha, Rosa, please return to your seats, thank you." Eina said to her companions, who had approached and were also staring in astonishment at the small bag in my hand. "And you, sir!" Eina pointed at me. "You can't take out a magic item of that caliber! Do you know how dangerous it will be for you now!? Everyone in the city will know what's inside you in a few hours!" Eina exclaimed.
She seemed genuinely concerned. I laughed lightly and looked around. Eina was right. All I could see from the other adventurers was a look of lust, greed, and desire as they stared at the small bag. And I guess it made sense. A storage bag was a complete game-changer for raids.
If I wanted to make more money, I could ask Sera to create more and start selling them. I know she can create dozens of them in a few minutes; they'd sell for tens of millions of Vali here. And the camping tents, too.
Maybe I will. There are several things Sera wanted to acquire from this world. The Grimoires. Sera really wanted to get her hands on some of them so she could study them. And also the magic swords and magic metals, but those were a much lower priority.
"I had to prove I wasn't joking, right? " I said playfully, Eina just glared at me.
"Follow me," Eina said simply before turning around and starting to walk to one of the private rooms. I just followed her quietly. Once we arrived, she pointed to the floor to my side. "Please put everything back there."
I just nodded, turned the bag over again, and dropped everything on the floor. Eina kept looking at my bag strangely until I finished unpacking everything.
"What... what is your ability?" Eina asked curiously before her eyes widened in slight panic, before she shook her head. "Sorry, that was out of line, just ignore the question," Eina said quickly before clearing her throat. "Please take a seat, this might take a while."
Eina pointed to a small sofa to the side, and I just laughed lightly. Eina approached the pile of stones and began carefully sorting them while jotting notes on the clipboard in her hand.
"100 times more," I said as I sat down. Eina turned around and looked at me in confusion. I just smiled slightly. "The bag can hold 100 times that amount," I said distractedly as I pointed at the small pile of magic stones. Eina froze completely and looked at me in disbelief.
"That…" Eina tried to say, flustered, but I just laughed hoarsely, making her blush. "It must… it must have been worth a fortune." Eina said, clearing her throat, and she went back to counting the magic stones.
"It was free, my wife made it." I said honestly, Eina froze once again.
"Wow… she must be a woman with a pretty high development ability." Eina said simply, I hummed.
"I was thinking of asking her to make more, I could sell them to other families-"
"The guild will buy them from you!" Eina shrieked, interrupting me as she stood up and stared at me. I laughed in amusement, but Eina didn't waver; she stared at me.
"Maybe. My wife lives far away, so it might take weeks for a message to arrive and all that," I said distractedly. Eina gulped.
"No problem! In fact, it's better! We can create a quote and offer you a price accordingly." Eina said quickly, and I smiled slightly.
"I'll think about it, though, first I have to see if my wife agrees, she's... quite fussy. I'll be in the city for a few days. I'll come to sell magic stones and drops regularly, if my wife agrees, you'll be the first to know." I said simply. Eina smiled widely.
"I'll look forward to it! Now I'll finish this," Eina chirped as she went back to counting the stones with renewed enthusiasm. I hummed softly.
A promise of a really valuable magic item was enough to get on the Guild's good side. This way, I could come and sell stones and resources without raising too many questions, especially in large quantities as I had planned, all to stay on my good side.
They won't discount any items, nor will they value resources below the regular price, and they might even give me a preferential price, just to get me hooked.
I could leave them in limbo for weeks, and ultimately, if I decided not to sell it, well, I could blame Sera — or just sell them; it's not like I care about upsetting the city's balance in any way.
I could sell them to the guild and have them handle distribution; it would save me a lot of work, plus, using Alucard's form, they wouldn't even bother me when I was in my true form.
As I watched Eina count the jewels, I started talking to Sera. I would really be expecting some kind of weapon from her. I don't mind using firearms. After all, they were still weapons, objects I could use to kill, so I didn't have anything against them, like Sera did for them being 'technological'.
"Finished, the total comes to 6,416,680 Valis. Here's a full breakdown if you want to check it out." Eina said as she handed over the clipboard. I quickly saw all the stones counted, the drops, and all the calculations made. I whistled lightly.
Eina looked tired, but her eyes were slightly bright.
"Very well, I trust you," I said with a shrug. Eina looked surprised, then nodded with a smile.
"Okay, how would you prefer the payment to be processed? Do you want to open a guild account? A promissory note? Or in Valis? " Eina asked quickly.
"Valis." I said directly, Eina nodded.
"Okay, so that would be… 641 of Gold Valis, 66 of Silver Valis, and 80 of Copper Valis. I'll get it for you right away." Eina said as she nodded. She leaned down slightly and opened the door. I could hear her calling out to a couple of people. Two more employees immediately came in with a cart. Eina nodded in their direction and left the room.
The two employees glanced at me briefly before quickly piling things into the cart. They finished quickly and left just as quickly. Eina came in a few minutes later.
She was pushing a smaller cart with a bag the size of a head or a football. All the money should have been in there. From what I discovered, there were three types of currency: gold, silver, and copper, with values of 10,000, 100, and 1 valis, respectively.
"Very well, inside would be all the Valis, you can count them if you want," Eina said professionally as she placed the cart in front of me. I nodded and picked up the bag, which was quite heavy for its size.
I bounced it a few times in my hand before dropping it into my storage bag, which absorbed it without any problems. I stuffed my small moke skin pouch into the inside pocket of my coat and smiled at Eina.
"No need, I trust you," I said simply. I grabbed my red cowboy hat and placed it on my head. "Now, I should be off. I have errands to run," I said simply, nodding in her direction. "A pleasure doing business with the Guild," I said as I walked away.
"Wait!" Eina exclaimed. I looked over my shoulder at her as she bit her lip. "You... you got all the magic stones by yourself?" Eina asked bravely. I smiled widely.
"Careful, Miss Receptionist, curiosity killed the cat," I said playfully. Eina trembled slightly but still stared at me. I laughed hoarsely. I had to give her points for bravery, concern, and stupidity. "I'm just paid to do this," I said with a shrug.
"Do they... pay you to come sell things?" Eina asked, confused. I laughed as I nodded. "Why?" Eina asked, completely confused. I shrugged.
"I don't ask questions, miss, I'm doing my job. How would I know what game the gods are playing at?" I asked playfully. Eina grimaced at that. "Who knows how they got it? Maybe they killed or robbed adventurers—" Eina looked almost horrified. "—or maybe a small family got a golden goose they can't take care of and don't want to attract attention so that it won't be stolen. I have no idea."
I said playfully while winking at her. Eina froze, understanding beginning to appear on her face, and I could practically see her scanning the minor families, and I just laughed deeply.
"See you, Miss Receptionist. I hope it's a secret between us." I said playfully as I left.
"Wait!" Eina interrupted me again; this time, she ran over and grabbed my wrist. I suppressed the instinct to lash out reflexively and just raised an eyebrow at her.
"Although… I don't mind your enthusiasm, I'm a married man, Miss Receptionist, I won't betray my vows." I said hoarsely. Eina let go of me as if she'd burned her hand, taking several steps back. I just smiled suggestively at her. "Unless… you want to join us, I'm… sure my wife would enjoy a nice snack just like you." I laughed hoarsely.
Eina Tulle blushed; she almost looked like she was about to faint. I just laughed once more and started to leave.
"Be careful!" Eina squealed, completely embarrassed. She bit her lip. "You... drew attention by displaying the magic item in public. Several adventurers moved quickly. They... must be waiting for you outside." Eina said worriedly, though she didn't approach like before.
I just kept walking and raised a hand to say goodbye.
"Don't worry, Miss Receptionist, I'll be back tomorrow fully equipped to sell more magic stones." I said simply, finally leaving the room, I could see how everyone fell silent.
Apparently, Eina's warning was entirely accurate. I could see all the eyes following me. I just kept a smile on my face and left the building without worry.
I started walking down the street and almost whistled. Seven people were following me. This was going to be entertaining. I slowed down, looked at various shops along the way, and made time for everyone to follow me comfortably.
After 15 minutes, I finally took one of the alleys. I could see how everyone immediately ran to follow me. I smiled broadly as I continued walking, each time through an alley that was increasingly hidden, more and more devoid of any human presence.
"Are you really an idiot? Locking yourself in? " a voice mocked as it appeared.
"Tch, Soma family? Get out of here, he's ours." A second voice said.
"A fucking Amazon from the Ishtar family? What are you going to do? Are you going to fuck him to distract him?" another voice mocked.
"Canoe? Look at that rat that came out of the sewer, you're a pathetic level 1, don't be embarrassed anymore, you can't beat me." Another woman mocked.
"Yes... I think not, he is our target, and about not being able to defeat you... " said the one called Canoe mockingly while taking out a small sword.
"A magic sword?" the Amazon growled in disgust.
"Ha… you recognize a magic sword, since you recognize it so well, I suggest you return from the brothel of d-"
Yeah... I'm bored. I rolled my eyes as I watched the now eight people fight each other in a mind-numbingly boring penis measurement. I put on a Muggle-repellent shield, pulled out Jackal, and shot Canoe in the head.
Canoe was still arguing with the Amazon, so he couldn't react in the slightest when the high-caliber bullet exploded in his head. The others froze in near horror, and I just laughed heartily.
"Let's see, little adventurers, if I absorb your souls, will you retain your divine spark and all your potential?" I asked, genuinely curious. If I could obtain god's blood, could I upgrade the falnas of my slave souls? I didn't know, but I'd be happy to find out.
I charged at the still-shocked group of adventurers, began killing them, and draining their blood.
…
In a few minutes, I was covered in blood along with eight corpses and eight new souls inside me; it was a good morning.
I laughed sadistically as I shapeshifted back into my true form and started walking towards the pharmacy, ah-
Before I forget, I bent down and grabbed the magic dagger that Canoe had. I looked at it briefly before throwing it into my inventory while shrugging. Sera will study it when she has time.
Now, it was time to go back to the pharmacy, drop off the profits, and then head back to the dungeon.
Author's Notes: I was reviewing the previous chapters, and it turns out that it took me around 12 chapters, 6 of each POV, to finish a single day inside a new world... I just realized that I can't write things much more concisely and quickly.
So... is this pacing okay? Should I keep it up? Or should I try to speed things up? (Warning: I might fail at this, since that's what I originally intended.)
Editors note: do as you please almighty Author KAMI