Author's Notes: Chapter edited and corrected by Scott Fellman.
Bella Pov - Fifth day as Miach's daughter.
I entered the Guild building with a bag large enough to fit all the magic stones I was going to sell in my normal form. I had already come in Alucard form and sold most of my earnings from the previous day.
I quickly glanced at the building's receptionists. I nearly rolled my eyes when Eina saw me and yelped in surprise before glaring at me. I sighed and surrendered to my fate.
I walked in her direction, before turning at the last moment and standing in front of Misha Flott.
"Good morning, I want to sell these magic stones," I said easily as I placed the bag of magic stones on the ground. It wasn't the first time this had happened, and Misha had a massive smile on her face while Eina glared at us from several feet away.
"Of course!" Misha said happily. Eina seemed to finally snap, ignoring the adventurer in front of her and approaching us.
"You!" Eina growled in my direction. I ignored her and continued looking at Misha.
"Where do I leave the bag?" I asked simply, and Misha smiled broadly.
"Please follow me. If the number is the same as the previous days, we'll have to separate and count them," Misha said professionally.
"Stop ignoring me!" Eina growled as she stood in front of me. I rolled my eyes and looked over Eina's head, in the direction of a very amused Misha.
"Hey, Misha, can I file a complaint with the union about harassment by one of the receptionists?" I asked tersely. Misha's eyes lit up.
"Of course, the comfort of our adventurers is paramount," Misha said seriously as she suppressed her smile, but her face was trembling all over.
"I'm not harassing anyone," Eina squealed indignantly. I raised an eyebrow and finally looked at her.
"What do you call constantly nagging someone to pay attention to you, even though that person doesn't want to talk to you?" I said dryly. Eina blushed slightly.
"Then stop ignoring me!" Eina exclaimed, embarrassed. I gasped falsely.
"Oh, so you realized I was ignoring you? And here I thought you didn't get the hint." I said with fake surprise.
" Yes, I did notice! I was ignoring it." Eina replied.
"Wait, so you were ignoring the fact that I was ignoring you. But if you were ignoring me, why are you talking to me?" I asked, confused.
"I wasn't ignoring you, I was ignoring that you were ignoring me," Eina said quickly.
"No, no, no, that's not how it works. If you're ignoring the fact that I'm ignoring you, and ignoring you is all I do, then you'd have to ignore me completely. That means you have to stop talking to me in order to ignore me." I said immediately. Eina stopped, opening her mouth before closing it. Then she frowned.
"What?" Eina asked foolishly. I smirked as Misha burst into laughter, which she tried to hide behind her hand. Eina blushed slightly. "Stop doing that! You're not going to leave us for a long talk!" Eina said, embarrassed.
"You didn't know we had to talk about something," I said simply, shrugging.
"Yeah, a talk would be a drag! You can't enter the dungeon without information! We have a lot to cover! Monster types, strategies, and-"
"No, thank you." I said simply before turning to Misha. "So? A private room for the magic stones." Misha smiled amusedly while Eina looked at me in confusion.
"No?" Eina asked stupidly. I rolled my eyes.
"I don't need any advisor, or anyone to inform me, or teach me, or tell me what I'm capable of. I'm more than capable of taking care of myself in the dungeon." I said simply as I lifted the bag of magic stones.
"Yeah, just like thousands of dead adventurers," Eina snapped, and I rolled my eyes. I knew the mortality rate, but it didn't matter to me. In the past five days, I'd been able to make it down to the Lower Garden on the 28th floor with relative ease.
The floors were getting bigger and more complicated to navigate, and I also had a quota of magic stones to collect on the first few floors, so I couldn't dive too deep all at once.
Still, I was enjoying those floors. The difficulty kept getting higher and higher, and I couldn't wait to get to the deeper floors.
"And if I die, it'll be my fault. I don't see why you're so interested," I said nonchalantly. Eina wrinkled her nose.
"You tricked me, you said you wanted to join a medicinal guild, but all you do is go down to the dungeon. I even heard rumors that you came out completely soaked in blood on the first day! " Eina said while pointing at me, reprimanding me. I raised an eyebrow.
"I never deceived you. I said I wanted to join the Miach Family, I never said I wanted to prepare medicine." I retorted dryly. Eina grunted. "Fine, you can help me with something," I said while rolling my eyes.
"With what?" Eina asked immediately, almost excited.
"Do you know where they sell books?" I asked simply. Eina looked puzzled.
"Books?" Eina repeated, confused. I nodded.
"Books, I'm looking for books. My wife loves them. I was thinking of getting some as gifts." I said simply. Eina opened her mouth and gritted her teeth, looking like she was about to argue.
"You can look in the school district! There's also the Great Gnome Library, but it charges a fee to get in. There are a few shops where you can buy some books too, and some outstanding secondhand options." Misha replied cheerfully from behind Eina.
"Misha!" Eina scolded. I nodded.
"Do you sell magic books?" I asked curiously. They both blinked at me.
"Grimoires? Are you looking for grimoires? Grimoires are ridiculously expensive." Eina said quickly, sounding worried. I shook my head.
"No, magic books, genuine magic books, normal magic, thick theory books, and everything, my wife loves those books." I said nonchalantly.
"I would recommend The Witch's Secret House, it's a magic shop, it should have what you're looking for." Another voice interrupted. I turned and saw Riveria approaching us.
"Riveria?! What brings you here?! I thought you weren't going to the dungeon today!" Eina exclaimed in surprise. Riveria nodded as she picked up some papers.
"And we won't, we'll be enjoying the Monster Feria, but I had some paperwork to deliver to the guild." Riveria said simply. "It's good to see you, Eina. I thought you had already left to oversee the Feria." Riveria said simply.
"Ah!" Eina said in surprise, her face paling slightly. "I have to go!" Eina exclaimed in panic as she started running towards the door. She stopped at the door before turning around and quickly running in my direction. "This isn't over!" Eina exclaimed in my direction.
I just smirked as I watched Eina run back outside. Riveria sighed beside me.
"Excuse Eina, she likes to help adventurers and is a bit... passionate." Riveria said with an apologetic smile.
"Don't worry, it's fun to tease her." I said with a mocking smile.
"I see you act a lot based on what you find amusing or not," Riveria said with a hum before looking at Rose Fannet and beckoning her. Rose nodded and walked over, grabbing Riveria's papers and quickly moving away to work on them.
I almost wanted to snort. Efficient, meanwhile, I had to dodge a very insistent Eina every time I entered in my standard guise. It was completely different from how she behaved whenever she appeared in Alucard's guise.
"I'm on vacation, I'm here to have fun." I said honestly while shrugging.
"Some people look for… more peaceful places with better views to spend their holidays. But I suppose Orario has its appeal. Especially if you want a break from… certain responsibilities." Riveria agreed vaguely, and I raised an eyebrow.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," I said dryly. Riveria just nodded.
"Never mind. Leaving that aside. What kind of books were you looking for? I could help you find what you need," Riveria asked, changing the subject.
"Any magic book, literally, like any other. My wife enjoys reading about any knowledge of magic from anywhere. She has thousands of books and still wants more." I snorted lightly, affectionately. Riveria paused for a few seconds.
"Yenite Forest." Riveria muttered, slightly surprised. I raised an eyebrow. I had no idea what that meant. "Oh, no, sorry. I mean, I could walk you to Lenoa's shop. I'm a regular customer. I could recommend something your... wife might be interested in," Riveria said quickly.
"How... kind of you." I said slowly. "Now, if I could find out why I caught Nine Hell's attention enough for her to become a simple guide, that would be good." I said while raising an eyebrow in her direction. Riveria opened her eyes slightly.
"Oh, no, there's no ulterior motive," Riveria said quickly, and I raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah, I don't believe you," I said dryly, causing Riveria to flinch slightly. "But I won't reject the guidance and recommendations of Orario's greatest magic expert," I said, amusedly, and Riveria nodded.
"Okay, let's go? I'll guide you." Riveria said simply before turning around.
"Not yet, I still have to sell this," I said, holding up the bag of magic stones. "Misha looks like she's about to explode if we don't get out from in front of her counter," I said amusedly, looking at Misha, who flinched when I said her name.
"Oh no, no, no, take your time! It means less work for me!" Misha said with a cheeky grin, before a small object hit her on the head courtesy of Rose. " Gah! Rose!"
"Very well, I'll wait for you," Riveria said with a slight nod. I hummed for a few seconds before reaching inside my coat and taking out a book from the Pocket Space in the Mansion in Pentagram City. I handed it to Riveria, who looked confused. "How-?" she said dumbly as she looked at my coat.
"This is an introductory book my wife wrote. I'm sure my wife would love to hear feedback on her books. You can read it while you wait," I said simply, looking at Misha. She stood up and pointed to one of the people in the room.
I grabbed the bag and walked in that direction, looking over my shoulder as I watched Riveria open the book and begin reading. I smiled slightly.
After about 20 minutes, Misha finally handed me a bag of money I'd tucked into my trench coat and left the room. My gaze fell on Riveria.
Her entire stance had changed; her face was practically buried in the book as her eyes darted over the words inside. She was focused entirely on the book, unaware that she was, in fact, still standing in the middle of the guild hall in front of one of the counters.
I walked up to her, grabbed the book, and snatched it out of her hands.
"NO!" Riveria shrieked loudly as her hands followed the book before stopping. Everyone present whipped their heads around as they heard Riveria, a usually stoic and composed Level 6 adventurer, shriek in panic.
Riveria blushed slightly.
"I guess the book was entertaining," I said, amusedly. Riveria's eyes widened slightly.
"Of course! It was a little difficult to read the words, as they were written in a sort of regional dialect. Still, once I got used to it, the amount of theory, annotations, and magical development was incredible!"
"It's a completely new branch of magic, I've never read anything like it! And it seems so doable! I'm not sure if it's possible, but the little I've read seems to indicate that it is, and it's fascinating! The person who wrote it is a genius!" Riveria said, sounding more excited than she expected as her eyes sparkled slightly.
Regional dialect? Right, I suppose she could call it that. The book was in English, not the Kione dialect of this world. The characters were very close, and apparently, it was close enough for her to read.
The book she'd given her was one of Sera's experiments, or well, something like that. The demon schools in Pentagram City were similar to mundane schools, only teaching subjects such as social studies and science, with dozens of teachers coming to the city and more than happy to teach.
But something was missing for Sera's liking. There was absolutely no one who taught magic properly. All the demons who came to Pentagram City were low-class, knowing only the bare essentials of demonic magic.
I mean, several commoner demons possessed the strength of high-class demons. Still, they were obviously unable to advance in rank due to a myriad of reasons, mostly oppression from the pillar demons.
But none of them were truly experts in anything; they were only able to achieve so much power through sheer force of will, but they weren't in a position to teach anyone. At least not in a systematic way.
Ravel had offered to hire some masters from the Phenex territory, but that still didn't solve the fact that there were no experts or masters in the city.
So, Sera practically rewrote all the Hogwarts curriculum books to adapt them to the demons who wanted to learn from it. Sera had to adjust them since demons didn't use wands, and magic was also different from demonic power.
Most demons only needed magic circles and a lot of imagination once they had enough demonic power for the weakest spells. But Sera said it was a waste of demonic power; she was sure that even the least demonic-powered demon would be able to complete the Hogwarts curriculum.
So, Sera filled them with theory —theory that was easy enough for anyone to understand. Or, well, that was the idea. It was still a work in progress; she had a lot of books to adapt, and besides, she hadn't had the chance to publish the books and see if demons could learn that way.
I'm sure Sera would like to see if an Elf from another world was able to learn Hogwarts magic in that way.
"I-" Riveria said, catching my attention. "We're going to Twilight Manor." Riveria said decisively, and I raised an eyebrow at her.
"I'm a married woman." I said playfully, Riveria blushed deeply.
"Not that! Do you have to be so rude?" Riveria asked, embarrassed. " You wanted books on magic, right? I have hundreds in the mansion. You can choose 5—no, 10 of them, for that book." Riveria said quickly, pointing at the book in my hand. I raised an eyebrow.
"What a generous offer." I said in surprise, Riveria stared at me.
"It's worth it. That book is… revolutionary if it works, and I'm sure no one's read it, besides you and your wife, right?" Riveria asked pointedly. I hummed.
"No, not really. No one in this world has read these books besides us." I said honestly. Riveria nodded confidently.
"Then it's valuable enough," Riveria said resolutely. "Come on, my room at Twilight Manor is filled with magic books I've collected over the years. There's also a library in the Manor to choose from, so you can take any of them," Riveria said without hesitation.
"As… interesting as the offer is, I must decline." I said with a shrug. Riveria froze and looked confused for a few seconds; more than anything, she seemed confused that someone would refuse. I scoffed lightly while smiling. "Do you really think it's a good idea for me to come near Twilight Manor after last week?"
"Ah." Riveria said foolishly as if she'd forgotten about it. I laughed amusedly.
"Don't worry, here." I said, throwing the book to her once more. Riveria grabbed it and latched onto it immediately. "Just pick 10 books from your collection. Any introductory books will do—say, the books you'd recommend to someone who knows nothing about magic."
"I'll go to the dungeon if you can't find me in the next few days, just take them to the Blue Pharmacy and leave them with Naaza." I said easily, Riveria blinked.
"Introductory books? For someone at this level?" Riveria asked incredulously as she lifted and pointed at the book. I nodded.
"My wife prefers it. She said she'd reward me if I got her several of them," I said with a shrug.
"Reward?" Riveria repeated, confused, I smiled lasciviously at her.
"Sex, lots of sex." I said directly, Riveria froze for a few seconds before exploding in red, and she wasn't the only one, as most of those present were paying attention to us, or rather, to Riveria; they all blushed in the same way.
I burst out laughing and started walking out of the building.
"See you, Nine Hell, like I said, you can write in the book or a letter about your ideas or experience if you want me to send it to my wife, she loves to chatter about magic, so she'll probably get back to you." I said, amusedly as I walked out of the building.
"Wait! At least let me take you to the magic shop!" Riveria exclaimed, I just raised my hand without looking at her.
"Misha already gave me the address," I said simply and quickly left the building.
I started walking quickly toward the dungeon, which was empty due to the Monster Feria. I wasn't really curious about the Feria at all. Most adventurers go for the Feria area, the shops and food stalls, while civilians who have never set foot in the dungeon go for the monsters.
I had no interest in either of them.
I descended into the nearly deserted dungeon and let Fortune begin to guide my movements. I paused momentarily, confused as I felt Fortune's push toward the surface.
I frowned; Fortune was pointing toward the Feria if I positioned myself correctly. I clicked my tongue as I stopped pushing Fortune and tried again, this time with more force, to guide me into the dungeon.
Still, the push, the path that Fortune formed, was heading back to the surface, to the Monster Feria.
I wrinkled my nose. Usually, I'd ignore Fortune outside the dungeon. I wasn't interested in having Fortune guide my movements, but color me curious. I shrugged and turned away.
A glance wouldn't hurt. I had no intention of interfering with what was supposed to happen in the series. If Fortune were guiding me to get involved for some reason, I would appear on the lower floors and kill everything I saw, even without Fortune.
I hope it's not a waste of time.