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In this world where the existence called ‘God’ exists, humans cannot become kings and have nations.
Hence, instead of kingdoms or empires, there are cities in this world. Of course, not all cities are the same just because they’re cities. Various factors such as city size, population, economic power, and military strength determine the status of a city.
The place called “Rootran” is a recognized major city by everyone. Starting from the city’s area and population, it’s several times larger than Oldor, and the noble families who rule the city have maintained their power without wavering for centuries.
And in Rootran, there are three groups:
The Tower of Dercia, which has the Celestial Thunder Orca as its Tower Lord.
The Namgung Family, which holds significant influence in both the Eastern Grand Alliance and the Jungcheon Clan.
And essentially the rulers of current Rutran, the Ascard Family. Even in the Cartel, a coalition of western families, the Ascard Family holds significant authority and has supported Rootran’s economy for a long time.
The fertile grain-producing area of Rootran is a result of the Ascard Family calling upon high-ranking priests of the God of Earth and God of Prosperity from the Religious Federation City Union, blessing the land. Nearly half of the goods circulated in Rootran also pass through the Ascard Family-owned marketplace.
“I miss it.”
After 30 years had passed, I was secretly worried, but the reality of Rootran that I understood through Yuri’s memories and Elena’s additional explanations wasn’t much different from the game.
The true rulers of this major city are still the Ascard Family. There are several other families as well, but even if they were to unite, they wouldn’t surpass the power of the Ascard Family, which belongs to the Cartel.
The Namgung Family is in a similar situation. They settled in Rutran over 50 years ago, but they are still outsiders lacking in dignity to the long-standing owners of this city.
Tower of Dersia remains unchanged. These lightning magicians can engage in massacres at will, but they keep their distance from the power struggles of the city and remain at the Tower.
Being in such a position, Tower of Dercia receives great treatment in this city. Just being a magician of Tower of Dercia is enough to avoid feeling uncomfortable in the city’s life.
Elena moving to the 4th grade and receiving a house as a gift is not because the Celestial Thunder Orca is rich enough to buy a house. Such a gift itself is a sign of affection conveyed by the Ascard Family to Tower of Dercia.
In reality, the Ascard Family sends a donation that far exceeds the annual budget of Tower of Dersia every year.
Magicians who are accustomed to abundance will not harbour enmity against the Ascard Family for a long time, and thus, the Ascard Family has ruled over Rootran for a long time. Even though the Namgung Family, who has built up wealth for a long time, arrived in this city only about 50 years ago, they cannot possibly compare.
While it’s true that they hold considerable influence in Jungcheon Clan, their boasted ‘sword’ poses no threat to the Ascard Family.
In the game, it was difficult to truly grasp how amazing the Ascard Family was and how massive this city was.
Calling it the landscape of a major city would be pitiful when compared to the graphics of the latest games, and the Ascard Family, a Cartel’s pride, was merely a source of experience points and in-game currency copying at high levels.
[To earn money while hunting the magicians of Tower of Dersia, attack the Ascard Family. Even the NPCs of the Ascard Family drop millions of coins by default when attacked, and if you kill the head, the Celestial Thunder Orca will appear immediately.]
[Hiring Salmun Clan and waiting in front of the Tower triggers a forced battle event with the Celestial Thunder Orca, but doing that for a limited honor quest is too inefficient. It’s better to secure resources by farming Ascard.]
Even THOR123, who was referred to as the father of the community’s lightning magicians, emphasized this in the guide with the highest view count.
Yuri had translated it using a translator and tried it himself, and it turned out to be true.
“It’s not just the Dersia magicians who appear.”
Although the Ascard Family was treated like golden goblins in the game, in reality, it’s not so simple.
The luxurious mansion that Elena got after passing the 4th rank wasn’t an enormously large mansion.
But it was incomparable to the shared housing that Yuri lived in. It was a two-story detached house with a small garden. Seeing Yuri standing there with a dazed expression, Elena lightly tapped her shoulder from behind.
“Why are you standing there?”
“I like the house.”
He conveyed his sincere impression, causing Elena’s mouth to curl up. She used magic to bring the travel bag from the carriage and shrugged her shoulders.
“Well… isn’t it ordinary? But it won’t be mine forever. I have to return it when I reach the 6th Grade.”
“Instead, you’ll receive a new house, right?”
“How did you know?”
“If you take back the house you gave, you should give a new one, right?”
Even if she doesn’t reach the 6th Grade, it’s a house where she can live for a lifetime. 27-year-old Lee Soohyuk lived in a cheap studio apartment, and 20-year-old Yuri lived in a studio without a bathroom or kitchen. Yet, the same-aged Elena lived in a 2-story house with a garden…
“It’s not easy to establish a home in this world either.”
Yuri sighed deeply, and Haeryeong approached him.
“Is it okay to leave the carriage here?”
“If you leave it, someone will come to take it away.”
“Are you saying that Haeryeong-nim is staying in this house as well?”
“No. I stay at an inn nearby.”
“Even though you were so passionate about the escort mission, is that okay?”
“I’d also like to stay by Miss Elena’s side, but Miss doesn’t like having her personal space invaded.”
“Then why did you bring me to this house?” Yuri looked at Elena, bewildered.
“Though that’s the case, she said she leave Yuri behind at the house, so it’s quite inexplicable.”
Haeryeong nodded as if she knew what Yuri was thinking.
“Exceptions exist as well.”
Elena quickly added an explanation.
“Originally, this escort mission started when we went to perform a 4th Grade request from the Adventurer’s Guild. It was to prepare for dangers outside the city.
“True. Besides what Miss said, I also accompany her when she move within the city.”
“Who would dare to touch the magicians of Tower of Dercia in the first place? Unless they’re crazy.”
“There are so many crazy people in this world.”
“Well… maybe I don’t know, but it’s okay. I can protect myself just fine.”
Elena said that and gave a mischievous glance to Haeryeong.
“And the inn where Haeryeong stays isn’t too far from here. It’s connected with protective magic, so if anyone attacks, we can respond immediately. And…”
“I got it, I got it.”
The endless stream of excuses didn’t need further listening. When Yuri cut off her words like that, Elena let out a sigh of relief instead.
“Could it be that you don’t like living in my house?”
“You said you dislike having your personal space invaded.”
“We used to sleep together when we were young, so it’s fine.”
“That was when we were 10.”
“What does it matter? We won’t be sharing the same room. I told you, there are plenty of rooms.”
Elena stopped talking and reached out to the mansion’s door. In Yuri’s eyes, it looked like Elena’s mana flowed toward the door.
“Indeed.”
As the flow of mana became apparent, the magical symbols on the mansion’s door appeared naturally to Yuri. Complex interwoven sigils. Yuri, who lacked foundational knowledge, couldn’t understand such complex sigils yet, but she could understand that Elena’s mana was becoming a key to unlock the sigils.
Understanding just that much was enough. To see through the sigils meant that if Yuricould reproduce just the sigils, he could try using magic.
Of course, knowing the theory alone doesn’t mean you can solve the problem perfectly. A deeper understanding and practice are necessary.
It’s enough. At times like this, Yuri realized how monstrous the affinity and comprehension potential of the possessed people’s mana was.
That’s why he needs to be more careful.
“Well then, I’ll draft a new contract and come back. Do you have any plans to go out separately today?”
“I’ll stop by Tower and report, then I’ll come back.”
“I understand. In that case, I’ll visit you tomorrow. Should I come at the usual time?”
“Yeah.”
“It’s surprising. I thought you’d stay at home for about a week.”
“Why is that surprising? I brought Yuri, but I’m still a magician of Dersia Tower. Of course, I have to go to Tower every day.”
The tone suggested it was natural, but it didn’t seem that way to Haeryeong. She felt that Elena secretly wanted to do so. But it was also an unavoidable matter. A 4th-grade magician affiliated with Tower must report their results every quarter.
“Yes, I understand. I’ll come to see you tomorrow morning then.”
Haeryeong nodded slightly and turned around.
As Haeryeong was leaving, Elena, who was seeing her off, gave a mischievous glance at Yuri.
Her attire was obviously from the countryside. It wasn’t that they smelled bad, but they looked worn out and tattered overall.
Naturally, there were no clothes fit for a man in Elena’s house.
“I need to buy essentials for Yuri.”
“Me? I’ve brought what I need.”
Clothes and underwear…
“Throw those away.”
Elena answered immediately.
“How many years have you been wearing these? It doesn’t seem like you’ve taken care of them properly. Did you receive them as gifts from someone, or are they things that have any sentimental value?”
“No.”
These were clothes that the orphan Yuri had bought himself. It was true that he didn’t take good care of them. There were no washing machines in this world.
There might be something like detergent or fabric softener, but the orphan Yuri didn’t use such things. The orphan Yuri was a resourceful person who resolved all washing using cheap soap from Gordon’s miscellaneous store.
Present-day Yuri wasn’t any different. He was aware that these were old and worn-out clothes, and there was more than half a bar of soap left. Buying something nice with the remaining savings felt wasteful.
So he fetched cold water from the well and hand-washed his clothes himself.
“If I throw them away, I will have to buy new ones. I don’t have money.”
Even though there’s quite a bit left in savings, buying new clothes and underwear would be a waste.
“Who said you have to buy? I’ll buy for you, so don’t worry.”
Actually, Yuri didn’t really worry. He naturally assumed that Elena would buy them. Someone might think he’s a worthless brat, but Yuri was confident. After all, Elena was the one suggesting to throw away clothes that could still be worn for a while, and perhaps the savings Yuri had accumulated since his days as a pickpocket might be less than Elena’s monthly expenses.
“Still… I am just receiving all the time.”
He thought that way, but he couldn’t blatantly show his cheekiness. In Oldor, it would have been fine to act shamelessly to cut ties with Elena, but he had come all the way to Rootran. If he acted like that here, he might end up living a lonely and suspicious life in a foreign land.
“I’m doing it because I want to.”
Elena’s cheek reddened as she answered. After seeing her for a week, I noticed that Elena was trying to suppress her smile in situations like this. It was Elena’s characteristic to put on a smug smile when discussing such topics, a smile that was so self-assured it could almost invite resentment.
“Anyway, stop standing there and come in.”
The smile she was about to put on was restrained, but she couldn’t suppress the joy that emanated from her steps. In reality, Elena was feeling good.
When she received Gordon’s letter and set out, she felt a sense of disillusionment towards Yuri—along with genuine concern. Ten years is a long time. Elena was aware that she had changed a lot since her time at the orphanage, and she thought Yuri would have changed as well. She guessed that Yuri wasn’t doing something he could be proud of. Not bothering to investigate this, in retrospect, was probably because Elena didn’t want to feel disillusioned towards Yuri. She didn’t want to be disappointed in Yuri.
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Yuri’s situation was even more dire than Elena had thought. It was a situation where one could only feel disillusioned. She believed he was doing trashy work and becoming trash.
But when they met in person… Yuri hadn’t become as much of a mess as Elena had thought. Elena found this to be true, and it made her happy.
“Restrooms are on the first and second floors.”
They passed through a small garden and entered the mansion. In the centre of the neat living room, Elena put her hands on her hips and turned to look at Yuri.
“Basic living magic tools are provided here, so you’ll be much more comfortable compared to your previous place.”
It seemed that way at a glance. There was no need to manually add firewood to the hearth. Yuri couldn’t help but be amazed by the modern scenery of the kitchen.
“Magic tools require you to know how to handle mana, don’t they?”
“It’s not like that. This mansion has magic stones embedded in it. That valve over there will light up even if you turn it, so don’t worry.”
Seeing the bathroom and washroom almost made him want to shed tears of emotion. Contrary to what he had in Oldor, the bathroom was not a pit toilet. The softly scented, pristine white bathroom had a sparkling bidet on both sides, and the washroom had a sink, a bathtub, and a shower.
“Hail to magic.”
At this moment, Yuri couldn’t help but feel grateful for the civilization of the metropolis, where magic was deeply integrated into daily life.
