Chapter 34: Chapter 34 – Goodbyes and good businesses

Their carriage passed through the busy streets of The Coins district, occasionally navigating by some of the smaller roads until they finally reached the Shields Guild's capital branch. It was a large stone building at the end of a large street that was mostly filled with carriages moving back and forth. On a sign that hung above the building's entrance was the upturned triangle with a blue shield and the handle of a sword inside that was the Guild's symbol.

"Right. I guess this is where we part ways for now," Kat said, looking out at the building. "I'll go ahead and make sure everything is set up with my replacements so you don't have to bother too much with it. Although I heard that they were busy with another job until the evening, so I'm afraid you might have to wait for a while anyway." She turned to Scarlett. "I might be able to talk the people at the branch into giving me some extra time if you need me to stay with you until then?"

Scarlett shook her head. "While I do appreciate the offer, that will not be necessary. I have some business that I wanted to carry out today, but it is nothing that requires the added protection. I believe I will be safe for now."

Kat shrugged her shoulders. "If you say so. Just don't go and get yourself into any trouble now while I'm gone."

"I believe I could say the same to you."

Kat grinned. "Yeah, maybe you could."

The Shielder stood up and opened the carriage door and Scarlett saw the coachman take a step back to avoid getting hit by it.

"Oh, sorry about that," Kat said to the man as she jumped down onto the cobbled street. It was the same older man that had driven the carriage for their trip to Ambercrest.

Kat turned back to look at Scarlett. "You know, it's been a good time. I don't usually get too many exciting jobs working in Freybrook, but this one has been something special. I hope you don't forget about me in the future when you need my help again."

"You can rest assured that there is not much risk of that happening. You are quite the memorable individual," Scarlett said to the blonde-haired woman. "Your aid has been greatly useful. You can feel free to contact me when you are available once more."

"Look who's talking." Kat smiled, then she turned around again and started walking towards the branch building. "I'm not one for long goodbyes, so I'll just take my leave here," she said with a wave. "When you're looking for the other two later you can just tell the people at the branch that I sent you and they'll help you out from there. Say goodbye to the kids for me, if you can. Bye!"

Scarlett watched her leave with an amused look. "I wish you well, Miss Breeden. Goodbye for now."

Soon enough Kat disappeared into the large building. Scarlett's eyes stayed on its doors.

"My Lady," the coachman suddenly spoke. Her gaze shifted to him. "Where do you wish to go now? Shall we head for the mansion?"

She studied him for a moment, before turning away. "No, not yet. I believe there is a street nearby known as the Silver Way. Find a spot near there to park the carriage."

The man bowed. "Of course, my Lady." He then closed the carriage door, and soon they were on the move again.

Scarlett's gaze lingered on the Guild building as the vehicle turned into a side street and started moving away from it. When she originally hired Kat, she hadn't expected the woman to be quite as useful as she was, nor had she expected to somewhat grow to like the woman as much as she had. Especially not so soon after she'd just found herself alone and stuck in some kind of game world. But she was thankful for it. Even if it did still grate on her nerves sometimes when Kat talked.

Honestly, Scarlett wasn't sure if that annoyance had actually lessened over the past month, or if she had just gotten better at putting up with it. Nonetheless, it had reached a level where it was more than bearable right now. She might actually even miss it. She hadn't considered it before, but Kat was probably the first friend she'd made in years. She really hadn't been good at going out and meeting new people lately, before coming to this world.

Well, she didn't have much choice in it any longer. From the looks of things, Kat was just one of the first in a long line of people she'd have to meet in the future now. She could just hope nothing terrible happened to the woman while she was gone.

Although everything she knew about storytelling told her that that's exactly what she shouldn't be thinking. But that was probably a baseless concern. This world might have been based on a game—or maybe vice-versa—but that didn't mean it had to follow standard storytelling structures just because of that. That'd be ridiculous. Probably.

She turned her attention back to the world outside to avoid thinking about existentialism in this world and started observing the people milling about their lives as her carriage drove through the district.

For a moment she wondered whether the coachman simply knew all the streets in all of the empire's cities or if he just happened to be familiar with both Elystead and Ambercrest. Just like when they'd been in the smaller city for the wedding back then, the coachman seemed to steer them through the streets of the capital without any issue, deftly giving out warnings to people who were in the way of the carriage and keeping a safe distance from other vehicles that passed by.

It didn't take them too long before they reached a boulevard. After following it for a while they reached a large area at the end of it that was warded off by iron fences and had several wagons and carriages parked in it. Adjacent to it, Scarlett spotted a building that looked like a stable of sorts. Most of the carriages she saw didn't look like they belonged to nobles, lacking any kind of insignia or coat of arms, but there was still a decent amount of them. She guessed this was essentially this world's equivalent to parking lots.

The carriage drove in and stopped next to the other carriages, and soon the coachman opened the door for her.

"I will return later," she said as she climbed down the steps of the stairs that the man folded out from beneath the carriage for her. "You may wait here until I do."

He gave her an uncertain look. "Are you sure, my Lady? I can accompany you if needed."

She held up a hand. "No, that will not be necessary. Simply be prepared to leave when I return."

He bowed to her. "As you wish, my Lady."

She turned away from him and left the parking space behind, stepping out onto the busy street outside. Then she paused for a moment, moving to the side where there were, for the most part, only people walking and no carriages, before glancing around her. The middle of the large boulevard was parted off by evenly placed trees, and most people seemed to cross however they wished as they moved between the different stores and buildings around here.

A person brushed against her dress as they passed by, the contact sending shivers down her spine. She had to hold herself back from snapping at the person.

Ok. She did not like this.

She almost wished she could just order everybody to make way for her—and if she were the original Scarlett she might actually have tried to—but she couldn't very well do that now. With Kat out of the picture for now, and Garside back in Freybrook to take care of things, Scarlett had to be able to do some things by herself in this world without relying on others. Even if it went against what she currently wanted.

She reflexively took another step back when a tall 'gentleman' in a coat almost bumped into her. She held her rising anger inside her, forcing herself to take a deep breath.

Calm down. It was just a day out on the town. She'd done it hundreds of times before. So what if some people almost walked into her and didn't have the eyes to see that she was a freaking noble. What of it? She didn't care. She was calmness personified.

Taking her eyes off the back of the man in the coat that she'd been glaring at, she once again scanned her surroundings. This should either be the Silver Way or be somewhere near it. In the game, the Silver Way had been one of the streets in The Coins that you could visit to buy and sell different kinds of materials. She had a decent memory of how it looked, but she wasn't sure how different it would be here in real life. She didn't recognize herself right now, at the very least.

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Well. There wasn't much to do other than start looking. She crossed a part of the streets where the carriages passed by—they didn't have any kind of crosswalk at all in this world she gathered—and started to walk past storefront after storefront as she made her way down the boulevard, careful to avoid people as much as she could. Luckily she was moving in the opposite direction of the stream of people around her and most seemed to dodge her path after seeing her expression, making her life a bit simpler.

She kept walking like that for a while, keeping her eyes out for anything she recognized from the game, when she finally spotted a restaurant on the other side of the street called 'The Vermillion Apple'. That had been a place you could buy expensive food in the game. As food had let you regenerate some health outside of combat in the game, it had been a decent way of saving your potions—which were rare and expensive—and your mana. Although she doubted food had that kind of effect in this world, considering she hadn't noticed anything special up till now despite the food she ate at the mansion in Freybrook being some of the best food she'd ever eaten.

After glancing both ways—a habit from her past life that she didn't even realize had carried over—she carefully crossed the wide street to the restaurant. She looked around. It shouldn't be far from here. She started moving down the street in the direction she remembered from the game. After a few more minutes, she stopped before a rather large, destitute building. It was bigger than she would have thought, and it certainly stuck out in comparison to the other buildings nearby that were full of life. In the game she hadn't thought about it, but looking at it now, it felt odd that this building was the only one in this condition. On such a populated street too. It wasn't falling apart or anything, but it was clear from just the dark and slightly dusty windows that this place hadn't seen any activity for some time. And if she were to trust the information she had from the game this wouldn't be the only place like it in the city.

Earning money in 'Chronicle of Realms' could be done in many ways. Quests, dungeon clearing, blacksmithing, enchanting, and the list went on — as it often did for open-world RPGs. One of those methods had been to buy and run businesses in cities like Elystead, where they would constantly give you income every month and could be upgraded to increase how much you earned. In the game, there had basically been no way to not earn money through this tactic, so there really was no reason not to do it. But you couldn't just go up to any old store and buy it. You could only buy shops at a few specific locations. And this place in front of her just happened to be one of those locations, which had been dirt-cheap in the game if you considered its value.

While she'd made millions of solars off that in the game, Scarlett didn't know anything about real business. She really wasn't anything more than an editor. Her experience with finances was limited to knowing how to pay her taxes and what she'd learned back when she was forced to take care of her sister after their parents had died. That's why most of her plans when it came to money in this world had basically been 'get valuable thing' and 'sell valuable thing'. It wasn't until Evelyne had confronted her about their current financial situation that she had even considered this option.

She didn't even know if there was any validity to this idea. There were so many things that could go wrong. But she was thinking that, if the businesses were essentially guaranteed to succeed in the game, then maybe there was some logical reasoning behind it that also carried over to this world. This place, for example, could be bought as a weavery in the game. So if it was set up like that again in this world, then it might secure her an extra source of income.

It was a long shot, especially considering there had to be dozens upon dozens of different factors that played into the result, but it was worth a try at least. She was pretty sure this place only cost a couple thousand or so solars in the game—which was a ridiculous bargain if the real price was even anywhere near that—and she knew many others like it that could be worth investing in if it went well.

She'd probably have to get Evelyne to handle the actual matter, though. In the game you could just walk up to the place and buy it like that, but there was bound to be a lot more to it in reality. But she could at the very least have Evelyne look into if there was any potential to this place.

Scarlett surveyed the places nearby to make sure she remembered where this was. Then, satisfied, she started moving down the street again to see if she couldn't find a few more of the places. It took her quite some time—and a lot of turns into some of the smaller streets around the Silver Way—but she eventually managed to find two more buildings that she was relatively certain had been purchasable in the game and memorized their locations as well as she could before she started making her way back up the boulevard. The next place she wanted to find had a bit more importance to her current plans.

As she walked, she watched for any signs that could give her directions of some kind. Now and then she did see them hanging from the side of buildings, with names of some of those streets that met the Silver Way, but she didn't spot what she wanted. Eventually, after having walked for long enough for her feet to start getting tired—thankfully she had opted out of wearing any of the high heels today from the arsenal of the shoes that the original had owned—and almost ending up back where she started, she set her eyes on a small stall selling jewellery of some kind at the corner of one of the streets that led into the boulevard. She was relatively certain the place she was looking for wasn't too far away. It should be close by in the neighboring district, but she just wasn't sure which direction that was, and there were no signs showing it. She didn't want to head off into the depths of an unknown city just to end up losing her way.

She approached the quaint little stall, her eyes momentarily glancing over its articles before locking onto the man helming it. He wore rough, wool clothing and had a bald head, with slightly pudgy skin and a half-shaven chin, a small mole above his right lip. As his eyes met hers, a smile played on his face.

"My oh my, is the lady interested in my humble wares?" he declared in a somewhat raspy voice. "I see you have a good eye! These stem from a wide range of exotic locations, all the way from Zovivios to the far west and the Luciean Torrential Belt to the far south! They're only of the best quality, I can assure you."

Scarlett examined him. "I had no intention of buying your goods. I simply wished to ask a question."

"Ah, is that so? That is a shame, that. They would have fit you well." His eyes traveled over her, taking in her appearance in less than a second. "But I am not one to deny a woman's wishes." He leaned forwards against his stall, some of the sweat on his forehead clearer as he came closer to her. "What is this question you had of me?"

She furrowed her brows at his conduct, but said nothing of it. "I wish to know whether you are aware of where the pub The Whishing Cod is located, and how to get there from here."

"The Whishing Cod, you say?" He rubbed his chin. "Why would a lady such as you want to visit that place?"

"To meet with an acquaintance." In the game, the companion she wanted to recruit could be found during the days in The Whishing Cod for the majority of the early game. She had been hoping there was some truth to that here too. As that would be the simplest way of meeting him, her plan was to visit the place every day during the Light Fest until she found him.

"Is this acquaintance of yours someone with whom you've already planned a meeting, or could you perhaps be looking for them at the Old Cod?" the man asked with an inquisitive look.

She narrowed her eyes. "I am looking for him, although, I do not believe any further information than that would be of relevance to you. If you do not wish to answer me I can simply ask someone else."

He brought his arms out to the sides. "I was merely curious. Do not blame a man for a base desire. But by all means, I can of course answer your question without issue." He brought his hand down under the wooden stall and pulled out a piece of paper from beneath it.

Scarlett looked down as he unfurled it to show what she recognized as a map of the city. Then he flipped his hand and suddenly there was a knife in it. She barely had time to react before it spun between his fingers and was slammed into a part of the map. The man smiled at her. "This is where The Whishing Cod is," he said, pointing towards where the tip of the knife cut into the yellowed parchment.

She stared at him, but his expression remained unchanged. She would be lying if she said her heart didn't skip a beat there. It was unlikely that he would do anything to her when there were literally dozens of people walking past them at all times, but her instincts didn't care about rational thoughts like that. She would probably have jumped away in fright if it wasn't for the traits' effects on her.

Thankfully she already had plans for getting herself some real defensive capabilities. Otherwise she'd probably start wanting to look more into that now.

"How much for the map?" she eventually asked.

The man seemed to ponder it for a second, before pointing to a black necklace that looked to be made of a cheap jade of some kind. "Let us say it is a gift. A gift that comes with that."

The necklace didn't really look like much. But she could use a map of the city for the time she was here. And this saved her the bother of having to get one. "How much?"

He held up four fingers. "Forty solars."

She took out a silver coin the size of half her thumb from her pouch of holding and put it on the table next to the map. "You call it a gift to a stranger, so I presume it does not hold much worth to you. I will give you ten solars for the map solely."

His eyebrows rose and looked at her for a moment, before glancing down at the coin. "Well, who am I to argue with the lady?" With one quick movement he took both the coin and the knife away. Scarlett took the map and put it in her pouch. She really didn't mind paying ten solars for it. It wasn't in the best condition, but that was probably a lot cheaper than she would get for a new map.

Just as she was about to turn around to leave, the man spoke up again. "Just one piece of advice, on the house." She looked back as he smiled at her. "You won't find many people at the Cod this time of day, nor would I recommend for a lady like you to visit it at night, so you would probably do best to visit it tomorrow morning."

She considered him for a moment. "I will take that into account." Then she turned around and left. She had been planning on visiting the place today, but perhaps it was best to postpone that until tomorrow when she wasn't alone. While she wasn't inclined to always mistrust the words of all people just because they struck her as a little bit shady, there was no harm in playing it safe. She should probably double-check the location he gave her later, too.

She looked around the boulevard. There wasn't much left she wanted to do around here today, so she made her way back towards where the carriage was parked and soon found the coachman where he'd been taking care of the horse in the nearby stable. As he was tying the horse to the front of the carriage, he asked, "Where to next, my Lady?"

She brought out the map she'd just acquired and looked over it. Well, she was essentially just wasting time right now until evening, so she could try visiting a place she'd been curious about.

"To the Old Quarter," she said, putting the map away and climbing into the small carriage cabin after he opened the door for her. "The House of Fire."

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