LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 58: Dangers of Convenience
The bored-not-quite-elf, Mr. Welkes, took my Citizen Card out of the device and placed it on the table in front of me. Then he stood up and started taking other things out of the cabinet behind him. In a moment, I was looking at the card, a ring, a pouch, and a few coins, all neatly laid out in a row on the counter.
‘Huh? No clothes? Well, I guess they didn't expect the refugees to turn up naked. Still…’
"The standard package Castiana gives to the new citizens of the Empire like yourself. Nothing beyond the bare minimum set by Sahal, a bit shortsighted on the part of our beloved City Lord, I might add. Ten Imperial Silver Hextes, a coin pouch, and a spatial ring the size of one cubic decimeter so that you have a place to put it all in and keep safe," Welkes explained in a rehearsed manner as if quoting from a manual, spiced with a bit of snark towards this City Lord. Definitely something to keep an ear on, but right now, local politics was something I couldn’t give a shit about. Not when I had no idea if the 10 silver hexagonal coins could buy me some clothes, let alone how to use the spatial ring.
Almost as if the not-quite-elf had read my mind, which he hadn't, I felt no one's presence in my skull but my own; he pointed wearily at the ring. "You put it on, use a drop of your blood, and let your mana flow through it. The ring’s rune enchantments will bind to you and make you the only one capable of accessing its spatial storage. Simple."
'Shit. Seriously, fuck me and my... whatever. Why did everything have to be so complicated?'
Of course, it had to involve mana, the magical substance capturing the imagination of the people of Earth - mine included. In the year and a half here on Eleaden, I had become aware of it in my body, but that was about it. Becoming the magical girl I used to fantasize about in my youth was as distant a dream as ever.
"W-what if... ?"
"... you don't know how to use mana? Well, most people don't. You're looking at one. I was actually reading up on some of the basics of mana handling just now," he said, tapping the book I had interrupted him from reading. "Believe it or not, even sword wielding requires some degree of mana proficiency. Anyway, you don't need to worry; the rune formations should do the trick for you."
"Oh, then... then why didn't you say so?"
"Because in the line of my work, I've learned not to assume, especially with people with a full array like you. It saves you unnecessary trouble. If you know what I mean."
"S-sure, but... is this a dangerous job?"
'I guess working with refugees could get tense at times.' Bloody heck, if it wasn't for [Indomitable Will], I'd certainly be a bundle of nerves.
"This one? No. I mean, I work with money here, so... kind of. But no, it’s not; if anything, it's quite dull - this is City Hall. Bookkeeping for merchants and such, on the other hand - that can sometimes get out of hand."
"Oh, is t-that why you came to work here?"
The not-quite-elf beamed and leaned closer. "Well, miss, I don't mind telling you about myself, but I'd rather do it over a drink, not over the counter."
"I see, so... you said a drop of blood would do?"
"Yes." He laughed, seemingly unruffled by the rejection, and nodded, motioning for me to give it a try. And so I did, taking the ring from the counter, carefully examining its copper surface covered with tiny runic lines before putting it on the ring finger of my left hand. No reason; it just fitted the best on the finger. The blood came next. Not really keen on asking for something to prick my finger with, I worked up my courage and cut my thumbs on my now overly sharp canines. The moment I pressed it to the ring, and the blood spilled onto the rune lines, they lit up and took a sip of my mana.
"And it's done," the maybe-an-elf announced aloud when the runes died out, scaring the shit out of me.
"A-are you sure? The ring didn't take much of my mana." Actually, I barely noticed any motion of it in my body.
"What would you want from such a piece of junk? To suck you dry? No, the spatial storage is bound to you now, believe me. Though, if I may strongly recommend, get a better one as soon as you can."
"And... will you tell me why?"
If this one worked anywhere near what I had seen with Scoresby and the city guards, the spatial ring was something incredibly awesome in my eyes.
"The fact that it is a dirty copper alloy should tell you everything... but seeing your expression, it means that the measly storage is the best the ring can do, won't last long, and only has a few basic protection rune lines."
"Wait! T-this thing can break?"
"Yes, it can and will. It's just a matter of time."
Looking down at my hand, I couldn't help but wonder, "A-and what happens if it... breaks?"
"You're on the right track, and yes, you could lose a finger or more. I've heard of some losing their whole hands."
"... and the stuff in it?"
"Tits, not even a wince. You must have been through some crazy shit. Well, if you care that much about your stuff, all the more reason to get a better spatial tool. When this one breaks, everything inside will go with it."
"O-okay?" It was nice of him to tell me all this, but I couldn't help wondering why. It must have been clear to him by now that I had no intention of having that drink with him.
'Or was he that dense? Probably. But there had to be more to it... '
"... are you s-selling spatial tools or something?"
Welkes laughed. "I know what you're getting at, but it's not in my job description to praise what I hand out. The reason for the aid package is to make it easier for newcomers to familiarize themselves with the way things work in Castiana and Sahal in general. Though... the way I see it as it stands now is that it's just a scam."
"S-so... you are scamming me?"
"What? No, not me, the city. It may look like you're getting a lot, but you're not. You will barely last a night on these coins. The pouch is kind of pointless when you have a spatial tool, not to mention the ring will last you a few weeks at most, and you can barely put anything in it."
"Oh, I... I see... s-sorry." They hooked you on the convenience of having a spatial tool, so when it came down to the crunch, you had no choice but to borrow money to buy a new and better one and quite possibly end up as a debt slave.
A sudden disgust at the ring on my finger swept through my guts and left a sour taste in my mouth.
'How could you be so stupid, Korra?!'
Seriously, did all those mutations make me that dumb, a bloody stupid beast? How could I so willingly put another shackle on my hand? All the fancy buildings, and the people dressed in fine CLOTHES roaming the streets must have clouded my reason, making me delusional.
'How could I ever think that I could be one of them?'