Shades of the New World

Aran came and melted the ice for his son.

"You're such a talented young lady. I always wanted to humble my son a bit, but in a single day, somehow you did a better job than what I achieved in four years," Aran praised Bellaslayn with a smile.

Bellaslayn was obviously happy with the praise and a slight blush appeared on her cheeks.

Evin shook his head at the interaction. Aran was a weird person. Most of the time, he would look carefree and lazy, but something just told you that he was a steady and dependable person. It had a certain charm to it.

"I may have to report Aran to the military," Evin muttered.

"You're just jealous of his charm," Rith said.

"Why would I be jealous of a predator?" Evin retorted, and continued with a smirk, "Anyway, it's my win, so gimme my money"

"Fine, fine. I'll put it in your account," Rith grumbled.

"Take out a hundred for me now"

"Why?"

"I've gotta award my champion," Evin replied.

"The girl obviously likes a pleasant face more than coins. You can't win her over with money," Rith said and pointed at Aran.

Evin didn't bother replying to the taunt, and just stood there with his hands open.

Rith cursed something under her breath and took out a fancy purse, with bulging coins inside it.

The earl and his two daughters greedily eyed the purse from the sidelines. They thought there were hundred silvers in the bag. Since no one would dare think that someone would bet a thousand gold coins on a casual spar.

Evin applied made it weightless so he could carry it better and approached Bellaslayn. The girl eyed him with some hostility and dissatisfaction.

"I didn't need your assistance in the fight," she said to Evin.

"Oh, don't be such a kid. I was about to lose a lot of money if you lost. And you didn't hesitate to act on my words too, with that gas you threw at Arza. But since you helped me gain a lot more with your victory, I want to gift you with some of my profits," Evin said and handed Bellaslayn the purse.

"I don't need your money," the girl refused.

"It's customary that the fighter takes a share of the bet afterwards. Take a peek inside, maybe you'll change your mind?" Evin urged and shook the bag. The clinking of coins sounded in the area and everyone's desire for greed started to emerge. Evin could also see a hint of curiosity in the girl's eyes. Noticing what she wanted, he opened the purse's mouth and tilted it towards Bellaslayn.

Silence filled the area, anticipation and curiosity filling the air.

Bellaslayn involuntarily let out a gasp of shock. The others could notice that the sight of the coins gave her face a golden tint.

She did not hesitate to grab the bag.

Pride was nice to cling onto, but it was garbage compared to the amount of money she saw. She clutched at the money like someone might take it from her, warily eyeing the others.

'Oh, I may have made her life unnecessarily more difficult,' Evin thought. Her family would surely nag her about it for years to come.

'Ah, who would she be if she doesn't grow through fire and steel to develop properly as a person,' Evin shrugged with indifference.

Evin did not feel that this action of his would have too big of a consequence.

"I advise you to put you money in a savings account. It's even better since you're young. If you do that, no one will be able to take your money." Evin suggested at least.

"What's that?"

"Do you have a pendant or something that a Cosmic Feline left you?" Evin asked.

"Eh, don't bother, I'll take care of it for her," Rith interjected.

Rith talked to Bella about the functions of a bank and savings accounts for a bit and they decided on a ten-year program with a 12 percent interest. The Cosmics were trying out various different methods to increase capital and long-term savings accounts were one of them. If the girl manages to contribute a golden coin to her savings yearly, she should be left with about 500 gold at the age of 14.

As Rith was explaining the details of a bank account to Bellaslayn, Evin watched the greedy stares of the surrounding people. Evin even noticed one with seemingly threatening intentions. It was one of the more well-dressed servants, the one who was serving the group during lunch. The way he looked at Evin's riches was a little too suspicious for Evin to ignore. He was 90 percent sure he'd be the reason for a bunch of armed thugs approaching him after he left the town. Even worse, they might target his family.

Evin bought a lot of security measures for his family from Aran, but that was only in the safety of their houses. The guards would keep an eye out for the family of a future mage, but one could never be too careful.

It felt nice to brag, but one should have the ability to protect what's important to them.

Evin approached the man and asked for a cup of water. While taking it, he pricked the man's hand with the needle on his ring. Evin noticed that it was a calloused hand with many small cuts and bruises on it. The servant worked well, and his hands were the best proof. Evin felt bad for the man's sudden decision, influenced by greed. Perhaps he was in a dire need of money and thought that a four-year-old child would be an easy target. Never did he realize that Evin would probably agree to lend him some money if he just asked and explained his situation. Evin would probably forget about it soon after anyway. He was never one to care too much about accumulating money. And it also had a much better chance of working, compared to whatever nefarious scheme the man was cooking in his head.

The man was startled with the sudden prick, but did not think much of it. Little did the man know that he would find himself dead when the next morning came.

[You're a nasty little kid,] Karan said inside Evin's mind.

[I don't want trouble. It's either this, or he brings a bunch of hired arms to fight us when we leave the city. It would be unfair for those hired arms to die for this guy's mistakes, no?] Evin replied.

Weeding out problems beforehand was best, in Evin's opinion.

Evin then felt a bit conflicted. He tried his best to avoid problems that affected him personally, such as the matters of his family, but when killing a stranger that might pose a problem for him in the future, he was decisive like no one else.

He thought that perhaps he became like this because of how many deaths he witnessed in his previous life. And it all made him extremely numb to the concept of death in the first place. Evin wondered what he would be like if one of his family members passed away. He would cry and mourn, surely, but would it really affect him greatly?

Evin started fearing that he wouldn't really feel anything at all. His mood gradually tumbled, and he fell into a depressive spiral suddenly.

As Evin was randomly going through an existential crisis, Rith came upon him with Bellaslayn.

"Hey, Evin, Bella wants to try sparring with you? Are you okay? What happened?" Rith asked.

Evin wordlessly hugged the Feline for emotional comfort. He buried his head inside Rith's soft fur and just stood there for a bit.

"Why do you wanna spar with me?" Evin replied after a few seconds.

Bella, who was watching from the sidelines, was baffled with Evin's random actions.

She figured that perhaps it was not that surprising, considering the fact that the little fellow was a four-year-old.

"Arza said that he never won against you before, and I was just curious,"

"He remembers losing to me? I thought he forgot everything after he gets knocked out. Then why the hell would he challenge me the next day and do exactly the same thing he did last time?" Evin exclaimed in confusion.

"I don't know…" Bella replied timidly. She was starting to feel indebted to Evin because of the money.

"Okay, I don't mind a different sparring partner either. I'd probably have to fight Arza until I get bored with it during the journey," Evin said.