Town

The wine glasses clinked...

When I woke up again, sure enough, it was already morning.

Holding my aching head, I climbed up from the wooden table.

You people...

Could you stop getting kids drunk?!

What did they mean, "It'll be fine as long as Kumiloni's here"? I turned my head and saw Chicheng beside me, fast asleep and blowing snot bubbles.

And standing in front of me

was Kumiloni, smiling helplessly. "I heard what happened last night. I figured you two ought to be waking up about now."

Kumiloni came up behind Lu Cang, and her gentle Life Force flowed through his body.

The hangover and dizziness quickly eased.

"Kumiloni... is he always like this?"

"Mm... more or less."

"He really did mean well."

Lu Cang let out a quiet sigh.

As someone who had been a corporate wage slave before transmigrating, he could understand what Chicheng had been trying to do.

It was just...

My wallet!

Lu Cang looked at his empty Money Bag.

The bill from last night had come to exactly 2 gold and 26 silver.

Not a coin more, not a coin less.

It had completely drained the savings he'd just earned.

Kumiloni covered her mouth.

She seemed to be stifling a laugh.

In the end, she quietly reached out and placed her hand over Lu Cang's.

When she lifted it, two shiny gold coins lay in Lu Cang's palm.

Kumiloni said softly, "Just let me treat you."

"Kumiloni..."

Lu Cang pushed the coins back. "It's fine."

"Besides, this was something I wanted to do, too."

"Oh my... Little Lu Cang is quite mature for his age~"

"But it's all right."

"This is also compensation from Iz for failing to protect you."

"As your hired bodyguard, he let his employer come back on the brink of death. That was his failure."

"In a situation like this, he shouldn't just refuse payment—he ought to compensate his employer, too."

"Take these two gold coins as a sign that you and Iz have made up."

Lu Cang couldn't argue with Kumiloni.

He put the two gold coins in his pocket.

After a night of drunken sleep, yesterday's suspicions, distrust, and bad feelings had gradually faded away.

Perhaps that was Chicheng's way of handling things.

Kumiloni smiled. "Iz and the others haven't woken up yet. Let me show you around. You haven't seen Rhein Town in the morning, have you?"

Lu Cang nodded gently. "All right."

This had actually been what he'd wanted to do last night. But then Chicheng had suddenly shown up, and the whole thing had turned into a victory party.

He left the Adventurer's Guild with Kumiloni.

It was early morning.

Heh... He had to admit, he'd thought his sleep schedule would get turned upside down again after waking from another bout of unconsciousness.

But after that night of drinking, the two wrongs had made a right, and his sleep schedule was back on track.

"Mm... I'll show you around, one place at a time."

"This is Rhein Town's Adventurer's Guild. It's where adventurers take on commissions and gather in their free time."

"Over there is Rhein Town's library..."

Lu Cang followed Kumiloni as they strolled slowly along the streets of Rhein Town in the morning.

This was the first time he'd had a chance to relax and take in this world.

Most of the buildings were wooden houses, with the occasional oddly shaped structure made from some material he didn't recognize.

Places like the library were a little more distinctive.

Besides the library, Rhein Town also had a dedicated training ground.

Adventurers practiced their combat skills and magic there.

Doing what Lu Cang had done—casting spells in his room—

was strictly forbidden.

Only after Kumiloni explained did Lu Cang learn that on the day he'd practiced magic in his room, Iz had already set up an absorption barrier around the area.

No one else had seen his magic, and of course, he hadn't disturbed anyone.

Aside from the training ground,

there was also the [Life Hall].

Most illnesses could be treated for free there. They could also dispel some low-level curses and treat wounds that weren't too serious.

But more serious injuries came with a fee.

Lu Cang could understand.

The Life Hall was basically a hospital...

There were also blank altars in some corners of town.

Kumiloni emphasized that Rhein Town had no churches and no dedicated shrines.

Anyone who wanted to worship had to do so at a blank altar.

But even though people were free to choose their faith, worship of certain gods at the blank altars was still forbidden.

One was "White of Death and Destruction," and the other was "Ba Ni of War and Fire."

Both gods were considered ill omens.

"White of Death and Destruction" was forbidden not only in Rhein Town, but in most parts of the world. Building churches in his name—and even worshiping him—was prohibited.

Anyone discovered doing so would be dealt with under local law as a cultist.

If the offense was serious, they were very likely to be sentenced to death.

Huh...

White of Death and Destruction?

That sounded like something ominous. It was probably best to stay away. Somehow, I had a feeling that getting involved with him would only bring trouble...

No, it wasn't as if I could just run into a god whenever I wanted.

He was a god, after all.

There wasn't much to keep in mind when it came to faith. Especially after learning that Lu Cang had no faith, Kumiloni didn't have much else to warn him about.

Having no faith meant having no worries.

As the High Priest of the Temple of Life, Kumiloni also occasionally had to handle the Life Church's pilgrimages and blessings.

Besides places of worship, Kumiloni also took Lu Cang past shops selling weapons, armor, potions, and food.

He got a basic sense of prices in this world.

One person's food for a day cost about 10 copper, as long as they didn't splurge on a feast.

1 gold = 10,000 copper

Wait... Those people had eaten 2 gold and 26 silver of my money yesterday!

Was that the equivalent of 2,260 days' worth of food?

Days! Not meals!

There had only been about a hundred people at the Adventurer's Guild yesterday.

After going over the numbers again and again, Lu Cang gradually realized that treating a hundred people should have cost at most 50 silver.

These adventurers really didn't treat him like an outsider!

Wait, what had Chicheng said yesterday?

"Bring out the best liquor you've got"?

That hazy memory from before he'd passed out resurfaced, and a vein began to bulge at Lu Cang's temple.

He almost let out a curse that wasn't exactly appropriate for a kid.

Phew—

Calm down, calm down. Keep a level head—

Lu Cang forced himself to settle down...

He'd just have to think of it as a tax—a transmigration tax.

By the time they'd finished touring all the noteworthy places in Rhein Town, it was already afternoon.

Kumiloni counted on her fingers. "That's about it for Rhein Town."

"I don't think I've left anything out."

Great.

Kumiloni, you seemed a lot more reliable than those two.

"Thanks, Big Sis Kumiloni."

Kumiloni said, "Mm, I promised Granny Sansi I'd help her harvest her fields this afternoon."

"I might not have time to show you around Rhein Town later."

Lu Cang grinned. "That's all right, Big Sis Kumiloni. I was planning to look around on my own."

A trace of worry appeared on Kumiloni's face.

But then she remembered that Lu Cang was a mage who could solo a second-tier dungeon. At the very least, Rhein Town was a safe place, so there was no need to worry too much about him.

"All right, I'll be off, then."

"You know how to get back to the inn, right?"

Lu Cang nodded. "Mm-hmm, I do."

Kumiloni bent down, patted Lu Cang on the head, then waved goodbye and left.