Magic Coins

"Ah?! What's that?"

Lia suddenly noticed Wawa, fast asleep amid a pile of materials.

Wawa was covered by the Magical Cloth bag, which was already empty. It was hard to notice without looking closely.

Wawa had grown to about 1.2 meters tall now, and its enormous head alone made up half its height.

With its head covered, its body looked just like some kind of gray-green tree material and was completely unremarkable.

"This is my contracted creature. Its name is Wawa."

Ian didn't hide Wawa's existence. After all, it was growing bigger and bigger, and once he established his own faction, the Mysterious Shack would be his base.

Ian lifted the Magical Cloth bag so Lia could see all of Wawa.

"It's... well, it looks so strange."

Seeing Wawa's huge head, its eyes almost invisible as it slept, and its tiny body, Lia wasn't quite sure how to describe it.

"Haha, it's still growing. It won't look like this when it's mature."

"What will it look like when it's mature?"

Ian said meaningfully, "I'll be sure to show you when the time comes."

During their earlier conversation, Ian had learned that Lia's Extraordinary profession was Navigator. He wondered if there was any Navigator who could resist the allure of a unique and powerful warship.

Lia thought Ian's smile was a little odd, but she didn't sense any malice, so she simply let it go.

Next, Lia counted the Enchanted Weapon Oil. There were 21 cans, each weighing one pound.

Based on the price they'd agreed on earlier, the total came to 1,638 gold coins, equivalent to 1,092 Divine Grace Gold Coins.

Lia had prepared 10 Magic Coins that gleamed with a faint purple shimmer. She would pay the remaining amount in Divine Grace Gold Coins.

Lia placed a refined little black leather pouch containing all the coins on the table and pushed it toward Ian.

Curious, Ian took a Magic Coin out of the pouch. It felt somewhat like a pale purple gemstone. The front bore an astrological chart, and the back showed a balanced set of scales. It looked quite exquisite.

Magic Coins were slightly larger than Divine Grace Gold Coins, with a diameter of about three centimeters.

Meters and centimeters were units of measurement introduced by the Astrologers' Association early in this epoch, based on the movements of the stars. A meter was roughly three percent longer than the equivalent length in his previous life.

This system of measurement had now been widely adopted by official bodies in every country. The units used in the previous epoch—yards and chi—had largely fallen out of use.

Magic Coins were products of alchemy. They contained compressed, unaligned pure magical energy, and one was worth roughly 100 Divine Grace Gold Coins.

At the same time, Magic Coins were valuable, versatile enchanted materials that held their value well. So, in general, one Magic Coin was worth more than 100 Divine Grace Gold Coins.

The Whaling Group's willingness to pay with Magic Coins was quite generous.

Having satisfied his curiosity, Ian put the Magic Coin back in the pouch and pushed it toward Lia.

"There's one more thing I'd like to ask you for help with, Lia."

Lia smiled. "You're the Whaling Group's most important partner now. If there's anything we can do to help, the Whaling Group will spare no effort."

She made it sound very nice, but Ian could only believe half of it.

Ian got straight to the point. "I need a new place to live. It should be spacious, as close to the seaside as possible, and preferably somewhere quiet where I won't be disturbed."

Wawa was growing bigger and bigger. At its current rate of growth, Ian had to find a new place soon—and one close to the sea, so it could go in the water whenever it wanted.

He had thought carefully before deciding to ask the Whaling Group.

The Whaling Group was a local power. They could find resources that might not be accessible to him.

Besides, they would be working together regularly, so they were bound to meet often in the future. There was little chance he could keep it from them, and no need to try.

Things were going well between them right now. If he didn't make use of the resources available to him, wouldn't that be a waste?

Lia's expression shifted when she heard Ian's request. She couldn't help wondering if someone from the Whaling Group or Breath of the Ocean had offended him.

"Don't overthink it. It's not that I don't like living here. My contracted creature is just growing a little too quickly, so I need a bigger house."

Seeing Lia's expression change, Ian realized she'd gotten the wrong idea and quickly explained.

"Oh, I see. You startled me. I thought we'd done something to offend you."

Lia let out a breath. "Trist, do you want to rent or buy?"

"Either is fine."

"Then I'll have someone look into it right away. I'll make sure we find somewhere suitable."

Lia knew Ian had money, so she didn't ask about his budget.

Lia was highly efficient. By three or four in the afternoon, she had put a list of suitable houses in Paradise Port in front of Ian.

There was no denying that after thirty years of tireless development by various groups, Paradise Port had become quite crowded.

There weren't many houses that met his requirements.

Ian picked out a few of the most suitable places and took a carriage belonging to Breath of the Ocean with Lia to inspect them one by one.

Paradise Port wasn't small, and the places were scattered all over. By the time they had seen them all, it was completely dark.

The place that best fit his requirements turned out to be a lighthouse—or, more precisely, a tower converted from an abandoned lighthouse.

The lighthouse had been built by the exploration fleet that first landed on Paradise Island. It stood on a small peninsula jutting out northwest of Paradise Port.

But after Crescent Bay, where Paradise Port was located, had been discovered, new lighthouses were built at its northern and southern points to guide ships more effectively.

The lighthouse was abandoned after that. Later, a noble from Poderia bought it together with the surrounding land and converted it into a five-story tower.

As it turned out, that had been a terrible idea.

The "crook" on the northwest side of Moon Bay blocked the sea winds coming from the north. The winds swirled around the bay formed by the small peninsula, making them howl around the tower all year long like the wails of ghosts. The stone wall built around it did nothing to help.

In the end, the tower was abandoned again. Several people took it over in the intervening years, only to sell it again soon afterward. It had been left unclaimed ever since.

After a long deliberation, Ian finally decided to take it.

He wasn't looking for trouble. The other houses were either not close enough to the sea, too small, or in areas that were too densely populated.

The tower on the peninsula was a perfect fit, and it was cheap. He could buy it for just 200 Divine Grace Gold Coins.

For such a large property, it was practically being given away. Besides, he wouldn't be living there for more than a few months. He could put up with it until then.

Seeing Ian pay on the spot without hesitation, the two directors of Hyde Property Trading Company beamed. Their enthusiasm for work immediately soared, and they quickly helped Ian complete the necessary paperwork.

They also promised that the tower would be cleaned before sunrise the next morning, and that the new property deed would be delivered to Breath of the Ocean early the following day.

On the way back, Lia still looked helpless. Her attempt to talk Ian out of it hadn't changed his mind.

This man didn't speak forcefully, but when it came to making a decision, he was unexpectedly resolute.

But when she heard Ian say he wouldn't be staying long and would be leaving soon, Lia suddenly felt a little disappointed.

Maybe she wasn't a very good director of the Whaling Group. Her first thought wasn't to keep this important partner with the group, but that she'd never see this interesting man again.

The Sea of Miracles was vast—so vast that every parting could be a final goodbye.