CHAPTER 12: Shopping

On the Willoughby Duchy, five figures of people can be seen eating merrily and talking with each other, their white hair was eye-catching as it seems to be snow on a sunny day

Archduke Syrron suddenly announced something that perked up Snow's interest

"Oh, the Kingdom of Freya will be holding their yearly auction, do you all want to go?"

Archduchess Sylvia nodded before talking

"That would be great, we rarely go out and there might be something Snow wants"

The Archduchess turned her attention to Snow who was eagerly listening to them, Snow who caught the attention of his family realized that he may have been too obvious, he became flustered causing his milky pale skin to have a tinged of red in it

Schlain who saw Snow's reaction couldn't help but let out a loud laugh

"HAHAHA! maybe Snow is getting bored always being in the house, he could get a change in scenery once in a while"

Schlain said as he stretched his right hand to pat Snow's head before turning his attention to Shion who asked his Father

"When will the auction happen?"

"At the 3rd Day of the week, we'll depart at the 2nd Day"

Snow who was listening to his family pondered on what he should buy that can help him before going to the Adventurer's Guild

A cloak or a robe?

Cloaks can cover my body as well as my hair and face as it has a hood, while robes only cover my body, hmm...

I guess I'll pick the cloak. Should I buy a mask? A piece of voice-altering equipment? Ugh forget it I'll just decide on the spot

For my weapon, a sword would be good, but I need to be proficient in it, I think I won't even get to Sword Master since I need to swing my sword and bathe it with blood countless times, I mean yuck, that's disgusting, I inwardly rolled my eyes

But come to think of it, back then when I killed the bandits, I didn't feel anything when I did that, weird as if it's my nature to kill,

'Shiro any answer?'

[Answer: The system's priority is the host's safety as well as happiness, all negative things that may affect your well being are removed and countermeasures are given by the system]

So, it means that when I killed the bandits, Shiro removed any emotion or guilt that I might feel after what I did and gave me a countermeasure to handle the toll that I might experience, wait a minute...

'What is the countermeasure, is it a skill?'

[Answer: Yes, it is a passive skill, meaning it will be activated the whole time. The skill is called [Merciless] ]

Merciless huh? Well based on what I did to the two bandits it's cruel, so it fits the description, by the way, once I turn 10 years old, I'll unlock the second phase hopefully

After contemplating my thoughts, I continued eating breakfast with my family and took a bath afterward. When I finished, I decided to take a morning stroll at the Duchy, the servants greeted me when I passed them, and I nodded at them in return

The morning breeze kissed my face as I strolled my way around. The manor is big causing me to not get bored strolling. I finished my stroll at around 10:45 at the morning when a sudden realization popped in my mind

Come to think of it, since I came into this world I didn't have the chance to visit other places unlike before when I was still on earth, I'll always travel to different places and countries. Should I tell Father that I want to go explore the Capital? I doubt he'll even let me out especially my two Older Brothers their overprotective *sigh~*, oh! Mother would let me, I think?

I decided to ask Mother and to my surprise, she immediately agreed but she said that I should get back before dinner which I agreed to. Mother ordered two guards to accompany me but they will stay in the shadows as I don't want to attract attention, Mary also accompanied me as my maid but she changed her clothes to a casual ones. Mary is a maid but she is also a reliable mage

Mother gave me a bag of coins and I also took my allowance in case the money I bought is inadequate. I took a red cloak to cover my white hair and activated [Presence Removal] before we proceeded to go out of the Duchy

We explored the capital and I proceeded to various stalls and shops

When I opened the bag of coins Mother gave me, I can only sigh in defeat at what I saw

The currency of this world is like this:

Bronze

Silver (100 Bronze)

Gold (100 Silver)

Platinum (1000 Gold)

And the bag Mother gave has 10 platinum coins and 500 gold coins, I shook my thoughts off and entered the shops the first one is the Tailor's Shop

I bought various cloaks, tunics, sleepwear, there are also socks, undergarments, pants, etc. I paid 50 gold coins overall and the sales lady was visibly shocked probably thinking how a child has that much money well it's Mother's all right?

I got out of the shop and Mary placed the shopping bags inside the spatial ring, I suddenly got the idea that I should get my two oaf Big Brothers something as they are the ones who always gives me things even though I don't ask for it

"Mary, let's go to the Blacksmith's Shop"

I said but ignored the fact that Mary flinched when I suddenly talked, but I also almost flinched when I heard my voice but I remained calm and stoic

Shit! why in the freaking hell is my voice so soft?

I continued walking and Mary eventually followed me. Once we entered the shop the smell and sound of metals being hammered entered my senses, several people are waiting in line and different booths where you can go to have something made

I went to the receptionist first and ask her if there are available blacksmiths right now since I noticed that there were several people lined up in different booths, the receptionist was dazed for a moment before showing us the direction, I nodded as thanks and we walked to the booth where a man who looks like in his twenties is hammering a small piece of metal but a long line was formed

"Please wait here, Sir Wayde is one of the best blacksmiths at the Capital that's why there are many people who want to get their equipment made by him"

I nodded at her before she returned to the reception area. The queue moved at such a slow pace, we are also the last in line, I waited for who knows how long it is that my feet became sore, after a while, I finally reached the front

"What do you need? Keep it quick..." the now topless man said without looking in my direction as he continued crafting and hammering the weapon at his hands

I narrowed my eyes at him but I still spoke with my calm voice

"I want to commission a custom two brooches with the color of dark grey and cerulean, it should be inches in diameter and can also withstand strong forces, It should also be able to contain a magic spell. "

*CLANG!*

Wayde unconsciously dropped his hammer when he heard the soft voice of a child behind him, he turned around only to see a figure of a child with a red cloak, strands of white hair can slightly be seen and a woman beside the child, Wayde observed the figure before him before he responded

"A brooch that can contain a magic spell? never heard of it, can we talk about it at the office?" he said as he wiped the sweat at his body and putting on the uniform of Blacksmith Shop

He gestured the two to follow him and entered a room

The child nodded and walk and the woman beside him followed, Wayde observed the two and concluded that the child might be a noble and the woman might be a guard or maid

Wayde sat on the sofa and the child sat in his opposite direction while the woman only stood behind the child

"Before we talk, can I see the face of my commissioner?"

Wayde asked, the child in front of him stopped for a moment and the woman behind the child immediately spoke

"Insolence! you---"

The woman's word was immediately cut off when the child spoke but unlike the calm tone, this one is foreboding

"Mary, enough..." the child said, irritation is evident in his words

Wayde felt a chill run down his spine, he felt as if one wrong move and he will regret it

The woman immediately bowed and apologized, the child only nodded in response

The child pulled the back of his hood revealing his rare white hair, violet eyes, milky skin, and cherry red lips. Wayde's breathing stopped for a moment when he saw the child and he immediately knew that this child is a MYSTIQUE

"Now, can we TALK?" the child said, emphasizing the word 'talk'

Wayde snapped out of it and coughed before talking

"*COUGH!* I understand..."

Snow and Wayde talked for about an hour about how is the construction of the brooch, prize, materials needed and when will it finish

Snow got out of the blacksmith shop and noticed that the sun is already setting, he gestured to Mary and they went back to the main Duchy

Wayde on the other hand is still dazed when a knock on his office resounded

"Come in," he said and stood up from his seat

The door opened revealing a handsome adolescent with blonde hair and green eyes

"I greet the Imperial Crown Prince of the Hyperion Empire"

Wayde immediately kneeled before placing his right hand on his chest

"You may lift your head..." the Crown Prince said and walked towards the table

"Let's talk, I want you to make a Mithril sword that---" the Crown Prince stopped when he caught a glimpse of the paper with a unique brooch drawn

"What is this?" he asked

Wayde immediately answered

"A noble commissioned me and he wants me to make two brooches like that, he said that it should be able to contain a magic spell" Wayde respectfully answered

"A noble?" the Crown Prince asked

"Yes, a child and a MYSTIQUE one," Wayde said as he went to the Crown Prince's direction

"A MYSTIQUE child? A boy or a girl? hmm... interesting, when will he come back?" the Crown Prince said a smile of amusement plastered on his face his eyes glowing with mirth

"The noble is a boy. Tomorrow, we will talk about getting the materials needed," Wayde said, his voice shaky as this is the first time he saw that look on the Crown Prince

"Hmm... I'll be here tomorrow," the Crown Prince said before he walked out of the room

Wayde kneeled again and said

"I understand, Imperial Crown Prince Keith..."