Beautiful Qi Part 5

When the camp was once again quiet and everyone returned to their routine, Aria and Brenna took me to their tent where they got themselves ready to go out collecting wild herbs.

Some ten minutes later, the girls—with bags strapped across their shoulders—led me northward. As we were about to exit the perimeter of the camping site, we met up with Leona and four other soldiers. Apparently, we weren't allowed to go out of the site without soldiers escorting us since the woods could be dangerous.

The four soldiers were Michael, Allan, Travis, and Peter, and as I would find out later, they were the lords' top and most trusted men. I noted also that they proudly sported their wolf ears, so I assumed they were wolf people, just as the girls were cat people.

Leona told Aria, Brenna, and the soldiers to contact the team if they suspected anything wrong and that they must return to camp before dark. This, of course, Leona said was what Lord Caleb had told her to tell them, since he and Felix were responsible for everyone's safety.

I secretly smiled. Tsundere Caleb was a worrywart, wasn't he? Then again, that must mean that he cared about his people a great deal, which was an admirable trait as one of the lords of the kingdom.

Once everything was settled, Aria, Brenna, and I, along with our four soldiers, departed.

Our journey was on foot because there was no clear path for a vehicle, and the horses had all been reserved for the soldiers on the mission with Felix and Caleb. Of course, tracking down those bandits was more important than us gathering wild herbs, so this arrangement was very logical to me. Also, Aria had confirmed to me that the location where this particular herb grew wasn't that far from the camping site. A mere two hours or so journey on foot, which was fine with me because I enjoyed long walks anyway.

We hiked northward until the trees were taller than ever before and the bushes so thick that I suspected it was hard for even seasoned trampers back on Earth to get through.

We trailed along a narrow, barely passable path until we came to a less dense area, and the walk became easier. Oddly enough, I felt that the atmosphere here was different. Why is this so? I didn't know, but I felt it in my gut that there was a change in the air. I thought it felt cold here, despite the heat of the sun beating down on us relentlessly.

Wiping sweat from my forehead, I glanced at Aria's bag dangling by her side as she walked.

I asked curiously, "They're quite small, aren't they? Will there be enough room for the herbs? I mean, you're planning on picking quite a bit, aren't you?"

Aria said, "These are magic bags. They're bottomless, so there should be plenty of room for the herbs."

Well, of course they were magic bags. By this point, I wasn't so surprised anymore.

"I see. They're magic bags. I should have guessed." Then, because I couldn't help myself, I asked, "How much are they?"

Brenna said, "By the sound of it, you want one."

I nodded eagerly. I mean, if I could acquire one, that'd be awesome. I could store all my belongings in there. It'd be very convenient, especially when traveling between kingdoms and, more so, realms. But of course, I needed to get some money first if I wanted a magic bag of my own.

Aria said, "It's rather expensive."

Brenna nodded. "Fifteen gold coins."

Gold coins, eh? I assumed that this must be their currency, then.

I asked, "What's the currency here? I mean, in my homeland, we use dollars. Of course, other parts of our world… I mean kingdom, use different types of currencies, but they can be traded."

Aria said, "That's interesting, Alfie. Here amongst the many close kingdoms, we all use the same sort of currency, which is bronze, silver, and gold coins. Of course, gold being the most expensive."

That sounded logical enough to me. Then I wondered how many US dollars would be equivalent to one gold coin here.

Because I was curious, I asked, "In this kingdom, how much would one get paid in a day if, say, one was to work as a waiter in a restaurant?"

Brenna looked at me and grinned. She asked, "Are you planning on finding a job?"

I nodded. "I'll be honest that I have nothing on me. I lost everything during my travels." I chuckled and said, "I mean, not that I'm careless or anything."

Aria nodded. "It's unfortunate. But that's traveling. Unless you hire adventurers or guards during your journey, then it's not very safe, especially between borders."

Brenna said, "About finding a job in our kingdom. It's easy, as our economy is growing and there're always business owners looking for good staff members."

Aria said, "As a waiter in a restaurant, you'll get one gold coin a day, provided you work for eight hours a day. That's a full-time position."

Brenna said, "One hundred silver coins is equivalent to one gold coin, and one hundred bronze is equivalent to one silver coin. Though, I must admit that we don't use the bronze as much now since prices have increased."

I did some calculations in my head and found that the currency here was similar when compared to home. A silver coin was about the same as one US dollar, which meant that fifteen silver coins was equivalent to fifteen US dollars, which was about the pay rate for a waiter.

"The pay rate is very similar to my homeland," I said.

But then, that magic bag was fifteen gold coins. That'd be about one thousand five hundred in US dollars. Damn, but the price was way out of my league, especially now that I was penniless.

Suddenly, I thought about the military contact lenses I was currently wearing. How much would that have cost? Not to mention the magic socks and boots.

Needless to say, I started to freak out and reminded myself to be very careful with the items. After all, I didn't want to damage them. If I were to damage any of them, I would have to pay for the repairs, wouldn't I? When I returned them.

It wasn't long before we got deeper into the woods, and now I started feeling more than a little eerie. I turned my attention to our soldiers, who'd had their rifles on standby and ready for action since we had left the camping site. I noted that they looked calm as they went about their merry way, scanning every corner of the woods.

I then turned my attention to both Aria and Brenna. They, too, looked calm and relaxed.

I sighed as I raised my eyes to look up at the bright-blue sky above. Maybe it is just me. Since this wasn't my world, I was bound to feel a little anxious.