A Nice Surprise

As fast as we had arrived at the Lucky Shrine from the tavern, we managed to return even faster. Why? Because Amelica was still feeling the rush and excitement of being in the presence of her Goddess. And she was dragging me by my hand along the entire two blocks until we arrived at The Noble Lady. As soon as we were in sight of the building, however, she released my hand. Reluctantly.

I guessed that Amelica was not ready to publicize our relationship—whatever that was. Honestly, I didn't know if we were now at the stage of boyfriend-girlfriend or still just casual friends. And I had to remind myself that the courting rituals in Britannia may be very different from back home. At any rate, I was confident that we will figure it out in due time.

Amelica glanced back at me. She offered me her sweet smile and quickly entered the tavern.

I waited a few moments before stepping inside; I didn't want the other patrons to suspect or assume that we were "together" by walking in together. I decided to join the regulars in the common room for breakfast. I took a seat in the back. I casually looked around but I didn't see any familiar faces in the room. No one paid any attention to me. Well, that may be for the best since yesterday's episode with Ebenthal began on the wrong foot and eventually led to his imprisonment in the city jail. I wondered when his trial will take place; I was ordered by the Watch to stay in town and to be present for Ebenthal's upcoming trial.

A few moments later, Amelica approached me. "What would you like for breakfast, milord?" she asked. Both her face and her tone of voice were neutral but her eyes danced with mischief.

"I want to try something different. I'll have warm oatmeal today. Thank you," I replied. Remembering that I had one more task to do at the dojo, I raised my hand before Amelica walked away. "I need to buy a small lemon from you. And, if possible, can you break a gold coin?" I requested.

"Sure, milord," she curtsied and walked back into the kitchen.

Once I settled into my seat, I remembered that I had a second pop-up. I focused on the message and it read, "Greater divine blessing RECEIVED. +250 XP, +100 Reputation, +200 XP." My eyes bulged at the hefty experience gain. Quietly and casually, I recalled my player screen. My current experience was 1,200/1,000. I had enough to advance to Level 2! It took great willpower for me to keep quiet and not pump my fists in the air in celebration. I saw that I was still partied with Amelica and I decided to ask for her advice when she returned with my breakfast.

A few minutes later, the lovely maid put a large bowl of steaming hot oatmeal on the table in front of me. It was topped with a few slices of bananas. She also placed a cup of honey tea and a lemon on the table.

I gave her my gold coin and received ninety-nine silver pieces and ninety-six copper pieces as change.

"There's no charge for your oatmeal because it's included with your room service. But the tea and lemon are extra," the maid explained.

I nodded as I put the large stacks of coins on the table; they were NOT going to fit in my waist pouch! I ignored this problem for the moment since I still had Amelica's attention. I asked her in a low voice, "Please look at my second pop-up."

Amelica did just that and her eyes bulged. "Wow," she whispered.

"I have enough experience to advance now," I said.

Her eyes quickly regained focus. "I think you should talk to your instructor before you advance to the next level," she advised.

My eyebrows shot up at the request but I quickly agreed to follow her advice. After all, her advice had proved golden thus far. "Okay, I'll consult Kalistra first," I replied.

Amelica smiled warmly at me and then returned to the kitchen.

As I slowly ate my breakfast, I started pondering the situation. For most RPGs that I've played, advancement to the next level was automatic. Apparently, things were different in this gaming world and I would have to ask Kalistra about it.

I also had another problem: I had one hundred ninety-five coins on the table. I needed to go back to my room and leave the majority of these coins. As I looked at the coins, I realized that I needed to figure out a way to make money soon. That donation of the platinum coin to the Lucky Shrine was a big hit on my personal wealth. Also, I was dying to test out my new divine blessing in some way without putting my life at risk again. If I could somehow use my luck to create wealth, that would be hitting two birds with one stone.

As I ate my oatmeal, my mind turned back to last night when I had left the tray out in the hallway after my evening meal. I wanted to hang a "Do not disturb" sign on the door. Aha! I should locate the local sign maker and inquire about making such signs on a wholesale basis; I could get a ton of them made to sell around town or perhaps use a middleman to sell the signs on my behalf. Well, that was now added to my mental to-do list. Unfortunately, my desire to obtain a pocket watch would have to be set aside for the moment because I was rapidly using up my limited funds and a pocket watch was a frivolous expense that I couldn't afford at the moment. Sometimes, it sucked being an adult and trying to make rational purchasing decisions.

When I finished inhaling my breakfast and raised my head from my bowl, I was startled by the sight of Kalistra sitting right across the table from me! I quickly released my party with Amelia in case my teacher wanted to join up right away.

The evil minx was having a bowl of chicken noodle soup this morning. I noticed a second bowl of soup nearby. Since no one else was sitting at our table, I assumed that it was hers too. She could certainly afford to have a more hearty breakfast after I had paid her five silver coins for yesterday's lesson. Honestly, she probably overcharged me for mere "conditioning." After finishing both bowls of soup, Kalistra finally looked up at me. "Well?" she asked.

"Well, what?" I replied in puzzlement.

The cat girl rolled her eyes and bent her ears. She sighed as she muttered, "smart human," under her breath. "You should be greeting your teacher," she answered.

Ah! "Good morning, Kalistra!" I said.

"I see you remembered the lemon," she commented while glancing at the lemon on the table next to my empty bowl.

I made a face. "I may be old but I'm not senile," I retorted.

Kalistra did not reply but her tail twitched in the air.

If I read this evil minx right, she was laughing at me! "Aren't you going to apologize?" I asked.

"For what?" Kalistra asked.

"For making me run 'til I incurred the exhausted condition yesterday," I said.

"Oh, dear me! Did I do that?" she asked innocently as she put a paw to her left cheek. Her whiskers started twitching, too.

My eyes bored deeply into hers. The damn minx was DEFINITELY mocking me. "Yes, you did," I growled.

My teacher held up her left paw. "Look, Lawrence, I gave you the opportunity to back out of enrolling in my dojo yesterday and you refused. You made a decision to accept my tutelage and train under me until you meet our prerequisites. Therefore, you are now Honor-bound to follow through no matter how hard that training becomes for your body. Yes, it's hard training especially for humans, but in the end, you will agree that it's worth the effort. Also, the training that I put you through is recoverable with a good night's sleep and a good meal," she explained.

I crossed my arms and stared at her.

She stared right back at me.

After a few minutes into the staring contest, I finally broke off eye contact. God, Kalistra was so infuriating! She was definitely the replacement for my editor-from-hell! But, she was also correct. I didn't want to back out now.

I decided to change the topic. I pointed at the pile of coins in front of me on the table. "Is there a bank in this town? I need to deposit some of these coins," I said as I gestured at the stack.

Kalistra grinned and showed her sharp teeth. "As a matter of fact, there is a bank just a block away from here. It's located between The Noble Lady and Watch Headquarters. We can make a slight detour on our way to the dojo." My teacher pulled a brown sack from her belt. She took the contents out of the sack and put the items into another pouch. Then she placed the empty sack on the table. "You can borrow this sack to hold your coins," she offered.

"Thank you," I said as I started putting the coins into the sack. I set aside fifteen each in copper and silver coins and put them in my waist pocket. The remaining coins went into the sack.

Once the task was accomplished, Kalistra asked, "Are you ready to leave?"

"Yes," I nodded.

My teacher left a silver coin on the table next to her two empty bowls, and the two of us left the tavern together.