Chapter 30.

No two cities were the same. It was a lesson he had learned from his world and it seemed to apply in this one as well. Certainly, the basic features like the fact that there would be some form of shelter, some method to obtain food, someplace for people to gather, a market of some kind and many others were inevitable but the history of these features determined a great deal about a city or in this case, a town.

Mildea was a fairly large town. It was at the centre of several farming villages and its' purpose was to act as a trade centre. Its' walls weren't very tall because all the nearby regions that were dangerous had been stripped clean of monsters and the Adventurers guild had a standing contract to protect the roads. The guards out in front charged a small amount of silver to enter but didn't keep track of who entered because they wanted to keep the thriving black market active. All in all, it was a very active town which had a fair amount of wealth flowing through it.

Thus it was a real surprise to learn that 90% of the people here were Demi-humans.

Adrian didn't find it impressive. Compared to New York, Dubai or London this place was nothing more than a collection of hovels. The options present in the market were limited even if the magical goods were fascinating. The filth and squalor that large portions of the population lived in were disgusting. Slavery didn't seem to be a concern here but there were other ills born when an imperfect sentient species gathered in large numbers. Trystan and Isis found the place quite irritating as well. Though in their case it was because he had forced them to stay in their human forms and hide their wings behind some heavy cloaks. Raphtalia was also a little antsy but that was because they were delaying their attempt to save her friend.

Unfortunately, this was his last chance to visit civilization. If all went according to plan after this they would go to Rabier's domain, assault the man, rescue the people he had enslaved, then go to Cal Mira and eventually back to the wilds. So he needed to confirm the location of the Lord's domain and gather some resources that his Sword could not provide.

Food, water, clothing, temporary shelter and even some luxuries like soap were things that his power could provide as long as it had the right materials. The problem was that the Sword had no way to teach him, Raphtalia or Trystan magic nor could it check their affinities. Yet, it was entirely possible that it would be able to do so in the future. Another concern was getting some magic thread for clothing his filolials so that transforming would become a little more convenient. He had already checked that he could use his sword to make the clothes but he needed the thread.

The four of them had visited a Smith first and then a herbalist. Adrian had sold many things that his Sword had crafted. Turned out that medicine, stamina potions and weapons sell very well when an apocalypse has started and ravaged a nearby area. Adrian made ten gold coins in total which was double the value that he had been given by the King. It made him realize just how paltry the amount the King had given them truly had been.

Their final destination for the day was a fairly small magic shop. Both the Herbalist and the smith had recommended it and while they could be misleading them. it was unlikely to lead to anything very negative so he had decided to follow the advice they had given him. Though this time he would have Raphtalia take the lead. This town had a fair amount of discrimination against humans. The Smith had been much more polite towards Raphtalia though the Herbalist had been fairly apathetic. Thankfully they hadn't desired to throw him out.

Then again he was a masked man with a fairly large build wearing a heavy cloak while Raphtalia was a beautiful young woman. That probably played an even greater role in this case.

Once they reached the store, he double-checked their surroundings and the store with Blindsight, Mana sight and the rest of his sensory suite. The crowd made it difficult for him to be certain that there were no dangers. It was fairly unlikely that there were any threats here. But Adrian didn't feel very confident in his ability to pick up spies or assassins after his recent failure to find them.

He took a deep breath as he turned towards Raphtalia, "Please take the lead. After last time…" he said trailing off.

Raphtalia smiled a little but nodded and said, "Yes Mr Adrian."

"Any concerns?" he asked, to be sure.

"Magic thread, affinity test and grimoires for learning magic and confirming the information we have about the Lord's territories." she said firmly, "I remember."

"Good," he answered and gave her an unmarked map of Melromarc. It was created by his Cartography Skill.

She took the rolled-up map and then walked towards the door. Adrian herded the filolials who had been looking around curiously.

The shop itself was very well organized. Adrian had expected something along the lines of Agatha's atelier which was a study in chaotic organization with everything having a fairly well-defined place but the overall organization having no logic. This store was a hell of a lot better organized. Artefacts in one corner of the second floor, clothing which was enchanted on one side, books and grimoires in the basement and even a comfortable place for the customer to be seated if need be. Honestly, it was impressive and perhaps that was why they had to wait for five minutes before they got to meet a clerk.

"Good afternoon Miss," she said, "Welcome to the Mage's Haven. How may I help you?"

Adrian ignored the fox demihuman and Raphtalia starting up their conversation. He scanned the area both inside and outside the shop with his skills. Trying to ensure that there were no distortions. Adrian knew that it was paranoid but he was hyper-aware of the fact that he had detected those three rabbit demi-humans only due to luck. If they had decided to kill him after the first day while he and his party were sleeping...Adrian shook off the thought and placed his hand on Trystan's shoulder, just making sure that the boy was still here. Isis had wandered over to the artefacts, probably drawn over there due to their powerful magic that even he could sense. He let her, it was something she was very fascinated by and if she broke something they could pay for it or escape, in the worst case.

Once Raphtalia had made what they needed clear to the fox woman she led them to a corner of the second floor where a fairly large crystal ball, about fifty centimetres in diameter, sat on top of a sturdy wooden platform. Adrian could feel the mana in it and from the way that Isis was studying the object he was fairly certain that she could as well.

A flare of his sensory skills confirmed that there didn't seem to be a trap...but maybe he should try using it first. Just in case.

"Please give me a moment to get it ready," she said with a polite, false smile.

Adrian observed with Mana Sight while Raphtalia reassured the woman that they were willing to wait. It was quite interesting how the mana of the fox didn't alter the mana of the orb at all. It just seemed to amplify the mana somehow. It was a bit hard to describe.

"It's ready," she said, looking to Raphtalia. The child in a teenager's body turned to him and Adrain winced a little as she made it clear that he was the leader but he tried to play it off and checked his affinity first. Hopefully, the Kitsune was fooled.

"Please place your hands on the sides and keep it pressed until I remove my hands' sir," she said keeping one hand on the top. Adrian gripped the sides with his fingertips and nodded to her while keeping track of the process with mana sight.

It was fascinating how the mana of the crystal seemed to be changing until it started to resemble his mana. Each moment allowed for more alteration.

"Does this work by synchronizing to my mana which lets you understand my affinity by checking the crystal?" he ended up asking, deeming the question relatively harmless.

The fox woman blinked in surprise before nodding, "Umm...Yes, sir. That's exactly it. Reading a person is hard since they're living beings so we use the Crystal as an intermediate."

Adrian nodded thoughtfully and moved his hands once she indicated that they were done. The woman looked quite rather impressed when she said, "Your affinity is related to the void element. It is also called Ether or nothingness. You will be skilled at using any type of magic that creates objects from magical energy though elemental magics will be rather difficult for you to use easily. Perfect for a craftsman. I would recommend learning alchemy, enchanting or something like smithing."

Adrian blinked in surprise at the assessment. He had been assuming that much like Naofumi had been told that he was good at support and healing magic he would also have an affinity that was tied to his weapon, something attack or speed-related. This was odd but it emphasized how limited his understanding of the world was.

Raphtalia went next and got what he had expected, Light and Darkness with an affinity for illusions. Trystan was fairly mundane with an affinity towards Support and Healing, which was fitting for a defensive fighter. Isis was a different story.

The silver-haired girl touched the orb after the fox-woman had reset it and instantly he could tell that her case was a little odd. Unlike in all the other three cases, the crystal started to match her mana and then seemed to be oscillating between half a dozen colours. After five minutes of this the fox woman looked up at them, her expression uncertain.

"I'm not...I don't know exactly what this means." she admitted, "It's like she has a lot of equal affinities. Fire, Water, Wind, Lightning and Light from what I could tell though there were more."

Isis looked smug and Adrian mussed her hair up a bit, which she smiled at him for, "I suppose that should have been expected," he mused. He had seen her use a lot of different elements barely a day after she had been born and she was clearly some type of Filolial subtype that was specialized in the use of magic.

Raphtalia promised the woman that they would pay her in full and then they moved on to getting the Grimoires while Trystan and Isis started to create the magic thread with their mana. Raphtalia managed to confirm the location of Rabier during this time and it meshed well with what the Smith and Herbalist had told them.

It cost them five gold coins for all their purchases after some haggling. Turns out buying all the beginner and intermediate books for their diverse affinities was damn expensive. A single Gold Coin had been enough for the affinity check and the threads but the books had cost four coins.

As they walked out of the shop Adrian couldn't help but feel like they might have gotten ripped off. Though that was at least partly because he couldn't even read yet. He promised himself that he would make it a point to learn as soon as possible and that he would teach Isis and Trystan. No child of his would-be illiterate.

The party moved toward the edges of town, dodging the dwindling crowds as the sun began to set. All in all, it had taken them nearly three hours to get everything done and the result was an irritated Trystan who was feeling quite cranky after getting his mana drained.