Chapter 2 - Gold Coins

　　"Looks like it's not all as run down as the entrance."

　　"The city gates there is a slum area, it's normal for it to be ragged."

　　Edward joked and laughed with the girl named Evelyn as they walked down the smooth gravel road in Constantine's business district.

　　The cityscape here is much tidier, and while the buildings are still predominantly wooden, they are mostly cleaner, and all have nice foundations made of stone.

　　The male hunter who had come with Ivory was left behind the two of them and was looking at the two of them who were walking along while climbing up the stairs with a displeased expression.

　　Just now in the square where the execution took place, Edward chatted with the pretty huntress for a while, and also recalled his earlier encounter with Evelyn.

　　The two had actually met last night, when Edward had just crossed over, not long after climbing out of a large, ornate coffin.

　　And Evely was one of the first hunters to attack the vampire coven, having rushed too far and gone deep into the heart of the coven.

　　She was fighting a vampire who had taken the form of a bat demon.

　　Just as the Batman tackles her to the ground, ready to bite her to death, a muddled Edward walks up.

　　"What are you doing? Let go of the girl!"

　　Edward, who had just crossed over and was still confused about the situation, saw a monster attacking a beautiful woman and casually shouted so, not realizing that the Bat Devil obediently let go of Evelyn.

　　Taking advantage of this, the Huntress kills the Batman, but is also shocked by the intimidating presence emanating from Edward at the time, and after imprinting his image into her mind, she quickly flees.

　　By the time she turned in to her companion, already wounded, she was sent back to Constantine early, with only a parting comment, "A long black-haired, good-looking vampire saved me, don't kill him."

　　And Edward, not being very lucid at the time, turned his head and forgot about it until Evely mentioned it, and then he remembered it vaguely.

　　And as a result, the huntress learned that the handsome man who had saved her life was not a vampire.

　　After hearing about Edward's ordeal, Ivory readily agrees to take him to the vampire hunter's guild to get his belongings back.

　　"So, you were kidnapped by vampires to go to the coven?"

　　"I seem to have lost my memory and can't remember what happened before."

　　"Amnesia?" Ivory sized Edward up, then nodded.

　　Humans who were captured by vampires were naturally used as food. Having seen their companions being brutally eaten in that kind of demonic cave, they would definitely be severely mentally stimulated, and they had encountered cases of rescued humans losing their memory or going insane before.

　　So it was natural for Evelyn to accept Edward's statement, and even to feel a twinge of sympathy.

　　"So, name, hometown, occupation, anything like that, remember?"

　　"Not impressed at all."

　　Edward couldn't say something like, Name Edward, Hometown Blue Star, Profession Laboratory Physician, could he?

　　It is common sense that the original identity of the traveler should be kept absolutely secret.

　　"That's a bit tricky, you'd better come up with a temporary name before your memory comes back or you won't even know how to call you."

　　"Uh, how about Bay or 〇プ?" Edward's mind conjured up images of triple-drop escalator fighters and accordion players.

　　"Sounds just like a pariah."

　　"What about Ed, Jacob, and Carlisle?"

　　"Sounds like nasty vampires."

　　"How about Van Helsing, Simon, Breed...or just D, for that matter?"

　　"What's with all the weird names!"

　　Evelie frowned and quickly jumped a few steps forward, looking back at Edward carefully.

　　She suddenly gave a somewhat impish smile.

　　"I'll name you one, you'll be Kayne!"

　　"Kayne? It's not so bad."

　　"Okay, from today, your name is Kayne."

　　The huntress gave Edward such a name with a joking mind just because of his long black hair and handsome face.

　　Little did she know at the moment that the Goddess of Fate had played a bad joke on her as well.

　　Thus Edward, who had acquired a new name, "Kayne," and Evelyn walked slowly through the old streets of Constantine.

　　It seemed like two cynical glances were shot behind his back? Whatever.

　　Anyway, this guy's a vampire hunter and not a demon hunter, and won't kill anyone with his eyes.

　　"This is Spruce Street, and Secret Silver Street if you turn this way."

　　Like a tour guide, Evely introduced Edward to the names of Constantine's streets. Here, the east-west cross streets were named after wood, while the north-south longitudinal streets were named after minerals.

　　A compound at 25 Secret Silver Street is the home of the vampire hunter's guild, Stigmata's Skin.

　　The walls of the courtyard were completely stone-built, and a towering fortress could be seen inside from the outside. The outer walls were built with arrows and corner towers to guard against vampire attacks.

　　The defense specifications of this tiny city within a city were even higher than the walls of Constantine's main gate.

　　Evelie walked up to the large, clad-iron door and knocked on it.

　　The small viewing window on the door opened immediately, and a vampire hunter looked out warily, realizing it was Ivory, and opened the door.

　　But the vampire hunter stopped Edward when he tried to follow him in.

　　"What are you?"

　　"He was mistaken for a vampire and had his belongings taken by our companions and came over to get them back."

　　"If outsiders come in, they have to pass the Sister's test."

　　"Uh, I know, I'll go get the Sisters."

　　Evely asked Edward to wait a moment, then went inside the compound on her own.

　　Edward, on the other hand, climbed into conversation with the hunter guarding the gate, "What kind of test is it?"

　　"You'll see in a moment."

　　"Get out of the way."

　　As he was saying this, the male hunter who had just followed him the whole way nonchalantly pushed his way past Edward and entered the steel door.

　　"What's wrong? Joseph doesn't seem to be in a good mood."

　　Edward folded his arms, "I don't know."

　　After waiting a while, Evely came out alone.

　　Edward was wondering when he saw the huntress pull out a wizard's hat.

　　"Is this ....?"

　　"This is the Sister."

　　When Edward first heard the name, he thought "Sister" was an old woman who specialized in silver needles, but it was a hat.

　　This Sisterhood of the Hat test isn't going to be jumping on your head and screaming, "Gryffindor!" Right?

　　Edward was rambling when he saw the hat fly up on its own, and then the translucent silhouette of a woman appeared underneath.

　　"Spooky?!"

　　"Show some respect, Sister is the patriarch of the 'Skin of Stigmata', a legendary mage from a hundred years ago!" The hunter guarding the door chided.

　　"Hohoho, don't make a fuss, the old body has already decayed and can only rely on the hat, it's not a problem to be called a ghost." The ghost called "Sister" smiled kindly, the shadow could not see the appearance, but listening to the voice and Evelyn not a few years difference.

　　"I'm sorry, I was the one who said something rude."

　　"Heh heh heh, it's a courteous young man then, come, let my old body take a look."

　　The Sister raised her hand to Edward and a stream of air rushed into his forehead, as if some spell had been put in place.

　　"Well, a very pure human soul, not manipulated by evil spells."

　　Looks like it's a soul probing spell.

　　"Let my old self ask you a few questions next."

　　"Okay."

　　"You're not a vampire or a vampire's dependent, are you?"

　　"No."

　　"What is the purpose of coming here?"

　　"Retrieve my belongings."

　　"Ivory is big, isn't she?"

　　"Uh, not that I've noticed..."

　　"Sister!"

　　Evely voiced her protests to the Sister, but the Sister ignored her and smiled at Edward:

　　"Heh heh heh, good, only the third question to lie about. You pass."

　　After saying that, the Sister stared at Edward for a moment and said, "But...it looks like that..."

　　"Like? Who?"

　　"Nothing, you can go in."

　　With that said the Sister's spirit body disappeared.

　　By this time, Ivory had already changed to a position with her arms wrapped around her hands, and when she saw this, she immediately stepped forward to pick up the sorcerer's hat, and then hugged it to her chest.

　　"Well, come on in!" She seemed to blush a little.

　　Edward couldn't help the corner of his mouth turning up, the girl was still shy.

　　Although he was a bit embarrassed about the fact that he had just been torn apart by the Sister for lying, but since Evelie was shy first, then as a man, he should have a thick skin.

　　"What's wrong with big."

　　Evely stiffened and shot Edward a vicious glare back.

　　"Everyone likes a girl with big eyes."

　　Hearing this, the huntress's expression instantly changed from anger to coyness, and her face turned even redder.

　　She looked back and muttered in a small voice, "Is that about the eyes?"

　　Edward follows Evelyn into the inner courtyard, which is spacious and decorated with archery targets and stakes, just like a barracks.

　　He continued to chat as he surveyed the fortress adorned with a huge cross:

　　"But just being big doesn't cut it, and there's an expression to describe a girl with nice eyes that says they have stars in them."

　　"Is there a girl like that?"

　　"Yes, I've seen it before."

　　"Before..." she was expecting Edward to say "now that I've seen it", and Evelyn was looking forward to it a little, but the phrase "before" definitely poured cold water on her. The word "before" undoubtedly poured cold water on her.

　　"Well, last night, there was a girl who fought a bat demon and had stars in her eyes."

　　Evelie blushed at that, then snorted out a laugh.

　　"Don't lie, my companions say that my eyes turn red when I fight, it's not stars in my eyes, it's blood, I think."

　　"That's the red star."

　　The huntress shook with laughter, "Where are the red stars! And the celestial bodies turning red is a bad omen, the vampire's power will be strengthened, not good!"

　　The two of them joked and laughed as they made their way to a small house next to the fortress, which served as a storehouse for piling up the loot.

　　Evely explained to the steward's valet the purpose of his visit on Edward's behalf, and the valet then pointed to a pile of magnificent clothing in one corner of the room and said, "It's all there."

　　In it, Edward found out his clothes from a vague impression.

　　"No wonder you're being treated like a vampire, these clothes are woven from top-notch materials. Wow, this one is even enchanted!"

　　Evelie was surprised to touch a black-backed button-down blouse with two large rows of slightly exaggerated buttons adorned with gold thread, and the cuffs of the sleeves were woven with a nice floral pattern in gold thread.

　　Edward's focus, however, was not on that, as he held a dried up bag of money with a frustrated look on his face, "All the money in here is gone."

　　Ivory twisted her head to look at the squire, "Where's his money?"

　　"It's all in the treasury, how much money did he have originally? I can expend some more from the treasury."

　　Evely then craned her head to look at Edward again, but Edward looked helpless, "I can't remember."

　　"What then?"

　　Evelie craned her head once more to look at the squire.

　　The squire looked helpless, and all he could say was, "Let's see." Then stepped forward.

　　He glanced at the beautifully embroidered money pouch and said, "Ah, this one I remember, it contained thirty large gold coins of the old Empire, and the Chief Steward took it to the bank to exchange it."

　　"Thirty what?" Evelie's eyes widened.

　　"Old Imperial Great Gold Coins! It's the first time in my life I've seen so much money." The squire said.

　　"Thirty gold coins, is that a lot of money?" Edward didn't really understand this world's currency.

　　Evelie took a deep breath and said, "The old Imperial Great Gold Coin, it wasn't pure gold."

　　Edward froze, which meant that the large gold coin wasn't as good as a regular gold coin?

　　But what Evely said next was more astonishing: "It's molten and minted from half pure gold and half fine gold, and one large gold coin is worth one hundred Old Empire gold coins, which translates to about two hundred and something Constantine gold coins!"

　　Edward doesn't know how much purchasing power gold coins have, but he's vaguely aware that it's a lot of money.

　　After asking a few more questions, he realized that because the current Constantine didn't mint gold coins of such a large denomination, there was still a portion of the old imperial large gold coins in circulation, and after deducting the handling fee for exchange, one large gold coin was basically equivalent to two hundred Constantine gold coins.

　　"So, what does six thousand Constantine gold coins buy?"

　　"It is enough to buy a house with a garden in the upper town."

　　Edward froze, so the perk of crossing over was a gift of a villa!

　　"Kayne, you're not a noble from any country, are you?!"

　　"I don't remember." Edward replied slightly perfunctorily to Ivory, excited and then a little jittery after learning that he had such a large fortune.

　　Can these vampire hunters, can they give this money back to themselves?

　　"When is that chief steward coming back?" He asked the squire.

　　"It's about time to come back, it's been a long time out."

　　"It won't be robbed by robbers, will it?"

　　"The Chief Steward took several men with him, and Constantine won't have any ungrateful petty thieves hitting on us."

　　"Ugh, I'll wait then."

　　Edward glanced back at Evelyn and realized that her interest was back in the dress.

　　"Why don't you change back into your clothes first?" The huntress took the black blouse and fluttered her big beautiful eyes, which seemed to actually have stars in them.

　　"Uh, well, is there somewhere we can change?"

　　"Go to my room..."

　　"Just go inside and change, no one will be watching." The attendant pointed to the back of the storehouse and said.

　　"Oh good."

　　Edward took the clothes from Evely and turned to the back of the large cupboard in the storage room, not noticing the slightly offended expression on the Huntress's face.

　　After a while, he changed and walked out, and Evely's starry eyes got even bigger.

　　Changing into his flashy clothes, Edward gives off a completely different vibe.

　　"Geez, you're so...uh, I mean you might really be a noble." Ivory had wanted to say, "You're so handsome," but was too embarrassed to say it too bluntly.

　　"Yeah? Thanks, but I forgot all about my birth."

　　The attendant next to her looked on coldly and interjected, "Isn't Miss Ivory also from a noble family?"

　　The huntress laughed and shook her hand, "Our family is only left with a title now, and besides, I don't have the right to inherit, so if I'm not willing to go back and marry, I guess I'll have no chance with nobility in my life."

　　But it was also because of this origin that she had the opportunity to learn swordsmanship and magic as a vampire hunter from a young age.

　　Edward didn't care very much about her origins; all he cared about now was his large sum of money.

　　The two of them just chatted in the storehouse, waiting for the chief steward to return.

　　However, the Chief Steward never returned, but there was a large and steady stream of silver swords, armor, food, magic potions, and other supplies coming into the compound.

　　Edward began to get a bad feeling.

　　Toward evening, the chief steward finally returned, and his premonition came true.

　　"That money .... has been spent to buy these things..." said the chief steward, who had been running around all day, wiping his sweat and pointing at the supplies piled up in a small mountain.

　　Edward just felt the sky darken.