MONEY MATTERS

"He's got many hematomas on him, and a lot of the bony parts in his face and body are badly injured," the elf girl detailed as he observed Lirzod's body. "This is a critical case. I'm only an herbalist, so I'm afraid I can only do so much."

Sariyu frowned, and her chest caved in as if fear coiled around her heart and squeezed out plenty of hope. "How many hours he's got?"

"I can't be sure. With my help, maybe a day or two at max," she took out a bunch of light green herbs with silvery scales on them. Each leaf was the size of her palm. "These belong to the family of moon herbs. They have high salving power, so they prevent his skin and flesh from getting damaged further. His pain will also be taken away to some extent. Given his wounds, I'll have to use all of them, but it'll cost a little over two gold."

Sariyu nodded straight away. "Give him all the support you can, and don't worry about the money. I will pay as much as you want."

"Okay," she wasted no time and started covering Lirzod with the leaves.

"Also, please tell me if you know someone who can cure him."

"I've never been to higher decks, and most of my clients are the trainees from the drill hall, so I'm afraid I don't have many connections." She paused a moment before continuing her speech, "I can't give you any names or locations, but if you look hard enough on this deck, you may find someone capable enough who can do the job."

"Are you sure about that?" Sariyu stressed her words.

"Very much positive," she replied while doing her job. "Becoming a member of Shambala Sect isn't an easy affair. Most people who board this ship probably don't even wish to join the sect but simply to strengthen themselves because they know that if they stick long enough on this ship, they'll end up meeting competitors of all levels one way or another." She briefly glanced at Sariyu as if to see if she was paying attention or not. "The world is filled with monsters whose powers are way beyond our comprehension, but this ship isn't too bad either. One only has to look hard enough, and they'll likely find one such monster on each of these decks. Now, I can't be sure if there's such a capable priest on this deck or not, but—you never know."

"Then I will be going," Sariyu said and took out twenty silver from her purse and gave it to her. "That should cover in advance. You take good care of him until I come back, yeah?" After seeing the money, the elf girl's movements became more fluid, and after dipping the herbs in cool water, she placed the herbs, with extra care, on Lirzod's face and body at parts where flesh was exposed.

After casting a long glance at Lirzod, Sariyu couldn't hide the worry on her face, but she kept her tears at bay and hurriedly left the room.

The elf girl glanced at Lirzod's bloodied face while fastening the herbs, "So you fought Hardy Brothers, huh… I've heard of them. The fat and clumsy ones who, thanks to their background, possess an arsenal of fancy techniques, especially the ones others can't mimic, it seems. You should have known whom you were messing with." She shook her head and sighed. "Free spirits don't live for long in flesh. If you lose your life in my clinic, it'll bring me a bad reputation. Maybe I should've made the entry fee one gold instead of one silver-fu."

Meanwhile, at the entrance of the drill hall.

(His body heals faster than an average person. And that purified drop of baby basilisk's blood should buy him more time. Nothing's gonna happen to him.) Sariyu's face was still full of tension. (How did he even get himself into such a situation? He should've been more careful.) She didn't know where to direct her frustration. She swiveled in haste and kicked the nearby wall but ended up spraining her other ankle. "Aiyeee!" she jumped on her other foot for a few seconds, and then carefully walked. "Tch, it's one thing after another." She then entered the hall. "I shouldn't waste time. Where's that 777?" she looked around, and to her relief, he was resting on the floor, slowly sipping water.

Her rather quick arrival startled him. "I'm sorry. I've kissed the bottle!"

"I'm not here for water. Get up," upon sensing the hurriedness in her words, he quickly stood.

"Y-You are Sariyu!" Just now he realized who she was. "Wow, what happened to you?" he was bewildered. "Did you walk through smoke or something?"

Sariyu, currently, looked like someone who just escaped from a fire accident, so he could barely recognize her. "Please tell me you know someone on this ship who can heal life-threatening wounds or burns to be precise," Sariyu got straight to the point. "If they're on this deck, that would be even better."

"Hm? Why would you need someone like that?" he scanned her once. "You don't seem injured."

"It's for Lirzod. He's in the clinic next to this hall."

"What?" 777 paused, but then his eyes widened. "Don't tell me... Those brothers got him?"

Sariyu clenched her fists. "We will worry about them later. Lirzod got deep burns all over his body. He doesn't have much time. Do you know anybody on this deck who can help him?"

"If the drill clinic isn't good enough," 777 furrowed his brows, "I don't think anyone I know on this deck will be of much help either."

Sariyu frowned. "What about the upper decks?"

"There are a few, but even if I managed to find them, I can't guarantee if they'll be willing to help or not."

"Still, try your best. Use the Seal Service, too. Find someone and come back in twenty-four hours."

"Mm," 777 nodded and then kept looking at her.

"What?" she asked in haste.

"Nothing," 777 scratched his nose. "It's just that some coin would greatly help things move fast."

She was a little surprised but was quick to respond, "How much?"

"At least five gold."

"F-Five gold?" Sariyu's brows furrowed.

"We are talking about those who stand out even on the upper decks. Most of them wouldn't even move their asses for anything less than one gold. Money matters even for them."

"Fine," she took out a tiny golden cube from her purse and gave it to him. It had number one written on all of its sides.

"W-Wow, you've got a first-grade golden trade token," 777 was greatly surprised. "This is worth ten gold, but in auctions, it can fetch a higher price. Where did you get this one?"

"That's not important." Sariyu urged, "Just go and bring someone who can cure him for sure."

"Yeah, yeah, sure," 777 said and smiled and looked at the golden cube, "with this, our chances have greatly improved." Saying that he left the spot in a jiffy.

As Sariyu watched him leave, she remembered a moment with Duera from the past.

"Why do you roam so much with that boy from the Basha family?" Sariyu asked Duera near the well in the garden. Both of them, at the time, weren't even half as tall as they currently were. Sariyu was wearing long sleeves that covered her wrists and also a long gown that covered all the way up to her ankles. "Aren't you supposed to work for our family?"

"I'm sorry, Young Mistress. I will stop going during daytime if you don't like it," her eyes were a bit downcast, and they lost a bit of sparkle.

"I don't mind if you be with him more."

"Then, is there anything else I did wrong?"

"No," Sariyu turned around and hid her face. "I was just wondering… if—if I can be friends with him as well."

Duera looked bewildered but then chuckled. "Of course, Young Mistress. You can be his friend as well. He's younger than you, so you can pull his cheeks if you want."

"Really?" Sariyu quickly turned back. "But… pulling cheeks? Won't he hate us if we do that too much?"

"He will. He's quite sensitive."

"Then why are you—"

"But his long face is short-lived. Give him a kiss, and it goes away. Give him something he likes, and everything's good. There is a soul that does this to him all the time! Trust me, Young Mistress. It works!"

"Mm," Sariyu got lost in thought for a moment, "wait… our pet dogs are also like that. So you are saying he's like them."

"What?" Duera choked on her own breath. "No, no, no, no, no. I didn't mean it that way. You've got it totally wrong."

"I'm sorry," Sariyu put her hands on her mouth, looking startled and embarrassed at the same time. "I just insulted him, didn't I?"

"No, no, Young Mistress," Duera quickly replied. "You just said that he's a bit like—" she stopped herself from uttering another word.

A few seconds of silence passed as they turned away from each other.

Duera eventually took the courage to break the silence. "I will bring him here in the evening if you want, Young Mistress." She leaned closer and whispered. "I read in a book that 'friendship forms not for nothing.' Starting it with something special should do the job—if you get what I mean."

"I met him a few times, but I don't know much about him. All I know is that he looks cute and healthy," Sariyu spoke in a way as if she wasn't sure of herself. "W-What does he like? I will make mom cook something for him."

"You don't need to cook anything for him. Just get a packet of roasted groundnuts. That should do. Don't make them too spicy, or he'll begin to cry."

"Just groundnuts?"

"Yes," Duera nodded twice. "Let him eat those nuts and fatten up, and when he's finished, you can eat his cheeks."

Sariyu smiled from the bottom of her heart and nodded. "I look forward to eating, I mean, pulling his cheeks."

"Haha, but just don't bring the topic of dogs, okay?"

"Y-Yeah."

Coming back to the present, Sariyu rubbed her teary eyes. "I can't let our friendship end like this." She rubbed her nose and sniffled. "Why am I crying over that idiot? He made so many promises to our people. He surely can't dare to die so soon."

After bringing her emotions under check, she checked her purse to count the remaining coins she had. She then remembered giving away money to Viktor and the narrow-chinned man who was at the bread booth at the time. And that memory only brought a complicated expression on her face. "I don't know whether that money helped them or not, but I hope that what I have is enough to better Lirzod's condition." Sariyu stood right where she was for a moment and let out an audible breath out of her nose. "As the honorable Godrick put into words, 'money makes matters matter.' He couldn't be truer." As she was sighing, she suddenly remembered that Lirzod won a lot of coins in the hall. "Wait… what happened to all that money? Where did he put it?"

"Hey, miss! Miss Rose!" Just then, she heard a voice coming from afar. When she looked toward the source, she saw a somewhat unforgettable face behind bars.

"That guy… what was his name again?" she couldn't quite remember his name, but she remembered that he was the one who had come to the test hall on a donkey. Though she didn't want to bother herself with him, his desperate cries made her do the opposite. As she got close to the wooden cells, the trainees practicing their techniques with humans, who served as punching bags, made a line and blocked her.

"Where do you think you're going, girl?" one of the trainees coldly stared down at her.

"He's calling for me," Sariyu replied, her voice indicating a lack of patience. "Can't I even talk to him?"

"For what? Perhaps, you want to hear his story?" one of them snickered. "Are you acquainted with him or what?"

"Do I have to be acquainted with him to meet him?" she retorted.

"Not really, but it's only that we don't let just anyone talk to the criminals."

"What did he do?" she asked, rather bluntly.

"He was caught stealing something in the middle of a circus show, and on the stage, it seems. How foolish! If he wanted to serve as our bodbag for a couple of days, he should've just come to us straight, hehe." The trainees began to laugh together.

"So, he's a thief, huh…" Sariyu paused for a moment and then turned back, leaving the trainees in puzzlement.

"Wait, miss!" a voice came from her behind. "I can help you."

Sariyu stopped in her tracks and looked over her shoulder.

"Shut your mouth, you clown!" one of the trainees barked at him. "Do you want to get punched that bad or what? Don't worry. Your turn will come soon."

Not minding their words, the man inside the cell, Booboo, shouted, "I can help your friend."

Sariyu's eyes slightly enlarged. He—how did he hear our conservation? When she and 777 were discussing, they were at least a hundred meters away from the cells, so she was surprised by what was happening.

"Help who?" one of the trainees barked. "You are not getting out for the next two weeks, you prick."

"You are not lying, are you?" Sariyu asked in a loud tone.

"I don't take pleasure in lying, miss," Booboo exhorted. "Get me out of here quickly, and I promise... you'll not regret your decision."

After some thinking, Sariyu looked at the trainees. "How can I get him out?"

"If he can beat two of us, he can go for free," a trainee replied, looking at Booboo with ridicule in his eyes, "but I doubt he's strong enough."

"Can others fight in his stead?" Sariyu couldn't help but ask.

"Of course, there is that luxury, but I'm afraid," one of the trainees said in a taunting voice, "in that case, you'll have to be fighting not us but Master Sean."

"Oh…" Sariyu paused a moment and said, "What about coins?"

"Well, since he's caught for attempted robbery, you pay one gold, and he'll go free."

"O-One gold!" Sariyu was stunned. In some parts of the world, it would take a year or even more for someone to earn such an amount. "That's too much."

"But that's the rule," the trainees said with smiles on their faces. "Otherwise, everyone would be looting each other all the time for trivial things. Also, half of that money would be given to the victims or their families, so it's not like the rule is there just to pocket some coin."

Sariyu looked toward the man in the cell, and her gaze stopped on the gold coin dangling by his ear. "What about that gold coin he has? Is that a fake?"

"No, it's genuine," one of the trainees said, "but he wasn't willing to pay."

The corners of Booboo's mouth turned down, but he wasn't blinking, "Please, Miss Rose. If someone as stunning as you can't help me, then who else can I look for? Who else can I take pleasure from?"

Sariyu slightly shook her head. "You are trying to wheedle your way out of the penalty."

"What else can I do? My meager self can't pull off anything proper. I need your help," he shed a tear that shone as it slid down his painted cheek, "please."

Sariyu paused for a moment. "My name isn't Rose." She took out a gold coin from her purse and flicked it at one of the trainees.

After catching the coin, the trainees had surprised looks on their faces for a few seconds.

"Release him." Until Sariyu spoke, they didn't move.

As the trainees let the man out and broke his bindings, they sneered at him, "You are one lucky fellow. If not for her, we would have gained a punching skill or two by beating the living daylights out of that clown face of yours, keke."

"Lucky me." He smiled at them and then came straight toward Sariyu with a cheeky smile on his face. "Prisons, indeed, are for the poor. For sure, Old Rick knew what he was talking about."

"Stop quoting others words and get going," Sariyu gestured.

"I don't know how to express my thanks to you," he said. "Maybe sharing a bed will—"

"Just keep your promise," Sariyu said in a serious tone, her eyes oozing out killing intent. "If you fail to help my friend, for whatever reason, you'll regret coming out of that cell."

"O-Of course. Of course." Booboo raised his hands and exposed his palms. "I wanted to go find my ride first, but I guess I'll have to take pleasure in helping your friend first. Where's he?"

Sariyu gestured to him to walk. "In the clinic next to this hall."

"Oh," he started to walk. "By the way, I'm Booboo. We've met recently. I don't know if you remember me or not."

"How can someone forget your face so soon?"

"You are right, indeed." He got a bit excited upon hearing her words. "So let me tell you this, I got caught on purpose."

"Oh, did you?" Sariyu's voice was a bit sarcastic.

"Yes," Booboo, however, continued speaking with excitement, "the frog I caught wasn't the one I was looking for. So I was disappointed and just let myself get caught for fun."

"Then, would you be kind to pay me that one gold back?"

"Maybe one day, but not today." He smiled without exposing his teeth.

"Thought so."

"I wasn't lying this time." His smile now showed teeth.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Sariyu followed right behind him but kept enough distance from him to feel comfortable, for he reeked of alcohol.

"I guess you aren't the type who flirts with a thief," Booboo glanced over his shoulders. "That's too bad. I'll try to take pleasure in speaking from one end for as long as I can."

"Just stop talking, will you?" Sariyu said.

"Okay. Okay. If that's what you want, that's what Booboo wants as well. There should be many more dazzlers on Exvo, so there's no need for me to feel down." He opened the wine bottle and took three gulps.

Just as they were exiting the hall, a spiky-haired man who was hiding behind the wall suddenly attacked Sariyu, startling her, but before she responded to his punch, Booboo came in between and pushed the fist away before grabbing the man's face and smacking him down to the floor and sat on him. "Only meanies ambush a lady. What are you up to?"

"Let go of me, you creep!" the spiky-haired man barked in frustration.

"Ow, so spicy for a sour tongue," Booboo twisted his hand, making him scream in pain. "I take real pleasure in twisting the fate of folks like you."

"Let him go," just then Sariyu said after looking at the knuckle duster on the spiky-haired man's hand.

"Are you sure?" asked Booboo.

"We don't have time for this," Sariyu started to walk away, but she glanced back at the spiky-haired man. "Don't expect mercy the next time you or your friends try to pull a trick like this."

The spiky-haired man didn't say anything but simply ground his teeth.

"You heard her!" Booboo slapped on the back of the spiky-haired man's head, causing him to bark in anger.

"Get off of me, you bastard! I'll tear you to pieces!"

"Oh, let me tear some of yours out," Booboo then ripped out at least a few thousand strands of hair, causing him to howl in severe pain. "So noisy," Booboo then stuffed that hair in that man's mouth before getting off him and following Sariyu.

Sariyu couldn't hide the disgust on her face. "What was that for? I told you to let him go!"

"I-I did it for you, miss."

"For me?" she narrowed her eyes. "Or for your own sick pleasure?"

"It seems you don't believe Booboo. Those who don't believe Booboo can't become his friends or win his aid."

"I never said I wanted to become your friend," Sariyu continued to walk. "I'll bear with you until you help my friend, and then you're on your own."

"I'm not on my own," Booboo murmured as he silently followed her. He opened the wine bottle and took six gulps.

Soon, they reached the clinic. Sariyu first entered the room, whereas Booboo was standing right outside.

"You've returned quickly!" the elf girl was pleasantly surprised.

"Yeah, I've found someone who said he could—" Sariyu turned around by degrees toward the door, but to her shock, Booboo wasn't outside. She stood frozen for a moment but then immediately ran outside.

"Boo!" the sudden sound scared Sariyu into jumping on her feet. "Haha, you got scared, didn't you?" Booboo, who was hiding behind the wall, got a thorough laugh out of it. "Do you want to become my friend now?"

After silently fuming for a second, she said, "This isn't the time for fun. And you're too strange. We're never becoming friends."

"I was just saying a boo," replied Booboo, looking a bit dull. "If you don't take pleasure in it, then that's too bad." He opened his wine bottle and kept gulping it down his throat nonstop.

"Just do what you promised," said Sariyu as she walked into the clinic, looking disgusted, "and you can then go and boo whoever you want." After going ten steps into the room, she stopped a few feet away from the elf.

A couple of seconds passed, but no one entered the room.

Sariyu turned around by degrees and said aloud, "Can't you hear me?"

However, there was no response.

She made her way back to the door in haste. "Not again," she stepped out and looked to her left, but to her surprise, Booboo wasn't there. She looked to her right, and he wasn't there either. Her eyes enlarged as she looked in the street in both directions; however, the street was desolate, except for the spiky-haired man. Her heart pounded against her chest at once. She clenched her fists and ran toward the drill hall, hoping Booboo would be there.

Meanwhile, the elf girl scratched the back of her ear a bit, "What was that all about?" she looked disappointedly at Lirzod, whose body was now fully covered in leaves. "It looks like you're going to give up the ghost in my clinic."

Sariyu stopped near the spiky-haired man who was still on the floor and cringing from pain. His scalp was bleeding, and it burned. "Hey, that man who was with me, did you see where he went?"

The spiky-haired man glared at her and bellowed, "Are you shitting with me now? Fuck off, you filly from hell!"

Sariyu frowned. She couldn't care less about his words, and she hurried into the hall.