Echoes of the Past

Chapter 42 Common Interests

In their previous life, when they were still alive, the Red Rat Adventurers had dealt with many impoverished nobles.

Despite outsiders saying that those families were already in decline, their manors were still teeming with servants, and even had all the latest magical creatures for transportation, completely disregarding the enormous expenses for their daily food.

For ordinary guests, the best butter and jam-filled bread is still served, and the fruit in the fruit platter may come from the ancestral homeland of the forest spirits on the other side of the continent.

Even a worldly bookworm would murmur a rare and admiring remark about the tea that was casually served.

Unfortunately, Nan'an doesn't like dealing with these kinds of people.

The more extravagant and grand the ceremony, the more meticulous they will be when it comes to settling the reward.

They could easily get the adventurers to give their all by skimming a little from monster food or their daily tea, but they just won't part with a single penny.

This has become a common problem for almost everyone whom Nan'an labels as "fallen nobles" in his mind.

In comparison, Coralela was the least stereotypical "fallen noblewoman" he had ever seen.

She was able to so readily admit that her family had "fallen into decline," unlike those people in Nan'an's memory who stubbornly recounted their ancestors' glory and then reluctantly added, "Our family is thriving."

Perhaps driven by a lack of money, Coralina's pragmatism carries a touch of cunning greed, but she hasn't stooped to the level of being blinded by money—she truly did manage to use her limited funds to retrieve a finger-width of anti-magic dust from the black market for Nan'an.

Inside the governor's mansion, in Clara's private room, Nan'an, who had thought he would have to wait some time, couldn't help but reach out his hand.

Corella, who was taking small bites of her honey jam bread, suddenly widened her eyes.

"Sigh, sigh! Sigh!!"

The exclamation, brimming with emotion, did not interrupt Nan'an's actions.

He picked up the small glass bottle containing the anti-magic powder and gently twirled it in the light, admiring the handful of pale purple powder inside.

"What's wrong?"

"You're asking what happened..." Coralina was so shocked she forgot to chew. "Senior, you're a summoned creature... how come you're unharmed after being touched?"

Magic-suppressing and magic-blocking items have always been the natural enemies of magical creations.

The containers provided by vendors selling these dusts are often unprofessional and cannot completely prevent the dust from leaking out – you can't expect them to care about the packaging when selling at a low price.

But this did not stop Nan'an from playing with it as if nothing had happened and was unaffected.

Logically, the summoned creature should squeak like a mouse seeing a cat before it has even been touched.

Now, Coralla feels like the knowledge she learned at the academy is coming in full swing.

"How could this be... Senior, are you... are you really a summoned creature?"

Nan'an retorted, "I sprang from a summoning ritual, so how could I not be a summoned creature?"

Suiyue patted her chest and guaranteed it was absolutely true.

"I..." Coralina hesitated, then stopped herself. "Never mind."

"Speak your mind," Nan'an urged.

Coralina glanced at Suiyue, who was staring intently at the small bread rolls in her paper bag, casually stretched out her hand, and gestured with her lips.

Those who can grab a handful of dried fruit from the Pirion fruit platter and eat it in front of the other person will naturally not refuse the delicious treat offered to their mouth.

Seeing that Suiyue had started chewing, Coralina responded to Nan'an.

"Now, if you say that Suizuki gave birth to her senior through a summoning ritual, I'm willing to believe it."

"Gurgle!"

Suiyue choked.

"You mean, Suiyue gave me a new birth certificate?" Nan An rubbed his chin. "You want me to call Suiyue 'Mom'... What a trendy idea. Some summoners in the Gray Star era did do that to their summoned creatures, but the reverse is a complete blank."

"Uh... huh?"

Seeing Clara's mouth slightly agape in shock, her eyes filled with astonishment, Nan An laughed.

If this can't handle you, then your "veteran experience" is no laughing matter.

They deliberately provoke questions, and once someone asks, they throw out an embarrassing topic, teasing the other person and taking pleasure in their predicament.

Enjoying unrestrained verbal sparring, Nan'an rediscovered his long-lost "funny person" nature.

Come on, let's fight to our hearts' content!

Calling someone "Mom" might be a psychological barrier for the Nora people of the Gray Star Era and the Black Mist Era.

But in the world of Nan'an, it's not a problem at all.

Clara held back, wanting to say something but afraid that Nan'an would make even more explosive remarks.

He's bad at the game but loves to play.

Seeing that she was getting the short end of the stick, Corella quickly changed the subject.

"The money is almost all spent, and the remaining amount is..."

A cloth bag was slapped onto Nan'an's hand. He opened it and found only a dozen or so copper kir.

The currency exchange rate in the Black Mist Calendar is approximately 1 Kel Gold Coin = 10 Kel Silver Coins = 1000 Kel Copper Coins.

There are some auxiliary currencies called Riskel that facilitate transactions among the three.

What can you do with a dozen or so copper kels?

A typical tavern breakfast for the poor, consisting of black bread, bean soup, and pale beer, costs roughly 2 to 5 copper kels in Kren. They can buy three servings and watch Suiyue smash the walls with the black bread.

Nan'an questioned, "Is this correct?"

"You should have expected the high price of the anti-magic dust. If I hadn't pestered them, they wouldn't have bothered selling it separately." Corella licked the jam off her lips, being very honest. "Besides buying some bread and drinks because I was feeling peckish, I didn't use any of the money."

Nan An suddenly felt a sense of frustration, like someone who had worked hard all year only to find their paycheck empty at the end of the month.

After parting ways with Corella, the two strolled through the somewhat crowded streets of Kren.

Suiyue couldn't help but ask, "Are the materials we have enough to make a complete version of the amplification device?"

"The existing ones are mostly inferior substitutes, and the content of anti-magic dust is insufficient..." Nan An shook his head. "Forget it, since we're going into the black mist, let's make a semi-finished product first."

He had hoped to achieve his goal in one go, but in the end, he compromised.

The life of the silly cow is the most important thing. If the preparations made by cutting off its horns twice and clearing out a group of living worms still cannot alleviate its survival pressure, then it would be a complete failure.

Keren is a large city-state with a population of one million. It has many artisans, and there is no monopoly, so competition is quite obvious.

Nan'an did not entrust all core components to a single workshop, but instead split them up and placed separate orders.

Since he had no cash on hand, he cut off a small amount of the anti-magic dust.

As a currency, it is exceptionally useful.

Craftsmen might refuse gold coins, but they would rarely refuse to accept anti-magic dust as collateral.

When making the core components of the magic storage jar, Nanan chose the workshop recommended by Nilar.

It is located in the southern part of Crennan, a bit far from the bustling central area.

The workshop was small; from a distance, only a young-looking male elf could be seen busily working by the fire. After waiting for a while, no other customers arrived for half a day.

Suiyue wondered to herself, "Will Nilar's recommendation be any good?"

It's not that she's suspicious.

In the original world, every restaurant would be packed during mealtimes. Even if a shop was quiet and you could sit down immediately, Nan'an probably wouldn't choose to go in.

Seeing that a guest had arrived, the elf, who was fiddling with the metal blank by the stove, wiped the sweat from his brow with a cloth and looked up.

"And you two are...?"

"Nilar recommended us to come."

The elf apologized, quickly sealed the fire, and hurriedly brought tea to the two of them.

"Master Black Edge, let's skip the formalities." Nan An waved his hand. "We are not like Nilar; we are not some important figures."

"No, no, don't call me that..." the elf nicknamed "Black Fang" quickly said, "It's just a friendly joke, far from the level of our parents... What are you two trying to create?"

Nan'an directly unfolded the tank design drawings and explained the specific requirements.

"Master Black Fang, the Demon Suppression Dust is expensive. Since I'm using it as payment, if the forging fails... I hope you can provide appropriate compensation."

"Of course." Black Fang nodded, his expression serious. "Nilar should have mentioned that if the oven explodes after we take the order, we will provide a full refund."

In his previous life, Nan'an had witnessed far too many seasoned craftsmen shirking responsibility and passing the buck after a forging failure.

For adventurers, economic strength and social status do not allow them many choices, let alone the ability to remain entangled for long.

Unless they are willing to relinquish their mandate and fight to the bitter end.

Therefore, adventurers are often the ones who suffer losses in transactions with artisans.

Honest craftsmen like Hei Feng were extremely rare in my previous life.

Nilar vouched for his character, and Nan'an was happy to give the young man a chance.

"How many days would you like to complete this?"

"Is five days enough?"

Hei Feng pondered for a moment, then nodded: "That should be enough for me to melt the Demon Suppression Powder evenly."

No deposit is required; Nilar's name serves as the best guarantee.

As soon as Nan'an left, Hei Feng immediately began shaping the embryo according to the blueprints.

As he worked, he muttered to himself, "What a peculiar shape... cylindrical, eye-catching, needs to be filled with magic-suppressing substances, where is it going to be used?"

……

……

Karen spent five relatively peaceful and quiet days.

This used to be a daily occurrence for Pirion, but since his visit to Southampton, it has become a luxury.

After the Senate's investigation into Nan'an failed at the Museum of Literature and History, the letter finally landed on his desk.

"Describe Nan'an as I imagine it?"

Pirion chuckled twice and tossed the letter aside in annoyance.

But when he thought of the Senate seal on it and didn't want to give anyone cause for criticism, he quickly bent down to pick it up.

In an instant, Karen became a tourist hotspot in the midst of an eclipse. Within a few dozen days, eyewitness reports from the surrounding area indicated the presence of at least dozens of suspicious and dangerous individuals.

As the governor, he was not naive enough to think it was smuggling and banditry.

They dared to openly attack people right next to the main road in Keren; this blatant act of provocation made him suspect that some people were coveting the existence of the black mist in the Sickle Water Canyon.

Not long ago, the Radiant Owl cleared the area, completely sealing off a core region within the Black Mist of the Scythe Water with high walls, making this speculation even more plausible.

When talking about the black fog, one cannot avoid mentioning the magical duo of Nan'an Suiyue.

After the black mist dissipated abnormally, attacks began to occur frequently... It seems that the Living Eclipse is interested in both the people from the Twin Crowns and Suiyue.

The Central Hub of the Black Mist of the Scythe Water, the Twin-Crowned Noble, Nan'an Suiyue...

After counting, three elements that make this a worthwhile endeavor for everyone to participate in have been gathered.

The various groups of eclipsed creatures resembled farmers going to market in the Gray Star era. Hearing that a grand spectacle was about to begin in Keren, they flocked from all over to witness the chaotic battle up close.

The little shrimp that Nan'an killed might have been sent out as scouts to explore the way, instigated by some of them—brainless people, even if they become living eclipses, cannot squander their superpowers and are only destined to die.

Pirion's thoughts drifted, wandering wherever they pleased, until his gaze returned to the table and he caught sight of the Senate's letter, at which point he let out a heavy sigh.

After a long silence, knowing he couldn't avoid it, he picked up his pen and wrote the first sentence.

"He gets along well with everyone in daily life, has a peaceful temper, communicates smoothly, and is gentle and refined, which is completely opposite to his ruthlessness in battle."

"I largely agree with the speculation circulating in the Senate... Nan'an may have been an adventurer active on the borders of the Gray Star era, with old-fashioned and ruthless methods. Skull hunting was just a normal way to show off his spoils and strength, without any evil emotions, and was purely an act of martial virtue."

Halfway through writing, Pirion felt something was off about everything.

He shouldn't have gotten involved in these messy events; he could have just stayed put and farmed on the border.

Why are we trying to whitewash a jinx now?

The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. He gently slammed the pen on the table and snorted loudly.

"Knock knock!"

"what!"

Pirion's voice startled the person outside the door, making them tremble.

"Sir... there is news from the Rostarek border."

Upon hearing this, Pirion's expression softened slightly. He rubbed his face and gestured for the butler to come in.

After scanning just two lines, his newly composed mood soured again.

"Nilar has returned?" He stood up. "And he's already inside Keren City?"

No one knew better than Pirion how desperately short-handed El Deer were between Kren and Rostarek.

As long as there is anyone still able to move, Suiyue will not be forced into a supervisory position.

Now, Raven and Gunn have actually recalled a Fog Sentinel... What's going on?

"Contact the Karen Deep Cave for me, immediately!"

"Why are you looking for us?"

Before the butler could even help warm up the communication array, two carefree figures had already appeared outside the door.

Pirion, no longer bothering to ask why the two were able to swagger to the study's entrance so openly, or where the messenger was, dismissed the butler and asked urgently.

"Tell me immediately what happened to Kren."

"Uh... you know the rules of Elru, we can't just reveal mission information."

Pirion doesn't care where he is.

Kren is his most important achievement. He needs this transcript to enter the Senate. He will fight anyone who scribbles on his graduation project!

He raised the letter from the Senate on the table and shoved it directly into the letter.

"Would you like the Senate to see some normal speech? Do you need my help to embellish it?" Pirion took a deep breath. "We can have common interests."

"Hey, hey, hey, is this a non-stick pan? Is it really okay to show us this?"

Pirion understood the meaning of "non-stick pan," and waved his hand dismissively: "I need to be accountable to Kren. Tell me immediately, will this cause unrest in the city-state? This city-state has a million people; I can't gamble with them!"