System Change

Walking down the street of the commoner district, Derek put his communications crystal away. Huh… That’s interesting.

He had just finished talking to a man named Avery. He was one of Alanah’s aides. She had mentioned him before, but Derek had never talked to him directly.

According to Avery, Alanah was going to be busy talking with the King for the time being. He contacted Derek to let him know what happened with Gerald Torith, and to warn him about possible retaliation.

Everything is a game to some of these nobles. Avery had explained how Gerald had jumped at the first opportunity to try to damage Alanah’s reputation. They knew that he would try to use her refusal to punish Derek to help further his cause. Technically, what Derek did was a punishable offense.

Well, he did tell me that if anything happens now, there will be no need for me to hold back. I wonder if they are really going to send assassins after me. I doubt they would be much of a problem to me, but I would hate for Thomas or the others to get caught in the crossfire.

Derek would soon be traveling to another city, along with Thomas, Malorie, Brandi, and possibly Rayna. It was certainly possible for any assassins to target anybody in his party. There’s nothing I can do right now. He thought. I’ll just have to deal with any threats as they come.

Currently, Derek was debating on whether to just go back and finish the City Lord off or not. Finally, he decided to take a ‘wait and see’ approach to that issue as well. Since Alanah was in talks with the King, there was a good chance that Gerald would be forbidden to take any action against Derek.

Well, now that everything is settled, I guess it’s time to prepare to leave. Derek continued through the streets of the commoner district, moving from stall to stall, purchasing anything he thought would make traveling more convenient.

There weren’t a lot of convenience items in the commoner district, at least until he got to the Adventurer’s Guild. The shops and stalls around the guild contained the vast majority of items that adventurers would use. There, he picked up some low-tier health, stamina, and mana potions, along with some other things. He wouldn’t need them, but they would be good to have, just in case.

After rummaging through the commoner district, he headed to the merchant district. This was where he would pick up the items he was most concerned about.

Shopping was an all day experience. Even in a pseudo city like Torith, the merchant district was huge and everywhere he went, there were stores, stalls, and vendors. Throughout the day, Derek managed to pick up quite a few things.

His coffee had been selling well across the country, so he was no longer in debt to Alanah and the Crown. In fact, not only had he paid off the scrolls, but he was quite profitable. So, when it came to preparing to leave, he had plenty of gold to spend on supplies.

Derek bought numerous herbs, spices, vegetables, fruits, and meats for Silvi. He found shops selling monster materials and bought numerous raw materials for Brandi. He also stumbled upon an alchemy shop and bought a portable alchemy set along with what books on alchemy he could find.

If it was only going to be him and Silvi, they would be able to make it to the next city in a very short amount of time, but since he would be traveling with the others, he had to prepare for a long journey. He was even thinking about setting off with one of the trading caravans just to make the trip more comfortable.

Of course, if he did that, Brandi would have to pick one craft to practice on the trip and stick with it. Even though he planned on securing her a place in Savannah, it would be best to keep her talents a secret until discussing everything with the City Lord there. At least he had some assurances from Walter that the City Lord of Savannah could be trusted. So far, Derek’s only experience with City Lords was Malcolm Torith, and it was not a good one.

Derek continued his shopping by heading to a clothing store. As he was close to the noble district, the clothing store was quite extravagant and pricey. He didn’t mind, they still had traveling clothes.

The shopkeeper glanced up from his book and frowned when Derek stepped into the store. He began to read again before realization flashed in his eyes and he slammed the book shut. “M-Mr. Hunt… Welcome to Radiance Raiment. What might I do for you today, sir?”

“Huh, you know who I am?” Derek asked.

“Of course, sir. Gossip… travels fast.” He answered. “N-not that I’ve been gossiping about you… I…”

Derek laughed. “That’s fine. I don’t mind.” Derek said. “What exactly has a shopkeep in the merchant district heard about me?”

“N-nothing too much.” The man hesitated.

“Don’t mind me. You can speak freely.” Derek said.

After hesitating more, but getting another nod from Derek, the man finally spoke. “W-well… I, of course, heard of your description, including your odd dress.” He motioned to Derek’s shirt and jeans. “There is also a rumor that you obtained a membership at the Crown.” He paused.

Derek nodded. “And?”

“And that you were the one that caused the commotion at the City Lord’s manor yesterday.” He concluded.

Derek smiled. “All true.” He stated.

The man’s eyes went wide, but he chose not to say anything about it.

“So, I’m looking for some traveling clothes for my companions. You think you could help me out?” Derek asked.

“Of course, sir. What is it that you are looking for?” He asked.

“Well, I need some comfortable clothing for a boy about this big.” Derek moved his hands, drawing Thomas’s shape in the air. “At least a few sets. And, it’s better if they are on the bigger side. Should be easy enough to bring them in.” Derek thought about Brandi’s skills. She could easily make a set of clothes that were too big, fit.

“I’m also going to need some sets for a girl about this big.” Again, he motioned his hands to draw out Brandi in the air. “And two women.” He described Rayna and Malroie to the shopkeeper instead of giving a general outline with his hands. “Again, too big is better than too small. We have a decently skilled tailor, so she should be able to take in any extra widths or heights.”

The shopkeeper nodded. “Very well. It would be better if I could see them, but I should have some clothes here that shouldn’t need too much altering.” The man went and picked out numerous sets of clothing, bringing them back to his counter and Derek.

Derek went through the clothing. “Well, I’m not really good at this, so I’ll trust your judgement.” He agreed to the price and put everything away in his storage ring.

“Would your companions need any undergarments?” The man asked.

Derek smiled oddly. “Uh… I… guess. Just give me a bunch and I’ll leave it to them to sort everything out.” He said. This is going to lead to an uncomfortable conversation… He thought.

Derek finished buying everything he needed from the shop and left. Turning to wave at the shopkeeper before the door closed. “Thanks for your help.”

A few hours later, Derek walked out of another shop. “Phew…” Derek wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. I don’t know how everyone does this shopping thing every day. This is more tiring than fighting a horde of Void Beasts.

With that, Derek turned back towards the commoner district and started back to his inn.

***

Two Days Later…

Stella had been running around the Crown making sure everything was shipshape. She had been meeting with Emily for the last couple of days, talking about the management of the restaurant.

A knock resounded on her office door, then it opened, revealing Emily. “Mistress, Mr. Hunt has arrived.”

“Okay, I’ll be right down.” Stella said.

She walked to her doorway, then turned and looked at the empty office room. All that was left was the desk and chairs. Stella let out a sigh and turned to walk off, closing the door behind her.

She walked downstairs and saw Derek waiting by the counter.

When he saw her, he smiled. “Stella! Usually you invite me up.”

She giggled. “I know, but I felt like taking a walk today. Care to join me?” She asked.

“Of course.” He said.

With that, the two of them made their way out of the restaurant and walked slowly through the noble district.

“I’m leaving tomorrow.” Derek broke the silence.

“Mhm.” Stella mumbled. “That’s what I heard. How’s Silvi taking it?”

Derek laughed. “She’s fine. I promised her that I would try to find another place for her to practice cooking when we get to where we’re going. She also gets to cook while we’re on the road, so it’s sort of a win-win for her.”

Stella smiled. “Actually, I wanted to talk to you about tomorrow.”

“Oh, what is it?”

“Well, I have been gone from the bigger cities for a while now, so I was thinking that…”

Derek frowned and held one finger up. “Hold on for a second, sorry.” He apologized.

A glowing red crystal then appeared in his hand. “Walter…” He muttered, then connected to the crystal. “Hey, Walter. I’m a bit busy…” He suddenly stopped.

Derek frown turned to anger as rage flashed in his eyes. He stopped talking out loud. The fury kept building. The crystal stopped glowing and vanished from his hand.

A loud crash rang out from the direction of the Crown and Stella whipped her head towards that direction. A purple beam moved faster than her eyes could see and collided with Derek.

But it didn’t collide. It was Silvi, and she was perched on Derek’s shoulder. A look of excitement and anger seemed to be coming off of the bunny too. Derek had controlled his aura, but the aura coming off of Silvi was enough to cause the unprepared Stella to take a step back.

Derek bent his knee, then pushed against the ground. Then he was gone. Stella was standing alone.

What happened? She couldn’t help but think. It was Walter. She remembered hearing Derek say his name when he connected to the crystal. Stella turned in the direction of the Gracefall Manor and took off at a sprint.

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