[187] 5. Shelter of the Nor (2)
"Is this Nor people's shelter?"
"Yes. It's a place where the light spirit clings especially strongly. It can accommodate hundreds of Nor people. I heard there used to be an altar of light here long ago, and its aftereffects remain."
"It feels calmer than I expected. Is it safe from attacks by otherworldly beasts or from heresy hunters?"
"It's not that far away. We just hid it behind a veil of light. From outside Nor's shelter it looks like nothing but a field."
It worked on a principle similar to invisibility magic.
Invisibility bends light using electric power to make things transparent. This, however, set light's reflectivity to one hundred percent so the landscape blended with its surroundings as if a mirror had been placed there.
Someone sharp-eyed might spot a repeating pattern, but there probably wasn't anyone willing to do that work across such a wide stretch of land.
"Of course, the higher powers in Heaven could detect it if they tried. But nobody cares about life in Purgatory. The only ones who get riled up are the Kergoin and hungry otherworldly beasts."
A makeshift tent village had formed near the woods. Vendors were setting up stalls. There were no customers; perhaps they weren't really trying to sell—just chatting idly.
Gadrak explained they were merchants heading to the mainland markets. It was literally a shelter, and for proper goods you'd have to go to Nor's shops.
Still, he said, sometimes subjects came here to buy Nor items—Kanya and Rena were that sort.
Kanya had been tense since they arrived. If Purgatory was neutral ground, this place was the domain of heretics.
Maybe that was why she wouldn't even meet Shirone's party's eyes and instead asked Gadrak.
"Where do they sell Nor medicine?"
"Hmm—maybe the apothecary's over there. Try that way."
As Kanya walked off, Gadrak called after her.
"One thing to remember. Never fight inside Nor's shelter. Got it?"
There was no reply. Instead, Rena looked back at Shirone and flashed a smile. It was a sweet attempt to smooth over her sister's rudeness, but there was a blush of personal affection in it as well.
"Oppa, see you later."
"Yeah. Hope you find what you're looking for."
No matter how big Nor's shelter was, once they left the radius of Arin's Spirit Zone conversation was impossible, so it was as good as a farewell.
Shirone watched Kanya's retreating steps.
She looked nervous.
What had she come all the way from Heaven to find?
While Shirone was lost in thought, Gadrak checked the wound on his abdomen. The bleeding had stopped, but the injury was a mess. Without proper treatment it could be dangerous.
"Let's rest a bit. I'm tired from the blood loss. Learn how to buy things from Clove—if you're going to live in Purgatory you'll need to know."
Gadrak's face was pale, so Clove couldn't refuse. He led Shirone's party to a stall and brightened when he realized there were more merchants than usual.
"Hey, about that White Elixir—are you planning to use one now?"
"Depends. I want to look around first and buy what's necessary. Why?"
"If you'll pay a brokerage fee I can haggle for you. It's your first time here, right? You wouldn't know what's good."
There weren't many things the White Elixir could buy in Nor's shelter. It was like paying a gold coin for an apple.
But Shirone didn't know which items were valuable, so negotiating could net him a few scraps.
He checked where his friends were. They had scattered to browse. They were connected by the mental channel, so there was no need to call them back.
- Clove wants a brokerage fee. What do we do?
- Hm. We probably need someone to broker, but honestly I don't know much here besides clothes and food. Can we trust him?
Arin answered Amy's question.
- I can check.
Shirone made his decision.
Through clairvoyance he could tell if Clove was trying to con them. He hoped he wouldn't have to. Fees could be paid, but wasting time on pointless disputes would be a loss for everyone.
"All right, show us around. Introduce whatever goods you've got."
Clove led the way and the others gathered around Shirone.
Perhaps because many were mainland merchants, the selection was varied.
At first they saw daily necessities. Food, clothing, pillows and blankets looked mundane but were important for heretics living in Purgatory.
Clove pointed at a white, pebble-like bread.
"This is Kalaya, a traveler's staple for heretics. It's made with Elixir—eat one and you won't be hungry all day."
Amy crouched to inspect it.
They came in various colors, but otherwise offered no clue to their taste.
If one Kalaya could serve as a day's meal, it was useful, though whether it deserved top priority was another question.
"Hmm, it's round and cute. Want to try one?"
When Amy tossed the bait, Clove bit readily. How sincerely he sold it would show how honest a broker he was.
"This is amazing stuff. Even if you're stranded, one of these will keep you going for a month. Buy as many as you can when you can."
Then Clove winked at the vendor.
Arin scratched her head awkwardly. The clairvoyance was so blatant she didn't even need to analyze it.
Assuming the others knew that too, she skipped the fluff and stated the conclusion.
- Shall we just do it ourselves? He doesn't seem serious about working.
- Yeah. But let's keep him with us for now. Who would expect these pebbles to be food? Anyway, we need someone to show us the goods. He's not lying, right?
- Right. He just wants to earn some Elixir. Seems like he really wants it. Seeing him like this makes me a little sorry for him.
Kanya smirked triumphantly.
- Maybe. Magic aside, his judgment and reflexes are terrible. How could someone like that hunt properly? That's exactly why he's tempting.
Magic's power varies wildly by level, but that doesn't settle finer judgments. Different environments and situations favor different spells and matchups.
A whirlwind serpent might have overwhelming magical power and still lose to Shirone for that reason.
To judge a mage's true level you have to see how quickly and accurately they make magical decisions.
That took longer to determine than casting spells. Mercenaries often hired mages based only on visible skill and were annihilated by a single mistake—stories told for a reason.
Kanis, who had traveled the continent searching for the Arcane will, had learned that more than anyone.
From the three battles since arriving in Heaven, analyzing how decisive Shirone and Amy's judgments had been, Clove was almost too embarrassing to call a mage.
Next Clove introduced a stall selling medicines.
Shirone had overheard Kanya arguing with the apothecary earlier, but the mental channel had been cut so he hadn't caught the details.
Clove showed them several medicines.
Small vials of colorful potions—said to be made with Elixir—were lined up.
The red potion healed wounds; the blue cleared the mind. Those two were the most common.
Other colors had unique effects.
The pink potion amplified feelings of love, and the brown potion made certain memories permanent for a set period.
Shirone pointed to a white potion he'd noticed during Kanya's quarrel.
"What's this potion?"
Clove narrowed his eyes in surprise and picked up the vial.
"Oh? That's here? That's pretty hard to make."
"What's it for?"
"This is a stimulant—Epines. Drink this and a person can stay lucid without sleep for a week. It's excellent even for mages. For example, if you're hit by the Howling and your mind wavers, this will help you hold on."
Shirone sorted Clove's explanation. If the blue potion enhanced magical power, the white one seemed to bolster endurance.
"This is perfect for you. It's expensive, but I can haggle for a lower price. Want to buy one?"
Shirone had no intention of buying Epines. While its effect—remaining lucid for a week—was extraordinary, taking consumables from the other world felt wasteful.
If it were a unique item, picking the right moment to use it would be difficult. In Purgatory you'd gulp it down in emergencies, but for a mage back in the other world it could have adverse psychological effects.
He briefly imagined the perfect boost the night before a practical exam, then gave up at the thought of being expelled for taking banned substances.
After dismissing that ridiculous analysis, his thoughts returned to Kanya.
An awakening stimulant.
What on earth did she intend to do with that?
By the time Shirone came back to himself, the party had moved on to the next stall.
They saw vines that grew dozens of meters within ten minutes when a seed was planted—essential for crossing cliff areas—and flame powder that boiled water when sprinkled. These items fascinated them.
While listening to Clove, Shirone noticed Amy had drifted away and was staring at something without blinking. Curious, he walked over.
Something moved inside a basket like a birdcage. It was a blob of fire.
Fire that was alive and moving?
Clove came up and Shirone pointed at the bars.
"What is this?"
Clove peered in and widened his eyes as if the thing were unfamiliar even to him.
"Wow! It's a spirit, isn't it? Sir, where did you catch this? You struck it rich."
"Haha! It's a long story. I had a good dream and went hunting outside the community. Sulfur worms sometimes drop Green Elixirs at low rates, you know. I caught a few and they were all red—damn, must've been a stupid dream, so I was heading back when I ran into a Flameclaw. I ran for my life thinking of my wife. I rolled down under the cliff and, would you believe it, there was a flame spot. Because of the sulfur gas seeping from the ground, the fire had been burning for ages. I was going to drink a brown potion to remember the place, but the fire started hopping toward me. I panicked and blasted it. I frantically took out a spirit prison and trapped it. That's how it happened, hahahaha!"
Clove laughed, but he didn't feel like laughing. He was just jealous that such fortune never befell him.
Sulfur worms were common otherworldly beasts not only in the land of fire, Muspell, but anywhere with lava.
They were meter-long worms that spat lava but were sluggish enough that Clove could catch them easily.
The problem had been the Flameclaw; surviving that fierce otherworldly beast and getting a fire spirit as well made Clove feel like someone else had been born under a lucky star.
Shirone looked at Amy. She returned his gaze with eyes that didn't know what to do.
He fully understood the desire to own it.
If a light spirit had been trapped in that cage, he couldn't say how he'd have reacted either.
For the first time Shirone asked about its price seriously.
"Sir, how much for this?"
Communicating telepathically was unfamiliar to merchants, but Clove just blinked and replied calmly.
Merchants were used to all sorts of things; from his reaction Shirone inferred one possibility.
He guessed that those who didn't speak the natives' tongue might not be the only ones like that in this world.