The Academy's Iljin - Episode 5
"Portia! What's wrong! I told you to shoot Flame Blast!"
Whether it knew of Elia's frustration or not, Portia hung its head low, trembling all over, and hid behind her legs.
Flustered by the unexpected situation, Elia's face turned bright red as she kept pressing Portia. But Portia refused to budge.
Baek Iljin paid no attention to her making a fuss in a fluster and began observing Portia.
'Is that a spirit too? It looks different from Hairin's Sylph.'
It was the first time he had properly faced a spirit. He had seen Hairin's Sylph before, but had never observed it in such detail.
Out of curiosity, he pointed at Portia and asked.
"Is that a spirit?"
"...What? What did you say?"
Wondering if she had misheard, Elia asked again.
"I asked, is that a spirit?"
Suddenly, Elia's emerald eyes grew wet with tears. The tears that streamed down merged with the color of her eyes, making them look like jewels.
"How... how can you say something like that?!"
How happy she had been when she became able to summon the intermediate spirit, Portia. The intermediate spirit in the form of a dependable wolf had been her pride and joy.
'To say something like "Is that even a spirit?" to our Portia...'
She was mortified.
It wasn't that the pitifully trembling Portia was embarrassing; she was ashamed of herself for lacking the mana to summon Portia at full size.
As her shame grew, she wanted to flee.
"Y-you... just you wait!"
"...?"
Having watched her suddenly come, summon a spirit, mutter to herself, then abruptly run away crying, Baek Iljin thought for certain that the world was vast and full of strange folk.
"What the, she really is a strange one."
It seemed she had misunderstood something when she disappeared crying, but he didn't feel the need to clear it up.
After that, he continued looking around the village and returned to the village entrance at the promised time.
The village chief and Hairin were waiting for him there.
"Oh, you've come right on time. I've prepared everything in advance."
Saying so, he handed Baek Iljin a map enchanted with guidance magic and a bag containing spare clothes.
"Your clothes are too unusual; they'll catch people's eyes, so change into these before you go."
"Thank you."
"And it would be easier to travel if you cut that hair short too."
As he said, Baek Iljin's martial arts uniform, long overcoat, and his long hair tied tight were the attire of ancient martial artists found only in history books.
'Is this outfit strange?'
Hairin, who was beside him, also greeted him and handed him something. It was a red potion in a glass bottle.
"It's nothing much, just a potion my father made. Drink it when you're tired."
"Thank you."
As he finished his farewells and was leaving, he heard a voice calling him from somewhere.
"Hey!"
Looking toward the voice, he saw Elia, who had disappeared crying earlier. She was standing far away, huffing as she glared at Baek Iljin.
"What now."
"...No."
"Huh?"
"I-I'm sorry! I was wrong earlier...."
Elia's face was as red as the fire spirit she had summoned. Looking at her, Baek Iljin nodded.
"Got it. Be more careful next time."
"What?!"
"See you next time."
"Hmph!"
With that snort, Elia spun around and left. Her pointed ears had already turned red.
Heh.
For the first time since leaving Rare, Baek Iljin practiced smiling.
'Is this the right time to smile?'
But the corners of his mouth, forced upward, merely trembled.
* * *
It wasn't far from the Blue Forest to the 'Harbani Territory' of the Huangfu Clan. It was close enough that he didn't even need to use the magic map the chief had given him.
'All of these are people?'
Passing through the city gates and arriving in the bustling streets, he saw noisy crowds unlike the quiet elf village.
Looking around, the people passing by were each of all shapes and colors.
People with black hair, red hair, unusually short races, elves with pointed ears, people with blue eyes, and those who were strange mixes of the two.
As Baek Iljin was blankly observing them, a tout approached him. It was a person with black hair and black eyes like him.
"Welcome! Our inn's dumplings are delicious, and our braised pork in five spices is amazing."
Then another tout latched on beside him. This person had yellow hair and blue eyes.
"Our restaurant's pizza is top-notch, and our pasta is incredible!"
"What the? Don't interfere and beat it."
"You beat it. This is right in front of our restaurant."
They soon began arguing noisily, but as if this happened often, people went about their business indifferently.
"Hmm, the inn."
"Yes, an excellent choice, customer!"
"Tch."
Walking after the tout, he caught sight of a plaque reading 'Shandong Inn' on a large building in the distance.
Come to think of it, there were many stores with the word 'Shandong' in them. This place was Shandong, that place was Shandong; everywhere was Shandong.
'Why are they all labeled Shandong? Is it a person's name?'
The tout, seeing him looking around curiously since earlier, asked.
"Is this your first time in this area?"
"Yes, but why do the stores around here use the name Shandong so much?"
The tout smirked as if he had seen all manner of strange people.
"Because this place's name is Shandong."
"Hmm... Not 'Harbani'?"
At that, the tout made a bewildered expression. Why ask for a name from 300 years ago here? And seeing his stiff expression, it seemed like he was asking seriously.
'Did he ask if it's not Harbani? Is he not from Rochette...?'
Come to think of it, his attire was unfamiliar. Even his hairstyle, tied up and hanging long like martial artists from very ancient history, was peculiar.
'He must have come from incredibly far away....'
The tout smiled broadly and began to explain kindly.
"It's been over 300 years since the name was changed from Harbani to Shandong."
"What? But surely...."
In a book called 'Social Studies Map of the Rochette Kingdom' that he had read in Rare, the city next to the Blue Forest was written as 'Harbani'.
"Then is it correct that this is Count Huangfu's territory?"
"Hmm, count's territory, well, that's not entirely wrong, but actually...."
The frontier of the Rochette Empire was virtually no different from an autonomous territory of the Wulin Alliance, to which the Five Great Clans belonged, and the Mage Tower.
It was a system where a portion of the territory's taxes was sent to the center in exchange for guaranteed autonomy.
"So although they are citizens of Rochette, the frontier territories don't feel much belonging to the nation."
Finishing that brief history lesson, they had arrived at the inn before they knew it.
"Then enjoy your meal!"
The Shandong Inn was larger and more lavishly decorated than the other inns around, living up to the tout's proud boasts.
Entering the inn, a sweet lavender scent wafted subtly, and the calm classical music flowing through the magic stone speakers suited the luxurious atmosphere.
Having only ever heard children's songs sung by Max, Baek Iljin doubted his ears upon hearing classical music for the first time.
'To think such beautiful sounds existed...!'
A waiter in a navy suit and red bow tie approached to greet him.
"Welcome. How many in your party?"
"I'm alone."
"Which seat would you prefer? We have rooms, the hall, and window seats."
"A window seat, please."
Guided to his seat, he was slightly shocked by how different it was from the inns he had imagined after hearing his grandfather's stories—completely the opposite.
'I was told inns were old buildings about to collapse, with nothing but dumplings and noodles on the menu.'
Opening the red leather menu, he saw dozens of dishes he was seeing for the first time.
Sweet and Sour Pork, Braised Pork in Five Spices, Xiaolongbao, Kung Pao Chicken, etc.
'What are these numbers?'
There were numbers written beside the dishes.
[Sweet and Sour Pork 155,000G, Kung Pao Chicken 125,000G, Braised Pork in Five Spices 125,000G... Noodles 15,000G, Course A for 1 person 385,000G, Course B for 1 person 425,000G]
'The prices?'
He had brought plenty of money anyway, so the price didn't matter. First, he needed to soothe his hungry stomach.
"Excuse me."
"Yes, customer. Would you like to order?"
"Course B, please."
"Yes, understood."
Starting with the appetizer, the course dishes came out one by one. Each dish was beautifully plated, pleasing to the eye and delicious.
'But this isn't to my taste. They come out too slowly.'
Having polished off the dishes that came out in tiny portions—as if for tasting—and very slowly at that, Baek Iljin vowed never to order a course meal again.
"What would you like for dessert? We have mooncakes and bingtanghulu."
"Bingtanghulu, please."
The bingtanghulu, with strawberries and hawthorns alternately threaded on a wooden skewer, was impressive in every way.
Color, gloss, taste, convenience.
'Perfect.'
After finishing his dessert, he took the bill and went to the counter to pay.
"Did you enjoy your meal?"
"Yes."
"The total is 455,000 Gold, including the service charge and tip."
'455,000 Gold, how much is that...?'
In that moment, Baek Iljin recalled what his grandfather had told him.
'The value of this single gold coin is enough for a commoner family to live on for a month.'
Nodding calmly, Baek Iljin took out a single gold coin from his subspace and held it out.
At his confident appearance of offering a gold coin, the staff member at the counter began to explain in bewilderment.
"Sir, our inn only accepts payments in cash or by card."
"This is also cash. The issue date is written here too."
The gold coin was stamped with the inscription 'Rochette 1076'. Upon checking the issue date at those words, the staff member's bewilderment doubled.
'Issued in 1076? It's 1605 now... so over 500 years have passed!'
And since the coin was made in 1076, yet looked to be in too good a condition, he also doubted the reliability of the issue date itself.
"I'm sorry, but we cannot accept barter payment, sir."
As they stood in a confrontation wrapped in delicate silence, a laugh broke the tension from the side.
"Ahaha, your hairstyle and all—you're a really interesting guy."
The owner of the laughter was a tall, sturdily built boy about half a head taller than Baek Iljin. With his deep-set eyes and high nose bridge, he appeared to be of mixed blood of a Central Plains native and a Semu.
"I'll buy that gold coin from you, so how about selling it to me?"
Baek Iljin was not in a position to be choosy.
He nodded.
Having barely finished paying, Baek Iljin expressed his gratitude to the boy who had helped him.
"Thank you."
"Don't mention it. It's fate that we met like this, so let's at least introduce ourselves!"
"Baek Iljin."
"My name's Charles."
Charles smiled broadly and held out his hand; it was an innocent, boyish smile that didn't match his towering frame.
"By the way, this is amazing! This gold coin. It's definitely real, yet it's clean as if a preservation spell had been cast on it!"
"Right. Preservation spell."
"What? It really is a preservation spell?! That's awesome. A preservation spell of this level!"
The two walked around Shandong and conversed. Charles's love for magic, singing praises of magic starting from preservation spells, was palpable even to him.
'He really loves magic.'
They also went to a bank and opened an account. After exchanging 100 gold coins and several gems, quite a large balance remained even after fees.
"Try injecting energy into that card."
When he injected internal energy into the card issued by the bank, a three-dimensional window rose above the card displaying his balance.
[Account Balance - 769,864,057G]
"What the, you're filthy rich?"
"Is that so."
"What a waste. If you had put those gold coins up at auction, you would have gotten at least three times as much."
But Baek Iljin, who didn't really know the value of money, didn't think much of it. He still had many gold coins left besides these.
After leaving the bank, they stopped by a nearby cafe, ordered a coffee, and continued exchanging stories about themselves.
"By the way, Iljin. What brings you to Shandong?"
"I have business with the Huangfu Clan."
"Huh?! H-Huangfu Clan?"
Hearing the words 'Huangfu Clan', Charles's pupils dilated and his focus wavered. He also twisted his body around anxiously.
"Is something wrong?"
"Ah, no...."
Just then, someone opened the cafe door, came in, looked at them—or rather, precisely at Charles—and shouted.
"Hey! Huangfu Cheolsu!"