Sensa nimbly took a bag of coins from the counter and handed it to Fana, who accepted it and slipped it back into her Storage Ring.
The matter of dividing the money could wait for later, but now that they had that Third-Tier Magic Core, Sensa seemed to have let go of any suspicion about their early return. At least the Magic Core hadn’t gone to waste.
“By the way, Miss Sensa, there’s one more thing we need to trouble you with on this trip.”
After putting the money bag away, Fana spoke to Sensa with a serious expression.
“Hm… Is it about that strange young lady over there?”
Sensa pointed at Krexia, who was sitting idly at a nearby table looking bored.
Ever since the group had walked in, Sensa had noticed this peculiar and beautiful girl who appeared to be of elven descent.
But since Fana and the others hadn’t mentioned her, Sensa hadn’t taken the initiative to ask.
“Yes, Miss Sensa. That young lady…”
Fana began to introduce Krexia, roughly retelling the “mysterious and painful experience” Krexia herself had fabricated, adding a few embellishments of her own to fill in the gaps.
She especially emphasized Krexia’s elven identity and the fact that her current appearance was a magical disguise.
“I see…”
Sensa pondered for a moment.
“So you adventurers are here to register Miss Krexia’s Adventurer Identification?”
“Yes.” Fana nodded in response.
“Ah, that’s no problem at all. The Adventurer Association of Vanor City always welcomes strong adventurers to join. I’ll arrange the registration for you right away.”
For Krexia, this whole adventurer business was a novelty.
Because of her noble status and the heavy burden of her studies, she had always been tied down by magic and swordsmanship lessons.
She rarely had time to go out, let alone register as an adventurer.
This meant her understanding of the world was actually quite limited, mostly shaped by her past life’s preconceived notions about other worlds.
Still, it wasn’t like she was clueless the moment she stepped out.
The Adventurer Association was efficient. In less than ten minutes, Krexia emerged with a silver badge now pinned to her chest.
Engraved on it was a hollow five-pointed star, and just below it, her name: [Krexia].
She had specifically requested that only her given name be engraved; the surname “Yadin” was omitted.
The Silver Badge symbolized the Association’s recognition of her strength. It was the result of a unique magical detection assessing her soul’s strength and her ability to manipulate magical energy.
“Silver” rank adventurers placed third in the Association’s tier system, roughly equivalent to a Third-Tier Magician.
Based on her actual power, Krexia should be classified as “Fine Steel,” which was the fifth tier, but Sensa had an explanation for that.
Black Iron, Bronze, and Silver made up the majority of adventurers in the Association. To improve their rank, this group simply needed to periodically take strength tests and complete a set amount of commissions.
But from Silver upward, advancing required completing high-difficulty commissions, a strict rule issued by the Association’s upper management. Plus, someone had to act as a witness during rank promotions.
“Hm… like a promotion tournament?”
That was Krexia’s initial thought, which wasn’t far off—the idea was the same.
Considering this, Sensa’s decision to grant her Silver rank was somewhat of an exceptional favor.
“Miss Krexia, if you don’t have anywhere to go for now, my family’s home…”
“Eh, stop, that’s enough. I’ll just find an inn.”
Fana barely got the offer out before Krexia bluntly declined.
What a joke, such things couldn’t be said lightly, or else trouble would come.
“Heh, are the girls in your world all this open? Just met and already want to take them home?”
“Shut up, at least that’s better than you.”
“How dare you! I am a god!”
“You’re a prostitute.”
The two bantered happily in their private channel, one human and one deity.
“I see… What a pity, Miss Krexia. To be honest, I have a strong interest in magical research, but unfortunately my parents’ work keeps them near here for long periods, and there’s a lack of powerful magicians around.”
“You are one of the strongest magicians I’ve met around Vanor City. Even my mentor before graduating from the Magic Academy couldn’t wield Fifth-Tier Spells as skillfully as you, especially without a Magic Wand.”
Fana looked sincerely into Krexia’s eyes as she spoke.
“Though I know this sudden invitation might seem abrupt, I hope you’ll consider teaching me magic. I promise to offer you generous compensation.”
As she spoke, Fana took out a card from her ring, embossed with golden patterns, and handed it to Krexia. The young woman examined it carefully; the card bore a uniquely designed bird-head emblem.
With closer attention, she detected a faint magical aura emanating from it—clearly a magical item.
“This card is a pass to Hailiya Manor on the west side of the city. If you decide to accept, you can come find me anytime. If you’re interested in ancient magic, I can also take you to my family’s library.”
Krexia paused for a moment before relaxing.
So it was just an offer to teach magic after all. She had been overthinking it.
“Thank you for the invitation, Miss Fana. I’ll consider it.”
Fana bowed slightly, then climbed into the carriage behind her.
The remaining three saw that Krexia had no intention of continuing with them, so they each bid their farewells. Falco and the other two left directly, while Elvie headed toward the church.
After they left, Krexia looked at the exquisitely designed card in her hand and pondered quietly.
She vaguely remembered seeing a similar card on her cheap, stingy father’s person.
Recalling Fana’s words, she flipped the card over and traced the patterns on the back.
No doubt about it.
“You wouldn’t guess it, but this little girl is actually a borderland noble.”
“No wonder she lives in a manor.”
“But the people around don’t seem too afraid of her. Since she gets along well with ordinary folk, she probably isn’t a bad person.”
Krexia quietly put the card away.
She felt her pocket and found the three gold coins lying there peacefully—their share from Fana before she left.
Only now did she belatedly realize that after her rebirth, her previous noble status was gone.
No one was going to give her pocket money rich enough to buy all sorts of frivolous trinkets and dresses anymore.
Aside from these three gold coins, she was now truly penniless.
“…”
“Hopefully the inns here won’t be outrageously expensive.”