In the inn’s room, the girl sat on a chair, her chin resting on the table, eyes vacant as she stared at the two gold coins and several silver coins of varying denominations spread before her.
The inn charged two silver coins per day for a room—not exactly expensive, considering one gold coin could cover fifty days.
But compared to other places, it was still quite pricey.
However, what truly troubled Krexia wasn’t the cost of lodging, but the magic materials.
These days, she fought almost entirely with magic, but without a wand, auxiliary materials, or magical tools, it was unbearably difficult for a Mage.
Although her constitution no longer demanded those things as desperately as before, she still felt a real lack of security.
There was also one more thing: Coutia had mentioned earlier that when helping her shape her body, she had placed some very dangerous elements inside, which needed to be suppressed by magic power and required regular replenishment.
But relying solely on absorbing the ambient magic energy in the air was far from enough. She had to regularly consume magic materials, just like swallowing Magic Crystals raw in the morning.
These things certainly weren’t something that a few silver coins could cover.
“Why is it that the stronger I get, the heavier the financial pressure becomes!”
Krexia leaned back in her chair, helplessly complaining.
“Kosan.”
“Please don’t call me that anymore, it sounds so weird!”
Coutia protested against the awkward nickname, but Krexia ignored her completely.
“Kosan, give me some money.”
“Is that how you ask for favors, you little rascal!”
“And besides, aren’t you a newly registered Adventurer? Go do quests, work part-time, there’s no reason to just reach out and ask your own goddess for money.”
“……”
Looking at Krexia’s utterly defeated expression, Coutia began to seriously doubt if she had mistaken the girl for someone worth investing in.
Is this really someone I should bet on?
Why do I feel like I picked the wrong horse?
“Why don’t you go out and kill some monsters? Pick some Magic Crystals off Goblins and sell them—wouldn’t that be better than just lazing around here?”
Perhaps tainted by unhappy memories from her past life, Krexia instinctively felt uneasy at the mention of work.
She thought back to the carefree days of the past fifteen years, then glanced at her current life.
Krexia silently clenched her fists.
You Royal Daughter of the Third Princess, don’t make me find you—I’ll pull your wig off and give you all the slaps you can eat.
In the end, Krexia did go out.
But instead of heading straight to the Adventurer Association, she first made her way to the Mage Guild.
She had to get a wand first, right?
Casting magic barehanded was flashy, sure, but the unnecessary drain on magic power was too much—it was really uncomfortable.
After dressing, she checked her posture in the mirror.
Not bad, the disguise magic was still holding, and her hair remained black.
Time to go!
***
“Twenty gold coins? You said twenty gold coins?”
Inside the Mage Guild, Krexia heard the offer from the elderly Mage wearing a pointed hat and couldn’t keep the tension off her face.
“20 gold coins, miss.”
The old man, dressed in the Mage’s long robe, white beard and hair, and a face full of wrinkles, squinted as he repeated his price.
Ah, such a wonderful number.
Krexia glanced at the wand in front of her.
About five feet long, predominantly white in tone, the wand was made from Lingxin Wood, with a Soulstone base at its tip, set with a Third-Tier dark purple Magic Core.
Some obscure Magic Inscriptions were etched along the shaft. The craftsmanship was exquisite, showing the maker’s skill. Though it was only a third-tier wand, its magic circulation was excellent—it was a top-quality wand.
But the price was just too expensive for the impoverished Krexia.
Seeing the hesitation and obvious financial strain on her face, the old man no longer pressed further.
There was no other choice—Mages were like this; without enough funds, not even a decent wand was affordable.
Krexia left the Mage Guild silently.
There was no point in visiting other stalls. Wands of the same level elsewhere would only be pricier than the old man’s.
Even if there were slightly cheaper wands, regardless of quality, the price would still be beyond her reach.
It was just absurd.
Back when she practiced magic, her wands had been provided out of fatherly love. She only knew wands were expensive, but had no real concept of how expensive.
But now, she did.
“Go work, okay? Listen to me, go work.”
Coutia’s teasing voice came just in time.
“Damn it, a single wand costs twenty gold coins! That amount could cover several years of expenses for an ordinary person!”
“You used to use this kind of wand too, didn’t you? I remember your family’s wands were even more exquisite than his.”
“That’s called making full use of something. I’m a genius Mage—so what if I use a more expensive wand? I’m not wasting it!”
Krexia’s face flushed red.
“Making full use of something? You mean like spending four gold coins on the Pink Maiden Wand?”
“I…”
The girl fell silent for a long moment, searching her mind but finding no comeback.
“Damn it, it’s just a wand. If I can’t buy one, then I’ll just make one myself!”
“You want to handcraft one? The goddess is really looking forward to that.”
Krexia turned and returned to the Mage Guild, clutching her two gold coins and eighty silver coins, diving headfirst into the materials section for a shopping spree.
Finally, amid the strange looks from the Mages and clerks, she left the place filled with the stench of money again.
Obviously, they didn’t understand why someone who looked so wealthy stormed in but only bought a few scraps before leaving.
They didn’t understand—and didn’t want to respect.
Back in her room at the inn, she dumped the chaotic pile of magical items onto the table.
A collection of items with magical and spiritual properties, all the cheapest she could find in the Mage Guild’s trading area, purchased with her entire wallet burned dry.
After selling Magic Crystals, she now only had ten silver coins left.
She patted her pockets—only one silver coin worth ten, and a Second-Tier Magic Crystal.
The Magic Crystal was kept as an emergency reserve to avoid running out of magic power.
“The journey ahead will be tough.”
“Tough? With that wand price, you just need to head into the outer woods and crack open a few lucky heads—Magic Crystals will fall right out. I really don’t understand why you refuse to go.”
“The Mageling Forest isn’t short of monsters, right?”
“How can I waste my precious time playing house with Goblins!”
“Isn’t haggling with those greedy merchants an even bigger waste of time?”
“Ah, ah, don’t argue—I’ll go, I’ll go!”
“You’re acting like the one who’s out for revenge against the princess isn’t you, but me.”