As a quick aside, the currency used in Hymriel was the kor.
The smallest unit was one kor, minted as a copper coin. One copper coin was worth one kor.
Above that was the silver coin, made from the more valuable metal silver, and each one was worth one hundred kor.
And above that was the gold coin, made from rare and precious gold, with each coin worth ten thousand kor.
One important thing to note was that these coins were not issued by the Passara Empire.
They were issued by the Church of the Seven Heavens, an authoritative organization with influence across the entire continent.
It was not as though no kingdoms had ever tried minting their own currency in the past in hopes of making a fortune from it.
The problem was that none of them had the credibility to match the Church of the Seven Heavens, which had existed for ages beyond counting. As a result, other nations would not accept those coins, and in many cases even the people within those same countries would not trust them. Before long, those currencies vanished.
The biggest reason those attempts failed, however, was something else.
The Gumora copper used to make standard copper coins, the most widely circulated coins of all, came almost entirely from mines controlled by the Church of the Seven Heavens.
Under sunlight, Gumora copper reflected a distinct bluish-violet sheen, making it highly recognizable and extremely difficult to counterfeit.
Without access to Gumora copper, any country hoping to issue its own money had little choice but to use substitutes instead.
And those substitutes never solved the flood of fake coins. Economic collapse followed again and again, until those kingdoms were finally forced to give up on issuing their own currency altogether.
...
Jingle.
The bell over the door rang.
In a dim corner of the shop, the owner, an old man everyone in town simply called Old White, lifted his head from the counter where he had been dozing and glanced toward the entrance.
The moment he saw it was only a little girl, he immediately lost interest.
"Hey, kid. This isn’t a place to play hide-and-seek. If you want to fool around, do it outside."
Shulim ignored the tone and looked around the shop with open curiosity.
The whole place sat in a corner of the street where sunlight barely reached, and inside there was only a single old mana lamp with an unstable connection, giving off a weak little glow that barely helped at all.
It was so dim and gloomy that it felt almost impossible to believe this was a place meant to give people knowledge and broaden their horizons.
When she heard Old White’s voice, Shulim looked up at the counter.
"I’m not here to play. I want to buy a book."
"A book?"
Old White paused, then took a better look at her.
"Oh. You’re one of the Hayerals, aren’t you?"
Based on her clothes and her features, he could tell she was from House Hayeral, though he was not sure which one.
"That’s right. I’m Shulim. Shulim Hayeral."
"Shulim. Right, that’s it. The youngest one in House Hayeral is named Shulim."
Now that he had confirmed who she was, Old White sprang up from behind the counter. A warm, eager smile spread across his deeply wrinkled face, though somehow that only seemed to make the wrinkles stand out even more.
"So what sort of book are you after? Storybooks? Then you’ve come to the right place. My shop may be small, but I’ve got all kinds of books in here. I’d even say some nobles don’t have collections as large as mine. Ah, right. Sorry. Your family is noble too..."
Shulim ignored the fact that he had managed to be enthusiastic and rude at the same time.
"I want a spellbook. The kind that lets you learn magic."
Old White’s voice caught for a second.
Then his eyes lit up.
"A spellbook? Of course I’ve got spellbooks. Absolutely."
He got so excited he started rubbing his hands together. In his mind, today had suddenly turned lucky. Even if it had taken until the afternoon to get his first customer, this first sale might turn out to be a big one.
"This way, young lady of House Hayeral."
Shulim followed him deeper into the shop.
He led her to a row of locked shelves in the back, opened the lock, and revealed an entire section filled with spellbooks.
The moment Shulim saw shelf after shelf of them, her eyes were instantly captivated.
That reaction only made Old White happier. Still rubbing his hands, he launched straight into his sales pitch.
"So, what kind of spellbook are you looking for? I’ve got every elemental branch here. Let me recommend this series. Besides including a few second-circle spells, it also covers a great deal of knowledge on magic formations."
He pointed at the shelf in front of them.
"Really? It even includes magic formations?"
Shulim immediately perked up. She almost wanted to buy it on the spot.
"Of course. My shop may be small, but my reputation in Mente is spotless. I’d never lie to you."
Old White patted his chest in confident assurance.
"You can take home any one volume from this elemental series for just two gold coins, twenty thousand kor."
"Two..."
Shulim’s smile stiffened.
She quietly weighed her coin purse in her hand.
Twenty thousand kor minus one thousand nine hundred and fifty-two...
It seemed she was, maybe, just a little short.
"...Do you have any other spellbooks?"
Shulim looked up and asked.
"Of course."
Old White did not think much of it and simply kept walking.
"So, you don’t need anything on magic formations for now? No problem. Then let me recommend this set instead. This series doesn’t include much beyond the spells themselves, but each element has everything from first-circle through third-circle magic. Buy these, and learning third-circle spells won’t be a problem for you at all."
He pointed to the books on the second shelf.
"From first-circle all the way to third-circle?"
Shulim was tempted all over again.
If she was only just starting with first-circle magic, then with books like these, wouldn’t she have enough to study for a very long time?
"That’s right, all included. Honestly, you could hardly ask for a better series to keep in a noble household. And each volume is only five gold coins."
Old White announced the price proudly.
Shulim’s smile froze again.
She weighed her purse a second time.
This one also seemed to be just a little out of reach...
"Anything else?"
At that question, Old White raised a brow.
Oh? So those aren’t good enough for her? Then I’ll have to bring out something serious.
"Heh. If that’s what you’re saying, then it’s time I showed you the real thing."
With that, he walked to the last shelf, then carefully took down a box.
Shulim watched curiously.
Old White returned carrying the box, opened it with exaggerated care, and revealed a beautifully bound spellbook inside, its cover glowing with a fiery red sheen.
"What’s that?"
Shulim asked.
"This," Old White said with great gravity, "is a fourth-circle spellbook."
"What? A fourth-circle spell?"
Shulim was stunned.
She was no longer the complete beginner she had been a few days ago. She knew very well that while fourth-circle and third-circle magic sounded as though they were only one step apart, they belonged to entirely different realms. Fourth-circle magic was already high-tier magic.
"It really is a fourth-circle spellbook? That’s amazing. You actually have something this incredible?"
Faced with Shulim’s shining eyes, Old White suddenly looked a little awkward.
"Well... yes, it is a fourth-circle spellbook. But it does have one tiny little issue."
"A little issue?"
"Well... how do I put this. The spell recorded in it is a fourth-circle fire self-destruction spell..."
...
The light vanished from Shulim’s eyes.
"So it’s completely useless."
"No, no, no, you can’t say that."
Old White protested desperately.
"Sure, it may be... well, that kind of spell, but it is undeniably a genuine fourth-circle spell."
"Oh. I see."
Shulim had already lost interest.
"Do you have any other spellbooks?"
Seeing his promising mark slipping away, Old White hardened his heart, gritted his teeth, and said, "All right. If you’re willing to buy this one, I’ll let it go at a dirt-cheap price. A real loss for me. How about that?"
"A cheap price?"
That did catch Shulim’s attention. She secretly weighed her little purse again.
If it was cheap, then maybe she could buy it after all...
"A normal fourth-circle spellbook usually goes for anywhere from dozens of gold coins to over a hundred. This one, I’ll let you have for just ten gold coins. That’s a bargain."
A cheap price...?
Shulim went completely still.
After a long pause, she asked, "Do you have any other spellbooks?"
Looking into Shulim’s eyes, Old White let out a disappointed sigh inside.
So catching an easy fool wasn’t going to be that simple after all.
"Of course I’ve got other spellbooks. But what exactly is it that the adults in your house want to buy? If you tell me, I’ll go fetch the right one."
"Hm? It’s not Razelian or Lilia buying a spellbook."
Shulim shook her head.
"I’m the one buying it."
"What?"
Old White’s eyes widened.
He stared at her without blinking, then asked uncertainly, "You mean you’re buying it? Not your father?"
"I’m the one buying it. Is there a problem?"
Shulim asked, puzzled.
"A problem..."
There was a huge problem.
Old White let out a slow breath and did his best to keep his tone even.
"Did you bring money?"
"Of course I did."
Shulim proudly pulled out her little purse and showed it to him. The copper and silver coins inside clinked together with a bright, cheerful sound.
Old White’s eyes lit up at once. Smiling broadly, he took the purse from her hands.
"Good. As long as you brought money..."
Then he opened it.
His smile froze solid.
"...This is all the money you brought?"
"Yep."
Shulim nodded firmly.
"You thought you were going to buy one of my spellbooks with this?"
"Mm-hmm."
She nodded again.
The wrinkles on Old White’s forehead twitched.
He took a deep breath.
Then he snapped the lid shut on the box holding the self-destruction spellbook.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
He strode back to the last shelf, his footsteps pounding against the wooden floor so hard it sounded as though he might stomp straight through it.
After putting the box away, he crossed over to a corner piled high with odds and ends. There was a clatter of rummaging and banging around.
A moment later, Old White came back with a yellowed old book in his hand and a flat, expressionless look on his face.
"This is the spellbook you’re buying."
As he said it, he reached back into Shulim’s coin purse and quickly picked out the silver coins.
"Nineteen silver coins total. That’s all your money can buy."
"Wait, this book..."
Shulim looked down at the worn, battered thing in her hands. Compared to all the neatly bound, beautifully packaged spellbooks she had just been shown, it was in a completely different league, and not in a good way.
She could not help wanting to protest.
"That’s enough, kid. This isn’t a free consultation desk. If you’ve got questions, go home and ask your parents. And one more thing..."
"Take your candy money and get out of my shop."
...
Bang.
The front door slammed shut behind her.
Shulim had been thrown out.
She shot an annoyed glance back at the shop, then lowered her eyes to the worn old spellbook in her hands. Even the lettering on the cover had partly flaked away.
The title read, Fundamentals of the Seven Elements.
Well, the process had been deeply unpleasant, but in the end, Shulim had still gotten the thing she wanted most right now.