With the newcomers' training and study schedules sorted, Leon had business of his own to attend to.
He gathered up his loot, said a quick goodbye to Jeanne and the others, threw on casual clothes, grabbed an umbrella, and headed out. Destination: Tsubaki's workshop.
The Seventh District. A tree-lined path thick with green.
The rain hadn't let up. Fewer people walked the streets than usual, though it was far from deserted. Bills didn't pay themselves, and most folks still had mouths to feed. As for Adventurers, a little weather barely registered when you spent your days underground.
An hour later, Leon stepped through a familiar doorway.
"Tsubaki. Keeping busy?"
He shook off his umbrella at the entrance, greeting her casually.
"Oh, you're here?" She perked up for a half-second before catching herself. "Actually, never mind. Not like you'd bring me anything worth getting excited over."
Tsubaki had recalibrated her expectations. Leon was Level 1. A nobody. The anti-magic material from last time had been a lightning-in-a-bottle fluke, and even that was only worth one weapon's effort to her. Hardly worth losing sleep over.
A muscle twitched at the corner of his mouth. A vein pulsed near his temple.
"So sorry for being a lowly Level 1."
"Oh come on, everyone starts at Level 1! You've got potential. Plenty of time, plenty of time."
She waved him off with a breezy laugh.
Leon didn't bother arguing. He pulled the drops from his pack and lined them up neatly across her workbench.
"Here. Give me a quote."
"Hold on... Killer Ant Shells?" Her eyes snapped to him. "You actually pushed deeper? What, did hell freeze over?"
She looked him up and down with genuine surprise.
She knew his type better than anyone. Leon Hart: the man who'd made "Adventurers should never adventure" his personal creed.
Caught out by the jab, he rubbed the bridge of his nose. "People grow, you know. I'm no exception. What's the big deal?"
Tsubaki studied him for a long moment, then said nothing more. She turned to the materials and began inspecting them, calculating their value.
...
"Quality's solid this time. Everything's well-preserved. I'll give you ten percent above market rate." She paused, doing the math. "Call it three hundred and eighty thousand Valis. Sound fair?"
After checking each piece for quality and completeness, she'd landed on a number that was more than reasonable.
The Blue Papilio Wings, of course, weren't among the haul. Those were earmarked for someone else.
"Deal." Leon nodded. "This is why Hephaestus Familia has the deep pockets. If I'd taken these to the Guild for buyback, I'd be lucky to see three hundred thousand."
The memory of past rip-offs surfaced, and his lip curled with contempt.
Tsubaki laughed. "Royman, that bloated pig? Squeezing Adventurers is practically a Guild tradition. Everyone in Orario's been fleeced by him at least once. Forget a little Level 1 like you. Even Finn got scammed when he first came to the city. Loki was so furious she stormed into Guild headquarters and screamed at Lord Ouranos in front of everyone. The whole city heard about it."
That actually happened?
Old gossip from Tsubaki's mouth was always worth hearing. Leon leaned in.
"Go on."
Tsubaki had been in Orario over ten years now. She'd witnessed plenty of history firsthand.
Like the time, seven years ago, when Zeus Familia and Hera Familia had mobilized every last member to challenge two of the Three Great Quests: the One-Eyed Black Dragon's counterparts on land and sea, Behemoth and Leviathan.
Or how the two pillar Familias had been all but annihilated by the One-Eyed Black Dragon, then driven out of Orario entirely by the combined force of Loki Familia and Freya Familia.
Once stories like these started flowing, time evaporated. Before he knew it, noon was approaching.
Leon fished out his brass pocket watch, checked the time, and stood with a reluctant sigh.
"Getting late. I've still got a stop to make at the Dian Cecht Familia Treatment Center. I'm off."
"Sure, I won't walk you out. But next time you get anything good, bring it to me first." Tsubaki watched him open his umbrella at the door, calling after him.
"Will do."
With the forging materials sold, Leon headed through the rain toward the treatment center.
He still had a pair of Blue Papilio Wings on him, and since he'd brought them down with arrows rather than rough handling, they were in pristine condition. Even if Airmid tried to lowball him, she wouldn't have a leg to stand on. He was certain of that.
Raindrops drummed against his umbrella in a steady patter. His right hand held it firm while his left rested in his pocket, his pace unhurried. A faint smile played at his lips. He was genuinely enjoying the walk.
Unlike most people, sunny days did nothing for him. Rain and snow, though... those were his weather. Maybe it was just who he was. He could sit comfortably with solitude, while noise and crowds left him cold.
It made him something of an oddball in any group.
Passing through the commercial district, his feet stopped in front of a street food stall.
"Two bacon-cheddar black pepper potato balls, extra spicy. No bag. I'll eat them here."
"You got it! That'll be a hundred and forty Valis."
He took the piping-hot snacks and drifted under a shop awning, eating where he stood.
"Hey kid, come grab a stool! No need to stand there like that."
A vendor at the next stall waved him over, pointing to an empty seat.
"I'm good, thanks. I like the atmosphere."
Leon smiled and shook his head.
The man raised an eyebrow. "What's to like about this miserable rain? Business is hard enough for us vendors as it is. Add weather like this on top..." He let out a heavy sigh.
Business getting worse? That caught Leon off guard. When he'd been shopping at the Free Market recently, the crowds hadn't seemed thin.
"How so?"
That was all the invitation the man needed. The dam broke.
"Things were fine a few years back! Sure, Orario's never been cheap, but it was stable. Adventurers everywhere, the city's reputation drawing tourists and traders from all over. Business was good. Then those two big Familias collapsed, and everything went sideways."
"Every citizen in this city knows it. Evilus, those lunatics, they're getting bolder by the day! And if regular folks like us can see it, you think the people with real power don't? The customers with actual coin to spend have dried up. Look at what those maniacs have done to this city. Prices change by the hour."
"You know what rice and wheat cost now? Nearly quadrupled. Even potatoes are up fifty percent. We're not some merchant guild with capital reserves. We've got no cushion. Running a small business in Orario these days? It's a nightmare."
"For us, going broke is one thing. You can always start over. But if those lunatics hit somewhere near you and you get caught in the crossfire? That's it. You're done. Living in fear every single day, wondering when it'll be your turn... I don't know when this is going to end."
Leon listened in silence, turning the words over in his mind.
This was the reality of Orario. The worry that gnawed at most of its citizens.
Evilus stirred up chaos every few days, keeping the entire city on edge.
No one could run a stable business under these conditions. Everyone was waiting, hoping for the day Orario found its way back to peace.
"Let's hope this dark chapter ends soon," Leon said quietly.