Chapter 28:
Chapter Twenty Eight: We will never be poor again
Saving the demon queen in another world
Scorpion stone—10 silver coins each.Gazelle stone—20 silver coins each.Gazelle horn—35 silver coins a pair.Kangaroo stone—40 silver coins each.Kangaroo gloves—50 silver coins each.Eagle stone—1 gold coin each.Eagle wings—2.5 gold coins each.
Those were the prices the shopkeeper gave us for the sample items we placed on the counter.
When we started counting the haul we’d brought back, the numbers were staggering.
We had 400 scorpion stones—that alone would fetch 40 gold coins.205 gazelle stones—another 41 gold coins.205 gazelle horns—72 gold coins.143 kangaroo stones—57 gold coins.143 kangaroo gloves—71 gold coins.100 eagle stones—100 gold coins.100 eagle wings—an incredible 250 gold coins.
Altogether, the total reached 559 gold coins.
We didn’t reveal this to the shop owner immediately. Leila and I whispered among ourselves, running the math until we were certain. Only then did she finally ask the question:
“Do you know of a dealer who would buy over hundreds of each stone from us?”
The shopkeeper didn’t answer right away. He stood behind the counter, motionless, his face shadowed in thought. The silence stretched on for three long minutes. My nerves prickled with unease—he wasn’t the sort of man to hesitate without good reason.
At last, he exhaled, eyes narrowing with decision. “I’m going to trust you. But in return… you’ll have to trust me too.”
His voice was firm, more serious than at any other moment since we met him.
Seeing that look, both Leila and I instinctively nodded. We trusted him.
He locked the shop doors, drew the curtains, and only then did we reveal the full weight of what we carried.
“How did you guys…?” he began, but quickly cut himself off, as though knowing better than to ask.
Instead, he leaned forward, tone low and grave. “I’ll find a buyer for the items. But understand this: if anything goes wrong… we’ll all be killed.”
The words chilled the air, but we agreed without hesitation.
In an instant, he clapped his hands, and his clothes shimmered, changing shape. His merchant’s robes vanished, replaced by a sharp black outfit—something eerily close to the suits of my old world.
“Well then…” he said, straightening his collar. “I’m going to the capital.”
He walked out, closing his shop for the day. From his pouch, he drew a small green stone and hurled it to the ground. Smoke burst forth, thick and curling, and from within it emerged a wooden creature shaped like a dragon.
Its body floated inches above the ground, sleek and polished. Two handles jutted from its head like the bars of a motorcycle. He mounted the construct, gripped the right handle, and with a sudden hum, it shot forward with blinding speed.
“Whoa—” I almost stumbled back.
He swerved recklessly, nearly mowing down an old woman who happened to step into his path, before streaking down the main street that led toward the true capital.
Leila and I stood at the shop entrance, the dust settling around us. She turned to me, her tail swishing softly like a broom sweeping the ground.
“What do you want to do now?” she asked.
For some reason, she looked especially cute asking that.
I thought for a moment. The merchant wouldn’t be back soon. “How about we go around town? I’d like to see how the people here live their lives.”
She nodded, eyes bright. “Then let’s go…”
The street outside the shop lay close to the gate. If we turned back, the gate would be at our backs, the third district to our left, the other half of the town to our right.
We walked shoulder to shoulder, barely centimeters apart.
The town was alive in every sense of the word. Conversations overlapped in a dozen voices—vendors shouting, children laughing, merchants haggling. The air was heavy with the scent of baked bread, roasted meat, and iron from the blacksmiths.
Adventurers strode among the crowd in gleaming armor, six of them in one group ahead of us. Two were women, their posture sharp with discipline, and the others were men around the same age. They looked like they were heading to the guild.
That guild was impossible to miss. Rising five floors high, it towered over every other building. Its green and purple colors stood in stark contrast with the earth tones of the town.
But to reach it, we had to cut through the market.
“Calling this lively would be an understatement,” I muttered.
The street narrowed into chaos. People pressed shoulder to shoulder, children darted between legs, and voices turned into a deafening storm. A lion-man, huge and muscular, carried ten crates stacked high. He moved with casual ease, but the boxes nearly brushed my head as he passed. I had to sidestep to avoid being crushed.
Each section of the market was like a different world. Carpets blocked one path, abandoned carriages another. Some stalls overflowed with vegetables, others with weapons or glowing trinkets. Carriages parked illegally clogged entire alleys, forcing us to take endless detours.
It was maddening. Every time I thought we’d broken through, another crowd closed in.
Finally, when I’d had enough, I grabbed Leila’s hand and charged forward. “Make way!”
We shoved through until, at last, the guild loomed above us.
Up close, its division was clear.
The bottom three floors gleamed in green—the World Guild. The top two glowed faintly purple—the Moon Guild.
Leila explained as we stood before it:
“The first three floors are for rookie adventurers. The World Guild accepts levels ten to twenty-five. The first floor for level ten to fifteen. The second, fifteen to twenty. The third, twenty to twenty-five. The Moon Guild above accepts adventurers from twenty-five to forty-five. I should be on the fourth floor.”
Her ears twitched faintly as she spoke, her tone softening.
She went on: “Aside from this guild, the city’s guilds continue upward—the Sun Guild for levels forty-five to sixty, the Star Guild for sixty to eighty, and the Hero Guild for eighty to one hundred. But very few ever reach the Hero Guild.”
I noticed how her voice faltered when she spoke of entering the building. She looked away, eyes dim.
“I don’t want to go in there right now. I’m no longer an adventurer. I doubt you’ll be able to go inside the first floor either, so we should go somewhere else.”
I didn’t press. I could tell it hurt her—watching people enter freely while she was barred by her chains.
Don’t worry, Leila. I’ll set you free.
We stayed until dusk, watching the comings and goings, before finally turning away. Leila went to her work, and I returned to the inn to pay for my room.
---
The next morning came heavy. I woke expecting Leila, but she never arrived. I stayed in my room, waiting. Still nothing.
Restless, I headed downstairs for breakfast. At the door of the inn, a commotion drew my attention. People crowded toward the guild, whispers sharp and urgent.
“Pieces of adventurers,” someone said.
My stomach tightened.
I followed them, weaving through the gathering until I reached the guild. Dozens stood around, craning their necks, eyes grim.
I fought my way forward, elbows jabbing my ribs, taller bodies pressing me down. Finally, I saw.
Six corpses lay on the ground.
Two girls. Four boys. Their faces—familiar. My heart lurched.
They were the adventurers I’d seen yesterday, walking proudly as a group of six.
Now…
Their bodies were grotesque. Swollen four times their size, limbs hacked apart. One had no head. Another no arms or legs—just a hunk of torso, armor still strapped to the ruined flesh.
My throat clenched. “What the hell…?”
“UWEHHH!!” I doubled over, vomiting my breakfast on the dirt.
The crowd laughed.
“Dude, this guy’s a total newbie!”“You’ve never seen blood before, huh?”“What a weakling!”“Step away before he pisses himself!”
Rage boiled inside me. Are you blind!? Are you monsters!? How can you laugh when six lives just ended like this!?
But no one cared. One by one, they dispersed as if nothing had happened.
I fell to my knees, dizzy and sick.
That’s when a shadow fell across me.
“Excuse me…”
A man’s voice, low and urgent.
I looked up, still dazed. The corpses were gone, already carried away.
The man standing before me—I recognized him too. I’d seen him begging adventurers outside the guild yesterday.
His voice cracked as he spoke again, louder this time. “Please…! You have to help me!!”
Through my haze, I listened.
He was a local, from a nearby town called Rogo, an hour’s ride away. Here in the capital, he lived with his wife and children. Back home, his parents and sister struggled to survive, unable to fend for themselves.
A week ago, he’d finally gathered enough money to send back to them. But no courier would take it. He’d posted requests at the guild, begged for help, but no adventurer accepted.
His hands trembled as he gripped my shoulders. “If this continues, my parents will starve to death!!”
He begged me—a teenager barely half his age.
And in that moment, my earlier anger burned hotter. I’d just cursed the people here for being heartless. If I turned him away, I’d be no different.
I clenched my fists.
“Okay. I’ll do it. I’ll leave the capital and deliver this to your parents.
Those were the prices the shopkeeper gave us for the sample items we placed on the counter.
When we started counting the haul we’d brought back, the numbers were staggering.
We had 400 scorpion stones—that alone would fetch 40 gold coins.205 gazelle stones—another 41 gold coins.205 gazelle horns—72 gold coins.143 kangaroo stones—57 gold coins.143 kangaroo gloves—71 gold coins.100 eagle stones—100 gold coins.100 eagle wings—an incredible 250 gold coins.
Altogether, the total reached 559 gold coins.
We didn’t reveal this to the shop owner immediately. Leila and I whispered among ourselves, running the math until we were certain. Only then did she finally ask the question:
“Do you know of a dealer who would buy over hundreds of each stone from us?”
The shopkeeper didn’t answer right away. He stood behind the counter, motionless, his face shadowed in thought. The silence stretched on for three long minutes. My nerves prickled with unease—he wasn’t the sort of man to hesitate without good reason.
At last, he exhaled, eyes narrowing with decision. “I’m going to trust you. But in return… you’ll have to trust me too.”
His voice was firm, more serious than at any other moment since we met him.
Seeing that look, both Leila and I instinctively nodded. We trusted him.
He locked the shop doors, drew the curtains, and only then did we reveal the full weight of what we carried.
“How did you guys…?” he began, but quickly cut himself off, as though knowing better than to ask.
Instead, he leaned forward, tone low and grave. “I’ll find a buyer for the items. But understand this: if anything goes wrong… we’ll all be killed.”
The words chilled the air, but we agreed without hesitation.
In an instant, he clapped his hands, and his clothes shimmered, changing shape. His merchant’s robes vanished, replaced by a sharp black outfit—something eerily close to the suits of my old world.
“Well then…” he said, straightening his collar. “I’m going to the capital.”
He walked out, closing his shop for the day. From his pouch, he drew a small green stone and hurled it to the ground. Smoke burst forth, thick and curling, and from within it emerged a wooden creature shaped like a dragon.
Its body floated inches above the ground, sleek and polished. Two handles jutted from its head like the bars of a motorcycle. He mounted the construct, gripped the right handle, and with a sudden hum, it shot forward with blinding speed.
“Whoa—” I almost stumbled back.
He swerved recklessly, nearly mowing down an old woman who happened to step into his path, before streaking down the main street that led toward the true capital.
Leila and I stood at the shop entrance, the dust settling around us. She turned to me, her tail swishing softly like a broom sweeping the ground.
“What do you want to do now?” she asked.
For some reason, she looked especially cute asking that.
I thought for a moment. The merchant wouldn’t be back soon. “How about we go around town? I’d like to see how the people here live their lives.”
She nodded, eyes bright. “Then let’s go…”
The street outside the shop lay close to the gate. If we turned back, the gate would be at our backs, the third district to our left, the other half of the town to our right.
We walked shoulder to shoulder, barely centimeters apart.
The town was alive in every sense of the word. Conversations overlapped in a dozen voices—vendors shouting, children laughing, merchants haggling. The air was heavy with the scent of baked bread, roasted meat, and iron from the blacksmiths.
Adventurers strode among the crowd in gleaming armor, six of them in one group ahead of us. Two were women, their posture sharp with discipline, and the others were men around the same age. They looked like they were heading to the guild.
That guild was impossible to miss. Rising five floors high, it towered over every other building. Its green and purple colors stood in stark contrast with the earth tones of the town.
But to reach it, we had to cut through the market.
“Calling this lively would be an understatement,” I muttered.
The street narrowed into chaos. People pressed shoulder to shoulder, children darted between legs, and voices turned into a deafening storm. A lion-man, huge and muscular, carried ten crates stacked high. He moved with casual ease, but the boxes nearly brushed my head as he passed. I had to sidestep to avoid being crushed.
Each section of the market was like a different world. Carpets blocked one path, abandoned carriages another. Some stalls overflowed with vegetables, others with weapons or glowing trinkets. Carriages parked illegally clogged entire alleys, forcing us to take endless detours.
It was maddening. Every time I thought we’d broken through, another crowd closed in.
Finally, when I’d had enough, I grabbed Leila’s hand and charged forward. “Make way!”
We shoved through until, at last, the guild loomed above us.
Up close, its division was clear.
The bottom three floors gleamed in green—the World Guild. The top two glowed faintly purple—the Moon Guild.
Leila explained as we stood before it:
“The first three floors are for rookie adventurers. The World Guild accepts levels ten to twenty-five. The first floor for level ten to fifteen. The second, fifteen to twenty. The third, twenty to twenty-five. The Moon Guild above accepts adventurers from twenty-five to forty-five. I should be on the fourth floor.”
Her ears twitched faintly as she spoke, her tone softening.
She went on: “Aside from this guild, the city’s guilds continue upward—the Sun Guild for levels forty-five to sixty, the Star Guild for sixty to eighty, and the Hero Guild for eighty to one hundred. But very few ever reach the Hero Guild.”
I noticed how her voice faltered when she spoke of entering the building. She looked away, eyes dim.
“I don’t want to go in there right now. I’m no longer an adventurer. I doubt you’ll be able to go inside the first floor either, so we should go somewhere else.”
I didn’t press. I could tell it hurt her—watching people enter freely while she was barred by her chains.
Don’t worry, Leila. I’ll set you free.
We stayed until dusk, watching the comings and goings, before finally turning away. Leila went to her work, and I returned to the inn to pay for my room.
---
The next morning came heavy. I woke expecting Leila, but she never arrived. I stayed in my room, waiting. Still nothing.
Restless, I headed downstairs for breakfast. At the door of the inn, a commotion drew my attention. People crowded toward the guild, whispers sharp and urgent.
“Pieces of adventurers,” someone said.
My stomach tightened.
I followed them, weaving through the gathering until I reached the guild. Dozens stood around, craning their necks, eyes grim.
I fought my way forward, elbows jabbing my ribs, taller bodies pressing me down. Finally, I saw.
Six corpses lay on the ground.
Two girls. Four boys. Their faces—familiar. My heart lurched.
They were the adventurers I’d seen yesterday, walking proudly as a group of six.
Now…
Their bodies were grotesque. Swollen four times their size, limbs hacked apart. One had no head. Another no arms or legs—just a hunk of torso, armor still strapped to the ruined flesh.
My throat clenched. “What the hell…?”
“UWEHHH!!” I doubled over, vomiting my breakfast on the dirt.
The crowd laughed.
“Dude, this guy’s a total newbie!”“You’ve never seen blood before, huh?”“What a weakling!”“Step away before he pisses himself!”
Rage boiled inside me. Are you blind!? Are you monsters!? How can you laugh when six lives just ended like this!?
But no one cared. One by one, they dispersed as if nothing had happened.
I fell to my knees, dizzy and sick.
That’s when a shadow fell across me.
“Excuse me…”
A man’s voice, low and urgent.
I looked up, still dazed. The corpses were gone, already carried away.
The man standing before me—I recognized him too. I’d seen him begging adventurers outside the guild yesterday.
His voice cracked as he spoke again, louder this time. “Please…! You have to help me!!”
Through my haze, I listened.
He was a local, from a nearby town called Rogo, an hour’s ride away. Here in the capital, he lived with his wife and children. Back home, his parents and sister struggled to survive, unable to fend for themselves.
A week ago, he’d finally gathered enough money to send back to them. But no courier would take it. He’d posted requests at the guild, begged for help, but no adventurer accepted.
His hands trembled as he gripped my shoulders. “If this continues, my parents will starve to death!!”
He begged me—a teenager barely half his age.
And in that moment, my earlier anger burned hotter. I’d just cursed the people here for being heartless. If I turned him away, I’d be no different.
I clenched my fists.
“Okay. I’ll do it. I’ll leave the capital and deliver this to your parents.
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