Chapter 40
A Strange Blade (2)
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Kairus clicked his tongue and spoke firmly.
"170,000. I can’t go any higher."
In truth, Kairus had been willing to pay a little more.
It was an addon that, as long as the battle gear had sufficient output, could endlessly produce sterilized saline solution safe enough to disinfect wounds or inject directly into the veins.
The value of an item always depended on the person. From the staff’s perspective, it might have seemed absurd that someone would pay 170,000 pyint for an addon that just produced some water.
But to Kairus, it was different. In his experience, whether being pursued or giving chase, water was essential.
If he managed to grab only his battle gear and that norigae while fleeing in a hurry, he could survive for three or four months.
"You’ve already spent quite a bit…"
The other person seemed to calculate something for a moment, then soon smiled.
"Very well. Let’s settle on 170,000 pyint."
The expense was greater than he’d expected. Kairus had originally planned to purchase about five or six addons, but because of this norigae, he decided to revise his plan and only buy three.
"How would you like to pay?"
"I’ll call someone from the bank. You can complete all the necessary procedures here."
When Kairus waited for a moment, a person from the bank arrived and handed over the documents. Once he finished filling these out, the amount due to Areumdri Pawnshop would be transferred from Kairus’s account to theirs.
"Please visit us again."
After wrapping everything up and gathering his things, Kairus was leaving the shop when he happened to glance at the pawnshop’s display case and stopped in his tracks.
"What’s this? It looks quite splendid."
On the display case lay a single dagger.
The handle and the sheath were crafted from turtle shell. The guard was decorated with a dragon and plum blossoms engraved in silver and gold.
"I purchased it because it’s quite an expensive antique. Like the jade norigae you bought, it is also an item from the Daeyeon Kingdom."
As soon as Kairus showed interest, the clerk promptly offered an explanation.
"If you’re interested, would you like to have a closer look?"
At the clerk’s words, Kairus nodded. A moment later, wearing white gloves, he examined the blade.
"This isn’t something from the Daeyeon Kingdom."
This wasn’t made in the Daeyeon Kingdom. It looked similar but was different. The blades crafted in the Daeyeon Kingdom were shaped in what was called a hexagonal style.
But this blade had a gourd shape. The tang that secured the blade to the handle was also made of metal. Though the Daeyeon Kingdom didn’t entirely avoid using turtle shell...
The material typically used for sheaths and handles in the Daeyeon Kingdom was processed fish skin. Even the carved blood groove decorations were different.
"This seems like it was crafted during the Dersos era."
In fact, if that were all, there would have been no reason for Kairus to be interested. After all, this wasn’t battle gear or an addon.
It was just an interior ornament, the sort of decorative item one might hang on a wall. However, something about its shape and weight was peculiarly nagging at Kairus’s mind.
"The length is annoyingly ambiguous."
The blade length seemed just under 30 centimeters. A very awkward measurement. Scratching his head as he examined the blade from different angles, Kairus spoke.
"Roughly how much would this cost?"
"It’s quite a valuable item, but at the end of the day, it’s still a decoration…"
In Bennett City, everyone wealthy enough to bother with interior décor was invariably someone powerful.
And ironically, such powerful people were often nouveau riche who had struck it rich overnight, so most of them didn’t really understand the worth of antiques like this.
In other words, there wasn’t much demand.
"I think about 3.5 would be reasonable."
Of course, even so, the price was steep. All the materials used in it were of the highest grade from the start.
After much deliberation, Kairus seemed to come to a decision and nodded.
"I’ll take this one too."
The clerk accepted the payment once again and readily handed over the item. The black lacquered storage case also came as a set with the dagger.
Leaving the pawnshop, Kairus headed straight for Tanya Lysand’s infirmary.
"Welcome. Someone from the Bakery Association stopped by just now to say they wouldn’t be bothering us anymore. Thank you."
At Tanya’s words, Kairus nodded and spoke.
"I’d like to borrow a scale and a measuring tape for a moment."
At Kairus’s request, Tanya looked puzzled for a second, then nodded agreeably.
"I’ve received your help already. I can’t refuse a small favor like that."
The tape measure and scale in Tanya’s infirmary were, of course, medical-grade. Their precision and craftsmanship were far beyond ordinary tools.
"24.35 centimeters long, 669 grams in weight."
After finishing the measurements, Kairus scratched his head vigorously and fell into brief contemplation.
Soon, he picked up the measuring tape again, measured the interior length of the storage case, and calculated its volume.
"18.13 liters."
Kairus examined the dagger one more time, then packed it away with a bitter laugh.
"It’s the Cheokgwan system."
It was a system of measurements widely used during the Dersos civilization, the nation that built the Antaria Grand Canal and had now long since perished.
The modern Daeyeon Kingdom still used the Cheokgwan system.
However, the current Daeyeon Kingdom’s Cheokgwan system had different numerical values assigned to each unit compared to the Dersos era.
Today in the Daeyeon Kingdom, one geun was 600 grams, one ja was 30 centimeters, and one mal was 20 liters. They had revised the system to avoid confusion in dealings with Aylan and Valorn.
"The original Dersos Cheokgwan system…"
One geun was 669 grams.
One ja was 24.35 centimeters.
One mal was 18.13 liters.
The units indicated by this blade and the box holding it matched perfectly.
"It must be one of three things."
Either it was a coincidence that the blade was crafted to exactly one ja in length and one geun in weight down to the third decimal place.
Or it was made by a blacksmith with some sort of illness that caused hives to break out if he didn’t match measurements precisely.
"Or there’s some other hidden intention behind it."
Once he finished thinking it through, Kairus carefully placed the blade back into the case and let out a sigh.
"Well, should I go and find an archaeologist?"
Consulting scholars who had studied Dersos would be the quickest and most reliable way to figure it out.
The problem was whether there was anyone in this damned rotten city who actually made a living as an archaeologist.
"There must be at least a few."
After all, the Antaria Grand Canal was here. One of the greatest wonders the Dersos civilization had left behind.
If there were archaeologists obsessed with Dersos, they’d probably be poking around this city.
And within about three days, they’d end up penniless and dead, and their corpse would get tossed into the Antaria Grand Canal.
"Would they be pleased, getting laid to rest in the great structure of the Dersos civilization they loved so much?"
In any case, the important point was that there would be archaeologists visiting sooner or later.
"Well, whatever."
This wasn’t something he needed to handle right away. Now that he’d acquired the object that had been bothering him, wrapping up the rest of his tasks came first.
Having resolved his curiosity for now, Kairus went to find Tanya to say goodbye, spotting her as she worked in the infirmary.
"Wow."
Tanya Lysand’s free infirmary was crowded with people who had come seeking treatment. Well, it was only natural—any place that treated people for free would be swamped.
The amusing part was that it wasn’t just people suffering from deadly illnesses who were here because they had no money.
"Look here. This damn athlete’s foot has tormented me for three years, I tell you."
There were quite a few people clamoring to get trivial things treated for free like those wanting their athlete’s foot cured, or their pockmarks removed.
"When you offer something for free, everyone goes mad and rushes in."
It was to be expected. Of course, among them was a man seriously injured and covered in blood. He looked like he’d been hit by a carriage or something.
While Tanya Lysand was urgently tending to him, people who seemed to be the parents of a child approached her.
"He’s going to die anyway. Please look at our child first. You should save the ones who can still be saved."
Without realizing it, Kairus found his gaze drifting toward the child whose parents had just uttered that outrageous line.
The child looked about ten years old, probably down with a cold. They were basically saying she shouldn’t waste time on someone doomed to die and should see to their child instead.
Even the most compassionate people would have clicked their tongues at such a brazen statement, but Tanya answered calmly.
"I understand how you feel. It must break your heart to see your child suffering. Still, could you please wait? Even if this man dies, I want to do everything I can for him here."
Of course, there was no way the parents who had just made that outrageous remark would accept her words.
"So you’re saying you’ll let someone who could be saved die because you’re wasting time on someone about to die?"
The man hit by the carriage was still alive. And their child wasn’t suffering from a deadly illness.
Naturally, none of that seemed to matter to those two.
"I’m sorry, but I prioritize treating the patients in critical condition."
Even as Tanya Lysand argued back and forth with them, she continued to inject medicine into the man and check his pulse.
It was a truly selfish scene, born of the combination of a free infirmary and desperate people. But in truth, it was inevitable.
When people were in pain themselves, they tended not to care about the suffering of others.
"Well, she brought this on herself."
Tanya Lysand probably hadn’t started this without knowing it would end up like this. If she’d spent long years surviving on battlefields, she’d have tasted every sweet and bitter aspect of humanity.
She certainly wasn’t some naive child thinking, "If I treat others kindly, they’ll treat me kindly in return!"
You had to take responsibility for the things you chose to do. Kairus, who had been about to say goodbye, decided it would only get in the way and left the infirmary without any formal farewell.
"Now that I think of it, I really do need somewhere to stay."
For now, he didn’t have much luggage or anyone likely to come looking for him, so drifting around was fine.
But eventually, he’d need a space that could serve as both an office and living quarters. Maybe later he’d have to visit the hiring office to pick up work…
"Usually, if you get a bit of a reputation, people come find you to ask for jobs anyway."
And typically, that kind of work paid better. Even if people wanted to hire Kairus, they wouldn’t be able to if he didn’t have a fixed address.
"After I finish this job…"
Once he’d plundered the Treasury Chief’s mansion, it would probably be a good idea to set up a permanent place.
Until then, Kairus spent his time maintaining the new addons and equipment he’d purchased, waiting for contact from Spring Parsley.
And finally, he heard from her.
"So, how are things progressing?"
At Spring Parsley’s hideout, Kairus looked over the papers strewn across the table.
"Yes. The plans are mostly ready."
Basically, this job wasn’t much different from a heist.
And as always, the difficulty of a heist varied wildly depending on where you were planning to hit.
"…It really is a plan you couldn’t even attempt without Rose Garden’s support."
"Obviously. If it weren’t something like this, there’d be no reason to get Rose Garden involved."
Since they’d decided to accept help anyway, Spring Parsley intended to pull in every available resource.
"Isn’t this more than just a false identity?"
He was going to show up at the Treasury Chief’s mansion as the son of a nearby city’s mayor.
"In two weeks, there’s a party at the Treasury Chief’s mansion."
"Right. The end of winter is approaching."
Strictly speaking, it would still take longer for the weather to truly warm, but in about two weeks, the temperature would stop dropping further. Instead, it would slowly start to rise.
It wasn’t an official holiday, but Valorn’s nobility held parties to mark the day unofficially, calling it "the Winter’s Farewell."
"You’ll receive an invitation through your cover identity and head to the Treasury Chief’s mansion."
"So, the front door instead of the back."
At Kairus’s remark, Spring Parsley grinned. The finest heists were always the ones where you entered through the main gate and walked out the same way.