"Hey, so, Adrian, when are you going to explain why you’re going out into the city? What do you have to do there?"

Ravian asked for the third time as they walked toward the large golden door. Letting out a sigh, Adrian finally broke his silence.

"Just wait a bit, Ravian, I will explain everything after we are outside."

As they approached closer, the guards noticed them and pushed open the gate, likely due to being informed beforehand. As they passed through the large door, the scenery of a lively city greeted them both.

Ravian instantly turned to him.

"We’re outside now, so it’s time for you to explain."

Adrian sighed.

’Why is he so energetic?’

𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

This was one of the reasons why he found it tedious to deal with children his age, because they all acted like children. Be it his younger brother, that girl Evangeline, or Ravian, all of them seemed too energetic.

More than that, Ravian had been a quiet, reserved child when they first met. He used to barely speak, but his behavior around Adrian had changed dramatically within months, even though Adrian didn’t do anything that could have been the cause.

He began explaining in detail, all about the test his mother had given him, as well as the rules he needed to follow. He did not leave anything out while making sure the explanation could be understood by a child.

Ravian nodded along and flashed his usual charming smile as Adrian finished his explanation.

"I see, so you have to earn a gold coin before the sun goes down, but you can’t use your status to do it?"

Adrian shook his head.

"No, I don’t think it’s that simple. She didn’t specifically say that I have to earn a gold coin."

The currency within the empire worked a bit strangely. It wasn’t gold or silver; it was a unit called Lux. The coins, like copper, silver, and gold, worked more like assets than currency.

Each type of coin had a certain Lux value assigned to it. A copper coin was worth ten lux, a silver coin was worth a hundred lux, while a gold coin had a value of a thousand lux.

’But the problem is that this value isn’t fixed.’

The value of a coin doesn’t remain the same; it decreases with time. A newly issued gold coin may be worth a thousand lux, but a coin circulating in the market for a long time may be worth only nine hundred and fifty lux or even less.

That was because, as time passes, the crest of the imperial family printed on the coin fades more and more, which causes the coin’s value to depreciate. After the crest fades more than half, the owner must exchange the coin for a newly issued one at the imperial treasury bank, as directed by imperial law.

This allowed the imperial family to exert significant control over the empire’s cash flow. It also prevented fake currency from circulating for a long time.

’The gold coin mother had tossed me looked newly issued, so it was worth a full thousand lux. More than that, she spoke vaguely and didn’t say I had to earn a gold coin specifically.’

So it was more likely that she was asking him to earn a thousand lux rather than earn a gold coin. Well, it could just be that he was overthinking, but he just didn’t want to take chances. If nothing else, he could present something worth a thousand lux to her and exchange it for that gold coin she had tossed to him.

"Hey, why did you go silent after speaking only halfway? Explain what you were talking about."

Ravian’s grumpy voice brought him back to reality.

"No," Adrian shook his head. "It’s too complicated to explain, and you are too young to follow it all."

A frown appeared on the boy’s face.

"Hey! What do you mean, young? We are basically the same age. Don’t write me off like that, I guarantee that I’ll understand."

Adrian stared at him for a bit, then simply sighed.

"Don’t complain that I didn’t warn you."

After that, Adrian explained in detail about how the currency within the empire worked, as well as the problems and solutions he had come up with.

By the time he finished, his throat felt slightly dry from speaking so much.

Ravian nodded along.

"I see, that makes sense. But I don’t think the Duchess had that deep a meaning behind her words. After all, we are kids, how are we supposed to pick up on that?"

’What the...’

"You..." Adrian tilted his head. "You understood all that? How?"

Ravian widened his smile.

"I actually already knew about our empire’s currency system. I had learned it a year ago."

Adrian looked at him with doubt. Ravian, seemingly sensing that, explained further.

"I know what you are thinking, I didn’t learn it through normal means. After all, I am not as smart as you, Adrian. I was able to learn it thanks to my Origin ability."

"What? No, you... have already awakened your Origin ability?"

Ravian tilted his head in confusion.

"What’s the big deal? Didn’t you also awaken yours? I awakened mine almost on the same day I ascended to the Origin phase two years ago. My Origin ability is called Mnemosyne, and it allows me to remember forever anything I have seen or heard."

"You—no," Adrian sighed. "Let’s focus on the matter at hand for now. We have very little time."

He then began walking forward as Ravian followed along. They moved through the somewhat busy streets, as Adrian constantly moved his gaze from one place to another, as if searching.

After walking for some time, Ravian asked hesitantly.

"Adrian, where are we even going? What are you looking for? Do you... even have a plan in mind?"

Adrian continued walking and replied while still looking around.

"Since we need to earn a thousand lux, we need to go somewhere where people deal in such a large amount of money. So we are going to the district where the wealthy live."

Adrian had figured out why his mother had so easily agreed to Evangeline’s request. She probably wished for him to become familiar with the city somewhat before he came here for the test. He had not been able to figure that out sooner and ‌thus hadn’t used the time he had spent here previously to his advantage.

"But," Ravian pulled his sleeve from behind. "How are we going to earn the money in the first place? My teacher taught me that money exists to be used as an exchange for objects of value. We have nothing of value, so what are we even going to offer in exchange?"

Adrian took a turn at a crossroad.

"It doesn’t necessarily have to be an object of value; we could also provide a service or do a task and charge that money as compensation."

They were now in a place that was relatively less crowded compared to the rest of the city. The streets felt tidier, and the atmosphere felt quieter.

Unlike the rest of the city, the houses and buildings in this area were made entirely of stone, looking sturdy and comfortable. Some houses seemed to have even been painted. Those stood out especially well.

’In all honesty, getting that much money isn’t that hard.’

His mother had never specified that he had to earn the money ethically. He could simply rob someone of a thousand lux, and it would be within the rules his mother had specified. After reaching the Second Phase, Adrian was confident he could defeat a normal person who couldn’t use mana.

It would be even easier if Ravian helped, since that boy was also a mana user on the Origin Phase.

’But that would be short-sighted.’

He didn’t know his mother’s deeper intent behind giving him this test. What was she even trying to test exactly? Although he could make a few guesses, he was not sure, since it was hard to read her.

’Actions have consequences.’

He reminded himself of this belief once more as he stopped thinking about the topic and focused on finding some way he could earn the thousand lux.

Ravian followed behind him, seeming lost in thought. But after a while, he turned to Adrian and asked another question.

"For us to charge such a large amount of money, we would need to do something nobody else can do. Otherwise, what would anyone employ us when there are others too? Besides, we are children, so people would be less likely to trust us with any task."

They reached an area that was unusually loud compared to the rest of the district. The sounds of hammering steel rang from multiple corners. Swords of different sizes, as well as different types of armour, were displayed in shops.

There were other weapons too, like spears, daggers, and shields, hung on display.

Smoke was rising from the chimneys of multiple buildings around them, and the metallic ringing of heavy impacts could be heard from inside.

Adrian’s voice was somewhat drowned by the noise as he replied.

"Ravian, we aren’t like commoners. We have something that most people don’t, and they can’t buy it no matter how much money they spend. We have the ability to use mana."