Mathew and Puri were roaming around town as they usually did in the mornings. Now that the forest was off limits they had little other choice for playgrounds. There was of course the gardens in the center of the city but the walk was too far and although they were allowed, the looks they got in the area made their skins crawl so they steered clear.

Both had of course heard what their siblings saw days prior after the excitement. That the bad man was seen walking around with the king. In the slums no less. Mathew was slightly afraid he was looking for him but apparently he only smiled when he spotted their siblings. Mathew couldn’t help but feel like something more might be happening.

"Hey Mat…" Puri says listlessly as they walked. "What do you want to do in the future?"

"Where’d that come from?" Mathew asks curiously. Not to mention she called him the nickname only his family uses. "But I think I wanna learn to fight like the adventurers. Even though it was a misunderstanding, seeing that bear really made me feel small. And as an adventurer even someone from the slums can make it big."

"That’s a good dream." Puri purrs with a nod. "I think going on adventures would be fun."

"Right, meeting magicians and princesses, conquering dungeons and crypts. There’s no better dream." Mathew confidently spouts with a endless grin.

"Mm, mm." Puri nods vigorously.

"What’s going on over there?" Mathew asks, broken from his ranting by the murmur of the crowd of merchants and slum dwellers.

"Looks like weird people showed up at the gate." Puri notices, squinting her eyes to see the distant scene better. The crowd was reacting not to the man but the woman. ‘Peerless beauty’ one merchant says in disbelief. ‘Can a woman even be that pretty?’ another man asks, inevitable comparing the woman to his own wife.

Mathew gulped as the two stepped past the crowd and better into view.

"He…. He really is a bad guy." Puri growls, linking arms with Mathew and sprinting away with a lone tear in her eye.

Just then everything came together in Mathew’s mind. Silently he apologized for betraying the man’s noble intentions. But if he said a word Puri might remove her body from his side, and such a thing shouldn’t be permitted.

On the street the two ran from, Silva and Misty were entirely unaware of the drama unfolding.

"Where to first?" Silva asks glancing around the shops.

"No, no. These areas near the gate are poor areas, we have to walk for awhile to get anything worth buying."

"Hmm?" Silva pondered looking at the goods in the cracked pane windows.

"Entrance area’s are dangerous area’s so the rich wouldn’t want a shop there. Sure imports might come faster but this road leads to Wolfbourne. No merchants use the road so there is no such advantage."

"I… I see." Silva murmurs, dumbfounded. Her logic made sense. It almost seemed like she lived here. But according to her it was just common sense.

"I want a bed and chairs. Also a new table for inside the dining room. How much money do you have?"

"…" Silva wasn’t entirely sure. He had been told by Philip that an account was set up but he had no clue what that meant. He trusted all that to Philip.

Explaining that to Misty with a bitter smile, she couldn’t help shaking her head with a palm to her face.

"If you have an account that means we need to check with the bank and make a withdrawal. Unless of course the store has a ledger network with the bank but its safer to check just in case."

Not understanding half the words Silva simply followed the woman in the direction she inquired from a passerby.

Reaching deeper in the town the man noticed a change in outfits of the people on the street. In the slums the children and adults wore simple sack shirts and pants, occasionally a leather belt. But here most of the fabric was cotton or wool and was often thick and sometimes colorful.

Silva and Misty wore finer threads so they didn’t receive looks but Silva still couldn’t help but stare.

They reached the bank and entered.

Counters labeled with many different words were lined up and manned by an assortment of races.

Many were gnomes humans and dwarves but a few of the finest dressed people near the rear of the building were the highly elusive elves. Other than here and the hospital, elves could rarely be seen in the city.

Reaching the proper teller, Silva received the booklet and curiously opened it. Inside on the once blank page, a series of numbers appeared with plus signs following them.

Misty pointed at the bottom of the page without putting her eyes on the number. She saw it as common courtesy but Silva could have cared less.

Two million eight hundred sixty seven thousand nine hundred and six coins. Not a small amount by any means. He rounded it to two point eight million. Honestly he had no clue what that could afford. Is that a lot? It seems like it.

"How… How much should I withdraw?" Silva lightly asks glancing at Misty anxiously. How much does a bed cost?

"If you are shopping in town most stores and trade companies have our ledger network."

"Ah, that’s good." Misty says smiling to the teller and thanking her for the information. "Just to be safe though you should take out…"

Misty, now ignoring the courtesy she expressed earlier glances at the ledger Silva held.

"Woa…" Her eyes widen at the digits on the ledger. "Five… No, seven hundred should be fine."

"Very well." The teller says with a smile. Taking the ledger back and dropping it into a metal box. From there she counts out five hundred-coin blocks and a number of twenty-coin cubes. "One hundred, two hundred, three, four, five, five twenty, five forty, five sixty, …"

Continuing for awhile Silva receives the handful and stashes it away in a pouch. The larger coin increments were gold rods while the cubes were silver. Silva was hoping to inspect them further but Misty chastised him about carrying money out in the open.

They visited both furniture stores and clothing stores. Misty was entranced by the fine clothes. She touched each fabric only occasionally rubbing one against her face. Finally after awhile she choose and purchased a large bolt of a silk that’s price would make even the wealthiest wife blush.

But neither Misty nor Silva had such weak cheeks. As the two left, the married couple who ran the shop danced in joy. Who would have expected the model item to be sold. The fabric was one the husband received in a trade with elven merchants years ago. It’s price was absurd but the couple wanted an item to draw a crowd. And the fabric had done just that.

When nobles heard a priceless material had shown up in the city every wife begged their significant others to visit the shop with them. None ended up affording the item but they still made many sales with the fabric acting as bait.

The moment was somewhat bittersweet for the couple. The amount they had made on the sale was enough to help them retire but after running the shop for so long it had become a second home.

"Shall we buy an even more extravagant model item?"

"Hehe." The woman laughed mischievously. "Lets close the shop for a bit and visit the country of elves for a vacation. There we can find something real good."

"Mhm. Let’s do it. It only takes a few weeks if we charter a boat along the river."

"Our own boat!?"

"Mhm!"