"It is good your awake," Ephillus looked up as Isaiah emerged from the carriage, "Had we been attacked while you are asleep you wouldn't wake up again,"

"Forgive me..." Isaiah handed over his plate to Quincillus as his father gestured for Isaiah to sit beside him, "That will not happen again,"

"Hopefully... That said, can you read and count?"

"Yes."

"How much?"

"Well... Good enough I guess."

"Right..." Ephillus then picked out a sheet of paper from a bag and gave it to Isaiah, there he sighed in relief as he saw familiar letters and words written. It was all in Romanized letters and the words were all in English, not all, of course, some were in German. "Tell me, if you add the cost of the wheat and of the flour how much do you have to pay?" He then gave Isaiah the abacus as he scanned the list, it didn't take long before he found both items.

[Wheat 980 marks, 98 sacks. Flour 450 marks, 30 sacks]

Ephillus waited as he looked at Isaiah who stared at the scroll, he noticed that he didn't even touch the abacus yet and sighed in disappointment, "No need to lie, Isaiah, just tell if you-"

"1,430 marks."

"What?" He tilted his head,

"Fourteen hundred thirty marks." Isaiah replied as Ephillus took the list back and scanned it. Even Aria who had glued herself to the book looked up with surprise, she could remember that question back when Ephillus was teaching both his sons the trade, it took them quite a while to get the answer, and even then they were wrong yet this man somehow got the correct answer in one go, without using the abacus.

"How..."

"My parents taught me how to count in the head," Isaiah replied as Ephillus returned the list to him and took back the abacus, slightly annoyed.

"You can count numbers without the abacus then... If you were to purchase only 10 sacks of flour, how much would each cost?"

Isaiah paused and then replied, "150."

"How did you get that number?"

"Division, multiplication, then subtraction."

"What?" Aria approached them, "Is there magic for counting?"

"Ah no, madam..." Isaiah was about to explain mathematics to them but then remembered that they were both merchants. The addition of zero had simplified math to the point it rendered the abacus useless over time. Now people could compute simple arithmetic without the use of long tedious instruments. This also meant that to these merchants, it would make their accounting much easier. And as the old adage goes, 'Time is gold'. Isaiah, therefore, remained quiet about his methods unless they coughed up some cash in exchange, "My mother taught me how to count,"

"She must have been a good merchant then," Aria turned to her husband who gave Isaiah another list, though this time the numbers were mixed unlike the whole numbers from the previous chart,

"This one..." He pointed at the line which listed the prices of salt, "If I were to buy only 4 crates of salt and use the additional money to purchase more crates of saffron, what will I get?"

The chart showed that Ephillus once purchased about 100 crates of salt and ten crates of saffron. The total price for the salt was 77,422 marks while the total cost of saffron was listed at 8,544 marks. His mind quickly went to work,

"At 744 per salt crate... That would mean you spent about 2,976 for the salt crates, which would give you about 74,446 left to buy about... 87 More crates of saffron, with about 148 marks left..." He replied in one go. Isaiah had been blessed with a good memory, he could commit anything he saw into his mind and still remember it for quite some time with great detail.

Aria looked at her husband who was looking at his list which contained the answer. He then turned to Isaiah and nodded, "Forget about being an adventurer, why not be a merchant? I can also arrange for your adoption if that's the case, I am sure your parents wouldn't mind..."

"Aah... What do you mean by that?"

"Sorry, I believe you don't know me that much..." The man then smiled, "I am Ephillus Orkelion of the Orkelion merchants guild. The guild is headed by my grandfather and I have been sent to Koln to deliver and purchase goods. I can arrange for you to be paid at least 500 marks per week as I teach you the trade and eventually you can be a merchant yourself, with your brain and that skill of yours, I am sure you can make it out for yourself someday, you could earn more money than being an adventurer."

Isaiah paused, he wasn't too sure of who the Orkelion guild was but considering that they were a guild and this man was dealing with spices then he could easily tell that huge amounts of money were involved, which would also mean that the guild was rich. Money was a problem he was facing at the moment and being an adventurer might not really pay well considering the risk it is associated with. He might have hated math, but just doing simple calculations and getting paid a good amount might be great, plus getting rich was the first and hardest step of getting to Nicole.

He would've accepted their offer right here and then had he not remembered the burn mark on his left chest. If they found out about the branding, questions would be raised and though this man might not ask, he was sure that the other guild members might not be so kind. Thus he decided to reject this fortune,

"I'd rather not, there are things that I have to do."

"How so?" Aria joined, "You are an adult, yet you are not yet an adventurer, based on what you wore as well, you are looking for money is that it? Being a merchant would be a better way of earning money than risking your life adventuring. We can even arrange a sum of cash to be sent to your parents if that's troubling you."

"Aah, actually... I want to go to Koln not just to be an adventurer but I was looking for my parents... I heard news that they might be in Koln." Isaiah quickly came up with a story. It was partially correct, though he knew where his parents are, back on Earth, he is looking for them. That said, he would never find them, unless he somehow returns back to earth.

"Is that so?" Ephillus shook his head, "Well, being a merchant also means dealing with information, but I won't force you. I am staying in Koln for a month or two before we will head to the Duchy of Marseille, if you ever change your mind just tell me."

"I am honored."

"That said, I hope you wouldn't mind if you help me out with the charts. I have plenty of work coming."

"I don't mind, as long as I get paid."

"Tsk..." Ephillus clicked his tongue while Aria chuckled, " 5 bronze per chart, but no abacus, it's mine. And one mistake and the reward is forfeit."

"Sure..."

*

The next day of their journey, they were soon within sight of the city of Koln with its tall walls and many towers. Isaiah sat in front of the carriage alongside Ephillus and the two talked about the city, though it was mostly Ephillus speaking as Isaiah simply listened,

"Koln is situated in a large river basin, the tail of the Klub as they call the river... The walls surround the entire city from all sides while the river enters from the right, at the middle of the river is an island where the lord and the richest live, the lesser rich lives on the other side of the bridge." He then pointed to a large ship making its way through the river, "Trade is strong, in all of lord Steiner's territories, and even with lord Azerback, Koln is the only town with river access to the sea, both lords even went to war with each other over control with the city. The marquis Steiner won when the leading man in Koln married one of his daughters."

He then pointed his hands onto the vast farmlands that covered the flat lands around the city, "Food is sold in large numbers at the port while luxury goods like vases, paintings, spices, and slaves are bought in return. This land here is the best place to start for a traveling merchant."

Isaiah nodded silently, his eyes busy taking in the sights of this medieval city. The road was made of simply packed dirt but as they got closer it was soon replaced with paved stone. Both sides were traced with large tracks of arable land in the midst of planting, he noted the lack of machinery save for a few strange bull-like beasts that acted like tractors, the land was mostly worked by men, most of them wore a chain whilst a few had bronze plates hung around their necks.

Simple carts, elegant carriages, and covered caravans were plentiful on the roads while the pedestrians walked on the raised sidewalks. Most of these pedestrians, however, were noticeably armed in mixed gear, they did however have one thing in common,

"So those are adventurers..." Isaiah gasped as Ephillus looked over where he was looking,

"Yes... Them and their ranks and all... Bronze, silver, and gold."

"Just three?"

"Yep. Or was it four? I don't know really, my wife here usually deals with hiring the adventurers whenever we travel, the ones accompanying us died on the way... Thankfully there wasn't any much trouble."

They soon arrived at a gate which was manned by a rather large group of people, more than what Isaiah had thought considering the size of the gate. He could see that the soldiers were mostly wearing padded armor, some had chainmail wrapped around for extra protection, as for weapons, most had short swords in their hips whilst their main weapon were either spears or halberds, and only two had pole-axes.

Looking up the wall he could see the presence of many more soldiers, however, one, in particular, caught his attention. He wore a tunic of pure white with a red cross in his midst, and in his hand was a rather long wooden musket with an iron barrel.

'They have guns already?' He stopped himself from grinning too much as his excitement leveled up, he looked around and found even more soldiers with muskets but they were quite too few. 'I know cannons might exist but damn guns?'

He squinted his eyes, trying to locate the cannons that might be hidden in the walls when the carriage in front trotted forward.

"Hail citizen!" A soldier whose plumed helmet hung on his back blocked the carriage, he spat out whatever he was chewing before reaching his hand out, "Papers?"

"Good sir," Ephillius gave him his papers with a smile, "I am Ephillius Orkelion of the Orkelio-"

"I know who you merchants all are... Saffron eh?" The officer interrupted before he turned to his carriage, "Mind if we check?"

The questions weren't exactly a request but more of an order, but Ephillus had nothing to hide anyway so he readily agreed.

"Sure no problem. The wife and children are asleep hope you don't disturb them."

The officer jerked his head as five soldiers including one carrying a gun all went to the back of the carriage, what ensued was a bit of murmur from the tenants inside followed by the crates being opened. Isaiah would've loved to see what a medieval search would look like but he stayed put in front, they too were under watch by the rest of the soldiers.

Ephillus looked around and started to notice the heavier presence of the soldiers, "Good sir, may I know why the entire army was mobilized?"

"Hmm?" The officer, who was strangely interested in the list, looked up, "Bunch of slaves from the Iron Coffin escaped, and a gold ranker present at that time got killed. Then the adventurers started coming, even foreign ones. You never know who's coming, can't let someone dangerous and armed inside you see."

At the mention of escaped slaves, Isaiah's heart began to beat considerably, the other soldier's inquisitive looks weren't all that helpful.

"News spreads fast then?" Ephillus replied, "Adventurers from other nations came as well?"

"Money..." The officer gestured with his hands, "Lord Caleb offers much for the slave's return and when big money is involved, mouths talk fast."

"That is nervewracking... Thank God I didn't see anyone like that." He replied as he turned to Isaiah, "This man over here... Just calm down, slaves escaping and all isn't that bad."

"Hmm?" The officer turned to Isaiah and got close to him with a slightly carefree attitude "Never seen you here before kid. Your name?"

Isaiah remained calm but his inside was panicking, he even had difficulty opening his mouth but then the merchant chuckled,

"Oh, my nephew Isaiah... Father told me to teach him the trade, you know. Daddy's into slave trade you see, bad for business if the Iron Coffin of all things had problems" He replied with a slightly annoyed voice,

"Is that so?" The officer handed him the list back when the other soldiers came to give their reports, "Seems all clean, good day."

"You too sir,"

The officer then whirled his hands onto the air as the soldiers removed the barricade and the carriage moved forward.

Inside, the city diverged into three different paths as houses of wood and stone all lined up in different shapes and sizes, the shops barring their signboards for the potential customers to see while the middle of the road was filled with chairs, tables, planted trees and stalls off all kinds. A large sign not too far had a German inscription written, 'der Markt Marcus Steiner' with a statue of a man underneath.

Only once they were away from the gate did Isaiah exhale,

"You... You nearly got me killed!"

Ephillus remained silent as a smile crossed his lips,

"How did you even know I am a slave?"

"Simple... Out from the forest where the Iron Coffin, Eisensargburg is, wearing rags fit for slaves and tired. Though I originally planned to give you to the guards there, I changed my mind. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, I helped you out there kid, you should know to repay me the favor someday, plus, I ain't giving up on you..." The merchant laughed as he drove his carriage carefully in the streets, turning many rights and lefts until he stopped in front of a large three-storied building where armed breastplated people entered into the doors, carriages, and carts entered from the right entrance, "Here we are..."

"This is?" Isaiah scanned the building as Ephillus pointed to the signboard which had both its English and German name, he read it aloud, "Koln Adventurer Guild."

The excitement in his heart began to flare up as he read and reread the signage.

"So here is your stop... There is a branch of the Orkelion Guild around, it's near the river just walk straight as much as you could and ask around. Once you register yourself, call me and I can set up a commission for you." Isaiah then walked out of the carriage as Ephillius reached out to his pocket and handed him a small sash, "Right, here's your pay, the escort and the accounting, that's two silver coins for you, 200 marks, a day in an inn can cost you about 100 while food is cheaper here, that should set you up for a day or two if you're frugal." He then started the carriage and the two horses began moving.

From behind the cart, both Quincillus and his brother waved their hands as Isaiah waved back, he never had the chance to speak to the two as their mother seemed to hold him in a negative light, that said he enjoyed his short time with them. He checked the sash and found two silver coins with an unfamiliar face, inscribe were the words [Fur Kaiser das Vaterland] around the coin, and the number 100 was written below the face.

"Right..." Isaiah took a deep breath of the medieval air and found it rich in the foul smells of the unwashed, the variety of dirt around as well as that of barley from the large open door of the adventuring guild. A party of adventurers with silver plates went out with huge smiles, talking to each other. They looked at Isaiah but quickly ignored him as they continued on their walk, Isaiah overheard them talking about how large the rewards were and the huge increase in their earnings...

'Business is booming.'

Isaiah nodded to himself as he stepped inside the building.