Chapter 10: Shopping In Aether
The men, seeing the banknotes in the young man’s hand, immediately took a step back and bowed their heads.
"Please forgive us if we were rude, my lord. We did not expect to see someone from the Holy Land here; we did not recognise you."
At this swift and courteous reply from one of the men, Dean smiled, then said, "You were simply doing your duty," and handed both banknotes to the men.
Honestly, Dean had no idea what that ’Holy Land’ was, but he didn’t care about it either.
The pair exchanged glances.
One million Nether and Aether coins was a sum so valuable it could practically promote them from low-level angelhood to the high-level one. That was a MASSIVE jump.
What’s more, the immense energy contained within these banknotes made them even more valuable.
Frankly, the pair had thought this was a trap.
"Come on, my arm’s aching," said Dean.
These words had prompted them to take the money.
Still, there was one thing that puzzled Dean.
He was currently in Aether.
Heaven.
His money was valid here.
In that case... how many places were there where he could spend it?
The young man had shared these thoughts with the pair opposite him, prompting the others to spring into action.
One man had left the area immediately and returned shortly afterwards with another person by his side.
It was a woman.
She was a very beautiful woman, radiating a brilliant glow, with a pair of wings, and clad in a pure white dress, just like many angels.
The moment she reached Dean’s side, she held the hem of her dress and lifted it slightly, then bowed her head and said, "It is a pleasure to meet you, my lord. My name is Mirael; I am a Third-Grade High-Angel of the Holy Realm."
Dean smiled politely, then introduced himself.
"Dean. I am a human who has come here because of the game [Cosmic Terror]."
The fact that Dean had openly identified himself as a human was what surprised the trio the most.
Frankly, given the things he had demonstrated, one might even have thought Dean was an angel, or perhaps a hidden demigod.
But a human?
That was impossible.
Mirael and the other two had thought Dean was lying.
"Haha... As you wish, my lord. Your secret is safe with us," Mirael had said politely.
Immediately afterwards, she had taken Dean and begun to explore this part of the city.
Dean had visited many inns and found a neighbourhood where he could stay whilst he was in the city.
He had agreed to pay twenty-five thousand coins a day to stay in this neighbourhood.
That was indeed a huge sum of money.
Once everything was settled, Dean told Mirael he wanted to visit a few shops.
Mirael, in turn, had taken him to the northern part of the city, the district where the noble bloodlines of the Holy Realm resided.
This area should have been quite sufficient for someone of Dean’s calibre.
The young man had a reason for wanting to visit the shops.
Whilst browsing the forum, he came across something that caught his attention and could be of great help in strengthening him.
[Items.]
Apparently, within the Nether and the Aether, some items contained energy.
Items in the Nether had been dubbed ’Cursed Objects’ by humanity, whilst those in the Aether were known as ’Blessed Objects’.
These were items that possessed different effects; some could be incredibly powerful, whilst others might have the effect of an ordinary item.
Dean, on the other hand, had thought he’d definitely be able to find something in such a big city, which was why he’d wanted to locate the area where the shops were.
As soon as they arrived in the area, Dean couldn’t believe his eyes.
The lively neighbourhood he’d been in just a moment ago had transformed into a completely different, formal area.
"Are you all right, my lord?" Mirael asked. She was wondering why Dean hadn’t moved.
"I’m just surprised. Those angels... they’re literally wearing suits."
Yes. That was why Dean had suddenly stopped in his tracks.
All around them were angels wearing suits in various colours.
Regardless of whether they were men or women, every single one of them was wearing a suit.
Among them were dozens of people dressed even more elegantly, as if they were medieval nobles, wearing corsets with visible seams.
It was just...funny for him that angels were wearing literal suits as humanity does.
"Well, of course. We, the people of Aether, have style, my lord," said Mirael.
The young man smiled at these words and began to move on again.
People who saw Mirael seemed to step aside as if to make way for her.
Dean couldn’t understand why this was happening.
To put it plainly, the expressions on the faces of the inn’s staff, and even those at the entrance to the area, had changed the moment they saw Mirael.
Now, the fact that everyone was stepping aside for him was making Dean curious.
Though it really shouldn’t have mattered to him.
After all, everyone had their secrets.
"Ah, this is one of the best shops in the area, my lord," Mirael said suddenly.
After a walk of nearly fifteen minutes, they had arrived at a very, very luxurious venue.
Everywhere there were black diamond decorations and numerous statues of various gods. It was certainly a marvellous place.
Mirael had entered first and begun speaking to someone in a calm tone.
Whilst Dean was observing the statues and decorations outside, Mirael finally called him inside.
Dean took his first step inside, and at that very moment, a host of system windows appeared before him:
[C-Grade Silencer Blade has been found.]
[D-Grade Blinding Opal has been found.]
[B-Grade Imperial Bow has been found.]
[A B-Grade Dragon Alchemy Cauldron has been found.]
Dean was utterly astonished.
It was as if he’d discovered yet another feature of the system that it didn’t know about.
Whilst he was marvelling at these, someone had entered the shop.
"Welcome, Lord Dean. It is an honour to welcome you to my shop. Please, follow me; rather than showing you round the shop, I shall demonstrate from the catalogue," said the person.
Dean could see that this person, the man, was sweating.
One might say he had never even considered that an angel could sweat.
He seemed to have forgotten to introduce himself in his excitement.
It was of no concern to Dean, however.
The young man had declined the offer and started wandering around on his own.
If the system was going to reveal something new with every step he took, he couldn’t pass up this chance.
Whilst he was lost in these thoughts, the shopkeeper came up to him and started telling him something.
What he said would make Dean grow very fond of this man.
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