Chapter 9: Currency of Ideas

10.9, A.A.6

Near Merlin's Tower, Ace's Point of View

It is a new day for us as the sunrise is seen across the horizon. The fever I had last night seemed to have gone down now. I might have an idea about what to make once we reach Merlin's Tower. My hair has been too bothersome since I came to this place that it's starting to become irritating and harder to keep done. I'm certain the same is true for everyone else. I can barely see the tower in the distance.

"We're almost to the tower," the coachman said. "It won't be long now."

"That's good to hear," said Ichi. "I'm certain Arle misses me. I left her with her grandma for a few days now."

"Kirby, do you think we'll continue training with Merlin?" I asked.

"It's possible, but with your fever, it might be best to save up for cures."

Once we made it to the tower, Merlin and Shang are waiting outside. I'll be able to talk about the places me and Kirby saw. Maybe I could ask them about any cures for my random fevers.

"Ace, Kirby, welcome back," said Merlin "I've been waiting for your return. Shang and I had a conversation with the king."

"What was it about?"

"I cannot say anything about it. It is a secret between Shang, the king, and me."

"Oh. I'd like to ask this, but do you have any herbs?"

"Herbs? Miss Ichi should have some."

"I've grown many types of herbs since I was a little girl. Is there a specific one you want?"

Back on Earth, rosemary was used by Franny's family to make simple shampoo, so if there is something similar to it, it could be one of the greatest inventions to bring here. Then, I thought of the bushes after meeting Merlin for the first time. The leaves looked like they might have what I needed. I'll ask for cloth and fruit too. Before I could ask, Merlin brought a girl outside the tower.

"She's feeling a little hazy, but she should be able to recover fine."

Hold on a moment. I recognized the green hat immediately and the green clothing.

"I-Kirby, is that what I think she is?"

"I believe so. It's Franny if I'm not mistaken."

I cannot contain my excitement at reuniting with Franny again. It felt like it's been too long since we were separated.

"Where…am I?" asked Franny.

"That's not important now. Ace and I are happy to see you."

That worry I had with Kirby looking younger turned out to be right. Franny looks slightly younger here too. That means I must be as well but by how much?

"Sorry I won't be able to train with you right now."

"It's alright. I have to get back to something important."

"Until we meet again, Merlin."

"Farewell lad."

"That kid is quite a handful." said Shang.

"Shang, manners."

As we prepare to head off, I wave at Merlin as a sign of farewell. Looking around, I noticed some trees don't have leaves left. On the way back I asked the coach to stop at several bushes. I examined them and concluded those were not the ones. The next set was not it either nor were the next three sets. I was beginning to lose hope when we came across the tree with no leaves. Then, my mind came back to the leaves.

"Those ones are what I'm looking for!" I exclaimed.

I knew it! Those are the leaves that may help in creating shampoo. I first ask for a basket then with Kirby's help, gather as many as possible. I must remember to not push myself too much or I'll be bedridden again. I'd rather not catch another fever right now. Both of us decided to leave a few alone to help grow more next Spring. We climbed back on, and we continued on our way. I was told by Ichi about the larger towns around, mainly Wolves Town and Camelot. Wolves Town is home to a large wolfmen tribe with more than 20,000 living there, and Camelot is the capital with a population of around 250,000 if counting the surrounding towns. It's also home to the king himself. Someday, I'll be able to visit them, but for now, all of us should learn more about this world and probably the currency too. I doubt they use dollars or yen here. If I remember, before the invention of paper currency, people of different cultures used to use a wide variety of items including coins made of copper, silver, and gold. If that is the case here, it will become a problem quickly.

"Kirby, I remembered something."

"What would that be?"

"Neither of us knows anything about the currency here. How are we supposed to know the value of food and other goods?"

Luckily, the coachman is here to educate us about this world's currency.

"You both want to know about the currency we use here. What you are about to learn is the value of what we call the Cadel."

He showed us what the coins looked like. He told us the copper coin is worth 1 Cadel, the small bronze was worth 10, the medium bronze was worth 100, the large bronze was worth 1000, the small silver was worth, 10,000, the large silver was worth 100,000, and while he didn't have them, the small gold was worth 1,000,000, and the large gold was worth 10,000,000. Converting it to USD, the large gold coin would be worth $100,000.

"The two sets of clothing you both had to sell were worth 3 small silver and 5 large bronze each. It was unfortunate you had to give them up, but it was for the best. Both of you would have unwanted attention."

"It's okay," I said. "Kirby and I were able to find styles that fit both of us."

"You youngins be careful. I heard somethin' fishy is going on down South."

After what seemed like hours, we finally arrived at Arle's Grandma's house. The place is close to Magic Village, so it ends up being a good rest point. According to Miss Ichi, the house is next to a fairy forest where those who are lost are guided by the fairies. Supposedly, Arle was lost one time while searching for something that ran across the grass. The fairies helped her learn to use magic as she didn't know how to use it. Both Arle and her grandma were waiting at the front of the door as we stepped out of the carriage.

"Mommy!" exclaimed Arle as she jumped into her mother's arms.

"Mother, you're doing quite well," said Ichi.

"Now dear, I'm not exactly getting any younger here. The young pain in the neck that's been looking for you is waiting inside."

"Wait, who?" I asked.

"Lucian. Please mother, don't talk about him rudely."

The man named Lucian arrives outside along with someone else.

"No need to continue with harsh words Uri. We were heading back to Camelot. Come Harv!"

As Lucian and the other guy start leaving, one of them glances at our direction. I promptly hid behind Kirby until they were out of sight. Thankfully being shorter has advantages.

"So, who were those guys?" asked Kirby.

"Their names are Lucian Lee and Harv Lancelot. Harv is one of the special knights the king entrusted. Lucian is who I'll marry soon."

"You better hope he won't ruin your life. I've seen better than him."

"Mother, refrain from calling him rude names."

"So, who did you bring this time?"

"They are the pupils of Merlin."

"That Merlin, I should've known."

"Sigh. Anyways, they are Ace, Kirby, and Franny. They are here with me on behalf of Merlin, specifically looking for herbs."

"What does Merlin want herbs for?"

"They're not for him. They're for these three. They want to make something using specific herbs."

"What ones?"

"Rosemary, aloe vera, castilla, and jojoba nuts." said Kirby.

"Let's see what I have then."

She looks for the herbs and finds them after a few minutes. I mix them together with a special type of oil made from jojoba nuts. Using a rough rag helps with the process. When it's complete, it turns out perfectly. Finally, I can use this on my hair and stop the irritating itching.

"Is it done?" asked Uri.

"Yep!"

"Smells decent, but what's it for?"

"You'll see. Do you have a place to bathe?"

"There is a barrel, but you'll have to have someone else help you wash your body."

"I don't need help bathing, but I would appreciate hot water."

Kirby's Point of View

While Ace was bathing, I decided to step out and look around. All I can see is a dancing fish near a pond. It does look weird that it is out of the water and not drying up.

"What a weird creature" I said.

"Oi! You don't seem to have small talk in that land mind of yours" the fish said.

"I wasn't trying to insult you Mr. Fish. I wanted to know what that dance was."

"You curious about ol' Suketoudara's dancing habits?"

"Well, yeah."

"I can't shell you that. You intrude on my pond like a poor swimmer swimmin' across a lake with a sinker."

"You don't seem to mind insulting someone like me. Prepare for a Puyo battle you oversized fish!"

"Oh, you wanna battle squirt? Well, you've got one!"

Suketoudara and I prepare our boards, and the Puyo battle starts. He is fast but not that smart. After 12 seconds, I start preparing a 5-chain while Suketoudara has four rows already. He starts sending out 1-2 chains while I send a 6-chain back. I easily won the Puyo battle against Suketoudara. He might be fast, but he isn't that smart.

"I've been washed out like a fish out of water!"

"I'll say something here. Brains always triumph over brawn in a Puyo battle."

Compared to Draco, Suketoudara didn't seem to have that much experience either. I'd imagine there would be someone else that could cause us trouble, perhaps a lousy singer. Hold on, if none of us know anything about the currency of this place, nothing could be possible. I'll have to ask someone about it.

Back inside the house, Ace is already done bathing, and it looks like Franny has regained full consciousness. She quickly runs to take a bath too. I'm guessing she wants to try out the shampoo Ace made. I'm not surprised. She really hates having her hair sticky and itchy. After she's done, Miss Ichi wanted to test out the shampoo on her hair, so she ended up taking a bath as well. I'll wait until we get back to Magic Village. While we were waiting, Ace and I decided to go out and gather clay for clay tablets. I gathered the clay while Ace was resting on a tree stump since he could end up bedridden. After gathering enough clay, we started heading back, but before we could leave, we met this wizard named Merlina. She is the granddaughter of the legendary Merlin. We heard from her about a sacred sword called Excalibur once wielded by an ancient King called King Arthur along with an ancient hero. Those two would face a demon King called Hades. While they were successful, that hero faded from history. There was another hero who was aided by Merlin, but no one knows what happened to him. Apparently, King Arthur's ghost has returned due to the immortality granted from the scabbard of Excalibur. The ghost is searching for a worthy opponent, and after placing a hand on both of us, she determined that one of us was worthy of wielding Excalibur, but she didn't tell us who. We had to go back before the sun set, so Merlina decided to put a gauntlet on Ace's right hand. After that, we said bye to her and got a handful from Miss Ichi about wandering off without asking anybody. Soon enough, we left to go back to Magic Village arriving around midnight. Ace ended up with a two-day fever once we made it back to Miss Ichi's home. Franny was understandably confused, so I told her everything that happened to me and Ace so far. A carriage will arrive tomorrow to take Franny over to Easton to test her magic aptitudes. Someday, we'll be able to return home.

Author's Note: This was my longest chapter to make with almost 16 months of creating, editing, and refining it. Yep, this was being made before Chapter 8 was finished. I will say this chapter has been the most frustrating to work on, so much I started working on Chapters 10, 11, and 12 at the same time. I'm hoping to incorporate Harpy, Panotty, Zombie, and Witch for Puyo battles. Sasori Man will hopefully be in this story too, though I'm still not sure where to put him.

The part where Ace and Kirby gather clay will be part of a side-story that while is canon, it was shortened due to how difficult it was to make. Also, next chapter will have at least two new characters.