READ NOVEL ONLINE Chapter 3
Racrina came back way too late.
When she reappeared, she was hiding her hands behind her back, avoiding Enok’s gaze.
She definitely looked embarrassed about crying her heart out earlier.
Enok shrugged it off.
At her age, feeling embarrassed about shedding tears in front of others was perfectly normal.
Sometimes, understanding is needed more than words, and right now was one of those times.
“Are you all set to go?”
“…Yes.”
“Alright, let’s get moving then.”
With a wave of his hand, Enok turned away.
Racrina quickly hugged the head nun one last time before hurrying to catch up with the man who was walking away.
“So, where are we headed?”
“Hmm, first we need to get your magical aptitude tested.”
Magical aptitude test. In simple terms, it’s a talent test for this world.
Typically, in fantasy stories, whether someone can become a wizard is often determined by their innate talent.
Age of Invasion operated similarly.
Of course, there are cases where relentless effort leads to becoming a successful wizard, but talent still made a big difference.
‘Aptitude test… Should we head to the Magic Tower first? But before that—’
Enok paused mid-step and glanced down at Racrina.
The girl trailing behind looked up at him, puzzled by his sudden stop.
“We’re going to the Magic Tower now.”
“Ah… okay!”
“However, before that, there’s something we need to do first.”
“Something we need to do?”
“That’s right.”
Enok pointed his finger towards the direction of the commercial district.
“Let’s first get you dressed properly. That’s basic courtesy as a guest.”
“Ah…”
⧫
The two hopped into a car and drove to the commercial district.
By the way, the car they were in was Enok’s.
His driving license was half for practicality and half for fun.
Considering he had more money than he knew what to do with, a little hobby was necessary to avoid a boring life.
“We’re here. Let’s go.”
“Yes, yes!”
They stepped out of the car that had stopped by the roadside.
Enok got out nonchalantly.
Meanwhile, Racrina was quite cautious and worried about damaging the luxury vehicle, so she stepped out very carefully.
‘This… looks like a car I’ve seen on TV before…’
Racrina ended up holding her breath as she noticed the emblem on the car.
The emblem featured a griffon, the symbol of the empire.
It was definitely the latest model they advertised on TV.
Even Racrina, who wasn’t particularly interested in cars, had heard of its fame—certainly a luxury item that would go for over 300 million kro.
So just how rich was this Enok guy?
“What are you doing over there?”
“Ah, I’m sorry!”
Racrina rushed over after hearing him call her.
Standing still, Enok opened his wallet and showed her a card.
“Do you see this card?”
“Huh? Oh, yes…”
“We’re going to shop until this card maxes out today. If not, you can forget about going home.”
“…Huh?”
Racrina’s mind went blank at what she heard.
Enok gently nudged her from behind and they entered the store.
“Welcome!”
“First, let’s buy some clothes.”
“Wait a moment—”
Enok took Racrina towards a store.
A towering seven-story building reminiscent of Mayfair stood there.
It was a mixed shopping complex filled with various tailored suits and dressmakers.
“Uh… um…”
Racrina lost her words at the sight before her.
A high ceiling adorned with tightly packed crystal chandeliers.
Soft, warm magical lights illuminating the place while raised colors instilled a warm ambiance.
White-furnished upscale clothing stores extended ahead.
All of this delivered a distinct psychological shock to Racrina.
She felt out of place, like grime in a pristine space.
She instinctively felt she shouldn’t be in a place like this; it just didn’t suit her.
Meanwhile, Enok was chatting with an old gentleman at a nearby shop.
His name was Velten, the most famous tailor in the city of Magnusra where Enok was staying.
Just to clarify, a tailor is essentially a high-end dressmaker.
The coat that Enok was currently wearing was also made by the old man standing before him.
Enok had been quite satisfied with its comfort, which was why he specifically brought Racrina here.
“Long time no see, Master Velten.”
“Hmm, Enok, is it? It really has been a while. You haven’t contacted me in ages.”
The old tailor clicked his tongue as soon as he saw Enok, sounding a bit annoyed at the late contact.
Enok chuckled softly and tried to soothe his old friend.
“Don’t be too upset. I’ve been a bit busy too. Besides, here, I brought a decent bottle of booze as an apology, didn’t I?”
“Eversmoke Brandy…? You bought this from the ground floor, didn’t you?”
“Well, it’s best to buy it from here. So, what do you think? Its mysterious scent from the smokeberries collected on a foggy morning. They call this drink ‘Foggy Twilight.’ Do you think this expresses my regret well enough?”
With Enok’s smooth words, the old man broke into a smile.
“You can’t beat me with words anyway. It’s good to see you again, really. So, what brings you here?”
“It’s nothing special; I just want to fit some clothes for this girl here.”
“Girl? She seems to have similar hair. Is she your sister or something? I didn’t hear you had family.”
Velten tilted his head while looking at Racrina.
Famous tailors generally do thorough background checks on their clients.
Of course, Enok was also in that information pool.
But there was nothing indicating he had family.
Velten’s curiosity started from there, so to clear up any misunderstandings, Enok quickly explained.
“Oh, it’s nothing like that; she’s my student.”
“Student? Oh… I see. I won’t pry any further then.”
Velten shrugged and called over his staff standing behind him.
“Take her measurements and consider her skin type and physique for the outfit. Since she has silver hair, keep that in mind to lower the overall saturation. Combine darker colors to enhance the mood. Since she’s a student, casual wear would be better than a dress. Let’s go for a silk gown trending these days to match it nicely. Just draft a rough estimate, and contact the dressmaker and modelist for details.”
“Understood. What budget should we set?”
The employee’s question made Velten scrunch his eyes.
His demeanor said, “Are you kidding me?”
Just then, the employee noticed Enok standing behind him.
“My apologies.”
“Hurry up and get going.”
“Yes!”
The employee quickly backed away and slipped out.
Racrina was being led away by other employees, going “Huh? Wait, wait—!” as she disappeared.
Before long, it was just Enok and Velten remaining.
Velten used magic to conjure two glasses and opened the Eversmoke Brandy that Enok brought right there.
-Boom!
“Isn’t it better to drink alone to create the atmosphere?”
“What’s the fun in drinking alone? It’s way more enjoyable with friends!”
Velten handed Enok a glass. He nodded and accepted it.
After savoring the sharp scent of the brandy, he took a sip.
“How many sets of clothing should I prepare?”
“Hmm, about five casual outfits, five formal ones, and seven for exercise would be good. Oh, and let’s add accessories to match the outfits too.”
“Got it. I see you’re planning to raise her as a magician. I’ll prepare accordingly.”
Velten said this while getting into the estimate calculations.
Fabric ordered from Todmodden Spurlie.
Merino wool and cashmere.
Silk like taffeta and satin.
Casuals in linen and dresses in velvet.
Exercise attire in cambric and muslin.
Along with the accessories and cosmetics to match.
Including the fees for professionals, himself included.
Velten did the calculations rapidly and wrote the amount on the paper beside him.
“All together, it should come to about 6.88 billion kro.”
“Please do it as a lump sum.”
“Understood.”
Without much thought, Enok pulled out his card.
But just as Velten was about to take it, terrified screams suddenly erupted from behind.
“No way!”
“?”
Both men turned to see where the noise was coming from.
Racrina, half-changed, was huffing furiously.
“No, teacher! Just, just buying some clothes and it costs almost… seventy billion?!”
“…Include the noise complaint and make it a neat seventy billion, please.”
“Alright then.”
-Beep!
“Noooooo!!”
While Racrina was thrown into an uproar, she was grabbed by the staff and was pulled away.
A silence fell over the room once more.
The two remained seated, leisurely enjoying the brandy left in their glasses.
Surprisingly, it was Velten who broke the silence first.
“By the way, I’m quite curious about something.”
“About what?”
“About your wealth. Just what do you do to have that much money? It turns out you don’t have a job.”
Velten asked with genuine curiosity.
Enok paused for a moment.
But under Velten’s continued gaze, he finally spoke up.
“Actually, I’m from another world.”
“Huh?”
“I came from another world. I even accidentally took on a strange mission. For some reason, this world generously gives me pocket money.”
“…Goodness. You really shouldn’t joke around like that.”
Velten tuned out, saying it sounded like a silly joke.
In response, Enok could only smile ruefully.
‘I knew he wouldn’t believe me.’
Enok chuckled softly and continued enjoying his brandy. If only he could keep the calm appearance, his mind was racing.
First off, one fact was true.
He was indeed receiving some sort of support from another world.
The issue was the extent of that support.
The key to this lay in the world’s genre.
Defense.
The game genre where you fend off waves of enemies with buildings, units, and heroes.
In such games, players typically receive gold every turn through system support.
The problem lies right there.
In this reality that is the defense genre come alive, just how much currency is Enok receiving as a player?
Specifically, what criterion is used to assess the amounts?
The answer is simple. It’s the empire’s defense budget.
‘Unlike during the game era, the imperial system in this world is functioning smoothly even without me. Meaning, they’re managing their budget to fend off monsters just fine without my interference. The amount I’m supported with, through my status screen, is probably based on that.’
After opening his status screen upon waking up in this world, Enok happened to check the asset section of the vault.
Of course, there was a sizable sum stacked inside.
Because in this world, it’s a defense genre.
You need money to build towers and summon units, right?
In other words, what Enok received was the starting capital of the game.
But there was a little problem.
Specifically, the amount was massive.
Time and time again, Enok reiterated that the amount he had been given was easily equivalent to the empire’s annual defense budget.
As a reference, the United States in the 21st century spends about 1 trillion USD annually on defense.
Enok also received respectably less than that, but still a significant sum.
The amount was a whopping 100 trillion kro.
And including what he had spent so far, the remaining total shown on his status screen was about 99 trillion.
99 trillion. Since one trillion is 10 billion, it turned out to be that bizarre number of 99 million billion.
Even more fearsomely, this kind of cash kept getting recalibrated every wave of monsters.
As evidence, the lower part of the asset section on the status screen is gleaming yellow.
Once Enok pressed that button while sipping his brandy, another amount got recalibrated as a reward for fending off monsters.
This was probably due to the headline he saw in the morning newspaper.
However, what mattered most wasn’t that right now.
[Notification: 100,000,000,000,000 recalibrated]
[Notification: An additional recalibration of 10% of total assets]
[Total assets: 220,000,000,000,000]
“……”
Enok stared blankly at the sight before him.
The amount he had worked so hard to spend, 1 trillion, had quickly filled up again due to a bonus.
This filled Enok with a myriad of different feelings.
After placing down his glass, he turned to Velten beside him.
“Master, I have a question.”
“Hmm…? What is it?”
“What would happen if someone casually donated 150 trillion kro?”
“What would happen? The economy would crash and the nation would shake. With monsters invading, you might as well say the country is doomed.”
Velten chuckled, sipping his drink, as if he couldn’t believe such nonsense.
Enok had no response to that. He just sipped his drink too.
Ignoring the strange sense of dread that lingered in the back of his mind.
‘Honestly, the money piling up is scarier than the monsters.’
Monsters could be dealt with in one way or another. Even if stronger monsters appeared, or unique varieties showed up, preparations could be made to strategize a counter.
But this endlessly recalibrating money? No way in hell there was any way to cope with that.
Strategy or analysis were utterly useless.
For crying out loud, amounts that could easily allow you to buy out a city every few months kept rolling in, and how on earth could that be addressed?
‘Thank you, Lord. Not for the money, but for allowing me to fend off the monsters.’
Enok found himself calming his racing heart.
A human more frightened of the financial defense than the monster defense.
That was Enok for you.