A brave man may not live, but he cannot die

Chapter 191 Invitation

Although life in the other world is very difficult.

But Quinn wouldn't deny that he is currently at the richest and most financially secure period of his life.

After graduating from university, Quinn worked for a foreign company and also did part-time piano playing at various clubs. His monthly income was not low even in a first-tier city like Jianghai, but he still lived a relatively frugal life because of debt repayment.

But after arriving in Temuran, except for the time when he was just crawling out of the goblin cave and living hand to mouth, he never had to worry about money.

The academy's weekly salary was ten gold pounds and five silver coins. After Quinn was promoted to senior teaching assistant, it increased to fifteen gold pounds. He would also do one criminal bounty mission for the Adventurers' Guild every week—most of which targeted gang members. This income was also quite substantial. In addition, with the Starflower trade, Quinn earned nearly two thousand gold pounds in just three months through meticulous work.

After deducting the repayment of the robes purchased at the start of the semester, the storage box bought for 330 gold pounds, four arcane scrolls, and daily expenses, there were still nearly 1,200 pounds left in savings.

By the standards of Sweeper Alley, this amount would only be worth two pieces of clothing. However, its purchasing power cannot be measured by the prices in the mystical world. 1,200 gold pounds is equivalent to 30 or 40 years of income for an ordinary person, and could even buy a small apartment in Eastville, known as the "Little Magic City" of the other world. In any country in the Southern Continent, this amount of money could allow Quinn to live a life of comfort for most of his life.

Reborn in Another World: Three Months of Stealing from My Own Side to Becoming Middle Class

Even Quinn, who could afford to drink juice and still have extra money to buy a straw, was speechless when he heard the price of "five thousand gold pounds".

He knew that magical creatures were expensive, but he didn't expect them to be this expensive. He couldn't afford them even with his savings and a loan.

"Five thousand for a worthless fox?" Quinn laughed angrily. "Are you selling labubu?"

Karel said neither humbly nor arrogantly, "This is a three-tailed fox. If it breeds properly, it is possible to give birth to four-tailed foxes or even five-tailed foxes. For every additional tail a fox beast gains, the arcane scrolls it can create will increase in tier. Last week, a tier 6 scroll at the Clock Tower Auction House sold for 40,000 gold pounds. If you compare that price, you'll see that it's a great deal."

"Even disregarding the potential for increased value through reproduction, the three-tailed fox will continue to molt until it reaches 120 years old. Look at the color of this fox's fur—it's so pure and beautiful—it can recoup its cost in about ten years when used to make a fourth-tier scroll."

Quinn didn't hear "good deal" or "break even" in the words; all he heard between the lines was "the college's sucker is here."

Can arcane scrolls be made by ordinary arcane mages?
This is a core technology of the Clock Tower that even the Academy has not fully mastered. While simple second and third-tier scrolls are manageable, only the Clock Tower can create complex arcane spells beyond that, rendering this three-tailed fox completely useless.

But for the Clock Tower, the three-tailed fox does indeed have long-term value, just as Karel said. The "long-term" in the eyes of an arcanist is different from the long-term in the eyes of an ordinary person. The time span is often several decades, and research, production and breeding that lasts for hundreds of years are normal. Any material related to the mysterious is scarce, and the Clock Tower would not complain about having too many tailed foxes that can produce fur. Karel's willingness to sell probably has other purposes.

Quinn wasn't in a hurry. After Karel finished explaining, he stood aside with his arms crossed, looking uninterested because it was too expensive.

His past experiences have given him a deep understanding of the true intentions hidden beneath the surface of transactions. Quinn is not a person with a talent for business; this is just an experience that Mi Yutong's father once casually taught him.

as predicted.

After a while, seeing that Quinn neither pressed for more information nor tried to bargain, except for making a brief complaint, Karel couldn't help but speak up: "If you really want to buy it..."

"I don't have that much money. Do I look like a rich person?"

“It’s just the price of a house,” Karel persuaded, using the mystical methods of measurement.

Quinn ignored him and turned to Amamiya Nene, saying, "When I first came to Eswell, I passed by the Lakeside Mansion and was chased away by the security guards. They said I was some stinky out-of-towner begging for food at the Lakeside Manor. That's a house I can't afford in my lifetime. So I made up my mind to work hard and live by the lake."

Amamiya Nene blinked. "And then?"

"Then, after only three months of working there, I realized that the security guard was really good at judging people."

"puff--"

Amamiya Nene laughed uncontrollably, and at that moment, Rin, who had been watching the fox, also stood up.

She glanced one last time at the snarling three-tailed fox, then turned away and said casually, "Let's go see the elephants."

"What's wrong? Don't you like it?" Karel couldn't read any emotion from the face of this ridiculously beautiful little girl.

It's as if there are no desires.

Lin ignored him and tugged at Quinn's hand: "Lin, no."

Quinn was taken aback. Had she been paying attention to what he had just said?

Is this still the same little girl who made him go back and buy her a second glass of orange juice just so he could have a second one?
He ruffled Lin's hair. "I was just kidding. The owner of Lakeside Manor is going to offer me cigarettes, but give me a reasonable price."

The last sentence was addressed to Karel.

Talking about a deal can take its time, but if you're buying something for a child that she likes, then buy it for her.

“4500 gold pounds.” Seeing that Quinn really wanted to buy it, Karel immediately became calm again: “Please be understanding, I can’t explain it if it’s any less.”

Quinn frowned slightly; he could barely accept three thousand gold pounds.

After all, he could scrape together the money by adding the bank card with a 1,000 gold pound limit and the Star Flower he was going to trade tonight. He made money quickly; he could just take on a few more missions from the Adventurers' Guild. But it was clear that the other party wasn't planning to sell easily.

Seeing Quinn's displeased expression, Carrel was secretly pleased. Being sent to Eswell to make a deal, he naturally knew the academy's renowned teachers quite well. He had never seen this young man before, yet he was wearing a uniform trench coat that only teachers could wear. Sure enough, he was a teacher who had just joined the academy and was not well-off.

Karel's smile grew even brighter.

"Of course, I also think it's expensive. After all, magical creatures are not easy to catch, and we also incur costs by acquiring them from adventurers and checking their health. How about this? I have a suggestion that might save you a lot of money."

Quinn looked at him calmly. This guy had been secretly observing him from the beginning. Most of the other passersby looked at him because of Rin or Amamiya Nene, or because of his clothes, but he was different. He came for him from the start. As the leader, after discovering that Rin was interested in the three-tailed deer, he quietly switched places with the staff next to the three-tailed deer.

All of this was observed by the thief's vigilance.

"explain."

He wanted to hear what this guy in the clock tower was planning to do.

Karel leaned closer and whispered, "Have you heard of the Lunar Ritual?"

"what?"

"Like the Vatican's Corona Festival, the Eternal Church's Fasting Day, and the Holy Tree Church's Golden Ceremony, this is a festival of the Full Moon Church. However, our festival is held at a relatively long interval, with only one brief night every five years when the sun is separated from the moon."

"And coincidentally, this five-year period is about to arrive! Just two months from now, on that autumn day when the sun is at its farthest point from the moon, the moon will reveal its true face somewhere in the world."

Quinn opened his collar slightly so that Karel could see that he was not wearing any religious ornaments.

"I am not religious."

“Ah, I know that Grindelwald’s understanding of the gods is somewhat different from ours,” Carrel said, choosing his words carefully.

"So, what do you want to say?"

"I would like to invite you to the Lunar Ritual. Of course, the location is not yet determined; it could be here, in the Eastern Kingdom, in the Western Continent, or on a mountaintop in the Northern Continent. Our Clock Tower has already prepared to traverse the Misty Sea for this purpose. A week before the Lunar Ritual, the priests in our sect will be able to calculate the location from which we can glimpse the true face of the great moon."

“You mean, you want me, a Grindelwald teacher, to participate in the superstitious activities of the Cult of the Full Moon?” Quinn asked, somewhat tensely. “No, the Lunar Ritual is very different from other religious rites—it’s not entirely a religious activity, but rather an exploration of arcane arts bathed in the purest moonlight.”

"If you are familiar with the relatively loose organizational structure of the Full Moon Cult, then I can tell you definitively that the wizards of the Moongazing Sea and the ancient mages of the Ferryman's Academy will only appear during the Moon Chasing Ritual. Don't you want to know the arcane arts that the academy doesn't have?"

Quinn really didn't want to; he had no morbid pursuit of arcane magic.

"You mean if I'm willing to go, this three-tailed fox will..."

“In our family, it is a basic courtesy to include a gift with the invitation,” Karel nodded. “I think a gift of five thousand gold pounds is worthy of an invitation from the Lunar Ritual.”

"What, have the Clock Tower Bank and the Full Moon Cult switched to charity?" Quinn stared at his face, which was full of genuine smiles. "They're not even offering free transportation, are they?"

"Of course, we can even prepare a separate airship for you with the highest priority route."

Quinn was amused.

"In my hometown, the place where such good things happen is called Myanmar."

".Myanmar?"

"The western continent is next to Litang, and it specializes in deceiving people into going to the west."

Ignoring the subtle sarcasm in Quinn's tone, Karel explained, "Exchange is mutual. Each Lunar Ritual involves many arcanists who don't believe in the full moon. For the advancement of the arcane world, we can even temporarily set aside conflicts of opinion and stance. Of course, such exchanges are based on the premise of being effective and safe. You don't need to reveal any of the Academy's secrets. Many Grindelwald graduates, and even professors, have participated in the Lunar Ritual and benefited greatly."

"A symposium?" Quinn thought of the industry exchanges held by various associations on Earth.

"Yes, that's a very apt term. However, not just anyone can be invited to participate in the Lunar Ritual. With strict entry requirements, participants need to prepare a presentation on an arcane topic."

"No, we're not going."

It was Amamiya Nene who interrupted him.

In Karel's memory, there wasn't a single female teacher as young and beautiful as her at the academy. Since Amamiya Nene wasn't even in her uniform yet, she was naturally mistaken for Quinn's girlfriend or wife. But unexpectedly, she bent down and knelt in front of Lin, whispering, "Do you like that fox?"

Lin didn't answer, but her little head honestly bypassed her, then glanced at the fluffy white three-tailed fox in the cage, and then at Quinn.

"do not like."

"Then why do you keep watching?"

"Because it is sad."

Karel immediately said to Quinn, "If you're willing, we can sign a contract and this three-tailed fox will belong to your daughter—if you have any doubts, you can wait until you've investigated what kind of gathering the Moon Chaser is before making a decision. I'll be in Axwell this week."

“No need.” A dark blue bank card cut Karel off. “Five thousand gold pounds, I’ll take it.”

Karel's eyelids twitched the moment he saw the card.

After carefully examining Amamiya Nene's face for a while, her expression gradually became serious.

"Please wait a moment." He took the card and turned to walk quickly toward the Clock Tower Bank building at the end of Broom Lane.

"What? Is there a problem?" Quinn glanced at Amamiya Nene, who seemed lost in thought.

"No. If you are not a believer in the full moon, then the Moon Chasing Ritual is indeed, as he said, an exchange activity for top-tier arcanists."

"Wow, the Clock Tower and the Church of the Full Moon are really doing charity work?"

"The Clock Tower doesn't matter, just stay away from the Full Moon Cult in the future," Amamiya Nene advised.

"has a problem?"

"Moon... Never mind, I'll tell you when you get promoted from teaching assistant." She didn't intend to say anything more.

"I understand." Quinn always listened to advice on these mysterious matters. "By the way, you yourself are using the Clock Tower's bank card, aren't you?"

"That's because their family needs it for business. Most of the academy's off-campus savings are also kept in the Clock Tower; they're the only ones doing banking in the underworld."

A short while later, Karel returned with a bank card and a receipt.

He handed the card and the note with five thousand gold pounds to Amamiya Nene without saying anything more: "This three-tailed fox is yours now."

A staff member who had come along unlocked the iron cage.

After doing all this, he didn't mention the Moon Chasing Ritual again, but looked at Quinn with a more scrutinizing gaze. Amamiya Nene stood not too far from him.

"May I ask a question?"

Quinn knew what he wanted to ask.

"No, we're just friends. By the way, she's not my daughter, just a student."

"Hehe. So she's not your daughter? I'm very sorry."

Karel wondered if the academy's teachers were so generous as to spend five thousand gold pounds to buy small animals for their students.

However, when he thought about the surname registered on his bank card, he felt relieved.

"If I'd known it would cost 50,000," she lamented, echoing the old fortune teller's sorrow.

As soon as the cage was opened, Lin bent down and climbed inside. The cage was just the right size to accommodate the little girl when she bent over, but it startled Karel standing next to her—

"Hey, watch out! Fantastic creatures need to be tamed, and this three-tailed fox hasn't lost its wildness yet—"

Quinn stopped him.

"fine."

Lin, without any fear, reached out her hand to the three-tailed fox.

The three-tailed fox was clearly in a state of stress, with all three tails standing tall as it stared intently at the approaching, delicate white hand. Once it broke through a certain distance, it bit down hard!
But Lin seemed completely oblivious, and simply picked up the three-tailed fox that was biting her hand, then held it in her arms and awkwardly stroked its fur.

"Lin will help you find your mom and dad."

As she spoke so simply, amidst the astonished and bewildered gazes of the crowd, the wild beast gradually quieted down, finally nestling in the beautiful girl's arms and letting out a soft cry, as if in response.

(End of this chapter)