New Isekai Life (frisbee x Mini Magi)

[frisbee]

Lily gazed into Yul's eyes for a moment. "Hmmm..." Their discoloration was notable to be sure. "Well, you're not exactly a normal human to begin with. Heterochromia aside. Honestly, I think your smartassery is probably the biggest hurdle." She crossed her arms with a huff. Her opinion on this matter was more than a little biased.

"Guess I should've figured you've done your research on that already. It just makes me antsy, you know? It doesn't seem like good things come from otherworlders being summoned here..." She sighed briefly. "Well, okay. I doubt knowing the specific resources would help me much to begin with. I'll trust you with that, then."

Lily eyed the candy for a moment. She wasn't in the mood for a sweet treat right after breakfast, but it looked delectable regardless. "...Sailors? Not... children? You mean to tell me that hardened, sea-faring sailors like to munch on gummy bears?" Her eyes narrowed slightly. "Is there something... 'special' about that candy?"

[Mini Magi]

Now THAT got her curiosity, didn't it? Feeling a bit smug about it, Yul by now fashioned a quite big glass jar, and filled it to the brim with red, yellow, and green round candies. Also a bit of powdered sugar to prevent them from melting into a humonguous bit of mega candy, and leaned over the counter. "Not yet, but I'm about to make them. And it IS special. It's made with love and vitamins." Since her confusion didn't let up, he explained further. "Because their sailing trips can take quite a while, sailors tend to eat what they catch. On one hand, fish is a healthy meal, after all. But do you know what happens if all you eat is fish?" He gave her a moment to wonder about it, then picked the jar up and went to the living room table. "Scurvy. It is caused by a lack of vitamin C over long periods of time. And while people know about it and take fruits with them for longer trips, fruits are quite perishable. Doesn't help that they become useless in the case of falling overboard, or flooding. But candies? Sure, they will be salty at first, but they don't get soaked." He set it down in front of her. All in all, it was indeed a pretty little sight. Even he was proud of the outcome.

Having exhausted his arms a little however, Yul took a chair and sat down at the same table for a little while. "Also, it's good that you worry about the world, but aim smaller for now. Focus on yourself and small things. I'll handle the bigger problems in the meantime. So? I suggest you either find yourself a nice place to practice at, or bring these to the harbormaster. For free by the way. It will hardly be a matter of selling. It's an investment for my oh so dear, goods importing, friends." The better the surrounding area did, the better for him. But of course... there were ulterior motives. "Then they will of course want more vitamin candy, and turn to the gourmet guild for it, who will be unable to keep up with the demand, meaning I can sell my candy drop roller to them for 10 times its worth~" He grinned at the thought. It was so easy too~ All he had to do was play chess while everyone else played checkers.

[frisbee]

"Hoh... I see. So you're not going to keep making candy yourself? That's a shame..." It wasn't hard to imagine why Lily might feel that way. Regardless, it was a clever idea, she couldn't deny that.

She pondered in silence for a moment. It was frustrating that there wasn't much she could do about this world. She was ready intimately familiar with this frustration in her own world and its injustices. How annoying. "...Alright. You'll tell me if you suspect something might happen soon, right? I'll help you out any way I can in the meantime. You can leave the candy to me." She picked up a piece of candy between her fingers and flicked it in her mouth. "I won't eat it all, promise." She smiled innocently.

[Mini Magi]

Yul chuckled at her little promise, and screwed the lid shut. "And I, don't believe you." Though realistically, it would be quite impressive if the finished the whole jar all on her own. Still. Better safe than sorry. Yul put the jar into the backpack, and was about to give it to her but... "Huh... You know what?" The more he thought about it, the more he liked it himself, and his expression softened as he turned over to her. "How about we both go? Right now, you don't know anything about the city, right? We'll go visit some people of a craft, a sight or two, the best spots to find a guard in case you ever need one, and grab a bite or two in between. Sound fun?" She also only had one set of clothing, and that definitely had to be fixed. Would be a shame if her current set would get damaged and unwearable after all, wouldn't it?

[frisbee]

Lily's lips curled up in a slight grin. "Oh? You're asking me out on a date? Okay, I'll bite. Make sure to treat me right then, casanova." She chuckled and waved dismissively to dispel the joke. She was joking, after all, and Yul should know that. She wasn't being serious. 

[Mini Magi]

Yul had a hunch she was just trying to mess with him... but there was no way he wouldn't counter that. "Sure. We'll even hold hands-" he got up from the chair, inhaled dramatically "in public!" and let out an evil laugh, that eventually broke into an amused chuckle. Still humored by how it played out, he went to the kitchen, put everything dirty in the sink, and submerged everything. That would make cleaning easier later. And there was absolutely no rush to get to that right away. Date first.

Looking through his pockets, Yul checked if he had everything. Keys, pouch, his knife on his leg holster, a couple throwing knives... What? One best be prepared rather than surprised. With the kitchen left in an acceptable state for now, and pretty much nothing else urgent to do, Yul turned to Lily. "Ready to head out? Oh and since we're stopping by a carpenter, did you make a list of stuff you would like to have in your room?" This was a good opportunity to make it more home-y.

 

[frisbee]

Lily regretted provoking him already, but she would never learn. She briefly glanced at Yul's hand, but kept her arms to herself. Too cowardly to commit to the bit. "I don't suppose you can get me a big TV, can you?" She laughed briefly. It was doubtful that Yul received satellite. It was probably asking too much regardless, she didn't even have a TV in her own world. She enjoyed poking a little fun, though. It was hard to imagine this one backfiring on her. "I would really like a comfy sofa with big fluffy pillows to lounge on, something like that. Although, I feel kind of bad asking for something like that... really, you don't have to tend to these selfish wishes of mine. Let's just go, okay? You're already doing so much."

[Mini Magi]

With a mildly confused look, Yul responded to her request. "I think I can get you that sofa, but I have no idea what a tee vee is." Once again, the gap in technology was showing itself. And while he didn't know yet, it was also not something he could build, considering it needed the TV itself to receive a signal, and a whole station to make them. "Besides. Your requests so far have been quite manageable, and reasonable too. Who wouldn't want something comfy to be lazy on every now and then?" So long as it was about simple pleasures, by all means, he was on board. And it would definitely help make her room look less like a prison cell. Not that this was the intent of the room, but the bars definitely made it seem that way. At least for him.

With everything prepared, Yul unlocked the door that led downstairs, and waited for Lily to both follow him, and maybe even explain what that thing she wanted was.

[frisbee]

"Don't worry about it, there's never anything interesting on TV anyway." She gave him a brief smile as she followed him downstairs. "It's basically a moving picture box. Um... I don't know if that makes sense. You can use it to catch up with the news, entertainment, education... although it's probably better to just pick up a book or a newspaper."

If Yul truly insisted Lily wasn't going to complain outwardly, but internally she could not help but feel indebted to him. She'd have to help him out for a while longer.

[Mini Magi]

Yul took in her description of the device, but indeed, it was out of his reach. Buuuut it did give him a good idea for later. So? With a plan in mind, Yul took her out with him, and they left the odd store behind them as they headed into the city once more.

The streets were busy, but comfortably spacious enough to move through the city. To kill the time, Yul began talking. "So... Let's start with a little lesson or two on Velder. It is a rather big city, has access to the sea, and is just about positioned right to be also interesting for passing traders. This means that a lot of material and wares are coming through, giving many of us opportunities to work. Which results in-" He pointed to one of the buildings they passed by. It wasn't just a blacksmith, but a smithy. One gigantic furnace in the back, and conveyor belts on which either parts or completed products rolled past. "guilds. Each type of guild has multiple stores, factories, and workers. Those then split off into their own little stores, like that one. But what matters is that almost every man and woman of a certain profession has support when they fall sick, get injured, or become unable to work for other reasons. All they have to do is pay a reasonably small fee each year.

With that in mind, there are generally the crafting guilds, like blacksmiths, alchemists, weavers and so on, and gatherer guilds, like Farmers, Lumberjacks, Fishers, Miners and the like. The general idea is: "Our members support us, so we support our members in a time of need". But everyone is free to be independent and make a bit more money, IF they can handle themselves in this competitive scene." It wasn't unheard of that some genius would pop up and be able to make a name for themselves, but such occasions were really rare.

"That aside, the people actually like their leader. Queen Nero. Unfortunately, we will not come across a statue of her on our little tour, so just imagine a pretty, blonde, charismatic woman in her mid-twenties." At Yul mentioning the queen, a few looks went his way, but passed on again. Was it his tone maybe? It seemed like the name itself carried a bit of weight. "She has the final say about everything, and is the one who pushed this guild system into being. Not that she is perfect. Our oh so benevolent ruler took over some neighboring countries and is on her best way to become either a conquerer or empress, but time will tell. She is also quite fond of theaters and has an obvious preference when it comes to financial investments towards that.  Still. Considering I am not constantly bothered by guards, I dare say I like her."

By the time Yul had talked, they were already at the harbor. Definitely one of the more busy areas, and full of booths trying to sell wares that were unloaded from the ships. Mostly fish, but also fruits, tools, and shiny trinkets. Which made him pause and think what he should do with Lily. Let her onto the market on herself? Wouldn't be too dangerous... probably. Not that people got knifed every second tuesday, and she didn't have any coin on her, but of course he would worry anyway. "Saaay. I can't quite decide what to do with you now. Do you wanna tag along and meet the harbormaster, or do you feel like exploring for a bit? I wouldn't have any trouble finding you if you wanna go for a walk." If he couldn't decide, might as well just ask her herself, hear what she thinks and wants to do.

[frisbee]

Lily looked around the various stores and buildings, some with plumes of smoke rising from their chimneys as she listened to Yul talk. So it's a city of commerce and trade... probably one of the wealthiest places in the nation, then.

"Oh, so it's like... insurance companies? Unions?" Neither seemed to be the right word for it, but it was surprising to Lily that such a system was in place at all. The city reminded her a lot of the industrial revolution, and workers certainly weren't afforded even a small privilege such as that back then.

Her ears immediately perked up at the mention of Nero. She thought back to her history lessons, the Roman emperor who reigned during the great fire of Rome. Hopefully that wasn't a bad omen. Lily wasn't one for superstition, though. Besides, if she implemented the guild system she seemed nice enough. Even if the idea of a monarchy kind of repulsed her, coming from a world where that kind of governance was a thing of the past. "You guys don't do democracy, huh..."

At the harbor, the refreshing salty sea air carried itself on a gentle breeze. Lily gazed out to sea between the various ships tied to the docks, some of which were being loaded with barrels and crates. Cool. Lily did not want to go out to sea herself, though. She would get seasick for sure. "Um... Why don't you go chat with the harbormaster. I kind of want to check out the market. Looking is free, right?" The hustle and bustle of the market naturally attracted her curiosity. Window shopping is always fun, after all. "Although I wouldn't mind if you hooked me up with some... funds. You know it's for a good cause."

[Mini Magi]

Good cause, or the need to get something nice? Well... Either was honestly not that bad, actually. So Yul got out his pouch and looked through it, considering how much was enough. He didn't get where he was now because he spend money as he liked. In the end, he gave her a couple coins which equated to 10 silver. "That should be enough, and here is your good cause: You're going to carry a few things with you in the near future, and will need a bag, a backpack, or a sack. Your call. Either go find one you can afford with this much, or find a material you would like me to make one out of. And unfortunately: No. You can't keep the change." He was currently the only of the two who had an income, and even that wasn't quite as constant as he would have liked. So as much as one might want to treat their girl to something fancy and give her gold coins to frolic around with, that was simply not something in his budged right now.

[frisbee]

Lily gladly received the funds, but was a little disappointed that it was conditional. Perhaps she'd overestimated how much disposable income Yul had to begin with. That, or he's a real penny pincher. Either way, Lily didn't make a fuss over it. She wasn't petty. Even if he hadn't given her anything she would've found a way to enjoy herself. "Okay! Thanks, Yul. I'll meet you back here when I'm done. Although, I might lose track of time exploring the market, you might have to come find me." She cracked a brief smile, stuffing the coins in her pocket. "I'll also be on the lookout for some spare clothes. That's okay, right?"

[Mini Magi]

Not a bad idea, actually. Though, the prices worried him. "Feel free to get anything you want, but I did plan some clothing stores on our trip today. Just avoid the jewelry, okay? Even the cheap one. Most of it is brass rather than copper. And of course, have fun~" Waving her a small goodbye, Yul went to the harbor's main building, leaving Lily to herself for a while.

The market itself was pretty much what one could expect. Various stands and booths trying to sell all sorts of wares. Fruit and vegetables, hot meals, cold meals, rings, necklaces, purses, minerals, and pretty much anything else one could ask for. Having a harbor just a few meters away resulted in a large variety for the market. "Excuse me miss. The pretty bruenette?" Taking a peek around, one of the stall owners addressed her directly. The selection of that one was... expectable, but still odd, considering it sold pretty much anything animal related. Meat, hide, leather, horns, bones, even hooves. But looking past that was someone one might dare to call pretty.

Spoiler

"Pardon the call out, but I don't suppose I could interest you in some deer meat for your dinner, could I?" Of course with Yul as company, it was difficult to forget that this was a different world. But if he didn't hammer it in yet, the sight of a short haired, blonde elf probably would.

[frisbee]

For a while Lily was much too intrigued with the wide variety of stands displaying all manner of fresh food, souvenirs, as well as little doodads she couldn't quite discern. Probably accessories of some kind. As it turned out, window-shopping was plenty interesting just by itself. Absorbed in her own world, it took her a second to register she was being called out to. She turned to the voice, noticing the cute elf boy it belonged to.

"Hm? Meat?" Her gaze briefly fell on the array of animal products on display. It did look delicious. Even her untrained eye could sense that it was of good quality. Though, she quickly remembered her mission. Besides, she had no doubt that it was expensive. "Oh, no thank you. By the way, you shouldn't call random girls you see on the street pretty or they might get the wrong idea, you know?" She was halfway tempted to return the compliment, but that was probably pushing it a little too far. She didn't want to give him the wrong idea either, after all.

(Sorry for leaving you hanging for a while, I was feeling a little burnt out the past week. We should be good to go now, though!)