The houses of the Kingdom of Cavorite were made of marble. They were not very big, but in a situation like the apocalypse.
Civilians were roaming through the streets. There were shops selling fancy cotton clothes and ruffled dresses.
There were also shops selling fig fruits.
And this was also a disgusting sight for Caeson, who was feeling hungry and saw figs everywhere.
Fruits aren't that bad, but seeing the same thing everywhere caused him overstimulation. But this was the last option.
Caeson went to a shop to buy some purplish-red figs.
The shopkeeper, a middle-aged man, asked, "How many do you want?"
Caeson said, "Three… nah, I have to make up for dinner also. Five may be enough."
The middle-aged man said, "Five? It will cost you ten pico."
There was a standard currency used in the major kingdoms. One fig cost two pico, and one hundred pico were equivalent to one Grand.
This was the common currency used by normal civilians. But for bigger exchanges like real estate and merchant trades, there was a bigger unit called Daric.
One Daric was equivalent to fifty Grands. It was commonly used by royals and tycoons.
After hearing the price—ten pico—Caeson realized that he didn't have the currency of this place. He had to pay for the food… but what now?
With Disappointed, he put his hands into his pockets, twitching his face, and said, "Sorry, sir. I think I didn't bring any money with me."
He pulled his hand out of his pocket and smiled awkwardly.
Something fell.
The middle-aged shopkeeper said, "But your money fell on the ground when you took your hand out of your pocket."
Caeson bent down and picked up the paper notes.
There were about ten notes of Grand.
This isn't my money… Is this the money of the person who owned these clothes that I'm wearing?
He took one Grand note, handed it to the shopkeeper, and took five figs and ninety pico as change.
He put the extra money in his pocket and moved away, searching for a place to stay.
On a corner of a remote street, he let Mrs. Rhino come out and sat there.
He ate two figs, which felt very heavy and almost stuffed him.
He also asked Mrs. Rhino to eat.
But she replied, "I don't need to eat food. After all, I am a soft toy."
Mr. Pinion was still tied around Caeson's waist as a belt. Caeson asked him too but without a mouth how can someone eat he understood and stayed silent.
Caeson hid the crowbar horizontally by digging the ground. He buried it and marked the spot with a cross made from a wooden stick.
Then he kept roaming through the streets, carrying Rhino in his hand until evening, but he couldn't find any place to stay.
The sun was going down.
Caeson was becoming desperate to find a place to sleep.
He went back to that same street again, but on the way there were people gathered in a closed street, forming a circle.
Caeson's instincts were triggered.
He decided to go check.
Inside the street, there was a young man with white hair and glasses, surrounded by four men.
They were yelling at him.
"You have to pay for it! You broke our precious statue!"
There was a small broken statue of naked girl lying nearby.
The young man adjusted his glasses, bowed slightly, and said in a slow voice, "Sorry for the damage… but I can't pay. I don't have any money."
One of the men, who had deep cuts on his head, said, "Then let us check your pockets, kid."
Another man with a black eye patch stepped forward.
Two other men grabbed the young man's arms.
The man with the eye patch put his hand into the young man's pocket and said, "Let me check what you've got."
The young man tried to resist, but it was useless.
There were notes in his pocket.
The man with the eye patch handed them to the man with cuts on his head and said, "All pico notes… yeah, total three Grands."
The young man with glasses said in a trembling voice,
"I do have money… but this is for the orphan children of the church. This is all they have for survival for the whole month. After all the calamity, this is not that much."
But the men only laughed at him.
The man with the eye patch said mockingly, "So sad… like we care about it."
The young man almost cried.
He suddenly hit his head against one of the men holding him and tried to jump toward the man who took the money.
But the man with the eye patch punched him hard in the stomach.
He collapsed to the ground.
His glasses fell off.
He coughed painfully, his eyes widened as he struggled to breathe.
The men walked away.
After some time, he slowly started walking back toward the church.
Pain was still burning in his stomach, and he could barely walk properly.
That money was for the whole month… for the children. The church bishop and sisters trusted me… and what did I do? I think I have to work part-time hunting zombies and take some pico in advance.
Night was almost here.
An old muddy stone building, white and yellowish-brown, stood in front of him.
There was a cross hanging at the top.
The young man stood in front of the church, tilted his head down, and tried to gather some courage.
"Hello…"
A voice came from the side.
It was Caeson, holding Mrs. Rhino in his hand.
He came closer and said, "I am Caeson. And you?"
The young man hesitantly replied, "I am Reu Cooper. I work for the church… to add some value for the orphan children."
Caeson handed him three Grand notes.
Reu asked, "Who are you? And why are you giving this to me?"
Caeson said, "I listened to the whole conversation you had with those thugs. With the help of the cops, I got your money back."
Reu said, "Well… I don't know how to thank you."
He took the notes and noticed something, but didn't say anything. He tilted his head again.
After a moment of silence, he asked, "How did you get this injury?"
He pointed to Caeson's face, which was swollen red. One of his eyes was half closed and darkened, as if someone had punched him badly.
Caeson laughed slightly and replied, "It's nothing. I just crashed down some stairs."
"Well, let that go. You owe me a favor now. Get me a place to stay."
"Will the church be okay until I find some other place?"
Reu understood something by looking at the notes.
These were not church notes—they were pico notes.
And why was this strange guy helping him and asking for a roof?
With this money, Caeson could stay in a decent hotel for one and a half months.
And from his face, it looked like he had fought those wicked men.
Reu said, "Okay… you can stay here. We have rooms. But there may be some disturbance. There are many kids here."
They both walked inside.