Published: July 30, 2025
The carriage journey progressed with occasional breaks, and as the sun gradually began to set—
In front of me lay ten coins.
Among them, in my hands were three copper coins, three silver coins, and three gold coins. Each came in three sizes—small, medium, and large—roughly the size of a 1-yen, 100-yen, and 500-yen coin respectively. Additionally, the madam held a small white metal coin about the size of a 1-yen coin in her hand, showing it to me.
“Currently, two coins are missing from this set, but the copper, silver, and gold coins you have, Ryoma-kun, and the platinum coin I possess, make up four types of coins. Each type has three coins of small, medium, and large sizes, totaling twelve coins—these are the coins currently in use in this country.
The values are as follows: small copper coin is worth 1 soot. The medium copper coin is ten times that, 10 soot. The large copper coin is ten times the medium, 100 soot. The silver coins differ slightly; the small silver coin is five times the large copper coin, at 500 soot, and the medium silver coin is twice that, 1,000 soot. The pattern continues with the large gold coin being five times that amount, then twice that again, leading to higher values. Platinum coins increase by ten times each level.”
In other words, the coins are valued as follows:
Small Copper Coin: 1
Medium Copper Coin: 10
Large Copper Coin: 100
Small Silver Coin: 500
Medium Silver Coin: 1,000
Large Silver Coin: 5,000
Small Gold Coin: 10,000
Medium Gold Coin: 50,000
Large Gold Coin: 100,000
Small Platinum Coin: 1,000,000
Medium Platinum Coin: 10,000,000
Large Platinum Coin: 100,000,000
“The daily living expenses of an average citizen are around 100 soot, so everyday transactions use copper coins. Silver coins are mainly for savings or for merchants who own smaller shops, gold coins are mostly used by merchants with moderately large shops and nobles. The platinum coins held in my hand are rarely used even by nobles and are mainly for large purchases or transactions between nations.”
Alright, I now have a good understanding of the value of the coins and the daily living expenses.
As I was aligning my knowledge, the male driver called out.
“Everyone, the City of Kereban is now in sight. We will be arriving shortly.”
So we had reached the relay town. I had thought we’d be camping out for the night... wait a minute? I don’t have any form of identification, do I?
“Um...”
“Is there something wrong?”
“Identification... I... don’t have one... is that okay...?”
Calm down, me! It had gotten somewhat better over the past two weeks! Don’t panic and start speaking in broken sentences again...
“Don’t worry, those without identification will be issued a temporary identification. It’s a simple examination, so there won’t be any problems.”
Ah, that’s a relief... but I really want to fix this—this way of speaking. As I was thinking that, I unconsciously sighed and the madam asked if I was alright, showing concern.
“I’m okay. You don’t need to worry; whatever comes, we will protect you. The city isn’t scary.”
“Ah...”
She misunderstood something, so I corrected her.
“That’s not it. It’s not about the city.”
“Is that so? Then, what is it?”
“Well... it’s my way of speaking. It’s strange, isn’t it? I haven’t talked to anyone for three years, and two weeks ago, when Mr. Reinhardt came, I couldn’t find words properly... I was surprised myself... Since then, I’ve been practicing by talking to slimes... but... it’s still weird. It’s not getting better... ugh!”
What!? Madam!? You just hugged me!?
“It’s all right! Ryoma-kun! Slowly, slowly, you’ll get better. Sniff... you’re not alone anymore.”
She was crying!? ...And before I knew it, not just the madam, but the young lady and the men were also tearing up!? Why...? Of course, objectively, I must seem like an incredibly lonely person. I hadn’t properly spoken to anyone for three years, and because I lost my ability to speak fluently, I practiced conversations by talking to slimes...