Chapter 279 - Jameson Jimenez
The librarian agreed to teach Elliot the light magic the day after. She said it was about time for other people to know about the technique and that it doesn't need a light affinity for a person to cast it.
The boy was curious with the magic by how calming it felt after the lamp burst with the light. He needed the magic to calm himslef down in case something wrong would happen to him.
Elliot took a glance at his Console and saw that he was actually looking for a book for the library quest. He tilted his head and watched the old worn out book in his Inventory.
"The Book of the Beginning," Elliot whispered to himself as he let the cold breeze pass through. With a sigh, he went back to the streets to get to where the Kkeuner couple was.
On his way there, an older man dropped a small wooden crate. There was nobody else around and Elliot couldn't just fall to the man's feet.
Using his Hasty Aspire, Elliot swerved the box into his arms and let the old man's feet get to live another day.
"Are you okay, sir–" Elliot paused after seeing that the old man was actually a younger man who was dressing up like an old man. He wore glasses and let his hair grow and grayed it all out. He had a cloak over himself and he was arching his back to make him look like an old person.
"What… I don't understand," Elliot trailed off. "Who are you?"
"Jameson Jimenez," the man replied. "I am a gem collector and I'm looking for a gem that I needed so I could complete my set."
"D-Do you have the Adamant Jade?" Elliot immediately asked Jameson. The latter was silent for a moment before he gasped and took the wooden crate from Elliot.
"Are you after my gems? Are you a bad person?" Jameson asked in panic. Elliot's face was contorted in confusion. Was this the exquisite gem collector his other quest mentioned?
"First of all, I am not a bad person," Elliot said and raised his hand to the side. "Second of all, what is your deal? Why are you acting like an old man when you're clearly not?"
"People are after my gems," Jameson replied. "They want my gems and I'm afraid I can't give you the Adamant Jade."
"I can give you gold," Elliot offered.
Jameson shook his head, "My family is already rich. But what I need is protection."
"I can give you that too," Elliot said. He pulled out his Azure Scorch pin and showed it to Jameson. "I'm an Adventurer. I'm currently participating in the Championship of the Greats and we're now at the top 10."
"Oh, really?" Jameson's eyes was filled with hope. "Then can you offer me just four days of protection? I'll give you the Adamant Jade in advance, just protect me from harm."
Elliot didn't hesitate to accept the offer. He knew trusting new people was bad, but this man was part of a quest. He had figured our that the Manual would give him risky quests, but never something that would cause him harm.
"You must be a new gem collector," Elliot chuckled. "I know a veteran in this field and she's here tomorrow. Do you want to meet her?"
"A veteran gem collector?" Jameson narrowed his eyes. In his mind, he was contemplating on whether he should accept the offer. He was fairly new to the field and he could use some insights from someone who had done this for years. "Okay. I accept the offer."
"Then, that's great," Elliot grinned. "Tonight, I'm gonna go somewhere. You should come with me if you want my protection."
"T-That's fine," Jameson nodded. "I can handle being a chaperone for a night."
"And you have to sleep at my inn tonight," Elliot grinned awkwardly. "You know, for maximum protection."
"No," Jameson shook his head and frowned. "You stay at my inn. I can accommodate your friends with me too. They'll add for more protection."
Elliot shrugged and let the man do what he wanted. He was getting out of the old inn they were staying at and into a hotel, that was a good deal.
"But you have to come with me first," Elliot said. "I'm gonna go to an Eastern restaurant. You want to eat dumplings?"
–
"These words are not Kkeuner," Ilwoo said the moment Elliot showed him the paper.
"Are you sure it's not just my handwriting? I could take you to where I saw it," Elliot said. "I really think this is Eastern. It's not in any language I've seen from the West."
"No, I didn't say this isn't from the Twelve Kingdoms, but then… Jung?" Ilwoo called out to his wife. "Jung majored in languages back home. I'm pretty sure she can help you."
"What is it?" Jung got inside the kitchen and walked over. She was just giving Jameson his food before her husband called for her.
"Do you know this?" Ilwoo asked and showed the paper.
Jung pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes. She looked like she was analyzing the words in front of her. Not a few moments later, she snapped her finger and grinned. "This is ancient Senegabe."
"Ancient what?" The two boys chorused.
Jung shook her head and smirked, taking the paper that was being held by her husband, "This is ancient text from the Senegabe Kingdom. They are known for being the most peaceful kingdom in the East. There has been no wars there for millenniums."
"But what does that have to do anything with the history of our kingdom?" Elliot asked. "I found this text in the history section. Why is it there?"
"The translation goes, "Let there be peace on our lands. Together we will find the tranquility our kingdoms deserves"," Jung said. "This has nothing to do with anything about the history."
This made Elliot sigh, "I guess it was all for nothing."
"What words did you expect?" Ilwoo asked. "Is it something to do with why your aura feels so burdened?"
Elliot paused for a moment. He looked a the couple and chuckled, "I heard easterners are very good at reading aura. I just proved it to be right."
"In the East, we call it "chakra"," Ilwoo said. "From a young age, we were trained to read the chakras of other people. They would put us in a room and we would be tested to find our partners with the chakra assigned to them."
"How does that work?" Elliot pursed his lips. "You have someone to influence your emotions?"
"Exactly right," Jung said. "That is how I met Ilwoo. We were partners and we were assigned for each other."
Elliot walked home in disappoinment. He ended up listening to a two-hour story of how Ilwoo met Jung when they were kids. He wanted to get out of the restaurant but he couldn't find the right excuse to do so.
"Are you okay?" Jameson asked. The crate he was carrying earlier was now in Elliot's Inventory. He offered to put the crate there instead of them carrying it. The wooden crate was fairly heavy and Elliot wasn't going to carry it.
"We're there soon," Jameson said. "We can stay at my inn."
Elliot paused as he watched the familiar street and the familiar establishments. Jameson looked at him and dragged his feet up to a familiar building.
Elliot sighed and watched the old wooden establishment where he had been staying all this time, "But this is my inn."