Chapter 528
You came prepared, kid.
Eivass and his two companions sat at a table, waiting. Soon, Haibasha brought over three cups of coffee she had prepared. She looked so young that one might worry if she could even carry three cups of coffee.
“Did Pure White tell you the specific rules?” Haibasha asked as she climbed the small step next to the table and began distributing the coffee.
“I have a general idea. Limited time… right?” Eivass confirmed. “But you can still tell us again.”
Haibasha nodded and looked directly at Sherlock, who was also on the Path of Wisdom. “Once you take the first sip of coffee, you’ll see another world and discover those hidden Occult Classics. After drinking the coffee, you won’t be able to converse with anyone else.”
“Each cup of coffee has an effective duration of about an hour and costs five hundred gold coins. If you don’t finish it, you can stay here indefinitely. Once you leave the shop, the transaction is considered complete. You can wait for the illusion to end before taking a sip, and take notes during the breaks when you recover. Or, you can drink it all at once, which will give you one continuous hour. You can read or transcribe as many books as you want within this hour.”
The young Elf puffed out her chest with pride. “All the Grimoires and Classics here cannot be bought outside. As for finding books, it’s simple… just follow your instincts. Once you enter the illusion, the book that best suits you will glow in your eyes.”
Hearing this, Sherlock first turned his head to look at Eivass. After Eivass nodded, he took a sip of coffee without hesitation. Sherlock clutched his forehead. After a brief moment of dizziness, he stood up in surprise, looked around, and then gave a slightly astonished bow to Haibasha before heading towards the bookshelves.
Next, Lily also drank the coffee in front of her. After they both got up and left, Eivass turned to Haibasha.
“Madam Haibasha, what would be the price if I wanted to buy a specific book outright?”
“Buy it outright?” Haibasha asked with interest. “You mean purchase it directly?”
“Yes, not the illusion, but the physical book, a real Grimoire,” Eivass replied.
Although there were Grimoires here, one could basically only see their covers. Grimoires had a special transmission method that required continuous reading and could induce illusions. As those who were already insane could not go mad again, drinking the coffee called “Paradox: Reality and Illusion” prevented one from understanding the Grimoires. However, other Occult Classics could be studied here.
The collection here was not extensive but very rare, focusing on unique, one-of-a-kind copies. Haibasha had collected them from the Dream Realm over the years.
“Which one?”
“I haven’t decided yet. I’ll see what they pick first.”
“No matter which one it is, if you want to buy it permanently, it will be very expensive. All of these are unique copies.” Haibasha said with a smile, spreading her right hand. “Five thousand gold coins each, cash only. This is a special discount; the price might increase next time.”
“Five thousand?” Eivass confirmed. “Are you referring to five thousand Star Antinomy gold coins?”
“That’s right. In White Crown coins, it’s equivalent to eight thousand,” Haibasha said, leaning against the table in front of Eivass, tapping her chin with her right hand. Although she looked like a young girl, her movements were like those of a noble lady. This childish yet mature behavior lacked charm but was somewhat amusing.
She said slowly and deliberately, “However, there is another option. If you help me with a small favor, I’ll give you this book, worth eight thousand White Crown coins, for free. How about it?”
“—No need.” Eivass said, picking up his briefcase, placing it on the table, and opening it. Inside were stacks of large silver banknotes printed with a crossed scepter and sword, with a white crown in front. They were also known as Knight Bonds. In the early days of the ancient Kingdom of Avalon, a certain amount of White Crown coins could be used to enlist a knight’s service for a period or to complete a task.
Under Haibasha’s astonished gaze, Eivass took out a small stack. “There are two hundred fifty thousand here. If I take out ten thousand, I’ll have two hundred forty thousand left. I want to buy three books… would you like to count?”
“…No need.” Haibasha didn’t even need to count the money; she could tell how much was left with a glance. She asked, somewhat reluctantly, “Aren’t you going to ask me what favor you need to do?”
Eivass smiled gently and nodded. “Yes, I won’t ask. Once some things are known, it becomes difficult to extricate oneself. The effort required for a task worth eight thousand White Crown coins must be greater than the value of those eight thousand White Crown coins. Compared to time, I have more money.”
“…You came prepared, kid.” Haibasha said, somewhat helplessly closing Eivass’s briefcase and accepting the money. “Forget it… that’s fine too. Since you’re Grey’s friend, just take whatever you like. These three cups of coffee are on me.”
“Then, won’t you give us some free gifts?” Eivass asked with a smile. “In regular stores, aren’t major customers usually given something extra? Even if paying in installments, there are gifts for holidays… With over two hundred thousand, won’t you add something?”
His initial intention for coming here was just to conduct an experiment. In the game, Haibasha’s storyline also required eight thousand, which is why Haibasha was also called “Hai Ba Wan” (Eight Thousand Hai). Later, during the Calamity Demon Dragon main storyline, he and Eivass were saved by Haibasha’s transformation into an older woman… This was a powerful allied NPC.
She was different from Viviane. Although reincarnated, she remained on the Path of Wisdom and thus did not lose much power. Her reincarnation was more akin to re-cultivation, breaking away from the Geometric Heavenly Envoy and intending to become a Heavenly Envoy through her own power, very similar to the path Silver Crown Dragon took in the past.
She asked for eight thousand upfront, and if you couldn’t pay, you had to help her with a troublesome long-term mission. Naturally, players couldn’t afford it. Because players’ inventory limits were only 9999 White Crown coins, they simply couldn’t afford to pay eight thousand. This was similar to Pokémon’s bike quest, where the price was initially impossible to pay, forcing players to take the mission. Haibasha’s situation was strictly speaking, an anniversary event.
From her, one could choose three Grimoires in total. Any Grimoire that had appeared in the gacha pool, except for those limited to within the last two months, could be chosen—this was an anniversary event starting from the third year, with one more item added to the stock each year. Essentially, one could get a Grimoire of the highest rarity for free. The second and third Grimoires were awarded as bonus gifts for “accumulated spending of one hundred thousand” and “accumulated spending of two hundred thousand,” respectively. Again, since players couldn’t actually pay, these were nominally accumulated spending rewards but were actually reputation rewards.
Eivass, not wanting to undertake the long-term quest that required traveling across several countries, decided to try paying with money. His main purpose for bringing so much money was to test if Haibasha would accept eight thousand. To his surprise, she actually did.
“…That’s fine too.” Haibasha sighed, looking somewhat helpless. “But I’ll only sell these three books. If you want to come back for more, you’ll have to help me with some things… Honestly, I’m not that short on money; I’m just in need of someone to run errands for me. I’m not greedy. I asked for eight thousand just to deter you. I didn’t expect…”
She didn’t expect him to actually be able to afford it. She glanced at Eivass, then at Lily. Was it the guidance of a “Prophet”? No, it didn’t seem like her. She seemed to be the successor of the Grey Heavenly Envoy…
“As for gifts, I’ll give you two. These will count as the bonus rewards for accumulating one hundred thousand and two hundred thousand White Crown coins respectively. For the hundred thousand reward, I can give you a rare Occult Classic that is not a Grimoire; for two hundred thousand, I can give you a piece of equipment.”
Haibasha pondered. “But my collection isn’t very extensive… Shall I give you a list? Or do you want some recommendations?”
“Give her a weapon,” Eivass said, pointing to Lily. “Whatever you think is appropriate. As for books… can I pick them myself?”
“Sure. You can take anything without the ‘Grimoire’ suffix. Or you can ask them later… Take one, and you can always come back to read the rest whenever you want. Books other than Grimoires don’t take as much time to read.” Haibasha nodded.
This implied that she admitted that the Grimoires she stocked were actually just for show. The items were indeed there, but the main purpose was to show off, not to genuinely lend them out for reading. However, she was willing to share the less high-end ones—that was generally her idea.
“Thank you for your trouble.” Eivass replied respectfully.
Then, he unhesitatingly drank the hallucinogenic coffee.
(End of Chapter)
