Survival Guide After Accidentally Kissing a Demon - Chapter 213

Chapter 213

Beili and Ashera stepped out of the Inn and began searching for something to eat in the Town.

Unlike the towns in Sainthos, this Town didn’t have a single, spacious main street.

Here, the houses were scattered and built together without any discernible pattern, making the roads winding and twisting like a Maze.

After following the flow of people for a while, Beili finally spotted a tavern that was still open, so she and Ashera headed inside.

Since few people came to drink during the day, the tavern owner had been dozing off listlessly. However, as soon as the bell at the door chimed and he looked up to see two elegantly dressed individuals walking in, he instantly perked up.

Beili took the menu from the owner’s hand and finally discovered a signature dish among the many drinks: baked snails. Of course, there was also fried fish on the menu, but the fishmonger hadn’t delivered the catch yet.

As for why it hadn’t been delivered, the tavern owner pointed toward the crowd outside heading in a certain direction.

Beili had no choice but to follow the local custom and order the snails along with a serving of flatbread. She and Ashera then found a seat by the window.

Looking through the tavern window, Beili saw commoners and Half-beasts carrying various containers, forming a long queue.

Occasionally, one or two people would ride by slowly on horseback, with two large wooden barrels strapped to either side of the horse’s back.

Beili watched the barrels, wondering if they contained some kind of precious, rare wine.

Suddenly, the rope securing the barrels snapped. The two barrels fell from the horse’s back and cracked open, spilling a colorless, odorless liquid.

It looked like water.

The merchant on the horse turned back, saw the fallen barrels, and began to curse loudly, his words filled with frustration and rage.

Beili couldn’t understand most of it, but she frequently heard the word “water” among his outbursts.

“Strange,” Beili murmured softly.

Sitting across from her, Ashera curled his lips into a faint smile and asked in a lazy voice, “What’s strange?”

Beili pointed at the queuing commoners and Half-beasts.

“The people in this Town are strange, of course.”

“What kind of water could attract almost the entire Town, making them so willing to stand in such a long line?”

Resting her chin on her hand, she fell into deep thought.

“It just rained, and besides, this Town doesn’t look like it’s suffering from a drought or a water shortage. Unless… the water here is poisonous and undrinkable?”

The long queue didn’t seem to pique the man’s interest. Ashera only glanced in the direction she was pointing before looking away.

After a moment, he said quietly, “Let’s eat first.”

Just as he spoke, the tavern owner came out carrying the freshly prepared food. He placed it on the table and asked in somewhat broken speech, “You two don’t sound like locals. Which kingdom are you from?”

“We are from the Santos Kingdom,” Ashera replied in a slow, measured tone.

“Ah, people from the Santos Kingdom,” the tavern owner nodded. Noticing that the young girl was still staring at the queue outside the window, he explained, “They are lining up to buy Mana Crystal Water. In the Nauze Kingdom, everyone knows about Mana Crystal Water.”

The Nauze Kingdom.

Although Beili had suspected as much before, it was now confirmed. The place Ashera had brought her to was indeed the Nauze Kingdom.
Beili didn’t actually have much of an impression of the Nauze Kingdom, other than knowing that the country had a great many Princes and Princesses.

She had also learned a bit of information from Susanna during the closing Hunt Banquet-

Almost all the nobles from the Nauze Kingdom studying at Holy Island Academy were Princes and Princesses of the Royal Family; there were very few other children of Nauze nobility studying at the Academy.

Aside from that, she didn’t have much further knowledge of the Nauze Kingdom.

“Mana Crystal Water.”

Hearing such a blunt name, Beili asked curiously, “Is it just water that has had a Magic Crystal soaking in it?”

But did water soaked with a Magic Crystal really have some kind of special effect?

Beili was a bit skeptical.

If it really had special properties, she could find a cup and try it herself when she got back, since she still had nine Magic Crystals in her Spatial Bracelet.

“It’s not as simple as just putting a Magic Crystal into water to soak.”

The tavern manager replied, “It’s said that Mana Crystal Water also contains some special magic and herbs… though you two look like you come from noble backgrounds, so you probably have no use for this kind of Mana Crystal Water.”

“What kind of magic?”

Beili’s red eyes widened as she continued to press for answers.

Perhaps feeling that his previous words were a bit rude, the tavern manager bowed slightly to her before explaining:

“For commoners and Half-beasts, the most important thing is, of course, the magic that changes one’s bloodline…”

From the tavern manager’s explanation, Beili gained a rough understanding of the situation.

The commoners and Half-beasts of the Nauze Kingdom believed that as long as they persisted in drinking Mana Crystal Water, there was a high possibility they could change their own bloodline.

Perhaps one day they would wake up and find themselves as a Noble-though such fantasies mostly existed among the Half-beasts.

As for the commoners, they held onto the hope that even if they couldn’t change their own bloodline into a Noble one, their children would likely be born with Noble blood after the parents’ constitutions were improved by long-term consumption of Mana Crystal Water.

Drinking water to rise from the ranks of commoners and Half-beasts into the Noble class.

This was something Beili had never heard of in the Santos Kingdom. She paused for a moment and asked, “This kind of water must be expensive, right?”

If such water truly existed and actually worked, it shouldn’t be something ordinary people could afford.

“It’s not expensive; it’s a price the people of the Nauze Kingdom can afford,” the tavern manager explained with a wave of his hand.

“However, you need to drink this water frequently-ideally every day.”

“Almost no one drinks ordinary water anymore. Over the long term, it still adds up to a significant expense, so the people in this Town have almost stopped drinking even alcohol.”

At this point, the tavern manager sighed and lamented, “Those with plenty of gold coins even use Mana Crystal Water for cooking rice and bathing.”

Hearing this, Beili’s hand stopped mid-air as she was eating the escargot. She asked subconsciously, “Then, what kind of water was used in this escargot?”

“This… ordinary water, of course.”

The tavern manager gave a strained smile and said, “We’re a small business. It would be far too extravagant to use Mana Crystal Water to cook escargot.”

Hearing this, Beili’s heart settled.

Since it was ordinary water, she felt safe eating it-she didn’t believe for a second that ‘Mana Crystal Water’ could actually change one’s bloodline.

She put the escargot into her mouth and began to savor the taste.