Fantasy Realm – Infinite Worlds Adventure-Chapter 487: Tourists

With Alex’s chance of a date with the good-looking attendant destroyed, the attendant quickly moves on.

“What a shame,” the attendant replies playfully, still smiling as she grabs a folded map. “Here’s the map. That’ll be 500 Belly.”

Alex sighs again and pulls out a single 500 Belly coin, handing it to her.

Instead of just giving him the map, she smoothly lays it out across the counter and places a neatly manicured finger over a specific spot.

“We are here,” she says, pointing directly at the station.

Alex, Tereza, and Benezia lean in, carefully examining the map. Even Jewel focuses, her many little red eyes trained on the paper.

“As for the bulls,” the woman continues, “if you follow this main street here, you’ll arrive at one of the largest rental shops in the city. However, it’s a bit pricey. If you’d rather save some coin, there are cheaper alternatives located here, here, and here.” She taps three other locations on the map.

“You’ll save a few thousand Belly if you go there,” she adds helpfully.

“No need,” Alex says. “As long as the shop by the station offers good bulls, I don’t care about the price. I’m not worried about saving a few Jenny.”

“Jenny?” the attendant repeats, clearly confused.

“Belly,” Alex corrects himself with a half-hearted smile.

Stupid currencies. Gil, Ryō, Credits, Galleons, Belly, Jenny—what the fuck. I’m starting to get a little confused here.

“I’m a global man,” Alex lies smoothly, “and I tend to mix up currencies.”

“Never heard of Jenny before... that’s impressive! Is that a currency from the South Blue? I’ve never been there,” the attendant asks, her eyes twinkling with curiosity.

Alex notices a strange glint in her gaze.

Is she lying? Is that a trick question? I'd better lie to avoid suspicion.

“No, it’s a small country in the North Blue, partially located in the Calm Belt,” Alex says quickly, making up more lies on the spot.

The woman looks genuinely impressed. “Wow... sounds exotic.”

“I’ll wish you a wonderful stay,” she adds cheerfully. “Is there anything else I can help you with?”

Alex shrugs casually, but before he can say anything, Benezia steps forward.

“We have things to sell and we need to resupply,” she says calmly. “Weapons, food, ingredients... and we’re also interested in exotic items—things like jewelry or rare trade goods that sell well. We’re intending to make some purchases and export them.”

“Wow, madame, you are beautiful,” the attendant says, staring at Benezia, clearly dazzled, before quickly regaining her senses.

“I recommend the shops in the center of our beautiful city, at the shipbuilding island,” she says brightly. “They’re costly, yes, but the quality is guaranteed. The lower levels are more of a gamble—you might find a bargain, or you might end up in a rundown shop trying to push junk on you. If price isn’t a concern, head for the center of our city. The higher up you go, the better the shops, and the higher the prices as well.”

She pauses, then adds with some pride, “Have you ever been to a city as large as ours? While Water 7 isn’t particularly large in terms of area, it’s extremely dense—around 2.5 million people live here, not to mention the tourists and travelers constantly passing through. It’s one of the largest cities in the world.”

“About a quarter of the population of all of Arabasta... that’s just crazy,” Alex notes, his eyes lighting up with genuine excitement.

So many people?! There must be treasures and hidden secrets here. We have a lot of time—we need to find them!

“I see—you’re a well-traveled man. That’s correct,” the attendant replies, clearly impressed.

Alex nods to the others, then pulls out two random 1000 Belly bills and hands them over to the helpful woman. “Have a nice day,” he says with a grin.

The attendant pockets the tips graciously, giving him a playful wink in return.

“Let’s rent the bull?” Alex suggests, looking one last time at the attendant, before turning away from the counter and moving forward.

“Aren’t you forgetting something?” Tereza asks, her voice sweet but loaded with meaning as she steps up beside him.

“What?!” Alex looks at her, clearly confused. “Just say it, I was only joking with the attendant. Also, why are you all following my lead, anyway? Maybe you are forgetting something...”

“Summon Menchi,” Tereza replies, her smile widening.

Ah... I actually forgot....

Benezia simply shrugs. “It would be appropriate. We gave her quite a bit of time back in Alubarna. This seems like a suitable time to summon her.”

“System! Summon Menchi!” Alex announces—not too loud to draw attention.

[Summoning Supporter Menchi

Remaining Time until summoning: 17 Minutes, 52 Seconds

Warning: If the player leaves the vicinity of the current town, the summoning process will be cancelled.]

“Seventeen minutes. We might as well head to the rental shop while we wait,” Alex notes.

The group agrees and follows the route suggested by the attendant. Before long, they arrive at a massive structure with a wide, open pool—dozens upon dozens of Yagara Bulls waiting in the water, each hooked up to sleek-looking carriages floating behind them. A constant crowd of people rushes towards it, many people arriving on foot, and leaving on a bull, using one of the many waterways the city has to offer.

As Alex approaches the edge of the pool, a man hurries up to him, clearly ready to make a sale.

“Welcome, welcome! Do you need a bull? Only 3,000 Belly per bull, and it will be yours for the whole day!”

“That’s rather expensive...” Alex says, raising an eyebrow. “The other shop only wanted 2,000 Belly... for two. You’re three times as expensive. Is this a tourist scam?”

“We only deal in the best and fastest bulls,” the man replies, puffing out his chest. “None of that old or inexperienced trash that those other unethical shops try to pass off.”

“Whatever,” Alex says flatly. “I want to rent for a few weeks... maybe even buy two. What’s your price?”

“Buy?” the man repeats, his brow lifting. “That’s not something I hear often. I’m afraid we can’t legally sell them outright. The Mayor forbids it. To own a Yagara bull, you need a license, which takes time. However, I can offer you a month’s rental—60,000 Belly per bull.”

“How about 100,000 for two,” Alex counters immediately.

“...55! Per Bull.” The man blurts out, not willing to accept Alex’s offer.

“No,” Alex replies firmly. “I’m only paying 100,000. That’s as high as I go.”

As he speaks, his [Shepard’s Promise R2] briefly activates—his eyes flashing red for just a fraction of a second.

The man stares at him, blinking, and then slowly nods, slightly pale. “Fine... you win. I’ll get two of our best bulls ready. I’ll throw in a sack of feed, too—but once that runs out, you’ll need to return to get new food. You could also let them hunt for fish. That way, it should last longer.”

He turns around and walks toward the pool, calling out orders as he moves to fetch the bulls.

“Great,” Alex says, satisfied with the results before turning to Benezia. “Sorry—I kind of took the lead on that one.”

“You’re rather talented,” Benezia replies with a small smile. “A little forceful, but that works just fine.”

Just as Benezia finishes praising him, Menchi suddenly appears right in front of Alex—without warning, without buildup, as if she had simply materialized from thin air.

“Wow,” she says, blinking in surprise. “I’ll probably take a while to get used to that.”

“Thank you for summoning me,” she adds warmly, hugging Alex tightly.

As he hugs her back, he immediately feels warmth building up in his body.

I’ll probably take a while to fully get used to ‘that’ as well... It feels strangely comforting. Almost like family.

Once she finally lets go, she looks up to briefly pet Jewel, who accepts it, looking proud, before walking over to the others.

Alex, meanwhile, takes a better look at her. She’s dressed in a long, brown robe that covers her completely, her signature green hair tucked away beneath a white turban that conceals nearly everything above her neck.

Without warning, she lunges forward again and forcefully hugs Benezia. The taller Asari looks visibly annoyed, while Menchi beams and clings to her with enthusiasm. After a long second, she pulls away, yanks off her turban, and lets out a loud breath of relief.

She then hugs Tereza and immediately chats away.

“Finally free from that thing! Thanks to these damn bounties, I had to hide! And worst of all, nobody wanted to do business with me! My reputation got trashed, and the bounty was so insulting. I’m more than just some random cook! I didn’t get hunted down, but nobody wanted to deal with a pirate, so everyone was just mocking or ignoring me,” she complains, her voice rising with each word. “The guard even tried to chase me down once, as I am connected to you. It looks like taking out their two head-guards pissed them off.”

“Well... it wasn’t intentional, believe me,” Alex says. “Anyway, we figured you’d want to check out the city with us. We only just arrived.”

“City? Ah—wait! Is that... Water 7?!” she exclaims, finally looking around properly for the first time.

Before she can take in the full view, the rental salesman returns, leading two bulls up to the edge of the pool. Each one is attached to a sleek seat large enough to comfortably fit two people, and at the very back of each setup is a sack of food, just like he promised.

“These two are among our best,” the man says. “Smart, fast, and well-trained. And don’t worry—they’ll return on their own after a month... or earlier, if you neglect them, hurt them, or forget to feed them.”

“Sounds alright to me,” Alex replies, handing over a neat stack of 10,000 Belly bills, totalling exactly 100,000.

The man quickly counts it, nods with satisfaction, and steps aside.

Tereza grabs Menchi and pulls her onto one of the bulls, while Alex climbs onto the second alongside Benezia. Jewel remains right where she is—perched firmly atop Alex’s head, continuing to laze around, now riding Alex, who in turn is riding the bull.

With everyone seated, the two green-colored Yagara bulls slowly begin to move, gradually picking up speed as they glide along the water’s surface.

“First goal... Baroque Works... outpost...” Alex says, only to stutter halfway through and grimace, looking embarrassed. “Ugh. That sounded better in my head.”

“Whatever. Let’s go!” he finishes, shaking it off.

With the map open in her hands, Benezia takes charge and begins directing the bulls through the city’s winding canals. The intelligent animals respond attentively to her subtle commands, gracefully navigating the waterways without any issue.

Alex leans back, relaxing into the seat, and gazes out at the city. The narrow canals flow right alongside buildings, so close he can see into windows—families eating breakfast, merchants stacking boxes, children laughing on balconies. The entire city feels alive.

“Everyone looks happy... and honestly, quite affluent, even rich. This really does seem like a great city,” he mutters, almost in awe.

Princess Jewel is not impressed yet. She will reserve judgment until she unleashes her Ultimate Secret Technique and sees the explosions coloring the city in a beautiful red hue.

NO!We’d get hunted down immediately! You can use that damn technique on CP9—when the time is right. Not a second earlier!

❤️ Princess Jewel accepts.