novelraw Chapter 56 : The Weight of Coin
Chapter 56 : The Weight of Coin
The pantry shelves were growing bare again. Papa had been stretching the grain, but I noticed the portions in my bowl had grown smaller each week. Even Riaz, too small to understand, reached for more than there was.
That night, the tension broke.
“We can’t live like this forever,” Mama said, her voice low but firm as she looked across the table at Papa. “The stipend from the Empire stopped last month. No messenger. No warning. Just silence.”
Papa’s jaw tightened. “It was only a matter of time. Once Revingale took the title, they would find a way to cut us off.”
“Then we must adapt,” Mama pressed. “Farming will feed us, but not enough for tools, clothes, or medicine. We need coin.”
Papa shook his head, his voice rough. “Coin? And your answer is to throw yourself back into danger? Selene, haven’t you fought enough?”
Her eyes narrowed. “And what would you have me do? Sit here and sew while the children starve? Do you think dignity will feed them, Darius?”
Papa’s fist clenched on the table. “Don’t twist my words. I’ve bled enough to keep food in their mouths. You’ve bled enough. I won’t have you risking your life just because the Empire abandons us.”
Mama’s tone dropped to a whisper, trembling but sharp. “If we can’t risk for them, then what was all that bleeding for?”
The silence that followed was thick. Even little Riaz looked between them, sensing the weight of their voices.
Papa finally exhaled, his shoulders sagging. His eyes softened as he looked at me and my brother. “…Enough. Not in front of them.”
Mama closed her eyes, steadying her breath.
For a long moment, no one spoke.
Then Papa rose from his chair, walked around the table, and placed his hand gently on Mama’s shoulder. “…If this is your decision, Selene… then I won’t stop you. Just promise me one thing.”
She lifted her gaze. “…What?”
“That you’ll always come back.”
Her lips trembled, then curved into a faint smile. “Always.”
I watched them quietly, hugging my knees under the table. In my old world, money had always been something I chased for freedom. Here, it was survival.
And Mama was about to step back into fire for it.
Selene’s POV.
The guild was loud as always. Adventurers laughed, mugs clinked, boots stomped on wood floors—until I stepped inside.
Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.
The air shifted.
I kept my cloak low over my face, but it was useless. Too many remembered. Too many whispered.
“Look… it’s her.”
“Selene Valemont…”
“Didn’t you say that pillar of flame wasn’t human?”
“I told you. No monster could make fire like that. Only she could.”
“She’s not a woman—she’s a weapon.”
My footsteps echoed in the sudden hush. Every pair of eyes avoided me, yet followed me all the same. A narrow path opened through the hall without a word, as if I carried plague.
I ignored them. Poker face. Always.
At the counter, the guild attendant—a young man with shaky hands—looked up at me. His voice cracked. “C-can I help you?”
“I want to register.”
His eyes widened. “Register…?”
I nodded.
He glanced around nervously, then fumbled with the drawer until he pulled out a thin metal card. “Y-you’ll start at Rank F.”
I arched an eyebrow. “Rank F? With my history?”
His throat bobbed. “…The guild doesn’t measure power. We measure loyalty and work ethic. Every adventurer starts the same, no exceptions.”
For a moment, I considered pushing back. But then I remembered Darius’s hand on my shoulder, his plea: Always come back.
“…Understood.” I slid the card into my cloak.
The whispers flared again.
“She’s starting from F? That’s insane.”
“No way she’ll last. She’s above this.”
“She doesn’t care about rank… only blood.”
I ignored them, stepping toward the quest board. My eyes scanned until I found something simple, quick, and profitable.
Quest: Exterminate Wolf Pack – Border Outskirts.
I pulled the slip free.
As I turned, a voice called out—gentle, uncertain, but clear.
“E-excuse me!”
A young woman stood there, staff clutched in both hands. A mage, barely past her academy years. She swallowed hard but forced her chin up.
“I… I know who you are. And I know your reputation. But… please, let me join your quest.”
For the first time in years, I blinked in surprise with something other then Rooga shenanigans .
We walked in silence along the dirt road, the guild slip tucked into my cloak. The young mage trailed behind me, her staff clutched tightly, her footsteps uneven.
She finally cleared her throat. “M-my name is Iris. Iris Faelwyn. I… I’m honored to be working with you, Lady Selene.”
I kept walking. “Don’t call me that.”
“O-oh. Then… just Selene?”
“…Selene is fine.”
Her nervous energy was almost tangible. I could hear her breathing quicken every time the grass rustled, every time a shadow shifted. She was no coward, but she was untested.
Not like him.
I pushed the thought away. Don’t compare. Don’t.
We reached the clearing where the wolves had been spotted. Their eyes glowed faintly in the twilight, yellow hunger in the dark. A full pack—ten, maybe twelve. Enough to overwhelm a caravan. Enough to bleed a town dry if left alone.
Iris raised her staff with shaking hands. “I—I’ll start with a barrier—”
“Don’t bother.”
I stepped forward, my palm glowing faintly. The wolves tensed, their growls low and sharp.
I exhaled.
A crimson spark danced at my fingertips.
And then, with a flick, a wave of flame erupted across the clearing.
The wolves didn’t even howl. They were simply gone—ashes on the wind. The earth smoked, the air heavy with heat.
Silence fell again.
Iris stood frozen, her barrier half-formed, her staff trembling. Slowly, she lowered it, her lips parted in awe and fear. “…You… you didn’t even chant.”
I turned away, cloak brushing the ashes. “I don’t need to.”
Her footsteps hurried after mine, quick and uneven. “…Is that what it means… to be strong? To not even need words?”
I didn’t answer.
In truth, I saw her effort—the way her hands shook but didn’t falter, the way she prepared a shield instead of running. She reminded me of someone else. Someone who had never once hesitated to look at me with pure eyes, even when he should have been afraid.
But I swallowed the thought, keeping it locked in silence.
We returned to the guild within the hour, the quest slip stamped, the pay pouch heavy in my cloak.
The whispers followed me out the door again. Monster. Weapon. Flame Witch.
And behind me, Iris Faelwyn hurried to keep up, her eyes still burning with questions she didn’t dare ask.