The Eclipsed Order

Chapter 18: Chapter 18: A Rather Interesting Place

The practical examination ended without anything particularly interesting happening.

Well, technically, there were monsters.

There was fighting.

There was teamwork.

There were even a few students who managed to make things considerably more difficult for themselves than necessary.

But nothing worth remembering.

At least, that’s what I thought.

The next day arrived as usual.

Classes ended around midday, and the academy corridors quickly filled with students heading toward the cafeteria.

I happened to be walking alongside Rhal.

Or rather, he was walking beside me.

I was just walking.

There’s an important distinction.

Rhal looked unusually gloomy today.

His normally energetic face had lost most of its usual brightness, and his shoulders were slumped as though someone had personally declared war on his happiness.

I glanced at him.

"Why do you look so depressed today?"

Rhal sighed.

"A lot of terrible things happened to me recently."

"Terrible?"

"Yeah."

He looked toward the ceiling with the expression of a man remembering the darkest Chapter of his life.

"I lost my job."

"Oh."

"And now I don’t know how I’m going to pay my tuition."

"Oh."

"I might have to leave the academy if I can’t pay it."

"Oh."

Rhal stopped walking.

"Why are you only saying ’oh’?"

"You’re supposed to comfort me!"

"Ah."

I thought about it for a moment.

Then I remembered something.

"Why don’t you just borrow the money from me?"

Rhal stared at me.

"...What?"

"I can lend it to you."

His expression changed instantly.

"Really?"

"Sure."

"You’re serious?"

"Yes."

Rhal grabbed both of my shoulders.

"You’re actually going to lend me the money?!"

"You’re shaking me."

"ARES!"

"You’re still shaking me."

"You’re a lifesaver!"

He released me and immediately raised both hands toward the ceiling.

"Thank the goddess! Thank the gods! Thank the creator! Thank whoever decided to put Ares in my class!"

I stared at him.

"Why are you thanking all of them?"

"I don’t know! I’m just really happy!"

I adjusted my uniform.

"I’ll transfer it to your student bank account after classes."

Rhal’s eyes widened again.

"I swear I’ll pay you back!"

"I’ll work hard! I’ll get another job! I’ll pay every single coin back!"

"Sure, sure."

"I mean it!"

"Yeah, yeah."

He looked at me for a moment before smiling.

"Thanks, Ares."

"Don’t worry about it."

That seemed to put him in a much better mood.

Apparently, money really could solve problems.

Who knew?

We eventually reached the cafeteria.

It was already crowded.

Students filled nearly every table, with conversations coming from every direction. Some were discussing yesterday’s practical examination, while others were complaining about their teachers. A few students were already talking about the next assignment despite having barely finished the previous one.

We found an empty table and sat down.

While eating, Rhal suddenly looked toward the window.

"By the way, have you seen that newly built place?"

"Newly built place?"

"You know. Near the western commercial district."

"Oh."

I knew exactly what he was talking about.

"Starlight?"

"Yeah! That one!"

Rhal leaned closer.

"Do you know what that place actually is?"

"A restaurant?"

"That’s what I thought at first too."

He lowered his voice dramatically.

"But it’s way more than that."

I continued eating.

"Really?"

"Yeah. Apparently, it’s some kind of luxury commercial establishment."

"Luxury commercial establishment?"

"That’s what people are calling it."

He began counting on his fingers.

"There’s a restaurant, a clothing division, luxury goods, weapons, equipment, rare materials, art pieces, monster products..."

He paused.

"Basically, if it’s expensive, Starlight probably sells it."

That was a fairly accurate description.

"And the restaurant is supposed to be incredible."

"How incredible?"

"Apparently, they only use high-quality monster meat."

"Monster meat?"

"Yeah. Some of it comes from high-ranking monsters."

Rhal lowered his voice again.

"I heard they even have wyvern meat."

I stopped eating for a moment.

Wyvern meat.

That was definitely not something you’d find in an ordinary restaurant.

"Wyverns are A-rank monsters, right?"

"Exactly!"

Rhal nodded enthusiastically.

"And apparently, they can use wind magic too. That’s why the meat is so expensive. The stronger the monster, the harder it is to obtain its materials."

That made sense.

Of course, the actual reason Starlight could consistently acquire such materials was somewhat different.

But there was no reason for me to explain that.

Rhal continued.

"That’s why nobles and wealthy families keep going there. It’s apparently becoming a place where rich people gather."

"I see."

"That’s not even the most ridiculous part."

"There’s more?"

"Of course."

He looked almost excited now.

"They sell clothes made from rare monster materials. Some of them apparently use materials from high-ranking monsters, so they’re both incredibly durable and ridiculously expensive."

"Sounds expensive."

"That’s because it is."

He laughed.

"Some pieces apparently cost more than what an ordinary family earns in several years."

"That’s quite a lot."

"Exactly!"

Rhal pointed his fork at me.

"And they also sell weapons and equipment made from monster materials. Rare metals, monster scales, leather, magical materials, all kinds of things."

He took a bite of food before continuing.

"And then there’s the art collection."

"Art?"

"Yeah. Apparently, rare monster parts are also being displayed and sold as collectibles."

"Monster parts?"

"Things like scales, horns, claws, crystals, and other unusual materials."

He shook his head.

"They only release a limited number of them too. I heard some collections are only put up for sale once a week."

"Once a week?"

"Yeah."

Rhal sighed.

"Which probably explains why the prices are completely insane."

I couldn’t help smiling.

That sounded about right.

Starlight had only been established for half a month, yet its reputation was already spreading through the capital.

That was faster than I’d expected.

Then Rhal suddenly leaned toward me.

"And there’s one more thing."

"What?"

"The employees."

"The employees?"

"Every single one of them is a young woman."

I raised an eyebrow.

"Every single one?"

"That’s what I heard."

He nodded seriously.

"Apparently, you won’t find a single man working there."

"Really?"

"Not one."

Rhal looked around before whispering.

"That’s probably why half the young men in the capital suddenly became interested in visiting."

I laughed.

"So that’s why?"

"Of course! Do you think they’re all going there for the expensive monster meat?"

"Some probably are."

"Some?"

"Probably."

Rhal gave me a suspicious look.

"You sound strangely calm about this."

"Should I be excited?"

"Well..."

He thought about it.

"Maybe?"

I shrugged.

"Sounds interesting."

"See?! Even you want to go!"

"I didn’t say that."

"You basically did!"

"I said it sounded interesting."

"That’s exactly what someone says before going there."

I couldn’t help laughing.

Rhal really was noisy.

But somehow, it wasn’t unpleasant.

"Anyway," he continued, "I heard the place is going to expand soon too."

"Already?"

"Apparently. They’re getting more customers than expected."

That didn’t surprise me.

Starlight wasn’t designed to remain a simple restaurant.

It was meant to become something much larger.

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