“The total bill for everything purchased is 8,257,250 Valis.” the pallum shop keeper announced.

  The pallum shopkeeper's annou reverberated in Draco's ears, sending a jolt of shock through his body.

  As the total bill of 8,257,250 Valis registered in his mind, he felt an overwhelming sense of disbelief washing over him.

  His heart raced, his palms grew cmmy, and his vision began to blur.

  Struggling to maintain his posure, Draco felt a sudden dizziness overe him.

  The ground seemed to sway beh his feet, and he grasped the nearby ter for support, his knuckles turning white from the strain.

  Something about spending such a rge amount didn’t sit well with him.

  "Draco, are you alright?" Cir asked, her voice ced with as she rushed to his side, her brow furrowed in worry.

  Seeing their brother distress, the rest of the familia – Michalis, Eleni, Nikoos, Dimitra, Vasileios, and Vasiliki – quickly gathered around him, lending their support.

  Draind raced, his thoughts a jumbled mess as he tried to prehend the staggering pribsp;

  'How this be? Is the shopkeeper trying to rip us off?. Isn’t this a shop for newbie adventurers?' he wondered, his gaze shifting nervously between the pallum and the items on the ter.

  Mustering all his strength, Draao utter, "I'm fine, just a sudden headache," in an effort to aly the growing of his familia members.

  He took a deep breath, attempting tain his posure.

  "I'm sorry, but could you please repeat the price again?" Draco asked, his voice slightly trembling.

  The pallum shopkeeper, sensing the party's inexperience, hesitantly reiterated the total cost.

  "Your total is 8,257,250 Valis," the shopkeeper replied, his tone cautious.

  'I 't bme them,' the pallum thought to himself.

  'They look like ho kids, probably new adventurers. I've already reduced the price a bit, but I still have to make a profit, bme yourself for pig only the good stuff.' he thought.

  Draco's stomach ed at the thought of spending so mubsp;

  His pnned budget was around 5,000,000 Valis for everything.

  He khey had a substantial amount of funds, but the sheer cost of the armors and ons was staggering.

  'More than half of our funds are to be spent on this,' he mented inwardly.

  'We still have so many other expeo sider.' he thought.

  Draco's familia had amassed a starting fund of around 11,000,000 Valis, a bination of savings from their grandparents, moaken from the vilge chief's house, and the spoils from the bandit fortress they had raided on their jouro Orario.

  They had also secretly stashed away some valuable gems aals, but they couldn't freely sell those items without raising suspi.

  'We have to be frugal from now on,' Draco thought, his mind rag with the implications of this massive expenditure.

  'Not only do I o provide for myself, but for the seven other members of my familia as well. Potions, elixirs, dungeon bags, housing, and daily ies – all of it will add up quickly.' he thought.

  Steeling his mind, Draco reached into his backpad began ting out the required Valis, his firembling slightly.

  "Here," he said, handing over the payment to the pallum shopkeeper.

  His pride wouldn’t let him s their purchase for cheaper and lower quality alternatives.

  The shopkeeper accepted the payment, trying to keep his expressioral.

  "Thank you for your purchase," he said, carefully packaging the items and handing them over to Drad his familia.

  As they exited the store, the weight of the dungeon bags on their backs seemed to mirror the heaviness in Draco's heart.

  'Sigh, at least I don't need any armor or ons for myself right now. What we purchased should st us for a det while' he thought, trying to find a silver lining iuation.

  After exiting the store, the group went around purchasing the other items that they needed from other stores betwee and 8th floors of Babel.

  "Alright, that's everything," Dranounced, his voice slightly weary.

  Their total funds had been reduced to around 2 million Valis.

  "Let's grab some lunch, or is it di this point?" he asked, gng at the darkening sky.

  "Finally, we get to eat," Vasileios said, his exhaustion evident in his tone.

  Michalis, Nikoos, and Vasileios had taken the brunt of the heavy lifting, carrying the bulky purchases in the dungeon bags on their backs.

  "I guess it would be dinner," Nikoos replied.

  "We spent lohan pnned shopping." Michalis added.

  "By the way, Draii," Vasiliki said, her brow furrowed in thought.

  "Where are we going to store all these items? I don’t think they will fit into the ste space provided by the inn" she asked.

  Draco paused, realizing that they hadn't sidered the logistics of st their newly acquired equipment.

  "Good point, Vasiliki," he said, his hand instinctively reag up to scratch the back of his head.

  "We'll just leave it in Bahamut’s house for now. Tomorroill be meeting the owner of the houses o hers, so some space should be avaible then” Draco replied.

  …………………………………………………………………………

  As the group exited the Babel Tower, Draco suddenly felt a jolt that ran from the tip of his tail, along his spine, all the way to the tips of his horns.

  ‘Who is it’ Draco thought.

  He frantically looked around, sensing that someone was watg him.

  This feeling was different from the suspicious individuals that had been watg them sihey arrived at the tower.

  This feeling was different, it was as if his very being was id bare before an unseen observer.

  Draco had only experiehis unnerviion on two previous occasions: One being when he had met X, and the other being when the one-eyed bck dragon had gred at him during their enter.

  Uled, he turo his sister Vasiliki, who had noticed his ge in demeanor.

  "Draii, what's wrong this time? Is it the headache again?" Vasiliki asked, her voice ced with .

  "It's nothing," Draco replied, his gaze fixed on the higher floors of the tower.

  'Is it Freya? No, I shouldn't jump to clusions. It could be one of the gods who hate the existence of the dragon kin, or perhaps just a curious one,' he thought, quiing his pace to catch up with the others who didn’t notid went ahead.

  Vasiliki, not satisfied with his response, chased after him.

  "What happened? Why did you suddenly start walking fast? Something must have happened." she asked.

  Draco hesitated, not wanting to add more problems to their already full pte.

  "Nothing big, I just felt someog us, so I quied my pace to throw them off," he said, omitting the full truth.

  “R….really” Vasiliki asked, a bit skeptical about his expnation.

  “It's nothing you o worry about” Draco replied with a smile.

  ‘That’s right, o think about things beyond my trol’ he thought.

  As the group made their way through the bustling streets of the city, the familia soon reached the food market.

  They decided to buy some street food, to have for lunch/dinner with their goddess Bahamut.

  "Ooh, look are those takoyaki! They look delicious," Vasiliki excimed, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

  Michalis scoffed, "Takoyaki? Please, you have no taste. That Croquette store over there is where the good stuff is!" he tered.

  Dimitra chimed in, "No way! The okonomiyaki is clearly the superior choice. It's savory and more filling."

  Nikoos rolled his eyes, "You're all wrong. The best thing to get is the yakitori. Just look at those perfectly grilled juicy skewers!" he added.

  Vasileios, tried to mediate the discussion. "e on, guys, let's nue. Why don't we just get a bit of everything and share?" he suggested but was ignored.

  Cir, who had been quietly the banter, finally spoke up.

  "You know, I think Bahamut-sama might really enjoy some seafood. We also haven’t tried many sea food dishes" she suggested.

  The siblings paused, sidering Cir's input.

  Michalis nodded, a small smile tugging at the er of his lips.

  "Ahem, Cir is kind ht and it may be fun to try some genuine seafood” Michalis said, switg his stance.

  As they approached the various street food vendors, the group tiheir lively discussion, each sibling advog for their personal favorite dish.

  "Okay, okay, listen up," Draco said, raising his hands to quiet the group.

  "We'll get a few orders of everything. That way, we all have a taste of our preferred treats." he suggested.

  Eleni chimed in, "And don't fet the sweet pastries for desert. I am sure that Bahamut-sama would enjoy that." she said.

  ‘Wait a minute, have I just been pyed. Ah, damn Eleni, she didn’t give up. She was waiting for me to say this. Sigh, in the end, she is getting what she wants’ Draco thought.

  The siblings nodded in agreement, each taking turns pg their orders with the friendly vendors.

  “Wait, isn’t that what I just said” Vasileios wao pin but everyone had already run off to the vendors.

  Soon they had bought everything and began heading towards Bahamut’s house.