Chapter 177

  “Time is money. Wealth is business. Time or business added together is what? With time, what is there? I learned many things, Will. Finding something wrong is about fixing or changing it so it is right. You shouldn’t worry about it too much. Walkers are different from this lecture, unless we ignore the critical components of worker Walkers, whose Emblems are suited for many things other than fighting.”

  “Yeah. I read about it a little. How flames, water, and even electricity works for people, but isn't it also a waste?”

  “No. Everyone has position to do and fit in. Me. You. Them. This half-eaten roll? Where it goes, huh?” Ellie offered it and bit it.

  “What's... mine?”

  “Red. Clawing, or... who knows? Listen, I know power is a much deeper object for Walkers, and I don’t even get half of what they mean at your Rank. Some department even states that their support is infinite because there aren’t a lot of them. Because of that, job offers and a regular person’s perspective are more grounded and fine with credits. Your kind just don't need to care about them.”

  “Okay. What about big salaries? What can they actually do?”

  “What the hell do you think? Do you think Rank 8 Walkers cares about credits? They don’t. Even Rank 1s don’t cuz of their families or work and whatnot. They worry about something else and… ugh, forget it.”

  “What about your salary?” William asked in naked curiosity and didn’t care what it sounded like to her.

  “You... You are quite bold. Well, some people would take offense to this, but not me. Hmph! I make a hundred credits a week!” Ellie proclaimed, puffed her proud chest, and pushed a much smaller kebab up.

  “Is that... a lot?”

  “It is!”

  “I have no idea. Is it about spending?”

  Ellie reclaimed her posture and felt a little dejected, considering this boy might make this much very soon. He might get everything on a silver plate as one of the strange kinds of Walkers. A lot of links were already there, and Ellie was very curious about them.

  After all, he already had that golden opportunity with Kaufman and his card. That was almost a priceless opportunity, even if it was a little bit dangerous.

  Walkers had different value ceiling, so for them, credits weren't worth everything unless the supporting business was a necessary flavor to their life. Or a wealthy status that could give them occasional blissful time, home, or other things.

  Their mission or salaries did include credits because their need could get ridiculous if one thought about society rather than about themselves. Unless they wanted to forget about it or focus on their path, it was part of humanity.

  Against that logic was their core purpose, where currencies of Arcana and Darks were associated with the grand System. Those materials were outside of Ellie’s vision, but not their privileged secrecy.

  William had already read about them and understood currency-endorsed aspects of Walker’s lives.

  “Power of money. Alright. The rent for my flat is fifty credits a week, and it is a very spacious home. I live with the remaining half just fine and could even call myself rich because I live alone. Others have it worse because of families, but it is what jobs are all about. Some homes are also expensive or poorly managed, and that sort of stuff requires the work of a lot of people. But food is cheap, so no one really complains with all those jobs being everywhere.”

  Ellie described it well with a very serious tone since it involved her prideful accomplishment. She was seventeen years old and made more money than most of her peers and quite a lot of adults.

  Sure, living alone had its perks, like being away from her parents to focus on her studies. She could afford something better, but that would be a waste. She already had enough spare credits to eat what she wanted and get new clothes every other week.

  “I guess that sounds… impressive. I never thought of it like that.. Perhaps it even sounds simple. One has to take care of one's own home, meals, jobs, purpose, and credits are like fuel to get it going and give other jobs that fuel back. Nobody wants to starve, so food is cheap, and work isn’t cheap, or other things aren’t either. Is that correct?” William asked her once more and explained his ideas out loud.

  Ellie nodded. “Sounds about right. Some things are expensive because this location is not cheap. A steady flow of credits is good, and people are used to work because the Federation is always expanding, and humanity needs it more than ever. Those are decades-long processes, and no one should mess with it.”

  The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  By now, she had finished the first half of her kebab and felt full.

  Sauce dripped from her mouth, making a mess because of the meat juices and small bits of meat. Her face didn’t look clean either, but neither did William’s.

  “You are dirty,” William mumbled and offered her a towel provided by the shop; it seemed they realized people ended up dirty a lot.

  A bit embarrassed, she took it without hesitation and cleaned her mouth while reminding herself of her manners and position. Again, she overlooked what was going on. It had been a while since she had dined with anyone.

  *It is not so bad... spending time with someone interested in talking. Well, I do the talking. Maybe I should be asking him some questions, too. What? How could I do it? Where could I go?* she thought to herself as she calmed down.

  After finishing half of her meal, Ellie kept the other half for a morning snack. William planned to eat the entire thing. After this day, it was a well-deserved reward, and he wasn’t shameless enough to waste a drop of sauce.

  After a while, nothing was left of his kebab. “That was great.” William cheered, trying not to think of the food at home, and licked his fingers before cleaning his face with the towel.

  It was a messy but satisfying meal. The food at home was tasty and rich.

  Ellie ended up explaining what a kebab was. Either done by instinct or awkward feelings, she wasn’t sorry for this topic. Historically speaking, this food wasn’t extremely deep. It was simple and popular. Made of beef, pork, or chicken, thin pieces of meat get marinated, then a grill roasted them, before that dough roll wrapped their sliced pieces.

  A mixture of many spices went into the meat as well, which came from the Federation or Outside. Spices were relatively simple in farming, whereas things like potatoes, rice, or fruits, or vegetables took much more space.

  A little spicy, flavourful, and tender, William found this process impressive. He even paid for Ellie’s meal after her protest. She gave up, hiding her flustered expression that William assumed to be something else.

  He had less than eighty credits for the remaining weeks, so he should be sporadic. Alas, the biggest hurdle wasn’t that.

  With a free roof over his head every night and cheap food… well, unless one was a glutton, one might eat through hundreds of credits a week. In his case, William was used to being sporadic, and food was a sensitive topic for him. Outside had its fair share of troubles, like his life.

  While the past few years were fine, he wasn’t thin nor tall. He was about average. Still, he built at least barebones muscles through work on farms, training, and life Outside had done the rest. He might not look like those young soldiers before he left the upper floor, but his experience and body weren’t so shabby.

  However, it was a hard cry from the Walker families or even clans. Many youths went with the best military route and trained to be killing machines from a young age.

  William recognized that possibility years ago and didn’t want to be left too far behind those people. It didn't matter to him; he wasn’t like them. He felt no regrets about his choices, even if they created disparity and a soon-to-be very problematic point.

  Either way, built muscles, or body, wasn’t all about experiences. The Emblems were. With that assumption, bodies were an excellent base, similar to combat experiences and mindful practices. Militaries were more about order at that age, where youths became controlled killers, protectors, and ready for what was to come.

  On average, such youths were better than those not chosen, bought, or tossed to such training regimes by parents or various recruits.

  William felt he was still insufficient, but so what? He was young and willing to learn, and he wasn’t a completely clueless brat. He felt Outside, his Emblem, and knew what killing and death were about.

  Thus, he wasn’t afraid of many matters, but fear of something unknown was always there for him.

  Like today, numerous times in the past, and the days that had yet to come.

  This one was also not over.

  “What do you want to do now?” Ellie asked after their meal..

  “No idea. What is important to know about the Federation?”

  “Important... Hmmm. I suppose I can start with that! It is a great night. Hehehe.” Ellie chuckled and smiled, keeping him in the dark about her idea. She grabbed his hand and dragged him into the distant northeast neighborhood.

  William followed and helplessly moved his legs while questioning her idea of dragging him by force. He had his legs, and he wasn’t that tired. He didn’t get her, this clueless brat.

  In a while, they reached the end of one of many streets where views opened up to a distant and open horizon. One which was not obscured by the buildings, or men. A distant moon was hanging below glistering waters that made up the whole horizon, and that…sky?! That open sky and sandy beach right before him were not one bit worse.

  Also, the Rifts were nowhere to be seen in this section of the Federation. Either erased as they appeared, they might not even come to this place very often.

  “This is the beach,” Ellie said, walking before him and spreading her arms.

  “I know what a beach is. Canada might not have a reachable sea, but it isn’t as if I were locked in a cage. Some lakes have beaches, but this... is nothing like that. It is sand, like dunes and deserts. Cool. How cool!” William felt his words were honest and weak.

  Ellie thought he had never been on a beach, and it was true; William had never seen a proper one of this caliber before.

  But he heard of them.

  “It is a public beach and the prettiest place in the Federation’s nights. A breeze from the ocean is calming, stars are endless, and the sounds of water are calming. Tonight is even better than usual. How cool indeed.” Ellie agreed with him and pushed him further into the sand.

  “Come on. Don’t be afraid. You can rest here, lay down or sleep, or even swim in the ocean. It isn’t as cold as it looks. Or is it that you don't know how to swim? Not that it is that shocking nowadays, but it isn't hard.”

  “For fun, I assume?” William asked, sounding as if he wanted to jump right in, or curious if he was allowed to do that.

  “Of course. There is no work here, idiot,” Ellie said without hiding her disapproval. Swimming still struck her as unusual, but she wasn't here for swimming. That would be outrageous considering she didn't even bring her swimsuit.