While Alexander was "thinking" whether to accept or not, Cristina sent someone to look for the things that had fallen and began to discreetly appraise him, which didn't go unnoticed by his instincts. She only stopped appraising him when Marcon returned and informed her that not many things remained.

  This information visibly irritated Cristina, but in the blink of an eye her frustration and anger were hidden and she returned to normal.

  Calmer, Cristina instructed the group to recover everything possible, as it would reduce their losses, and turned to Alexander for his answer.

  "She controlled herself so easily… What a scary woman," thought Alexander before replying: "I can help in your escort, but I've never been to one of your large cities… To tell the truth, it hasn't been long since I left the place where I lived my whole life."

  Cristina felt Alexander's story seemed very convenient for someone who wanted to go unnoticed, but she also felt he wasn't lying… not about everything. Especially about the last part.

  While Cristina thought about what to do, Victor, who thought she was done, cut into her conversation and began speaking with Alexander: "If you just came from a small village, then you probably don't have an identification or adventurer plate, right?"

  "I really don't," Alexander replied before inquiring: "Is that a big problem?"

  "Yes, because they serve to verify and monitor people entering and leaving cities," explained Victor. "It's a security issue against criminals."

  Hearing this, Alexander turned to Cristina and said: "It seems I won't be able to go with you to the city, but I can still accompany you until we find a small village where I can stay. If you want, of course."

  "It doesn't need to be like that," said Victor, truly grateful to Alexander for helping them. "I can speak with the guard and explain your situation. Who knows, maybe he'll let you go and register at the Guild."

  "That would be good, but I don't have money," Alexander pointed out.

  "No money? How is that possible with your strength?" Victor inquired.

  "I've been living off hunting and gathering," Alexander replied, as if it were natural. "You saw what was in my things."

  Victor then remembered he had seen almost all the contents of Alexander's bag, but hadn't seen a single coin. He even had silver and gold, but they were still raw.

  "…" Victor.

  "…" Cristina.

  "…" Other members of the adventurer group.

  "I don't want to offend you, Alexander, but do you know how to read and write?" Victor inquired. "Even just a little will suffice."

  "Don't worry, I understand your doubt," said Alexander. "And yes. I know how to read and write, as well as add and subtract."

  "Then filling out the adventurer's guild form won't be a problem," Victor stated. "As for the money, I-."

  "It won't be necessary," assured Cristina, suddenly cutting off Victor and resuming HER conversation. "His payment for the escort will be enough."

  "Thank you both very much for the help," said Alexander, very happy to have gotten a referral and enough money to register.

  With everything settled, Alexander joined the group and they began preparing a nearby area to spend the night.

  Since the group was very accustomed to this, it didn't take long to complete all the tasks. Alexander then sat in a corner near the fire, took some meat and placed it to roast while giving pieces of dried meat to Ocean.

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  Curious, Victor asked Alexander what that meat was and he explained it was rabbit meat he had dehydrated to last longer.

  Victor looked at Alexander meaningfully, as if trying to understand his contradictions. "You know how to survive, don't you?"

  "Let's say necessity makes even rabbits climb trees," Alexander replied before passing a piece to Victor to taste. To which he said the meat needed some seasoning after trying it.

  Remembering he hadn't seen any seasoning in Alexander's things, Victor proposed that he add meat to the stew and they would give him a portion when it was ready.

  The idea didn't seem bad to Alexander, not to mention he also really wanted to taste another flavor after eating only meat for so long. He still held out until he could negotiate more meat for two portions.

  As soon as the food was ready and everyone in the defense group was served, including Ocean, the group began eating while talking.

  Alexander didn't miss this opportunity and took advantage to get some more information about the world and create alibis. "I know my question is a bit sudden, but have you ever seen any dragonnewts where you've been?"

  "If this place is really a magical kingdom/world, then there must be some dragons," thought Alexander. "And if there are dragons, it's also likely there are some dragonnewts."

  After thinking a bit, Leon replied: "A few. But although they are a very strong Demi-human race, it's quite rare to find them in this part of the Empire… Why?"

  "I'm looking for a red dragonnewt," lied Alexander.

  "From what I've heard, dragonnewts are descendants of dragons and their colors represent the lineage they descend from," thought Leon aloud. "But Vermilion Empire has always been far from being the natural habitat of any of those dragons."

  "I finally discovered the name of the place I'm in, as well as found another race I can use as an excuse," thought Alexander, excited, before facing the other side of this fact. "As expected, I'm no longer on Earth."

  "Wait, red dragonnewt?" Leon stopped talking and began staring at the red hues in Alexander's hair and eyes. "Don't tell me that…"

  "I can't say," Alexander lied further. "I was just told to find him."

  "If you tell us his name, we can let you know if we ever encounter him," Leon pointed out.

  "I appreciate your good intentions, truly, but they didn't tell me his name," Alexander continued lying without any shame. "They told me he would know who I was as soon as he saw me, and that it was very dangerous for me to know his name."

  "Then I can only wish you good luck in your search," sighed the leonine Demi.

  The story Alexander invented would be very weak and raise many suspicions on Earth. But in a world where nobles, adventurers, and merchants had children wherever they went and then disappeared, it was just one more.

  After Alexander lied so much, the conversation stopped, the mood became gloomy, and everyone turned to their own food until Mary intervened. He didn't know if she was trying to lighten the mood or was genuinely curious, but she went to ask if she could touch Ocean.

  Seeing no problem, and wanting to lighten the mood, Alexander let her pet her, but only under his supervision, for safety.

  After some adaptation time, Ocean stopped minding Mary and began to relax. Perhaps because she didn't feel hostility from Mary towards her.

  Shortly after, Cristina got off the carriage to eat and caught Mary playing and petting Ocean. Embarrassed, the mage got up and quickly returned to her place.

  As soon as everyone finished eating, Cristina returned to the carriage and Alexander pulled Victor aside to ask him to explain how the monetary system worked in that world.

  Victor was a bit surprised by his request, but still took three very similar coins from his pocket and began patiently explaining how the value of the coins worked.

  "Coins have a quantitative and qualitative value. Thus, people can have/use different values with few coins," said Victor.

  "All coins have the same standard. The differences are the metals used in their compositions and their two sizes," explained Victor. "That is, large coins are worth more than small coins of the same type of metal, and coins made of more noble metals are worth more than those of less noble metals, regardless of their size."

  As soon as he finished his explanation, Victor passed the coins he had taken from his pocket to Alexander to exemplify his explanation.

  "I see… But how many types of coins are there?"

  "Iron; Bronze; Silver; Gold; Platinum; and Black Diamond," replied Victor while putting away his coins. "Each large coin is worth 10 small coins of the same metal, and each small coin of a metal nobler than iron is worth 10 large coins of the metal just below it in nobility."

  After thinking a bit, Victor added: "This rank is also used to classify the initial levels of adventurers."

  "Thank you for explaining… But what kind of metal/alloy is Black Diamond?"

  "I don't know either," confessed Victor. "But I heard this name is because of its incredible resistance and because its color and shine reflect the beauty of the most beautiful night."

  "I see," said Alexander. "Now could you tell me about…"

  He prolonged the conversation so much in search of more information that by the time he finished it was very late and everyone was already preparing to sleep, except Marcon, as it was his turn to stand guard.