Not long after we finished our meal, the rain stopped. The sky was still clouded but that didn't matter. At least we could resume the journey.

As I was packing the blanket we sat on and storing it back in my ring, I suddenly remembered something. 

It was true that there wasn't a need for me to hide the ring from Fiona, but that didn't mean I could do the same with other people around. We planned to find a city so we needed to interact with other people.

” Fio, I think that we should carry a part of our stuff in the rucksack. ” 

She nodded at me, understanding my point and we proceed to pack some monster materials in the enchanted rucksack. We also packed some essentials like blankets, some food, and a few bottles of water. 

” Good. With this we look like real travelers. ” I said with a laugh.

” I will carry the one with the materials. ” she said and put it on her back without waiting for an answer. Even though we packed lighter materials in it, I still appreciated the gesture... 

But that won't do.

” No, we will carry that one together. By turn. ” 

” But you should know that I'm stronger... Errr... Lizza, I forgot to ask you how old are you... I heard that elves might be far older than they look. ” 

” Yessss! Hell yeah, bab—

”...” 

*cough* *cough* ” I mean, yes... That's true. ” I said with what little dignity I had left. She was still staring at me.

” A-Anyway, age, age... I'm actually just 17 years old. I don't think that I'm that much older than you. ” 

At least I hoped it to be. Thinking about it again, she wasn't human either. Who knew how old she could have been? Actually, who was to say that humans didn't live hundreds of years as well? 

” By the way, Fio... Ermm... You didn't tell me how old you are either. ” 

” I'm 16. I'm carrying this one. ” she said with finality. 

” I'm still older though. ” I pointed out. I didn't want to let a younger girl carry the heavy stuff. I was still a man on the inside.

She stared blankly at me.

” W-What? ”

” Lizza, I should be far closer to my maturity cap. My Vitality and Power should be far higher than yours as well. ” she looked at me with suspicion. I tried to look as unfazed as I could. What the hell was a maturity cap, I had no idea. 

” All right. You carry it. ” I could practically see how the man inside of me got farther and farther.

” Lizza. ” 

” I'm not hiding anything. ”

” I know that you aren't higher level than me, so what was that about? ” 

’Why are you so sharp when you don't have to, fluff!?’ I couldn't help but scream in my mind. ’Calm down me, she's bluffing. She has to be. I didn't tell her my level either.’

” How do you know that I'm not higher level than you? I might as well be. ” I tried.

” You can't fool me with that, Lizza. I have [Appraisal]. I peeked at your status the first time we met. It's not high level so I didn't see much, but I can tell that you aren't higher level than me. ”

’Fuck you, [Appraisal]!!!’

” I'm level 29, by the way. ”

” I see. Then, the difference isn't that bit. I'm 26. ”

I left out a sigh of relief. At least she wasn't secretly some kind of super-strong and important person. I felt stupid for even thinking about that since I already knew that she was a slave previously.

Looking back at her, she was still staring at me. I didn't think that she would let me go like that so I had to ask.

” The maturity cap thing... What was that again? ” I said with an awkward smile. I wanted nothing more than to hit myself in the head and die right there. 

Worse even, she just nodded her head and looked at me like I was a small child asking what air was or something like that. I could practically see the pity in her eyes. 

After a while, she came near me and started to pat my head. 

” Good girl. ” 

Goddamn, she liked to hit me when I was down. 

” I'm gonna cry, Fio. Stop bullying me. ” I let out any kind of pretense. After such a blow, I wasn't in the mood anymore. ” Now, tell me. We're not going anywhere till I'm not satisfied. ”

” Mm. I'm speaking about the statuses that grow with us as we grew older, not the ones from leveling. ” she started explaining. I just nodded as if I already knew that. Fortunately, she believed me. At least, I wasn't that stupid in her eyes...

” So, the maturity cap is the end of that. For humans is around 20 years and for me is around 25... I don't know where is yours Lizza, but it should be higher than mine. ” she said and patted my head again with a smile. ” I'll be a full-fledged adult in no time and I'll take care of Lizza. ” 

Damn, she was downright merciless. Though, the way she puffed her chest in pride at the end told me that she wasn't really kidding.

I was going to be taken care of by a younger girl. Like that, the last piece of dignity as a man was completely shattered. 

” Hmm!? Are you fine, Lizza? You look a bit down all of a sudden. ”

” Yeah, I'm perfectly fine. Let's... Let's just go, alright? ”

” ... Alright. ” she said, finally letting the matter go. 

We double-checked to be sure that we didn't left anything behind and departed shortly after.

After a few steps, I internally sighed and grabbed her hand.

” Better? ” I asked.

” Mm. Better. ”  she said and her tail swayed energetically behind her. It was kind of cute.

----------------------------------------

-A certain traveling merchant POV-

*sigh* 

’These despicable suckers. Trying to take advantage of us, the small merchants without power.’ 

I let out another forced sigh and resigned to my fate. This wasn't the first time and definitely wouldn't be the last. At the end of the day, the powerful made the rules and the weak had no choice but to obey.

That was the way the world worked. I learned that lesson a long time ago. Nothing good would happen from complaining and nobody was benevolent enough to care about you. 

Well, almost nobody. But ironically, the rare ones who cared to some extent weren't far better than the rest of us either. 

’Can't care about someone if you can't relate to them, I suppose...’

There was also the thing about crying over spilled milk. My old friend liked to use that saying all the time.

*sigh*

I shook my head and made my way back to the Collector Center. My goods should be ready.

In the past, we could buy the materials directly from villagers, but they stopped selling us recently. Now, we were forced to buy exclusively from the Center... 

’These damn money-grubbers.’ They threatened the villagers with the fact that they wouldn't buy from them anymore if they sell to us directly. Naturally, the common folk wasn't happy about that either but stability was still better than a higher price once in a while. I couldn't blame them for that...

” You don't look too good, Albert. Perhaps you didn't sleep well last night? ” a deep voice greeted me the moment I stepped inside through the front door. 

I fixed my eyes on the man. The mocking smirk on his lips not matching the spoken words. He was a tall and bulky man with multiple scars on his arms and face. Probably even more under his shirt. 

” And whose fault do you think it is? ” It wasn't in my nature to argue with the likes of him, but everyone had to went from time to time.

” Hooaaa, don't be like that. It's hard for us all, ya know? I need to earn a living like us all. ”

’Hard for us all my ass.’ 

Maybe that was the case in the past, judging from the number of scars he had. It wasn't impossible to heal wounds without letting any scars behind, even the big ones. A high-tier potion or a skilled healer from the temple could have done the job but that wasn't cheap. It was a pity that even that wouldn't work if the scar was too old.

But that was in the past. Right now he had a stable job, earning good money while ripping off the little bit I earned myself while looking smug in front of me about that.

*Cough* ” Scum. ” *Cough* 

” Don't say that. If the guild wouldn’t have opened this branch you wouldn't even be here. These villagers earn a meal because I'm here, making their lives easier. ”

” Yeah, yeah, fuck you too... How is my stuff? ”

” Everything's ready. Come in the back and check it. I'm gonna get the boys to help you load it in your carriage. Free of charge. You can't say I'm not helping an old pal. ”

” Free of charge my ass. That's how normally is... Wait, do you change others for that? ”

” Ha, ha, hah... When did I ever pass an opportunity to make money? Even the smallest tip counts. That's why you do so poor whit being a merchant. ”

” I'm not doing poorly. ”

” Whatever you say. I'm just stating facts. We both moved on to... eh, how to put it? If not better, at least less risky professions around the same time. The results though... ” he said and chuckled a bit at the end. The fucker had the nerve...

I shake my head, holding back another sigh, and followed after him. He was as much of a dick as he was in the past. 

After I paid and left the Center, I made a small pause at the village store to buy some food for the trip. I checked the rest of the equipment and my sword as well.

As a former adventurer, I at least wouldn't need to hire a guard for small trips like this one. 

I drove my carriage towards the village gate. There wasn't a need for payment in those small villages so I moved along the road uninhibited. If all was good, it wouldn't take more than two days to reach Arian City. 

.

.

.

The trip was going quite well. Nothing more than a stray goblin or some small wild animal from time to time. The normal stuff. 

I also had to make a short stop for several hours since it started raining. A bit annoying but I could catch up if I were to fasten the pace a little. The road was quite muddy so I refrained from doing that though. 

Not long after, I saw two silhouettes coming from the opposite direction. It wasn't like that was a problem but as of late, the bandits were getting bolder and bolder. It was to be expected since that was what happened every decade or so when that was approaching. 

’Calm down. The chances are small. You dealt with far worse than some mere thugs.’ I tried to reassure myself. 

As we approached each other, I could see their shapes better and better. Two young girls. I wasn't able to see their faces yet but I was sure that one of them was from the beastkin race.

They weren't that rare though. Even in small villages you get to see one or two occasionally, let alone in big places like Arian city.

What was less usual was her companion. The closer I got to them, the more intrigued I became. She was clearly not a beastkin but her hair was silver-colored. I haven't heard of any human with that kind of hair color. Blessed or not.

Silver hair, silver hair... And then, a new possibility hit me but I dismissed it instantly. 

’There’s no way for a beastkin and... an...’

” What in the flying fuck... ” I couldn't help but let out these words as we approached even further. Silver hair, vibrant green eyes, and long pointy ears. It turned out that she really was an elf.

But what the fuck was an elf doing in this remote area?