What do you do when you get completely lost?

Especially when there are no locals you can ask.

Time for my ultimate secret technique!

[So, Wolfie. Do you know how to go back home?]

She casually nods.

Of course, she does.

Honestly, sometimes I have trouble believing how smart she is.

No, I have more trouble believing how dumb other creatures seem.

I guess she would be a truly specialized character.

All in the intelligence and cuteness stats haha.

That makes her the ultimate bestest sidekick!

That's even better than best!

Technically impossible, realistically I don't care.

We quickly navigate the alleys while heading back.

Until…

"Hey, brother!"

Appears a wild polite young man!

My thief friend.

He still has the tattoos, piercing, and …oh he got new clothes.

[Hey, how have you been!]

"Pretty good."

[By the way, why did you avoid me earlier? You better have a really good reason for it!]

"Eh, we had just done a job and needed to get away promptly."

[What's with the new clothes anyway?]

Should I get some too?

"Ah, the old ones got destroyed when I tried to climb some wall."

[Wait, you do parkour!]

"What would that be?"

[When you scale buildings and run on top of roofs or something.]

"Then yes I do haha."

[How about that? I'll forgive you if you teach me!]

"Teach you, what exactly?"

[Parkour.]

"Right."

[So when do we start?]

"So, let me get this straight. I tell you about that."

[Yes.]

"Then your first reaction is not how strange it is or why I have been doing that at all?!"

[Nope.]

"Then you want me to teach you?!"

[Indeed.]

"Why?!"

[Sounds fun!]

"Haha and it is! I knew it!"

[What do you mean?]

"Others were calling me strange for enjoying that!"

[Were they now?]

"Yep, they said something about it being eye-catching too."

[I mean I guess there is a right place and time for everything.]

"So what brought you here anyway?"

[I got chased by some guy that was convinced I stole from him.]

"Oh right, that guy. He was wealthy for sure…"

[Your new clothes..]

"Yep."

[Don't tell me.]

"New earrings too."

[Shouldn't you try and deny or something? ¸

"No? We are friends, right?"

[I just beat up the guy too.]

"I mean he did run after you for no reason."

[How did you guys even do it?]

"Oh, we made him sign a double-layered contract."

[What?!]

"You see you take two contracts and you paste them together. This way when he signs one the ink drips on the other one too."

[This is crazy!]

"Smart, right?"

[Then can't you include a slave contract too and have the people sell themselves away?!]

"Naw that wouldn't work. Also, who would be dumb enough to sign that haha!"

I will not answer this no matter what.

This dark history of mine shall never come to light.

Any bard that so much thinks of singing about it will have to face my wrath!

Still, there is something weird.

How is he so confident about that statement?

[Why wouldn't it work?]

"You've never signed one, have you?"

I did.

I truly did.

I mean…no never happened!

"Any contract involving magic is special."

[How so?]

"For it to be binding in any way there needs to be intent."

[Intent?]

"If someone just half-heartedly signs it there won't be any effect at all."

[Then can't one simply do that and fake signing only?]

"This is the peculiar part. It is simply possible."

[What do you mean?]

"In such a case you would start writing but you wouldn't be able to finish. It would even erase itself."

[Wow, the more you know.]

"Quite fascinating am I right?"

[Well, yeah but there is one thing I don't understand.]

"Go ahead."

[How do people here even have such capabilities? This sounds super complicated!]

"Especially in a place like this, it is part of our daily lives. Think about who's the main deity here."

[The diplomacy god, right?]

"Compromis, yes. Without magical contracts, there would be no way for him to uphold his beliefs."

[So because of that it became the focus of the people here is what you mean?]

"Exactly!"

[Why does this god sound more and more like a merchant god.]

"Many gods share some common domains of expertise."

[That means there are redundant ones?]

"Well, yes. But don't let their followers hear you haha."

[Makes sense.]

"Of course it does."

[How do you even know about all that anyway?]

"Hey, are you looking down on me because of my profession?!"

[Not especially it's just…]

"I'm just messing with you haha. It's common knowledge around here."

[Gotcha. Wait there is something wrong here!]

"What exactly?"

[There is no way he would have signed that contract with the intent to be stolen from!]

"Oh yeah, of course not."

[Then how?]

"You see it is the beauty of it. Remember how I told you that this system is very imperfect?"

[Well yeah.]

"One doesn't need to use a magical contract to fool it. A normal one will do."

[Then won't people be able to just murder one another easily?]

"Of course not!"

[How is this obvious?!]

"Well, there are safety measures in place for the worst crimes."

[How so?]

"I don't know."

[No one knows?]

"I'm sure the people in charge of the city know haha. I'm just a thief remember. *Wink*"

[Wait, I recently bought a bakery!]

"You did? Congrats!"

[Is there anything I need to be careful about?!]

"Not especially. Just make sure your employees are careful when handling the cash."

[That's it?]

"That's it."

[What about fake currency?]

"Oh, you mean people forging some coins?"

[Exactly!]

"That isn't much of an issue. It will happen from time to time but most understand that it's not worth it."

[How come?]

"There is a sect in charge of it."

[Of countering fraud? How righteous!]

"Not really. Their god Koiin derives his power of the belief of people in currency."

Wow just wow.

That God would have been the most powerful in my old world.

It wouldn't even have been a contest.

Just wow.

[So he makes sure people don't lose hopes toward it eh...]

"Exactly. Now, how about I teach you some parkour later tonight?"

[Sure!]

"Now, then later!"

Ah, this has been enlightening somehow.

Oh wait, how is he even going to find me then?!