The galleon pulled up alongside Lone and Sophie's ship after it had circled them. One of the heavily armoured crewmen aboard it shouted, "Anchor your vessel, or we will be forced to sink it!"

Lone didn't argue back and went down to the lower deck before he furled up the sails then picked up the ship's anchor and tossed it overboard.

The man who had ordered Lone nodded his head approvingly before he left the galleon's deck and entered what was probably the captain's cabin.

Lone stood behind the seated Sophie and scanned the galleon's crew. From what he could see, every single one was looking at him like he was trash.

Of course, he was no expert at reading people nor facial expressions, but the men on that ship were definitely not trying to hide their disgust. 'Okay. Well, assuming what Rewal'eh said was true, then I'm being hated because I'm a non-human? Are the humans of this planet really that judgemental, or are these people unique?'

He thought on it for a few more seconds before he shook his head. 'There's no use thinking about this. They don't like me, but they seem indifferent to Sophie... I think? She's in her kid body, but that can't hide her good looks... Hopefully, there aren't any pedos onboard. That'll complicate things.'

Lone took a little bit more time to inspect each of the men's armour. They were all slightly different, but one thing that was uniform amongst them. This shared 'thing' was a small crest of a dragon, or perhaps a wyvern?

'Men belonging to the kingdom? Guards? Border patrol? Defenders of this sea route? Maybe pirates who've killed said people and stolen their clothes and armour to raid unsuspecting victims?' Lone's mind was racing with possibilities.

'If they are pirates... I'll use mental destruction on the captain to prevent him from giving orders, then I'll have Sophie cripple the one with all the magic that Soph pointed out. Fifty grown men shouldn't be much harder than fifty gobs, right? Though I really hope they aren't pirates. I don't particularly want to kill people... I'm not sure if I could handle that, could I?' Lone wondered.

It was at that moment that the door to what Lone assumed was the captain's cabin swung open. A tall man with a well-trimmed beard and sharp eyes which matched his chiselled face walked out. This man was maybe in his late thirties, or perhaps his early forties.

Following behind him was a young girl of maybe fifteen or sixteen years. She was wearing very expensive-looking clothes and her amber eyes opened wide when they landed on Lone. "Wow! He's so handsome!"

The tall man ahead of her frowned. "Lady Malik, please, control yourself. These people may be criminals."

'Lady Malik? Lady? Someone important? Maybe a noble? Does this world have nobles? Milindo is a kingdom from what Snapper said, so that would make sense. Why is she on that ship? Is she on some sort of work experience? Was she kidnapped but she's still in a favourable position due to her political standing? I need more information,' Lone concluded internally.

Lone coughed lightly and approached the edge of his ship. "I apologise if I am speaking out of turn, but would it be okay if I asked who you people are? My master is both blind and mute, so please forgive this slave for speaking up."

A lot of eyes fell onto Sophie, and once they noticed that her eyes were grey and lifeless, Lone's words suddenly had a lot more stock in them despite him being a non-human.

Congratulations! The host's passive skill [Acting] has levelled up! It is now Beginner Level 3. Congratulations! The host's passive skill [Acting] has levelled up! It is now Beginner Level 4.

'Wow. Two levels for one lie? Fuck me. Is it based on the number of people I convince?' Lone wondered.

The short teenaged girl bounced around and happily responded, "Hi! I'm Emma Malik. What's your name? Oh. You're a slave. Do you not have one? Can I call you Mr Handsome?"

Lone looked at the tall man who he was assuming was the ship's captain. The man was stroking his well-trimmed beard and seemed very suspicious of him and Sophie. 'Well... Fuck it. Let's lie some more. If this'll devolve into a fight, I want to get as much out of it as possible first.'

"I do, indeed, possess a name. My master is very gracious and was kind enough to bestow one upon me," Lone claimed with a very short bow in Sophie's direction to show her his respect. She nodded in response.

Emma clapped her hands. "Oh! What is it? Do you mind telling me?"

"Of course. Due to me being the first and only Golden Foxkin that my illustrious master has ever met, she gave me the name 'Lone'," he said. 'Let's assume surnames are reserved for nobles. Just 'Lone' will do here.'

Congratulations! The host's passive skill [Acting] has levelled up! It is now Beginner Level 5. Congratulations! The host's passive skill [Persuasion] has levelled up! It is now Beginner Level 2.

'Oh, persuasion too? Sweet,' Lone noted mentally.

It was at that point that the ship's captain finally decided to speak to Lone. "Slave. Where is your collar?"

Lone's expression cracked slightly. 'Fuck. Collar? Is that normal? Like, a slave collar? Is it magical, or is it just a physical object to show that I belong to someone else? Time to make a gamble.'

Lone lowered his hands to his feet. His sudden movements made the galleon's crew far more wary of him, so they drew their weapons and were prepared to attack immediately.

In that instant, Lone used his Creation Magic to make a small anklet of steel and he pulled the hem of his trouser leg up to expose this new anklet. "Please don't be so hasty. I was merely displaying my slave collar."

"Why isn't it around your neck?" the captain asked with a stern tone.

'This is good. He didn't call it out for being a fake. I can work with this,' Lone thought before he raised his torso and smiled once again. "My master thought it would be a waste to hide my neck. She's quite fond of me, you see. Apparently, my neck and collarbone are particularly to her liking. As are my tails."

Emma bobbed her head up and down as she closed her eyes. "I can see it. That's totally understandable. I guess they must feel really good then since she's blind and whatnot."

Congratulations! The host's passive skill [Acting] has levelled up! It is now Beginner Level 6. Congratulations! The host's passive skill [Acting] has levelled up! It is now Beginner Level 7. Congratulations! The host's passive skill [Persuasion] has levelled up! It is now Beginner Level 3.

The captain finally nodded his head. "Okay. To answer your previous question, Slave, we are a part of the regional guard of the harbour city, Ros. This young woman here is Lady Malik, daughter to the duke, Henry Malik."

"A duke's daughter!" Lone exclaimed. "I did not know that I was in the presence of such a great person. Forgive my prior rudeness, please."

Lone thought that his acting was a bit cringy and over-the-top, but regardless, the crew and Emma seemed to believe him if his Acting skill levelling up was any indicator to be trusted.

Congratulations! The host's passive skill [Acting] has levelled up! It is now Beginner Level 8.

Emma waved her hand dismissively. "I don't care. Honestly, noble traditions are stupid. Don't worry about offending me or anything. I won't take revenge on you and your master or do something stupid like that. Speaking of her, she's very pretty. What's her name?"

Sophie's cheeks flushed slightly. Lone wasn't sure if that was genuine embarrassment from the cold girl, or if she was just playing the part.

"My master's name is Sophie Vladimirovich. Since her surname can be hard to pronounce, please call her by her first name. She is much like you and doesn't care much for the traditions of nobles," Lone explained.

"Perfect! What country are you two from? Or are you from an empire? Maybe the Taslo Empire? Though you two aren't tanned... Hmm..." Emma asked as she clapped her hands playfully.

'And here's where it gets tough... Well, I can only do my best, I guess,' Lone shrugged mentally. "My master is currently participating in a family tradition for her coming of age ceremony. As a part of that tradition, she is only allowed to bring one of her servants with her - which would be me - and she is not allowed to reveal who she truly is nor where she is from. The point of all of this is for my master to make a small name for herself in a foreign land and to procure a certain amount of wealth before I have permission to bring her back home."

"Oh! That sounds incredibly fun!" Emma said with a certain sparkle in her eye.

The guard captain nodded his head once more. "Such traditions aren't unheard of. Some foreign nobles are known to be a bit... peculiar. That would answer my unasked question of why you are in Milindo's waters."

He walked to the edge of his galleon and looked right into Lone's eyes. "If you'd let my men check your ship for any illegal contraband, then we'd be willing to show you the way to Ros once dusk is upon us considering your unique circumstances."

Congratulations! The host's passive skill [Acting] has levelled up! It is now Beginner Level 9. Congratulations! The host's passive skill [Acting] has levelled up! It is now Beginner Level 10. Congratulations! The host's passive skill [Persuasion] has levelled up! It is now Beginner Level 4. Congratulations! The host's passive skill [Persuasion] has levelled up! It is now Beginner Level 5. Congratulations! The host's passive skill [Persuasion] has levelled up! It is now Beginner Level 6.

'Holy shit. He actually bought that? Are my charm and charisma stats influencing him, or is he just a naturally trusting person once his biggest suspicions are cleared? Maybe Sophie's luck is playing a role here?' Whatever the answer was, Lone was glad that things had been resolved peacefully. He really didn't want to be forced into killing people.

Lone turned and looked at Sophie. She gave him a nod of approval very slowly, so he looked back at the guard captain. "Please, your men are most welcome. My master has no qualms with you inspecting her ship's hold."

The captain sighed with relief. "That's good. Men! Be gentle with their ship! These people are not pirates, so your pay will be docked to act as compensation if you mess with a foreign noble's belongings!"

"Aye-aye, Sir!" the crew boomed back in response.

A group of men from the crew lowered the boarding plank to connect the two ships then they carefully walked onto Lone and Sophie's ship. Twenty minutes later, they left and reported that they hadn't found anything illegal.

Lone was thankful for his Dimensional Storage. He kept almost everything in there, which was why he couldn't care less if their ship was checked. Had they actually found something, Lone was worried that the men would have planted it to frame the two of them as an excuse to fleece them for coin or extort the ship from them. Luckily, this crew of regional guards seemed to be a decent sort.

'Luck, huh? Maybe if Sophie wasn't here, would I have encountered pirates or corrupt guards instead?' As he was entertaining such an idea, the captain called out to him.

"Hey, Slave." The captain gazed at Lone from top to bottom before he asked, "My men said that they couldn't find any food stored below deck. How are you two keeping yourselves fed?"

Lone flashing a handsome and warm smile. "By fishing, of course."