“I’d like to know what your intentions are with Kat.”

Rick directed the words at the merchant, but his gaze was firmly planted in the surrounding forest and not on the man himself. He knew Monica was only a handful of meters away, and by the looks of it, so did Victor. But the anxiousness of something else possibly being there was very much present.

“I was just making an-.”

“No.” The young teacher frowned. “Let’s not pretend you are doing this out of the goodness of your heart. I want to know what benefits you had in mind.”

Victor paused, eyes sharp even if there was hesitation in his voice. “You’re not from around these parts, right?”

“I’m an offworlder, not been around these parts for long.” Rick stated flatly. The man’s eyes widened. “And unless you start talking, I’m dropping you off at the next village.”

“Yes, yes, certainly, that… would be bad, though I am fortunate you find yourself to be so kind as to not just leave me here for this slight that I have incurred. I really should watch what I say, sometimes I-”

“Let’s just keep things to the point?” He gestured back in the general direction he knew Monica was at. “I’ve got things to do and they’re impatient, as you’ve seen.”

Victor paled slightly, nodding vigorously. “Certainly. Well, for someone who’s not been too long in the kingdom, human women tend to very quickly gain the favor of many people, important people. I just considered that having my daughter under a prospective future noble could have been a great boon for her.”

He wanted to sigh. Of course it would be like that. “Keep the offers of slavery off the table and we’re good.”

“Slavery? Sir, my daughter would be a servant, and a highly esteemed one. She’s no feralborn slave.” The man scowled deeply. There were hints of anger in those words that caught Rick by surprise.

Rubbing the bridge of his nose, he sighed. “Servant, whatever. To me, it’s the same. She’s put under someone else’s control.”

This appeared to baffle Victor for a second. “Sir, the kingdom’s laws protect servants and give them higher rights than those of a slave. They are under the protection of a human, yes, but there are consequences to be had if any are treated poorly.”

“And slaves can earn their way into becoming a servant, and if they give birth to a human they are considered matrons. Practically human.” Rick tried to keep the acid from his tone. “Look, where I come from, slavery is illegal. Having someone whose life you can just control in such a way is severely frowned upon.” A vague gesture of his hand. “I’m adjusting and all that, sorry if I caused insult with the choice of words, it’s just that, to me, they’re all the same.”

“You could not force a servant to marry, any more than you could threaten a matron with punishment save extreme circumstances.” Victor nodded slowly. “But… yes, yes, I can imagine why it would seem all the same if you come from a place without slaves. I take it there are no ferals either?”

“No maidens, only humans.”

The man perked up immediately. “Fascinating, really interesting. And how does this world handle supply and transportation?”

“Boats, planes… wait, no. Victor, I want to make it clear, don’t offer slaves, or servants, to us.”

“Sure, sure, boats and planes. And money? Do they use gold? Paper notes?”

“I feel that you’re not listening.”

Victor laughed. “On the contrary, I am very much paying attention. Your sensibilities and apparently those of the rest of your group are not quite those of this kingdom. Understandable, you’re much closer to a Wildling I’d say, dangerous stuff to speak out loud in front of the wrong person, but really not that strange. I do share some of that kindness as well. Maidens are just as capable as humans, but the whole feral business, ugly stuff. Can’t really treat a maiden and a human the same way because of it.”

“Wait, what?”

“Maidens have bonds, need them to avoid going feral. Have this whole thing because of it. If you treated them the same as humans it would be pandemonium. No, different needs are had, maidens need a partner, or leader, or protector. To keep them safe from themselves. They can’t exist alone, no sirree, always someone else in the caravan.” A loud clap and a smile. “We were talking money. You were explaining how that worked in your world?”

“I wasn’t.”

“Come now, Rick, Richard? I’m sure we can reach an understanding? I have heard many great things about offworlders.” A vigorous nod. “I also heard you wanted to know about the good Earl Vitchatt? The man of strict traditions and cautious steps?”

Rick’s brows furrowed. “We use digital money, for the most part, the rest is in paper.”

“Paper that represents a portion of gold, I take it?”

“No, it doesn’t represent anything, it has value in of itself.” The chemistry teacher rubbed at the bridge of his nose. “It’s complicated, but basically we once had the paper money represent gold, called it the gold standard, but it’s no longer the case. Now about the Earl, I was invited, and-.”

“Yes, yes, invitation due to the subjugation of the renowned White Claw, slayer of the Baron of Astunes. The news travels fast and the rumors faster. There was talk that you bonded her in a single night of intense passion, and the radio messages have had some talk of your power to summon fire that brought her to her knees in single combat.” Slow nods that became quick ones. “Now, this money that represents itself, how exactly does it have value? Why would anyone use it if it doesn’t use anything? And digital money? Is that like information through the radio or in the small computers? How do they stop people from just lying? Do they have some shared ledger?”

“Something like that. And it has value because people agree it has value.” Rick shook his head slightly. “Look, about the Earl, I want to know if I should expect trouble from him or not.”

“The Earl? Nonsense, he is a very calm and fair man.” A quick nod. “His rule does have a penchant for nobles, but it can never be said he has been cruel or unfair. His father? That man was quite stricter. Back during the years after the war, whole lot of the kingdom was practically ready to explode. It was thanks to him that everything came to order.” The merchant shook his head. “So, about the value of this money with an agreement, how does the agreement work? How do they set the value if it is not tied to anything?”

“It’s… ok, one sec.” The teacher shook his head slightly. “It’s like the value of bread or some other commodity. It fluctuates depending on supply and demand. I’m not exactly knowledgeable in these details, strength has always been in chemistry.”

“Money as its own product!?” The man was blinking in rapid succession now, nodding slowly as he rubbed his chin. “Yes, yes, yes, hm… but… no, hm…” Humming, he paced back and forth, nodding as he went, clearly not thinking entirely on the conversation but on something else. “Then the more people believe in it and want it, the stronger its value…” Abruptly turning to Rick, he smiled. “Yes, this feels like really useful information. Need to think on it, really interesting I have to say, a value that is volatile only so long as the belief and need for it isn’t stable, and… yes. With that out of the way, how long do you intend to stay with the Earl? I could very well invite you to spend some time with my family, it would be quite the honor.”

“How… long?” Rick frowned slightly. “I’d intended to meet the man and move on?” As he said this, he noticed Victor’s brows rising. “But I take it that would be bad.”

“Oh, OH! Offworlder, yes, that… that makes sense. No, invitations of hospitality are typically at the very least for two weeks, perhaps a month. Though it’s not unheard of for guests having trouble with their finances to stick around for longer.” He tilted his head a little. “In your world, this is not the case?”

“If we invite someone over, it’s usually to spend a night tops.” The teacher felt a twinge of nervousness. “Any longer and it’s usually because it’s a very special event or vacation or something.”

“Vacation. Vacate? As in leaving a place?”

“We travel for fun during holidays, sometimes. Go faraway place for a week or a month, then come back and carry on working.”

“… that must be nice.” Victor’s smile faltered for a moment, scratching his cheek and frowning. “Really nice.” A slight nod. “My son had asked to come with me, and had to say no, too dangerous.”

Traveling here was a chore, a risk, and likely expensive if one wanted to do so safely. “I guess it would be.” He glanced at the man as he nodded along, apparently deep in thought. “Well, I guess we should get back to the road soon.”

With a slight nod, Victor walked back towards the others, holding his chin and not quite seeming to focus on anything in particular.

The instant he was gone, Monica popped out from behind one of the nearby trees. “Rick safe.” She proclaimed with a serious nod, moving closer and grinning as she leaned back, shooting him a coy smile as his eyes bounced down to her breasts.

The human sighed, looking away. “Shirt?”

“No.” she purred, grinning from ear to ear.

Rick sighed louder.