"There's no need to worry, young man. Come, have a drink," the man in front of me said. He held up a big mug and pointed to a few more next to him.

"Who are you?" I asked. Then, I added, "Where am I? How do I get back?"

"Hahaha. I'm just an old chump. Ryuko should explain everything after she comes back," the man replied with a giggle.

"Ryuko? The one that brought me here…. Is Ryuko?"

"Yep," he gave a short and simple reply.

Ryuko…. Wasn’t she just a little girl? Or at least… her body is a little girl’s? That woman who brought me here… She’s as tall as me. So, if that was Ryuko, it means that Ryuko isn’t as simple as I first thought.

“Why did she bring me here?” I asked straightforwardly.

“I don’t know.”

“Where am I?” I repeated a question.

“Port Ikari, the capital of the kingdom of Ebros,” he unexpectedly answered my question sincerely.

“Ok then… Who are you?”

“As I said, I am just an old chump. I go by the name of Sanzo.”

“Are you… perhaps a royal?” I asked him.

“Hmm… Good question. I’m not so sure about it myself. Maybe I am, maybe I’m not.”

His reply felt oddly familiar. Then, it hit me. It was the exact way Ryuko answered my question when I first met her. Based on my encounter with Ryuko, the answer was most likely a yes.

“A royal of a country defending me from royals of another country huh,” I blurted out.

“Hmm?” Sanzo asked. I looked at him. He didn’t seem to have heard what I accidentally said, so I quickly thought of another question to cover it up.

“Erm… How far is Redwater village from here?”

“Oh. the village where Ryuko managed her underground arena? It’s in the Kingdom of Asnal. Southwest from here. It just takes a second or two to teleport there with Ryuko's skill.” I stared at him unamused. He sighed. "Alright. It takes about a whole week or two to travel there with the fastest horses. The main reason is that the terrain is really hard to cross."

He reached out towards the window. There was a bell on the sill. He grabbed and shook it. The gentle tinkle echoed around the room. Then, someone knocked and opened the wooden door on the other side of the room.

It was a man dressed in black. He then bowed slightly towards the king. Sanzo commanded, "go grab a map for me." The man then bowed down again and left the room.

"Young man, while we wait, come and have a seat. Since you asked so many questions, could I perhaps ask a few too?" Sanzo said.

I was so caught up trying to understand where I was that I didn't realize I was standing the whole time. I replied "sure, go ahead," as I have a seat opposite the king.

"Can you introduce yourself, young man?"

"Alright. My name is Renikno. I came from a small village close by to Redwater."

"Hmm… May I ask about the name of the specific village?"

"Specific village? There are many villages. I believe that even if I were to tell you, you wouldn't know where it is."

"Ahh, no worries. I have a list of most villages all around the world and I, myself, have personally been to some of them. The world is a small place, you know."

Shit… Did I just dig my own grave? I didn't know the names of any villages nearby there. I took a deep breath and replied softly, " Kru… Kruben."

"Ahh. The village of Kruben. A friendly village indeed. I believe it was located next to the ocean, am I right?"

"Yeah!" I replied.

"I met your village elder once. It had beautiful sceneries and many villagers were quite skillful at boat making. If only that village was a real place." He stared at me. I instinctively reached over to my dagger. I got up and jumped back. "Young Renikno. There's no need to be scared. I mean no harm."

I stared back at him cautiously. He smiled and added, "I only wanted to see if you would tell the truth. It's such a pity that you don't trust me enough yet." He looked a little sad. "Oh! I bet you were mad because I forgot to give you a cup of wine. Come, come! Which do you prefer? Wolf grape wine or sunberry wine? Perhaps something local here? Like, snowsnap wine?"

I kept my distance and did not say a word. I had my two daggers in my hands, ready to defend or counterattack anytime. Sanzo stood up. Then, he said, “Here, I’ll prove to you that I mean no harm.”

He gathered some magic above his palm. Then, an outline of a cylindrical object started to form. He grabbed it and it turned solid. “Here, sign this contract, and you can rest assured that your safety will be guaranteed.”

He tossed me the contract. I didn't try to catch it. I was afraid it might have been a trap to make me drop my guard.

"Thud," it dropped onto the floor and rolled to my foot.

I kept my eyes on him as I reached over to contract. I unrolled the contract with one hand. It wrote that Sanzo wanted my information, and in exchange, he would ensure my safety in the kingdom of Ebros.

"What kind of information do you want?" I asked bluntly.

"Haha. Although Ryuko didn't tell me anything, I'm already pretty sure of the reason she brought you here." Sanzo took a step forward. I took a step back instead, keeping the distance. He smiled. "There's something special with you. Just based on how you reacted to my little trick, it showed that you were lying."

"Did you really expect an old man like me to memorize the whole map? There are still tons of villages out there not on the maps yet," Sanzo explained.

The situation seemed dangerous. I don't know just how powerful Sanzo is. But based on Ryuko's power, he must have been at least just as strong.

I decided to escape. I would be depleted of mana, but it didn't seem I could last any longer anyways. After a deep breath, I cast, "Phantom…."

"I won't allow it," I suddenly heard a woman's voice next to me. It was Ryuko, still in her tall form. "Array Mechanicus!"