"Halt!" The two stationed guards shouted while their group approached. "State your business in Cyntha!" Both guards had their hands hovering above their sword handles, ready to draw the swords. They warily glanced at each of them and noticed the weapons. When the left guard looked at Milan and his healed wound on his leg, he immediately tensed.

Eve, with both empty hands, stretched out, answered them. "Hi! We are adventurers and accepted a quest at the local adventurer's guild and need to report our findings back to the them. Our friend here was wounded by a trap he had triggered. Nothing to worry about!"

After a short glance at each other, the right guard, probably the higher rank, gestured at Eve. "Then you can prove your claim with your badges, right? Please show them to us." Eve tilted her head slightly backward and fished out her necklace, where an adventurer's badge dangled from. Dunkin, Milan, and Seff mirrored her movement, and all of them showed them their badges.

With a content nod, the head guard turned his head and pointed at Yue and Avan. "Are these two also with you?" He asked Eve with serious eyes while still warily looking at both of them. The addressed warrior just nodded and grinned. "Yes. We were sent to... rescue these two. But they are no adventurers. Yet. They had some rough days and... lost their gear in a fight against some nasty goblins."

Satisfied that he had done his job and visibly more relaxed than before, the guard took a step back. "Then your entrance fee is covered by the guild." He told Eve and the other three of their group. With a hand wave at Yue and Avan, he continued. "But without a guild badge, you two need to pay the standard entry fee of ten bronze coins each."

Avan understandably nodded at the man and put his left hand reassuringly on Yue's right arm. She had winced at the mentioning of an entrance fee. He swung his backpack over his right shoulder and put his right hand inside. With a fake search through his bag and Yue's stern lecture from before still fresh in his mind, he summoned the twenty bronze coins out of his celestial storage without anybody visibly witnessing it. He pulled his right hand out and smiled at the guard while showing him the twenty required bronze coins. "Ah, here! Of course. No problem, sir. And we really need to buy new equipment after we had killed all these goblins, you know? It was a really nasty business, and their claws were ripping off all my good gear! Can you imagine that? And all the blood, good sir! Fortunately, I came by a lake to clean myself at least." Both guards had wide eyes at the end of his grumbling.

They were all quickly waved through the five-meter tall and six-meter wide town gates. Upon entering Cyntha, Eve gestured her teammates to stop and turned around to look at Avan and Yue. "That was fun, lad! Well thought out. So, we will first go to the adventurer's guild and deliver our report. They will most likely make an appointment for all of us later this evening because the headmaster should be informed and present. That's my guess when it comes to such... deceitfulness of a client." She smiled at Yue and waved her hand at the city. "You two, in the meantime, can buy some better armor and clothes. Especially you, Avan! The guildhall is located at the central plaza. You can't miss it. It's a massive building with a single wing engraved above the entrance. Just be there by sunset, okay?" With a last glance from top to bottom at Avan, the bladewalker brazenly grinned at him and turned around to walk away with her three companions in tow.

"Thanks, Avan... Usually, I would have my badge to gain entry, but I must have lost it on the chase through town..." Yue quietly told him. He could feel her embarrassment. "Ahhh! Yue, you should know me by now. At least a little. It's no problem. Really." He threw his arms up in the air. And suddenly embraced her with a loud giggle. "Let's go shopping with my little stepsister!" Squirming in his arms, she tried to beat him at the side of his head with the palm of her hand. "Uff! Let me down, you simple-minded bull!" Yue playfully cried at him and wiggled out of his hug. With deep red cheeks, she giggled, too. "I will get my revenge someday. Some itching powder in your bed! Or something else, you will see! Pah!" She walked further down the road with feigned snootiness and waved at him over her shoulder to signal him to follow. Both ignored the staring looks and whisperings they got from passersby's on the street.

Avan hurriedly followed her and grinned to himself. It surely makes a lot of fun to... have fun. Hah! And I'm happy she doesn't seem to be mad at me for my playful antics.

Soon, the street got more crowded with people of different species moving in all directions, doing their daily errands. They moved in between them and soon reached an open space, some kind of marketplace with numerous merchants and their market stalls shouting and gesticulating about their wares. Yue determinedly flowed through the crowd and aimed at the backside of the square, where Avan saw some storefronts and signs hanging above the doors. He could make out a smithy, a dressmaker, an alchemist or herbalist, and something resembling a leatherworker. Everything was indicated with a picture of their profession on the sign. An anvil, a needle with a thread, a plant on a potion, and a symbol that looked like leather. Yue was already waiting in front of the stores, tapping her feet on the ground. It seems he had stopped moving a few seconds ago while deep in thoughts. Avan winked and walked by her side.

In contrast to the fox girl's previous happy facial expressions, Avan suddenly saw a hint of worry shining through her, which she immediately tried to cover up with a grin. Without further words and aware of what might be going on inside her, Avan let his right hand rest on her right shoulder, earning a questioning look with a slightly forced grin on her face.

"Yue... Don't worry about it. You're not alone this time. And this time, the right people will know, and it won't happen again like it did when you escaped from Cyntha." he spoke in a calm tone reassuringly to her, even if it was not quite so easy with the noise of the shopping population around. "And before you know it, the subject is already settled! And no matter what happens, and no matter whether someone lies in wait for you again; this time I'm in, and Eve too, and surely the guild won't put up with such an incident either. It'll be fine!"

During his short little speech, she looked at him, puzzled at first, and her expression changed from sad as she dropped her fake grin, to a grateful look as she stared into his eyes. Avan could see small glowing and wet spots on her eyes, and where there had been a certain emptiness before, there was a glimmer of hope.

Without waiting or answering, Yue suddenly threw herself at Avan and hugged him warmly, followed by a murmured "Thank you..." into his cloth robe. Slightly ashamed, she took a step back a few seconds later and turned away from him, running her right sleeve over her face and trying to wipe away the deceptive tears that had formed.

"We shouldn't waste any more time..." she muttered forward towards the storefront, earning a tousle of her hair from Avan, which in turn earned him a small startled squeak and grunt from Yue.

"So, I never visited these stores myself, but... they are known to be good! And their price ranges from normal to expensive, so I hope you can afford at least something." She expectantly looked into his eyes and raised her eyebrows. "Do you even have enough money? I hope the entrance fee wasn't all you got. Otherwise... You cant afford a lot in Cyntha."

She turned her head down and visibly deflated. "Trust me, I know what I'm talking about... I had nothing after you saved me. Only these two daggers you gifted me. And I never asked, but do you want them back? I'm sorry I never thought about it..." She winced when she suddenly felt his hand on her head. But Avan just patted her with a smile. "Don't worry. Firstly, I have no use for them. And secondly, you lost everything, and it's the least I can give you. And it was a gift, so no taking back! And to your monetary questions. Yes, I... looted a lot of gold. And other stuff. AND, I have a lot to sell today. Let's visit the skinner and sell some things. What do you say?" She nodded and mouthed a silent "Thank you". Avan stopped patting and genuinely smiled at her. Just cute. Awww... Like a little sister I never had? Or will she be a good friend? I'm just glad I saved and met her. He mused to himself and stepped through the doorway into the shop. A low chime resounded through the room they found themselves in. A magical bell enchantment, probably? They promptly were spotted by a middle-aged man in his forties, a [Shopkeeper - 39] . "Hello, hello! Come in. Welcome to Barth's animal and monster potpourri! How can I help you, two youngsters?" The man named Barth waved with his right hand and gesticulated around his shop. The interior was littered with animal and monster products like padded heads, leather of different sizes and origin hanging from hooks, and all sorts of claws, fangs, and pelts.

Pulling one of the summoned [Hound]s hides and a fang out of his backpack, he presented it to the Shopkeeper. "I have... a few of these hides and fangs. I hunted down a few of them and skinned and salvaged them afterward. Would you buy these?" He questioned the man with a smile, ready to haggle. At the same time, Yue strolled through the shop and examined all the displayed products with great interest.

Barth took the hide and the fang out of his hands and placed them on the counter. He used some tools to measure the quality and sturdiness of the leather and nodded with joy. But when he looked back at Avan, he showed no emotions. Gotcha. Think you can hide your reaction, old man? Haha! The Shopkeeper started to talk. "Well, the leather and the fang are from some [Hound]s, right? But you know, these are pretty common around here, so I can pay you twenty bronze per hide and for the fang around five bronze each. It's both sturdy and in good condition, but those items are rather ordinary, you know?" He haggled with a plain look on his face. Avan could hear a gasp coming out of Yue's direction. With a glance at her, he saw her shaking her head slowly at Barth's explanations.

Locking eyes with the man, Avan nodded with a smile. "Of course! You are so accommodating. I will sell you the one hide and the single fang for the price you offered." With a hand wave at Yue, he continued, now with a smug face. "And the other fifty-six leather and hundred thirteen fangs I will sell to someone willing to pay the fair price for these high-quality items. Deal?"

With Yue glaring daggers at the Shopkeeper and Avans smug smile, the man visibly blanched upon the quantity mentioned. With a stutter, the man hastily tried to assure them he had just joked, of course. "Ahh, sir! I meant, of course, a NORMAL and shady person would buy them for such a low price! I just wanted to point out what someone ELSE would offer you. I run, of course, a reliable shop here and will pay you the best prices. Especially with such a high quality and quantity, you offer! Maybe, if you would be willing to... Could you show me your other goods? So I can tell you the right price." He bowed multiple times at them and frantically looked between Yue and Avan, who looked at him without any facial expression. Barth visibly started to sweat, which flowed from his forehead down over his temples as he squeezed his hands nervously together.

Avan waited a few seconds, and then smiled at him. He stepped forward and embraced the Shopkeeper with his right arm. "Of course! I KNEW you would be TOTALLY trustworthy, my friend! If you REALLY pay me your best price, I will surely come back in the future with more items to sell! Let me get the other things really quick, okay?" He let go of the man, who had a confused look plastered on his face while simultaneously removing the sweat running down his temples with a handkerchief. Waiting for Barth´s nod, Avan quickly mouthed a "Be right back" with a nod to the door at Yue and stepped out into the marketplace once more.

He turned his head and looked around to ensure no one paid any attention to the man in front of the shop. After he was sure no one being aware of him, he quickly summoned the second backpack on the ground. Avan dropped his shouldered backpack beside the other and put his left hand into the new pack to summon all the [Hound]s fangs into it. He summoned all the leather hides behind the bags on the stone floor in a neatly stacked pile with a cautious glance around his vicinity. He stepped to the door, swung it open, and called for Yue and the Shopkeeper. "Yo, could you help me carry all the leather and fangs into the shop, please?" Yue promptly walked out of the shop and quickly stared at the pile of loot. She shrugged, smiled, and started heaving some of the hides back into the shop by throwing a sideways glance at Avan. Barth soon followed her out of the door, and they all carried the items back into the store to drop them on and in front of the counter. Clapping his hands, Avan leaned against the counter and expectantly looked at the man who was head over heels into identifying all the goods.

He whispered to Yue, who also stood beside him and watched the man shuffling through all the pieces. "Do you, by any chance, know how much that could be worth?" She slowly shook her head and muttered back. "More than twenty bronze coins, much more. But I can't tell you how much because I am not versed in selling items and just started adventuring, as you know... But your theatrics from before should do wonders." She smirked, still watching the man going through the piles.

Some minutes later, Barth looked up and tilted his head while still in thoughts. Everyone could see his gears spinning and calculations dashing through his mind until he opened his mouth, addressing both of them. "So, the pelts are of higher quality than average. I made a mistake before, and I am so sorry. These monsters were tough, and their parts will make some decent armor and items. The fangs can be used in alchemy, and you should try to sell them to my neighbor, who would pay a much higher price than myself." With a glance at the leather stacks in front of him, he continued. "I would usually pay you around fifty bronze coins per hide, but you have such a high quantity that I am willing to pay sixty for each of them."

Avan looked back at the man and smiled with a broad grin. "But Barth, you can surely pay a little more, cant you? I mean, after you made sure we wouldn't be pulled over by someone shady. The leather is certainly worth around seventy bronze coins each, don't you think?" He smugly told him.

Barth just sighed and nodded with finality. "Yes, young man. I can pay you seventy." He quickly calculated the price. "I would pay you thirty-nine silver and 90 bronze coins in total. Deal?"

Avan stepped forward and took the outstretched hand to shake it. "Deal." The merchant stepped back behind the counter and bent down towards a small safe. With a stern look at his customers, he moved in front of the safe to hide any view and opened it shortly after. He filled a small pouch with the coins, closed the safe again, and stood up to hand over the money. Avan took the money and stashed it away, in everyone's sight, inside his first backpack. He quickly stored the pouch along with the coins inside his storage dimension and reviewed the added value. Everything's there. "I trust you, Barth. Specially because of our future transactions. You wouldn't cheat on me. Right?" With a nervous nod from the merchant, he stood up and shouldered his primary backpack again. "Now, after this is settled. What armor do you have for the both of us? Sturdy and flexible leather armor, nothing fancy, but with enough protection." He asked the man behind the counter.

Obviously happy to change the topic, he gestured to the walls near the counter, where some leather armor was displayed. "We have a lot of variety. From pelts like rabbits to wolf hide and grey-bear leather armor." He told them while Yue uncertainly stared at Avan, who had just asked about a new armor for both of them. Herself included. He nodded at her and held the forefinger of his right hand over his lips.

Barth continued talking, seemingly not noticing their exchange. "Or... You can buy some standard quality leather armor for now, which you can sell back to me later. While I make some high-quality armor out of the leather you just provided. What do you think? I will even refund you the exact price to pay for the standard armor now." He proposed.

Avan turned his head to the left, where Yue was standing and examining the armor stands. "What do you think, Yue?" She turned around with a puzzled look on her face. "What?! Sorry, I-I didn't listen. I was in thoughts..." She murmured, embarrassed. He sighed and smiled. "Don't worry. Barth here just made a suggestion. We could buy the armor he has now available and upgrade them later with a surcharge to get higher quality armor made out of the [Hound] s leather hide. How about that?" She put her head to the side and thought about it. "Hm... Yes, sounds acceptable, I guess? Is this fine with you?"

Avan stretched his upper body left and right. "Yes, should be fine with me." He said with a look at Barth. "We will buy something now, and you promise to provide us with an upgrade made out of the hounds leather in... three days? Is this acceptable?" The Shopkeeper enthusiastically nodded his head and rubbed his hands together in anticipation.

After they both picked a [Wolf leather Vest], a [Sturdy Leather Pants], and some typical leather boots for each of them, Avan paid six silver coins. They were finally ready to move on. The second backpack, filled with fangs, he just held with his left hand and flung it over his left shoulder. They bid the merchant farewell and stepped out of the front door. The sun hotly shone down on them. It was midday. Suddenly, Avan could hear a low stomach growl coming from Yue's direction. He giggled as he watched her cheeks blushing. "Eyyy... traitorous stomach..." She grumbled and looked at her belly while her tail wagged back and forth. Her fluffy ears twitched lightly. Avan couldn't hold anymore and laughed out loud. Hehe, that looked so innocent! Muahahaha! And I could also use some food. Some passersby stared at his sudden outburst and hastily passed by.

"Then it is decided! We are both hungry. AND I want to eat all the good food. So, food is on me! Let's dig in!" He pumped his fist in the air and laughed again. Yue just shook her head at his antics and followed him through the crowd.

They stopped by various food vendors, and Avan bought all kinds of fruits, cakes, sweets, and even some bird on a skewer, pickled in a hearty marinade. They both munched happily on all the different fruits, cakes, sweets, candies, but only Avan tried the chicken-style skewer. The fruits had different colorings and reminded him of similar fruits he had known on earth. Some slices of a big red berry resembled a melon, something that looked like pineapple pieces, and some of a juicy green fruit that tasted like sweet citrus. The cakes were all freshly baked and were served with something like maple syrup, and they even got some cookies with nuts. They had found a small bench on the side, in between the food stalls, and ate in silence. After Avan had finished his food, because he always devoured his meals so quickly, he had a question for her. "Hey. I noticed you didn't touch the dried meat back then when I have first met you, and even now, you only eat vegetables and baked stuff. How comes?" She swallowed her piece of cake and wiggled with her ears. "I... had an experience as a kid. There was a young dog I always liked near the marketplace. And someday, when my parents and I were strolling by, I saw... his head behind a food vendor... who was rumored to sell strange meat every now and then... On this day, I puked so often and hard that I stopped eating meat altogether. The image of its head was burnt into my memory, and every time I saw some meat on my plate, it flashed through my mind... So, since then, I try to avoid eating meat. Basically, that's it." She looked at him with a sad expression plastered on her face. He nodded at her. "I can feel you. Where I am from, we had an abundance of meat, fish, and food overall. And I stopped eating meat and fish just because... I could. And because it became dirtier and dirtier the way they slaughtered animals and produced everything. I had the luxury to choose. So, I did. This skewer is the first thing I ate for many years now. And I won't go back to eat meat every day. But I want to taste some stuff because around here, food is relevant once again. And thank you for telling me, Yue." He patted her head again, which earned him a cute pout.

He giggled, and they finished their food soon. They drank some water out of his three water flasks and moved back to the storefronts.

Standing in front of the alchemy or maybe a herbalist shop, Avan pushed the door open and held it for Yue to enter.