Inside the room at the adventurers' inn, Ebony and the Cult of Promises' watcher were sitting on the floor, while Lucian the elf sat on the bed above them.
"Alright, I'm going to remove the roots from your mouths if you promise to stop cursing at each other so we can talk about the problem in front of us," said the green-haired elf while seriously staring at the two idiots trying to break free.
As expected, neither of them behaved, so Lucian let out a sigh and, with a gesture of his fingers, ordered the roots to pull away only from their mouths, leaving the bindings around their bodies intact and preventing any movement.
"You bastard, you'd better have sold the hides and the crystals separately! That was way too much money to just give away," Ebony said as she tried to move, her blond hair tangled between the roots.
"Is money the only thing you care about? At least say thank you for saving your life," demanded the brown-haired human boy.
"Screw you, no thanks at all. You should be thanking me first. Without my help, you'd have been those bears' romantic dinner!" the blonde girl shot back.
"Shut up already, or I'm going to get pregnant again!" Lucian shouted to restore order, and surprisingly, it worked. Both of them fell silent, wearing cynical expressions.
"Good, that's better. Now listen. Right now, the three of us are together whether we like it or not… Now then, Ebony, this is Cristofer. Cristofer, this is Ebony." Lucian pointed at each of them, formally introducing them, but they both stuck out their tongues at each other.
"Whatever… Now we need to decide where to go before another day passes," the elf said with a worried, serious tone.
"Isn't it obvious, long-ears? We need to leave this kingdom and head to the lawless lands," Ebony said, looking down on him with disdain.
"Hahaha, that was funny, you say that like it's easy. Who do you think you are?" the young human replied.
"Huh? Did someone say something? I don't hear opinions from virgin kids," Ebony replied, tilting her head as if searching for the sound.
"You—" the brown-haired boy was about to answer, but he stopped when he saw Lucian's serious gaze.
"Silence. Cristofer is right, Ebony. The magical borders of the continent are complex. You need permission to enter or leave, and every time you cross, you accept the Sacred Laws of the country you visit."
"Huh? That…" Ebony was about to ask for more details, but not wanting to expose herself as a Visitor from another world in front of the teenager, she kept quiet. "Then what do you want to do?"
"We'll need help, and it won't be cheap. The last time I entered this country, it was illegally, thanks to a merchant who had a Trade Pact. He hired me as his bodyguard, and that's how I got in."
"Well then, we just need to find a merchant. Is the one who helped you still alive?" the blonde asked.
"No, I'm afraid not. That merchant died years ago and passed his Pact down to his daughter… That's why we need to use today to find another merchant and bribe them," Lucian replied quickly.
"Wait, wait. If you know she inherited it, then you know who she is. Let's find her. Doesn't she live here?" the boy asked.
"Umm… That's not a good idea. She's a bit… complicated… And she's never left this kingdom, so she has no experience outside of it," the elf said, averting his gaze.
"Oh really? Yeah, right. Try that excuse on someone else. Something happened between you two, didn't it? Don't tell me you killed her father or something. Did you steal from her?" Ebony asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Of course not! I'd never harm someone righteous, especially someone I owe my life to… It's just that she…" Lucian crossed his arms, trying to hide the blush on his cheeks. "She wanted to marry me, and I rejected her."
"Oh… And?" Ebony replied with disdain, twisting her lips dismissively. "This is business, idiot. Don't underestimate her. I'm sure she'll understand."
The brown-haired boy nodded in agreement, while Lucian, full of internal complaints, searched for an excuse to refuse.
But seeing his companions' expectant faces, raising their eyebrows repeatedly, clearly waiting to tease him if he showed any nervousness, he said nothing and simply agreed.
With a whistle from his pale lips, the roots vanished completely. The light-skinned boy had marks on his body from the pressure of the bindings.
However, the girl's body, white as milk and smooth as silk, showed no trace of having been restrained at all. This sparked suspicion in the teenager's mind, but he decided to ignore it out of sheer laziness at the thought of investigating.
The three of them went their separate ways. Ebony stayed behind to wait for her new clothes, Lucian went out to look for his friend, and Cristofer went to buy equipment for himself.
However, Ebony had other secret plans she didn't want to share with the two boys.
As soon as they left, she began rummaging through the backpack Lucian had brought and forgotten in the room.
Inside, she found five thunder crystals and a pair of bear fangs. Aside from that, the elf had only bought three mana potions and two healing potions, basic supplies for travel, meaning there was still plenty of change left in the bag.
Counting each coin meticulously like a greedy banker, Ebony found herself in possession of fourteen gold coins and five silver ones.
In the old game, that would have been an enormous amount of money, enough to live comfortably for half a year, but she knew that could easily change.
"(I was an idiot in my previous life… I spent without measuring anything and thought a miracle would solve it all… But I'm out of miracles now. This time, it's on me.)"
She picked up a gold coin and examined the symbol engraved on it, a skull wearing a crown.
"(I guess that so-called Demon King rules this country… But I wonder what the rest of the world is like. Where would it be cheaper to live? Where could I earn enough to not starve?)"
She lowered her gaze for a moment, feeling the hunger gnawing inside her. She hadn't eaten a single bite in over a day, reminding her of those nights in her previous life when her only meal was instant ramen.
Suddenly, a knock at the door interrupted her thoughts. When she opened it, it was the maid who had brought her new clothes, and she was visibly surprised to see Ebony in those rags that barely left anything to the imagination.
The blonde thanked her with a slight bow and closed the door. She didn't want to waste time and desperately wanted to eat something, so she dressed quickly.
But when she looked in the mirror, she saw the reality that still made her uncomfortable. Reflected back was a blonde girl wearing a green dress with golden embroidery and matching heeled boots.
She didn't know how to feel about it, but she knew one thing for sure: she never wanted to starve again. So she put on the gloves that matched the outfit and left the room, ready to accept this life.