Victor asked Vans to hand over one of the item bags, then he asked the elderly man what the village's current population was. It was almost two hundred people. Victor had already planned for a similar situation, which was why he had extra item bags.
"I'll want the item bag back at some point, I'll return here eventually. The bag has food for at least three hundred people for about a year. For now, the bag is yours."
The man took the bag and examined the items. His eyes soon filled with tears and he thanked Victor, offering more money, but Victor said the coins and the information were already enough. Still, he wanted two more favors. The first was a guide, it did not matter who, as long as they knew the routes. The second request was a place for them to spend the night.
The elderly man formally introduced himself. His name was Alexsander, and the village was called Granforce. He was no longer suspicious. He handed over an empty house to the group and told them they could stay as long as they wanted. Then he left cheerfully, telling everyone about the food they had received from Victor.
"You were really right," Niko said.
"It's common for remote villages, even those ruled by nobles, to be forgotten and to suffer from poor management by their rulers. At least for humans and dwarves. Beastfolk and elves are more supportive, but they are still horrible beings when compared to demons."
"Do you really think we'll need a guide?"
"Yes. It's always good to have someone guiding us. It will also be a test. That person will be observing us and may notice if we make any mistakes. Now, Niko, do your job. Create more coins, and we'll melt the old ones to get more metal," he said, handing her the three coins.
Niko started working.
She was fast and managed to create many coins. All of them were placed into separate coin pouches. Each person had a pouch, and the magic bag stayed with Victor.
Someone knocked on the door. Niko answered it.
"Hi, I'm Sandra. Alexsander asked me to be your guide."
She was beautiful, and Victor liked her breasts, but he thought she was too young and delicate to be a guide. Still, he accepted. Vans even adjusted his glasses to get a better look.
Victor gestured for her to come in.
"Do you use magic or know how to use any weapons?"
"I don't know magic, but I've used a bow a few times, though I'm not good at it. Is that a problem?"
"No, not at all. It's just curiosity. Do you know what I want?"
She started undressing.
"What are you doing?"
"Don't you want it now?"
"What do you mean?" Niko asked.
Lysandra and Eris just watched.
"Didn't you want a woman to spend the night with?"
"What did Alexsander tell you?"
"That you wanted a guide."
"Yes, I want someone to guide me through the cities of the Kingdom."
She blushed and apologized, then said she accepted the job.
Some time after the incident, Lysandra asked what the girl had understood. Sandra said she thought Victor was one of those rich men who liked young women, even though he looked like he was twelve.
The next day, they all set out. Sandra looked prettier, she had taken time to fix herself. The elderly man offered them a horse, so Niko no longer needed to pull the carriage.
"What do you do exactly?" Sandra asked.
"I'm just a beginner merchant. The others are mercenaries."
"Are they like adventurers?"
"Yes, but more like adventurers who accepted a lifelong contract."
"I see," she did not know how to behave.
"Don't worry. We won't judge your manners or the way you acted before. Relax a bit," Lysandra said after noticing how embarrassed she was.
She wanted to ask where they were from, but she did not.
"We'll arrive in Zhara in two days. When we get there, we'll need you to guide us through the city and show us the important places, like the merchants' guild, the adventurers' guild, and other similar places."
"I'll do my best."
They walked for a few hours, then stopped to eat. Vans prepared lunch, he roasted basilisk meat, and everyone ate it with wild peach juice. Sandra liked the food and praised Vans many times. Niko did not like it and said nothing, but it was obvious.
After resting for a while, they continued on their way.
"We would get there faster if we used the carriage," Victor said.
No one had thought about it. The carriage was empty, and they had been walking the whole time.
They got into the carriage, and Eris started guiding it. She was the only one who knew how to do it.
They arrived in Zhara. The city was very large, and the walls were at least six feet thick. The city was protected by hundreds of guards stationed at the four gates, along with others patrolling the streets. It was the second richest city in the Kingdom, all trade passed through it. Victor admired the city. The Kingdom of Vorngate, before the war, had been the Empire of Vorngate. The city of Zhara did not exist back then, and the nearest city did not compare to the current one. War brought progress, at least in his view, even though it was something terrible. War is always terrible, no matter the side.
"We need to enter the city. I don't have any identification," Victor said.
"We can use mine," Sandra said.
The two guards at the gate were suspicious. Victor looked like a wealthy merchant, and the others looked like adventurers, yet none of them had any form of identification. Sandra did, but she looked like a poor village woman. Another guard appeared and recognized Sandra. He was from the same village as her. The guards let everyone in but asked them to obtain some form of identification, at least an adventurer card from the guild.
Sandra's friend took them to the adventurers' guild. It was relatively easy to obtain an adventurer card. One only needed minimal combat ability and to complete some simple tasks, like gathering plants.
The man said goodbye, and Victor observed the guild. He considered registering as an adventurer, but he needed a place to store the horse and the carriage. Sandra knew an inn. For four silver coins, the inn would keep the horse and the carriage safe for five days. Victor did not care about the price.
Back at the guild, they went inside, and the adventurers stared at them. When they approached the receptionist and said they wanted to register as adventurers, a man stood up and walked toward them.
"You think you can just come in here and register?" he asked mockingly.
The receptionist did not know how to react.
"Yes," Victor answered bluntly.
"I hate rich people like you. You have everything and still want more. You just came here to steal jobs from poor people."
"I didn't know there was a requirement for that," Victor said, looking at the receptionist.
"There isn't," she replied.
"Then I want to register, and the others here as well. We want to be adventurers," Victor said, ignoring the man.
The man grew angry and drew his sword.
"I'll take care of him," Victor said.
Victor stood still in front of the man. The man tried to strike him, but Victor dodged. With his right hand, he used fire magic. He moved quickly, grabbed the man's weapon arm, and burned it, forcing him to drop the sword. Then Victor punched him, knocking him unconscious.
"Does anyone else have a problem with my registration?"
No one said a word.
Victor placed the sword on top of the fallen man and once again told the receptionist that he wanted to register.