| 4 | Gotta Get Those Discounts

Oblivious of the misunderstanding she had just caused, Lenna entered Landrow.

Landrow had many streets and consisted of mainly half-timber buildings with the occasional stone building. The majority of the shops and restaurants were situated in the center while housing was more towards the wall.

If Lenna recalled correctly, the Cat's Tail was situated more towards the edge of the town center. The locals praised it for its fantastic food and alcohol. Granted, Lenna was still too young for alcohol, but she wanted to try it when she was of age.

The age at which one could drink alcohol varied from race to race. For example, humans needed to be about twenty-one while dwarves only needed to be around sixteen due to biological differences.

After asking for directions from a passerby, Lenna quickly made her way to the establishment.

The main building had two floors, with the first being the restaurant and the second being the inn rooms. There was also an option to eat at a table outside on the side of the building.

A waist-high stone wall encompassed the outside section, positioned above was a pergola with wooden beams crisscrossed, supporting the greenery entwined with it.

When she got closer, she found Krom already sitting at an outside table with a menu in hand.

Krom gestured for her to join him, "Hey Lenna, did you sleep well?"

Sitting down, she responded, "Yeah, but I tossed and turned a little in the middle of the night, so I was slow to get up. On the topic of sleep, where did you sleep?"

"Me? I slept outside." Krom casually said.

Lenna had a deadpan expression, "... Outside?"

Krom similarly had a mirrored expression as he verified, "Outside."

Krom saw nothing wrong with sleeping outside. Due to mana heavily reinforcing his body, he was resistant if not immune to any abnormal conditions. He also would immediately notice any disturbances caused by anyone to the area around him unless that person was of a similar rank.

Lenna sighed.

She now understood what Morg meant from yesterday's dinner.

After they both looked at the menu and decided what to eat for a somewhat late breakfast, Krom called over a nearby waitress.

The waitress was a beast-kin with chocolatey brown hair and fluffy cat ears dressed in the standard Cat's Tail waiter's outfit, which consisted of black clothes and a matching apron.

She also happened to be the poster girl for the establishment.

She cheerfully said, "Hello, I'm Mia! Have you two decided on what you're going to have?"

Krom closed the menu and said, "Yes, I'll have a..."

Mia handed them some complimentary bread and water before heading inside to place their order.

While they waited for their food, Krom told Lenna about his current plan for their journey.

Krom stated, "first things first, and as you know, we need to go to the guild headquarters so the guild master can say whatever they need to say; which is actually pretty convenient because I need to verify something in the guild's archives. I think I know where we need to go, but, as I said before, I need to verify it."

Continuing, he said, "We also don't have enough time for me to train and guide you in one place; otherwise, we wouldn't make the journey in time. So, I propose that I instruct you as we travel."

Lenna contemplated for a moment, "That sounds like a good idea. Also, I'm just curious, but do you have any experience teaching?"

Krom said, "Actually, I do."

"Really? Where?"

"The guild master has me teach classes at headquarters every so often."

After waiting for about half an hour, Mia came back.

She placed several dishes on the table, "That's one waffle with powdered sugar, and one bacon; egg; and cheese omelet. I'll also refill your waters while I'm here. Enjoy!"

They thanked Mia before digging into their food.

Lenna had to agree that the restaurant's reputation lived up to its name. The food was outstanding. Lenna ordered the waffle and was quite happy with her choice.

The waffle was fluffy but not to the point of being a sponge. The texture was pleasing, and the powdered sugar complemented the waffle well.

Krom had ordered the omelet, and he was also satisfied with his option. The egg and cheese balanced each other out nicely, while the bacon provided a burst of flavor to the usually stagnant taste.

Towards the end of the meal, Krom suddenly asked, "Did you bring the flower I told you to?"

"Oh! Yeah, it's in my bag. Give me a second..." Lenna reached into her bag before carefully pulling out the blue flower from one of the side pockets.

"Here it is!" She handed the flower to Krom.

Krom smiled, "Thanks! This will be helpful in a few minutes. Also, sorry in advance."

Lenna had a questioning gaze but chose not to say anything.

Mia came back shortly to clean up the dishes and give them the check.

"I hope you two enjoyed your meal. Was it to your liking?" Asked Mia.

They both nodded. Lenna said, "It was great. I think I speak for both of us when I say it was more than to our liking."

Mia smiled, "Good! Anyways, your total comes to fifty-six copper."

Mia looked up from her clipboard and noticed the flower that was in Krom's hand. A sly grin formed on her face, "Actually, you two are eligible for the couples discount for 50% off, exclusive to the day of partnership!"

Lenna tried to clarify the misunderstanding but found she couldn't open her mouth. An invisible force was preventing her from responding!

She looked around, trying to find the source until she realized who it was. If looks could kill, Krom would probably be dead twice over.

'I can't believe he's using me to get a discount!'

Krom felt Lenna glaring at him but ignored it. He would apologize more later.

He reached into his pocket and took out twenty-eight copper coins, "Here you go."

"Thanks! I hope you two lovebirds have a good day!" Mia bid farewell, then went inside to return to her duties.

Once Mia was gone, Krom lifted the pressure and said, "Sorry, sorry, I'll apologize all you want later. Let's go to the port for now."

Lenna's eyebrow twitched in annoyance. She was irritated at Krom but eventually cooled off because Krom had paid the bill. She responded, "You better..."

After leaving the Cat's Tail, Krom walked to a general supply store and bought a good amount of food while Lenna sat on a bench outside.

Krom placed his hand over the food as mana circulated around his hand.

In just a moment, translucent green crystals rapidly began to spread over the surface of the food before being sucked into a ring on his hand.

The ring on his hand was a storage ring.

Storage rings were objects that could store any inanimate objects in a separate space with an area of about two meters cubed. They were scarce and weren't something you could easily obtain. Even if you had enough money to buy one, you wouldn't find a seller unless they were insane.

Naturally, using a storage ring wouldn't go unnoticed, and greed flashed in the eyes of many around them.

Krom quickly found Lenna then swiftly left town, not wanting to attract more attention.

As they walked along the road, Krom said, "Let's try to reach the halfway point to the port by nightfall."

Lenna nodded in agreement as she sped up to the speed of an elite athlete. She could go maybe a little faster, but she would tire out before they reached halfway.

A C-rank could move almost double the speed of an elite athlete, which was much faster than an average person could hope to run, while a B-rank could move at the speed of a bullet train at a minimum.

Krom quickly caught up to Lenna then matched her speed. He wanted to see how much Lenna knew and asked, "How much do you know about relics?"

Lenna laughed awkwardly, "Not much, to be honest. I just know that they are what make us stronger and able to fight elementals."

Krom sighed, "Let me guess. Morg only taught you combat-related topics, didn't he?"

"You guessed it, heh."

"Well, whatever. You're more or less right." He said.

A Relic is essentially an object that naturally forms a contract with someone upon their body absorbing enough mana. The relic could be anything, within reason, and granted both physical, and mystical abilities to their contractee. Before an island broke free from probation, these abilities would be deemed as supernatural.

Once someone forms a contract with a relic, their body will cease to naturally absorb mana from the atmosphere. From there, the only way to get stronger is by absorbing another creature's mana.

Upon reaching a certain level of mana, your rank would increase. Each rank was exponentially stronger than the last and quickly snowballed. Each person would have their strength enhanced differently depending on their relic. Some would have tougher bodies, while others might be faster while another stronger.

After hearing Krom's brief explanation, Lenna nodded in understanding. She was curious about Krom's relic but figured she would see it eventually.

Night came quickly.

To the duo's pleasant surprise, they had reached a little past the halfway point by nightfall. If Krom and Lenna left early tomorrow, they would reach the port by early afternoon tomorrow.

They found a small clearing by the side of the road and decided to set up camp for the night.

Lenna set up a small tent while Krom placed a few stones in a circle and took out a bowl-shaped pan to prepare dinner.

Krom took out some of the crystalized food from his storage ring and flicked it, causing the food to return to its original state.

After grabbing some firewood from the ground, igniting a mild flame, and throwing some ingredients into the pan to make a stew, Krom went to the side of the camp and called Lenna over.

He smiled, "Why don't I start your training while we wait for the dinner to finish cooking. Then, during dinner, I'll answer a few questions you probably have."