As dusk settled, the aroma of the roasting meat wafted through the air, drawing us all to the fire for dinner. We eagerly watched Alice, our culinary maestro, for the signal that the roast was ready. Feeling much better now, with my senses clear and my belly no longer protesting, I realized how hungry I was; it practically roared its hunger.

Observing the other group nearby, I finally engaged my two brain cells and decided we should acknowledge Tehia's earlier kindness. So, I asked Alice to carve a leg from the roasted deer and sent Mike to deliver it as a gift to his crush and their group, along with some silver coins from Alice's purse, as advised by Ju.

Tom had already started feeling better, likely thanks to Tehia's potion, and had joined us around the fire. Only Hew remained unwell, though even he showed signs of improvement. It was a stark reminder that our boys had such low levels that even Ju, a skilled healer, struggled to keep them alive.

During dinner, I learned how we had been rescued. While I was unconscious, Ju had continued to fend off the ants from the small ice floe I had created until Alice and Lynx arrived. Tina and Michael had followed Ju's instructions, calling for help from a safe distance to avoid attracting the ants. Once Alice arrived, they transported us to safety in the ring's barn, and from there, to our current location.

As we were wrapping up our dinner, Mike returned accompanied by Tehia's group. I took the opportunity to use my identification skill, first on Mike's crush.

“Human, thief, level seven”

I chuckled. Of course, this didn't necessarily mean she was a thief; it simply indicated that her skill set fit that of a thief, so I decided not to tell Mike about it.

Tehia was identified as a "human, brewer, singer, level thirteen."

Sometimes, identification didn't offer clear-cut answers, especially when a person's skills seemed contradictory. In Tehia's case, it seemed she had two classes. This was a curious case, but not that uncommon. Her magical abilities were at level thirteen, her brewer skills overshadowing her singer skills.

Their levels were all under twenty, which was typical for common folk. One man stood out with an impressive level of sixteen, specializing as an acrobat. Others had no discernible skills and were identified simply as human, ranging from levels six to nine.

Tehia stepped forward alongside Mike's crush, and to my surprise, not Tehia but the girl spoke up, perhaps because she could speak English and had noticed that most of our group communicated in that language.

It seemed rehearsed: "We, the Trewar family, express our gratitude to Your Ladyship for the delicious dinner she graciously provided. With your permission, we would like to show our appreciation by offering a small taste of our show and our brewed beer."

Taken aback, I remained silent, waiting for them to continue. After a brief pause, seeing my lack of response, Ju took charge and replied in Guaravi:

"Our lady is delighted and grants you permission!"

As one of them placed a small pile of sticks near the fire, the acrobat approached Ju to speak.

"We'll be performing with fire. Will your creature not be frightened by it? Perhaps it should be restrained?"

Before Ju could reply, Lynx let out a chuckle.

"The creature will be content if it receives a jar of beer!"

It was obvious that he understood Guaravi, but preferred to speak in English, however, there was a moment of stunned silence at his unexpected speech. It seemed as though they were ready to flee.

"And that, my friends, was a demonstration of my ventriloquism skills!" Ju announced.

The panic turned into laughter, and the acrobat bowed, while Lynx shot Ju a questioning look.

"I see the lady elf has quite the sense of humor," the acrobat remarked.

I was relieved to see that they appeared willing to engage with the elf girl, though expecting them to accept a talking lynx might have been too optimistic. Ju inclined her head towards Lynx, silently urging him to remain quiet. He answered with a frustrated hiss and a cat-like meow.

To ensure he didn't speak further, she continued.

"Everyone knows that a talking beast is as feared as a demon, but a little joke has never harmed anyone, right?"

"True, but I've always wondered why," Tina interjected, but in English. She must have understood some Guaravi but likely wasn't fluent.

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Ju sighed and replied in English. "A talking beast is intelligent and cunning, not merely a simple creature driven by instincts. Even dragons can be defeated and controlled when they possess only the mind of a beast, but once they evolve and gain intelligence, they become truly formidable. They know when to retreat and when to attack. Additionally, a talking beast has dignity and won't easily submit to being controlled."

"But those are reasons to respect a talking beast. Why fear it? You could even negotiate with it," Mike pondered, now that the discussion was open.

"You can make deals with demons, too, and yet they are rightly feared! Let's not delve further into these matters; it seems to make our guests uncomfortable. I apologize for the jest," Ju said to Mike, who clearly had more questions.

Lynx only sighed and rested his head on his paws.

"The lady elf need not apologize; nobody was harmed by the jest," Tehia said.

She didn't speak English, but it was evident she understood enough.

The young thief, Mike's crush, approached the Lynx with a jar of beer in her hands.

"What should I do? How can it drink this beer?" she asked.

As she looked at me, contemplating, I asked her, "May I inquire about your name, miss?"

"Elenia, your ladyship," she replied with a small curtsy, carefully balancing the beer.

I studied her, wondering what Mike saw in this girl. She was at least an inch taller than him, rather slender, with long, relatively muscular legs compared to her thin torso and arms, and small, A-cup breasts at best.

"A beautiful name for a beautiful girl," I remarked, displaying my diplomatic skills. I even earned an approving glance from Ju.

"If you're up for the task of feeding him," I said and received a disapproving glare from Lynx, so I continued with a smirk, "he'll happily drink from the jar if you pour it gently into his mouth. I'm sure you'll know when and how much to pour."

Watching me with a hint of fear, Tehia chimed in, "Nothing bad can happen, right?"

Some of her group looked uncertain, questioning if her question was too bold, but Ju quickly reassured them.

"Her ladyship wouldn't put your daughter in danger. Just so you know, Lynx saved her life by carrying her in his mouth and pulling her out of a leech-infested morass."

I was surprised by Ju's revelation; she hadn't mentioned these details before. Or was she improvising? Regardless, everyone looked at Lynx with newfound respect as Elenia approached him. As he lifted his head, I swear I could hear her heartbeat, but she needed no further encouragement.

"What a magnificent creature you are!" she exclaimed, stroking Lynx as he gave me a puzzled look, yet seemed to enjoy the girl's affectionate gestures. I shrugged and settled beside him, while the girl stood on the other side with Mike, still feeding Lynx some beer.

I know that he almost made a comment about the beer, but then sighed and rested his head on his paws, watching the acrobats. They had finished their preparations and were now announcing the start of their little show.

"Let's watch the show, my savior," I said as he covered me with his paw, while I pondered whether lynxes could get drunk from beer.

The sticks turned out to be torches, and they lit them one by one. Two acrobats began tossing them back and forth, while another person added more torches, one at a time, until there were about ten torches flying between them.

Then they switched to three, creating various combinations. It was mesmerizing to see the torches dancing like living beings; in the darkness of the night, it was truly an eerie spectacle.

They followed with some fire-spitting acts while the young thief, Elenia, continued to distribute beer to everybody. The beer was good and relatively strong.

After they concluded the torch show and gathered the torches, Tehia stepped into the center beside the fire, holding something resembling a mandolin in her hand. It was a musical instrument with strings made from the tendons of a giant bird, a unique Guaravi creation.

After a brief preparation, she began to sing. It was a familiar melody, and she added verses in Guaravi about our gathering there. It was very flattering for me, but unfortunately, most of our people didn't understand Guaravi. Nevertheless, we applauded heartily when she finished.

As they prepared to leave, Tom stood up and asked me to hand him the guitar. Then, he asked everyone to wait. They were impressed when I retrieved the guitar from my inventory. These were simple people who didn't have much knowledge of spatial tools; they knew about their existence but seeing one in action up close was a novel experience for them.

Tom tried a few notes, then turned to me.

"Now Lores, what do you say? Could you sing our ballad?"

Ju had instructed me to behave more like a lady, which I found challenging, but was singing in public something that a lady would do? I turned to look at her, and she nodded. It seemed that it was indeed something acceptable, perhaps even expected of me.

Alright then, I glanced at the boys and noticed Mike taking position to play the drum. We didn't have an actual drum, but he improvised with some crates and a stool.

"Okay, Tom, let's do it," I replied.

We started somewhat hesitantly, but we had sung the ballad so many times before. It was almost second nature to let magic envelop our notes, allowing it to echo the emotions evoked by the ballad. I remembered the lesson I had learned not long ago.

A deep silence followed our song as they stood there, enchanted and hesitant to move.

Eventually, I broke the silence and approached Elenia to ask if they had beer for sale. She confirmed they did, but suggested I speak to Tehia for the price. After negotiating, we settled on sixteen silver for a barrel of about 32 liters, which seemed rather steep. I accompanied her to their wagons, where they had two, and returned with a barrel of beer in my inventory, while Ju explained that I could probably have bought two for the same price at the next waystation, which was ten kilometers away.