"Papers, please," the lazy-looking guard asked Lone and Soph while he picked some earwax out of his ear and flung it onto the ground. "If ye've no papers, then there be a fee to register as a citizen of Milindo."

Lone gingerly took his and Soph's proofs of identification out from his coat pocket - the ones he'd gotten from the greedy woman at Ros' harbour.

The guard scratched the back of his head as he read them. "Ros, eh? Ye've come a long way."

Lone smiled. "We just had to see the capital. I've heard it's the shining jewel of Milindo and it would be the greatest shame of my life if I never came to see it. My master's life as well."

The guard looked a bit prideful at that. "True 'nuff. Every'ing looks in order. The entry fee's five coppers per 'ead."

Lone handed the man twenty copper coins. "A little bonus for yourself, my good man. It's a hard job guarding the gates, no?"

"'At it is. 'At it is, my friend. See? You demis do 'ave good 'earts. They should abolish slavery is the way I sees it. Happy folk is hard workin' folk. They'd be more demis like you if they weren't forced into shovelling shite or ploughin' the fields. Either get rid of slavery or make all masters like this pretty little lady of yers. Oh well, nutin' to be done about it. Enjoy yer stay in Ranton, ya hear? I ain't never seen a demi like you what with all dem tails, but ye've got a good 'ead on yer shoulders," the guard said with a toothy grin strewn across his lips.

Congratulations! The host's passive skill [Acting] has levelled up! It is now Intermediate Level 1.

'Nice! I wonder what benefits it has now?' As he was saying his goodbyes to the guard and pulling Soph along by her hand into the city, Lone checked his skill now that it had ranked up. He was hoping for a new beneficial effect.

Passive Skill: Acting Naturally makes everything that the host does which does not align with their personality or motives 15% [+10%] more believable. Cost: N/A Mastery: Intermediate Level 1

'Damn. No new effect... Still, a ten-percent perma-buff isn't horrible. I wonder if this skill can reach a point where I can convince anyone of anything with just my acting? Like, after it's evolved once or twice? Speaking of that, can a skill even evolve twice? It must be able to, right? There's no way Lightning Bolt is the peak of that skill... I really hope it isn't, at least.' As per usual, magic and his dreams of being a powerful sorcerer were clearly Lone's biggest weaknesses.

"Lone," Soph called.

He had told her that it was fine for her to speak now. This may eventually lead to some trouble down the line since she was supposed to be mute back in Ros, but Lone figured it would be better for her to talk and socialise a bit more with other people to bolster her confidence. He was going to get strong enough to protect her, so he was okay with the discrepancy of her ability to speak cropping up to bite him in the ass later on.

"Hmm? What's up?" he asked her as he continued strolling down the cobbled streets of Ranton.

There were quite a lot of robed or heavily armoured men and woman walking around, all of whom had a peculiarly designed triangle sown or carved into their gear. From what Lone had read in the history book, this was the symbol of The Church of The Primals.

"Em, what are we gonna do now? Find an inn?" she asked.

Lone nodded. "Yeah. Preferably one that's on the safer side. I'm not too bothered if they discriminate against me a bit. Safety is far more valuable than comfort is."

"Um... Okay. I r-really hope they don't hate you because of your tails... They're so fluffy and pretty..." Soph mumbled as a tiny bit of drool eeked out of her mouth.

Lone laughed. "You're such a fluffaholic."

"A what?" the girl asked as she cocked her head to one side adorably.

"A fluffaholic. It means, um, that you love fluff?" Lone explained while he kept most of his attention on the streets and the buildings they were passing to find a decent place to stay.

"Oh! Then I'm definitely a floofaholic!" Soph exclaimed a bit excitedly as she squeezed a tail or two with her free hand.

Lone smiled. "Floof, not fluff, huh?"

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"Hi, do you accept demis here?" Lone asked the nice-looking young lady behind the counter of the fifth inn he and Soph had visited thus far.

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The first four were perfect as far as security went since each had their own private guards, but three declined demis entry and the fourth only let demis and slaves sleep outside. Lone was fine with low quality, but he refused to sleep separately from Soph. He'd sooner send her to The Summoning Room than split up with her.

"Yes! We do! Pa's a demi himself, so of course we do!" the girl answered with excitement.

"Oh really? Biological father... or?" Lone let his question trail on so the girl could fill in the blanks.

She laughed. "Come on! Don't be silly. You know as well as I do that demis can't have kids with humans. Ma remarried when I was only this high," the girl said as she put her hand to her waist. "He's looked after me and my brother ever since."

Lone smiled. "Of course. I was only teasing you." Internally, he was somewhat relieved. 'So I don't need to put Soph on the pill? I'll research this a bit more to be safe, but that'd be ideal. It'd be stupid to have kids no matter how much I love her, and if I can avoid spending mana on the pill, then all the better.'

Lone refused to use a condom since he'd read online a lot that it dampened the experience somewhat. There was also the fact that the pill he'd created the other night had a success rate of one-hundred-percent. Or at least, that's how he'd imagined it being during its creation.

Soph didn't really care about this news. If they had a child, they had a child. If they didn't, they didn't. She would be happy regardless so long as she was with Lone.

"If you don't mind me asking, what kind of demi is your father? I'm from a place where it's rare to run into demis. Humans too, if I'm being honest," Lone said with sincerity in his voice as he showed off his perfect teeth.

The girl behind the counter felt her heart flutter. "Um, he's a Lesher, not a beastkin like you are, Sir. Em, even though he's a Lesher, don't think of him as a slave if you meet him, please. He was bought and raised by a good family who looked after him. He was given his freedom when his master died of old age."

Congratulations! The host's passive skill [Persuasion] has levelled up! It is now Beginner Level 7.

'Nice,' Lone thought silently in response to his skill's level up. "No worries. I'll respect him if I see him. Anyway, we've strayed off topic quite a bit, haven't we? What're the rates for your rooms?" Lone was very satisfied with what information he'd conned out of the girl. 'I've no clue what a Lesher is, but I imagine I'll find out if I hang out around this place a bit. Maybe he's a long-lived species and can tell me about that too since he outlived his master? The shopkeeper mentioned the possibility of me being very old since I'm a demi, so I'd like to learn more about that...'

"Ah! Right! How could I have forgotten? How silly of me," the young lady said with an embarrassed smile on her face. "Well, since you're guaranteed protection from the inn's guards as well as two full meals a day, it's thirty coppers per night for a single room. A double room is sixty coppers. If you want a wooden bathtub and hot water every night, that'll cost you an extra twenty coppers. Hot water is expensive since Ma has to make it herself. She's a retired water mage, you see."

Lone nodded and took out six silver coins. "Ten days should do for now. A double room, of course. No bathtub."

"Of course, Sir!" The girl spun around and grabbed a key from the key shelf behind her before she spun once more to face Lone again. She then handed him the key and said, "It's the fourth room to the left of the stairs on the third floor. I hope you enjoy your stay! Both of you!"

"Me too," Lone replied.

He pulled Soph along and ignored the curious looks he was getting from every which angle. It was mildly irritating, but he couldn't help the fact that he was a Golden Foxkin. He simply reasoned that this was one more reason for him to punch the gods in the face for bringing him and Soph into this world without their consent and for fucking with them.

Once they'd reached their room, Soph jumped onto the bed and frowned. "It's a lot better than that shabby place in the other city, but this bed still doesn't feel right..."

"Ros, and yeah. Get off of it for a second, please?" Lone asked of her.

She did as requested and jumped back onto her feet. Lone stored the double bed and brought out their king-sized one. it was a relief that he could do this since he'd stored it as a set with the fort. His Dimensional Storage was clearly quite a versatile skill.

Soph squealed with delight and buried herself under the cotton sheets. "Mmm, much better..."

Lone just laughed softly at her cuteness. He occupied a leather-padded seat and began a certain experiment he'd been wanting to try for ages now via his Creation Magic.

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"Any success, Trella? Has Tiera found the child?" a staticky voice asked through a glowing crimson orb.

A young boy of perhaps nine or ten years shook his head even though the person on the other end of the orb couldn't see him. "No, Matriarch. She's still searching. I'm afraid that powerful magic is hiding the child. But, um, there is something... strange."

"Oh? Explain," the voice ordered in a calm and soothing voice. The matriarch was not upset at his or Tiera's failure to locate the 'child'. It was expected, considering the unique circumstances of their mission.

"Well... um, I haven't seen for myself, but Tiera said that she saw a Golden Foxkin in the streets earlier today when she went out to buy groceries," Trella admitted.

"..." There was a deafening pause before the matriarch sucked in a deep breath of air and her tone turned serious. "Tiera swears it wasn't the child?"

"Yes, Matriarch. She claimed that it was a man who looked to be in his early twenties. Um, I'm not sure how old he really is since he apparently hasn't awakened, but he had nine tails according to Tiera. He was also travelling with a blind human child. A female. She may be his master, but I'm not sure. Tiera said that they seemed... closer than a master and a slave," Trella stated everything that he knew.

"I see... Make contact with this man. I find it hard to believe that a beastkin can have nine racial traits, even more so if they are a Golden Foxkin. Assuming he's real, I wish to talk with him. He may know of the child's location. I'm also curious if he needs help with anything. It would be wise of us to ingratiate ourselves with a nine-traited beastkin, all the more so since he is our kin." There was hope in the matriarch's voice.

"Of course, Matriarch. um... How are our parents? Are they any better?" Trella asked cautiously.

"Unfortunately, no. Their condition continues to worsen as the days go by. Do not worry. I won't forsake my son and daughter-in-law so easily. I have already made contact with the Soul Hall of the White Dragonkin Clan. With some luck, Lord Elksworth himself will come to offer his services," the matriarch claimed.

The boy's eyes brightened. "Thank you... Grandmother."

"I've told you to only call me 'Matriarch' during official communications. I will contact you again in three days. Make contact with this supposed nine-tailed Golden Foxkin before then, Trella," the matriarch ordered.

With that, the conversation was over. The red orb lost its lustre and became inactive, signalling that the connection had been cut.