After their carriage arrived at the Fonte clan residence, Hikaru was escorted to a guest room where he could finally rest without constantly looking over his shoulder. The next morning, the soft glow of mid-morning sun filtered through the curtains, and Hikaru woke up to find he had overslept, missing breakfast entirely.

As he opened the door and stepped into the hallway, he was met by an enthusiastic Lucretia, who grabbed his hand with a warm smile. “Come on, Loki! Calvin’s waiting for us,” she said, leading him to the dining room.

In the dining room, a delightful array of snacks was spread out on the table. The inviting aroma of fresh pastries and fruits filled the air. Hikaru took his seat across from Calvin and Lucretia, who were already waiting for him.

While they were having lunch, Calvin initiated a conversation: “So, how was your sleep, Loki?”

Lucretia interrupted Hikaru's answer and said: “You missed meeting our mom. She already went to the clinic after having breakfast!”

Hikaru responded: “Sorry, I haven't slept this well for ages. Hehehe. How about I go to the clinic myself?”

Calvin then told Hikaru: “No, bring Lucretia with you – she also works at the clinic!”

Hikaru then asked: “Alright, my apologies. Did you wait for me so that you missed going to the clinic, Lucretia?”

Calvin then responded: “You're overthinking it. Lucretia hasn’t mastered level 2 Body Arts skill yet, so she can’t heal anyone. Mom instructed her to focus on improving her physical attributes and assisting with other tasks in the clinic.”

After finishing their early lunch, Calvin headed to Windmore Military Hospital, while both Hikaru and Lucretia were preparing to go to the clinic.

Lucretia suggested: "The clinic is about a half-hour walk away. How about we fly there instead?"

Hikaru nodded and scooped Lucretia up in a princess carry before soaring towards the clinic. In a matter of minutes, they landed in front of Oliver's Clinic. Hikaru gently put Lucretia down and entered the clinic together.

Hikaru looked around the clinic, which was empty as he followed Lucretia, who proceeded ahead and knocked on the door at the end of the corridor. Lucretia’s mother answered the door, prompting both of them to come in.

Lucretia’s mother greeted Hikaru with a warm smile and a bow, expressing her gratitude: “Hello, you must be Loki! Thank you from the bottom of my heart for saving my daughter. Please, have a seat. My name is Briana Fonte.”

Hikaru took a seat beside Lucretia on the sofa and responded warmly, saying, "It's truly a pleasure to meet you, Aunt Briana. I'm glad I could help Lucretia.”

Hikaru observed Briana and noted to himself: 'Briana does resemble older Lucretia, but with brown eyes, brunette hair, and a mature demeanor.'

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Briana then turned serious and said: “So, I heard that you are interested in supplying us with alchemy ingredients at the same market price. What’s the catch? You could just go to the adventure guild and take the alchemy ingredient quests from them yourself, which can accelerate your guild rank promotion. Why take the risk of accepting a quest from a stranger? What if I don’t pay you?”

Hikaru then responded politely: "To be completely honest, I haven't registered with the adventure guild. Moreover, since I've lost all my belongings including my citizenship card, I'm unable to register with any guild.”

In his mind, Hikaru thought: 'I can't mention my Bailey Citizenship card since Elvira and Bailey are currently at war!'

Briana was surprised by Hikaru's answer. "Then how did you manage to enter the city?"

Hikaru explained: "One of the guards at the checkpoint saw Lucretia's condition and let us through to get her to the hospital."

Lucretia looked at Hikaru gratefully. "Thank you again for saving me, Loki."

Briana frowned. "So, you got lucky this time. But what's your plan for leaving and coming back?"

Hikaru shrugged. "That's what I'm trying to figure out. Maybe I can borrow someone else's ID card?"

Briana then explained: “It’s too risky. Citizenship cards, as well as guild-issued cards, are embedded with Auraweaver Crystal Composite. This crystal composite contains the aura of the identity holder, so the guard can use an Aura Monocle to visually check if the color of the aura inside the crystal composite matches that of the card holder.”

Hikaru then asked: “Then can I just find someone with a similar aura color and borrow their card?”

Briana then answered patiently: “It's still risky. There are more than a million different colors of Aura. If the guards find inconsistencies with your aura color, they will ask you to activate the card and channel some of your chi into it. These cards are earthbound to their holder, so they won't be activated by anyone else.”

An Earthbound object means all of its crystal components can only be activated by a specific person or bloodline.

Briana then suddenly thought of something and involuntarily said: “Unless…”

Hikaru then responded: “Unless... what? Please, go on.”

Briana then explained her thought: “Unless the card holder is colluding with the borrower. In this scenario, the card holder must first supply mana to the Auraweaver crystal composite during the entire process, and completely drain the chi stored in it. The borrower then needs to channel their chi as a replacement. However, due to this condition, if the borrower is caught, the card holder will also be implicated.”

Lucretia interjected and asked: “What happens if there are two different chis inside the crystal composite?”

Briana answered: “The crystal composite will explode!”

Auraweaver Crystal Composite can store chi when someone channels mana in dry conditions or release the stored chi when channeled with mana in wet conditions. This crystal composite also contains resonance crystals, allowing it to resonate with other resonance crystals of the same frequency but with vibrations a thousand times weaker than those of pure resonance crystals counterpart, making it unnoticeable without a special device. This security measure is added to prevent forgery.

Briana then made a suggestion: “Okay, I think I can introduce you to someone who can lend you his adventure guild card. But due to the risk involved, he will probably charge you for it, considering the circumstances.”

Lucretia interjected: “Why don’t we use Calvin card!?”

Briana then responded: “No, unfortunately, we can't. Calvin belongs to the Frostfolk sub-race, but Loki will need to use a male Bamborean identity card.”

Hikaru responded: “Agreed, then when can I meet this person?”

Briana replied: “I'll contact him as soon as possible and keep you updated on the progress.”

Briana then changed the subject with a thoughtful expression: “Regarding the price of the ingredients, I agree to go along with the market price. I'm sorry I can't offer you more for them, even though you saved my daughter. The financial situation of my clinic isn't good right now. However, as you are my daughter's savior, I can provide you with lodging and meals for indefinitely as long as you stay with us. I hope you understand!”

Hikaru nodded appreciatively: “Thank you for your generosity, Briana. Your offer is more than enough. I accept your kind gesture with gratitude.”

After the discussion concluded, Hikaru bid his farewells and decided to take a stroll to explore his new surroundings. Lucretia decided to accompany him, which Briana readily agreed since the clinic was currently empty.