"That... doesn't sound like it makes any sense... Are you saying that if one person is starving, they cannot exchange the black bill for a meal, but they can exchange a single black bill for a single yellow one? That doesn't seem reasonable at all!"
"It does for the starving person. One cannot eat a house."
Viria shook his head and let out a baffled laugh about the ridiculous monetary system in the prison dungeon, but the helpful guard merely shrugged his shoulders and smiled.
"Oh, and there is also a white bill that can be used as any of the four I mentioned earlier, but those are rarely in use as only a few were ever issued since that method of payment was introduced."
Bossac added as an afterthought and continued walking.
"What about the rubbing and smelling part...?"
Realizing that the guard wasn't going to talk anymore, the young man spoke up on his own, reviving the subject.
"That was to check whether the bills were forged."
The answer was surprisingly simple and surprisingly... surprising...
"Forged...?"
Viria's eyes widened at the phrase.
"That's right. Forgery is considered a crime but since it doesn't usually involve directly harming people, we get a lot of forgers on the first floor. They usually try to continue their craft here, thinking that simple one-colored pieces of paper are an easy target and an easier way to get as rich as they are allowed to. But what freshly transferred forgers do not realize is that a very special kind of ink was used to dye all the official bills. When rubbed, it releases a specific fragrant that never fades from the bills. As for the forgeries, they are made with the most common ingredient available on the floor, blood and feces of mole-rabbits. You might imagine how easy it is to spot the difference. The repeated offenders caught with forged bills have the crimes added to their lists. That's the whole secret."
Bossac explained turning around and winking at the young man with an intrigued expression.
"Now that makes a whole lot of sense.. but – what is the list you are talking about, and what did you mean by the value of the bills depending on the things you are allowed to get?"
Viria rubbed the side of his neck and gulped down his saliva before asking.
"Both things are connected, actually."
Bossac declared and turned back around.
"See that building over there? That's our spot."
He pointed at the building that had a reasonably big sign with the words – The bathland of respite- written in tasteful letters.
"Oh, great. So, what is that list, and how it connects with the other thing?"
Viria take a quick look at the building and nodded before steering the conversation back to the subject that interested him.
"The list is a list of crimes. Whenever a convict from the first floor breaches the rules, their fault is added to the list. There are specific crimes that can ban a convict from accessing certain facilities – every facility has a guard who has a list of prisoners banned from entering it. If you are allowed to enter the place, you can buy whatever is offered there with a single bill of the right color. And back to the crime list itself – if the prisoner is a repeated offender, they can get relocated to the second, or even the third floor, depending on the severity of the committed crimes. Good morning."
Bossac finished his explanation just in time to enter the building of the bathland of respite and call out with a greeting.
"Morning Bossie, isn't it too early for playing with... whoa...!"
Just as Bossac mentioned, the facility had a guard waiting at the door – said guard called out to his colleague in a friendly manner before taking a single look at Viria and backing off in surprise.
"What can I say? I got a hardworker under my wings. Prisoner Viria from block E-11. The mole-rabbits that he hunted should be getting hauled in as we speak, and there are enough to give him more than a few green bills."
The helpful guard patted the blood-soaked young man on the shoulder and said confidently to the bathhouse's guard.
"If you say so. Though if this convict here will forget to pay it off..."
"He will not. Not this one."
"..."
The bathhouse guard shrugged his shoulders and glared down at Viria, but Bossac stepped between them and declare a stern voice surprising both his colleague and the young man.
"If you say so... You heard that, manager? This customer will pay up later!"
The bathhouse guard furrowed his brows, slightly confused before he turned around and called out facing further inside the building.
"Huh...? Wha...? O-okay, If mister guard says so."
An elderly man in a prison outfit with a brown apron on top of it flinched behind a counter and hurriedly straightened his back before nodding.
"Take your time, thanks to me being your guide I have today off, and since you won't be pressured with money there's no reason to not take it easy, boy! Maybe I will hop in too after I bring you the change of clothes. Have fun~!"
"...until later..."
Bossac turned his back to the others in the bathhouse and nodded at Viria with a friendly smile before patting his shoulders again and leaving.
At least for the moment, the helpful guard could be considered an ally so the young man held back the urge to slap the man's hand away and nodded. He spoke only loud enough for Bossac to hear him because he didn't trust himself enough to hide the annoyance in his voice otherwise, but that ended up making him look timid and in turn, made the bathhouse guard and the old manager exchange amused looks.
"Convict. Don't block the door, go on."
The guard called out at Viria and motioned towards the counter with his chin.
The young man didn't say anything back and only nodded at him as he passed, before looking around the facility.
The reception was simple. It did look like whoever made it put in an effort to decorate it to appear cozily, but just like Bossac explained earlier, there were no real luxuries in the prison dungeon, the best one could get is the semblance of normal life.