Jeannie: "Vin, are you mad?." (She asks with curiosity while glancing at Vin.)
Renz: "If you see Vin being silent, it means he's mad." (He looks at Jeannie with a teasing face.)
Vin: "Shut up, I only speak if I think it's important." (His tone is annoyed, but his gaze remains focused on the city street.)
Jeannie: "Haha, is that so?" (She laughs cheerfully, teasing Vin.)
Renz: "That's really scary, Vin." (He smiles faintly at Vin.)
Vin: "Forget it, by the way, do you guys have money?" (Vin stops walking, turns around, and looks at Renz and Jeannie.)
Jeannie and Renz also stop walking, in the middle of the busy streets of Devoria City. The surroundings are filled with people walking around, and the sounds of footsteps create a dusty atmosphere.
Vin, Renz, and Jeannie stand still, staring at each other in confusion, still processing what just happened.
Jeannie: "Money?" (She asks in surprise, tilting her head slightly to the left.)
Renz: "Money?" (He asks in a surprised tone, looking at Vin.)
Vin: "Don't tell me you don't know." (He looks at Renz and Jeannie with a pessimistic expression.)
The three of them awkwardly stare at each other.
Jeannie: "Eee, I don't know. My race doesn't use a money system like humans do." (She nervously explains to Vin.)
Renz: "Is money different in our village compared to the city, Vin?" (He looks confused, directing the question at Vin.)
Vin: "Forget it, let's ask the people around here." (He turns around and starts walking toward one of the nearby stalls.)
Jeannie: "Wait, Vin." (She walks to follow Vin.)
Renz: "No surprise there." (He follows Vin.)
Renz is used to seeing what Vin often does; Vin always walks alone without caring about others.
Vin, Renz, and Jeannie walk together toward one of the stalls selling food around the academy.
Under the sunlight, the light shines on their path toward the food stall.
In no time, they arrive at the stall. They stop right in front of it.
Vin: "Padang?" (Vin reads the name of the stall they're heading to.)
Jeannie: "Is that the name of this stall?" (She looks at Vin.)
Renz: "Looks like there's some good food there." (His face shows curiosity as he looks at the stall.)
Vin: "Do you want to go in?" (Vin looks at Jeannie.)
Jeannie: "Sure, you said you were hungry, right?" (She asks Vin.)
Vin: "Yeah, and I also want to find out how the money system works in this city." (Vin looks at Jeannie, then turns his gaze toward the inside of the stall.)
The stall owner appears in front of them, an older man coming out of the stall. He has a slim build, wears simple clothes, and has a friendly face.
Stall Owner: "Hey, come in and try the Padang food in this town." (He gestures for them to come in, with a friendly face and a relaxed tone speaking to Vin and Jeannie.)
Renz: "(There must be some delicious chicken in there.)" (Lost in his thoughts.)
Jeannie: "Oh, yes, sir. We'll come in and try." (She responds to the stall owner's gesture with kindness as well.)
Vin: "Hey, Renz." (He taps Renz's shoulder a bit harshly.)
Renz: "Huh, oh right. Let's go in, Vin." (He snaps out of his daydream and starts following Vin.)
Vin, Renz, and Jeannie walk into the Padang stall together, and the stall owner greets them warmly.
Vin pauses for a moment and speaks to the stall owner, but Jeannie and Renz enter first.
Vin: "Good morning, sir. I have a question. Do you use money to pay here?" (He casually asks the stall owner.)
Stall Owner: "Of course, we use Fiat as currency here." (While pulling out a piece of paper from his pocket.)
Stall Owner: "Are you not from around here, young man?" (He asks kindly.)
Meanwhile, Jeannie and Renz are looking around the inside of the stall. There are a few people eating and drinking inside. Jeannie and Renz's faces show awe and amazement at the aroma of the food and the warm atmosphere inside the Stall.
Vin: "Yes, sir. My friends and I aren't from the city, we're from out of town." (He glanced at Jeannie and Renz before looking back at the food stall owner)
Stall Owner: "I see. In this city, we use Fiat as currency, kid. You can earn Fiat by selling goods like I do, or you can become an adventurer to make money that way." (He explained briefly about the city's currency system with a warm smile)
Vin: "An adventurer? Is that an actual job?" (He was a bit surprised by the stall owner's words)
Stall Owner: "Of course. There's an Adventurer's Guild here. Their location is in the city center, you can join them, kid. Especially since you look strong and even carry a sword." (He pointed toward the city center before glancing at Vin's sword resting at his left side)
Vin: "I see. Thank you for the information, sir. By the way, we don't have any Fiat yet. Would it be possible for us to have a small meal for today? I promise I'll pay you back once I have enough money." (He asked sincerely while gripping his sword tightly)
The stall owner paused for a moment, observing Vin and his sword carefully.
Stall Owner: "It's alright, kid. You can eat for now, but don't push yourself too hard just to earn money. Enjoy your time in this city, and if you ever get hungry, you're always welcome here. I'll greet you just as warmly as today." (He gave Vin a kind smile, his warm expression filled with sincerity)
Vin: "Thank you, sir." (He placed his right hand on his left chest and bowed his head slightly as a gesture of gratitude)
The stall owner and Vin walked inside together, taking a look around the stall.
Vin: "Eh..." (His eyes widened slightly in surprise as he spotted Jeannie and Renz)
Vin saw Jeannie and Renz eating enthusiastically, enjoying the chicken and various meats sold at the stall.
Vin: "Sorry, sir. They're eating too much." (He glanced at the stall owner)
Stall Owner: "It's alright. Their faces look so happy while eating my Padang dishes. This is exactly why I started this food stall, kid. I just want to see people happy with the food I make." (He looked at Jeannie, Renz, and the other customers eating there)
Stall Owner: "Come, sit down. You should eat with your friends too." (He looked at Vin and kindly invited him to join)
Vin: "Alright, sir. Thank you." (He bowed his head slightly out of respect for the stall owner)
Vin and the stall owner walked over to the table where Jeannie and Renz were eating. Vin then sat down and ordered food from one of the waiters, requesting the same dish as his friends.
They sat together, with the stall owner also sitting beside Vin.
Jeannie: "You two seem close, huh?" (She spoke while chewing her food, looking at Vin and the stall owner)
Meanwhile, Renz was still eating eagerly, completely ignoring his surroundings.
Vin: "Yeah, kind of. I've also been asking him about this city." (He spoke to Jeannie, who was still chewing her food)
Stall Owner: "By the way, where are you all from?" (He asked them kindly)
Vin: "We're from out of town, sir. We're heading to Dilveria Academy, but since we hadn't eaten yet, we stopped by here first. Oh, right, my name is Vin Crimson. Sorry for not introducing myself earlier." (Vin gave a slight smile)
Stall Owner: "My name is Adika Sur. I'm the owner of this Padang stall. It's nice to have you all here." (He responded warmly)
Vin's order arrived, a tempting dish with an abundance of meat. The plate was filled with richly seasoned chicken and beef, infused with the signature spices of Padang cuisine.
Adika: "Go ahead and eat, Vin. You don't have to pay for now, consider it a small gift for your visit." (He spoke with a warm smile to Vin, Jeannie, and Renz)
Vin, Jeannie, and Renz ate the Padang cuisine together. The delicious food filled their stomachs and brought smiles to their faces.
Stall Waiter: "Mr. Adika, we need your help." (One of the waiters called out to Adika)
Adika: "Hold on. Vin, you all just enjoy your meal. I have something to take care of." (He stood up, patted Vin on the shoulder, and walked toward the waiter)
Jeannie: "Are you sure we don't have to pay, Vin?" (After finishing her meal, Jeannie asked Vin)
Vin: "That's right. Tomorrow, I'll work to earn some money. I have to repay the food stall owner's kindness." (Vin answered after swallowing his food)
Jeannie: "What kind of work?" (She asked curiously)
Vin: "You don't need to know, Jen." (He replied briefly in a low voice)
Jeannie: "Why? Wait, did you just call me 'Jen'?" (She stared at Vin seriously)
Vin didn't answer and chose to continue eating rather than respond to Jeannie's question.
Meanwhile, Renz's face showed pure satisfaction and joy from the meal. He was too happy to say anything.
Jeannie: "Hey, answer me." (She glared at Vin, looking slightly annoyed)
Vin: "That's just how it is." (He replied briefly)
Jeannie: "Huh?" (Confused by Vin's answer)
Vin didn't continue the conversation with Jeannie.
Vin: "Renz, hey. Let's go." (After finishing his meal, Vin called out to Renz)
Jeannie: "Hey, don't change the topic." (She spoke to Vin in an annoyed tone)
Renz: "Huh? Oh. We're not paying?" (Renz snapped back to reality and asked Vin)
Vin: "I'll explain later." (He stood up from the table and walked toward Adika)
Jeannie: "Hey, Vin." (She stood up and spoke to Vin, still annoyed)
Vin walked away without paying attention to Jeannie.
Vin met Adika, who was serving several customers in front of the food stall.
Vin: "Sir, Adika. We're heading out now. I'll come back tomorrow to repay your kindness." (He spoke to Adika, who was standing in front of the stall)
Adika: "Oh, alright, Vin. Come back here tomorrow, I'll welcome you warmly." (He responded kindly to Vin)
Jeannie and Renz followed behind Vin, overhearing his conversation with Adika.
Vin: "Thank you, sir. I'll take my leave." (He placed his right hand on his left chest and bowed his head as a sign of gratitude)
Vin walked ahead, followed by Jeannie and Renz.
Jeannie and Renz smiled warmly at Adika, and Adika returned their smiles with the same warmth.