Ahh, what fresh air! I've never been able to enjoy something like this before—riding in a carriage with the prince and princess while gazing out at the endless horizon of grasslands and the royal lands in the distance. It's like a scene out of a fairytale! I never experienced anything like this in my past life. But wait—hold up. Is that a dagger the princess is holding? And why is she glaring at the prince with such... bloodlust?

  Argh, don't tell me she's going to kill him? This is seriously messed up!

  "Hey, Isolde. About the—"

  Just as the prince is about to speak, the princess raises her dagger and points it straight at the prince. What?! Heck no. Is she seriously a yandere, not for the prince, but for me?! This is not a yuri story, okay?!

  But then, out of nowhere, a thief appears outside the carriage. His mask looks oddly familiar—could he be from that clan? Why are we getting robbed right here, of all places? The prince takes care of the situation like a pro, bringing the thief inside the carriage for interrogation. "Good job, Princess. You were able to detect the thief."

  Hmm, I'm pretty sure that wasn't exactly how it went down, but... that works, I guess. After some more interrogation (and some very effective beating), the thief admits he's from the House of Auremont, one of the richest families in the royal court. They're staunchly against helping the poor—calling it a waste of time and effort.

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  The thief sneers, "I'm here to send you a message: Poverty Land is beyond saving!"

  "I don't care," Prince Lucian replies coolly. "It's our mission to subjugate all the monsters and the root cause of this."

  Aww, Lucian, always so cold and cool. If you think about it, I'm the only one who knows how to save the Poverty Land because I know the real root cause: the cursed deity, Aetherion, The Forsaken Light. He was once revered as the Deity of Prosperity and Balance but was betrayed by corrupt nobles who wanted his power all for themselves. So selfish! That's why Aetherion is wreaking havoc on the Poverty Land now. But he also holds the key to saving it! I need to confront him... but—

  [NEW QUEST! Kiss the Deity! Reward: The Deity's Favor!]

  EHHHH??? What the— Why are you giving me this quest, you useless talky thing?! I'm loyal to Prince Lucian, okay??

  [Just kiddin', hehe! The real quest is... Go on a shopping trip alone with the Prince! Reward: 1 Dreg Crown.]

  Oh... just a normal quest. Okay, fine. And hey, the currency in Poverty Land is dregs. The prince and I are going undercover there, so the Dreg Crown will be useful.

  Alright, let me break down the currency systems for both Royal Land and Poverty Land. Listen up, because I'm your teacher, Isolde Valtara, and I'm about to school you!

  In Royal Land, the currency is Aurum Crowns (?), and here's how it works:

  - 1 Aurum Crown = 10 Aurum Sovereigns (gold coins).

  - 1 Aurum Sovereign = 100 Aurum Shards (small silver coins).

  Meanwhile, in Poverty Land, the currency is Dregs (?), and here's the breakdown:

  - 1 Dreg Crown = 20 Dreg Pieces (mid-tier coins).

  - 1 Dreg Piece = 50 Dreg Bits (small tokens, barely valuable).

  Cool, right? Oh, and one thing to note: Aurum Crowns are made of gold! But if you try to bring an Aurum Crown into the Poverty Land, they'll think you're a traitor and boot you out. They really hate Royal Land. And you know what? The royals are no better—they often mock Dregs as scrap coins. You need several Dreg Crowns just to even get one Aurum Crown!

  Anyway, now that we're all clear on that... time to face what's ahead!