"What year was this fish salted? It's so salty my throat's smoking."
"If you think it's too salty, don't eat it." Saina was brutally straightforward.
Elena shot her a glare, stuffed the dried salted fish into her mouth, and swallowed it after barely chewing.
As the young lady of the illustrious Iris Family, she had eaten enough delicacies from land and sea to circle the royal capital's walls three times. Yet now she was squatting by the roadside, gnawing on salted fish.
Even if someone had beaten her to death in her previous life, she never would have imagined living like this.
Yet she did not utter a single word of complaint.
Because the man beside her, chewing on a flatbread, had turned his face to look at her.
Su Li's gaze shifted from her face to the crumbs clinging to the corner of her mouth. He reached out and flicked them away for her.
"Make do for now. Once we reach Green Ferry, I'll treat you to a grand feast."
Elena turned her head away, the tips of her ears reddening slightly.
Saina stuffed the last bite of flatbread into her mouth and asked through it, her words muffled.
"Does the Free City-State really have every race?"
"I hear there are elves, dwarves, and even goblin bankers." Su Li rose to his feet and patted the dirt from his backside. "I've lived through so many lives, and I've still never seen what an elf looks like."
"Elves..." Saina's eyes lit up.
Elena rose as well and smoothed the wrinkles from her hunting outfit.
"The elven trade post is in the southern district of the Free City-State. My caravan purchased goods there in my previous life. They're extremely xenophobic. Unless you have a gift of sufficient weight, you can't even