Modern World Warlock

As the warlock's party and the angel explored the city until morning, they passed by a bakery where an old woman was preparing bread and pastries to sell throughout the day.

Enchanted by the alluring smell, the four of them approached the bakery before realizing that they didn't have any money to pay with.

Faelyn had a small pouch with gold coins and gems, which could have sold for a lot of money on Earth, but it wasn't something she could use to pay for a few pieces of bread.

Soren had absolutely nothing on him other than his axe, and Sylas took out a few silver coins that he had in his pocket.

When the trio looked at their struggling finances, they gazed at Gabriel with a questionable look, expecting the angel to contribute to the pool.

"Arrgh, fine!" Gabriel exclaimed with annoyance, taking a small pouch from inside his armor that looked quite heavy.

Still, when they opened it, there were three large gemstones of different colors, much bigger than the gems Faelyn had on her.

"I don't think this will work…" Faelyn commented.

"What do you mean? Those precious stones are pristine!" Gabriel replied.

"That's not what I mean. Look…" the elf continued, pointing at the customers inside the bakery, and seeing that they were using paper bills to pay, or swiping a card on a strange machine.

"So, are you saying that woman would refuse my gems!?" Gabriel asked, even more indignant than before.

Taking a deep breath, Faelyn contained the urge to insult the angel and said that she would try to make it work, asking the rest of the group to stay outside as they were too intimidating.

When the elf entered the bakery, the old woman greeted her with a hearty "good morning" and wondered what the lady in the dress would get.

The baker had never seen her around, and she wondered if she was a tourist or a new resident who had moved nearby, so she gave her a pastry on the house.

Even when Faelyn couldn't understand a single word, she could sense the woman's intentions the same way Dante could, and she was able to deduce that the woman was gifting her the pastry without having to understand her words.

After the elf gave the woman a small bow of gratitude, the elf pointed at the freshly-made sandwiches on the counter and gestured the number four with her fingers, prompting the lady to wrap the four sandwiches for her.

As Faelyn approached the register, she took out her own pouch and took out one of the small gems, which looked like a golden diamond. Then, she placed it on the counter and dropped her head to the side as if asking the old lady if she would accept it.

The woman gazed at the stone, and her sweet smile seemed to disappear for a moment, believing that the elf was giving her a fake bead made of plastic. The kind that people would use to make custom bracelets and necklaces.

However, when she picked it up, she noticed that the gem, which wasn't larger than a pebble, felt as heavy as a baseball.

"Ummm, I'm sorry. What's this?" The clerk asked to no avail as Faelyn couldn't understand her.

Still, before she could decline her method of payment, Faelyn's stomach growled loudly, making the elf blush a little from embarrassment.

Seeing her reaction, the old lady returned the gem and chuckled, giving the woman the sandwiches for free and asking her to come back whenever she had the money.

Once again, Faelyn couldn't understand a single word, but the pleasant aura that emanated from the old lady allowed her to discern her intentions, and she politely bowed again as a gesture of thanks.

When the group tasted the sandwiches, their eyes lit up with joy as they had never eaten such fresh bread with ham and melted cheese, making the old lady smile when she saw them enjoying their meal.

As they continued wandering around the city without a clear objective, they arrived at the popular street known for gathering cosplayers.

It was a little past noon on a Sunday, so the street was packed with people of all ages. Some of them were going to the theatre while others were eating sweets and taking pictures.

To the group, however, the street felt quite congested since it was hard to see that many people gathered in one place back in their world.

At one point, a group of teenagers approached them and asked for a picture, but the warlock's party couldn't even understand what they were asking and nodded in response.

Even after the teenagers posed next to them while their friend took a photo with their phone, the otherworlders were utterly confused.

Thinking that they would have a better chance at finding Dante in a crowded area, the group stayed on the popular street for some time, until Jake approached them, believing they were lost tourists.

The moment that Jake stepped up to them, Faelyn was able to sense a small residue of Dante's umbra coming from the teenagers' bodies, so she deduced that the kids must have at least seen him once.

To communicate with them, Faelyn tried casting an old spell that she had only used a few times. The spell required her to hear a couple of words in another language, and by holding her throat, she would be able to translate a few of her own words.

They hadn't talked to many people, so Faelyn's vocabulary was relatively poor. Nonetheless, she was able to catch the attention of the teenagers, not because of her words, but because of the magic she started casting in the middle of the street.

When Jake and his friends guided the group of Terrans to an alley to explain that casting magic in the open was dangerous, their conversation took a turn when Faelyn asked them to bring them to Dante.

The teenagers wanted to ask why they were looking for the warlock, but they were afraid they would be killed by the group if they asked too many questions.

They knew that other criminal organizations around the world were targeting Dante for destroying the Onyx Cartel's drug business, and they wanted to make sure they weren't a threat.

Fortunately, Jake had sent a location pin to Camille, and the handler instantly sent a group from the Jade Dragons to pick them up from the alley.