They hadn't gone far when the princess started with the questions. She kept glancing around at the wrecked buildings like she couldn't quite believe what she was seeing.

"This world of yours," she said, her voice a bit softer now, less like she was about to order an execution. "It is… broken. Do you know what befell it?"

Nox shrugged. "Not really. There was this big earthquake, then those monster things started showing up. After that, everything just went to hell. That's about all I got." He figured that was the simplest way to put it. No point getting into system messages and merging worlds with an elf princess he just met.

She nodded slowly. "A cataclysm, then. Our own seers spoke of… disturbances. Ripples in the fabric of realities. Perhaps this is the result."

'Seers? Ripples? Okay, she's definitely not from around here,' he thought. It was weird, talking about this stuff so casually, but then again, what part of his day had been normal?

They walked in silence for a bit, then she made a small sound, almost a wrinkle of her nose. "Human Nox," she said, and he braced himself. "Your… scent. It is rather potent."

He stopped and sniffed his own shirt. Yeah, she wasn't wrong. He definitely stank after all he went through.

'Can't blame her. I probably reek.'

"Been a rough couple of days," he said. "Showers haven't exactly been on the top of my to-do list."

She didn't comment on that, just kept walking. He fell into step beside her. The silence stretched for a minute, then she spoke again.

"You mentioned… someone informed you of my plight," she said, her eyes on him. "Who was this informant? How did they know of my presence here, and my predicament?"

He thought fast. He wasn't about to start explaining the system. That would make him sound certifiably insane.

'Yeah, not touching that one.'

"Just a source," he said, keeping his voice even. "Heard some whispers, put two and two together. Lucky for you, I guess." He tried to make it sound like no big deal.

The princess didn't look entirely convinced. He could see her watching him out of the corner of her eye. She was probably used to getting straight answers from people.

"Whispers in a world such as this?" she asked. "That seems… improbable."

"This whole situation is improbable, princess," he said. "Giant monsters, magic, elves showing up in the middle of a city. 'Improbable' is kind of the new normal."

She didn't push it, much to his relief. He really didn't want to have to make up a more elaborate lie. He was tired, he was hungry, and he still had to get this princess to her "sanctuary," whatever that was.

'Just got to keep moving,' he thought. 'Get this mission done, get the rewards, then figure out what the hell to do next.' He glanced at Serian. She was still looking around, taking in the destruction.

She looked out of place, like a character from one of those fantasy books had stepped right into the real, messed-up world. Which, he guessed, was pretty much what had happened.

Then he decided to ask her something. "So, what about your world? What's it like?"

She was quiet for a bit, then she actually smiled a little. "My world is not as… advanced as this one, in some ways." She paused. "Your kind has these 'cars' and tall structures. We do not possess such technology. But we have magic. And ancient creatures roam our lands, some benevolent, some not."

She looked around at the broken city again. "If I was brought here, it stands to reason that other elements of my world, perhaps even those creatures, might have crossed over as well."

'Magic and ancient creatures, huh? So that explains the dungeons and those dog things, maybe. And if she's here, yeah, more stuff probably came over too. This whole merge thing is a bigger mess than I thought.'

He was about to say something about that when he heard it. A noise. Like a car engine. Then another one.

The princess tensed up immediately. He saw her hand go to the sword she had.

'Guess she hasn't seen many cars before,' he thought. 'Or heard them.'

The sounds got closer. They were coming up on a part of the city that didn't look nearly as trashed as where they'd been. Some buildings were actually still standing properly, and he saw people. Not monsters, actual people, walking around like it was just another day, almost.

Just then, a blue screen popped up in his vision. It was a system message.

[Safe Zone Entered: City District 7]

[Status: Monster incursions are actively repelled.]

He read it. 'Safe Zone, huh? No monsters. That's good.' He let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. Maybe he could actually get some proper rest here, and some real food that wasn't out of a vending machine.

The princess was looking around, her eyes wide. "There are… so many of your kind here. And this place… it feels different. Calmer."

"Yeah," he said, nodding at the system message only he could see. "This is a safe zone. No monsters allowed."

He looked at the people. They were dressed in all sorts of stuff. Some looked like regular city folk, others had gear on and looked ready for a fight.

They started walking. He noticed she was sticking real close to him, like, almost bumping his elbow close.

It was a bit weird. He wasn't used to anyone being that near him, especially not some elf royalty. She kept looking around at every little noise, her hand never too far from that sword she had.

'She's pretty jumpy,' he thought. 'Guess this whole situation is a lot for her.'

After a few more minutes of her practically glued to his side, he figured he should say something. "Hey," he said, not looking at her. "You can chill out a bit. No one's going to jump out and grab you while I'm here."

She glanced at him, her eyes wide for a second. "My apologies, Human Nox. It is… unfamiliar territory. And your kind… we seldom walked so near."

"Yeah, well, things are different now, huh?" he said. He didn't really care about elf customs or whatever. He just needed her to not be so tense she accidentally stabbed him if a cat jumped out.

'Besides,' he thought, looking ahead at the trashed street, 'I can't afford to lose all that EXP if she gets herself killed. This mission reward is too good to pass up.'

"Let's go get something to eat, I am starving."

Little did they know, someone watching them real close.