One Night For Now

It was already late by the time we returned to the adventurer guild.

"… Yes, congratulations on completing the quest. Here is the reward of eight copper coins."

The Receptionist-san who was glaring at me went beyond being curt.

Hmph, why is she glaring at me so much even though I don't treat Niku badly.

"With that, there is an additional one copper coin to the young lady as a special reward. It's from the client to pass directly to the young lady, along with a message. Here."

"Heeh, that's good, Niku."

"Y-yes."

Niku took the copper coin held over the counter.

Since Niku is small, Receptionist-san leaned a considerable amount to pass it.

"… Goshujin-sama, here."

And then immediately presented it to me after receiving it.

… No, isn't it better to keep it?

"… Use it however you want to."

"H-here."

She stubbornly held it out to me… it would be a nuisance to be in front of the counter. Reluctantly, I accepted it. I'll give it back to Niku as pocket money after this.

"Alright, thanks."

"Nn…♪"

Accepting the copper coin, I patted her head. Niku really looked happy. Her dog tail was wagging back and forth.

Y-yeah, Receptionist-san, don't glare at me. It stings… ah, right.

"I want to go to an inn around here, is there a good place?"

"You can reserve a bed with four copper coins if you go to the south gate's slums, but it's safety isn't guaranteed… ah, if you want you could give the young lady to me to look after? It's fine even for free."

"No, I'll refrain from that…"

W-what is this receptionist plotting? Or rather isn't she just trying to get closer?

And what's with the feeling she'll do something to Niku!? Perhaps, she's going to do something terrible to Niku while looking after her for one night?

Kuh, I don't know what it is but I should be vigilant around this Receptionist-san.

"… One night, something that we can sleep safely in with around forty copper coins, good rice is fine."

"Then around here, the [Sleeping Songbird Pavilion] is fine. One night and one meal is thirty-five copper coins."

They seemed like pretty good terms. Receptionist-san was doing her job as a receptionist well.

I decided to head there right after learning the area from looking at a map.

Though normal adventurers with a daily income of eight copper coins per day couldn't stay there, it was trivial with my other occupation as a Dungeon Master. Well, my funds are in a tight spot though.

… Right, I'll earn a bit more from tomorrow onward. I only worked a small bit since we came to the town and register at the guild today after all… oh, but the job was finished so easily.

I wonder if it's impossible to get safety and money without working…

Even if I turned the dungeon into a base, it'd be difficult to make trips there since it's half a day away running at full speed. I think it'd be about a day walking.

No matter what we'd need to stay a night… well, here's the [Sleeping Songbird Pavilion].

It's a nice wooden inn. Thanks for the recommendation, Receptionist-san. I don't know what you're plotting, though.

When I opened the door, a woman was at the reception desk.

"Excuse me, I was referred here by the adventurer guild, do you have any empty rooms?"

"Hmm? Yeah, we do. Referred by the guild huh? So you're a guest adventurer then? It's thirty-five copper coins for a night with one meal, but… hmm? That's a child slave huh. What about the slave? It's five copper to rent a shed."

"Ah, this one wants to sleep in the same room as me… is there an extra fee?"

"… We do not charge extra for something like that. How about the slave's meal? It's two copper."

"That's fine then. I'll reserve a room for a night."

I tried to hand her seven copper and a silver coin since I didn't have enough copper coins, though when I realized the change would be copper coins I just gave her a silver coin.

The change was sixty-three copper coins… oi, counting is tiresome. I was thinking that, but she used a tool that looked like a coin case to count them out in groups of ten, so it wasn't that bothersome. It's a pretty convenient tool, huh. However, she took out the thirty-seven from the one hundred that came out. The process was a bit fancy.

"One night's stay then. Ah, do you want the meal brought to your room?"

"If possible."

"Alright, that's fine then… oh yeah, I'd appreciate it if you used [Purify] on the sheets before leaving the room. Well then, here's the key. Your room number is seven, it's on the first floor."

I accepted the key and headed towards the room.

When I opened the door with a '7' written on it using the key, the inside really did look like an inn.

As for the window… yeah, it didn't have glass and instead used wooden boards. It looked like a double hinged door. Speaking of which, I wonder if there's glass in this world? I get the feeling the water golem's value is increasing.

Light magic tools were set up for lighting. I was told putting a magic stone into the switch to turn it on was this inn's special feature. It seems that it's fine whether you use the magic stones sold by the inn or your own.

Additionally, you could use your own magical power even if you don't have a magic stone… though you'd need to keep filling it up.

By the way, though I'd heard this for the first time, when magic stones are used up and worn out it seems that they disappear. It seems they last longer when periodically filled with magical power.

Then comes the crucial bed, but it just felt like thin sheets on a wooden frame. It was pretty hard. Rather, it was more like a plank.

It was more or less just some thin sheets stacked on each other, just a little better than a park bench.

I think the [Bedroll] for 5 DP is superior bedding compared to this. It might actually be better.

"I will sleep on the floor, right?"

"No, we'll sleep together. It's cold."

I want to eat the meal and lie down as soon as possible… The muscle pain from earlier hurts.

I might not be able to move tomorrow without being forcibly moved by the clothes golem…

Thinking that, I used [Purify] on myself and Niku while waiting for the meal.

"Right, here's your share of today's reward."

I took out five copper coins, handing it to Niku. It was an equal split plus her extra.

"I, I can't accept that! I didn't do anything."

"Didn't Niku find the quest and tell me it was possible with my [Purify]? With that, it's fine."

"B-but…"

"Those roasted meat skewers were just five copper each huh… I want to eat them with Niku~"

"… I-I'll accept it."

Probably since I mentioned the skewers, I heard the sound of stomach rumbling.

Not mine. Niku's.

… Now that I think about it, she hasn't eaten anything since we came to Tsuia huh? Just breakfast.

I feel a bit guilty from just me eating those apples.

After a while, someone from the inn brought our meal to the room.

Mine was two loafs of bread with a vegetable soup, while Niku's was just two loafs of bread. I see, so that's the difference?

I shared half of my vegetable soup with Niku and forced the hard bread into my mouth.

The vegetable soup was quite good. Yep. It was bland, but it left the feeling of a vegetable's umami.

 

＊ ＊ ＊

 

Now, we left the room after one night. My body felt rigid and creaked, but the muscle pain wasn't that bad. I'm saved.

This time Niku was even able to be used as a hug pillow without peeing. Going to the restroom before sleeping is important after all. She tried to take off her clothes when we were laying down, but I stopped her.

I remembered that they asked us to use [Purify] on the sheets before leaving, so I cleaned them quickly. I was getting used to [Purify]… it was probably amusing seeing the aftermath of being thoughtless in a room being turned spotless. W-well, it should be fine being this clean.

"Niku, do you have everything?"

"I, have it all."

"Alright, then instead of getting breakfast let's go buy something from a stall."

"Y-yes."

I returned the key to the woman, leaving the inn.

It was a typical affordable inn… also the result of gathering information.

Now that I think about it, I wonder if Rokuko's fine being by herself in the dungeon… she's probably alright. She was alone before I arrived after all.

I'm gradually starting to miss the dungeon's Master Room.

Let's hurry up and collect more profitable information and head back…