Lodging, Suite Room 1

[Cave of Desires], that was the new name of Rokuko-chan's dungeon.

It was decided after reviewing and deliberating on the reports and information from the Tsuia Adventurer Guild.

Still, she was already found… no, did she intentionally leak the information herself?

And on top of that, I also received a report that an inn had been established.

I thought it would take much longer to create an [Inn (400,000 DP～)], yet to think she managed it at the same time as the dungeon's debut… Just what kind of methods did they use to earn that much? A human ranch, perhaps? Hmm, even so, it's too fast. Maybe they excavated some orichalcum?

And so, I even used [Teleport] to come here in order to become the "First Customer" of Rokuko-chan's inn.

 

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Unfortunately, it seems I missed out on the honor of being the "First Customer," but I will be staying in the suite room.

Additionally, I've taken on the important task of assessing an appropriate price. Fufufu, I've had numerous inns built in the Imperial Capital. Furthermore, through my work, I've stayed in the highest-class hotel suites across the Kingdom and surrounding nations, and as an adventurer, I've also stayed at various inns. There couldn't possibly be anyone more qualified than me.

"Now then, could I get some hot water right away?"

While [Purify] can clean your body, wiping yourself down with a cloth dampened in hot water feels quite pleasant. Of course, such a service can't be expected at a cheap inn for low-rank adventurers, but if you're going to call yourself a suite room, it should be available.

"… Ah, um, I'm sorry."

"Oh my. You don't have any?"

A demerit right off the bat, I suppose. Good grief, if you don't properly develop these kinds of services, it's hard to call this a suite…

"If it's hot water you need, there's a bath in the room, so please use that. You can use as much as you like."

"… Pardon? … A-as much as I like?"

"There's a lever attached to the bath. Just raise it and the water comes out."

… Did the [Inn] have a room with that kind of function? I wonder if there was an expansion option like that… If it's only in the suite room, the consumption should be manageable. As expected of Rokuko-chan's Master.

"Oh, and it's not just the suite. All guests can use the hot spring as much as they like too."

"… There's even a hot spring?"

"It's our main attraction."

The [Hot Spring] costs DP separately from the [Inn]… how much was it again? I don't think it was that expensive, but they must have splurged.

… If I recall correctly, a regular room was fifty copper coins. With unlimited hot spring access, I wonder if most of the cost goes toward that. Perhaps I shouldn't stay in a regular room?

"Now then, Haku-nee-sama, let me show you to your room!"

Rokuko-chan led me toward the suite room… This service alone seems worth a gold coin… Oops, I of course need to make sure the appropriate price isn't influenced by my own biases.

We arrived at the room with Rokuko-chan leading me… Hmm, it's not just an ordinary wooden door; there's iron plating around it? And it can be locked as well.

I wonder if they broke it once and replaced it with a dungeon door? How clever.

"Here we are! Take your time, Ane-sama!"

When the door opened, the interior was bright with sunlight streaming in.

… Furniture with lovely carvings, and a bed. There was also a large chair that looked comfortable to relax in. Hmm, I wonder what country these carvings are from… Could they be designs from another world?

A clock hung on the wall. Clocks are one of those things that are nice to have, but they're quite expensive magic tools. Of course, bells ring in town to tell the time, but that doesn't work out here, so having one is certainly better than not.

And the window letting in the light… is that a plate of crystal set into it? There seems to be a cloth that can be hung in front to block the light as well.

They've invested quite a bit. Indeed, this would pass as a suite room.

Oh, and there's also a toilet and a bath, right? I almost forgot about those.

… Let's take a look. The bath was, surprisingly, made of wood.

However, there's no hot water in it… Ah, this must be the lever. There's an explanation written here.

I see, this one is hot water, this one is cold water… When I tried it, hot water poured out toward the bath. A little too hot, perhaps? Ah, so that's why they made it so you can add cold water too.

"Chloe, what do you think?"

"A wonderful room. It's even better than the Kingdom Hotel's suite."

Even I didn't expect this much.

For now, I'll sit down in the chair.

"… This chair is quite spacious and comfortable."

"Haku-sama, this chair is labeled as a magic tool called a [Massage Chair]… Apparently it will give you a massage when you insert a copper coin."

"Oh? Let's try putting one in."

When I had Chloe insert a copper coin, the chair began vibrating.

"Wh-wha-wha-wha-what is this?! Fuaaah!"

"Haku-sama?! A-are you alright?!"

"I-I'm fine, ah, this, is amazi… fuah… feels so gooood…"

Ahh… I could fall asleep just like this… I've been working hard lately to clear my schedule so I could come to this inn… ahhh…

 

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When I woke up, Chloe had draped the cloth that was beside the chair over me… Hmm, this cloth has a nice texture. It's not very thick and is lightweight, yet it feels warm.

"… I wonder if I could get them to part with this chair? For around ten gold coins…"

"I've never seen a magic tool like this before. That means it must be quite valuable, so it would probably be difficult…"

"… What if I offered fifty?"

"If you like it that much, why not make an inquiry?"

"True, that might be worth doing… Oh, I ended up falling asleep. I should have a meal soon. Is the timing still alright? If I remember correctly, pressing the button in the room will have it brought up."

… There's a button on the wall with a simple cover over it to prevent accidental presses. Incidentally, that cover is also crystal… Given there are no visible joint marks, it must have been carved from a single piece? Just for this little thing?

Anyway, I pressed the button. There was a "jiriri" sound, like metal striking rapidly against something.

What kind of mechanism is this? … Is this one of the [Inn]'s options?

After a short while, though it was only about three minutes after pressing the button, there was a knock on the door.

… That was fast cooking. Could they be using DP?

"Haku-nee-sama, I've brought your meal!"

"Come in, Rokuko-chan!"

When I opened the door, Rokuko-chan had the dishes loaded on a serving cart.

There were three dishes on the cart. The dishes were covered with metal lids called cloches, so I couldn't see what was inside… The fact that they're properly using cloches is another mark of quality… There was a certain country's suite that carried food out uncovered, after all.

Oh my, what's that square box? Ah, it seems to have drinks inside. There are spoons and straws attached.

… Wait, crystal glasses? They're really using them without restraint… Because of that I can see what's inside. Let's see, it's green? And what's this white hemisphere on top… Could it be a potion and potato? What an incredible combination…

"Oh, wait. Three?"

"I-I wanted to eat together with Haku-nee-sama… Is that not okay?"

"You're more than welcome! Come on, Rokuko-chan, leave the rest to Chloe and have a seat, have a seat."

"M-mm, I can't do that. Chloe is also a guest today, after all."

Rokuko-chan diligently arranged the dishes on the table.

The glasses had condensation on them… That happens after using ice magic. They must be nicely chilled…

"Alright, here we go～. And… ta-da!"

When Rokuko-chan removed the cloches, there were multiple dishes arranged on a single plate.

"… Using ridges in the plate to create partitions and serving multiple dishes on a single plate… What a novel idea."

"Fufufu, isn't it amazing? Let's see, this is [Hamburger], this is [Napolitan], and these are [Fried Prawns]! These long thin ones are [French Fries], and this one with the flag in it is [Omurice]! Oh, and the soup is [Corn Potage]. Ah, right, right. This green drink here is called [Cream Soda]. It's a drink, but it's also a dessert. The white thing on top is a cold, sweet food called [Vanilla Ice Cream]! It'll melt, so try it soon, okay?"

After hearing Rokuko-chan's explanation, I immediately readied my fork to begin eating.

[Hamburger]. Yes, it's meat. A meat dish different from steak. And this is beef, isn't it? The mushroom sauce is exquisite.

[Napolitan]. This must be pasta. Is that tomato sauce on it? The bold flavor pleasantly stimulates the tongue.

[Fried Prawns]… is this seafood? What kind of preparation produces something like this? Truly a dish from another world.

[French Fries] are clearly potatoes from the look of them… Mm, crispy with a nice texture. They have a similar feel to the [Fried Prawns]. Since potatoes are easy to come by, this could be reproduced if you knew the cooking method.

[Omurice] seems to be eaten with a spoon. Small grains are wrapped in thin egg with tomato sauce over it… Some kind of grain, perhaps? Hmm, not bad at all. But what's the flag for?

[Corn Potage], sweet and warm, a flavor that soothes the heart. High marks for this one.

"You can leave the salad aside if you want… Ah, but the [Mayonnaise] is actually quite good."

"We don't actually need to eat in the first place, so there's no need to force ourselves… Ah, Chloe, you should eat."

"Yes, Haku-sama… Oh my, [Mayonnaise], this is quite… If you don't want yours, may I have it?"

"… I didn't say I wouldn't eat it, you know?"

… Ohoh, [Mayonnaise] is superb. Eating it with vegetables creates a harmony of flavors, or something like that… Chloe seems to have taken a liking to it too. I wonder if I could get some of this separately.

Still, even if they're producing these dishes with DP, each one still needs to be plated after summoning. That's a fair amount of effort in its own right, though of course it's far easier than cooking from scratch. For this assessment, it would be appropriate not to factor in the ability to produce food with DP. Considering the effort each dish would require in that case… yes, this is already worth a gold coin. Besides, I can't even begin to estimate what kind of effort another world's cuisine would require.

"The one in the corner is [Pudding]! It's a sweet and delicious dessert decorated with cream and a cherry!"

"Hmm, another dessert? … Come to think of it, cream is a luxury item occasionally produced at the Imperial Capital's farms. And the cherry… where was that produced again?"

"Wakoku, I believe."

Wakoku? That's all the way to the east… If you tried to reproduce this, the shipping costs would be considerable… Ah, so that's why an A-Rank adventurer like myself is graciously, personally, and specially delivering ingredients as a favor. That's the "story," then. Time stops inside [Storage], after all.

When you factor all that in, though, a gold coin is starting to feel cheap.

Ah, this [Pudding] is delicious. So jiggly and sweet, it practically melts… Hah! That was close. I nearly lost myself there.

… And then, the [Cream Soda]. Its green color, reminiscent of a potion, had made me unconsciously shy away from it, but since it's Rokuko-chan's top recommendation, I can hardly leave it untouched.

A dessert-like drink combining [Melon Soda] and [Vanilla Ice Cream]… or so I'm told, but what kind of thing could this be? Ah, there's a cherry on this one too.

First, I'll try the [Melon Soda] through the straw… ?!

… Sweet! And there's a prickling sensation stabbing all around the inside of my mouth! And sweet! What kind of violent drink is this?!

The distinct prickling sensation as you drink is similar to certain kinds of alcohol. But because it's ice-cold, this one feels far more intense. And then the melon juice flavor passes through your nose, along with this sweetness. This [Melon Soda] hits you with the impact of a punch!

"Try the [Vanilla Ice Cream] on top too, Haku-nee-sama. It's melted a little, but that's actually when it tastes the best, you know?"

"O-okay…"

Using the long, slender spoon that seemed made to go with the glass, I scooped up some [Vanilla Ice Cream].

When I brought it to my mouth, what I felt was cold. And then, a sweetness that surpassed even the [Melon Soda].

Yet it softened gently, like snow melting from the heat of my mouth, spreading throughout.

A rushing yet gentle sweetness spreading from the melted [Vanilla Ice Cream], and the pleasant texture of dairy on the tongue…

"Did it suit your taste, Ane-sama?"

"… Yes, very much so."

… The dynamic [Melon Soda] and the tranquil [Vanilla Ice Cream]… I was completely captivated by this drink, no, this dessert, with its two polar opposite sides.

And at the very end, when the melted [Vanilla Ice Cream] and [Melon Soda] had blended together… I felt as though I'd caught a glimpse of the truth of this world.

A gold coin for all this? That's cheap.