A Suspiciously Hospitable Inn
Her name was Amy.
She was a servant who had fallen for Athena's lofty charm and begun working at her mansion. On any ordinary day she would have been stuck with the household chores — yet here she was now.
I… I get to attend Lady Athena…!
She was driving the carriage that carried her master and the young lady. Ordinarily the old coachman would have been the one holding the reins. For some reason, though, her master had specifically asked for a woman among the staff who could drive, and Amy — who had ridden along with her father a few times in the past and picked up the basics — had ended up in the driver's seat.
Thump-thump-
Right behind her sat the most beautiful young lady in the world and the master she had respected her entire life. Her chest felt ready to burst. But a single mistake born of too much excitement would be unforgivable, so she forced the thrill down as hard as she could and kept the horses steady.
Quite some time passed like that before they finally reached their destination. She reined the horses in, climbed down from the driver's box, and carefully knocked on the carriage door.
Knock-knock-
"Master. We've arrived."
Only cold silence answered her.
"…Are you asleep?"
She called for Lady Athena once more, and once more nothing came back. Wondering if they might truly be sleeping, she quietly pressed her ear to the door—
—Haa… haut…!! Hyahp…
The young lady's breathless, strangely heated moans drifted out to her.
C-could it be… is the young lady unwell?
An ominous thought rose in her mind. What if she hadn't driven smoothly enough and the young lady had gotten carriage-sick? Negative possibilities flooded her head until her judgment clouded over completely — and in the end, she opened Pandora's box with her own two hands.
Clunk-
"Young lady!! Are you all right?"
…
…
"Huh…?"
"Hieut?! Y-Athena… s-someone's…! Hyahp…!"
Slurp-schluup
"Hyahp… hyah… w-wait… s-someone… mmph…!"
Schlick- churrup-
Amy could only stare, dumbstruck, at the sight before her.
Two beautiful women tangled around each other, tongues sliding together. The vivid flush on the young lady's face and the sheen of sweat along her skin made her look even more sensual, and Amy found herself unable to tear her eyes away.
Thump-thump-
At last her master carefully drew back, and a thin, glistening thread stretched stickily between them.
"…Did I say you could open the door?"
The quiet look her master fixed on her sent a full-body chill racing down Amy's spine. The daze that the young lady's alluring figure had cast over her shattered instantly beneath that icy expression.
"I-I'm so sorry, Master!! There was no answer, so I got worried and just…!"
Her master said nothing for a moment. Then, as if noticing something, she glanced once at Amy's lower half and muttered in a low, growling voice.
"…You… how dare you…"
"A-Athena… let's go outside already… okay? I want some fresh air."
Before her master could finish, the young lady stepped in and stopped her. After staring at Amy for a long while under the young lady's restraint, her master finally let out a sigh and stepped down from the carriage.
"That's exactly why I brought a woman… and it still didn't matter. Tch."
Only once her master and the young lady had moved some distance away could Amy finally take stock of herself — her heart hammering wildly, her face burning hot, and a mysterious fluid that had slipped out between her legs and was dripping onto the ground.
"Hnnngh!"
The moment I stepped down from the carriage I stretched my stiff body out long. Sitting for so long had left me cramped, and loosening up drew a naturally refreshing sound from my lips.
I turned my head and took in where we had arrived. A small city filled my view. It wasn't anything particularly grand, but the warm lights and lively bustle made the place feel cozy and inviting.
"Where is this?"
"Karman. A city near the Eastern Forest. We'll be staying here while we hunt the monsters."
"I see…"
My heart was pounding for some reason. This was the first time I had left the mansion since effectively becoming her slave. New scenery, new people — everything felt fresh.
"Are we going to look for traces of the demons right away?"
Athena shook her head once.
"No. It's late today. We'll head out tomorrow morning."
I was quietly relieved. A full day of carriage travel had left me a little tired. As if she had read my mind, Athena spoke up.
"Let's stop by an inn first. You must be exhausted, Hera."
…She's so thoughtful.
Every now and then, when Athena showed me that kind of consideration, a warmth would bloom in my chest before I even realized it. Feeling a sudden rush of gratitude, I laced my fingers through hers and beamed up at her.
"Okay!"
"The hero has arrived!!!"
"We don't have to worry about the monsters anymore!!"
"Ahh…!! Thank goodness. Truly, thank goodness."
"We revere you, Lady Athena!!"
Athena's appearance threw the entire city into an uproar. Crowds of residents rushed toward her with looks of pure admiration. Some asked for handshakes; others dropped to their knees on the ground and cheered. It might have looked enviable to someone else, but to my eyes it was overwhelmingly burdensome. Athena, however, walked through them as if it were nothing at all, completely unfazed.
"Guide us to the finest inn in this city."
At her word the townsfolk scrambled over themselves to lead us to one particular inn. The large building that rose before us truly looked like the best — even from the outside it stood clearly apart from everything around it. Its impressive size and well-kept facilities would not have been out of place even in the heart of the Empire.
"I've never stayed at an inn before…"
It was true. Since the transmigration, I had never once spent a night at an inn. Even back in Drax I had always stayed at Dania's house.
"Hmm… so your first time will be with me, then?"
Athena said it with a distinctly pleased little smile.
…When you put it like that, it sounds weird.
Well. She wasn't wrong, either.
Just as we were about to head inside, Athena caught my arm.
"…Athena?"
I tilted my head and looked at her. She smiled softly and said,
"Hera. Would you wait here for a moment? I need to speak with the innkeeper about the lodging fee."
About the cost?
Ah — is it that kind of thing?
After Robin had been named a hero, money had essentially stopped being a concern for him. Equipment repairs, lodging, meals — everything had been handled free of charge. Simply hosting a hero brought a city enough benefit that there was no need to charge him. Athena was called a hero of the Empire as well; she probably enjoyed similar privileges.
"Mm, I'll wait."
Looking pleased with my answer, Athena gave my head a fond little pat and went inside. Not even ten minutes later she came back out with a bright, smiling crinkle to her eyes.
"All done. Shall we go in?"
"…Okay."
Thinking it over, though, I wasn't sure why she had needed to leave me outside at all. Had they discussed something important? It didn't really bother me, so I simply trotted after her into the inn.
"Almost every room is full!!"
The innkeeper wrung both hands together and groveled before Athena, bowing his head in genuine-looking apology while sweat poured down his face.
Almost every room full, though. From the outside the place had looked quite large — if a building of that size was nearly booked solid, it must have been enormously popular.
Worried Athena might snap at him, I spoke up before she could.
"If it's almost every room… that means there's still one left, right?"
"Th-that's correct. One single room remains."
"Ah… um…"
"B-but the room is quite spacious, so it should be fine!! I guarantee it."
The innkeeper looked at me with desperate eyes. Did he want Athena staying here that badly? Well… if this were Korea she would be a VVIP guest. Of course he wouldn't want to lose her.
Hmm…
Even so, wouldn't a single room be a little tight? Two fully grown women sharing it… and there would only be one bed.
I felt a little bad for the innkeeper, but it seemed wiser to look somewhere else. The facilities here looked nice enough, yet we were going to be staying for nearly a week. Having more space to sleep would be better in every way.
"Hmm… I still think it would be better to have two beds. I'm sor—"
"P-please!! Stay with us!!! I swear we will give you the absolute finest service! You will not regret it!!"
"Eek?!"
The innkeeper suddenly exploded into a shriek. His eyes were trembling violently, as if he were terrified of something. Following his gaze, I thought I caught him glancing at Athena every so often.
"What's wrong, Hera?"
Athena, for her part, was simply smiling.
"Meals and lodging — all of it free of charge!! And we will even present you with the finest liquor we keep in store as a complimentary gift!!"
At this point his pleading was starting to get a little frightening. His overbearing stare made me feel sorry for him.
Business must be hard…
I knew that feeling. I had worked part-time jobs in plenty of places myself. I understood the struggles of people trying to keep a business afloat. He was probably this desperate because his livelihood depended on it.
…If he was begging this hard, maybe it would be all right?
I decided to change my mind and looked over at Athena.
"Uh… what do you want to do? I think it might be okay…"
Then again, even if I was fine with it, it wouldn't happen if she refused. Athena was a rather particular person — she would probably turn it down.
"Going somewhere else sounds like a hassle. Shall we just stay here?"
Huh?
And just like that, the two of us ended up sharing one bed for the entire week.