No Room at the Inn
After the accounts were settled and before everyone went their separate ways, the farewells began. I picked up my bag, checked the ointment, and stepped in among them.
"Thank you all for your hard work. This is only a small token, but I hope it conveys how much I enjoyed working alongside you."
I said goodbye to each person one by one, pressing a pot of ointment into their hands. The laborers looked thoroughly flustered by the gesture.
"You've worked hard. This is ointment — use it if you get hurt."
"Ah, no, suddenly giving us something like this…"
Everyone tried to refuse the gift in their embarrassment.
"There's not much of it. It's just a token of appreciation."
The laborers accepted the ointment while still looking bewildered. Since they kept trying to decline, I told them a simple thank-you was enough and forced the pots into their hands.
"Thank you so much."
Seeing their genuinely moved expressions as they took the ointment warmed my heart.
And the next person was the one I had healed…
"This stuff works pretty well, so if you get hurt, use it right away."
I only hoped the life I'd saved wouldn't be lost in vain.
"Yes… thank you."
After distributing ointment to all the laborers, I headed over to the three adventurers.
Truth be told, I hadn't really gotten to talk with them properly. Still, we'd spent about ten days together…
"Here — take some ointment."
"You have some for us too?"
"Adventurers need this kind of thing a lot, right?"
I remembered using plenty of it myself back when I was weak.
"W-well, yeah."
"An adventurer's body is their fortune, so don't hold back — use it liberally."
"Th-thank you."
After handing out every last pot from my bag and turning around… the young master was looking at me with the expression of an abandoned puppy. Don't tell me… he was making that face just because he wanted some ointment?
Nah… no way?
I looked at the single remaining pot in my bag.
I barely had any use for it myself anyway. Somehow the thought of giving it to the young master made it feel wasteful. I looked at him again. Seeing him with his head bowed, not even glancing my way, wearing that pitiful expression — something pricked at my conscience.
Still, we'd come all this way together… it would be wrong to leave him out, wouldn't it?
I heaved a deep sigh and pulled out the last ointment.
"Here. Was this what you wanted?"
I held it out to the young master, but he just stared blankly at my hand.
"What are you doing? Didn't you want this?"
"Are you really giving it to me?"
"Of course."
I took his hand and forced the ointment into it.
"If you want something, you just have to say so."
After handing it over, I spun on my heel and trudged toward my sister, grumbling under my breath.
"Sis, where should we go next?"
"Wherever Yuli wants to go."
"Shall we?"
We joined hands and were about to leave the Adventurers' Guild when I realized the young master wasn't following, so I looked back. He was staring blankly at the ointment in his hand.
"What are you doing? Aren't you coming?"
I held out my hand, urging him along.
"Ah, yes!"
His face brightened as he ran over.
Parting with the group and leaving the Adventurers' Guild was all well and good, but…
"Where should we go first?"
"W-well, I'm not sure?"
The young master seemed to be a first-timer here too, so he didn't know anything either.
"For now, since it's late, how about we book lodging first?"
Lodging, huh… With the sun already down, we did need to find a place to stay. I'd figured we could just get a room at the temple, but from the young master's perspective — not knowing the circumstances — lodging would naturally come first.
"Lodging. Important."
My sister seemed to agree with him.
"Shall we?"
Since I didn't want to reveal the truth, staying at an inn would be better. And given how late it was, resting at the inn tonight and sightseeing tomorrow seemed the wiser plan.
With our destination set, we wandered in search of an inn.
"This city is really complicated."
How to put it? Irregular, maybe? There were few straight main roads and plenty of alleys — the kind of layout perfect for getting lost. And with the sun down, finding our way was even harder.
"It's all for defending the city, I suppose."
Does a complicated street layout give an advantage in urban warfare? I didn't know much about military strategy, so I couldn't say.
"And the atmosphere is rather quiet, isn't it?"
Given the city's size and the height of its buildings, a considerable number of people should live here — yet it was quiet.
The Adventurers' Guild had been bustling with people, which made the contrast all the more striking. It could have been because it was night and we weren't in a commercial district, but the surroundings I saw now were quiet and subdued.
"It might be because of the Order."
Because they were people of faith, they were solemn? That felt a bit odd too… maybe it really was just because it was night.
"Still, quiet isn't bad."
I didn't care much for too much noise either. This had its own appeal.
"By the way, finding an inn is… really hard."
There were plenty of tall buildings, large buildings — but few with signs hanging on them.
In other words, those buildings were all residential.
Night deepened gradually, and the surroundings grew dark. I used light magic to illuminate the area.
"Ugh, seriously, where is an inn around here?"
Maybe I should have just gone to a cheap lodging near the Adventurers' Guild?
We walked for quite a while following signposts, searching for where the inns were, and finally found one.
"Finally!"
Since we'd entered the city late to begin with, by the time we found an inn it was the middle of the night.
"Whether they have rooms is the question."
Unlike the inns near the Adventurers' Guild, this place at least required real money to stay — so there should be vacancies, right?
"I'm sorry, we're fully booked."
That was what we heard at the first inn we tried.
"At present, this inn only has one single room left."
That was the second.
"I'm sorry. We have no rooms remaining."
The third was no different.
"Let's try that one next."
Honestly, that place looked far too expensive… From the exterior alone it was glittering and lavish.
"It looks expensive…"
That was less an inn and more a hotel. By the standards of my previous life, a cheap inn was like a guesthouse, a decent inn was a motel, and that place felt like a five-star hotel.
It looked like it would cost a fortune.
"W-well, should we at least go in and check?"
Even the young master hesitated at the look of the place.
"Let's go in for now."
Opening the door, the floor alone was extravagant. Gold ornaments and marble statues were on display, a carpet of elaborate patterns covered the floor, and a dazzling chandelier hung from the ceiling…
Even the noble young master clamped his mouth shut at the opulence, and for a moment we all froze.
While my sister and I stood overwhelmed and unable to move, the young master manned up and approached the staff.
"H-how much is one night here?"
He'd mustered his courage, but his voice trembled slightly. Even a noble young master was intimidated…
"It depends on the room, but the base rate exceeds forty gold."
My sister, the young master, and I all covered our mouths with our hands. I was so shocked I nearly swore out loud.
Forty gold?! The money I'd settled for today wouldn't even cover one night?!
"And currently we have three double rooms available."
Double rooms… Renting two of them would cost far too much.
"Do you have any singles or multi-person rooms?"
"I'm sorry."
That answer was as good as a no. No need to ask why — there were simply too many guests.
More than that, even a hotel like this was full? Was there some kind of event going on?
"What should we do?"
There were two options. First, look for another inn. Second, spend all the money we'd just earned to stay here. If we rented one double room for the three of us, it would be expensive but doable.
Except… I absolutely could not allow the male young master and my female sister to share a room. I was a man at heart, so I'd be fine — but my sister? Absolutely not. I dismissed the second option entirely.
Besides, blowing our entire fortune just for one comfortable night was a waste.
Looks like we'd have to use the last resort after all…
"Let's go…"
"Yuli?"
"It might not be too late yet."
No matter how much money we'd made this time, waste was absolutely out of the question!
We left the hotel-like inn and wandered the other inns nearby.
We went through more than ten of them, but the results were disastrous.
"Why are there so many people?!"
I shouted in the dark of night, forgetting that it was the hour when others were asleep.
How could every single inn be packed with guests?
Even if this was the headquarters of the Order, this was bizarre! That many people coming? Enough that there were no rooms left?
"Shall we head back toward the Adventurers' Guild?"
At the young master's suggestion, my sister nodded. Looking at their faces, both seemed thoroughly exhausted.
"Let's move for now."
"Okay…"
Getting angry wouldn't change anything. Back to the Adventurers' Guild it was…
This time, knowing the way, we didn't spend much time getting back.
And then…
"No rooms…"
Even the cheap lodgings on this side had no vacancies.
There truly wasn't a single one. The countless adventurers who'd come as escorts had already filled every spot.
"What do we do?"
Maybe it would have been better to take separate lodgings from the young master and just rent singles for each of us…
We were paying the full price for our greed.
"Ha, looks like there's no other way."
Would we have to use the last resort after all? I'd wanted to keep it hidden if at all possible…
No — there was another option. We could sleep on the street. In fact, around the Adventurers' Guild there were people camping out with sleeping bags and makeshift tents.
"Shall we camp out?"
The young master spoke quietly.
The problem was that my sister and I had women's bodies. Even so, sleeping on the street in a woman's body? Something dangerous could happen.
Of course, given my sister's and my strength, we could handle it… but the very existence of that risk was the problem.
It meant we wouldn't get a proper rest!
"I'll take the night watch alone. You two can sleep comfortably."
Without my saying a word, the young master already understood. He even offered to stand watch alone. I was grateful for the kindness and consideration, but he was a companion who'd traveled with us — I couldn't dump everything on him.
"Looks like we'll have to use the last resort."
"Do you have some kind of method?"
"Yes…"
Truly, if at all possible, I absolutely did not want to use it.
"Yuli?"
My sister looked at me with worried eyes.
"It's fine."
I led the two of them toward the highest point in the city.
"Where are we going?"
"Just follow me. We'll be able to find a place to sleep."
Ugh, why was the temple built so high up? We climbed the hill and climbed some more. Built atop a rocky mountain, the path was steep, and with the city so large, the road to the temple was truly grueling.
"This feels like a nighttime mountain hike."
He tried to lighten the mood with a joke, but my sister and I stayed silent. Should I say we were too tired to open our mouths? Or just that the whole situation was irritating?
After finishing our climb, the temple entrance that greeted us radiated a solemn atmosphere.
"Isn't this a temple?"
His confusion was entirely justified.
"Even as a believer, getting a room would be difficult."
The young master's words were a hundred times correct. It was simply that I wasn't an ordinary believer.
Ha… I never thought I'd end up revealing this.
"Looked at the other way, it means it works if you're not an ordinary believer."
"Pardon?"
Thanks to the light I'd cast, the young master's flustered face was all too clear.
"I mean exactly what I said."
As expected of the Order's headquarters, I suppose? Even at this hour there were guards at the entrance.
Soldiers standing solemnly in heavy iron armor… or should I call them knights?
"What business do you have at this hour?"
The holy knight remained on guard as he sought to verify our identities. I set down my bag and searched inside for the letter of introduction the archbishop had given me.
Originally it was a letter of introduction meant for use at the temple in the capital, Barga… but it was from the archbishop. It should work at the headquarters too.
"Here is a letter of introduction."
I confidently held out the letter.
The holy knight who received it furrowed his brow slightly, then as he read the contents, his expression shifted moment by moment.
It works after all!