Fl.u.s.tered by her words, Ashley"s voice was slightly raised as she retorted, "Isn"t it obvious that we"re going to book two single rooms!?" She then remained completely silent as her face flushed a light shade of red.
Ray who was standing beside her had also stiffened when he heard Bianca say "double room".
"Aww, you didn"t have to get so ruffled Ashley. I was just teasing you a bit." Bianca t.i.ttered and said, "How cute."
After picking on the reddened Ashley some more, Bianca turned towards Ray,
"I"m Bianca, the mistress of this inn. My husband currently busy preparing dinner, so I"ll make him greet you later. At any rate, you seem like a fine man. This is the first time the quiet and unsociable Ashley is bringing back a man with her. And yet, she manages to snag a good-looking man like you. I"m feeling a bit jealous~ Ah, keep this is a secret from my husband alright?"
She lightly closed one eye.
Feeling at a lost for words, Ray could only utter, "Please take care of me."
"The fee for one day and two meals is eight Crona. Tell me at least a day ahead of time if you need a bento. Booking a room alone without any meals is six Crona for one day. Our meals are pretty delicious, so going for the cheaper deal is really a waste in my opinion. Room number one on the third floor is available." Bianca chortled as she added, "It"s the room at the end of the hallway, right next to Ashley’s."
This time, Ray"s face also reddened. After his...o...b..was authenticated and he received his key, Ray quickly headed for the third floor as if to escape from her.
His room was roughly 3.5 mertos wide and 4 mertos long, about the same size as the room of a business hotel in j.a.pan. (TL: )
The room had a fairly spartan appearance, only having a bed, a closet, a small table, and a chair. There was no bathtub or toilet. When Ray asked Ashley about it afterwards, he learned that there was a shared toilet. Although there wasn"t a bathtub, the inn did have a s.p.a.ce for guests to wash their bodies.
His room"s window didn"t have any gla.s.s and was made entirely out of wood. Embedded within the wall was a single magical tool that served as the room"s illumination.
The baron"s mansion also seemed to have these things. When I wanted to turn it on, I only needed to touch it and pour in some magical power . . . ah, there we go, the light"s on now.
The magical tool for illumination seemed to be something that was quite widespread. Ray had seen them used in various places, supplanting the need for torches and candles.
I wonder if it needs a lot of magical power? The corridor alone had five or six of these. If you take into account all the other rooms, then this entire inn must have more than thirty . . .
He later found out that they actually didn"t require that much magical power. Even children could turn on around twenty of these without breaking a sweat. However, because the lights ran out of power after around two hours or so, there needed to be regularly relit.
Ray detached his equipment and thought about whether or not he should store his spear and armor inside the item box.
These are definitely my most valuable belongings. It would be nuisance if they were stolen, so also storing them in the item box would probably be much safer. What would Ashley think?
He decided to take off all his armor for the time being. After changing into the new clothes he had purchased today, he headed towards the neighboring room.
As usual, he stood outside the door and asked, "I have a small thing I want to ask you about, are you free right now?" He quickly received a response, "Ah, come on in. It"s fine." Without thinking about anything in particular, Ray opened the door. His body immediately froze, his hand still on the door k.n.o.b. The moment he opened the door, he had been greeted with the sight of Ashley in her underwear, putting on her clothes.
Ray hastily apologized by excusing himself, shut the door, and then stood petrified in the hallway outside the room.
What the h.e.l.l! I thought she said that I could come in. Did I hear wrong? Is she going to get angry? I kind of wish I had a better look . . . no, what am I thinking. Why am I thinking about doing things to make her hate me when I want to build up a better relationship with her?
As he worried outside the door, Ashley who had finished changing called out to him,
"What"s wrong? I wouldn"t have minded if you went in. Anyway, what did you want to ask?"
Although she said she didn"t mind, Ray felt a little disappointed by the way she spoke with him. It was as if she wasn"t conscious of him at all.
Looks like she really did say I could come in. Maybe she"s indifferent towards me? No, rather, she probably doesn"t see me as a man. I guess it can"t be helped since I"m not exactly a dependable person . . .
After his eyes blinked several times, Ray asked about what he should do with his equipment.
"Bring your sword with you to dining hall, but leave the armor in your room. Although you can lock your door to be sure, it"s probably fine to leave it as is since the guests of this inn aren"t those type of people. If you"re really worried, it"s okay to use the storage magic."
Having heard her advice, Ray returned to his room and stored his armor and spear in the item box.
How much can I put in this item box? It doesn"t seem to be dependent on my level. I guess I"ll think about it when the item box gets full . . .
It was now five o"clock, just the right time for dinner. They both headed headed towards the dining hall on the first floor.
The Silver Bell Pavilion"s first floor was composed of Bianca and Lester"s living quarters and a combined dining hall and bar. The second and third floors were both filled with guests rooms. The second floor had four double rooms and four quadruple rooms and the third floor had twelve single rooms.
Inside the dining hall on the first floor were eight tables that could each seat four people and also ten seats at the counter. The inn"s guests had already seated themselves at the counter and were enjoying their meals.
When Ashley and Ray arrived at their seats, a man with ashen-colored hair appeared from the kitchen.
"Ray, this is Lester, the owner of the inn. Lester, this is Ray, my life savior."
Lester nodded and curtly said, "Our cuisine today is meat or fish. If you want alcohol, please ask Bianca." No more words were uttered.
Ashley and Ray both requested the seafood and then waited for Bianca to walk by before also ordering white wine. Bianca laughed and said, "Sorry about that, he"s quite taciturn isn"t he?"
The food was plentiful and flavorful. Incidentally, the seafood for today was herb-flavored grilled char.
While smacking his lips over the food, Ray asked Ashley about tomorrow.
"I was wondering you could accompany me tomorrow, since I"m going to be accepting my first request. I also don"t know what kind of requests I should be accepting . . ."
Ashley made a strange face as she doubtfully tilted her head, "That"s what I was intending to do. Did I not tell you? I"ve decided to partner up with you for the time being."
Ray"s whole face lit up as he smiled and said, "This is great!"
"I was worried that you would be like the baron and also raise your guard against me. Thank you Ashley. Really, I have to thank you."
Slightly taken aback by Ray"s behavior, Ashley"s face tinged with red,
"No, it"s an obvious thing to do. The Marquardt family always repays favors. However, don"t expect me to go easy on you. I"m going to be strict, so be prepared." (TL: Makkat has been changed to Marquardt.)
"Understood. So, what kind of requests are we going to accept tomorrow? Collecting medicinal herbs in the forest?"
"Haa?" Ashley couldn"t help leaking out her bewilderment. "No, we"re obviously going to be doing subjugation. Besides, I"ve never even accepted a request for collecting herbs before. Subjugating monsters is a good way to strengthen you. We"ll worry about what request to accept after seeing the bulletin board."