/
「Now, this is just a formality, but it’s an order from the top brass of my Guild, so just bear with it for me, okay kiddo? Here, this is my Intelligence Card with the officially certified Innkeepers Guild’s seal of approval.」
And he practically shoved his Intelligence Card down my throat. It really must have contained all of his personal and business information, but since I can’t read any of those words I can’t know for sure.
「Ah, okay. Not that I didn’t believe you, but it’s nice to know that your Guild takes such small details into consideration.」
「Really? You’re the first one who actually thinks like that. Other customers, even some of my most loyal regulars just think of it as a bother.」
No shit? But I can see why that would be the case. If Intelligence Cards can be said to be this world’s equivalent of my old world’s ID Cards that contain every little detail about a person then the owners of inns, shops and restaurants could definitely use them to keep shady customers out of their businesses by creating the list of the permanently banned ones and handing it over to the authorities. Kinda scary, futuristic concept, but as long as it gets the job done…
「By the way, are there any restrictions as to who might stay in this fine establishment?」
「As long as you are a law-abiding citizen you’re free to stay here. The only ones whom I won’t tolerate here are Bandits, Thieves and other scummy criminals. I take pride in the fact that for as long as I’ve been the owner here, none of them bloody outlaws set as much as a foot in here and I intend to keep it that way. Does that answer your question, boyo?」
「It does, thank you very much.」
「Good. Anything else you wanna know?」
「Nah, I think I’m good for now.」
It would seem that this place will accept anyone, be it a noble or a slave, as long as they are not lawbreakers.
「Speaking of Bandits, have you heard any rumors about their activity in the town or in its vicinity?」
「Not many of them, thank the Gods for that. But from what I do hear it seems that the activity of the Demi-human Brigands and Beastman Pirates began to be on the rise again. Not to mention the Robbers who commit brutal and atrocious acts on anyone who happens to be unfortunate enough to cross paths with them. I have never seen one of them for myself mind you and I’m not going to complain about that. So to give you a short and precise answer, you’ll definitely find them around here, but I wouldn’t recommend looking for them unless you had no other choice. No matter who they are, criminals and outlaws are no good pieces of shit who should all be wiped out from the face of this earth!」
「I see. I’ll be sure to take those words to heart.」
Looks like he really has it out for Bandits and other criminals. Perhaps it would be best not to pursue the matter further. Instead, let’s ask him about the actual cost of my staying here.
「How much would I have to pay for the lodging + meals combo, if you don’t mind me asking?」
「Ah, that’s right, I almost forgot about that! The cheapest single room costs 260 Nar and the cheapest meal set costs 60 Nar, so 320 Nar in total. If you intend to stay for longer, I can cut that price to 224 Nar per night. I always demand payment in advance, but you can pay for 1 day every day instead of paying for a week or a month.」
320 Nar a day for accommodation and food, downed to 224 Nar after applying my 30 % discount. Good to know that it works in this particular case.
「That’s a pretty sweet deal you have for me, and I’ll gladly take it.」
I took the backpack off my back and took the drawstring bag out of it.
「Thank you for your patronage then. The meals are served in this here dining hall. Breakfast is already included in the accommodation fee. We begin serving it 30 minutes after sunrise, sometimes a little earlier if there is a special occasion. Dinner is served starting from 30 minutes after the sunset, and will be served for 2-3 hours, so it will be in your best interest not to be late if you want to keep that stomach of yours full. As long as the lights in the canteen are on then you’re safe, but if they are turned off then you either wait until breakfast or finding something on your own.」
「Sounds reasonable enough.」
That said, I placed 4 silver and 48 copper coins on the counter. If I knew exactly how long I would have to stay here then it might have been better to pay for more days in advance, but with my current budget I would have risked losing all the money I have on me right now without any guarantee that I would be able to get those back. That is why I will pay for 1 day of stay on a day-to-day basis, starting from 2 days payment right now.
The Innkeeper counted the coins slowly.
「Payment for 2 days, got it. Now boy, raise your hand.」
「Okay.」
I did exactly as I was told.
「Investigate the will of the flowing spirit, the wisdom of intellect. Intelligence Card, open!」
I stretched my left hand with the newly-materialized Intelligence Card towards him. Showing him my Card sounded infinitely more convenient than filling the inn’s logbook while being unable to write the letter or read the words.
「Is this enough?」
「Yeah, absolutely. Kaga… Michio, huh?」
I know that the name on the Intelligence Card was written in the Japanese fashion, but I wasn’t sure if I should go out of my way to tell him that Kaga was my surname, not a given name.
「That’s my name alright.」
「And your Job is still a Villager I see. Well, do your best to get yourself some decent one as fast as possible.」
「I will be sure to do that.」
「Okay, that takes care of all the formalities. Now come on, I’ll show you to your room.」
And he left the counter. It looks like he does not intend to carry my backpack for me, so I have to do it myself.
「Right behind you, sir.」
I followed behind him through two flights of stairs. Looks like my room is placed on the third floor.
「If you really intend to go explore the Labyrinth, I can buy the ingredients you’ll find in there off of you, as long as it won’t be too large and it will be more than one piece of it so I can add it to the menu.」
「Roger that.」
If I’ll obtain some monster meat I might as well sell it to him, since he seems so eager about the idea.
「When you return here after the day of adventuring and you’d want some hot water to wipe your body, come see me about it. A whole basin of hot water costs 20 Nar by the way. Take it to your room with you after dinner and bring it back in the morning before breakfast. If you want to use the lamp, the rental fee is 10 Nar, and it contains about an hour’s worth of lamp oil. Feel free to add more oil yourself if you’ll need it, just don’t go starting any fires.」
「I will be careful not to do that.」
While we were talking about all those things we have reached our destination. The Innkeeper stood in front of the door as he was searching for the right key to the room, and then he placed it in the keyhole and opened the door.
「Here we are.」
「Hoo…」
It really was a single bedroom the size of about 10 tatami mats. The only furnishings were a small closet right next to the room’s entrance, a bed in the middle and a desk and a chair at the back. On the other side of the room was a medium-sized wooden window.
All in all, this room isn’t all that bad. It’s certainly better than the one at the Village Chief’s house, although I stayed in it for only one night and it was free of charge.
「The shelves under the closet can be locked and I reinforced them with special shielding cement, but I would advise against putting any valuables in them anyway. If you have such items, you’d best keep them close to yourself at all times. The servants will come clean the room once a day. If you want your clothes to be washed, just negotiate the price with whoever will be in charge of cleaning at that time. When you’ll be heading out, please leave your room key at the reception desk. The number of this room is 3-1.」
He showed me the key and placed it on the closet.
「Alright. Thank you for all the information.」
「Don’t mention it. Now please enjoy your stay.」
And he left the room, leaving me alone with my thoughts.