In the end they decided to get rooms and rest, but when they got there, Loren wasnât sure what to do with Feuille.
He had been thinking about getting three rooms since there were three of them, even if it cost more, but then he started wondering about leaving Feuille in a room all by himself.
Although he was an elf, he was only ten years old.
Thinking that it wasnât good to leave a young child alone, he was about to have him stay in the same room, when he suddenly started feeling piercing glares on his back, causing him to turn behind him.
They were in the first floor of the inn, which like most inns, was where they served customers their meals, and it seemed like most of the glares were from the customers sitting down there behind him.
He could tell that they werenât filled with things like bloodlust or opposition, but he couldnât immediately understand what was behind them.
And it seemed that for some reason, the ones from the women seemed especially cold, and as Loren rubbed the back of his neck, Lapis whispered to him.
âThis is just a feelingâŚbut I think everyone thinks that Feuille is a girl.â
When told that, Loren looked down at Feuille, who was looking up at him.
Elves were known to be beautiful, but Feuille especially looked like he could be either, so it was very difficult to know just by looking at him, and if he didnât talk, he could easily be thought of as a girl.
Realizing too late that it couldnât be helped if he was seen as someone who was trying to take a young girl into his room, Loren thought of putting Feuille in Lapisâ room, but Lapis frowned at the suggestion.
âRegardless of how he looks, Feuille is a boy.â
âI guess thatâs true.â
âAre you telling an unmarried girl of age to spend a night with a man!?â
ââŚUmm, yes.â
Ignoring Lapis, who was complaining about the moment of silence before his response, Loren scratched his head, wondering what to do.
If everyone looked at him coldly if he tried to take Feuille and didnât like it if he tried to make her take him, there was only one option left.
âHow about all three of us staying a large room?â
âOh, you guys were a family?â
The one who asked was the owner of the inn.
When the middle-aged man mentioned it, Loren thought about the composition of his current companions, but putting himself who was human, Lapis who was demon kind, and Feuille who was an elf as a family, seemed too chaotic.
âWeâre not actually a family, but a lot of things happened. Iâll appreciate it if you donât pry further.â
âThree silver coins a night for a large room for five, including two meals. Extra towels and warm water are extra charge, alright?â
The owner was trying to be sensible since they werenât a family, but to Loren it was additional mental damage, and even with a tired look on his face, he slid three silver coins on the counter.
Although he didnât have much money, he had a few silver coins in his wallet.
He felt that if he let Lapis pay, it would worsen his image with the people behind him, so he immediately paid before Lapis could.
Seeing the money, the owner gave him a key and told him where the room was.
Frowning at the painful spending, Loren went up to the second floor with Lapis and Feuille and entered the room for five. After putting his equipment and bags down and sitting down on the bed to take a breath, he saw that Feuille was staring at him.
âWhatâs up?â
When he said to Feuille, who was standing in front of the doorway, he asked him with a worried look on his face.
âUmmâŚWhatâs going to happen to me?â
It did seem that he was being a little vague, but Loren looked at Lapis, wondering how to answer him.
Lapis, who had put down her things as well and was sitting on a different bed than Loren, noticed Lorenâs gaze and put her index finger on her chin, her gaze wandering about around the ceiling, and answered.
âIf we think about it in an orthodox way, we would have him come with us to the Black Forest and take him back to his village would be one option.â
âIf you think about it normally, yeah, but what do you mean by orthodox? Is there an option that isnât?â
ââŚDo you want to know?â
âNo, so keep it to yourself.â
Knowing that it wouldnât be anything good, Loren shut up Lapis and turned towards Feuille, who was still standing in front of the door.
âIf you have a way to contact your friends or family, do it. If not, take us to your village. The forest isnât a place where a child like you could wander around alone, right?â
Feuille looked confused when Loren asked him to take them to his village, but Loren meant that they would protect him until they reached it, and as Lapis let out a nervous laugh, Loren glared at her.
Looking at his reaction, Loren thought that the elves must have a lot of trouble with insolent people going after them for their looks.
âItâs not like we have business with your village. Weâre just going to take you there.â
âWill you really? I donât have any money to pay youâŚâ
Feuille knew that Loren and Lapis was adventurers since they stopped by the guild.
So, he assumed that since they were people who took quests and were paid for it, they were going to ask for money to take him to his village.
Loren sighed, knowing what Feuille was thinking.
âWe arenât going to take money, so donât worry about it.â
âT-then youâre going to take it from my parentsâŚ?â
Loren couldnât stop himself from thinking, âI seeâ.
Taking money from Feuille, who was a child, wasnât the proudest thing to do, but taking a lost child home and receiving gratuity didnât seem like a bad idea.
But Loren shook his head and chased the thought out of his mind.
âWe donât do jobs that deliver lost children home and take money for it.â
âThenâŚâ
âFinding you mustâve been something more than chance, so might as well see it through. Weâll take you home and wonât ask for money, so donât worry.â
âWhy would you go that farâŚ?â
Since Feuille looked surprised and didnât seem to believe him, Loren wondered how he could convince him, but then realized that there was no need to.
If he accepted their offer, that was fine, but even if he didnât, that wouldnât trouble them either.
Even if they parted ways with him at the edge of the forest, it wouldnât hurt them at all.
It would in fact be easier for them if they did, but he was reluctant letting a powerless child walk all alone inside a forest, since it seemed like something that could keep him from sleeping at night.
âThereâs no reason. If anything, it would beâŚâ
âThat this person is very soft-hearted inside.â
Lapis interrupted Loren.
Loren was about to argue that he wasnât soft-hearted, but what he was doing right now indeed looked like he was, so when Lapis looked at him, asking if she was wrong, he couldnât say anything.
âSo how about going along with his suggestion, and after you get home safely, if you want to pay him back somehow, then I think you could give him something in return.â
âR-really?â
Feuille looked relieved at Lapisâ kind words and moved from where he was standing and sat down at an empty bed.
It was supposed to be a room for five, but there were only three beds, so Loren, confused, looked around and saw two long sofas, and guessed that they were meant to be used as beds as well.
As Loren thought that they were fortunate to have enough beds to use between the three of them, Lapis said to him as if she had just remembered something.
âSo, Loren, all we do know is eat and sleep, and enter the Black Forest tomorrow.â
âWhat about it?â
âThis inn. The owner said that extra hot water and towels were extra charge, right? You see, Iâd like to clean myself before I go to bedâŚâ
Loren recalled what the owner had said while Lapis complained at the bad service.
âI mean, he said extra, right? Water and towels should be included in the room charge.â
As Loren said so, knowing that his memory wasnât wrong, Lapis asked him another thing with a confused look.
âThen would ordering extra water and towels mean that they wonât give us enough to use?â
Loren thought that wasnât true.
No matter how cheap the inn, they would provide enough hot water to clean oneâs body, and since they were renting a room for five, it wouldnât be a problem to order enough water and towels for five people, and it was hard to imagine that wouldnât be sufficient for the three of them.
If there were a problem, it would be that Loren and Feuille would have to step outside while Lapis was washing herself, but that wasnât much of a problem either.
âIâm fine with one personâs worth of water and towels, and Feuille probably wonât use much either, so you can use the rest, you know?â
âThank you, butâŚthen what was the owner talking about when he mentioned extra?â
âNo idea. Maybe some customers use a lot of water and towels? Or some of them spare no expenses?â
Although Loren didnât say out loud, he understood that the owner had mention extras because he was being sensible about a whole different thing.
It was because his companions were a girl named Lapis, and a boy named Feuille who looked like a girl.
Loren had thought that since she was Lapis, she would catch onto it, but apparently it wasnât understood to demons.
Loren guessed that since they were used to taking baths, even if they were in a situation where they needed extra water and towels, they would just wash themselves in the bath.
âOnii-san, could you explain what he meant to Shayna?â
At the voice that rang in the back of his head, he almost told her that it was ten years too early for her to know, but the voice belonged to a consciousness within his astral, who was also a No Life King, and undead of the highest rank.
She wouldnât become an adult after a mere ten years, so he wasnât sure if he should say it was too early for a child to know, or if he should say heâll explain when she becomes an adult.
âOnii-san? Did Shayna ask something bad?â
Seeing Lorenâs reaction, Shayna started worrying that she had done something wrong, but Loren, who regained his composure when he heard her voice, dodged the question by saying heâll explain when he felt like it, and laid down on his bed.