Things have calmed down much sooner than Meiris had expected. By eleven o'clock there were only six guests left downstairs, four of which were a group of adventurers.

They looked young, maybe not all of them adults. From what she overheard, they were celebrating a good hunt. Though, as she also picked up, it was no special occasion really.

For the most part they were simply pestering Helrin, but he seemed to enjoy it. Despite being a cook, he was apparently really strong. There couldn't have been many talented people in a place like this, but Meiris still wondered how strong he actually was...

The bunch left last, shortly before midnight and Jonarth officially closed the inn.

"Goodnight."

He said before starting up the stairs.

"Night, Dad."

"Goodnight."

Since it's been fairly calm for the past hour, Meiris had already cleaned up. She had nothing more to do and her muscles had had enough. She hoped it wouldn't be as bad tomorrow as Helrin had said...

Meanwhile, he poured himself half a glass of beer, then faced her-

"To be fair, I thought of giving you the room already. You don't seem the problematic type. But we actually ended up full, so you will have to stay at the compartment for tonight. Probably tomorrow too."

He took a sip of the foam and the golden liquid below it.

"That's alright. You said so earlier."

At least she would be safe there. Plus, hay couldn't be worse than trees, right?

"Yeah... I expected you would cost us some reputation and I would have to correct you frequently, unless you ran away in the meantime... But while I doubt you did this before- You are heedful, Lena. I will give you that.

"I won't pry into why you ended up this way, but just like Jill said- If you keep this up, then things will get better."

"..."

'Will they really?'

She thought, but didn't say.

gulp gulp

"Haaa..."

Helrin took a long chug before glancing towards the storage door.

"I should probably get you a bunk in the backroom. It would be inconvenient if you had to gather your belongings every time we run out of rooms..."

Not that she had many of those...

"Well, we can discuss the details tomorrow. Let me show you the way to your bed."

"Alright."

He went to unlock the door, which Jonarth had locked a moment ago. Then he led her outside, turned left twice, and took her through the stable. It was now filled with a plethora of horses, but only a couple paid attention to them.

The door at the end was also locked and he gave her a rusty key.

"I will come get you in the morning, but if you have the need... Well, just knock. I sleep behind the bar to keep an eye out on things."

While he wouldn't literally be using his eyes, Helrin had trained his senses, including mana sense, to stay alert even in a deep sleep. In general nothing ever happened, but he couldn't leave his home with over a dozen strangers inside unprotected.

It was kind of analogous to the way horses sometimes slept while standing up...

Meiris didn't think there would be a need, but she appreciated the offer. And while what Helrin just said could have also been taken as a threat, so that she wouldn't try anything stupid- It neither made sense now nor was hinted at.

From the experiences she had talking to commoners, they weren't that great at hiding their true intentions. Maybe save for some merchants...

Still, that didn't automatically make them trustworthy... But she could search for warning signs later. Sleep threatened to catch her standing up yet again, so she unlocked the door and went inside the slightly cramped room with a pile of hay by the back wall.

"Do you know how to share mana?"

"A little."

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To share mana usually meant to establish a lasting remote connection with an imbued item.

Most of the time, nobles had someone to power the magic items for them, but at times they required the ability themselves. Meiris being no exception.

However, Helrin sensed that she must've had very little mana. Of course she could've hidden it, but it wasn't a big deal for him either way.

"I brought a small heat stone."

He took out a little, round dark-amber crystal from his pocket. As he did that, a dim light began shining from inside of it-

"It's not much, but the night is quite warm today. I've already powered it up, so you shouldn't have the need to do it yourself."

"Thank you."

"Don't mention it."

It really seemed like she lucked out on people...

"See you in the morning then."

"Yes, goodnight."

With that she closed the door and Helrin went back inside the inn.

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The hay was far from ideal, but Meiris woke up well-rested. Her muscles were still catching up with the increase in her physical activity, yet they weren't nearly as sore as she had expected them to be in the morning.

Helrin hadn't knocked on the door yet - or opened it. He undoubtedly had a second key... Maybe she hadn't slept that long?

She noticed there weren't any streaks of light shining through the tiny holes in the walls... Then she remembered that Donemy's Corner was surrounded by other buildings, so it was to be expected.

'Might as well go and see...'

When she approached the door to unlock it- A clinking sound came from the other side. It caught her off-guard, but she quickly realized that she had slept in a stable. It was probably a horse's harness making those noises.

A smile would have appeared on her face if not for her control over it. Oh how had her life turned...

She rotated the key and pulled on the door's creaky handle-

For the most part she was right about the source of the sound. However, the sight of a woman who was putting the harness on the horse a short distance away spooked her.

The woman - who had a couple gray hair - gave her a cold glance, likely checking on the sound that Meiris made, but quickly returned her attention back to the animal.

It wasn't that early after all.

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When Meiris entered the inn, Helrin was already hard at work, and Jonarth was eating breakfast.

Actually, not just him. Five other people were eating as well, likely the guests on their way to Caphrim.

She got a portion too, a couple scrambled eggs.

Then she discussed some of the details with her employers that they hadn't had the time for yesterday, including the value of her current clothes, which she found surprising. They also mentioned that those had belonged to Jill long ago...

It made her curious about who that woman was to them? Though she didn't ask about it.

After that, she spent most of the day cleaning the rooms and doing laundry, with the occasional supervision from Jonarth. She had to admit that his remarks were often quite helpful, especially when she worked on the pricier lodgings on the top floor. All of them but one, which she was forbidden entry into. Probably his?

At roughly half-past four, Meiris was done preparing the rooms for their next lodgers and switched to helping in the kitchen. It seemed that Helrin was right about today, but while she had been busy washing the sheets- Jill had returned and was helping them out.

It was none of Meiris' business, likely not even a useful piece of information, but perhaps out of habit she couldn't help but notice the odd dynamic between Jill and Helrin. At least it seemed odd to her with what she knew...

The evening went by fast. The small town - Pathenam, as she learned its name today - has had only this single inn for quite a few years now. So when all the rooms got filled, the remaining travelers had little options. The guild may have taken them in, though that rarely was a service that guilds provided. Especially if one wasn't their member.

However, making the most out of the rare occasion, Jonarth started offering them the space on the floor for cheap. Since most people travelled with sheets of their own, it was a fairly convenient solution. Of course anyone could freely setup a camp on a clearing nearby or sleep in a wagon if they had it, but the inn still offered superior comfort and safety.

To help the effort, Jill has vacated her room and was also going to sleep on the floor. Only that she would be sleeping in the storage, like Helrin. Who ended up exchanging his bunk with her.

He offered Meiris to join them, as it was quite cold outside tonight. The little crystal wouldn't be enough and all the large ones were a part of the inn's structure. Though even those wouldn't be quite enough during winter on their own...

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"Eh. Leaving you alone to take care of your father has made you such a goody two shoes..."

It was their first occasion to talk comfortably since Jill's return today. While they speculated about the festival and the influx of guests being related to the closing of Pandral's Essence, Helrin had mentioned the idea of giving Meiris her own room. Something he couldn't do yesterday because they were full.

"Why didn't you just put her here, then?"

Jill's gaze swept around the storage. There were a couple shelves with booze and long-term food supplies, one wide closet holding Helrin's - now also Jill's - clothes, a moderate pile of logs, more shelves and a bunch of other things...

The modest room wasn't brimming with empty space, but there was enough of it.

"I... Didn't think of it."

He did think of adding a bunk for her, but not this...

"Sure.

"Speaking of, I knew you were on his good side from the start, but I hadn't expected Jonarth to accept you so readily. I'm wondering whether I should congratulate you, or kill you..."

Jill had noticed the way Jonarth had been treating Meiris this evening. No, he wasn't so nice to ask her if she needed a break- If he did, Jill would have definitely killed her already, whether it had anything to do with that recent mind control incident or not...

Her expectant eyes were now focused on Meiris, who sat on a blanket by the opposite wall. More of those would have been present on a shelf above her head if it were an average day.

Once again, the threat felt real to Meiris, even if Jill's voice was as calm as ever.

"I'm fine with neither. I only did my best to follow his instructions."

She shook her head lightly.

There was the possibility- The possibility that Jill would connect her appearance, manner of conduct and the little bits she shared about her past to realize who she was talking to... But it was barely there in the first place.

The circumstances surrounding Jill meant that she knew some things. Which was all the more reason why such a realization was unlikely, even excluding the fact that Meiris was supposed to be dead.

There were many people in the world and many more things happening. Unless she blurted out a critical detail, all Jill had was - in her opinion - a healthy dose of carefulness.

"Jill, give the girl a break. Lena has been working hard, so naturally father has become less opposed."

"In which case I congratulate her."

Was all Jill said.

After that, the conversation shifted to other topics, such as her trip, before they all fell asleep.