After I exit the guild, I take a new look at the hand-drawn map.
It's really well made for something made on the fly …
The town has a circular shape, with gates in the four cardinal directions. On the west side is the commercial and industrial district where I can find markets and weapon or armor smith shops. The residential district is in the east. That would be where most of the population lives. Lastly, at the northern part is the noblemen and wealthy peoples living places. This part of the town is enclosed with an inner wall.
(Hmm … It seems there are nobles in this world. As expected of a fantasy world should I say ? Is it a system similar to medieval Europe, or with feudal lords ? I better avoid the north area for the time being. I don't want to get into trouble due to my lack of knowledge about this world and anger them.) (Sakuta)
I decide to avoid interacting with nobility as much as possible until I understand this world better and move toward the inn indicated on the map. It would be better to secure a room as soon as possible I thought.
Ah, it seems there is a religion in this world, since there is a temple near the plaza, at the center of the town. I wonder what kind of religion it is. I didn't believe in gods or occult stuff in my previous world, so it probably doesn't have anything to do with me … Though I did end up in another world somehow, so there might actually be gods that interact with peoples ?
Night will fall soon. A couple more hours at best, judging by the brightness of the sky. I hurry myself.
The inn is located close to the south road, a little inside the west side of the town. I avoid empty, small streets just in case, and progress toward my destination. I also avoid overly crowded places though.
There are open air stalls on the roadsides, peoples clustering around some of them making a fuss over prices. Of courses, there are also first floors of buildings serving as shops. These shops have painted signboards picturing their specialties. There aren't any buildings with more than three floors.
I eventually tell myself to stop sightseeing and focus on finding my way in these unfamiliar streets.
(I can go sightseeing later, when my situation stabilize) (Sakuta)
...
I finally arrive at the inn I was recommended. Fortunately, I didn't get lost, didn't get talked to by strangers and went around unnoticed.
There wasn't a sign indicating that it was an inn at first, so I almost missed it, but looking more closely, there is a bed and food plate drawn on a small board hung on the door. Most signboards until now were large boards put over the entrance.
Putting my handle on the door, I slowly open the door.
I am greeted by the sight of a dining hall, with peoples eating and chatting around circular tables, ordering food and more alcohol. A waitress in green uniform is happily moving around serving customers and replying in a cheerful tone. Huh wait ?
(Isn't this waitress a little girl ? Is it alright for her to work here ? This looks like an adventurer specilized inn. Also she has pointy, furry ears atop her head and a cat-like tail ! This world has beastraces !) (Sakuta)
The girl with tea coloured hair, fluffy cat ear and tail keeps working without minding the frozen-in-place me.
(... Rather than looking, I should get going and rent a room.) (Sakuta)
'Where is the reception ?', I look around and find it on the left side.
Standing behind a desk is a cat-eared woman wearing a charming business smile. She looks like a grown-up version of the earlier waitress.
'Is she the elder sister ? They look quite similars.' I though, walking toward the desk.
"Good evening~. Welcome to our inn, The Sleepy Cats~. Would you like to rent a room ? Or did you come for dinner ?" (Cat-eared woman)
The woman asked in a sleepy voice, which you would not expect from her bright, almond-shaped green eyes.
"I would like a room." (Sakuta)
"Understood~. An individual room is 50 Lys a night~. Shared rooms of four customers is 30 and it's 5 Lys per meals~." (Cat-eared woman)
Somehow her sleepy voice is quite soothing...
(... Wait ! I don't know how to use the currency of this world. What do I do ? Erm... ) (Sakuta)
"Customer~?" (Cat-eared woman)
"Ah yes ... Single room please ..." (Sakuta)
(That makes 50 'Lys' a night. I guess 'Lys' is the name of the currency here. Which reminds me, at the guild earlier, I sold monster stones for 46 Lys. It was all copper coins with two different sizes. Four larges ones, and six smaller ones.) (Sakuta)
"... for three days." (Sakuta)
I think fast in order to figure out how money work as I talk. Three days should be long enough to settle a bit, and short enough to avoid wasting money if I decide to move elsewhere.
"That will be 150 Lys~. We provide breakfast, lunch and dinner. Will you take your meals here~?) (Cat-eared woman)
(At 5 Lys a meal, that will be 65 Lys a day for food and lodgings. Smaller copper coins seems to be worth the least, so if I suppose those are worth 1, the biggers ones would be worth 10. I had 15 more of the smaller ones, so, in copper coins, I have in total 61 Lys.) (Sakuta)
"I will take breakfast and dinner." (Sakuta)
(I don't know if there are others coins size, so I have no idea how much silver and gold coins are worth.) (Sakuta)
"It will be 60 Lys per day, so 180 Lys then~. Would you like to pay it all at once~ or separately ?" (Cat-eared woman)
"Separately please." (Sakuta)
I place four large coins and twenty small coins on the desk.
"Thank you for the business~! By the way customer ? Was this inn recommended to you ?" (Cat-eared woman)
"Yes, by the Adventurer Guild." (Sakuta)
"I see~. Customer doesn't looks like an adventurer so I was wondering~." (Cat-eared woman)
... That one hurt a bit. I know I am thin and don't practise sport at all. Looking around though, I can tell this is a natural reaction since all the men here are well built.
"Ah I'm sorry~. It's my bad habit to says everything I think about aloud. I didn't mean to be rude~" (Cat-eared woman)
She says, putting a hand to her cheek, looking apologetic.
(Well, I don't really mind anyway.) (Sakuta)
The woman then clap her hands together, looking like she was struck by a good idea.
"I know ! How about we make tonight dinner free of charge ? As apology and to welcome a new customer~." (Cat-eared woman)
(... Good idea. I forgot that I didn't eat anything since I came in this world.) (Sakuta)
After that, she register my name after looking at my guild card. It seems her daughter will guide me to my room after I eat dinner. Or rather 'she is a mother ?!' I though. It can't be helped since she seems to be in her early twenties, but I might be mistaken. Or maybe it's not considered that young here. I don't know. I don't know anything about this world common sense.
...
A few moments latter, I am sitting at a small table in a corner of the room. The small waitress took my order with a perfectly practised friendly smile. I ordered today's recommandation since I was completely clueless about any food on the menu, and water.
(Was it alright ? I think I once read some trivia about water being unclean in Middle Ages, so most peoples drunk wine or ale. It might be exagerated though.) (Sakuta)
"Thanks for waiting ! Here's your order !" (Cat Waitress)
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The waitress brings a plate and a mug. It seems to be a 'something's' stew. Don't misunderstand, it doesn't look bad. I am simply unable to recognize what ingredient was used here. It actually looks quite appetizing and makes me realize that I am very hungry.
I nod to her, take the spoon beside the plate and start eating.
"By the way customer ? I heard from mom that you were an adventurer. Is that true ?" (Cat Waitress)
"Yes it's true." (Sakuta)
I answer simply with a nod.
(So she really is this inn's daughter ?) (Sakuta)
"Heee~. You look quite young, you can't be much older than me so I was curious !" (Cat Waitress)
(Eh ? Seriously ? Do I looks this young ?! It's true I was once told that I look younger than my age ... But to think I would look this young ...) (Sakuta)
The waitress is as small as a middle schooler while I should be at least 18.
"My name is Mina ! May I ask customer's name ?" (Mina)
I answer her shorlty. It seems she is quite curious about me. Shifting my gaze down a bit, I can see a cat tail swinging slowly.
Mina is wearing a thick green dress under a white apron. It looks a bit like a maid uniform. Looking more closely at her face, I notice that she has the same green almond-shaped eyes as her mother. You can also notice vertical-slit black pupils. She is very cute. Cute enough to be popular 2D character among a peculiar otaku community of my previous world. I will declare right here that I am not part of this sub-community ... In this world she seems to be this inn's poster girl.
"Sakuta-sama is it ? Since when are you an adventurer ? I've never seen you around. Where do you come from ? What ..." (Mina)
She asks me a lot of questions, with sparkly eyes full of curiosity. I could answer that I became an adventurer today, but I am somewhat troubled about telling her where I come from.
(Should I answer evasively that I come from somewhere far away ? But it seems like it will make her even more curious. 'Curiosity killed the cat' ... No. Let's not say something so ominous and I'm not that kind of character. What if I told her I actually came from another world ? Anyway, is it alright for her to chat while she is working ?) (Sakuta)
While I am pondering how to answer Mina's questions, some other customer call out to her, ordering more alcohol.
"Ah~... Yes~ coming ! Sakuta-sama, please enjoy your stay here !" (Mina)
Looking a bit disappointed, Mina went over to take orders.
It's not that I dislike Mina, but I felt a bit relieved that I didn't have to answer her questions.
This relief was short. After Mina went away, a few men came over and suddenly sat around my table on the remaining chairs, making me surprised and intimidated.
"Yo~ newbie. 'Looks like ya getting along quite well with our cute Mina-chan HUH?!" (A rough looking guy)
('Our cute Mina-chan' ?! The hell is wrong with you.) (Sakuta)
"You are new here, so I will tell ya. It's a common agreement here to not talk more than ten seconds straight to Mina-chan !) (Mean looking guy)
A second guy with a suspicious eyes continue the rough looking guy.
"It's all for protecting this little angel from bad insects !" (A not very noticeable guy)
This last guy wasn't very noticeable ... I didn't know he was here until he talked.
These three peoples are adventurers. It can be understood from the bronze tags they are showing off on their chests.
"And so- Oi!! Why are ya calmly eating when I'm talkin' to ya !" (Rough guy)
(Sorry but it can't be helped. I am hungry, and the food will go cold if I wait for you guys to stop talking. It seems you will be talking for quite long after all.) (Sakuta)
The man seems quite angry, but his face quickly turn into an ominous grin.
"... Oh well. It can't be helped, since it's the food Mina-chan brought. Eat well while I explain ya how stuff works here." (Rough guy)
(That's what I intended to do. No need to stop eating to listen.) (Sakuta)
"But let me tell ya something first. That food you are eating was made by a big old beastman !" (Rough guy)
(Eh ? Okay.) (Sakuta)
After saying something random, these three guys started grinning and laughing.
"Fuhahaha ! Are you disapointted ?! You though Mina-chan cooked that foo
d for you huh ?!" (Mean looking guy)
(...No ? Not really. I mean, she was working as waitress. There is no way she has time to cook. Are these guys idiots ?) (Sakuta)
"... Not really." (Sakuta)
"Fuu~! No need to hide your disappointment." (Rough guy)
He says that while making a smug face. It's somewhat irritating.
"Rather than that, what did ya talk about with Mina-chan ? Don't misunderstand okay ? She is only talking to ya because you two are close in age. Don't get cocky, newbie" (Mean guy)
I swallow the food in my mouth, and ready myself to say that I didn't talk a lot with Mina, that it was mostly her asking a lot of questions, that their way of walling her Mina-chan Mina-chan is creepy, and a lot of other things, but ...
"... Nothing in particular." (Sakuta)
(Huh ?) (Sakuta)
I suddenly remember something important. About an important ability necessary in daily life...
"What~! Don't give me that ! Ya were talking all happily with Mina-chan !"
There is no way I was talking all happily with Mina because ...
(I am bad at chatting with other ! I am alright with people asking me question I can answer simply, greetings, asking direction, business related stuff, anything where I can give a template answer, but anything more complex is difficult !) (Sakuta)
"That's not true." (Sakuta)
The rough guy sitting next to me strongly press his hand on my shoulder.
"Don't say that. It's a rule here that everyone has to tell what they talked about with Mina-chan ! To be sure that no guys with bad intention swarm around her !"
(Seriously ! I didn't talk much to her ! Also don't suddenly touch me and act so familiar. It's giving me goosebumps ! And hearing you guys call her Mina-chan, Mina-chan is seriously creepy ! Stop it !) (Sakuta)
There is so much I want to say, but no words come out from my mouth. The situation is starting to get really uncomfortable. Then a savior appeared right at the best instant.
"You guys~ ? What are you doing bothering our new customer ? Hmn~ ?" (Mina)
"AH ! Mina-chan ! No it's not what you think ! We were just welcoming the newcomer ! Hahaha ! Haha..."
He said that while slapping my shoulder... Stop it.
"If you are trying to scare away new customers, you better be ready to get out of this inn, alright~ ?" (Mina)
Although she is smiling, Mina-san's eyes are not laughing at all !
"""~! We are sorry- !"""
They finally went away ...
"Thank you." (Sakuta)
"Don't mind it. Sakuta-sama, I am very sorry for this. They aren't bad peoples, but they are sometimes ... overly excited ?" (Mina)
I nod, as to tell her not to worry.
(It remind me of that time in highschool, when that most popular girl talked to me for some small stuff. The next day, I received threatening letters... It must be the same kind of situation.) (Sakuta)
"Anyway, since you finished eating, how about I show you to your room ?" (Mina)
I stand up and follow Mina-san inside the inn. My room is located on the second floor.
"Here it is." (Mina)
She shows me the room and give me a metal key with a simple design.
"Don't lose it okay ? Oh and our inn provides a warm water bucket to clean yourself. I'll bring it to you immediately so wait an moment !" (Mina)
(Oh so there are no bath or shower ... ) (Sakuta)
But I shouldn't expect that the hygiene customs are the same here anyway.
(Wait. Did she say she will bring a bucket full of water ? By herself ?) (Sakuta)
That sound difficult. There are stairs too. Will she be alright ?
It's too late though. She already went away.
And so, I take a look at the room.
The room is a little above 12 square meter. There is a window opposite to the door with wooden shutters, but no glass. The window can be closed with thick cloth curtains. A single person bed is positionned in the corner beside the window. There is also a small desk with furniture box beside it.
I close the door and notice a panel hiding another part of the room. Looking behind it, the floor that was made of wooden plancks, is replaced with a brick floor, built into a shallow basin. I understand that this is the 'bathroom'.
I sit on the bed. It's more comfortable than I though. Is the filling made of straw ?
I sigh and a strong sense of exhaustion wash over me, along with pain on my feets and mental weariness.
(I. Was I this tired ? I didn't notice at all.) (Sakuta)
I guess that without knowing it, I felt tense enough to not feel th exhaustion until I reached a place where I could rest.
I lie on the bed and close my eyes, breathing deeply and slowly, trying to relieve my tiredness.
...
*Knock knock*
A few minutes latter, right when I almost fell asleep, I hear knocking sounds from the door. I quickly realise that it must be Mina-san bringing a bucket.
I get on my feets and open the door. There, as expected, is Mina-san holding a bucket full of water. What is more unexpected is that the bucket is a lot bigger what I expected. She is carrying it with both her arms wrapped around it.
"Here is your water !" (Mina)
"Thanks. Are you alright ?" (Sakuta)
"Yeah, I'm used to it !" (Mina)
After setting the bucket down near the bathroom, she raises an arm an pats it with the other hand. She doesn't look particularly muscular though.
I suddenly think of using [Status Appraisal] on her.
- Skill [Status Appraisal] leveled up ! Current level : level 4 ! -
- Status Appraisal -
Woman - Cat Beastman - Level 6
Beastman
(Level 6 ?! This child is twice my level !) (Sakuta)
"I also brought a towel since it doesn't looks like Sakuta-sama prepared one. After you are done, please put the bucket outside beside the door. And don't spill water on the wooden floor ! Then I'll be going ! Please enjoy you stay and good night !" (Mina)
She went out of the room while I was still stunned in an internal orz pose.
... Anyway, I close the door, window's shutters and check that they are locked.
I then undress, and pour water over my head. I rub my skin and somehow get rid of my sweat.
(Soap would be nice. I wonder if soap is developped already in this world ?) (Sakuta)
- It exist -
Somehow, I got the feeling that it exists. But it might be expensive. Maybe it's something only wealthy peoples can afford.
After wiping myself dry, I put the bucket outside.
(It was a long day. I'm so tired.) (Sakuta)
I complain to myself in my mind, as I crawl under the bed's blanket. I sleep in my underwear since I have no change of clothes. I put everything else on the desks for the time being.
(Tomorrow I have to buy clothes. I must remember to do that ...) (Sakuta)
I quickly fall asleep under the dim moonlight filtering between the window shutters' plancks.
----------------------------------------
Summary of Sakuta's current status :
Sakuta - Human
Level 3
Swordmanship
Lv3
Dodging
Lv1
Intimidation
Lv1
Enhanced Eyesight
Lv1
Enhanced Hearing
Lv1
Pain Resistance
Lv1
Thoughts Acceleration
Lv1
Parallel Thoughts
Lv1
Concentration
Lv1
Status Appraisal
Lv3 → 4
Self Status
Lv4
Item Appraisal
Lv4