The standard average inn provides three types of rooms. Small, singular types that are the cheapest, and only have room for one person to really stay in. A medium sized group room that can fit roughly three to four people, and is cheaper then three individual rooms. And then a quality room, which has a bit more space, better bedding, and the like. And also more expensive then a medium sized room.
And when it comes to traveling, well its best to get over any shyness or squeemishness one might have, because it almost never happens unless one if rich where they bother to get seperate rooms just for things like gender or such.
"Maaan...im stuffed" Rikuo mentioned as he lay down on his bed in the group room they got. Although it seemed a bit weird, they couldn't really afford to draw attention to themselves by deviating from the norm. ANd right now, Rikuo had been appeared y a suculent, juicy steak he had eaten earlier. That and a premium glass of Moozoo milk. The meat was also Moozoo apparently.
"I didn't want to ask this downstairs, but...what is a Moozoo? I dont have any memories of it in my memories" Herra asked.
"Its an animal that got created when magicians were trying to create hybrids of various farm animals to make improved versions and such. Moozoo is basically the combination of a cow and a chicken...sort of. It looks more cow then chicken" Sora explained.
"Probably why it had succulent red meat...man im thirsty now though, even after that Moozzo milk..."
"Yep...so, which one of you two is going to feed him?" Sora asked, causing everyone to get confused while Rikuo got eeriely silent.
"...did you have to bring that up?"
"Your powers will diminish if you dont feed. Id offer my own blood, but...as your familiar, some weird stuff happens if you drink mine".
The two looked at each other, and then sighed.
"How does vampire feeding work exactly? I am unfamiliar with it" Arila mentioned.
"So am I" Herra pointed out.
"Well, really he just needs to drink blood. Although the demerits for not drinking it are not as bad as an Ancient Vampire, its definently something to avoid. His weakness to sunlight will get worse, and his magic and strength will weaken. Consequently, right after drinking blood, his weakness will be at its lowest, and his powers will be at their strongest. All he needs to do is bite and drain. Well, there is another thing that can boost the strength he gains even further, but thats not really necessary right now".
Herra was a bit relieved at the fact it wasn't something weird or bad, although that bit at the end of the explanation was something she felt she should be concerned about. That said, as she was taking off some layers, she went over to Rikuo.
"Always got your back" she said, holding out an arm. "But, you will owe me for this".
"Hold it, he is drained, so he should get from two sources so he doesn't drain one of us completely" Arila mentioned, holding her arm out as well right as Rikuo started to drain Herra. "He can owe us both one".
"Sure, that is fine" Herra mentioned. "Though in the future, maybe we should drain blood from some of our enemies to use as a stopgap measure".
"Thgm mgough bh ghfd" Rikuo mentioned while drinking, appearing to be famished. It roughly sounded like he said "that would be good" though.
"If only a certain familiar could do it though".
"Trust me, you really dont want that. Drinking the blood of your own familiar is like a drug, it would get him very high, and then make him crash afterwards".
As that was said, the two switched off, with Hera finching and looking a bit feint as Rikuo started to drain Arila. Thankfully they had just all eaten and drank and were about to sleep, or else this would be quite difficult for them.
Speaking of which, for adventurers, sleep habits had some variety, but not much. Most people would think that adventurers set up tents or such at least while out, but that is not true at all. They typically carry a blanket or such, and huddle with it by some makeshift fire, if they can afford to make one, while sleeping at night. That is because every pound is precious, So when outside, they sleep in their clothes with a blanket.
They also dont carry or use sleepwear, so when in an inn, they use the chance to not sleep in the clothes they were likely wearing. Its not uncommon for an entire adventuring party to sleep in a medium sized room in an inn completely naked, with it all being quite platonic and innocent with none of the dirty things one might think of. One might think sleepwear would be light and easy to pack, but as it was said, every pound counts, and you will need that room for potions and money.
As for magic items, there were things like size manipulated bags where the inside if bigger then the outside, but its impossible to have infinite space. Infinite space and storage requires infinite magic, and infinite mana to be poured into it. And it would require infinite mana to maintain it. As such, bags with infinite or even large space were impossible.
"Excuse me customers" the inn keepr said, bringing in a large wooden basin full of water. "There you go. I prepared your bath water, and its nice and good now so dont let it sit too long. Just remember to dump the dirty water out the window when you are done".
With that, the innkeeper left, though it brought up another good point. In this world, baths existed only in high ranking noble houses and royalties. Generally speaking you washed yourself, or others washed you, in large wooden or metal basins. There were bathhouses of course as well, but those cost money, and adventurers were always taught to focus on survival over such things.
Commoners, and adventurers unless they were rich, should only pay for essentials, and use any excess money as savings for the winter, when it becomes harder to operate, or for improving and maintaining their gear and buying new potions and supplies. Since you never knew what you could encounter, and you always needed as many aces up your sleeves as you could get. Since you could never be sure when your luck would run out, and an ill prepared adventurer would meet their end.
Incidentally, there was no such thing as "cleaning" magic, at least an efficient kind that was usable by people. One person once made it, but it required a magic tool the side of the building, multiple large scale magic stones harvested from large monsters, a combination of water magic, alchemy, Toxic Magic for the acidifity needed, and it had to be re-calibrated to the specific body of the person it was used on. The reasoning was because they had to make it just the right acidic value to clean, making sure it properly applied itself to the individual dimensions of the body, without going too hard or too soft for that person, while making sure it properly got everything needed.
"And that is why cleaning magic is totally impractical" Sora finished explaining, as he sat naked in Herra's lap as she washed his hair. Meanwhile, Rikuo was in Arila's lap. Incidentally, it was also common place for the older ones to help bathe the younger ones, so for Herra and Rikuo's second lives, and for Arila and Sora, this was natural.
Incidentally, there was also the option of bathing in a river or stream that went by a city, village, or town for free.
Well, there was also the fact that Sora just outright sucked at washing himself, since he was used to his Dragon Form, not hi human one, so he was especially bad with hair.
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"Well, its a common story among tales for Reincarnators to get some culture shock, so this sort of thing feels natural and expected" Arila mentioned, as she scrubbed under Rikuo's arms. It was still a bit embarassing for Rikuo's and Herra's first lives, but it was being diluted by their second lives, and by the fact Herra and Rikuo were childhood friends in their first lives, and bathed together all the time.
Or rather, a week before they reincarnated Rikuo's mother forced them to after they spent a three day weekend holed up gaming and they desperately needed one. Sometimes people joked about them being romantic, but that was never the case, as they were just close friends.
However....why do I get the feeling there might be budding feelings between Arila and Rikuo? Well, ill fullfull my role of best friend diligently, however that may end up being.
As she thought that, she proceeded to wash the rest of Sora's body, as Arila did Rikuo.
"Now now, dont squirm~"
"...you know I am actually thirteen right? Uhg, I need to find a way to age this body, at least a little".
As he said that, her hands moved to wash his lower body, which got him flustered.
"Oi!"
However, his hands suddenly got held back by a single one of hers.
"You say that, but...I get the feeling both you and Herra are bad at proper hygine when you are overwhelmed or distracted".
The duo could not help but gulp and turn away, not wanting to comment on that. They considered trying to lie, but they got the feeling that it wouldn't work if they did. After all, even though Rikuo loved the sunlight, he also loved staying up late at night playing games, and did so reguarly with Herra in their previous lives. To the point the event that happened a week before their reincarnation was a regular one, and a few times their parents actually tossed them into the bath after making sure they were washed off.
Well, in the end, they were gamers. They had trouble socializing with the rest of the class as well, aside from maybe a few others. The obnoxious class president tried to get them involved, and often forced them to get involved, in various things, but she realy was just annoying to them and they didn't really get along.
Well, maybe the lack of romantic attraction between the two was because they were just too used to each other also from all the games and meals and baths and beds they shared together.
But due to that lifestyle, neither of them could refute Arila, which resulted in her going hardcore wash mode on Rikuo.
"You dont mind this at all...or rather, shouldn't a familiar support their master" she said, as she continued to wash the human form dragon.
"Nah. I mean, in the first place, im a dragon. I was only wearing clothes to fit in, but it feels more natural without them honestly, so this is much better for me. I was just trying to avoid causing my master issues or draw too much attention".
"Well, that is thoughtful".
"Anyways, my contract with Master isn't one that is easy to define in words or blood. The fact is, due to the nature of it, he cant remember the details really. Even my memories on the matter are limited. But I am sure one day it will become clear".
"...a secret contract huh?"
And so like that, they finished off the bath.
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With some time left before they would all fall asleep, and since they were air drying a bit, everyone was laying naked on their beds, they decided to talk about the next heist.
"The fact the adventurers and guards are looking for me is a bit troublesome, but it cant be helped. I was still getting used to this world when I started gathering information. I didn't want to wait though, since I figured by doing it immediately, other Reincarnators would come and find me realizing I was one".
"In the end, we met up for different reasons though".
"True. But, there is a reason we need that information. For one thing, how much do you know about The Shard Legacy?"
"Its the main religion of this world or such right? A shard of divine power or such that fragmented?"
"Yes, it was the anchor for the god's divine power...but also, from what I learned, it was where the first 'Hero Summoning' took place as well" Herra mentioned.
"The first...you mean, the first ancient Heroes summoned from another world to help save this one?"
"Yes. Originally, back then, they tried to summon twenty legendary adult warriors, and while some were famous and they did a decent job at stemming the tide, it was discovered their ability to increase their power was severely weakened since they were already adults, and it was realized that children, especially young children, had far greater potential. Still though, the fact they were as strong as they were was because they used it at the divine site...now what does that tell you?"
Arila and Sora looked confused, but syncing with their longtime friend, Rikuo understood instantly.
"It means, the connection and power of the spell was strongest there right?"
"Indeed. Now, they used divine relics, imbused by the Shard Fragments created when the Divine Shard split according to the Shard Legacy, to do those summonings. Apparently they are always used as focal points when summoning a hero. And they are used for divine level spells and relics as well, but it seems like those who use them have always fared far better then those who dont. Simply put, even with our Reincarnator Title benefits...I think we might be in a lot of trouble, especially if those Great Thirteen guys take notice of us. So we need more power. Now, whether we go back home though or not...im not too sure about the decision myself".
As she said that, she pointed to her cat tail, which was in plain view since the four were laying on their stomachs, which happeend to be the standard and usual way of sleeping in this world, especially for adventurers. That was because by laying on one's stomach, it was considered far easier to jump up at a moments notice, or just easier to get more active in the morning. At least, that was the belief.
Also because someone long ago once likened to sleeping on one's back as sleeping like a helpless turtle, and so the imagery ticked a few people off and embarassed others.
"So basically, you are worried since we no longer are human".
Indeed, of the two reincarnators, one was a Cat Beastkin, and the other was an Ancient Vampire. ANd those things were not really something you could just ignore, and from what the four of them knew, was not something that could be changed either.
In other words, they might get treated rather badly, or worse, especially since their bodies died in their original world.
However, even if they didnt use the divine shards to go back to their original world, they would be useful to survive in this world.
"So, in order to get more information on the shards, you plan to break into the lord's residence, and get the classified information only he would have?"
"Indeed. And as such, I would like everyone's help. After all, if we pull this off, and we track down these items, we could get a serious advantage we will need. Especially since, from what iv learned, the Great Thirteen like to hunt Otherworlders. Supposedly, they even have some method of knowing when they have arrived in the world, even maybe be able to pin down where".
"Great, another thing to be careful of. And I bet the all have a shard too, and probably a flock of dragons".
"...please dont lump me in with those clowns" Sora said, sounding divinely comfortable laying down on such a bed. Even though he appeared in bliss, he seemed to be following the conversation. Incidentally, his covers had fallen completely off his bed, as he was mainly obsessed with the pillow. As for the others, Herra's tail made it impossible for her to pull the covers over her, and so out of consideration, Rikuo had not touched his covers either. Arila was just such a tomboy that she didn't care, as she had declared at the start of bathtime that as a party they should have enough trust in each other to be fully naked together.
Well, as mentioned, since adventurers spend most of their time, at least during the spring, summer, and fall, adventuring, they often spent many nights outside while doing requests anyways, and it was true they should trust each other, not to mention the common sense of this world.
Either way, before falling asleep completely, they talked a bit more about the plans, and how they would prepare and get ready for the heist.
And as such, later that night, as everyone went to bed...
"So you came, Rikuo" Herra muttered, as she felt Rikuo getting into the bed with her Since each bed was big enough for an adult male, naturally a girl and a boy with a young body could fit in together just fine. The moon was visible outside the window, one of them anyways, and it was a beautiful sight.
"Sorry for disturbing you..." he said, sniveling a bit. Herra had roughly expected this, as the two locked hands together and looked out at the unfamiliar sky.
And then, tears began to roll down her cheeks as well.
"...we really did die and get reincarnated in a new world.."
"It was so terrible...and so scary".
"Its so different...but so daunting".
Out of every story of every reincarnator, out of everything all the novels and manga and anime did, there was one thing that was happening now, that they never seemed to go over.
And so as the tears went down their face, as they held hands, they looked into the eyes of each other, a friend till the end in the middle of this night.
Yes, finally with someone to share their emotions with, and now that they had the time to take a breath, they were processing their deaths Both in the previous world, and in the current one when they reincarnated. They had died, and then died again. It was scary. Scary and painful, and terrifying. What happened to them was a tragedy, and then tragedy came around again and triggered their memories to return in this new life.
And now, with the stillness of night surrounding them, they finally cried and processed these facts. The facts of their deaths, their second deaths, and their new lives.
These two friends had the normal and healthy reaction that protagonists of the novels and such they read never did.