Staying at the inn

That being said, even that much would be difficult to find if Kyle just wandered

into any cheap inn, so as a former Japanese person, he was very selective about

the bathtub status of the inn he chose. Just as Kyle was pondering between his

choices...

Hey, mister!" A voice suddenly called out to him from behind. Kyle turned around.

There stood a cute local girl in an apron and tunic dress, who looked to be

around two or three years younger than Kyle, making her around ten years old.

The girl looked up at Kyle with a bright and friendly smile.

"Um, do you mean me?" Kyle asked, pointing at himself.

"Yup! Are you looking for somewhere to stay?"

"Yes, but who are you?"

"I'm working in that inn over there! Would you like to come stay at our

place?" The girl asked, pointing at a wooden, three-story building that towered

over its surroundings.

She clung to Kyle's arm tightly, as though it was her way of refusing to let a

possible customer get away. Despite her young age, she was very good at

drawing in business.

"I'm looking for a single room with a bathtub. Do you have something like

that available?"

Naturally, Kyle wasn't able to tell whether bathtubs were included by looking

at the inn from the outside, so he figured it'd be best to simply ask the person

actually working there... All the more so if she had purposely come to him for

business. With that in mind, Kyle put forth his request conditions. The girl

beamed and nodded.

"Yup! We only have individual rooms at our inn. We still have rooms available,

and you can even rent a bathtub, too. So... will you choose us? Please?"

The little girl laughed happily, then peered at Kyle, catching a glimpse of his

face under the hood of his cloak. Her eyes widened by a fraction.

"I guess I will." If he put it off until too late, there was a chance that all of the

free rooms in the city could become taken. This place fulfilled his conditions, so

Kyle nodded, immediately deciding on it.

"Hehe, yay! One guest, coming right up! Follow me, this way! This way!" With

a light blush on her cheeks, the girl pulled Kyle's arm energetically.

Upon entering the inn, the two were faced with a vacant reception desk.

There was a swinging door to the right that led to the cafeteria, where quite a

bit of hustle and bustle could be heard from within.

"The fee is paid upfront. It'll be seven large coppers for one night, dinner

included. You can get the bathtub free as a bonus!" Ignoring the commotion

within the cafeteria, the little girl explained the prices in a loud and clear voice.

The price was neither cheap nor expensive; for a commoner staying at an

average quality inn in a single room, the price tag was to be expected. For

reference, staying at a shared room in one of the cheaper inns would have cost

less than one large copper.

"Here you are, then." Kyle handed over seven large coppers.

"Thank you for your business! Oh, that's right... What's your name? I'm

Claire!" The girl asked with an innocent and professional smile, befitting for her

age.

"I'm Kyle."

"Kyle, okay! You're probably a little older than me, right? It's nice to meet

you!"

"Yeah, nice to meet you."

"Hmm... You're kind of quiet. You seem cool, Kyle. You should take your

hood off and smile more! Come on, lets see that smile!" Claire pouted with a

slight look of dissatisfaction at Kyle's calm reply.

"Haha..." It was difficult to smile on command, but Kyle did his best.

"Hmm... Okay. I guess that's acceptable. I'll lead you to your room now!" The

smile returned to Claire's face. She nodded, then grabbed Kyle's hand and

walked off.

What a bubbly girl, Kyle thought with a bitter smile. After being surrounded by

impish children during his days in the Royal Academy, meeting someone like

Claire, who actually acted her age, was rather refreshing.

They marched their way up to the third floor, where Kyle's room was. It was

around twenty-two square feet in area, with nothing but a bed inside.

"Here we are. You can only lock it from the inside, so don't leave your valuables when you leave the room. It's dinner time right now, so you can come

down to the first floor once you're ready. Or do you want your bath first?"

Claire explained at the doorway of the room.

"No, I'll eat dinner first."

"Got it. Then call me when you need the bathtub and the water prepared. I

think I've explained everything... Do you have any questions?"

"Nope, I'm fine."

"Great. Well, let me know if you need anything. ...Oh, that's right! Many of

our patrons are adventurers, so try not to pick fights with them, yeah?" Claire added as an anecdotal warning.

"All right, got it," Kyle said, nodding a bit tiredly. He wished she had told him

that during the negotiation stage of his visit, but those kinds of adventurers

could be found in more or less every inn, so he gave in.

Adventurers were jack-of-all-trades that belonged to organizations called

adventurer guilds, usually specializing in dirty work. They'd act as mercenaries

during wars and exterminate monsters and other dangerous beasts during

times of peace. Thus, most adventurers tended to be rather rough around the

edges. It was common to see drunk adults picking fights with each other on a

daily basis.

"Be careful, okay? Even if they're not adventurers, adult men can be really

stupid. They get mad quickly and always turn to violence... You might get picked

on a little, but since you're still a child, they'll probably let you go without a

fight if you just nod along with them," Claire said with insistence. There was a

faint shadow over her face.

"It's all right, Claire. You have work to do, don't you? You'd better get back

before you're scolded," Kyle replied, giving her a soft smile.

"Yeah. See you later, then!" With a nod, Claire turned around. But before she

left, she stopped abruptly.

"Umm, if you have some time after dinner... I'd love to talk to you some

more. I like my job a lot, but I don't have many friends around my age," she said

bashfully.