A Mix-Up, And Seeing His Birthday Suit

As soon as Albrecht and his group got their rooms for the night, Shirohime knew that she had to do something before she lost sight of them. Once Albrecht and the ladies were out of sight, she casually walked towards the receptionist who just so happened to be the owner of the tavern as well. 

"Welcome, how may I help you?" The kind lady asked with a sweet disposition even though she already knew what Shirohime was going to say. Of course, she seemed like she was going to stay for the night, but the lady still had to ask. 

"One room, preferably near the group who just checked in." Shirohime said with utter confidence even though she wasn't acquainted with Albrecht and the others. 

Fortunately, the kind lady was fooled by her casualness, and she concluded that Shirohime knew the group who just came up. After all, they did signal at each other a moment or so ago. 

'There was no way they'd do that if they weren't acquainted, right?' Or so that's what the lady thought as she nodded her head. A smile briefly formed on her visage as she thought of Albrecht. She couldn't put a finger around his character but one thing's for sure— she could tell that he was extremely popular with girls. 

Clang!

Since Shirohime was too focused on the situation at hand, she was surprised when the wooden door to the entrance of the tavern was pushed open. A gentleman who was carrying a couple of groceries on hand pushed himself forward. Judging from how he carried herself, Shirohime could tell that he frequented the place. 

"Ah, dear!" The man called out as he set down the bags. "Aren't we supposed to close the tavern now? Let's go, I'm pretty tired for the day. 

"Yes! Let me tend to this young lady over here." The lady said as her lips gently curved upward. After giving Shirohime the keys to her room, she joined her husband, carrying half of the groceries. 

"Thank you so much, please proceed to the second floor. We actually close the tavern at around this time, so we'll see you tomorrow. I hope you have a nice stay." The lady said as she went out of the tavern.

Apparently, the tavern and the inn wasn't open for twenty-four hours. During the night, the lady would leave reception and sleep. As such, there would be no one left to tend to the guests if they were to have problems in the middle of the night. 

Then again, it's not like they would need anything. Besides, the reception would be empty for only five hours. If the guests wanted something, they could always go out and get it. It was a weird set-up, but the business was able to survive for a long time so the owners didn't bother to change it.

Besides, there were little to no complaints, which was a good thing for a tavern. 

As the doors to the tavern closed, Shirohime found herself bowing down before she headed upstairs. On her hand was the keys to her room, and she played around with it while she climbed the stairs. 

At the back of her mind, she was hoping that she wouldn't hear any weird sounds coming from Albrecht's room. Then again, what's it to her if she heard anything? She just had to endure it. 

Upon contemplation, Shirohime began rethinking her decisions. 

'Is this really... is this really a good idea? I mean...' Shirohime said to herself as she shook her head. Although she decided to follow the group on the whim, she was already there. There was no turning back now. It was the point of no return for her. 

Creak~

Creak~! 

Meanwhile, the lady who just closed the tavern looked back. It's as if there was something amiss but she had no idea what it was. In any case, her intuition was acting up, and she began to ponder whether she should go back or not.

"What's wrong, dear?"

"Nothing, probably nothing." The lady smiled to her husband as they snuggled together, warming each other up as the night grew colder. 

—

The second floor looked like your old regular tavern's second floor. Everything was built on wood. The doors, the walls, as well as the floors creaked at the slightest pressure. Although it was wooden, it didn't seem that rundown, so Shirohime didn't have any complaints about the overall atmosphere of the place. 

'Now... my room... my room.' Shirohime examined every symbol on the door, looking for the door with the same symbol as her keys. She found it a couple of seconds later, and she let out an exhale as she inserted the key to the doorknob and twisted it. 

Creak~

For someone with the nickname 'Frozen Assassin Princess', she sure wasn't as sensitive as she was supposed to with her heightened senses. 

The moment she entered the room, she noticed someone on the far end of the room. Shirohime instantly realized that that someone was none other than Albrecht. 

And he was buck naked, posing in front of a mirror as he admired as his well-toned body!

"Eh?" Albrecht let out as her face twitched in confusion. He still didn't process the fact that a girl just entered his room, seeing every part of his body in a snap of a finger. 

"Kya~!" Shirohime squealed as she covered her eyes, collapsing on the ground as she was caught off-guard. Fortunately, she was sane enough to not cause a commotion, otherwise the girls on the other room would have heard it and they'd most certainly come rushing over. 

Hurriedly, Albrecht wrapped a towel around her waist before he walked towards the lady whom he met in the reception earlier. "Are you all right?" He concernedly asked. He tried to remove the memory of being seen naked from his mind. 

"I-I! I'm sorry!" Shirohime let out. "But please, get out of my room before I call the guards!" 

"What? But this is my room? Shouldn't I be the one saying that? You just barged in without knocking, you know." Albrecht responded, much to Shirohime's confusion. 

As the two of them fell into complete silence, their gaze slowly landed towards the door, then to the key that was still on the doorknob. "Eh?!" The two of them simultaneously exclaimed.