14 – A Room for Them

After leaving the church-like building, Alan and Celia followed Paul, a warrior who had blocked them from entering the island earlier. That man walked carrying a torch to illuminate the night road.

"Should we talk to him?" Celia whispered to Alan. "I feel awkward. We've been silent for a long time."

The scarred man's expression did look stiff and gave the impression that he didn't want to talk much.

"My apologies for blocking you from entering this place," Paul muttered. "As I said, many people come here for the wind crystal, and the residents don't like their behavior. They force us to sell the crystals at low prices. Some even threaten us and steal."

"Are there no other locations to get those things?" Alan asked.

Paul glanced slightly at the young man. "There is one big mine besides this village. However, not all of that places' parts can be lifted up to the sky, so their crystal deposit is small. They charge a high price because of that, even though lots of people need those crystals."

"That's so unfortunate." Celia sighed. "Supply and demand, it turns out that the principle also applies in this world."

Paul paused for a moment, turning into an intersection. "So, you guys really come from another world?"

"Well, that's up to your interpretation, sir." Alan was careful. He didn't know what consequences would occur if he spoke carelessly. Better not to confirm or deny that question.

They then stopped at a small two-story house.

"It's a guesthouse that hasn't been used in a while because no one visits us anymore." The scarred man continued. "So, we need more time to clean it. We have prepared everything here. We will also deliver food to you three times a day."

"That's amazing, but sorry. I wanted to ask first. From what you've said, I have a feeling we'll be in this village for quite a while." Alan commented.

Paul was silent for a moment. "Basically, yes. Crystal processing takes days." He then cleared his throat. "We've prepared a one-room house for a couple like you two."

Celia and Alan exchanged glances, then said in unison to Paul. "But we are not a couple."

The scarred man was speechless again for a few seconds. "We will prepare one more house, then."

"No need." Alan started to feel more awkward. "This is more than enough. We don't want to bother you anymore."

***

"Proper shower is great, right?" Celia spoke to Alan, who had just come out of the bathroom and was still wearing a bathrobe. The female fighter was sitting on the edge of the couch, eating a bowl of vegetable stew. "And this food is delicious."

"Yeah, I didn't expect them to have a bathing system like in our world with hot and cold water, though they might use magic," Alan responded while combing his hair using his fingers in front of the large mirror.

Or rather, the young man was surprised that the game developers included such a feature. If he wasn't trapped here, Alan would be applauded for the effort to make this world more immersive.

He then scanned the room, which was excessively wide, with a king-sized bed and a painting of that blue-haired woman. This one smiles instead of crying. Hilda said it was Atha, one of the goddesses who protected this world.

The other one is Ode, but Alan hasn't found any depiction of her yet.

"What are you doing?" Celia asked as Alan checked the corners of the room.

"Maybe they have a surveillance device or something." The young man had done that search while Celia was taking a bath, but he wanted to confirm it again. "Just in case."

If these people had advanced bathing technology, they might have surveillance devices with magic.

"Well, it doesn't hurt to be careful, but you seem too tense, Al." Celia shoved the last scoop of her food into her mouth.

"Ever since I've been here, I've had a strange feeling." Alan opened the window blinds and found a man watching the house. That person immediately left as soon as he saw Alan.

"But you are right." The young man stared at a giant windmill in the distance that was rotating slowly, then walked towards the bedroom door. "If we get too tense, we won't be able to rest properly."

"You intend to sleep elsewhere in the house?" The female fighter stood up from the bed, paused for a moment, then continued. "We can sleep together here."

The joints in Alan's body froze instantly. He couldn't believe his ears.

Slowly, Celia's face turned red. "I-I don't mean anything! I also feel that there is something strange about this village!" She then sighed. "The residents, that priestess, and Paul too... They make me uncomfortable. I find it hard to explain, but... It seems like they are hiding something."

Right now, it's Celia who looks tense. Alan suspected she was worried about being left alone.

Ignorance is one of the greatest sources of fear in humans.

"You're free to sleep without your pants if I'm not here." Alan joked, trying to make Celia relax a little.

"That's…." Celia's face turned red again, and she was speechless.

Alan chuckled, seeing the female fighter avert her eyes from him. "Celia, we don't…."

"Alan." Celia interrupted. "Sleep in this bed with me… It's very comfortable and will definitely make our rest better…. I want to share this thing with you…" She gulped hard, working up the courage to look at Alan even though her cheeks color still looked like a tomato's. "But don't do anything weird."

Alan was wondering if she might have been actually seducing him?

"Thanks for your concern, Celia." The young man wore a big smile. "But we can't share this bed together no matter what."

"W-why?" Celia lowered her voice and had a hard time holding herself back to look at Alan.

"Did you forget? We agreed to keep watch in two shifts. If one of us sleeps, the other one will wake up. Then, we'll switch positions."

The female fighter covered her face with her hands. "Then why did you want to leave this room just now?"

"I'm just going to check things downstairs."