Clang, clang, clang.
The morning bell rang out from directly above. Rafilia-san was probably ringing it from the bell tower deep inside the cathedral.
The chickens we kept in the garden had also woken up and started crowing.
I shivered slightly from the chilly morning air that stung my skin.
It wasn't that this room was built particularly sloppily—most buildings were like this—but the brick walls had wooden doors fitted into them with a gap of several centimeters at the bottom. It wasn't for any particular reason; it was simply because architectural techniques were more primitive than in modern times. As expected of a northern city, the draft coming through the gap in the morning was quite cold.
The hinges (the metal fittings connecting the door to the wall) were on the inside, and the door opened inward from the room's perspective.
