(Yukito's side)
Ah, the two of them are back. Huh, they're not carrying anything in their hands—don't tell me they just went out to eat cake?
"You guys came back pretty fast," Yuu-chan said as she walked beside Hime.
"Not really. Maybe you're the ones who took too long," I replied.
"The important thing is that we're all together now. So, have you two found an inn yet?" Luke asked Hime and Yuu-chan.
"Huh? Wasn't that your job?" Yuu-chan asked back.
"Eh?" Hime and I were both confused, since none of the four of us had actually asked around about inns in this area.
Even though that was one of our goals while gathering information about the city's leader.
"Whatever, let's just go together. We can ask the merchants around here," Hime suggested.
——
Of course, no one objected to Hime's suggestion, and the four of us went together while asking the merchants.
"An inn? Sorry, I don't really know about that."
"Hm… maybe try asking the stall next door. I'm not very knowledgeable about places to stay."
"An inn? … Oh, just go straight down this road until you reach the intersection. If I remember correctly, there's an inn there. And the building only has one floor, I think?"
Actually, it wasn't just three merchants that we asked, but we decided to trust the last one.
We followed his directions and walked along the fairly wide road until we reached the intersection he mentioned.
There was a single building at the end of the road, and just as he said, it only had one floor.
However, the building was probably wider than the road itself, and it was sandwiched between two-story shops, making the area look extremely crowded.
If it's in the middle of the city, it's only natural for buildings to be packed tightly together.
——
"This is my first time visiting an inn that feels more like a family house," Hime said.
"I thought I was the only one who felt that way," Luke replied.
Come on, are they really saying that just because the inn looks like an ordinary house?
I couldn't really deny it either, since that was exactly how it looked.
"At least we found an inn before nightfall. That's good, right?" I said.
"Yeah, let's go in," Yuu-chan said as she entered first, followed by the three of us.
The moment we stepped inside, we found ourselves in a spacious room filled with various household furnishings.
There was also a table that resembled a reception desk, though smaller and narrower, with an elderly woman sitting behind it.
She didn't look that old, though. Her hair wasn't gray, and her face wasn't wrinkled either. She was probably around thirty or forty years old.
The four of us walked up to her desk.
She immediately stood up when she noticed us approaching and greeted us with a warm smile.
"Are you here to stay the night?" the woman asked.
"Yes, are you the owner of this inn?" Hime asked.
"Ah, yes, that's right. My name is Sikiyomi Sato, the owner of this inn," she said.
Naturally, I was surprised when I heard her name, since it sounded quite similar to mine in concept.
"Um, Sikiyomi-san, are you from the Samatoki continent?" Luke asked.
Huh? What continent is Luke talking about now?
"You know names from that continent? I'm quite happy to hear that," Sikiyomi-san said.
"Sikiyomi is my family name, while my real name is Sato. You can call me whatever you like, as long as it makes you happy!" she said cheerfully.
"Sato-san, how much is it for one night?" Hime asked.
"Lately, business hasn't been doing very well, and buildings like this aren't very popular anymore. You only need to pay ten bronze coins per room," Sikiyomi-san replied.
"Wait a moment, isn't that price a bit too cheap?" Luke asked, sounding doubtful.
"Not many people come inside like you do, so I thought of the cheapest price I could offer. I still need money from this business, you know," Sikiyomi-san said.
I looked at Hime, since there was something I wanted to ask her.
"So, how many days are we staying? We don't know how long we'll be in this city, right?" I asked.
"That's true… how about three days? No matter what happens, we'll stay here for that long," Hime answered.
"Alright, I agree with that," I said.
Before arriving in this city, I had thought we would stay inside Luke's horse-drawn carriage while we were here.
But Luke said he would leave his carriage with the guild, which had guaranteed that it wouldn't be stolen.
On top of that, Luke also told me that he had placed a spell on the carriage, allowing him to know its current location.
"Sato-san, we'll rent the place for three days," Hime said as she handed thirty bronze coins to Sikiyomi-san.
"Very well, I'll accept the payment. You're free to do whatever you like inside the inn," Sikiyomi-san said.
"Huh, wait, what?" I asked in disbelief.
"Sato-san, what do you mean by that?" Hime asked.
"This inn only has a few rooms—the bedrooms, bathroom, storage room, and this living room. Whoever rents it gains control over the entire house," she replied.
——
Who would have thought that this inn was originally Sikiyomi-san's home, which she later turned into an inn?
I understood why our party became the temporary "owners" of the house.
Sikiyomi-san also said that for meals, we just needed to pay an additional fee, and she would cook the food herself.
There were two bedrooms in the inn, and each room had two beds.
Naturally, I would be sharing a room with Luke, while Hime would stay with Yuu-chan.
This was different from before, and I wouldn't have to sleep on the floor again.
"We'll head to our rooms first. We'll probably come out around six o'clock for dinner," I said before entering the room with Luke.
I wanted to lie down for a bit on the soft bed, since I wanted to get some proper rest on a bed like this.
Back when we slept in the village, there was a bed, but it was so thin that I could feel the floor of the carriage beneath it.
But this bed was different—it was like a normal bed, not placed directly on the floor.
I didn't expect Luke to rest for a while with me either, since he said his body was a bit sore from pulling the carriage.