3 bar menu

Volume 8 Chapter 7 Part 2

Translator: Kell

That evening.

We arrived at the town of Czecherus without getting lost.

“Act natural,” I said. “We’re just adventurers. Sneaking around will only draw suspicion.”

“Got it,” Mylia replied.

We walked into town.

It was the first town we entered after coming to the Empire. The town itself was not much different from the ones in the kingdom. The building materials used seem to be a little different, but they don’t feel particularly luxurious or substandard. The items inside the stores were pretty normal too. Maybe the life of the average person here isn’t much different from that of the kingdom.

“As for a place to stay… How about that one?”

“Should be fine.”

We’re acting normal while in town, but not completely normal. We never know when the enemy will notice us, so we need to be careful about surprise attacks. We must also consider the possibility that they’ve already noticed us and are just leaving us alone for now. The two things we really need to watch out for are being attacked while we’re sleeping, and being poisoned.

There’s a simple and obvious way to deal with poisoning. I’ve bought enough food for the two of us to last us a few months, which I’ve kept in my Magic Storage. We also have some water in there, which I refill from time to time with water magic. If we don’t eat or drink anything from the Empire, we won’t be poisoned.

However, this is not the case with lodging. If we camp outside, and our location is discovered, we won’t know how big the attack is going to be. In that sense, an inn is likely safer. But even then it’s not without danger, since it could be blown up, or we could get surrounded.

After much deliberation, we came to the conclusion that an inn was better. Compared to camping, being ambushed in an inn is easier to deal with in the event of an attack. As for bombings, if we changed lodgings every day, it should be relatively safe, and there are many places to hide in town.

There’s also the problem of stamina. No matter how experienced an adventurer may be, camping out while being on the lookout requires a certain amount of stamina. It’s not a problem if it’s for a short period of time, but since we don’t know how many days it will take to locate the Altar of Bestowal, we can’t afford to be worn out before the battle even begins. On that note, even an inn requires vigilance, but it’s certainly a lot more relaxed than camping out.

A sturdy inn that’s resistant to attacks is more likely to be bombed, so we chose a normal and inconspicuous one. If the enemy can use Steam Explosion, they won’t need to prepare anything in advance, but if not, they’ll have to plant explosives in advance.

Blasting powder is not widely used in this world, and if they exist, they’re probably very valuable. It would be impractical to fill every inn with explosives, but if it were me, I might prepare explosives at the inns where the enemy might hide. I don’t want to stay in enemy territory with such precautions, but since it basically takes time to find the Altar of Bestowal, sleep is absolutely necessary.

We entered the inn we had chosen.

“Welcome! Are you staying the night?”

As soon as we entered, a good-natured lady approached us. The atmosphere of the inn was no different from that of the kingdom.

“Yeah. Do you have a room for two?”

“One just opened up. It’s 7,500 ibis upfront.”

“Okay.”

I handed her 7,500 ibis. The value of the imperial currency—Ibis—was only slightly higher than the kingdom’s Gil. I’d guess 7,500 ibis was about the market price.

I had already received more than enough ibis before my departure, so it didn’t really matter if the price was a little high.

“Oh, yes. I have to check your ID as well,” the woman said.

“ID?”

“Yes. I don’t really mind as long as you pay, but the government is very fussy these days. If I don’t check the IDs of people who stay here, I’d get in trouble with the bigwigs. I see you’re adventurers. Do you have a guild card or something?”

So this identification check was only recently implemented. It’s possible that the system was put in place as a precautionary measure against our infiltration, but maybe I’m just overthinking it. Mylia and I handed our guild cards.

“Lhude and Myria. All done.”

Looking at our guild cards, the lady wrote our names and guild card numbers in some kind of a ledger. The guild cards themselves were made using official equipment, so we don’t have to worry about getting busted. Though, I’m not sure about the number. I don’t know how the card system works, but I have a feeling that fake cards may not have matching numbers and names.

Well, I didn’t receive any such warning from the intelligence department that made the card, so it’s probably safe. I’d like to believe so.

“Your room is on the second floor.”

“Thanks.”

It’s good that it’s on the second floor. It’s easier to keep a lookout from there than on the first floor.

“Nothing out of the ordinary, it seems.”

After making sure there were no suspicious mechanisms, I opened the door to the room and went inside. Mylia followed, and closed the door behind her.

“Okay. Let’s move that one.”

“Right.”

I lifted the shelf in the room with Mylia and moved it to block the door. The enemy could just break down the wall instead, but if they tried to open a blocked door, it should waste a few seconds of their time, which we could then use to cast some spells. You can’t underestimate a simple idea like this one.

All that remains is to eat the food we brought with us and slowly recover our strength until tomorrow morning. We must not let our guard down, but if we don’t rest, it will affect the battle that we’re expected to fight tomorrow.

I can’t believe we have to be this wary while staying in an inn. Infiltrating enemy territory sure is a pain. I can’t wait to get this over with and return to the kingdom.