Volume 4 Chapter 8.1
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Translator: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
「How’d it go on your side？」
「Everywhere we went was full. You？」
「No space anywhere, they said」
The next day, after the dungeon run, the group ran into a problem in Forre’s capital, Stiren.
「It seems like all the slightly pricey inns are out of the question」
「At this rate, even inns without adequate levels of security or privacy are looking grim」
「Tatsu, Mako. I think maybe the only ones open are super expensive inns」
「Yeah, probably」
Every inn in Stiren was packed. There was a simple reason why.
「Their fighting tournaments are super crazy after all……」
「Well, they’re essentially like Wulls’ new years celebrations……」
「We really shoulda listened to what that old gatekeeper dude said」
After they wandered out of Crest Cave, the group ran straight into Forre’s greatest event, the fighting tournament. And this year held the greatest prominence of competitions held every three years, the preliminaries taking a week or more. With so many competitions being held naturally comes a large amount of spectators. And with so many people coming from everywhere to watch, despite Stiren’s reputation as one of the few large cities in the world, the inns still would not have enough room for everyone.
Wulls’ new years celebration was the same in that every year many spectators flooded in for the event and packed the inns. Then again, as it was a two day event where everyone partied through the night, many people argued there was no need to take an inn. But unlike Wulls, there weren’t any notable events at night, in which case lack of lodging was quite problematic.
「And they told me there weren’t any convenient inns for adventurers in any surrounding villages, msot likely.」
「So I guess we just settle for an expensive one at this point？」
「Gotta sacrifice something in this situation, so if that’s the case we can’t complain. But is our budget fine？」
「We have plenty of cash, so no problem」
Haruna shot down Makoto’s concerns over money. In the first place, this team didn’t tend to use money on anything other than expendables or food. You could make a case that the biggest expenses were Tatsuya and Makoto’s liquor. When Hiroshi was stuck in making things, he would generally just go and complete requests from food vendors or the adventurer’s association to save up money. During that time he would also hunt and harvest food, so they hardly had any expenses to pay on equipment, far lower than your average adventurer.
So there would be no dents in their money even if they stayed at high-end inns for a week or so. The group was raised with a commoner’s sense of wealth from postwar Japan where you saved money at every opportunity you got, so none of them had a single shred of interest in the celebrity life, and therefore hadn’t even considered high-end hotels until this point.
This was a small group, and therefore fine in this case, but they truly were not good for the economy with how much they saved and how little they invested.
「So the budget is no problem. Then the next issue is……」
「Whether or not they’d take in regular, mere Class 5 or 6 adventurers who aren’t affiliated with nobility, right？」
Makoto began discussing the other problem when Haruna cut around her and continued. Azuma Workshop’s fame spread all the way to Crest Cave, but who knew if that same logic would work in Stiren. They were also acquainted with Farlane and Darl’s royal families, and although those connections might indeed get them somewhere in Forre, it was doubtful that all the owners/staff would grasp this.
There were certainly inns that were pricey and peaceful, but generally the higher you got, the more fussy they were about status. This wasn’t really because they felt they were the “chosen” people or because of stubborn pride. These inns would have nobles from other countries, and possibly even royalty staying in, so they couldn’t just let in dubious figures on account of how much they paid. That was just a social rule.
Of course, not all places were like that, and some inns were still hung up on historical issues or prideful of their nation to where they behaved arrogantly. But for high-class hotels or shops, they knew they were simply being given superb service and didn’t turn anyone away in an arrogant manner just because they didn’t meet the requirements.
The group might really end up dealing with the “chosen” mentality even if they got let into a hotel, but it wasn’t like this was going to change their plans.
「Guess we just gotta give it a go？」
「Yep」
Haruna agreed with Mio. At worst, they could simply make camp somewhere while looking for rental homes, but hotels were the best option.
「So where do we start from…」
「In situations like these, I say it’s best to go consult the adventurer’s association and ask them to show us a place that’ll take money from our ranks」
「Yeah. Quicker than wandering around aimlessly.」
「Actually, maybe we should have done that in the first place」
Everyone smiled drily at Haruna’s last comment. They had truly taken a thought detour for something that was only one or two days, even if the competition was partly to blame. Then again……
「Seems like we underestimate a lot of things……」
「Yeah, once every three years? That’s bound to be crazy……」
Any high-class inns that would let them stay with enough money were already filled in.
「Guess we just brace ourselves ‘n camp outside the gates？」
One of the landmarks that symbolized Stiren, the arena. Seeing someone earlier try and set up a tent in a blind spot corner near the plaza only to get caught and chased off by guards, Hiroshi proposed this new plan.
「We might as well try just one more building.」
Haruna responded with her own desperate idea. No one got a good feeling from looking at her ominous expression.
「Sure, but where ya thinkin of？」
「You know, there was that one super high status hotel towering over the city center and a shop in the corner dealing with high class goods」
「……For real mate？」
「There’s gotta be room in that area, right？」
「Well, I’m sure there is, but……」
Haruna was talking about the highest status hotel in all of Stiren, or rather, all of Forre, “Grand Forre”. The fee for one night was at least 30,000 doma per person, which was an abnormal pricing of 300,000 yen in Japan, but it didn’t end there- for adventurers, you had to be at minimum Class 3 (the rank that allows you to have a free audience with the regional lord) or else you were out of luck.
Even Haruna herself didn’t have any funny idea of trying to stay there. Still, they had come all this way, so why not check it out? Or so it seemed, but…
「How many nights will you be staying for？」
「Eh？ We can actually stay？」
「Of course you may.」
For some reason, they got immediate permission.
「Since we’re looking for a base, how about 3 days？」
「Yup, sounds bout right」
「So go ahead and make it three days, including today」
「Certainly.」
「We don’t have that many doma on us, but would chrone still be ok？」
「Yes, no problem at all. In this hotel you can exchange any currency.」
Yep, first rate hotels always have great service. There were after all bigwigs coming from out of the country, so there was a necessity for exchange services. Prepaid 450,000 domas equated to around 4,500 chrone, so Haruna paid with the appropriate amount.
「I will begin preparations for you right away. Please wait a moment. Thank you.」
Not batting an eyelid, the front receptionist counted the money and gracefully bowed before going further in the hotel.
「What now? We actually managed to get a room, I can’t believe it……」
「Although it’s a lil disturbing that they let us stay without even askin’ where we’re from.」
「Wait, are we going to be fine on money？」
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