Chapter 15

By nightfall, one of the academy’s guards came to lock the room. Students wouldn’t be too happy if they found out their tests have been incorrectly scored. Thus, the two decided to leave. Based on the progress they made, they could confidently finish grading by tomorrow, anyway.

“That’s one tough job,” John said while stretching his limbs.

“You’re acting as if we’re done.”

“I guess we’re not.”

The remaining stack of papers appeared in John’s mind. It was impressive how the professors dealt with it. Maybe they memorized the answer sheet to the point that they didn’t need to look back and forth.

“Now… where should we stay?” John looked around. The town seemed a bit crowded than usual. There were many carriages around, for one. A lot more compared to when they first arrived.

After leaving the academy, they already tried visiting the inn they went to their first night here. Unfortunately, that inn was full. The inn down the street from that one was also full.

“Let’s try that one.” John pointed toward an inn down the road. They entered. Unfortunately, the response they received was similar.

“Sorry, we’re full for the night,” the lady behind the desk said, clasping her hands together in apology.

“Is there a festival or something?”

They had gone to three different inns, and all of them were full. Something must be going on.

“Don’t you know? It’s currently trade season.”

“... Trade season?”

The lady nodded. “The villages further north produce many goods during this season, so merchants are using this town as a stopping point before they go further.”

“So that’s why…”

This wasn’t good for them. If there was a lot of demand, then naturally, the inn prices would go up as well. He had already burned through a lot of the allowance Kei had given them.

Should we really sleep in an inn?

“Thank you for your time.”

“I hope you can find a place to stay.”

Thus, John and Leyla returned to the streets. They could see the treasure hunters’ guild from where they stood. An idea appeared in John’s mind.

“Let’s try heading there.”

“The guild? What do you want to do?”

John didn’t explain. Instead, he went over immediately. Upon entering, they found Ellie behind the desk. She was tidying up.

“Ellie,” John called out, bringing her attention toward him.

“Hmm? What do you two want?” she asked. “Progress?”

“Do you have an extra room we can borrow?”

John figured that maybe the guild had a room. Surely guild higher-ups travel a lot, and renting an inn every time they visit a branch would cost a lot of money.

Ellie tilted her head. “Why? What do you need one for?”

“We need a room to stay the night.”

Ellie frowned. “I thought it was something serious.”

“It is serious.”

“Well… we do have a room…”

“Can we borrow it, please?”

Ellie looked at them, considering her options. It must be uncommon for someone to come up and ask for a room, acting as if they’re guests at an inn.

“Please? I mean, if we complete the quest-”

“Fine. It’s not my room anyway.” She kneeled under the desk and took out a key. “Here, it’s on the second floor. Go through those stairs over there.” She pointed to the stairs behind the receptionist's desk. “Don’t wreck anything.”

“Thank you,” John said while accepting the keys. The two walked past her and headed to the second floor.

“That was easy,” Leyla commented.

“I doubt she’s allowed to do that.” John glanced at the first floor. She didn’t seem like she cared, though. The least they could do was not mess things up.

Upon reaching the second floor, there were two rooms. One had the writing ‘storage’ on it, while the other had the word ‘rest’. It was obvious which door they should open. John put the key in and turned it, the key letting out a click as it unlocked the door. John pushed the door open, revealing the room behind it.

The room was rather large. It had a purple carpet on the floor. The walls didn’t have wallpaper, so they could see the stone structure that formed the building. The room also had a desk large enough to set down their bags, with a chair in front of it. It was a regular wooden chair, unfortunately. John checked. It also had a small, square window showing the outside world. They could see the town from the window, the street lamps lighting up the landscape.

The air felt a bit dusty, signaling that it had been a while since the room was last used. Leyla opened the window, allowing cold air to blow in. It didn’t take a lot of effort to make the room comfortable to sleep in. Overall, it was a perfect room. John was more than happy to be able to use this room without paying a fee.

“I’m going to sleep,” Leyla said, picking a bed and heading straight for it. She threw herself onto the mattress. She had her body sprawled all over the bed, not bothering to fix her posture.

Well… I guess she had been sleeping on hard, cold rocks for a few days…

They had spent the last few days in that dungeon, after all. Combine that with the work they had just done, it wasn’t surprising she wanted to sleep immediately.

“Good night, I guess…”

John whispered. He was tired as well, so he didn’t bother getting tucked in. He lay down and closed his eyes.