Chapter 37: Curious Characters

The Fallen Star Inn was the most popular tavern within Ivanov; people from all social classes, societies, and different private groups would flock to its domain to banter or gather information. Generally, one would only come here if they're at a certain level of strength or fame, for the likelihood of offending those of high standing was more than one hundred percent.

No one knew who owned it as the person behind it had always remained a mystery to all. But even so, there weren't many who would dare to break its customs.

The pub was currently incredibly lively as people of different walks chatted to each other as they enjoyed the nighttime atmosphere.

At this moment, Marius and his family had already entered the inn, their movements caught a few eyes from some of the patrons, but as if they weren't interested, they all continued to mind their own business.

Marius swept his eyes around randomly and sensed the powers from those gathered on its inside. A few characters had towering energies than rest, one being a middle-aged man that sat in a corner with his head lying on the tabletop as he held onto a large wooden mug of liquor.

However, the second was a young beauty in fine wears, short and curly orange hair with freckles on their face, her body was slim, and behind her ample rear was a tail, which seemed similar to that of a lions.

Marius looked at this and thought to himself, 'She should be the receptionist if I'm correct, but her strength is unnatural. Let's take a quick look, inspect...'

Following Marius's thoughts, a notification appeared before his eyes, along with a screen showing the young lady's information.

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[Name: Liola Linaes]

[Level: 23 | Age: 20]

[Race: Lioness]

[Battle Rank: 1 Star E Rank Warrior]

[Stamina: F★ | Strength: F★]

[Agility: E★ | Dexterity: E★]

[Mystic Power: F★]

[Inborn Abilities: Lion Cry | Level 4]

[Learnt Skills: Lion's Dance, Earth Rending Claws, Liontooth Knifework]

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When Marius saw her details, he wasn't too surprised as he knew that she would have more or likely been at a higher level than himself. In fact, for her to be at this stage at her age only meant that she was somewhat of a talented combatant at her age.

'Interesting, so my conjecture was right, so long as they aren't too strong, I can see their full details using my [System]. If they are like that Mountain Ax Senior, or maybe two complete Battle Ranks above her rank, then I might see limited information or none at all.'

After Marius wrapped up his thoughts, he glanced at Ria and Grevlin before speaking, "Come, let's go register."

Ria and Grevlin nodded as they followed along behind Marius; as Ria held onto the sleeping Little Rose, she couldn't help but glance around with a bit of curiosity; she had spent most of her life in the Hellshire, always wondering what most of Artmians society was like. Now that she was exposed to it, she couldn't help but find the people fascinating, much like those on Earth.

Grevlin also had curious eyes, but none of that was of interest to him; he carefully held the two tiger cubs at his front between his arms, hidden behind the loosely zipped up jacket that usually hid his arms.

It didn't take long for Marius to arrive before Liola, who currently laid down with her head resting against the countertop, almost half asleep; it seemed that the noise and banter from the customers around didn't even have a slight effect on her mood.

Suddenly, her arms twitched as if she only just sensed Marius's arrival; with a look of surprise in her eyes, she hurriedly fixed her posture and wiped the drool from the corners of her red lips as she responded.

"I, I, I'm very sorry for my previous appearance, customers, welcome to the Fallen Star Inn, how may I help this lovely family on this fine night?"

Ria snickered at this as she pondered, 'Hehe, she's a bit of a ditzy; I've always heard about those from the Lion race. These Lionesses are as they say, true to their nature.'

Liola felt a bit embarrassed at Ria's laugh; she lowered her head showing a red face; Marius gave Ria a look as he spoke, "Hey, don't bully the child."

Ria rolled her eyes as a mean look came on her pretty face as she replied, "Honey, I don't like the way you're speaking up for strangers. Tsk! Fine, since it's like this, you can forget about anything else tonight."

When Marius heard this, his forehead rolled with sweat as he hurriedly turned towards her and tried to explain.

"Huh? Wait, I meant no such thing; it was honestly only a tiny misunderstanding!"

"Hmm, are you sure?"

Ria asked, giving Marius a suspicious look; Marius didn't dare to hesitate as he replied, "Yes, I am absolutely sure. My lovely wife is my heart; why would I dare to illtreat you?"

Ria looked at him with her beautiful purple eyes for a short moment as she smirked and replied, "Fine, I'll let you off this time."

When Marius heard this, he heaved a sigh of relief, but unlike him, a few others had noticed his small scuffle; they couldn't help but chuckle under their breaths as they looked at him with mocking eyes.

The middle-aged man that rested his head on the table seemed to have awakened at this time; he stared in the direction of Marius and his family with a curious look in his eyes before they turned serious as he saw Grevlin. However, that look soon faded as a smile rose at the corners of his lips.

'Incredible, I didn't think that by wasting away here, I would meet another talent; this is truly the golden age for the entire dynasty.'

The middle-aged man thought as he no longer looked at Grevlin but shifted his eyes towards Marius and his wife, his look showing a trace of curiosity.

Not noticing the strange man's gaze, Grevlin shook his head at the current scene; he was long since used to his parent's antics in the open; tonight's little act was nothing more than a primer for their genuine public engagements.

By now, Marius had recovered to the norm; when he looked at Liola, he saw that her eyes had a hint of tease in it, as she had even forgotten her prior embarrassment as she looked at him.

Marius tried to keep a poker face as he spoke, "Young miss, I would like to register for a room for my family."

Liola didn't pick on his weakness; she asked professionally, "How long would the Sir and his family be staying?"

Marius glanced at Ria, who nodded her head with a charming smile as he spoke, "Hmm, I think we'll register here for a night, and tomorrow we'll discuss a lengthy payment scheme."

When Liola heard this, her eyes lit up as she knew that the inn would be making quite a sum this time. She warmly smiled as she spoke, "Good, we can discuss the rest tomorrow, for a single night, the cost is no more than ten small krills."

Marius took out a few of the small krills he had received from the Mountain Ax Senior's home, not wasting another moment he handed them to her. These krills were small shiny crystals that shone in dim blue light, the very form of currency used in this world. One hundred small krills quantitate to one medium-sized krill, and one hundred medium-sized kills equate to one large krill.

Liola's eyes shown with excitement as she hurriedly put away the krills; she then got up and handed Marius a token as she walked towards the stairs at the corner of the room while speaking, "Good, follow me."

Marius and Ria followed along with Grevlin; they soon left this area as they climbed the stairs. However, right at the moment he was leaving, Marius cast a quick look towards the side of the room, towards the middle-aged man; he stared at him intently before turning away and moving upward.

Noticing Marius look prior, the middle-aged man smiled as his eyes shone when he murmured to himself, "Huhu... a sharp one, such a fierce tiger and talented cub has crawled into our nest, I wonder what kind of changes to expect in the future."

His eyes had a curious look as he stared out the window, gazing into the starry night sky as if trying to peek at the future.