Chapter 210 - We Couldn’t Find An Inn

We Couldn’t Find An Inn

We accepted our reward and then it was time for Mister to leave.

“Well, Mister Asagi. Good luck in the tournament.”

“Thank you. Good luck with your business.”

“I will go and watch you fight!”

“Thank you, Moosh. I will try to live up to your expectations.”

It was a big city. I didn’t know if we would actually meet again. But somehow, I felt that we probably would.

“You are entering as well, are you not, Miss Daniela?”

“Yes, I suppose I shall.”

She said as if this had not been mostly her idea.

“Then I shall definitely pray for your victory!”

“Thank you.”

Daniela chuckled at the overzealous Moosh.

“Well, we must be going now. Farewell.”

“Goodbye!”

They waved and then disappeared into the city. Mister would be going to an inn that was reserved for merchants of his guild. And while Daniela and I were waving pleasantly, inwardly, we were very anxious.

Our hands dropped.

“…”

“So. What should we do?”

“What indeed…”

I looked up at the sky. The sun was still high. I looked down and saw the great crowds of people.

“I think we should go to this inn district first.”

“Yes…that is the first thing to do.”

That being said, we didn’t know the way. Now, if only there were some signs…hmm?

I approached the thing that had caught my eye. It became clearer as I got closer. It was a board that also held a stack of folded papers. On closer inspection, I saw it was a map. And the papers…

“Oh, they are maps you can take with you!”

“Then we will not have to get lost.”

And so Daniela and I looked at the map. The words ‘Inn District’ could be seen close to the south gate. Hmm, if the guild was here…ugh. It’s really far!

“The guild is on the west side.”

“Indeed, we did not walk much to get here…”

From what I could tell from the map, the guild, shopping district, nobles district, and imperial castle were on the east side of the west gate. And to the south of the imperial castle, there was a nobles district, shopping district, and inn district. There were multiple shopping districts, but they apparently sold different things. The trousers that I needed would be sold in the eastern shopping district. Clothes and accessories were on the east side.

After looking at the map, it did look like the city had originally only extended as far as the noble district. There were eight neat streets extending out from it. The noble district had a wall surrounding it, but after that, the layout became more varied. A combination of different ages and architecture. Well, none of it was visible from the map.

“Well then. We should go there at once.”

“Daniela, don’t get distracted by anything.”

“I know. Our main priority now is to find a place to stay.”

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There were a lot of people. And since they seemed to all be Adventurers, I felt as if I had returned to Replant. Though, on closer inspection, there were others too. Merchants and workers and tourists?

In any case, there were a lot of people. That’s what my impression of the city was at first.

As was declared, we arrived at the inn district without getting distracted by anything. However, we had no reservations or letters of introduction… We tried all the inns on the right side of the great street all the way to the east gate, but were turned down every time.

“Uh, how about we take a break…”

“Yes…I saw a park near the back alley. We can go there…”

We were so tired that we decided to head to the park and rest.

The park was surprisingly big and kept relatively clean. The trees had all been trimmed. It was surprising that anyone would have time to do such a thing. But this was the imperial city, and perhaps people just cared more.

We sat down on the closest bench and decided to eat. Of course, it was street food. I had a feeling we would be running out soon… I wanted to check, but this wasn’t a good place to expose your stock of food. Still, we’d have to go shopping soon.

“Hahh… I expected it, but there really aren’t any places that are open…”

Daniela glared at the ground as she held her meat skewer.

“Yes… I suppose it shows just how important this tournament is.”

Apparently, there were even people who made reservations six months in advance… While this was another world people still traveled far in order to participate in such events. In that case…well, there was no point in regretting decisions now.

“Well, we can check the left side next. If that’s no good, then we can check the back streets. At worst, we will have to pitch a tent in the park.”

“We do not have a tent.”

“Oh…that’s right…”

This was bad. We couldn’t even sleep in a tent. We would be out in the open then.

“Alright, are you finished? Let’s hurry up. We should probably split up this time.”

“But, I happen to be cursed…”

“You know that cool Daniela who found an inn in Yukka? I’d like to meet her again.”

“Very well. I shall find you an inn.”

She stood up abruptly. Oh, that was cool… My heart just skipped a beat.

“I will take the left side. See you later then.”

“What… That means I have the back street…!”

That’s clearly the worst side! Damn it… Ah, she just turned and laughed!

Just you wait. I’ll find us an inn!

“I’m sorry. We’re full during this time of the year…”

“I see…”

I know. I know. I know it too much.

“Very sorry…”

The innkeeper bowed apologetically. It was me who was being unreasonable. I quickly made her stop.

“Still… Is there really no place that is open?”

“It will be very difficult to find one during the Imperial Sword Tournament.”

“While we hadn’t known, we really picked a bad time…”

“Hehe. But this also the time when the city is the most lively. I do hope you enjoy your time here.”

“Yeah, I’m sure we will. That’s one thing I am glad about. Well, thank you.”

“I am sorry that I couldn’t help you. Perhaps another time.”

The innkeeper waved me away with a smile as I left to go to the next one. Which was, of course, right next door. A few steps to the door. I would probably come straight back out in a minute. Hahhh…

The process repeated several times but I was rejected every time. I was starting to think we would have to sleep outside after all. In fact, what was so wrong with that anyway? I couldn’t even say anymore…

“Well, I guess I could try the backstreets on the left side…”

My feet were quite sore as I moved away from the main road and to the back street.

However, I was unable to find an inn there as well.

Things were officially a disaster… If only we knew someone here…

“Hmm? …Wait a minute…”

Knew someone. Knew someone. Did we know someone who was in the capital? I leaned against a wall and searched through my memories. Usually, when this happened, it was best to go back in the order that things occurred.

“Umm…”

First, we came here with Mister. Before that, we were in Yukka. Before Yukka…hmm. Aeneius said something about coming here, but I doubt he’d find an inn. Poor guy.

“And then…”

Before Yukka. We were in Arkaroid. Nothing really happened there…I think. And before that, we were in…Usk.

“Usk…Usk… Friend…Imperial Capital… Hmm. I’ve gone back quite far already…”

“Ah…hmm? Oh…oh! I know!”

That big guy. The strong one! He was part of the Empire’s intelligence department and he said to come to him for help!”

“…Now, what was his name…”

I couldn’t remember… But I felt like he said something about them monitoring us. Perhaps they’ve been using Presence Block all of this time.

But they should be around. It’s their job.

And so I moved away from the inns and to a nearby alley. And there, I activated Presence Detection.