Peering inside, Logan caught sight of a beastman reclining lazily with his legs crossed, the very picture of ease.
As Logan's gaze penetrated the dim interior, the beastwoman within returned his look, a silent exchange hanging in the air between them.
A beastwoman! No, more precisely, a strikingly beautiful beastwoman.
A sudden "Boom..." resonated as the beastwoman, startled like a deer in headlights, leapt to her feet. The bench beneath her clattered to the ground in her haste.
"Hey, what are you doing?" she demanded, her tone fierce yet tinged with confusion as she locked eyes with Logan. Her emerald eyes shimmered with an unspoken depth.
"Sorry to startle you," Logan replied with a disarming smile. "I'm actually here to look into buying this property."
"Buying the place?" she echoed, her fierce expression softening into a smile. "Welcome, welcome! This hotel boasts a prime location. Honestly, we wouldn't dream of selling it if we weren't strapped for cash. You're getting quite the deal."
"May I take a tour?" Logan asked, his interest piqued.
"Of course!"
As Logan surveyed the building from the ground floor to the fifth, he noted the intact seats and benches, and the classical decor that still held its charm. Behind the expansive kitchen on the ground floor, a large yard stretched invitingly. All in all, he was thoroughly impressed.
"Yes, I'll take it. Is the owner around?" Logan inquired, hopeful.
"Owner? That would be me!" the beastwoman replied swiftly, a hint of pride in her voice.
Logan paused, taken aback. His instincts told him that this beastwoman might be older than him, but only by a few years.
This hotel was hers?
"I find that hard to believe," Logan confessed, his skepticism apparent.
"Why the doubt? Look, here's the deed to the hotel," she said as she produced a piece of aged animal skin and tossed it to him with a flourish. "If you're really interested, we can head to the city hall for the title transfer right away."
Logan examined the document, his confusion clear, but the authenticity was undeniable, she was ready to make it official.
"I'm ready to buy it. Let's head to the city hall now for the title transfer."
"Okay!" she agreed, her smile broadening.
Logan and Jean stepped out of the city hall into the bustling street, the property deed now securely in Logan's name.
"Boss, might you be looking to hire waiters? I'm quite hardworking," Jean inquired, her hopeful eyes fixed on Logan.
"I'm not here to eat; I'm here to find someone!" Jean replied, peering inside for the person she was seeking, but to her disappointment, he was nowhere to be seen.
"Looking for someone?" The two beastmen were puzzled.
"That's right, I'm looking for Logan," Jean confirmed, her memory of the name clear from the land transfer deed she had seen the day before. "Yes, that's the name."
"Looking for the chief... master?" The two guards exchanged curious glances as they appraised Jean.
"What's the matter here?" Tyton's voice echoed down from the stairs as he approached the entrance, addressing the guards.
"Lord Commander, this young lady insists on seeing the master," one guard explained.
Tyton's gaze shifted to Jean, recognition dawning. "Aren't you the lady who sold us the hotel yesterday?" He wondered if perhaps she was having second thoughts about the sale.
"What do you need from our master?" Tyton inquired, not masking his scrutiny. The woman before him was strikingly beautiful, certainly the most stunning beastwoman he had ever encountered.
"Never mind that, just bring your master out!" Jean demanded, her tone was firm with a unique elegance.
"Sorry, but the master isn't here right now," Tyton replied after a quick glance upstairs confirmed Logan's absence.
"He must be out," he muttered to himself.
"Not here?" Disappointment flickered across Jean's face, but she quickly composed herself. "That's fine. I'll wait for him."
"And surely you wouldn't leave an honored guest of your master standing outside?" she added, her expression expectant.
After a moment's hesitation, Tyton nodded to the guards, signaling them to step aside.
As soon as the path was clear, Jean briskly made her way inside.
...
East of the city, in a local wine shop.
Logan had ventured out early to delve into the wine market, spurred by the realization at dinner the previous night that a kilogram of wine cost five silver coins, a sum greater than the price of roasting a whole level 2 monster.
Wine was proving to be an expensive affair here. This store was just one in a long series he had visited, his twentieth, to be precise.
He noted the limited variety, only three types of wine available in all the shops he had checked. He had sampled each, finding none to his taste, as they were all fermented wines and not the distilled types he was accustomed to.
Frustrated, Logan pondered the absence of distilled liquor. Having produced distilled spirits and moonshine himself, he knew he could craft them without the need for sophisticated equipment or systems. The lack of distilled options in the market was becoming a glaring gap he might just fill himself.