CH 9

Chapter 9 - At the Adventurer's Inn

As the two of them moved from the central square, the rain intensified. The rain became even stronger, with the sound of heavy rain and intermittent thunder. They were in such a hurry that they didn’t have time to catch their breath, but they finally managed to take shelter from the rain under the eaves of the inn’s entrance.

“That’s so sudden. I hope it’s just a light rain. Mia-kun, are you okay?”

“I should ask you that, Souya-san. I’m sorry, I only have one cloak.”

Mia took off her waterproof, hooded cloak and brushed off the rain and dew at the entrance.

“I’m sorry I caused you unnecessary worry. These clothes are designed to dry on their own. Well, I guess my hair got a little wet.”

Souya spread out his hands, and using his fingers as a comb, swept back his rain-soaked bangs.

“Wow, it looks good on you.”

“Thank you. This is the style I use when I do business negotiations for my old job.”

“You’re a magician, right, Souya-san? What kind of work did you do before?”

“I’ll keep that a secret. It’s a more stable and solid job than being an adventurer. And I was treated reasonably well.”

Souya smiled and thought back to the company he had worked for until yesterday in the real world. He was the section chief of the second sales section of a trading company in a local city. His performance was stable and his job was solid.

But now I’m beginning to feel that it was lacking in stimulation. If I were to return to the real world right now with my memories intact, I might not be able to maintain my motivation.

(The only thing I regret is that I couldn’t turn in my resignation. I have no regrets about my position or my job, but if I had suddenly disappeared, I would have caused a lot of trouble.)

I felt vaguely sorry for my colleagues, but I could feel my interest in my old job fading away. After a while, I would probably hardly think about it anymore.

“Good evening.”

Mia opened the door of the inn. It was hard to hear the ringer on the door, but the roar of the rain from outside was enough to announce the arrival of a guest.

“…… Welcome. I hope the rain didn’t get you.”

A middle-aged man sitting at the counter in front of the entrance on the carpet called out to them.

“…… Oh, it’s you, Mia-chan.”

“It’s been a long time, Master. It’s raining like hell.”

“Yes, it is. Well, the more it rains, the more customers we get. Not many people are willing to do anything outside in the rain …… I haven’t seen you for a while, but have you been out picking wild herbs again?”

“Yes. I had a little trouble, but I managed to come back safely.”

“I see. I’ve heard that wild thieves often appear in the meadows and mountains these days. Young girls like you should be especially careful.”

“…… Yes. I’ll try not to go out alone in the future.”

The owner of the inn, Master, had also warned Mia of the dangers of traveling alone. This morning, Souya had just warned her, and I’m sure she’ll change her mind about this.

“…… By the way, are you staying? Well, it’s raining, after all. I’m sure you are.”

“Master, is there something wrong?”

“Hmm. Well, with the rain we’ve just had, we’ve had a lot of guests rush in. There’s only one room left.”

“…… Hmmm, well. What room is that?”

“A single room. In other words, a private room. If that’s okay with you …… Is that man with the glasses in the back your companion, Mia-chan?”

“Oh, yes.”

“The bill is for one person. Five pieces of silver. It’s up to you if you want to stay here, though.”

The master of the inn did not go into the relationship between Souya and Mia. When Mia finally understood the meaning of the master’s words, she froze for a moment, and then her eyes swam as if she didn’t know what to do.

“Mia-kun, you can sleep in your room. I mean, it’s not like I’m paying for it.”

“So what are you going to do then, Souya-san?”

“Well. I’ll meditate until dawn. I’ll meditate until dawn, like a magician.”

“…… Souya-san, you haven’t slept since you performed your magic, have you?”

Souya uses three kinds of magic in the meadow to ward off wild thieves. One of them was the Matter Transfer Aport magic, which is a particularly consuming and high-level technique. The so-called magic power, which is used to perform magic, cannot be recovered without a certain amount of sleep. It was clear that he wanted to get a good night’s sleep.

“Well, that’s for sure. But for now, we are in a safe city. It’s not like I need magic power in a hurry.”

“I’ve only used two Cure Wounds. So I have a lot of magic power to spare. Shouldn’t Souya-san stay here?”

“Hey, now. Mia-kun, what about you?”

“Ermm …… Then, I’ll pray to the Earth Mother Goddess Mikaela-sama, until dawn.”

“That’s ridiculous. That’s not what you should be doing right now.”

“Then I guess it’s the same for Souya-san’s meditation.”

“…… Would you two like to take a look at the room first? It’s the last room anyway. So I guess we can call it booked for now.”

The master of the inn took out a wooden tag from the drawer with the words “full occupancy” written on it, and lowered it to the outer door of the entrance, with the two people in question beside him.

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The room we were shown was located on the south side of the second floor. A table. A chest of drawers. A chair. A dresser. All the furniture was there. And a bed.

“Well then, take your time ・・・・・”

The innkeeper, the Master, left it at that and turned back to the first floor. That was probably normal, and he didn’t mean anything by it, but it sounded like he was trying to imply something.

“It’s a simple room. Well, I guess that’s what you get for five pieces of silver. Now, Mia-kun. What do we do now?”

“What should we do, Souya-san. …… Um, it’s much more embarrassing than I thought.”

Mia’s face was bright red. The room must have been smaller than she thought. It’s about a four-and-a-half-mat room. 

“…… To be honest. I don’t have any problem with me sleeping next to me. It’s not a problem at all.”

Souya took off his suit jacket, put it on a hanger, and put it in the wardrobe.

“So, Mia-kun, I’ll leave it to you. But if you want to sleep outside, I’ll leave this to you and go outside myself.”

Souya finished saying that, and when he sat down on the chair and crossed his legs, he smiled at Mia, who blushed.

(It’s a cowardly way of taking advantage of the favor you owe me. — Well, this is how it is. I really don’t mind the mood.)

Just as Souya looked at the window, a bolt of lightning struck. The room lit up, revealing Souya’s thin, devilish smile and the face of a blonde girl, looking like an angel in distress. Outside, the rain and thunder just ・・・・ continued to play together.

(T/N: Of course, his glasses should be reflecting the light from the thunder too. Lol)

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“…… Um, I guess we have no choice. The situation is the situation.”

As if she had made up her mind, Mia opened her mouth.

“You know, I don’t think we have any choice in this matter …… It’s raining so hard outside, and there’s only one room …… So It can’t be helped, can it?”

Mia was unconsciously saying the word “can’t be helped” ・・・・ over and over again. She was probably panicking — At that sight, Souya stopped himself from laughing.