Testing My Luck in the New World

The Snoring Dove was everything I would have expected in a medieval inn, being that it barely looked like an inn at all.

The stinging, pungent odor of alcohol nearly knocked me over the moment we opened the doors to a place that could have passed for a bustling restaurant. Dozens of people were scattered about the room, all stacked around the various tables, sharing meals, chatting by the burning fireplace and drinking mug after mug of something that reddened their cheeks more with each greedy gulp. A couple of overworked barmaids ferried trays of food and drink to the tables to keep the fun going.

Likewise, a young couple walked up the stairs with a key in hand as they whispered and giggled to each other. Seems like this was going to be the last stop on a date that went very well. At least we were in the right place.

Meant to rest your head after a long journey, the place was three whole parts restaurant, tavern and inn. Thanks to this, nobody seemed to take stock in the cloaked figures following behind me.

"Oops... Sorrshy."

Slurring his apology, a man staggered past us, bumping into me on his way out of the building. Finding his awkward movements intriguing, Mana stopped and turned to watch him go. He made it down the first two steps rather easily, but the last three he took in an unintentional fall that had him face-planting into the street. Her tail giving the occasional flick beneath her cloak before Yua covertly pressed it down. Their people weren't ones to drink much, so seeing someone that sloshed was probably a rarity.

I carefully prodded my pants pocket to make sure my coin purse was still in place and made my way over to the bar where the couple paid for their room. The woman waiting there was also dressed as a barmaid, though she didn't seem to be serving anyone. She just sat at the counter, hunched over a ledger, likely jotting down the room she just rented.

"Excuse me, Miss?" I said, already prepared to get off my feet for the day.

"If you want a drink, you'll have to wait a moment," she said, scribbling down some numbers.

"Thanks, but we're here to rent a room. Possibly for a couple of nights."

With my Merchant class advising me to incentivize her, I let her know our stay probably wasn't going to be a short one. And as expected, this got her to lift her attention to me. The moment she did, my breath caught.

More or less what tradition demanded for such a place, she was pretty. Or at least, I think she qualified for that title, as the moment her long black hair fell from her face, I was met with only a single eye. She wasn't wearing an eyepatch, nor did she have some grotesque scar keeping one permanently closed. She was a cyclops. Everything else about her screamed normal woman, but that singular large eye centered on an otherwise attractive face that stared back at me.

"And how many nights will you be staying with us?" she asked, looking bored. I read the name Seldi in her info box.

Snapping myself out of the joy I felt in seeing yet another fantasy race, I answered, "Uh, just two for now. But we may need to stay longer depending on business."

"That's fine. A room for one, then."

"No, a room for..."

I paused. Something important I hadn't considered suddenly popped into mind.

Should I rent Mana a separate room? Sure, her people could care less about privacy, but she wasn't technically mine yet. If her father found out we shared a room... Well, he might not even understand the connotation of a man and woman sharing a room at an inn, and Yua would be with us, so...