Testing My Luck in the New World

The Moonlit Garden was a quaint little place with a smooth, whitewashed face that could have easily passed for chiseled stone if you couldn't reach out and touch it. Its well-trimmed roof and freshly polished doors and windows marked it as one of the city's newer additions, but the garden surrounding it looked anything but.

In contrast to the stoney colors of the city, it was a lush field of freshly-cut grass, neatly shorn trees and various vibrant and colorful flowers, all in full bloom. At the center of each wing of the garden was a platform decked out with several lounge chairs, likely where guests could watch the moon at night, therefore earning the place its namesake.

I was surprised to see such a place in a city, be it medieval city or not, but Elane was even more awestruck than I was. She'd stopped to gawk several times as we approached. Apparently, none of this greenery was here during her last visit.

"I bet Erika would love this place," she said, letting me drag her along inside.

"Ah, yea. She likes plants, doesn't she? Bet you and her have a lot in common, Mana."

"Eh? Dog Ears is nothing like me. She actually likes to wear pan..."

Smiling as she placed a hand over Mana's mouth, Yua helped me out by dragging the walking-talking-incident waiting to happen into the inn.

Not wanting to waste any more time, we made our way straight to the front desk and were greeted by a man with light grey skin whose thinning hair was slicked back and whose clothes looked a size or two too small on him. Unfortunately, I was mildly disappointed when his info box read that he was only a human named Gideon, instead of the myriads of fantasy races he could have potentially belonged to. At least he wasn't a bandit.

"Good evening travelers, and welcome to the Moonlit Garden," he greeted in a flamboyant tone, barely looking up from the ledger he was pouring over. "How may I help you?"

"We'd like a room fit for four people, please."

"Of course, sir. One room for four..."

He trailed off, arching his brow before looking up at us. His eyes widened once they landed on Elane, then they widened further as they traced a path over each of the girls before he blushed and stiffened. Finally, his gaze landed on me and he had to do a double take.

"Wha... How...?"

He quickly cleared his throat and covered his mouth with his ledger to keep from insulting my clearly lacking looks when compared to theirs, but he somehow managed to look like an innocent, blushing maiden as he did. Choosing not to take offense, I quietly wondered if I was going to have to go through this every time we rented a room on a quest.

"And if possible," Elane added, grinning as she lightly slapped my back. "We'll only need one bed."

... And I quietly wondered if I was going to have to duct tape all the girls' mouths shut every time we rented a room on a quest.

As expected, Elane's comment drew the attention of everyone in the lobby. Apparently, the inn had some sort of after dinner tea time for their guests, as they all were enjoying a cup with some snacks. I couldn't bear to meet their gaze as their whispered assumptions tickled my ears.

No bandits here either, thankfully.

"W-Well, I'm afraid we don't have a bed that large," Gideon stammered. "But we have a room that will fit your... group. You could, erm," he paused, leaning over the counter to whisper. "You could just slide the beds in there together. Sorry for the trouble."