Chapter 1465: Chapter 208 - The Merchant (5)
After finishing our meal, we finally decided to leave the cafeteria.
Honestly, the food had been so good that I ended up ordering a second helping without even thinking twice about it. The first serving had already been satisfying enough, but once I tasted it, I couldn’t really convince myself to stop there. Before I knew it, I was ordering more food and cleaning off another plate as if it were completely normal. By the time I finished, I was feeling pleasantly full, but I was also starting to think that if I stayed inside that cafeteria any longer, I might actually start gaining weight just by existing near the food.
As tempting as it was to order a third serving, I still had enough self-control left to know when to stop.
Eventually, the two of us got up and headed toward the exit.
"It looks like it’s already late at night now," Foriel said.
It wasn’t really much of a question.
The sky outside was completely dark, and even without checking the time, it was obvious that the evening had already passed. The streets had become much quieter compared to earlier, and the number of people walking around had dropped noticeably.
Even I could tell it had gotten late.
"And there are basically no people outside anymore. Should we find a lodging somewhere so we can rest?" she asked.
"Shall we, then?" I replied.
With that decided, we started looking around for a place to stay for the night, preferably some kind of inn.
Of course, I wasn’t expecting anything remotely luxurious.
A place like this wasn’t exactly the sort of location where I would suddenly discover a five-star establishment waiting around the corner. My expectations weren’t particularly high. All I really wanted was a room where I could lie down, get some sleep, and not wake up feeling worse than when I went to bed.
Preferably, it would also have walls thick enough that I wouldn’t spend the entire night listening to someone having sex in the next room.
That was always one of those things that sounded funny until you were actually the person trying to sleep through it.
Although, if I were being honest, I probably wouldn’t complain quite as much if I were the one keeping somebody else awake.
The bigger issue was that I didn’t exactly have any companionship with me right now. If I somehow ended up getting a boner while trying to sleep, then that would just be an entirely different problem.
Well, I could always use my hands, but...
Honestly, it had been a while since I’d needed to do that.
For a brief moment, I almost felt like I might’ve forgotten how.
Then again, that was obviously ridiculous.
Just kidding.
I still knew perfectly well how to jerk off.
"This seems like a good place for us to sleep," Foriel said after a while.
"Well, I guess so..." I replied.
Even to my own ears, my voice didn’t sound particularly enthusiastic.
The reason was pretty obvious.
The place looked rough.
Not completely abandoned rough, but definitely the kind of building that didn’t inspire confidence at first glance.
I wasn’t trying to judge a book by its cover, but the cover wasn’t exactly helping itself. The sign hanging outside looked old enough to qualify as a historical artifact, and the exterior of the building had clearly seen better days. There was a general lack of cleanliness that immediately caught my attention, and the whole place gave off the impression that maintenance wasn’t exactly its highest priority.
Just standing there and looking at it was enough for me to start mentally preparing for a difficult night.
"You don’t have to look so worried," Foriel said. "It’s not like it’s going to be the end of the world. I’ve actually stayed here before, and the bed isn’t that bad."
"Well, that’s reassuring, I guess."
"You don’t sound very reassured, though."
That was because I wasn’t.
I had a feeling that getting a good night’s sleep was going to be a challenge.
Still, even a questionable inn was probably better than sleeping outside.
At least it had a roof.
After spending a moment debating whether or not I wanted to trust this place, I eventually stepped inside.
And surprisingly enough, the interior was much better than I expected.
Considering how shabby the outside looked, I had been fully prepared to walk into something much worse. Instead, the inside was actually fairly neat. It wasn’t amazing, and it definitely wasn’t the sort of place anyone would brag about staying in, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as the exterior suggested.
The building was obviously old.
That much was impossible to miss.
There were signs of age scattered everywhere. Some furniture looked worn down, there were stains here and there, and certain parts of the building looked like they had survived more years than they probably should have.
Still, it was clear that someone was making an effort to maintain the place.
Everything seemed reasonably organized.
And perhaps most importantly, I didn’t hear any suspicious moaning echoing through the hallways.
That alone immediately improved my opinion of the establishment.
I wasn’t asking for luxury.
Silence was good enough.
"We would like to rent two rooms, one for each of us, please," Foriel said to the person behind the counter.
The person she was speaking to was a large man with a massive tusk protruding from his forehead.
Honestly, he looked exactly like what most people would imagine when they pictured a demon.
After checking something behind the counter for a moment, he looked up and shifted his attention toward me.
"I’m sorry, but I only have one room available right now," he said.
Then he looked between the two of us.
"You don’t seem to be a couple, judging by the smell. So I’d advise either finding another place to stay or sharing a room. The two of you."
Foriel immediately looked toward me.
Then she lowered her voice.
"It seems like we’ll have to stay in one room," she whispered. "Do you think you can do that?"
Honestly, I was much less concerned about the room situation and much more concerned about the fact that this man had somehow determined we weren’t a couple based entirely on smell.
I had absolutely no idea, and frankly, I wasn’t sure I wanted to know.
"As long as you don’t try to stab me in my sleep, I’m fine with it."
"Please. If anyone is stabbing anyone, it would probably be you."
She gave me a slightly flirtatious look as she said it.
The implication wasn’t exactly difficult to understand.
It seemed pretty obvious that she was referring to my dick.
Not that I had any intention of doing anything like that.
At least, not because we happened to be sharing a room.
"Well, if you’re that worried about it, we could always try finding somewhere else."
"We don’t really have much of a choice," she said with a small shrug. "This is the only good inn I know."
Then she glanced around before looking back at me.
"And if you think this place is bad, then you’re definitely not ready to see the others."
I stared at her for a moment.
Then I sighed.
Well.
That kind of sucked.
