Chapter 103: Merryside Inn (1/2)

Tyler and Nadine left the Merchant Guild building and board their carriage. They had spent a considerable amount of time in the building and it was already quite late in the night. The plaza that had looked as though it would stay busy till dawn when they had first arrived was now almost completely empty.

Most of the stalls were closed and only a handful were open. This was good for Tyler as he had been uncomfortable with all the stares and glares he had received from the crowd since the moment they entered this city.

He wasn't sure why but every guy that saw her seemed to be attracted to Nadine. They were all immediately captivated and just stared at her with either lust or adoration in their eyes. He was glad he had decided to hide his face for now in case things hadn't gone well. Those adoring and lustful eyes that gawked at her soon turned to piercing gaze that stared daggers at him.

He knew this little girl was pretty cute but he wasn't sure it was enough to warrant this much attention from the guys. Perhaps she was using a skill, racial ability or maybe he had just been spoilt by hanging around so many world class beauties like Liz, Erin and Rain.

They boarded the carriage and headed for an inn in town as recommended by the Merchant Guild Leader. The inn wasn't as fancy as the hotels in Royal borough but it was one of the most luxurious one this borough had for new merchants and Hunters.

On the way Tyler spent most of his time just staring at Nadine's face which seemed to be getting redder and redder. He was curious to how he had ignored it but perhaps he was finally starting to see it. Her was not the enticing beauty of an adult, the charming attraction of a matured lady but it was an adorable and childlike beauty that seem to stir up an innate instinct within a male.

Perhaps some of it was also a racial trait of the beastmen species.

”Er... Lord— lord Ty, is there something on my face.”

Tyler looked at her reddened face and shook his head. ”No, i was just wondering something.”

”Oh, umm sure go ahead, what do you wanna know?”

”Well it's alright if you don't want to tell me... Mmm... Do have any passive skills or abilities?”

”Skills? I'm sorry lord Ty, i don't have any passive skills.”

Her head seemed to dropp with her response, she was clearly a little disappointed in herself.

”I see.”

”I'm, sorry if I'm not very useful.”

”Huh? oh don't be sorry about that, i don't need you to have any passive skills, and besides, you can always just learn one.”

”Oh... Okay.”

Her voice was getting even lower and Tyler felt like he had cause it. He couldn't take back what he had said so he simply forged ahead and patted her on the head. ”There's no need to feel down, i did pick you to accompany me for a reason.” That alone was enough to perk her up so Tyler didn't dare ask another question.

Their trip was short, and they soon arrived in front of a four story building in less than 10 minutes, since they came on a carriage, they had to pay 5 Dc to keep their mount in the inn's stable. That was no longer a problem for them since they now had a sizable sum on their person.

The inn was relatively high class but it was still a popular traditional inn in the plaza were most travellers and mid tier Hunters stayed regularly. Tyler dusted off his boots at the front of the inn and climbed the short stairs to the western-style saloon doors, and opened them with both hands.

It was already late so the windows were closed which made the interior of the inn a little dark since it was only illuminated by a few magic lamps. Tyler had expected to see the same colorful crystals as in the castle but he hadn't seen them even in the Merchant Guild VIP room.

The inside of the building was quite spacious. The first floor was a dining area, with a counter further within. That counter was backed by shelves that contained dozens of bottles of alcohol. The door beside the counter most likely led to a kitchen.

A staircase by the left of the counter, most likely led to the upper floors. According to the male receptionist at the merchant guild, the guest rooms were located on the upper floors. The inn was relatively lively at this hour of the night and one could see the scattered customers within seated around several round tables. Almost all of them were men of different subsidiary races.

Everyone's attention had switched to Tyler the moment he entered the room. They looked at him as though they were sizing him up. The only person who did not look at him was a woman at the edge of the room who was busy scoffing down several plates of food on her table as her party member watched her in disbelief.

This tavern scene made Tyler furrow his brows under his cloak. He had half expected this but this place was too similar to the inns on the human continent. The only noticable difference was the relatively high quality of the furnitures here and the fact the the place wasn't as filthy as the ones he had been to.

Tyler sighed internally, and looked into the inn.

A well built woman in an apron stood there, her rotund arms protruding from her rolled-up sleeves. They were more ripped than even the arms of the half giant Azar.

Her aura was imposing and her facial features was strangely more feminine than one would have imagined. Her dirt blonde hair was tied to a single pig tail. The woman who looked more like a body builder than an innkeeper sized up the newcomers as she poured a drink for a purple skinned man that sat by the counter.

”A room? for how long.” A voice that sounded deep but feminine rang out to them.

”Yes, we would like a room for one night.”

The innkeeper stared at him for a while before turning to look at Nadine who was busy staring a everything in the inn like a new born baby experiencing life for the first time.

”...You're new here right, did someone recommend this place to you.”

”Yes, the Merchant Guild.”

”You just joined them?”

Tyler was a bit annoyed by the string of questions but decided to suck it up and get this over with. ”I did.”

”...And they sent you here huh, okay, a single room is 5 DC, dinner will be black bread and Kinya soup with hog meat. If you want beef that's an extra coin.”

”The food is fine, can we get a double room instead.”

”The double rooms are at the top floor and there are no one there at this time, are you sure you want one?”

”Yes, why?”