Chapter 96: New Home (2/2)
Age: 20
Race: Human
Class: Minstrel
Title: Slacker
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[Really? Slacker is the title you chose?]
Shrugging to Tal and Brenden, Mike headed back down to the first floor to pick up Sera before heading back into the lobby. He looked around for something resembling an office, but was unable to find one.
Sera finally asked the reading maid, who hadn't moved since they passed through the first time. ”Excuse me. We were assigned to this dormitory. Do we need to check in somewhere?”
The woman looked up at her with slightly watery eyes. ”Ah…..I suppose you are new tenants then…..do you have a letter from housing?”
Mike produced one of the many documents he had been carrying around.
”Looks good….” She stood up and wandered into the kitchen, still carrying the letter.
Glancing around at the others in confusion, he made to follow her, but stopped once she re-emerged into the lobby carrying a set of keys.
”Your room is 404.....enjoy.” She said while handing them over. At the same time, she handed Sera a sheet of paper that the Oracle began studying.
Wanting to confirm a sudden suspicion, Mike used Appraise on the airy maid.
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Anna
Age: 26
Race: Human
Class: Maid
Title: Dormitory Manager
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[Of course...also, why is that a title?]
Thanking the Dorm Manager, Mike led his crew back upstairs to locate their room. It turned out to be right across the hall from the explosive woman. Idly wondering if the previous tenant might have been driven off by the neighbors, he opened the door to his new home, which turned out to be a suite.
An entry hallway, complete with a closet, split off into four other rooms. The first, apparently, was the student's bedroom. It featured a large, four posted bed, a dresser, a desk and chair, a closet, and a full length mirror. The bay windows opened up to a balcony with a view of the ocean.
The second was the largest, a sort of general living area. It had a couch and a few chairs on one side, another desk, and a mini-kitchen complete with a round wooden table and four chairs.
The third proved to be a second living area, where a set of bunk beds with coarse linens were pressed against one wall. Two foot lockers, a small desk, and a closet were the only other features.
The final room turned out to be a bathroom of sorts.
It had originally been hard for Mike to adapt to the way people in this world handled their business in this regard. The presence of Lifestyle Magic had not only made bathing unnecessary, but had even removed the issue of waste management. In fact, most of the inns they'd stayed at merely had a closet-like chamber with a reconfigured bucket dedicated to the act. So it was with some surprise that he noticed a large tub dominating one corner of the lavish room.
Sera and Tal seemed to understand its purpose, since they immediately got excited (based on contextual clues in Tal's case) and went to investigate it. The tub had built-in magical devices that produced hot water on demand, evidently to allow for people to take hot baths. Since Lifestyle Magic obviated the need for bathing, he could only conclude that it was meant as a luxury item.
After some careful consideration, Mike decided the room arrangements. Tal and Sera would be in the larger bedroom while he and Brenden would take the smaller. This had more to do with not wanting to share a bed with the beastman, than chivalry. He'd noticed on the ship that Brenden had a tendency to thrash violently in his sleep, possibly troubled by nightmares. As much as he sympathized, he also didn't want to kicked in the face in the middle of the night.
They finished the relatively easy process of unpacking, and settled down in the living room to discuss their next step.
”So, what's the plan?” Brenden asked.
”I vote we find ourselves something to eat for dinner, relax for the rest of the night, and head out into the city tomorrow. What do you say?” Mike responded with another question.
”Sounds good. According to this schedule,” She held up the sheet of paper she had gotten from the Dorm Manager, ”dinner will be served in the common room from nine to ten bells. Judging from the last time I heard the clock tower, we have a little bit of time to kill before it will be ready.”
Mike had forgotten about the paper. ”What else is written on there?”
”Just the meal times, some basic rules that frankly don't seem to be enforced, and where to go to get new linens and cleaning supplies. It's apparently up to the residents, or at least their servants, to take care of their own living areas.”
”Huh. Good to know.” He replied.
There was a knock on the door.