Standing in front of the inn, Sian noticed a sign with a drawing of a bed and a plate on the side.
"Coming to think of it, I didn't see a single word in this city," Sian remarked.
"This can't be helped, since almost nobody can read here," Ophilia replied.
"Well, I think that's expected in small towns," Sian said, heading towards the entrance.
Inside the inn, they saw a man behind the counter, probably the receptionist. There were some tables and chairs, but no one was at them, probably because there were no meals at this hour.
The receptionist gave them an evaluative look, and perhaps because he noticed Ophilia's elegant clothes, he greeted her with a smile.
"Welcome, ma'am, would you like to make a reservation?" he asked.
Ophilia smiled back and looked at Sian, who seemed to be ignored due to his worn clothes.
Sian cleared his throat to get the receptionist's attention, "Do you have a room with a large bed available?"
"Of course, the room with a shared bed costs 5 copper coins per night and 8 with 2 meals per person," the receptionist replied.
"I didn't mean that type of room shared with many people, I'm talking about private rooms," Sian said.
"Unfortunately, the last private room was booked by a merchant," the receptionist apologized.
"Is there any room that hasn't been rented yet?" Sian asked.
"A room for five people was vacated this morning, but I can't rent it to just two people," the receptionist said with some discontent. "If we rent a five-person room only for two, some of the hunters and mercenaries who stay here regularly may end up-"
Interrupting the receptionist, Sian placed two gold coins on the table, "How about a month? If anyone has a problem, they can come and talk to me."
The receptionist quickly received the gold coins politely. "Of course, we will organize and clean the room for you immediately. It's room number 5 on the second floor, but remember, we don't have keys in our rooms, only internal locks. I advise you not to leave anything of value inside in case you need to go out."
"Right," Sian said, turning to Ophilia. They went up the stairs to the room.
When they were going up the stairs, Ophilia said, "You didn't need to spend that much, we could have shared a room with other people."
"Yeah, but if we shared a room with others, how would we enjoy the night?" Sian said cheekily.
"But if you keep spending like that, you may end up running out of money later," Ophilia said worriedly.
"No need to worry, I still have a lot of money left, and we will earn even more when we open our business," Sian assured her.
"You say 'we' when you talk about opening a business, but I'm just a former prostitute who is now your slave, you don't have to be so considerate and kind to me, just say and I'll do it," Ophilia stated.
"Well, it's a little weird to say that to someone I've known for such a short time, but I think I like you?" Sian said awkwardly.
"Why did you end up with a question?" Ophilia asked.
"Humm… I'm not sure why, it's a strange feeling, it happened so suddenly that my head is a mess, I just felt that maybe I would regret it if I didn't bring you with me," he explained.
"But I'm not worth it for someone like you," Ophilia said with a somewhat complicated expression.
Arriving at the room door, Sian turned to Ophilia, placed his hands gently on her cheeks, and stroked them, "Don't be so pessimistic about yourself, and besides, if you are worth it or not, this is something for the person who likes you to decide, right?"
"...But-"
"Okay, let's not rush, we still have a lot of time, let's leave this conversation for later." Sian slowly approached her face.
Seeing Sian's approach, Ophilia closed her eyes slowly. Although he wanted to kiss her beautiful lips, he gave up and kissed her on the forehead.
"Let's go in, I need to change clothes. It's very inconvenient to continue wearing this old mantle," Sian said as they entered the room.
"Why do you wear such a worn mantle?" Ophilia asked.
"It's good not to draw attention to myrself, but sometimes it's a bit inconvenient, as you can see," Sian said as he took some clothes out of the magic bag.
Seeing one of the clothes he took out, Ophilia asked, "The fabric of this vest looks very soft, is it silk?"
"Yes." Sian replied as he removed the worn mantle, revealing leather armor that covered his chest and arms.
"Although this type of clothing is expensive, it is certainly affordable for someone who has a magic bag," she commented.
"It was a gift from the king of Hosnein."
"A king's gift?!" Ophilia seemed extremely surprised.
"Yes, he owes me some favors, and now and then he sends me gifts," Sian said casually.
"Could it be that your title is Heroic Warrior?" Ophilia asked nervously.
"Why do you think that?" he asked while changing his clothes.
"I've heard that a Heroic Warrior can win the king's favor. As they are strong warriors, kings always try to keep them around to increase the strength of the kingdom," she explained.
"This is true, but I have no title awarded by nobles, or rather, I have no warrior title," Sian said.
"Then how does a king owe you favors?" Ophilia seemed confused.
"It's a long story, any day I'll tell you."
Ophilia sighed, "I give up on surprising myself with you."
"Come on, it's just a few favors, it's no big deal," Sian said.
"I think your common sense is a little out of place," she said.
"Who cares about things like that, there is something more important than this that we forget," Sian said with a serious face.
"More important?" Ophilia asked.
"Yes," Sian said while wearing a white cotton shirt with long sleeves, "The receptionist forgot to let us know the meal time."
After having a blank expression for a brief moment, Ophilia replied, "More important than receiving gifts from a king?"
"Food is the basis of everything," Sian responded seriously.
Seeing how serious Sian looked, Ophilia seemed to have given up arguing and said, "I'm sure he was nervous about the gold coins."
"Well, no problem, when we go down, we'll ask," Sian said, finishing putting on his black pants and gray vest.
After putting away the armor, the old clothes, and the bag that Ophilia carried in the magic bag, Sian said, "Time to take a look at the city and see what kind of business we can open."
They walked down the stairs and went straight to the reception.
Seeing Sian in his newly dressed clothes, and adding this to the gold coins from before, the receptionist was even more respectful and asked with a smile, "Do you need anything?"
"There are a few things I'd like to know."
"Sure, ask what you want, and I'll answer what I know," the receptionist said respectfully.
"What time are the meals?"
Realizing that he had forgotten to inform them of the meal times, the receptionist bowed deeply, "A thousand apologies, Mister, I forgot to inform you. You and your wife can rest assured, that's not going to happen again. As an excuse, we will treat you with the best meal of our inn. Lunch will be available just before noon, and dinner when the sun comes down."
Though it's just a word, having Ophilia recognized as his wife somehow made Sian happy.
"You don't have to worry about that, it's not a big deal." With a high spirit, Sian continued, "I would also like to know if this inn receives many customers."
"We receive many. Sometimes more than we can accommodate. At this very moment there are several groups camping outdoors." the receptionist said. "As we are close to the border and the economy of the marquisate is improving every day, the flow of people passing through here has increased more and more."
"Is there a large flow of people even with the war in front of the door?" Sian asked.
"Yes," the receptionist answered."Merchants, hunter groups, and mercenaries are still allowed to pass, even though we are at war with Edrorian. But this as long as they are not taking weapons or supplies to sell. And we still border on Tarodel, that we are not at war at the moment,"
"I understand, thanks for the information," Sian said.
"You're welcome, this is something that everyone who lives here knows," the receptionist said.
After that, both left the inn.