Jack went to the residential district in search of an inn.
He visited four inns, but none of them managed to catch his eyes. One of them was in too bad of a condition and dirty all over. There was one that looked ok but lacked a shower on the bedroom. And the last two of them were too luxurious for his taste. He sure could afford them, but there was no need to spend extra money when he just wanted a simple bed to sleep for a few days. He wasn't even going to spend too much time inside the inn since he wanted to visit some shops and places around the city.
"I don't want to spend all day looking for an inn. Maybe I should settle on the one without a shower on the bedroom." Jack was starting to lose hope when he noticed a nice sign on a building with the name "Golden Gate Inn".
"Golden Gate..." Jack looked at the name on the sign and decided to enter and take a look.
Just after entering Jack could see rows of tables full of people talking and laughing while drinking beer. Lots of food was served on the tables, and a nice aroma filled the air.
Four beautiful waitresses could be seen walking around the place quickly serving all the tables with a speed that left Jack surprised.
"Hello dear customer. I'm Amanda, the receptionist of Golden Gate Inn. May I ask if you are looking for a place to stay or you just came to our restaurant?" A beautiful and warm voice came from Jack's right, and he turned to it.
A beautiful blonde woman wearing a white dress came in Jack's view. Amanda had a professional smile on her face while waiting for Jack's answer. She noticed Jack looking at her for a second, but seeing that his eyes showed no lust and were clear like the night sky, she didn't get mad.
"Hello, I'm Jack and I'm looking for a place to stay for a few days. I would be leaving on Sunday, to be more specific. Can I also ask if you have a shower on each bedroom?" Jack needed a shower like never before.
"Yes we have a shower in each bedroom so you don't have to worry about that. We would like to ask you, if it is possible, to not use the shower too late into the night so as to not bother your neighbors with the sound." Amanda answered without losing her professional smile.
"That sounds acceptable. May I ask how much would it cost me a single bedroom till Sunday?" Jack really liked this inn, but he would continue looking for another one if it was too expensive.
"It would be 10 copper coins per night, so if you are gonna stay until Sunday it would be 50 copper coins in total. You also have the option to pay 10 copper coins extra per day, and we would serve you breakfast and dinner. Let me tell you, our food is delicious, and you wouldn't find any restaurant around the city with such good food at such a low price." Amanda sounded proud when talking about their inn's food.
"Yes, I can see how everyone is enjoying it. The smell is also really nice. You must have good chefs, and the waitresses are also quick. I don't understand how you can afford this service at such a low price." Jack was trying to understand how they could afford this.
"We have our ways." Amanda answered with a mysterious smile on her rosy lips.
"Ok then. I will pay you 1 silver coin for a full stay till Sunday." Jack took out 1 silver coin from his pouch and placed it on the counter.
"You will not regret it." Said Amanda while taking the coin. "Here, take this key. Your room is room number 206 which you can find on the second floor. You will have to return your key on Sunday before 5 p.m. if you don't want us to take everything you left on the room. If you want to prolong your stay, you can come look for me before then and tell me. Have a nice stay Jack." Amanda gave Jack the key to his bedroom and waved him goodbye.
Shortly after, Jack found himself standing in front of room 206. Jack looked at the door but it looked like a simple wood door.
"Might as well enter, I really need a shower. I'm sure I stink." Jack took out the key and opened the door to his room.
The room was simple but clean. There was nothing much on it. Just a bed, a desk and a door that Jack guessed was the bathroom's door.
"Finally..." Jack exhaled a deep sigh and threw his clothes to the floor before entering the bathroom with a small hop while closing the door.
It was still midday and Jack was in no hurry to leave, so he decided to take a really long shower to calm his nerves.
After the long shower, he wore his clothes and left of the inn with a dazzling smile.
"Ok, first things first. I should go buy some clothes. People continue giving me weird looks seeing my clothes, and even though I don't mind, it would be better to change clothes so people stop paying so much attention." Jack thought that buying clothes was the first thing he should do, so he went to the closest clothing store.
Jack entered the first clothing store he saw which didn't have too ugly clothes.
He entered a shop called "Madame Berta's Clothes" and just after entering an old woman elegantly dressed came in front of him with a nice smile.
"Hello young man, I am Berta Paris, and I am the owner of this shop. May I ask if you are looking for something specific? Something for a special occasion?" Madame Berta asked Jack while looking at his clothes. But contrary to other people, she didn't have a weird look on her face, in fact, she looked rather interested in his clothes.
"Pleasure to meet you Berta, I would just like to buy some simple clothes that can last for a long time." Jack would need clothes during his stay at the academy. Even though he saw the students wearing robes, he didn't like wearing those.
"I can make you some clothes according to your measurements and enchant them, so they last longer. But that would make them more expensive. Do you have any special preference?" Madame Berta asked Jack respectfully.
"That would be great, as long as they last long enough, I don't mind paying more. As for a special preference, I don't have any. Well, just that they are not too catchy. I don't want everyone to keep staring at me because of the clothes I'm wearing." Jack explained while releasing a long sigh.
"Yeah, I'm sure you have been attracting many eyes while wearing those. Don't worry, I will make you some simple clothes that will last. Stand there and I will take all your measurements." Madame Berta pointed Jack to a small stand and instructed him to stand there unmoving while she took all measurements.
After some minutes, Berta finished taking his measurements.
"All good, you have perfect body proportions I must say. Each of your body parts fits perfectly with one another which is quite weird. Humans usually don't have perfect bodies. Sometimes they have a leg a bit longer than the other, ears bigger in proportion to their heard or face, eyes too close or too separated, chest a bit lower than it should be... But in your case, it's like an artist created your body from zero with "a perfect body" in mind." Madame Berta sounded quite surprised explaining Jack's situation.
"Well, that's good I guess. When do you think you would have those clothes finished?" Jack wanted to change topic as soon as possible.
Noticing Jack not wanting to talk about that, Madame Berta didn't insist either. "I could have them finished on Friday."
"Then I will come to get them on Friday. Do you think you could have a set of them, so I don't wear the same clothes every day?" Jack was happy with Madame Berta's answer. He feared that the clothes would be finished after Sunday, and he would have to ask Mark to send them inside the academy. Jack didn't even consider the possibility of failing the entrance exam, he already considered himself a student of the Glowing Star academy.
"Sure I could. But you have to pay them upfront. It would be 10 gold coins." Madame Berta answered Jack without losing her professional smile, not even for one second.
"10 gold coins!? Isn't that a bit too much?" Jack thought he was getting scammed.
"What did you expect? You want an entire set, and I would enchant them for them to last longer and be more durable. I don't mean to boast, but I make the best clothes in the city. Even though many nobles prefer to go to some other clothing shop inside the upper class district, my clothes are not worse than those, if not better. My shop also has some reputation, you see." Madame Berta calmly explained.
"Ok, I will pay you the 10 gold coins. But when I come this Friday, if I find these clothes not worth what I paid, and are not as good as you said I would like to have half of what I paid returned." Jack decided to trust Madame Berta and offered her a deal. He didn't want to pay such amount without seeing the final product.
"Ok, we have a deal. I doubt you will not want the clothes once you see them." Madame Berta smiled while she shook Jack's hand.
Jack paid the 10 gold coins and waved Madam Berta goodbye before he left the shop.
"10 gold coins... I hope it is worth it." Jack sighed and continued walking towards his next stop.