I dutifully followed Terra and allowed her to drag me towards a carriage that was parked near the dungeon. The guards that were stationed at the dungeon gate saw us, but they didn't dare come close to the carriage to ask us any questions since Freya was there. I didn't know that Freya would come out like this to wait for Terra. In my last life, I didn't hear about Terra at all and that was because I wasn't with her in the dungeon when she was attacked. That meant that the kidnapping attempt was successful in my last life, and the family must've hidden it from the rest of the tower so that no one would think that the Gaiaclan were weak. That was the sort of thing that the patriarch of the Gaiaclan would do.
From what I just saw, I can deduce that he is a very calculated person who doesn't allow emotions to rule his decisions. He didn't even worry about his daughter when she hadn't come out from the dungeon in a whole day and he just went for a meeting.
"What happened inside the dungeon?" Freya finally asked after we were far enough from the dungeon, "I became so worried when you didn't come back for almost twenty-four hours." Freya turned to me for an explanation.
"The guards that you got for your daughter were planning to kidnap her," I started and Freya gasped at the news. She instinctively put her hand on Terra's lap like she was trying to protect her, "They were probably members of a cultist or mercenary group that were trying to use her as collateral to blackmail your husband into giving them money. I don't know what exactly their motive was, but I guess it was along that line."
"What happened to them?" Freya asked.
"He defeated them all!" Terra suddenly forced herself into the conversation with a shout and she started to regale the story from where I stopped, "He was able to fight off those three C ranks with only D ranked skills. At first, we were overpowered because he didn't have any strong skill that could handle them, but then we ran away and he used me as bait to draw them away, " Freya gasped again and looked at me in betrayal. I shrugged and Terra continued talking, "And as I drew them away, he went and defeated the dungeon boss before he finally used the new skills to beat all of them. He was amazing! Do you see why I want him now?"
"Oh, yes," Freya said as she looked at me in surprise, "He is definitely an amazing fighter. I have never heard of a D rank beating a dungeon boss all on his own before. Let alone a dungeon boss, and then three C rankers. You said your name was Jason?"
"Jason Black," I answered, "Is there a problem?"
"No, there isn't," Freya said, "In fact, I feel like I should be thanking you. I am not comfortable with the fact that you used my daughter as bait, but I understand that the situation called for the risk. I was against sending Terra to the dungeon in the first place, but she is a stubborn one, and she bent my hand to make me and her father let her. If not for you, I would have regretted that decision for the rest of my life, and I don't know what would have happened to her. So, thank you. Anything that you want at all, I'll be more than happy to give it to you as thanks."
"Well," Terra spoke up and fidgeted with her fingers, "You see, I kind of already promised to give him two hundred silver coins for taking me home."
Freya laughed and Terra smiled sheepishly at her mother, "Well, if it was a promise made to your savior, then we have to abide by it." Freya said, "That is the way the Gaiaclan do things." Freya then looked at me, "Will you give us a few hours to gather the money for you? I'm sure you wouldn't want to stay at just any hotel, so how about staying at our house?"
"No thanks," I responded, and Terra looked at me in surprise, "I'm getting a room at the Royal Hotel and I plan to stay there for the next few days. There is something important that I have to take care of."
"Oh," Freya muttered.
"But you can stay at our place for free," Terra started, but her mother stopped her.
"If he has something to do, then he has something to do, honey. We shouldn't force our decisions on others," once Freya said this, Terra pouted and looked away from the both of us. Freya sighed and apologized to me, "Sorry, she is very stubborn like her father sometimes. I hope you aren't offended."
"It's fine. I got used to it in the dungeon."
Freya smiled at me and we were silent until we entered the main city and I told them to drop me off at the hotel. Once I got off the carriage, Freya asked how she could reach me.
"I'll be here for at least a week, so just ask for Black at the receptionist's desk," I said
"Very well," Freya nodded, "Terra, is there anything you wish to say to Mr. Black?"
"I want to come visit you," Terra immediately said, and Freya sighed. I smiled at her as she continued, "Just for a few hours," she pleaded, "Maybe we can get a drink together?"
"I'll be free in two days," I said, and Terra grinned like a canary before sitting back down.
"Thank you once more," Freya said with a smile before the carriage took off and left me in front of the hotel. I walked into the hotel and walked up to the receptionist. She was a pretty woman with red hair that reminded me of Yuvan. But her face was cute and she looked very young while Yuvan had a mature beauty that was far more appealing to me.
"Hello, what can I do for you today?" the woman spoke fluently and bowed.
"I need a room." I said while sliding my badge towards her, "Something with a view of the city would be nice. On one of the higher floors."
The woman saw that I was a C ranker and her smile became gentler as she smiled at me. In this tower, power was worth a lot. Even though coins were the real currency of the tower, you can say that power is the currency behind the currency. She came back after a few minutes with a key attached to a card.
"Room A16 on the eightieth floor is free sir, you can use that for as long as you wish."
"How much?"
"One hundred bronze coins per night, sir," she said. That kind of money would have been enough to feed a small family for a month. I could buy a room, food, and a bath on the first floor with only seven coins, but here I have to fork out one hundred for a room just for one night. The fourth floor was insanely expensive.
I paid seven hundred bronze to use the room for seven days and took the key, "You still have a boutique in the hotel, right?" I asked and the receptionist nodded,
"Of course, sir. We have a boutique, a gym, an armory, a skill store, and also a first-class swimming pool. You may use your card to access any of these facilities during the time that you will be staying with us. Everything is free of charge."
I thanked the receptionist and I was about to leave for my room when I felt a soft ringing sensation at the back of my head. I immediately recognized it as my danger sense warning me of something and I turned around to see what was causing it. A woman was standing behind me and staring right at me. She was taller than me and she wore a long red gown that went all the way down to her ankles with a slit on one side. She had white hair and silver eyes and the air around me seemed to freeze up just by looking at her.
Even though the scar that she had in my last life wasn't there yet, I immediately recognized her.
"Madame Silver," the receptionist smiled excitedly once she saw the woman, "It's always a pleasure."
The woman was Nova Silver, one of the members of the Silverfrost family, and an S rank ice mage. Many people were already starting to murmur in the hotel as they stared at her.
It was rare to see an S rank down here. Most S ranks would usually stay on Floor fifty and above so they don't suffer the restrictions from the tower, so they were all astonished to see her here.