After the registration, Ash was officially part of the guild. Emma gave him his guild card, and he dropped some blood on it, just like Shawn did before. It was his first time to meet those adventurers, but he really got along well with them.
Due to their openness and sarcasm, Ash became more excited to work with them. He wanted to see their real strength when it came to fighting. He also wanted to fight strong opponents.
Ash, Ava, the old man, and Shawn had so much fun with other adventurers that they hadn't noticed the sun setting on the horizon, and dusk had already gathered. The wolves were howling in the twilight.
"We should find a place where you can stay," Ava suggested. "It's getting dark already, and it's dangerous for us to go home just by walking, especially since there are zombies strolling around at night."
"Ehhhhh? Zombies?" Shawn asked. "For real? I never thought they existed in this world."
"Yes, they do. Look, there's one behind you!" Ava said, pointing behind Shawn.
Shawn turned his head around, expecting to see something creepy, but he hadn't seen any zombies and realized that Ava was just making fun of him. He glared at her face directly, but instead of being angry, he smiled, seeing her laugh.
"You're really a coward, Shawn!" Ava said, holding her stomach while laughing.
Shawn has never seen Ava laugh like this before. But she became more attractive in his eyes.
"Cut it out," the old man interrupted. "I don't have enough power to send the four of us back home by teleportation, so it's better to find a boarding house."
"Good thing that I knew a place where you could stay," Ava remarked. "Come, follow me."
Without any complaints, they followed Ava as she led the way towards an old boarding house. It was already dark, and the path was barely visible. But the house ahead was more terrifying.
"Why did you stop?" Ava asked when she noticed that the three had halted. "Don't tell me you're scared. Don't worry, that house isn't haunted. It just looked old, but it's not haunted, I'm telling you."
Shawn was convinced enough to continue walking, as were the old man and Ash. With all those monsters they'd encountered, Shawn knew it wasn't impossible for ghosts to exist in this world. He always wanted to see one, though, but not this time.
An old woman who looked creepy with her curly, long, black hair that spread around her shoulder and swayed as she walked welcomed them by the gate. Her dry and rough skin made her look like someone who had gotten out from six feet below the ground.
"Is she a zombie?" Ash wondered. He didn't behave like he was scared, but rather excited.
The woman was wearing a dark violet robe and pointed hat, and she was carrying a wooden stick that resembles a magic wand, making her look like a hag.
"I'm Jessica, the landlady of this boarding house," the woman said with a smile. There were some freckles on her face. Her teeth were pointed and sharp, and her eyes were deep and dark as a dungeon.
"Hello, Jessica. We are looking for a place where these boys can stay tonight. Do you have some space left?" The old man asked politely.
"Why would we stay here? There are many other houses out there," Ash grumbled. He wanted to complain all this time, but he didn't want to add another burden, so he kept his sulking to himself.
"Twenty gold coins for two people," Jessica replied.
"What?" Ava exclaimed in shock. "Twenty gold coins for two people?" She couldn't believe that the landlady would ask for that much money as a down payment.
The currency in this world was classified into three categories: the bronze, which had the lowest value, the silver, and the gold, which was the most valuable. A single gold coin was equivalent to a hundred silver coins or a thousand bronze coins.
"This is not a five-star hotel, though, so why would she ask for twenty gold coins?" Shawn wondered. Then, it occurred to him that there was no other place where they could stay—that might be the reason why she was asking for too much.
"That's the cheapest here. If you look for another boarding house, you would have to pay more than fifty gold coins," Jessica explained.
"You! You're just tricking us!" Ava stepped forward, attempting to fight her as she unsheathed her sword, but Shawn held her collar from the back, making her withdrew.
"No need to fight for this trivial matter; I'll pay for it," Shawn said. He thought that he should please the landlady instead of fighting her because it was already dark and they couldn't find any other place to stay.
So, he opened his purse and took twenty gold coins. It was his own money that he earned by taking quests. He thought he would just take more quests next time to earn money again.
After hearing him, Ava was speechless, thinking that Shawn was such an idiot that he didn't know the value of a single gold coin. She wanted to inform him about it, but she didn't have the chance.
Shawn already gave his money to the evil landlady, who didn't even say a single word before leaving. That could be the reason why people were avoiding her, and she didn't have any other boarders.
With his twenty gold coins, he could have bought a new house. Why would he spend it on an old boarding house? Ava could no longer handle her anger. She took a deep breath to calm herself.
She knew that Shawn was old enough to take care of himself, though he knew nothing about the currency of this world. She wasn't convinced that he would be fine; she shouldn't leave him alone because there were millions of swindlers in this world.
If it wasn't inconvenient for them to go home together, Ava wouldn't make them stay in that ragged house. From what she saw, she knew she could protect her brother better than that stranger.
"There's nothing we can do about it. Shawn can't use teleportation—he doesn't have any power at all," the old man said. "Let's just leave them for a while and see if there will be improvements."
Ava dropped her shoulders heavily in annoyance; that was exactly what Shawn wanted to see—her frustrated side, the reason why he kept teasing her. Ava wanted to say goodbye before going home, but she didn't want to show them that she was sad.
She knew she shouldn't be so strict with Ash, even if he was the only family she had. But what if he got possessed again and she wouldn't be there for him?
The morning came quickly. Shawn woke up early to prepare their food when he noticed that the dining table was already filled with delicious food. At first, he thought that Ash had gotten up early and prepared them, but he remembered that he was still snoring inside his room when he checked.
"Who would cook this much food?" Shawn asked himself. "These might be the landlady's foodstuffs. I shouldn't touch them until I know. But I'm really hungry."
Shawn touched his belly, which grumbled in hunger because he hadn't eaten dinner last night. However, his mind was telling him to be patient.
"Good morning, brother!" Ash said in a sleepy tone as he stretched his arms and walked towards the table. He was shocked but excited at the same time after seeing too much food on the table.
"Did you cook all of these, brother?" Ash asked. He was drooling as he gazed upon the roasted chicken innocently lying on a plate. "Can I eat them? I'm really hungry right now."
"No, you can't!" Shawn warned him. "I didn't cook them. Perhaps they belonged to the landlady. We shouldn't touch things that don't belong to us."
However, after a few moments of waiting for the landlady, Shawn and Ash decided to have a bite since nobody arrived. They didn't know where the landlady had gone, but they didn't care about her anymore as long as they could eat.
Shawn thought that it would be a waste if they only let the houseflies ruin the food, so he took a plate, dished it, and ate them all. Everything tasted so delicious that he could almost forget his own name, as if someone had put a spell over him.
In the afternoon, Ash was sneezing; perhaps someone was talking about him. He was lying on the bed with his palms supporting his head, looking at the ceiling with a cute smile on his young face.
"Is the ugly landlady not back yet?" Ash asked.
Shawn shook his head in disbelief. "You shouldn't call her 'ugly'. She might be doing something important; that's why she couldn't go back. Well, we don't really know her yet."
Ash remained silent. He had such a wild imagination that even when he was awake, he got lost in his own thoughts. Sometimes, he didn't know what he was doing in that place or how he got there.
"Brother, have you encountered some wild beast in the forbidden forest?" Ash asked eagerly.
Shawn was sitting on the couch, reading an old book that he got from the guild yesterday. By reading it, he learned a lot about the creatures that exist in this world. Most of them were monsters that he hadn't seen yet.
Hearing Ash's questions, Shawn shook his head and looked at him. He was about to speak out when someone knocked on the door.
Ash jumped out, ran towards the door, and opened it. Then a beautiful lady glanced through the door. "Who are you?" Ash asked curiously.
"I'm Shriek Orchard," the woman replied.
Shawn was jolted up from the couch after hearing the woman. It couldn't be true. Why would an orc become a woman? But he remembered that monster he saved in the forest.
If it wasn't because of him, for sure, that orc was already killed by Alice. If these orcs have the lowest level, as the book says, then he still has a long way to go. He didn't know what kind of creature he would meet next.
"Let her get inside, Ash. I know her," Shawn said.
Ash let the lady get inside, then closed the door and followed her towards the living room. Shawn's eyes scrutinized the woman; he couldn't believe who''s this woman in front of him right now.
"Are you really that orc?" Shawn asked curiously. "What are you doing here? How did you know that I live with her?" He had a million questions to ask.
"My mother is the landlady of this boarding house. She asked me to provide assistance. Knowing that it was you really surprised me," the lady replied.
"Well, I'm more surprised that you're a girl. I thought you were a monster; is it really possible for you to transform?" Shawn slightly touched his chin, thinking about—what if those orcs he killed were not really orcs—but what exactly happened to them?
The woman smiled. Then she cast a spell that transformed her figure into an orc. Seeing this, Ash's eyes turned wide, though it wasn't his first time to meet an enchanter.
"It's really you, Shriek," Shawn remarked.
"Can you bring your appearance back?" Ash asked eagerly.
The orc changed its appearance into that of a beautiful lady again. Ash couldn't believe what he saw; he kept asking her to transform.
On the other hand, Ava was sitting on the stairs when she remembered what her younger brother was saying. She didn't know why he was asking for her help.
What if Lynx was really asking for my help? Ava thought. She was my very close friend, and even though she became an enemy, I know that she didn't mean it and that she was just a victim herself.
As her best friend, Ava knew many things about Lynx, especially her ability to copy others's appearances and shapeshift without any flaws.