Elias pondered before asking, "Do you need any help?"
The woman was stunned by Elias's swift gesture to help but swiftly recomposed herself, glad she had found a true samaritan. "I'll be glad if you can help me out," She swiftly said, nodding in response. However, she still kept her guard and was careful about the stranger.
Elias nodded, "Let's go," pointing towards the Mellow Inn Hotel. The woman before him had mentioned that she was looking for the cheapest hotel to stay in, and since it was the cheapest one in the area, he suspected that it must be the one she was talking about.
Elias led the way, walking forward.
The woman rushed towards the position of her luggage, grabbed it, and swiftly followed behind him. They entered through the door together, arriving at the receptionist's desk.
"Good evening," the receptionist said. "Welcome to Mellow Hill Hotel. How may I assist you?"
"I would like to make a reservation. Can you tell me what rooms are available?" Elias responded.
"We have a few vacant standard and deluxe rooms that you could choose from for you and your girlfriend," the receptionist responded with a smile. Most customers who lodged in this hotel were looking for a place to keep their affairs under the radar or have a one-night fling.
It also looked like the woman wasn't from around here, making her thought even more thrilling.
"We are not in a relationship?!" the woman shook her head in response. She didn't want her good samaritan to get any wrong idea when things began to work well for her.
That thief! Just wait until I catch you!!
Fortunately, she got the details of his vehicle, so all she needed to do was hand them to the police and her fans, and they would sniff him out.
"She's right. We aren't in a relationship," Elias responded calmly, putting the woman at ease.
"Oh, how many rooms would you have then?" the receptionist swiftly realised her mistake and responded. Although she doubted their words, she knew it wasn't appropriate to continue such a discussion.
"I will take two deluxe rooms," Elias responded. Even though he wanted to be frugal, he wasn't cheap enough to be in a standard room in such a cheap hotel. This was his way of giving himself a pat on the back for his hard work.
"Wait! You don't need to do that. I'll take the standard room," the woman hurriedly responded, waving her hands in refusal to his request. Though taking a standard room within such a cheap hotel was a bad idea, it was worse if she allowed someone she barely knew to book a deluxe room for her.
"I can easily afford both rooms simultaneously, so there's no need for you to worry," Elias responded, shaking his head.
Upon hearing his insistence, the woman bit her lips. "Then, is it okay if I repay you? I'll hand over the money for the room tomorrow."
Elias pondered briefly before nodding, "Okay." He wouldn't mind getting a refund if his plan didn't work.
The woman exhaled in relief at his response.
"Two of our deluxe rooms cost $240 per night, each for $120," the receptionist responded with a smile. From the discussion she had just heard, she realised they probably didn't know each other, making her realise her assumptions were wrong.
Elias nodded. He pulled out his phone and made an online payment. After receiving the receipts, the receptionist swiftly called another hotel staff to show them to their room.
They arrived at his room first.
"Here you go, sir," said the hotel staff member as he opened the door and handed the key to Elias.
Elias nodded and collected the key. Just as he was about to step in, the woman swiftly spoke, "Sir, what a minute? Where are my manners? Can I know your name?" She realised she had put up her guard from the beginning to ensure that the man before her wasn't a creep.
However, after realising that he was indeed a good samaritan with no other intentions than helping her, she swiftly decided to do the proper thing and ask for the identity of her helper.
"I'm Elais," Elias responded with a smile, his eyes fixed on the woman before him.
The woman nodded, "My name is Lily. Thank you for your help. I'll ensure I make the withdrawal tomorrow and pay you your money," Lily responded, her expression firm.
Elias merely nodded as though he wasn't interested in the money. "Be sure to get some rest, Miss Lily. You seem like you need it," Elias responded.
Lily exhaled tiredly and nodded. Being a travel blogger came with many issues and stress, which was no joke. She had thought that she had been able to conceal her weariness; however, it appeared that today had drained her quite a bit, allowing gaps for others to notice.
Elias gave her one last nod before he walked in and locked the door. Alone in the room, he pulled out his phone and briefly looked at his debit alert with a slightly painful expression.
He hadn't expected that spending so much money without a cashback reward would be this heart-wrenching. But it was understandable; he wouldn't have thought about doing such a thing before the system awakened.
'There's no use thinking about it,' Elias sighed. He could only hope that his plan would work and he'd find an opportunity to know more about her, increasing his chances of receiving another cashback.
Taking off his backpack, which contained his clothes and other necessities he needed until he found a new home, Elias pulled out a sheet of cloth and spread it over the bed before lying down on it. He didn't know who had last slept on the bed or how thorough the hotel was with its sanitation procedures, and he didn't want to take any chances.
Once comfortable, Elias closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep. He needed to get enough rest to prepare for his date with Emily tomorrow.