After marveling at his newly improved might, Eugene soon jumped back to the front of the automobile with Sahar and started it up. He was almost out of the Sand Sea now, and would soon be passing the borders of a nearby kingdom, the Warsong Kingdom. In a few hours, he would be able to reach a village in the Warsong Kingdom.
Sahar randomly flew in the air above the automobile or perched on Eugene's shoulder every once in a while. From a dry desert road, they soon embarked on a wide dirt path that was flanked by two large fields of grass on either side of the automobile.
Time flew quickly and Eugene found himself reaching a small village by noon. The village was nothing to speak of, but for what it was worth, there were people, and that meant there would be services for travelers!
Vrooom...
The automobile rumbled as it came to a stop in front of a guest house. Many eyes were trained on the rare vehicle. The village was rather small and the buildings were arranged in a U shape, which made it easy for everyone to get a clear view of the vehicle.
Eugene alighted from the automobile and looked around with cautious eyes. He did not plan to stay here for longer than necessary. He only just felt the need to freshen up a bit after being on the run for multiple days.
"Watch the automobile for me, Sahar." Eugene rubbed Sahar's head and set him down on the driver's seat before walking into the guest house.
"Good day, Mister!" Immediately, an attendant of the guest house came to greet Eugene. The people in the guest house had already seen the automobile and guessed that Eugene was someone with quite a bit of wealth. That warranted a very good treatment from the staff of the guest house. The owner himself was not far behind and had already cleared out the best room of the guest house for Eugene's use.
"I need a room." Eugene nodded at the young lady that had come to attend to him.
"Alright, Mister. Our best room goes for a hundred copper." The attendant replied with a smile.
"I don't need your best room. I just want to freshen up and have a meal." Eugene shook his head.
"But, our best room provides hot water, out best facilities and an incredibly soft bed! I'm sure that is what a traveler like yourself is interested in." The attendant's smile faltered for a moment before widening again. She was experienced in persuading people to pay for more expensive things, it seemed.
Eugene paused in thought for a moment. He had more than enough money. A hundred copper was nothing to him at this time. Plus, the entire reason for coming to this guest house was to relax a bit.
"Alright, get me your best room. I will come down for a meal later too." Eugene agreed to her proposition.
"Right away, Mister! Please, follow me." She turned around and motioned for Eugene to follow her. Eugene did, not too worried about the automobile. Sahar would not let anyone harm it without making a scene. Not only that, but he held the keys that opened it up. Gustavo's key had also been left with him.
Under the curious and cautious eyes of the people in the guest house, Eugene climbed the stair behind the attendant and was led to a room at the far end of the guest house. It was nothing much, considering the small town that it had been built in, but for it to be worth a hundred copper, it had to be a cut above the rest.
Creak~
The door to the room slid open with a low creak. It had been clean before Eugene's arrival, but had been quickly freshened up once again when the owner of the guest house had heard of the automobile stopping in front of his establishment.
"The hot water should already be running. As for your meal, we will have it ready for you when you come down." The attendant bowed her head as Eugene entered and closed the door behind him.
The room was spacious with a single double bed at the middle of the opposite end of the wall. There was a small bedside table beside it and a lamp on it. A window was just over the bedside table.
To the left was a door. Eugene walked over to the door and opened it to be greeted with the sight of a bathtub and a toilet.
"Pretty good." He nodded his head. and closed the door. It would be nice to take care of his business in a proper bathroom for once. At least, until he was out on the road again. He quickly prepared the bathtub and filled it with water. He was thankful that even though this was a rather small town, their services seemed to be fine. There was a stove in the main room that he used to prepare the hot water.
"Ah..." He sighed as the hot water soothed his tense muscles. It temporarily washed away all the stress of the past few days. While it was not a solution, it was a welcome relief.
Some time later, Eugene came to the ground floor of the guest house to have his meal. It was already quite late in the afternoon at this time and the guest house was a bit busier than earlier. Eugene was not too worried about Sahar and the automobile. Fortunately, his room had a clear view of the automobile. He had left some food for Sahar before he entered the guest house so that was taken care of.
When Eugene looked around the ground floor of the guest house that also served as a sort of restaurant, he noticed that the number of people with weapons seemed to be much higher than earlier in the day.
'They must be adventurers or the guards of the town.' He guessed before walking over to an empty table. He already saw that the attendant from earlier had noticed him and was heading his way. She was also followed by a middle aged man who was dressed in more expensive looking clothing.