Chapter 225:
Arriving in Hatow Village
Each gust of chilly wind robbed our bodies of heat.
“Are you okay?” Druid asked in a worried voice.
It was too cold to open my mouth, so I kept it shut and nodded.
“We’ll get to Hatow Village soon. Hang in there, trooper!”
We were going to reach Hatow Village ahead of schedule, but the weather had also gotten cold much sooner than we’d thought. Normally, we’d still have another month of pleasant weather left, but it was cold enough to freeze now.
This is an injustice! I silently cursed the bitter cold winds as I quickened my pace. I wanted to get somewhere warm as soon as possible.
I was really thankful to Ciel and Sora for hunting us those gooth. The past few days had been cold enough to be life-threatening, so we’d just walked three days in a row without sleep. I was sleepy beyond all imagination, but my limbs felt light. Eating gooth meat melted the fatigue from your body and made you feel weightless and energized, which meant we could keep walking at the same fast pace. The only problem was that we were so terribly sleepy. Sleepy beyond measure. So sleepy I could feel my eyes closing while my feet trod beneath me. I just wanted to get to Hatow as quickly as possible and have a nice, long rest at an inn.
“Oh! Is that it up there?”
I could see a gate in the distance. My eyes were playing tricks on me: I could have sworn it was sparkling.
“Yeah, looks like we’ve arrived in Hatow Village.” Relief spread over Druid’s face, and I was sure I looked the same way.
I looked down at the bag on my shoulder and announced our arrival in Hatow. “Sit tight in there for a bit longer, okay?”
The bag stirred slightly. Since Flame was asleep, it was probably Sora or Ciel.
Seeing us, the guard opened the gate. “Hello there.”
I looked up in surprise when I realized that the voice belonged to a lady. This was my first time seeing a female member of the village watch. It was hard to tell her gender at first sight since she was dressed head to toe in thick winter clothes.
“Thank you. We’re planning to spend the winter in Hatow Village—will that be all right?” Druid pulled out his merchant guild card, and I quickly followed suit. My fingers were so stiff from the cold that it was hard to move them. I sighed in relief when I somehow managed to get my card out.
“Please touch your cards to this device so we can check them.”
The desk beside the gate had a magic item that I didn’t recognize on top of it. Druid touched his card to the item, and it turned green.
“What is your name?”
“Druid.” At his answer, the green light turned off.
“Thank you very much. Could I see your daughter’s card, too?”
Oh! She called me his daughter. Gee, I feel kind of embarrassed. And wow, it’s sure surprising that people have stopped mistaking me for a boy just because I grew out my hair a little. Do I really look that different?
“Here you go,” I said, presenting my card. Just like it did for Druid, the item lit up in green. When I gave it my name, the light went off.
“Everything looks good to me. Welcome to Hatow Village. Here are your permits for a long-term stay. They’ve recorded your names, so nobody else can use them.”
She handed us some white plates decorated with green lines.
“Thank you very much.” I looked in her eyes and bowed as I spoke. The lady gatekeeper looked a bit taken aback at first, but then she gave me the prettiest smile in return.
“Druid, Ivy, have you picked an inn yet?”
“No, not yet. We’re just about to see if we can find one.”
“What type of place are you looking for?”
“Since Ivy’s with me, we want a mid-range lodge that’s safe for families.”
“Then I recommend Ayapo. Take the fifth left on Main Street. The innkeeper is a lady, so it’s nice and clean. Her husband is an adventurer and a bit fierce, but he’ll make sure you both have a safe stay there.”
Oh, it’s run by a lady! I like the sound of it.
“That sounds nice. Thanks for the tip. We’ll go straight there. Oh, by the way, does it have a bath?”
“Of course.”
“Thanks. We’ll be on our way now.”
“Have a nice stay.”
That gatekeeper was so nice! She even helped us find a good inn so we wouldn’t have to look around in the cold. I bowed deeply to her before turning away to go to the inn with Druid.
“She was nice.”
“Well, she probably gave us that tip on the inn because your behavior was so good, Ivy.”
My…behavior? What did I do? I thought about it, but nothing came to mind. No, one thing does come to mind: I’m so sleepy. Come on, Ivy, you’re almost there!
“I sure am tired,” Druid said.
“Yeah, I’m dying to sleep.” If I stop walking, I might fall asleep standing up.
“As soon as we get to our room, I’m taking a bath.”
“What?! But I want to go to bed.”
“If you get your body warm first, you’ll sleep much better.”
“Really?”
“Yeah…I think?”
“Mr. Druid, what do you mean you think?”
“Well, it’s just something I heard someone say once…maybe?”
So…which is it? But I can’t deny it: I’m chilled to the bone. I’m so cold my head hurts a little. I guess I should warm myself up in a bath first. I’d probably sleep much better.
“Okay, we’ll take a nice hot bath, then go to bed. But I’m kind of worried I’ll fall asleep in the tub.”
“Yeah, you said it. If I’d just thought a little more about our travel schedule, then we wouldn’t have to be so cold in the first place. Sorry, Ivy.”
“Oh, no, we planned this trip together. You don’t need to apologize.”
Neither of us could have predicted that it would get this cold so early.
“Once we’ve had a good, long rest at the inn, we’ll need to get some winter coats and cloaks.”
“Yeah.”
We took the fifth left on Main Street like we were told. There was a bakery, a clothing store, and lots of other different shops on the street.
“There it is.”
I looked at where Druid was pointing and saw a sign with “Ayapo” written on it. What a strange name. I wonder if it means anything?
We opened the door to Ayapo and went inside. It was a fresh and tidy inn, its wooden fixtures warm and cozy. I could see why the gatekeeper recommended it. All the furnishings and knickknacks were very cute—evidence of its lady innkeeper.
“Welcome!” a lady sang, coming in from the back room while we were looking around the lobby. She was probably about fifty years old. Her gentle smile made me feel warm for some reason. Is she the innkeeper?
“We’d like to rent a room for two for the winter. Do you have any openings?”
“We certainly do. If you want to stay the winter, I suppose you’ll want the room for two months?”
“If we want to make sure we get through the coldest part of the year, we might have to go with two and a half months.”
“All right. What do you want to do about your meals?”
“We’d like to have breakfast here at the inn. For dinners, could we play it by ear or maybe borrow a kitchen to use?”
“Understood on the breakfast. I can take care of dinner for you if you’ll just let me know every morning whether you’ll need it that day. We also have a kitchen on the second floor which you’re free to use. Just be sure to mind the fire.”
“Thank you. I must say, I’m surprised to hear you have a kitchen on the second floor. That’s impressive.”
“Well, we got caught up in the latest trends. Ha ha ha!”
A kitchen on the second floor? This I’ve got to see.
“How much will our rent be? And are there any discounts?”
“Well, a room for two with breakfasts included is six radal per month, so two and a half months would be fifteen radal.”
Fifteen radal…fifteen gold plates. It’s within our budget, so I guess we’re taking the place?
“Ivy, are you okay with staying here?”
“Yes.”
“Then we’ll take it! Thanks for having us for the next two and a half months.”
“And thank you for staying! Oh, about that discount, if you have a magic stone of at least level five for fire or water magic, you get five gidal off.”
Five gidal off with each magic stone of level five or higher? Wow, that’s a generous discount.
“Five gidal for one magic stone? Isn’t that a bit much?” Druid asked.
“It’s definitely a lot! You see, the caves where you can find a lot of magic stones have been collapsing for some reason, so the stone prices keep going up, which is a real headache! And adventurers don’t go out in the wintertime to hunt for magic stones, either.”
I was a bit startled by how loudly and abruptly the innkeeper answered Druid’s question.
“What’s the fuss about?” a fierce man asked as he came out from the back. I guess this is her adventurer husband the gatekeeper told us about? He did look a little fierce, but he was no scarier than any of the other adventurers I’d met in my travels. He had a three-lined scar on his face, though. It was painful to look at.
“Don’t make a fuss in front of the customers. Have you settled the deal yet?”
“Yes… It’s done.”
Druid smiled uncomfortably at her answer. “I’m sorry, but we haven’t finished up yet.”
“Um, Darling?”
“Oh dear, didn’t we get those papers signed? I’m so sorry. Okay, write your name here. Could you also provide some identification?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
So this innkeeper was a little ditzy.
We took care of the paperwork right away, and she led us to a room at the end of the second-floor hallway. According to her, this was the best room at the inn. I was looking forward to turning in for the night, but I had to have a bath first…then I could sleep to my heart’s content! I really needed it; I was reaching my limit.
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