The Inn Up for Sale

The next morning came early.

Everyone was up just after sunrise, while it was still dim outside.

They gathered their belongings and returned the room to the state it had been in when they'd arrived.

"Make sure you haven't forgotten anything."

"I've checked—we're good."

The room was tidied and clean. Azu did one final sweep before they left.

The room fee had been paid in advance.

The front desk was unmanned. Someone would show up before long—inns started their mornings early.

They dropped the key into the box and stepped outside. That counted as checkout.

Elza had gone ahead to bring the cart around from the stable.

The mules looked a bit drowsy. Sorry about that.

They stopped by the guard station to return the borrowed equipment, handing it off to a guard who'd been on night duty.

I told him to pass along my regards to Zukashi. That should take care of things.

Yohane took the driver's seat and set the cart moving.

Azu watched the sea recede into the distance.

The vacation had been enjoyable, but whether they'd actually rested was debatable.

The cries of seagulls reached them from behind. As the coast fell further away, those too eventually faded.

All that remained was the sound of the mules' hooves and the occasional murmur of conversation from the slaves in the back.

Yohane accepted a piece of fruit from Elza in the cargo bed. Breakfast on the go.

He bit through the skin, and the juicy pulp flooded his mouth, quenching his thirst.

The early departure paid off—they encountered no monsters or trouble along the way.

They made it back to Kassad right on schedule.

Passing through the wall gate into the city, the familiar surroundings greeted them.

The same feeling had struck him after the trip to the Empire—spending a few days away before coming home brought a certain sense of relief.

There was something special about the place you were born and raised.

He'd once considered leaving this city, yet here he was, glad to be back. Humans were fickle.

His eyes landed on the church.

It had once been a place where crowds never thinned, but now it stood deserted.

That was how much of an impact the bronze statue had left.

The adventurers combined had barely managed to hold it at bay. Without Yohane's slaves, the damage would have been devastating.

Yohane himself had nearly lost his life in the aftermath.

An unpleasant memory.

And yet, separate from all that, seeing the church empty stirred something hollow inside him.

"This is how it should be."

Elza murmured quietly.

Her voice sounded slightly different from usual.

The local women's association had taken over the soup kitchen duties that the Church of the Sun God used to handle.

It seemed the church was completely abandoned now.

That made sense.

Traveling priests and clerics passing through was one thing, but the priests and sisters who'd been stationed there must have been on pins and needles.

Even without the church functioning, nothing much seemed to have changed.

There was a saying that religion flourishes in times of suffering.

Not long ago, that described this city perfectly.

Now, with taxes at a reasonable level, the town had regained its bustle. The mood was brighter overall, and people didn't need a god to cling to.

"Strange feeling. It seems like it was always there, ever since I was born. And then it just… disappeared."

"It was never supposed to be there in the first place. They just preyed on people's weakness. I won't deny some were helped, but in the end, it was only a temporary salve. That's all they offered."

"Is that how it is."

A complicated issue.

Not every follower of the Church of the Sun God was a bad person, after all. And Elza's perspective was inevitably colored by her own experience.

As they continued on, the sign for the inn that had been put up for sale came into view.

Apparently it still hadn't found a buyer. The price had dropped a little.

But land values in the city were on the rise, and visitor numbers were clearly trending upward.

It was in a slightly out-of-the-way location, sure, but it was only a matter of time.

"Wait here for a moment."

"Understood."

Leaving the mules with Azu, Yohane climbed down from the driver's seat and headed for the inn.

He knocked on the door. An old woman answered.

They weren't in the same guild, but they were acquaintances.

"What is it, boy?"

"Looking well, granny. Still haven't sold the place?"

"Nope. Not a soul. I've kept it in good shape, too—bunch of fools with no eye for value."

The old woman heaved a sigh.

Well, with other inns on the main street just a short walk away, it was only natural.

When the place had been in operation, a steady flow of regulars—adventurers heading into the labyrinth—had kept it going. But that was the past.

Buy it now, open it up again, and those customers were long gone—poached by other establishments or moved on.

That said, once the main-street inns filled up, demand would trickle this way.

And that was increasingly likely.

The old woman's inn was a budget establishment, but it was fairly spacious. It could house a good number of guests.

There were plenty of people who didn't need anything fancy—just a place to sleep.

Food costs could be kept low by channeling products from the tool shop's supply chain.

"What if I buy it?"

When Yohane said this, the old woman gave him a suspicious look.

She'd known him for years. She must have thought he was joking.

"You want to buy this inn, boy? Barely inherited that little shop of yours and already talking big."

"Hey now, I'm doing pretty well for myself."

Azu and the others were the ones earning it, but a slave's earnings belonged to their master, so there was no issue.

She had to know about the recent renovation. Once she realized he was serious, the look in her eyes changed.

"Then how about this?"

Five fingers.

A bit less than the sign out front.

"Done. Give me time to put the money together, and don't sell it to anyone else in the meantime."

"I'll wait till the end of the year. Beyond that, no promises."

She said it with a laugh and shut the door.

Not even a cup of tea. Stingy as ever.

With the Triwright Auction on the horizon too, money just kept flowing out.

"Time to earn."