“Shouldn’t we at least listen to them?” Sofia asked, looking back at the guards who were left speechless from Cain’s gaze.
“The priority is getting Alice to rest, they can wait,” Cain replied. If Alice turned into a devil in the middle of the guards it will be a big problem.
“I will head out to stock on ores, It might take until noon so you can rest for that time,” Dolrig said as he tied the horse Cain took back to the wagon. He was about to go to the mines. A griffon and a hydra, in this small trip he had seen two monsters he would rather not. The faster they got back home, the better.
Dolrig hand was also itching to smith a new sword for Cain, he was determined to go above and beyond what he made before.
Seeing The wagon stride alone in the street made Cain realize something.
Weirdly, the city seemed to be quiet without a single soul in the street, besides the guards. They seem to have evacuated the immediate vicinity of the gate in case the Hydra broke in.
Can they even get a room in this situation? Cain hoped the Inn would still be open or he might need to break in.
The Inn wasn’t that far away, Cain could see it at the other end of the street.
The Inn was a bit larger than Evan’s. being made mostly of red bricks and carrying the name of ‘The Iron Gate’ from the outside it looked a bit more appealing.
Crackle! Crackle! The door didn’t want to open, it instead made a strange crackling noise.
‘Magical lock?’ It has been a long time since Cain saw one, They bring good memories as they are one of the most fun spells to use. With them, you can lock anything that should be lockable. A door, a chest, a necklace, a bottle, you name it and it will get locked. It’s always fun to lock someone’s armor and make them stuck.
After knocking and waiting for a bit, no one opened the door for them. The sign at the door says they should be open. It was obvious that they are hiding inside in case the hydra broke in.
[Enchanting] Sadly the magical locks were weak against magic. Just by pushing a bit of his magic in the door, Cain was able to dispel the weak magic.
“The hydra has been killed, you can open again!” Cain entered yelling, looking for the Inn’s owner.
“H-How did you get in?” A man gasped from behind the counter, slowly standing up to face Cain. He was tall, with a lean build.
“I just dispelled the magic, it’s not meant to stop mages anyway!” Cain stated as if it was a fact.
“Dispelled? Do you mean you broke the item?” The man’s face tensed up as if he was about to snap in rage.
Seeing the man’s face, Cain looked back at the door a small wooden stick with a carving was hanging from the doorknob.
Cain finally understood, That magic Item was like a very expensive lock. The spell might be weak but it could still keep the door locked in the face of all non-magic users. A fighter or a thief won’t be able to open the door, a good counter to lockpickers.
Now that Cain dispelled the magic, that item has turned into a regular piece of wood, losing all of its magical properties. ‘Oh, shit! It was probably an expensive Item for them to afford.’ Cain quickly turned back and grabbed the wooden piece [Enchanting: Lock] he secretly reapplied the magic.
“It still works, you can lock the door again if you want,” Cain said, walking to the counter as if nothing happen.
“Care to explain why are you lot inside my Inn now? Should I call the guards?” The Innkeeper growled, rather than the lock, he was pissed at Cain and the girls for breaking into his Inn.
Alice was too exhausted to speak while Sofia just stayed silent, letting Cain handle the negotiation was probably the best Idea.
“Should I punch him-nya? Alice needs to rest quickly-nya?” Selena pointed at the exhausted Alice, she was barely holding by transforming her tail and wings under the cover but she could transform fully at any moment.
“The hydra is already dead, look.” Cain pointed to the outside from the door, and in the distance, the city gate was wide open. “Can we have a room for the girl to rest in at least, she isn’t feeling well,” Cain said, looking at the Innkeeper in the eyes.
“Alright, next time don’t just break into someone’s else shop like this.” He seems to have given up, his hand dropping down with an exhausted look. “MEMI! Come here and show the girls to their room!” He screamed, trying to call someone.
Pit-pat! Pit-pat! Pit-pat! The sound of light footsteps can be heard coming from the distance. From the corner, a little girl wearing a fluffy yellow dress poked her head.
“Dad, which room?” The girl seemed to be no older than 10 years, her expression screamed energy as her eyes were sparkling.
The Innkeeper took a small key from behind his desk and handed it to her, With quick footsteps and an exciting look, she snatched the key as if it was candy.
“MEMI the Innkeeper is going!” she screamed in excitement running upstairs with her arms spread out. The girls followed her to the room and Cain stayed with the Innkeeper.
“Now, Care to explain?” The Innkeeper sat down to talk with Cain, paying can wait, he was more interested in what happened to the hydra. For the door, he was used to rowdy adventurers just kicking it down, Cain’s action seemed elegant compared to theirs.
Cain explained that the hydra has already been slain and there wasn’t a reason for him to keep his doors closed. The Innkeeper seemed to lift an eyebrow at Cain, those news were supposed to be delivered by a guard.
Cain also explained that they were a group of traveling adventures and that Alice just got tired from travel and wasn’t feeling well. It was them when a guard knocked at the door.
“Get in!” The Innkeeper shouted he can hear him.
“The hydra has been slain, you can reopen the Inn, Wagner” The guard seems to know the Innkeeper’s name.
When the guard opened the door and looked inside, he spotted Cain sitting beside Wagner. His face paled, quickly approaching Cain and bowing.
“Sir, sorry I didn’t know you were here, have I interrupted your conversation?” The Innkeeper was perplexed at his friend’s attitude toward Cain.
“What are you talking about Jeremy?” Wagner asked. Was Cain related to the military higher-up somehow?
“Didn’t you know? This man in front of you and his party were the ones to slay the hydra!” Jeremy declared, his eyes sparkling as the adrenaline from watching Cain slice the hydra’s heads still coursed in his veins.
Cain had a long explanation ahead of him, all he wanted was some time to close his eyes though.
***
In the room upstairs. “This is your room.” Memi declared in a proud voice, she had a satisfied look on her face as if she has got an achievement.
“Thank you.” Sofia patted the little girl on the head, “Can you please tell them to bring us some hot water to wash up?”
Memi’s eyes sparkled like jewels, “Big sis, Mommy. Hot water!” She ran outside with her arms spread out.
BAM! Sofia was just thinking how cute the little girl looked when she was running when heard something fall. The girls looked outside the door to see Memi flat on her face, trying her hardest to not cry.
Memi has tripped on her legs when she was running.
[Holy healing] Alice quickly cast a healing spell on her before running back inside and closing the door, she was at her limit.
“Don’t run, just walk!” Sofia said to Memi, “Or run on all four, that way you won’t trip easily-nya” Selena’s advice seemed to provoke a weird look from Sofia.
Memi nodded as she walked away, this time she won’t trip.
Sofia and Selena entered the room after they saw Memi go.
Inside the room, an awkward conversation started between the girls.
“You two almost got Cain killed-nya!” Selena growled, staring at the other two with a sharp.
“We honestly didn’t expect it to turn that badly!” Sofia replied as if she was about to cry. She thought it will go just like the fight with the Cobra, Cain could take care of it in an instant.
“He clearly stated he wasn’t comfortable with the idea, you should have stopped there-nya!” BAM! Selena smashed her hand on the table, almost breaking it.
Sofia and Alice flinched, Alice was already tearing up because she saw up close how Cain’s injuries were in that fight.
“W-what should we do, will he be a-angry at us?” Alice stuttered, her voice shaking in pain.
“I don’t think he will be angry, but be ready just in case, you better think of a way to apologies-nya.” Selena was the only one who didn’t cause Cain trouble this time, she has been following his orders while keeping her thoughts to herself.
“Can you help us?” Sofia asked, Selena was the only one who could talk to Cain now, those two didn’t have to courage to face him after what they got him into.
“I will try but if he told me to stand down, you’re on our own-nya!” Selena said, taking a seat beside them in the bed.
Knock! Knock! “It’s me, I’m getting in,” Cain said from outside the door.
Both Sofia and Alice held their breaths!