George led Lone, Soph, Eolande and Scott to what looked like a grand castle of some sort. If it wasn't for the large metal and fluorescently-enchanted sign saying 'Madam Cortelle's Palace of Rest', then Lone wouldn't have believed that it was supposedly a hotel.

It had taken them thirty minutes of walking to reach this place, and it was situated in a very expensive-looking part of the city. George called this district 'the merchant's quarters'. A fitting name, Lone thought considering how many businesses lined the cobbled streets.

Lone whistled as he admired the enchanted white stone and magically reinforced emerald that made up the building's walls. "This place musta cost a fortune to build. First the amber ramparts, now emerald walls on a castle-style hotel? I'm starting to sense a theme here..."

George smiled wryly. "The designer for both is the same person. They like gems. A lot."

"I can see that," Lone said jokingly.

To his side, Soph yawned adorably as she cuddled one of his tails. "Lone. Can we go in now? I'm sleepy."

He squeezed her hand and replied, "Sure."

George felt the need to say, "Just to remind you, this place is really expensive. Like, 'a ruby-gold coin a night' kind of expensive. That's per person. It could be more though. I've only heard rumours of this place."

Lone rolled his eyes. "That's the whole point, ya dummy. You're still as much of a worrywart as you were back in Milindo, huh? Less arrogant though."

George's cheeks flushed. "S-Someone has to be. Emma is a knucklehead like Scott here. Hazel can be a bit over-confident thanks to her power and Alisa is too shy to complain usually, so it falls to me to be the cautious one."

Lone laughed and he instinctively went to pet the lanky teen's head but caught himself mid-motion and instead patted his shoulder. "That's why you're the sneaky one of the bunch, right? The rogue? You're a lot stronger than back in Milindo. I am proud of you, you know? For leaving like that to take a stand against your dad."

"T-Thanks..." George stuttered at the unexpected praise before he skulked to Scott's side and let Lone take the lead.

Lone pushed open the large glass double doors and walked into the hotel's lobby. His group trailed behind him.

The room was exquisitely made with gems and rare metals lining everything, but not to the extent that it became overwhelming. Just by being in this room, Lone felt several magics assault his sense and attempt to make him feel more... relaxed?

The host has developed the passive skill: Enchantment Detection. The host has developed the passive skill: Enchantment Magic Resistance. The host has developed the enchantment magic skill: Relaxation Enchantment.

Lone was a bit surprised that he'd never gotten the first two skills before, but upon thinking it over for a second, this was the first time an enchantment had been applied directly onto his body, so it made some sense.

While it was almost one in the morning, there was still a few people in the lobby. Head's turned to Lone's group of five and many eyes opened wide upon seeing Lone and Soph. Clearly, they recognised them.

Lone figured that was to do with Headmaster Erion wanting them as his personal disciples. What surprised and pleased Lone the most, was the fact that very few people seemed to be looking down on him and Eolande for their demi heritage. There was a particular gorgeous young woman who seemed like she wanted to vomit upon seeing them, but Lone just ignored her and hoped that she could keep her distaste to herself.

He walked up to the large marble desk that had a sign hanging over it saying 'Check-In Reception'. Once there, he was greeted by the human clerk behind the desk, a middle-aged man with extraordinary good looks. "How may I help you today, Sir?"

'Huh. I kinda expected to get hassled for not looking like I have enough money or something. I guess they save that for people who actually can't pay, not people they assume don't have the money, huh?' Lone thought. He then replied, "Hi. I'd like to rent a few rooms, I guess."

"You don't have any reservations?" the receptionist asked.

Lone shook his head. "We just arrived in Mystopolis about thirty minutes ago."

"I see." The man smiled. "How many people will be staying?"

'Kyuubi shouldn't count since she can sleep with Soph and I. Rachel too I suppose until she's fixed... I'll include her if I can get her healed quickly. Breena sleeps in the shadows and the girls will probably stay at The Academy,' Lone thought before he said, "Seven in total. We'll need four rooms. One with two singles, then three doubles."

Of course, the room with two singles in it was for George and Scott to share. The doubles were for Lone and Soph, Swind and Rachel, then the last one was for Eolande.

"Absolutely, Sir," the man answered. "What grade of suite would you prefer for the rooms?"

Lone smiled. "What grades are there?"

The man seemed a little bit surprised that Lone didn't know the suite options already. It was rare for a customer to visit Madam Cortelle's Palace of Rest without first knowing everything about it since it was a sign of prestige to stay here.

"Of course. Allow me to explain, Sir. There are four differing suite grades. From least expensive to most, we have; the amber suites, the ruby suites, the emerald suits, and finally, the diamond suites," the clerk explained very briefly. "If you would like any more information on a particular suite, please, do not hesitate to ask."

Lone waved his hand dismissively. "No need. Make them all diamond suites, please."

"O-Of course." The man's face started to sweat lightly. Either this foxkin was a big braggart that was about to expose himself, or he was handsomely rich. No, more than that. Rich enough to be a king!

He took out a clipboard and a pen before he began checking boxes. "Sir, might I ask how many of the seven people are demis?"

"Including me and her," Lone said as he pointed at Eolande, "four. Why? Does it matter?"

The clerk nodded. "In accordance with the kingdom's laws, demis are charged double for everything, I'm afraid. It was one of the conditions that had to be met to outlaw demi-centred slavery all of those millennia ago."

"I guess that makes sense. So you charge per person, not per room?" Lone asked.

The receptionist shook his head. "We charge for both, Sir."

"I see." Lone hardly cared. He had to ask himself why he even questioned it since money wasn't a problem for him.

"Sir, might I know your name? Could you also please tell me how long you intend to stay for?" the man requested humbly.

"Lone Immortus. Also... Hmm... How does a year, no, two years sound? Feel free to double the price since we'll be staying a while," Lone replied with a bit of a shrug.

The clerk almost foamed at the mouth once he heard that. One of the few patrons that were in the hotel's lobby had finally heard enough, it would seem.

A rich-looking and lavishly dressed woman with braided fiery red hair waltzed up to Lone's group and gazed at them like they were trash. The very same lady who seemed like she wanted to expel her guts onto the floor upon seeing Lone and Eolande earlier. She pointed right at Lone's face and shouted, "You truly are arrogant, aren't you, you filthy beast?! Just because you are free, that doesn't mean that you have permission to flap your gums wherever you please!"

Lone raised an eyebrow and matched this beautiful woman's gaze. 'A noble? She's clearly a racist regardless. Was she looking for a chance to yell at me since we walked in? Huh. She's only an I-ranker. She's definitely wealthy, at the very least,' he concluded before he asked, "Who are you?"

The woman's face looked almost pained upon hearing Lone's question. "Not only are you a time-wasting piece of filth, but you even have the audacity to act like you don't know who I am!"

Soph tugged on Lone's sleeve. "I'm really sleepy..." she mumbled.

"Right." Lone gave his attention back to the man behind the desk. "So, how much would two years in four diamond suites for four demis and three humans cost me?"

"Y-Yes... Um, the total comes to thirteen-thousand ruby-gold coins exactly..." the man managed to say through his stuttering.

The presumed noblewoman's expression turned livid. "You shall not ignore me, you slave!"

Lone rolled his eyes. He waved his hand, making an item bag appear on the desk. "Here. thirty-thousand ruby-gold coins. I did say to double the price, right? Keep one-thousand for yourself and give the other three to the building's owner. Also, keep the bag. I have plenty more like it. I'd rather idiots like this woman didn't pester my group from now on."

"Idiot?!" Now she was absolutely furious. "Those coins must be fake! Or you stole them! Such a large amount of money is impossible for a slave to earn!"

"Shut up, would you?" Lone asked with a heavy sigh.

The woman took off her left glove and then slapped Lone as hard as she could. "A mere animal dares to talk down to me... You despicable ingrate! I should have you hanged!"

Lone took a deep breath and then turned his head back around to face her again and grabbed the woman by her throat, cutting off her windpipe. "Listen, I gave you four chances to leave me alone. I'll only say this once. Fuck. off. The next time you start trouble with me, I might kill you. I'm personally not a fan of murder, but people like you never tend to stop until you're six-feet under. Don't prove me right."

"Y... You... can't... kill... me... I-I'm... th-"

"I couldn't give a fuck who you are or what connections you have. You will die the next time you start shit with me. It's as simple as that. I have no time for people who don't see me as an equal." With that said, Lone used a tiny portion of his strength to throw the woman outside of the building. No doubt, several of her bones were broken during her 'flight'.

The receptionist was looking at him with both respect and fear. Lone just sighed once again. "Look, I'm an activist for equality. I'd have done the exact same if she was a queen or a man, heck, even if she was a toddler. Well, maybe not being quite as extreme if she were a kid, but you get my point. Anyway, my room keys?"

"O-Of course, Sir." The receptionist's hands were very shaky, but he still managed to find Lone's room keys and give him directions to his rooms.

As they were walking up the building's flight of richly decorated stairs, George couldn't help but ask, "Was that wise, Lone?"

The foxkin snorted. "I had to endure enough of her type in Milindo and in the world tree. I have strength now. Like I said, she had more than enough time to back down. If she tries to start shit now despite me not killing her, then doesn't that just prove that she wanted trouble no matter what?"

"Yes, but will you really kill her? She's the daughter of the chairman of Mystopolis' Merchant's Guild. Anita Lithmon. I imagine she'll twist the story and start a witch hunt for you," George warned with worry in his tone.

Lone just laughed. "Merchant's Guild? Perfect. I wanted to visit that place tomorrow anyway. I needed to register as a merchant."

"What?" George was confused.

Scott shook his head and then grabbed his friend's shoulder. "Lone seems to know what's he's doing. Just leave 'im be."

"R-Right..." George wasn't wholly convinced, but for now, he backed down.

Scott ran up the stairs and matched his pace with Lone's. "Anyway, that was hella cool. I get ya. Equality, right? If you're willing to choke out men and throw them through a building, no reason to not do it to women too."

Lone nodded. "All people are equal. I'm actually quite proud of myself for not losing it sooner. A year ago, I'd probably have killed her on the spot."

As he and Scott were chatting about the intricacies of equality, Soph was busy whispering to herself as she lightly held her neck. "I wonder if It would feel good to get choked by Lone...?"