“Response: I am sorry sir, but there are no reports whatsoever about this caravan, you are describing,” the near-robotic female voice of the clerk echoed.

“That’s impossible. The Demon Guard still does routine patrols of the Neutral territory on the western bank, yes?” I spoke in disbelief.

“Response: That is correct; however like I mentioned, there have been no sightings of this caravan you speak, nor the humans you mentioned were in it,” the clerk answered, “If you wish, you can still file a report regarding it. We normally do not handle attacks by human bandits in the neutral zone though, even if they occur nearer to our territory.”

This doesn’t make sense at all! So nobody found any remains of the caravan? Unless those bandits decided to leave with EVERYTHING including the carts, and take everyone as prisoners… Damn it!

“What if they weren’t human bandits though?”

“Question: Not human bandits? I do not understand your query. You were travelling in a human-only caravan, yes?” the blonde woman tilted her head, asking.

“Ahh, don’t mind that. I was mistaken,” I replied.

So dead end here too, huh? Puer already asked about it when he went to Phobos, and he got nothing there.

“Response: Alright then, just remember that the Demon Guard will always help merchants in need, Mr. 273-Merchant,” the woman smiled and bowed, “Come again if you need our assistance.”

I bowed to her and made for the exit. As I turned around, I felt a tap on my right shoulder. I faced the direction of the tap and saw Puella looking at me with wide eyes.

“I hope you managed to find an inn and secure our lodging for the night?” I asked her, “That's the least you can do for your time-costly 'exploration', making us miss the closing time of the city's invention department.”

“Yep, I did just that!” she replied with a peppy voice, “Although I have to say something about the prices here! They’re expensi-”

I covered Puella’s mouth with my hand, and made a shushing motion.

“Ms. Puella, I suggest we leave the town barracks first. I don’t think we should discuss such a topic under earshot of the city guard,” I whispered.

I quickly dragged her outside of the building. The sun was already dyeing the town a bright orange, and the normal hustle and bustle was slowly growing quieter. Once we got to the street, I removed my hand.

“Why did you do that?” she protested.

“Because it’s very rude to outright complain like that. Let alone in front of people employed in the city who can jail you.”

She crossed her arms and looked upwards.

“It’s true though. The prices here are practically double of what we charge at the Neutral Inn!” she complained.

“That’s only natural! The city usually has a higher cost and standard of living. The price of goods are higher, and since there are more people, you can usually ask for a lot more for a certain item or service,” I explained.

“Well then Mr. Merchant, then tell me why there are practically no people in the inns at the moment?” Puella puffed her chest, “Doesn’t that mean that they’re doing bad business?”

What did she just say? No people?

“The business was so slow in fact, that I managed to get ourselves a special treat. During the duration of our stay, we get free meals.”

“Puella, so the inns are offering free meals in conjunction with renting out their rooms?” I asked.

“That’s right! He asked for a deposit though.”

Beads of sweat started to form on my head. This was a very odd occurrence. Giving away free services in order to entice clients to go to your store was a common thing, but this was Shimamoto we were talking about, the trade capital of the Demon Oligarchy! Did Puella get scammed here? Then again… were the streets always as empty as now?

“Was this offer exclusive to the inn you picked?”

“No, all inns I visited had something like that…”

“This is strange, definitely strange,” I muttered, “There’s something wrong.”

“Are we in danger?” Puella suddenly asked me in a weak voice.

“Danger? No, I don’t think so. Though I recommend we find our goal and accomplish it as fast as we can, instead of perhaps wasting half a day, exploring and getting lost,” I raised my voice towards the end of the sentence, emphasizing a certain person’s actions.

Puella stuck out her tongue and knocked on her head.

“Let’s get to that inn then before nightfall. Show me the way then, Ms. Puella,” I curtsied to her before adding, “This time, without getting lost.”

“Was that last part really necessary?” she looked at me with deadpan eyes, “This time, I memorized the way there, you know.”

“Just making sure,” I chuckled.

I moved through the streets of the town following Puella. The dimming light illuminated the wooden buildings of the town. Sometimes a brick and mortar structure would also be present, wedged between the sea of brown. As we walked, I noticed a multitude of different inns, each with its own unique name and signage: from the mundane “The Bates Inn”, to the uncreative “Inn #712”, to the bizarre “Rock-Mole Feet Inn”, and to the just plain questionable “Always Cheap Inn!” I secretly hoped that Puella didn’t pick an inn falling into that last category.

As we continued our walk, Puella turned into an alleyway. I immediately threw a suggestion.

“Err Puella, I think it would be better if we got back on the main road? The sun is setting, you know?” I suggested.

“Why is that?” she looked at me oddly.

I raised my free hand and covered my face.

“Because it’s dangerous to go into those places when evening arrives?” I told her advice ala common sense, “Bad things happen in the dark?”

She looked at the floor then laughed nervously.

“… Don’t tell me. You don’t know the way to the inn other than through this alleyway?” I asked, crossing my fingers.

“Pretty much… I traced my path, you see. The only way I can be sure is if we follow the same one in reverse,” she continued to laugh.

Damn it, Puella! I would just look for a new inn, but you already paid the innkeeper in advance! A waste of money!

“Just go,” I gave up and signalled her to move forwards.

We left the main road and weaved through a plethora of alleyways: badly lit, damp, pungent alleyways. All the time, I felt as if a sword was suspended over my head. I held the Staff of Erebus more tightly than usual. Pretty soon, the inevitable happened.

“Alright you and the lady, hands up and give me all your coins!” a mugger suddenly appeared, brandishing a small knife, “You have until the count o-“

Thud – the man’s head fell on the ground, making a sound. It was a clean hit and a one-punch knockout coming from Puella. She had moved even before the crook could finish his sentence.

“See? No problem right?” Puella smiled confidently, adjusting her long black hair.

“It still would be better if we weren’t targeted in the first place…” I mumbled under my breath.

The next would-be-thief attempted to launch a surprise attack from a corner, but it was quickly foiled by Puella’s quick reaction and an elbow to the face. The one after that tried to ambush us from above; it was swiftly dealt with as well by a jump kick.

Oh yeah… I nearly forgot that that girl was an expert at these kind of things.

This pretty much cemented my suspicions that Puella was some sort of talented fighter. Her movements were too fast for a novice. She could probably take on the guards I hired for my caravan and leave almost unscathed.

A menacing smirk rose to Puella’s face as she defeated each opponent. I had a bad inkling that she chose this dangerous path on purpose just to sate her boredom… Not that the thieves were any smarter. Forget the fact that Puella beat every single one of them in one hit. Did they not see that I had a staff with me? A mage could have easily dispatched them. Unless of course, they knew I wasn’t one and was merely bluffing, which I doubted.

“Oh yeah Argent,” Puella spoke, “I was wondering about what you said earlier, about how it was strange for inns to do the stuff I told you to. Our inn doesn’t do stuff like that.”

“You mean stuff like handing out free food?” I confirmed her question.

“That’s right. Is it a city-only inn thing?”

“Partly yes, but it’s not only limited to the city,” I explained.

“What do you mean?”

“It has something to do with competition,” I began, “Imagine this scenario: There are two inns in a town. Each has the same quality of service and the same price. Which inn do you think will people frequent more?”

“Umm… they should be the same?” Puella replied with an unsure voice.

“That’s correct. More or less, with the same quality, people will have no preference as to what inn to pick.”

A dirty-looking man suddenly appeared in front of us, wielding a short sword. Tenebris, raising my staff, I encased his head in darkness and while he was flustered due to not being able to see, Puella punched him in the solar plexus. He fell down.

“Anyway,” I continued, “Now what if one of the inns would give free food to people if they stayed. Which one would have more patrons now?”

“The inn giving out the food?”

“Exactly! By doing something extra, you are able to attract more clientele.”

“But wouldn’t the inn giving the free food be in trouble after a while? They would spend more money in the long run, right?” Puella raised a point.

Two people popped from out of nowhere, one in front and one behind. They charged at us, screaming loudly. I immediately covered ourselves with darkness. Splat – we heard the sound of the men ramming each other at full speed as we sidestepped the two.

Oh come on. These attempts are getting more comical.

“That’s a bit more complicated, but the key factor here is to have to balance how much more you get from the additional customers and the cost of keeping that extra service,” I resumed, “But one thing you have to remember here as well is that the inn is also stealing the customers of its competitor.”

“And that is good?”

“Of course it is. If the inn keeps it up, the competitor is forced to match their opponent lest they want to lose money. And even if they did, the inn which moved first already profited more from the extra service.”

“So should we do something like that?”

“We have no need to. After all, the Neutral Inn has no competition (not that we have clients anyway,)” I continued to explain.

“Then why do you say it’s odd that the inns here to have such a service,” she asked.

“It’s because this is essential the trade capital of the Demon Oligarchy. The inns should almost always be full with merchants and visitors. The fact that they’re empty and have to result to gimmicks means that something is odd.”

Puella kept silent afterwards. She seemed to contemplate on what I just said. Apart from the addition thieves, the rest of the walk was uneventful.

By the time we got out of the alleyway, the stars and the moon were already out, and we had a defeated a total of seven enemies.

“I told you it would have been just fine. We also got a couple of silver from them right?” Puella seemed to be pleased with herself.

“Only because I told you to check their person for any items we could use. Else we would have wasted our time for nothing!” I argued the opposite.

“Well anyway, we’re close to the inn now. It should be over there.”

Puella pointed to a moderately sized wooden building. The façade looked brand new and spotless. The building itself looked sturdily built. A metal sign hang from a post. It read “The Midas Inn”, and a small golden hand was painted on it as a logo.

Oh, the Midas family expanded here it seems.

We opened the door and went inside. My suspicions only grew more as I observed the indoors. The bar was practically empty save a few men and women drinking alone. The furbished tables and counter were wasted on such a number of people. Their free food gimmick seemed to have not attracted enough people.

I didn't think they could stay afloat here. Unlike some other inn with a HUGE start up capital, I doubt the Midas family will keep this inn running for long if they see that there is not enough currency flowing.

Puella approached the counter and rang a small bell. A short, stubby looking man entered my view . He stroked his brown beard as he walked towards Puella.

“Yes, what is it?” the man spoke with a lisp, “Ahh, you were the girl from earlier, yes?”

Puella nodded.

“And this must be your companion? Welcome to ‘The Midas Inn’, young man,” he approached me and bowed.

“Yes I am,” I returned his bow, “I presume you are the innkeeper?”

“Co-innkeeper actually. My boss is attending some sort of gathering in the town square,” he replied scratching his head, “My formal name is Dwarf-51-Innkeeper, but you can call me Yama.”

“My formal name is Human-273-Merchant,” I replied., “Nice you meet you Mr. Dwarf-Yama.”

“Alright, let me show you up.”

Puella and I followed the dwarf to the second floor of the establishment. The hallways were equally spotless and dust-free as in the Neutral Inn.

“This is a nice establishment you have,” I broke the ice.

“Indeed it is, Mr. 273-Merchant. I’m glad you find it likeable.”

“Although I have a question. Why are there so few people here? Surely such an amazing place like this wouldn’t have trouble with customers at all.”

“About that, we were doing well until a couple of weeks ago. I have no idea why, but there has been a decline in the amount of visitors in town,” Yama seemed to sigh as he spoke, “I have no idea why the event happened though.”

“I’m sorry to hear about that. As a merchant myself, I can empathize with your predicament.”

“No worries. We all speak the common tongue of gold,” he began to laugh.

The man soon stopped in front of a door. He then handed a Key to Puella.

“This is the room, and here is the key Ms. Human-Puella.”

“Thank you,” Puella smiled as she received the key.

“Meals are served each morning and evening. Have a nice stay,” he bowed to both of us before leaving.

“Wait, where is my room?” I asked Yama.

“A second room? Ms. Human-Puella only asked for one room for two people,” the dwarf looked confused as he spoke,” If there are no further questions, I will go back to the desk now. If you need any help, just ask me.”

The dwarf soon left, leaving the two of us alone.

“You didn’t book separate rooms?” I confronted Puella.

“Do we have to? My brother and I always stay in the same room, anyway,” she spoke while twiddling her thumbs.

Because you’re siblings! I suddenly realize why Puer was so adamant not letting you travel alone...

“Just go inside…” my voice trailed off.

Puella slowly opened the door. The room was surprisingly roomy. There was a table and two chairs. Additionally, there were spaces and notches on the walls were we could probably hang our clothes. There was one main problem though. I expected at the very least she got us two single beds, but…

“Puella… Why does this room have a double bed?”

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AUTHOR'S NOTES:

Hello all, it's the author here. I hope you've been enjoying the story so far!

I'm just here to say that I'm getting busy in the following two months, so releases will be less frequent.

Thank you all for your understanding.

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