Chapter 24: Into Saphir

I was able to secure a map of the city for the price of two silver coins. According to the map, there’s two ways for people to go around here. The first would be to walk around the city and locate the stone bridges that connects the land segments or we could rent a small boat and take a tour of the canal. It was obvious I would pick the latter. The building to rent a boat is just straight up from the main entrance after all. So I followed the map in my hand and rented a gondola.

A man of about the same age as me with rough blonde hair comes to follow us outside. Like the other workers I’ve seen inside, he’s wearing some light clothing and shorts. “Hi, my name is Simon. I’m your guide for this trip. Where would you like to head first?”

I look around me, and there’s a lot of things to marvel. “Just take us around and I’ll tell you where to go.”

“Not a problem, sir. I got you.”

Fia’s first to get on the gondola followed by me and Simon begins to take off the dock. The stone bridges here arches high so that the boats could pass underneath them. Most of the buildings are made from some type of luxury stones and seem to have a balcony or two. Colorful entertainers are performing their wondrous feats on both sides. There’s even a bard and a songstress who’s dueting together.

“It’s a lively city,” I comment.

“Indeed. This here is the commercial part of the city. So if you need to shop for weapons, armors, medicines, or some other miscellaneous, this is the place to go. I’d also recommend that place over there. It’s a small shop famous for its sea delicacies,” Simon explains while rowing the boat.

“Good to know. What do you think, Fia?”

She fidgets for a little bit before saying, “Sorry, Master, but I don’t like seafood.”

That’s such a cute reaction. As expected of my slave.

And thank you for the information. I’ll make sure to bring you some seafood later on.

“It’s alright, Fia. We won’t go there.”

“Really?”

“Yes, really.”

That seems to have calmed her down. I can’t wait. I wonder how she’ll react to my surprise.

Then our sightseeing slows down when we come upon an intersection.

“To the west is the lowtown and east is the uptown, and if we continue north, we’ll come upon the harbor. Which way would you like me to continue?”

“What’s in the lowtown and the uptown?”

“Over in the lowtown you’ll find the flea market and the farmer’s ledge. If you’re also short on gold and are looking to find some cheap quality inns, then I recommend you to check this side.”

“What about the uptown?”

“There’s a lot of varying things you could check in the uptown, sir. There’s the slave market, the brothels, the stores, and some high quality hotels if you have the gold to spend. The merchant’s guild is also located here.”

Good information. Though it’s best if we find ourselves an inn first. Anything else besides a soft and comfortable bed could wait afterwards. We’ve been sleeping on the road for far too long. I want to take a nap on a proper bed.

“Take us to the uptown,” I say.

“Aye aye, sir!” Simon continues his rowing at my order.

As I sightsee, Fia taps my shoulder and points to an old man in a wizard’s outfit playing with a ball of water. Man, I wonder how he does it? Because of his attraction, attractive women dressed in such fashionable clothes have gathered around him.

I lose myself in awe while marveling the sidelines with Fia and the tour ends as we reach the wooden dock.

“This is it, sir. Thank you for using our service!”

“No, I owe you my thanks as well. Thanks for bringing us here.” I give him five copper coins as a tip before continuing on.

Simon bows his head to me and goes inside their building, probably waiting for his next customer.

We take the short flight of stone stairs to reach the main plaza. Arriving there, I look at my map again and search for an inn. Which should I pick? That’s it. We’ll settle to the nearest one for convenience.

Coincidentally, there’s recommended places marked on the map.

It seems like most of the inns are around here in the central plaza, except for the most luxurious ones that are located near the Merchant’s Guild. The old man had told me before I left that I need to get a pass over there if I want to take a boat overseas. I hope everything could be settled with a price. Dealing with merchants sounds troublesome on its own. A building on a red light district is also highlighted in a thick blue ink. I could stop by over there tonight and release some stress I guess.

“Master, look at this bird. Hehe.”

I lift my head up. There’s a milk-feathered bird resting on Fia's shoulder, pecking her cheek every other second. It’s quite a healing sight. I approach and caress the bird’s little neck with my finger. It doesn’t seem bothered that I’m touching it, so I grab it and pass it to Fia. Just like this bird, I’m sure Fia wants to obtain her freedom someday. That must be why she likes it so much.

I shake my head left and right to take this thought out of my head. She’s just starting to prove her usefulness I can’t let her go just yet. After helping me defeat Azul, her base level has skyrocketed. She’s not as powerful as Minerva, but a lot stronger than most humans around here I’m sure.

“Let’s go, Fia.” I start walking before she could even reply. I hear her footsteps rushing towards me then she takes my free arm when she gets closer. So with her on my left and the map on my right, I continue my search for an inn.

It isn’t that long till we reach our destination. We stop in front of a building named Sephirah. This building already looks high class from the exterior design alone. The place is completely different from how I remember the old man’s Inn. This one is at least six stories high judging from how much glass windows it have.

We go inside, and the interior meets my expectations as well. Good job. A man dressed in a blue coat with swept-back black hair greets us as we enter. “Welcome my lords and ladies to Sephirah. Please, follow me over here.”

The man ushers us to sit on the sofa; I sit down with Fia and lean my back. This sofa’s too comfortable I could sleep in it.

“How may I help you today?” the man continues.

“I’d like to book a double room with two separate beds for tonight and the next three days, preferably one that includes a bath and on the second floor.”

“Certainly. Our service also includes two sets of meals and other extras I’m sure you’d love. It’s eighteen silver coins a night so a total of seventy-two silver coins for four, my lord. Would that be acceptable?”

“Sounds good to me.” I reach to my robe and pull out a single gold coin. He points his hand to a silver platter on the table where I supposed I should put my payment, so I put it there.

“Wonderful. How would you like your change my lord?”

His question confuses me for a moment. “In silvers please.”

If that wasn’t obvious already.

A young woman in a black dress appears this time. She takes the plate and returns with a pouch of money. I don’t feel like counting it in front of them so I slide the pouch back in my robe.

“One last thing. We just need to check your identification card before we proceed to your room, my lord.”

So they take the money first before they check? How twisted is that? No matter, I show this vermin my card.

The man takes a single glimpse at my card and politely hands it back to me. “Thank you very much for choosing us. Please enjoy your stay in Sephirah. Miss Elena here would guide you to your room.”

The man stands up at the same time as I do and shakes my hand. He disappears somewhere in the back after that.

“Right over here, my lords and ladies,” Miss Elena says.

Just to not make her life harder, we both shadow her up on the second floor. Our room is quite large, fully furnished with everything we might need. I can’t wait to test that bed.

Miss Elena goes through our room and begins her explanation on how the two glyphs adorning our wall functions. “Just pour your magic on this glyph if you want to call for room service and this one if you would like to have an immediate meal sent to your room.” She continues to the bath, points to the glyph attached on the toilet and explains what it does in detail. “Lastly, my lord, pour your magic on this glyph if you would like to take a bath.”

“Is the water warm?” I ask.

She smiles. “Yes, I’m sure you’d love it.”

“What about the meals? Is there a menu?”

“Oh, yes. That’s part of the room service, my lord. We’ll take your order and ask your preference afterwards if you’d like to have your meal downstairs, in our veranda, or in your room. Would you like me to get the menu for tonight’s dinner?”

“Please do.”

“Then I shall do that. Please don’t hesitate to let us know if you need anything.”

“We’ll do that. Thank you.” Since she’s been helpful, I hand her a silver coin as a tip before she heads out. Then she quickly comes back and gives me a silver key with our room number attached to it.

Finally, after making sure to lock the door, I drop myself on the bed with outstretched arms.

“You want to try the bath, Fia?”

“Is it okay for me to take a bath first?”

“Yeah. Help yourself. When she gets back, just order us anything and wake me up when the food is here.”

“Understood, Master. Have a pleasant rest.” But instead of her doing something else like I imagined, Fia sits on my bed. Softly, I feel her lips on my forehead. “I love the hairpin, Master. Thank you.”

For a while, she stares into my eyes, her hair tickling my cheeks. What to do? Looks like I won’t be getting away with this one.