“Please, wait a moment while we identify your item.”

The clerk makes a sign to the appraiser who goes back the way he came. Lekas notices the weird sign and understands somehow what the clerk is trying to do.

‘Sneaky one, are you?’

Melka and Seraphin are still drooling over the luxury that is filling the inn.

Five minutes later, the appraiser comes back but he is sweating heavily. His hands are trembling as he is holding a plate containing the items and their appraisal notice. He hands it over to the clerk who also loses his breath for a moment. As he is grasping for air, Lekas makes a huge smile.

“Well, can we, then?”

“I-I-Of-of course, sir. With this amount, you can rent the suit for the whole month if you want.”

“Nah, don’t need it. But let’s see. Keep the necessary amount for two weeks and I will take the rest tomorrow morning. I might come here from time to time.”

“We will, sir!! Thank you very much and once again, welcome to Cisse!”

The clerk bows deeply, almost ninety degrees to Lekas. Lekas looks at him for a moment then advances, followed by the two women. That’s how an emperor establishes respect.

***

Seraphin is a bit stressed as they are walking up the stairs to their room. She thought that Lekas would have rented a room for them separate from her mistress’s room. He is most certainly a pervert after all. But he didn’t, instead, he took a whole suit for all of them. And what suit!

When they enter the emperor’s suit, it is like a fairy tale. The room is so big, it looks more like a house than a room. The bed is six times the normal size of a bed for two people, it has a ton of pillows and the carpet on the floor looks so expensive she is afraid of walking on it. There is a huge bath in the corner with constant running hot water, and there are white towels hanging near it that look cleaner than any clothes Serpahin has ever seen in her life.

“Please enjoy your stay. There will be maids just outside the door ready for any service so should you need anything.”

“No, that will be all. Thank you.”

The clerk leaves in a hurry like he is afraid of being on their way. When he does, Lekas enters the room nonchalantly, like he owns the place.

“Don’t you think he has that attitude sometimes?”

“What?”

Melka who is looking at Lekas from behind whispers to Seraphin as she enters the room as well, followed by her pupil.

“An emperor attitude, I mean. There are times when he acts like the world is his.”

“I haven’t noticed.”

Now that Melka talked about it, Seraphin takes a closer look at the way he is walking and indeed, there is a somehow different feeling to it.

***

The emperor suit is really great. Melka and Seraphin took fifteen minutes to examine and admire everything that are in the room. Right as they are about to undress in order to enjoy the hot bath, they both turn their heads. A man is sitting on the bed, watching them with a poker face.

“You are not actually going to look, are you?”

“Well…”

“…”

Seraphin’s furious stare and Melka’s icy one taught Lekas a new thing: even fearless women have their own limits.

***

The next day, Lekas takes the rest of the money and signs a contract with the clerk of the inn. Then, they go shopping.

“There are so many armors and weapons shops here. I wonder if their items come from the north?”

Seraphin is looking at the different shops they are passing by and as she sometimes notices one or two armors that she got to see in Guthenberg as well, she starts thinking about her father’s work.

“From everywhere, actually. The empire is the principal defender against the demons they receive multiple offerings and tributes from other kingdoms and duchies. There are also a lot of merchants coming here to do business because of the guilds and the army.”

“I see.”

“And where are we going?”

Melka has been annoyed for almost five minutes now. The reason: the food. There are many food stalls which they went through already but Lekas didn’t let grab a single bite. Even though her motto is to have three meals a day, she hasn’t had anything to eat since morning and she was starting to feel it.

“There is something I want to confirm. Don’t worry, it won’t take much longer.”

Even though they are going through shops with a lot of impressive-looking items, Lekas doesn’t stop or look at any of them. He keeps walking like a possessed spirit to some unknown location. As if something was calling him there. And Indeed, one could say that is the case.

‘Ah, there it is.’

At a corner of a dirty and abandoned-looking alley, a single shop is still standing. The name of the shop cannot be read anymore and the broken windows are hardly inviting.

“Wait, is this where you wanted to bring us?”

“Yep, we have arrived.”

Once again, Seraphin is reminded that her husband isn’t someone who can be qualified as normal.