They entered former Zubura territory. Since it was now just a part of Forestia, no checkpoints blocked the roads, and there weren’t any inspections either. But there was clearly something different. The buildings.

Until now, the structures they saw were made of piled-up stones. The houses in Zubura, however, used stones only on the foundation, and used wood or mortar for the rest.

The carriage entered the closest town from the ruins, Catford. Nestled in a valley, mountaintops were visible beyond the houses. The peaks weren’t capped with snow. Zubura was, after all, among the warmer places in Forestia.

「There sure are a lot of cats here.」

Houses nestled close to each other lined the streets. The gap between each house was only a few centimeters, or sometimes even almost none. Cats lay sprawled by the front doors. Some appeared out of nowhere on the street.

Did they name the place Catford because there are many stray cats here? Hikaru wondered. No way.

There was barely any place they could park the carriage, so they checked-in at the biggest inn—or hotel, rather, in town. From here, they had to go on foot to the ruins, which would take approximately two hours.

Hikaru took one room, Lavia and Paula another, and one more for Mille and Katy. The Four Stars took rooms in pairs as well. Four people could fit in one room, but each one cost only 2,000 gilans, so they decided to be more comfortable.

As soon as Hikaru entered his room, he cleaned himself up. He was in the carriage almost the whole time, so he wasn’t that grimy, but he hadn’t washed himself for two days. A hotel worker brought hot water for him. He used that to wipe the dirt away with a towel.

「Now that I think about it, it’s warm inside.」

It was cold outside that he could see his own frosty breath—about three degrees higher compared to Forestzard or Scholarzard. Still it wasn’t warm enough to walk around naked. The inside of the building, however, was toasty.

Iron pipes were installed around the edges of the windows, running through the walls and to the other rooms. The pipes held heat—touching it for a while would be enough to get burned. It was the place’s heating system, basically.

He found out later that houses here were cuddled close to retain heat as much as possible.

Feeling refreshed after washing himself, Hikaru left the room. It was just around noon, so they decided to have lunch in the hotel’s lounge.

「We started without you.」

「Oh, you’re finally here, Hikaru.」

Mille and Sarah raised their ale-filled mugs. The professor abstained from alcohol all throughout their journey since she’d get motion sick and throw up. As such, she got permission from Hikaru to drink like crazy today. He still had control over Mille’s liver even now.

「Hey!」Selica pointed at a spot beside her. The only other person on the huge table was Katy. Lavia, Paula, Sophie, and Selyse had not arrived yet.「They say the food here is great! Go ahead and order a lot!」

「I’m not buying you food.」Hikaru said.「We’re paying for our own meal.」

「You just have to go with it!」

「What should I get… Did everyone else order already?」Hikaru asked.「Oh, Professor Katy, are you not ordering?」

「………」

「Professor?」

「U-Uh, sorry. I was just thinking about something.」

「Is it about the ruins?」

「Yeah… I got permission, but I’m still worried.」

Katy was worried that even though she received permission from the principal, the one in charge might not let her see the ruins in by virtue of her being from Kotobi.

「We’ll just have to give it our best.」

「You’re right. We’ll have to get there first. With you and Selica helping, I can’t help but feel nervous. What if we discover something big?」

Since when did her expectations get so high?

「Selica, what did you tell her?」

Hikaru didn’t get Katy’s hopes up. So there was only one other person who could’ve done it—Selica, who quickly averted her gaze.

『You’re doing it wrong. What you should’ve said was “Don’t get your hopes up”, then all of a sudden a big discovery. That’s how it usually goes.』

『I couldn’t help it, okay?! It felt nice to have an intellectual expect great things from me! I love smart people and sometimes I end up trying to impress them.』

「What do you mean you don’t have rooms available?!」

A loud voice came from out of nowhere. The hotel’s lobby, reception, and lounge were all in the same area, separated only by decorative plants. Whoever it was was complaining to the hotel staff at the reception desk.

「W-We deeply apologize. It seems there has been a mistake. It’s written here you booked for twenty-three people.」

「That’s ridiculous! There’s no way a Count’s visit will have less than thirty people! It’s thirty-two! I need rooms for all thirty-two of us!」

「Unfortunately, we’re already fully booked for the day…」

「And it’s your job to do something about it! Hurry up!」

「But…」

「Don’t make me repeat myself! The Count is waiting outside! I won’t get anywhere with you. Call the manager.」

「The manager is in the Lord’s manor right now.」

「Are you an idiot?! The Lord’s a baron! Move it!」

「R-R-Right away!」

The person was in a really bad mood. They had a long and slender build, and wore a hood over their head. They looked more like a spy than a noble’s attendant.

Hikaru tilted his head, puzzled. He couldn’t see their face, but the woman’s voice was familiar.

『Mistakes in reservations sounds common in this world.』Selica said.『Booking through the internet is much more reliable since the numbers are clear.』

『I mean, they book by sending a letter. I’m sure it’s quite reliable. Compared to using the phone, at least.』

『I guess you’ll find those kind of people anywhere.』

『………』

『Why the silence?』

『I feel like we might get involved somehow.』

There wasn’t enough room. Unfortunately, the hotel was fully-booked today. There were guests who took rooms more than necessary. The one raging was a servant of a Count, a noble more important than the local lord.

「E-Excuse me, Sir. I’m sorry to bother you.」A staff approached Hikaru, who incidentally, missed his chance to order food.

『I told you.』

『What?』

Would it be all right if instead of five rooms, you stay in two?」the staff humbly asked, curling up.「We’ll provide a spare bed for one room with five people in it and we’ll only charge you for half the price.」

「Not four, but five people in such a small room? I don’t know, that sounds a little bit too much.」

「We’re deeply sorry. Can you please think about it?」

The man bowed, wiping his sweat. Hikaru felt bad for him, but he had reservations about staying in a room with four women.

『What are you gonna do?』Selica asked.

『What about you?』

『The Four Stars is to help anyone in need. We don’t mind staying in one room.』

『Oh…』

I guess we can follow their example. In the worst case, I’ll just get a room in a different inn.

「By the way, how many rooms do you need?」Hikaru asked.

「Five.」the staff replied.

「Wait, twenty people don’t have rooms? I’m sorry, but we actually happened to overhear your conversation. I believe the error is only about ten people.」

「W-Well, uhh…」The staff seemed hesitant to say anything.「The Count’s company would like two people in one room.」he added.

『Wow. That’s a noble for you. Typical piece of **!』Selica cursed.

『Please don’t say “**”. You’re a former high school student.』

Hikaru folded his arms, wondering what to do. The noble’s demands pissed him off, but the hotel staff would be the one to suffer.

「S-Sir, how about this? While the Count is staying here, you don’t have to pay for your rooms.」

The staff was down to his last option. Hikaru already told the hotel that they planned to stay for ten days. Money’s not really a problem… There was no point complaining, so he thought of accepting the staff’s proposal.

「Are these the guys who stole our rooms?」

Then the woman making a racket at the reception desk approached them. She was glaring at Hikaru’s group while addressing the hotel staff.

「If they just checked in today, you can just kick them out. How many times do I have to tell you that the Count is waiting?!」

Hikaru silently studied the woman.

「What’s wrong? Why are you staring at me?」

「You kinda look familiar…」

「Huh? Ah…」

「Ah.」Hikaru finally realized who the woman in the hood was.「Didn’t Silvester call you Chloe or something?」

「Y-You’re that mysterious boy we met when fighting the Lesser Wyvern!」

Indeed. Hikaru met this woman when he was out searching for the leaves of the Drakon Kidney Flower. Chloe was the archer in Silvester’s party that time.

「I see. It’s you guys.」Hikaru got up his chair and glared at Chloe.

She jerked from the pressure, letting out a low whimper.

「You remember me, don’t you?」

「Uhh…」

「Tell me. Who killed the Lesser Wyvern?」

「Uhh…!」

「Who saved Silvester’s life?」

「Uuuhhh…」

With each step forward, Chloe took a step back.

「You want to kick me out?」

「Ah, no. Not really…」

「Hey, Chloe! How long is it going to take? I suppose checking in is too much for someone as inexperienced as you—」

Another member from Silvester’s party appeared at the entrance, wearing a fine coat—Count Buck.

「What’s going on here? Is there a problem… Oh! You’re the boy from back then!」The Count scuttled over as soon as he noticed Hikaru.「We owe you for that one. Are you staying here?」

「Yes. We almost got kicked out, though.」

「Really, now? Who would even think about doing that? That is quite amusing.」He turned his attention to Chloe.「Hmm? What’s wrong, Chloe? You look pale as a sheet.」

「I, uhh…」

After finding out what happened, Count Buck was furious, and Chloe sincerely apologized. Apparently the Count himself said four people in one room was fine. But Chloe changed it herself, complaining at the staff that a Count should be offered better service and that his followers should also be treated in a similar manner.

「Are you here to see the ruins? Perfect timing.」Count Buck said.「I’m actually here for inspection of the site. Let’s go there together!」He tapped Hikaru’s shoulders.

Silvester had told him a lot about Hikaru while they were in the academy. The Count used to be wary of him after the fight with the Lesser Wyvern, but he seemed to trust him now.

Chloe was disheartened, shriveling up like a cucumber.