“Good morning,” Asha greeted the innkeeper. There was a nearby inn at the town square, so she went inside. “Do you happen to have an available room?”

“Yes, we do, madam,” the woman replied with a smile. “We have rooms facing the town square, the harbor, or the beautiful farmlands." Seeing she had no one with her, she added, "I assume the room will be solely for you? Unless you have companions.”

Asha shook her head. “I have my elemental spirits with me, but they do not require lodging. If I could have a room facing the town square, that would be great.”

“Sure, madam. Kindly fill up this form while we prepare your room.”

Asha followed her instructions and filled up the forms and presented her guild card.

The innkeeper gasped in surprise—like the many others before her—to encounter such a high-ranking but seemingly well-mannered adventurer. She reckoned such cases had been long extinct unless they belonged to the hero’s party or were knights of the emperor known for upholding their honor and vows. She was used to having high-ranking adventurers just barge in and toss their coins at them while helping themselves choose the room they liked, whether it was occupied or not. The innkeeper couldn’t help but stare at her in adoration.

Feeling a little uncomfortable with her gaze, Asha quickly finished the forms and handed them over to the innkeeper.

“Thank you, madam,” the woman politely bowed as she received the papers. “Oh, I forgot to ask—would you want to add breakfast-in-bed inclusion for only ten silver denarii or would you rather eat elsewhere? Unfortunately, we do not have a separate kitchen in the rooms available, so you won’t be able to cook.”

“All the better. I happen to be a menace in the kitchen,” Asha jested, to which the innkeeper laughed. “Still, I would have to decline the breakfast-in-bed option. This is my first time in this country, so I’d like to look around and eat where I see fit. But thank you for your offer.”

“Ah y-yes, my pleasure, madam,” the innkeeper replied in a stutter. She was caught off guard by Asha’s sweet smile that radiated her beauty all the more. Despite being a woman herself, she couldn’t deny the charm of the customer in front of her. Clearing her throat in an attempt to refocus herself, she continued, “A-Anyway, that would be two gold aurei per night, madam. And here’s the key to your room.”

Asha paid three nights’ worth and went up to her room, guided by another staff member who offered to carry her luggage—only she didn’t have any. Soon enough, she reached her assigned room and stepped inside. It was spacious and cozy, complete with everything she might need for the stay.

The first thing Asha did was go straight to the bathroom, remove her battledress, and soak in the warm tub. She didn’t appear that dirty, but her muscles had been sore from the long trip. When she felt it wasn’t relaxing enough, she waved her hand and a golden magic circle drew itself in the air.

“Aqua and Solum, I summon thee.”

As soon as she spoke, two elemental spirits in the form of tiny, child-like beings appeared. They were no bigger than a hand and had subtly glowing bodies. One was a girl with fair skin and ocean-wavy hair, while the other was a boy who had a sun-kissed complexion and hazel brown hair. Both of them had silver eyes—a unique trait of elemental spirits. They dressed in their element and floated in front of Asha. Aqua, as her name suggested, was a water spirit, and Solum was an earth spirit. 

“You called, master?” Solum politely asked.

“Hi there, Asha!” Aqua, on the contrary, melodiously replied. “I see you need my help once again.” Her cute face emanated great confidence. “Fret not, for the Great Aqua shall—oh, wait. Why are we in a bathroom? And here I thought there’s a monster we need to fight!”

Solum, who in contrast had a more courteous expression, rolled his eyes away from Aqua, embarrassed by his own comrade.

“I’m sorry to disappoint you, Aqua. Actually, I just need help with my bath,” Asha answered, losing her formal speech since she was talking with friends. “My muscles are sore, so I thought maybe the both of you can cast healing waters and add relaxing herbs to it.”

Aqua was greatly dismayed and palmed her face. Shaking her head, she mumbled, “How many times do I have to tell you—”

“Please?” Asha pouted, knowing full well that her water familiar couldn’t stand such an expression of hers.

“U-Ugh,” Aqua blushed in an instant. “Fine! Here you go.”

She then pointed her hand to the waters and sprinkled bluish sparkling dust that changed it instantly, giving it a serene glow.

Solum followed after. Green light emitted from his tiny hands and different flowering herbs fell one by one on the waters, giving it a nice scent and a relaxing sensation.

“Ahh, that feels much better. Thank you both so much!”

“It’s nothing, really,” Aqua replied with a blushing but proud face.

“Always a pleasure, master. Would that be all?”

“Yes. You may go back to the Spirit Realm now.”

And so, the two spirits slowly vanished in the air.

An hour later, Asha got out of the bath. Covering herself in a white robe, she waved her hand again to look for clothes in her spatial storage. It appeared like a glass window hovering in the air. The only difference was that when Asha put her hands through it, they magically vanished making it appear as if she severed her hands when in actual truth, it was just the power of space toying with vision. Her hands were still there rummaging through a series of clothes neatly arranged in a closet inside the spatial storage.

Despite not having any visible luggage, Asha actually carried a lot with her—clothes, shoes, weapons, accessories, and many more, including the loot she got from the monsters she fought along the way. She had always been organized, so each kind was placed in different spatial storages—something only the most advanced adventurers could do. Most people could only create one spatial storage because of the amount of spiritual energy it required. But Asha had an abundance of it, so she never felt the lack thereof.

By the time Asha finished changing and managed to lay down on the bed to rest, the loud sounds of trumpets and banging of cymbals disturbed her rest. A marching band could be heard despite the closed windows of her room, and the townspeople loudly cheered their hearts out.

‘The hero and his party must have arrived,’ Asha thought.

Despite her tired flesh, she got up, opened the windows, and gazed towards the town square where the noise was coming from. She was curious herself about the hero, thus, the reason why she chose that room.

“The hero has returned!” one of the bannermen shouted, overpowering the loudest noise there was. “All hail to the Holy Knight Alexander Drausus! All hail to his knights and army!”

And there he was—the hero everyone had been waiting for, riding on his white warhorse. He had hair like that of a blazing sunset, and his eyes were the golden embers of it. Covering his well-built physique were the armors of pure glory forged from the toughest scales of a silver dragon. Though his tanned hands bore traces of his victories, his ravishing visage remained a sight to behold. He grinned widely like a child, yet it carried great confidence and assurance to anyone who saw it.

“All hail! All hail!” everyone chorused at the top of their lungs.

Truly, the hero was beloved by all. Asha didn’t expect that the merry atmosphere earlier could still double or triple itself.

While she stared at the cheerful hero and his army who marched the gates in an orderly fashion, a stinging pain pricked her heart. Along with it was a faint vision that presented itself in place of the hero. She couldn’t make out what it was, except for what seemed to be a silhouette of a person also riding a horse and straight locks of long silver hair blown by the wind. She wasn’t even sure if it was a man or a woman.

Was it a fantasy created by her imagination? Or was it a foreign memory? Everything should be new to her—it was the first time she had seen such a thing and yet… why did everything look familiar to her? As if she had experienced or seen it before? Like a bitter deja vu. Too bad she couldn’t recall it.

Asha then stepped away from the windows and reached for the bag that hung from the chair near her. She took out her notebook and quill, sat by the table, and scribbled once more on its pages. A solemn expression covered her once smiling countenance.

Soon, Asha finished her scribbles. As it turned out, she drew a quick sketch of what she saw in the vision, along with a question written at the end of its page.

“Who are you?”

Asha already filled half the pages of her notebook, but still, she was miles away from finding that precious thing. Turning her head to the window, she pondered. 

‘I wonder… Will I still be able to find it?'