Chapter Ten

It was a situation reminiscent of another time. The sky was devoured by the setting sun and then displayed a gritty redness from end to end. Below the horizon of that setting sun, Garam tightly embraced Trigger. Trigger was a little bit surprised to press his nose against her chest somewhat unexpectedly, but Garam paid it no mind, holding him firmly before letting go.

"We'll definitely meet again!"

"Yes. Now, hurry, it's getting dangerous now after sunset."

In response to Garam's words, Trigger chuckled and nudged her back with his nose.

Garam kept looking back with a sense of longing, while Trigger, unlike when he had first placed Garam on the road, remained there until Garam had distanced herself significantly and disappeared behind the corner of a massive tree.

Part two

Garam reached into her pouch and fiddled with two silver coins. She couldn't be sure of the exact amount, but she only hoped it would be enough for the inn fee. Even if Trigger didn't warn her against stirring up trouble, Garam had no intention of haggling with the shopkeeper. Negotiating for an amount of money she didn't even know that well about was akin to a desert dweller debating with a fisherman about fishing. It was a fight she was destined to lose. Also, the fact that it was in coins rather than paper bills made her uneasy. What if the coins were worth only 500 won?

Garam felt a bit awkward as she left the shop. The shop was located on the outskirts of the city, likely because of its nature of catering to travelers, but she couldn't see the next destination, the inn.

There seemed to be a lot of illiteracy there, as most of the signs were pictorial. It was pure luck that led Garam to find the general store. How possibly would she know what a sign with boxes and bags at the end of a road stood for? Likewise, Garam tried to imagine what kind of sign an inn might have, but nothing came to her mind. She briefly considered it might be a bed, but she dismissed the thought, remembering that the sign for a furniture store on the way had been a bed.

Tired and unaware, Garam didn't realize that most passersby were casting occasional glances in her direction. In her white t-shirt and pink sweat pants, wearing sneakers and carrying a mountain backpack, she was a truly conspicuous figure. The clothes there were spun with a spinning wheel and not subjected to chemical bleaching, so they could not go beyond a light beige color, no matter how faint they might be. The pure white fabric was so rare that it could not be seen anywhere on the street. Thanks to the setting sun that had disappeared over the mountain ridge, it was already evening, and it would get a lot worse than just getting attention if it hadn’t.

Avoiding people bustling about the market, Garam decided to walk. She looked around at all the signs visible from where she stood, but there was nothing that looked like an inn. There were some signs that resembled large beer vests or dishes filled with food, and some signs were easy to recognize with images like books. But there were also many signs for which she couldn't figure out what they were representing.

Although she hadn't walked much, her mind quickly became complicated because of the similarly built wooden houses and the disorderly stone streets. She was busy thinking about the way she had come, deducing the signs, and resting her tired body. Furthermore, it seemed that there was no concept of streetlights there, as it became difficult to find light other than the light that leaked through the tree windows after the sun had completely set. Thanks to the fact that there were three moons, there wasn't pitch-black darkness like in Korea, but because of the scattered rocks, she almost sprained her ankle several times even though she hadn't walked for long.

She was anxious, but she continued walking with the feeling that she might find an inn if she just walked a little more. However, since she couldn't see anything that looked like an inn even after the sun had completely set, she decided to stop walking and ask a passerby.

Perhaps because the sun had set, there were not many people walking back and forth on the street. Just until evening, there were quite a few people, but as the sun set, the number of passersby had decreased significantly. Maybe it would decrease even more over time. Hesitating, Garam grabbed the arm of a passerby.

"Excuse me."

He seemed to be an older teenager. His body, and even his skeletal frame, did not seem to be in such good condition. Upon being grabbed by Garam, he turned around as if he were annoyed. Although she felt awkward under his piercing gaze, Garam collected herself and kept talking.

"What?"

"I'm looking for an inn."

"And?"

The man squinted his eyes and scrutinized Garam as he looked her up and down. Under that gaze, Garam felt perplexed. She had asked many people for directions in her life, but that man's reaction was something she had never encountered before. Due to his cold and almost piercing demeanor, Garam involuntarily shrank. Under normal circumstances, Garam's personality wouldn't have allowed her to be so affected by a single word, but both her body and mind were so worn out that she was ready to crumble at the slightest provocation.

"Umm… never mind. It's fine."

In the end, Garam gave up asking for directions because of the man's gaze. She thought it would be better to just get away from him and ask someone else. However, the man was not so easygoing. With his arms crossed, standing upright, he burst into a sneer as if she were ridiculous.

"So, you're stopping people on the street and just walking away like that?"

Suddenly, with a loud voice, the passersby turned their heads to look at Garam and the man. The man was quite a notorious thug in that city. He had good knife skills and knew how to yield to the strong, so those who had lived in that city for a long time knew him as a slippery character and tried to avoid him. Passersby threw sympathetic glances at the hapless young Eastern woman, but no one actively stepped forward to help.

"Sorry, that's not what I meant..."

"So, an inn? You're looking for an inn, right? Do I look like a tour guide to you? Well, I can tell you where one is if you pay the right price."

"Price?"

"Yeah. Were you planning on using me for free? Give me some money. Money. Don't you get it?"

Garam sent desperate looks to passersby, but they avoided her gaze and hurried on. At that moment, Garam wished Trigger had come to help her. Of all people, why did it have to be this thug?

Whether she sighed or not, the man looked down at her menacingly, his eyes sharp. In his eyes, which noticed Garam's pure white clothes, greed gleamed. Garam, who was not an idiot, understood the meaning of that look.

"Fine. You seem like you've been here for a while, so I believe you must know where a good inn is."

Although she wanted to be sarcastic about how he had asked for money on that little thing, Garam exercised the patience she had developed through years of working in the service industry. In reality, it was her best effort not to crumble, but the man was taken aback by Garam's strangely confident demeanor. Could she have a hidden supporter?

"Well, yeah. So, how much are you going to give me?"

Garam was in a dilemma. She couldn't determine what would be an appropriate amount. As her hesitation deepened, a man who had been watching the altercation from the side suddenly intervened.

"You don't need to give money to that bastard, miss."

He was truly an odd-looking individual. He was clad in a robe from head to toe, and his boots, seemingly made of iron, could be glimpsed every time he walked. Except for the golden script embroidered on his chest, the black robe he was wearing was simple and devoid of any patterns. However, its material was peculiar, resembling both leather and cloth and despite its considerable thickness, it waved with each step he took.

"What? Did you call me a bastard?"

The thug, who had been about to interrupt the man's unusual actions, changed his mind when he heard the man's blunt words, but still, he drew his knife from his waist. Although his stance and knife-drawing position were far from perfect, Garam was startled by the suddenly menacing situation and took a step back.

"It's okay, miss."

The thin lips that appeared from the man in the black robe moved. Garam felt that that man, who showed only the tip of his nose and lips, might be quite handsome. Perhaps his subdued, gentle voice or his unhurried tone gave her that impression.

"I know a good inn, so let me guide you."

The man spoke as casually as if the thug were holding a baguette instead of a knife. In the face of the man's indifference, the thug decided to demonstrate his strength. And then he charged towards Garam and the man.

"You bastards!"

Meanwhile, the man in the black robe remained still. It seemed like the tip of the knife might pierce him at any moment. Garam raised her hand to cover her mouth, but she couldn't cover her scream. In the next moment, the person writhing on the ground and groaning was the thug who had charged with the knife.

"Ahhhh! Ouch, my hand!"

The man in the black robe had only moved his hand once. Only once, and that was all. Garam hadn't seen exactly what he had done. It was an incredibly swift motion. Garam looked down at the thug writhing on the ground and saw that his right hand had been pierced with a knife. The man in black, within such a short time, had not only blocked the thug's knife but also launched a counterattack.

When the thug's frantic movements subsided to some extent, the man in the black robe approached him.

Clomp, clomp.

The sound of heavy steel boots reverberated as the thug cowered in fear. Then, the man in the black robe kicked the thug, who was curling up like a worm and hiding his wounded hand. When the beggar's frantic cries began to burst out as if he was trying to vomit, the man in the black robe retrieved the dagger firmly lodged in his hand. During the process of pulling out the dagger, the thug's suppressed screams burst forth.

"Alright, shall we go?"

Garam looked down at the thug, sprawled on the ground like trash, and then up at the man in the black hood. After briefly alternating her gaze between the two, Garam hesitated and nodded slightly. The defeat of the thug had been satisfying, but the man in the black robe was too cruel. She didn't want to follow him, but she was afraid that his cruelty might also be directed at her if she refused.

Contrary to Garam's concerns, the man didn't lead her to a secluded place, nor did he demand a large sum of money for being a guide. Instead, he seemed rather kind. The man, who noticed Garam tensing up after the incident with the thug, tried various ways to ease her by saying many different things.

"I stay at this inn. It's quite a decent place. You'll like it."

"Okay."

"By the way, there is another inn around here, but I guess it's not ideal for a woman to stay in too cheap of a place alone, right?"

"Around here? Really? I didn't notice. Actually, I'm not so good with the signs yet..."

"I see. It hasn't been long since you came here, has it? It's tough at first. But even so, the high-end inns that you might want to stay in usually have signs with some letters on them. Cheap inns are usually for people who don't know how to read, so they don't write anything on their signs. By the way, you speak very well. Did you study a lot?"

Garam remained silent and nodded. She had never seen any letters since she had gotten there, but she had a feeling that their writing system would be somewhat different from that of Korea and would be difficult to understand. However, the moment she arrived at the inn, Garam realized that it was nothing to worry about. It was an inn named Fairy of Rest, located near the harbor. Garam glanced at the oddly curving letters with her eyes. It was a strange feeling as if recalling a foreign language learned long ago. Though they seemed distant, she knew what the letters meant. She didn't know why or how she knew, but she understood their meaning.

"Let's go in."

Garam followed the man closely. As they opened the door which spilled out light, they could feel the warmth inside. The inn was very cozy compared to the quiet and chilly outside. People who had been drinking clinked their mugs of beer cheerfully, and the warmth from the food and the heat from those drinking combined to make it very warm. Candle-lit lanterns were scattered throughout the inn, enhancing its warmth with their colors.

"Hey, is this actually an inn?"

Garam asked. It was not the man in the black robe who replied but a girl standing next to the entrance who smiled brightly and spoke in a brisk manner.

"Naturally, it's an inn! Inns typically double as restaurants, you see. Selling food naturally leads to selling alcohol, and selling alcohol brings us back to food. You, sir, seem to be staying here. But this lady here, I've not seen her before... Oh my, have you brought a new customer? I should offer a discount for your stay then! Hehehe!"

She laughed heartily in a high-pitched tone after speaking. From the kitchen, rough shouts burst out in response to her words.

"Who allowed you to hand out discounts? We have a lot of food, so give him some of that instead!"

The waitress smiled and said “Okay, food instead of a discount it is.” Garam was busy looking around the noisy first floor and listening to the waitress's rapid speech. As Garam continued listening, she suddenly realized that the waitress was staring at her intently, and she tried to speak. However, the waitress was the one who spoke first.

"You're an Asian, right? Oh my, how pretty! Your hair is so shiny and smooth. They say Asians look younger than they actually are, so I guess you’re older than you look, right? Oh, was that rude? I'm sorry if I upset you. Um, um… I haven't even properly greeted you yet. I'm sorry, hehe. Still, we're the best inn in town, so if you find anything that’s not to your satisfaction, just tell me! It's not just for tips, of course, although tips are welcome. Anyway, are you going to stay here? What about your meals?"

Garam, once again captivated by her chatter, belatedly regained her composure. Perhaps due to the warm temperature inside the shop or the peaceful atmosphere created by the drunken people, her tension began to ease, and she felt her body gradually relax.

"Yes, I’ll stay here for four nights and I’d like to have meals too. How much is it in total?"

Garam suddenly felt anxious about the fee.

"It's ten silver for a day's stay. It's a bit more expensive than other places, but if you stay here, you only pay half the price for meals. For food, it's twenty-five copper for the daily special and an additional charge for ordering à la carte. Alcohol costs five copper for beer, ten copper for wine, and twenty copper for premium spirits. Those are the prices per glass. We also have juices, which are five copper each. The meal prices are much cheaper than in other cities, right? We also provide other services like room cleaning, errands, and laundry, so please tell me if you need any of those. The price varies according to the amount of laundry."

To have three meals a day, including juice, it would cost about eleven silver. Garam was relieved that it was cheaper than expected and extended a fifty silver coin.

"With this, can I cover four days of accommodation, and meals, and leave a tip? I'll have the daily specials and a glass of juice for meals."

"Of course! So, um, let me calculate things..."

"For four days at ten silver and ninety copper per day, that's forty-three silver and sixty copper, and the rest is for the tip."

With twelve meals at thirty copper each and a room fee of forty silver, the calculation wasn't too complicated. However, the waitress frowned for a moment, counting with her fingers before nodding in agreement. Garam already knew about how slow the people were at counting there, so she waited for the waitress patiently. She didn't actually have enough money to afford to give a tip, but she just hoped that the waitress's kindness in providing her with the service would be worth it. After all, if she needed more money, she could just return home and bring some more items to sell when she could open the gate.

"Well then, would you like to unpack first? Oh, and would you like to take a bath? Since you've been generous with the tip, I'll add one on for free!"

Garam hadn't even considered the possibility of a bath but was delighted by the offer. She had been longing for a bath, especially after the recent encounter with the roach-like creatures.

"Yes!"

"Hehe, it seems like you really wanted a bath. Well then, please follow me."

As Garam started to follow her, she was taken aback. The man in the black robe, who she thought would be standing behind her, had disappeared.