The New Gate

Shin wondered if it might be a little too easy, but as he moved through the gate, he had the feeling that something had passed through his body.

“(Shin. It seems that a magic wave was just released.)”

Schnee seemed to have felt the same, and confirmed through 【Mind Chat】. She didn’t come out of the carriage probably because she thought it wasn’t an emergency based on the people’s movement and the noise.

“(I think there’s a magic tool that reacts to dangerous objects. So it’s not just because we’re A-rank that our inspection was so easy.)”

There were magic tools or skills used by merchants and architects that were triggered when unauthorized persons brought hazardous materials such as explosives or poisons onto the premises.

The source of the information was Cain, the “Blue Architect”, and Reed, the “Golden Merchant”. Both of them used magic tools that forced the unauthorized persons to be teleported outside of the building.

By the same token of the guild, a similar mechanism had been installed in Shin’s Moon Shrine.

However, there were cases where such dangerous items were left in the item bag and forgotten, in which case the effect would be activated the moment they materialized outside.

It was unclear how effective the items used in Kurikara were.

“A double inspection using both human eyes and magic tools. They’re pretty thorough.”

The more people there were, the more disputes there were. It must be part of crisis management.

While talking with Kluck, Shin remembered the existence of a group that could be called a terrorist organization called the “Summit Faction”.

“For now, we need to find a place to stay.”

The traffic of people and wagons was quite heavy. Shin and his friends were not familiar with the area, so they decided to go a little further and stop at a store that sold fruits and vegetables, and, while shopping, they asked the owner about lodging.

To get the conversation going, Shin mentioned that he was planning to enter the “Mass Production Division”.

“I’m sure all the places are full this time of year. If you’re a blacksmith, the quickest way is to pass the preliminary round and have lodging arranged for you.”

The answer was as expected, all the inns seemed to be full, and the owner looked very sorry.

“But if you have money, there might be a place for you to stay.”

Saying this, the owner turned his attention toward the wall that surrounded the town. There was probably a place to stay in that direction.

“You mean?”

“There’s an inn where foreign nobles and big merchants stay. Apparently some important people from the country have stayed there. It’s only a rumor, but it seems they use the facilities and equipment from before the ‘Dusk of Majesty’. And even if there’s a vacancy, you can’t stay if you can’t pay the fee. There are quite a few people who come back after asking the price. Even though I’ve been living here since my parents’ generation, I’ve never heard of that luxury inn being full. Well, whether it’s full or not, it’s nothing to do with common people.”

The owner said this while shrugging his shoulders.

It seemed that the owner didn’t know how much it cost for a night, but as a last resort if Shin couldn’t find a place to stay, he asked for the name and location.

“Whoa, whoa… are you rich, mister?”

“No, it’s free to ask. I will also have a good story to tell later.”

Shin gave an amused laugh to the astonished shop owner and returned to the carriage.

Their destination was a stable where carriages could be parked. Compared to other countries, the area covered by defensive walls in Kurikara was much larger, and many people used horse-drawn carriages to get around.

For this reason, the area was always crowded with many horse-drawn carriages, even outside of this time of the year.

Seeing this scene, Shin was reminded of coin parking lots in the real world.

??

On the way, the group traveled while searching for an inn, and arrived in front of the luxury inn the owner had told them about earlier.

“Seriously, isn’t this a repurposed guild house from somewhere?”

Shin immediately realized that part of the building he saw was just as rumored.

There were buildings in the present day that were endowed with skills. These include buildings known as luxury inns and royal castles.

However, the technology was different between now and the past. Unless there was a skill inheritor or Chosen One, the skills granted to buildings were usually of a low rank.

However, the gate to enter the inn in front of them had a high-rank 【Barrier】 and 【Wall】, which were level VII. These skills were not limited to the guild house, but the design of the gate was clearly different, so he knew it right away.

The building that seemed to be the main building was designed similarly to Japanese architecture made of wood, reminiscent of a Japanese hot spring inn. On the other hand, this gate had two thick, round pillars that were probably about four-mels high, and at the top of them were angel statues holding bows with heart-shaped arrows pointed to the left and right.

The statues might have been moved from somewhere else, or they might have been here originally. Either way, the design was so different that it felt strange.

Two armored men were standing on either side of the gate, probably gatekeepers. Although their level was in the late 150s, the atmosphere they exuded was clearly different from the adventurers and soldiers in that area. They were perhaps Chosen Ones or veteran warriors.

“Excuse me. I’d like to ask about the availability of a room and the price.”

As expected of a customer-oriented business, when Shin spoke, the gatekeepers’ sharp gazes and tight-lipped mouths turned into perfect smiles.

To put it in a positive way, they were well-trained employees. To put it in a negative way, their sudden change was creepy.

“We have one first-class room, three second-class rooms, and two third-class rooms available. Each room can accommodate up to 10 people. The rates are 50, 30, and 10 gold coins per night, respectively. However, we have a rule that you must be at least B-rank or higher if you are an adventurer, and at least Gold rank in the Merchant Guild if you are a merchant.”

Even the lowest level, the third class, was enough to stay at a typical inn for a month or more. The fact that this price was for one night was surprising.

One had to earn a lot of money to be able to stay here. The conditions for customers were also quite strict.

Shin didn’t know much about merchants, but it was not easy to become an adventurer B-rank or above.

In fact, since the highest rank was A —as the S-rank was only attainable under special circumstances— one rank below that, B, would also be considered quite proficient.

In other words, only adventurers who have reached that level could stay there.

Shin could not help but to agree that the inn would never be fully booked.

The name of this luxury inn was “Dream & Reality.” Its motto was “to provide the best facilities and the best hospitality.”

As the gatekeeper explained, the first and second-class rooms were spacious enough to be used for parties.

Shin thought it would be okay to use the first class at this time, so he checked with the members of the group.

“What do you think? Our rank isn’t an issue, and we have money to spare.”

“Isn’t the price ridiculous?”

Tiera flinched when she heard the price, but Sety was enthusiastic.

“Since we’re all going on vacation together, let’s splurge once in a while. If we just save up, the economy won’t get going.”

The other members of the group nodded their heads in agreement with Sety.

“Then it’s decided.”

Shin told the gatekeeper that he was going to stay the night and was escorted to the main building.

At the entrance, they were asked to show their adventurer’s card, and their rank was thoroughly verified.

After paying the fee, a woman who seemed to be an innkeeper guided the group to their room.

The exterior of the main building resembled a Japanese inn, but the inside was also identical to Japanese inns in the real world.

When Shin talked to the innkeeper, he learned that a player was involved in the establishment of the inn as one would expect.

The person was a human and had already passed away, but the innkeeper was a long-lived Lord race and had been working at the inn since it was built.

“Wow. This is a Japanese inn! I can’t believe I can experience this in another world!”

“You look excited, Milt.”

“I’ve only seen it in pictures before. I never thought I’d go out of my way to stay there when it was a game.”

Milt said she had never visited a Japanese inn in a game before, even though she had longed to do so, because she knew it was a digital creation.

“But still, it seems like the appearance and facilities are almost the same as in real life.”

The view outside the window revealed the defensive wall blocking the monsters that were unique to this world, but, other than that, the tatami mats, cushions, tea cups, and other accessories, as well as the atmosphere, were the same as the Japanese inn Shin had experienced in real life.

Naturally, no shoes were allowed inside the rooms.

The washrooms and toilets were also very similar to modern-day designs —probably made by the Golden Company— so much so that it wouldn’t be surprising if he had the illusion that he had returned to the real world.

“There are even yukatas*.” (TLN: Summer kimono)

Milt, opening the wardrobe, held up a yukata with a woven pattern of white and green. Shin casually looked at the yukata and noticed each had an automatic size-adjustment function.

“I wonder if it is a consideration for the difference in body size among the races.”

Having previously heard Milt talk about the automatic size adjustment function, Shin was impressed by the thoroughness of the service, wondering if they had made a special request to have it added.

That way, even in this world where there were large differences in physiques between races, there would be no problems with the size not fitting and being unable to wear it.

Since they were there, everyone changed into yukata. Schnee, Filma, Milt, and Tiera were wearing a hanten* over their yukata. (TLN: Short winter coat)

Due to the structure of the yukata, one of the physical features stood out more than expected when the obi* was fastened. And the automatic size adjustment function made the robe fit better, so the curve was emphasized even more. (TLN: Wide sash)

The hanten was meant to hide that.

“I guess the automatic size adjustment function can sometimes work in a bad way.”

“That’s just the way it is.”

Shin and Milt looked at each other and gave a wry smile.

Because it was automatically adjusted, there was almost no way to make it a little looser and give it some room.

??

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