After searching the surroundings, Rein eventually found a place to stay.
She asked Ciel with uncertainty:
[ There was only one inn that we could find in the surrounding area… isn't that strange? ]
[ We don't know much about the kingdom, so I can't say anything with complete certainty. ]
[ If I were to guess, it seems like only the truly wealthy people actually live in this quadrant, having their own homes, making any inns pointless. ] Ciel said, explaining his thoughts on the matter
[ Makes sense I guess. ] Rein sighed as she walked in the direction of the only inn she found
She was feeling slightly nervous and paranoid because of their current task.
She soon looked ahead, observing the inn in front of her from the outside. Its name was simply "Miriko's Cafe Inn".
The walls were painted white and made up of sturdy brick, with glass windows on the sides along with a sloped roof. The exterior of the inn was clean and in pristine condition.
It was 2 stories tall and much larger compared to the inn back in the Arrow village.
The ground floor seemed to be some sort of shop and cafe. It looked to be selling common foods, along with a small section of multiple beauty products.
[ Quite an interesting ground floor for an inn… ] Ciel said, confused by some of the items for sale
[ The rich ladies do love their beauty products. Some things never change, even when in a different world. ] Rein said with a soft sigh, as she had no interest in stuff like that
Ciel could confirm, because even on Prisma, makeup was quite popular among ladies.
But it still didn't make any sense to him as to why they were being sold here.
'It's probably just a hobby for the innkeeper and no big deal.' He thought
Rein passed the front patio of the cafe, and opened the glass doors leading inside.
The inside was quite warm and cozy, making her feel at home. She went up to the nearby counter where there was a young lady standing behind.
She had a pretty face with orange eyes and was wearing a white t-shirt and blue sweatpants, standing at 5'5".
Her elegant blonde hair was quite long, reaching her knees where the end of her hair shaded off into a soft pink.
"What would you like, miss?" The young lady said with a shining smile as she handed over a menu
"Actually, I would like a room to stay… this is an inn, right?" Rein said, suddenly feeling like she entered the wrong place
"Oh… I'm sorry. That's right, this place is indeed an inn! It's just that people rarely come here as a place to stay."
"The last person who stayed here came over a month ago." She explained sullenly
'She didn't even bother speaking about the beauty corner… it's like she has no hope with it.' Ciel thought
"Don't worry about it. So, how much is it for a night?" Rein asked
"25 Copper, with all meals included. Pretty cheap for something around here, right?" She said with a smile
'What the hell… that's not cheap at all. We can only afford to stay here for 2 months…'
'It's not like there's even anything we can compare this place to inside of the 2nd quadrant.' Ciel thought to himself, while listening from Rein's shadow
They needed to stay in the kingdom for at least 1 year before having a chance to become a Royal Guard.
Rein would need to find a way to afford living in the 2nd quadrant pretty soon.
"Okay… I'll stay here for 8 days right now. I'm Rein by the way." Rein said as she painfully gave away 2 Silver
"I'm the owner and employee of this place, my name's Miriko. Thank you for staying at Miriko's Cafe Inn!" Miriko joyously said as she accepted the payment
'This damn scammer. This place is definitely a tourist trap. I'll make sure we somehow get our money's worth from this place' Ciel thought
Miriko then went into the kitchen to get the room keys while Rein waited.
She soon came back, and before giving Rein the keys, she calmly asked:
"You are a Soul Sorcerer, correct?"
A Soul Sorcerer could faintly sense the presence of another one if they were close by, unless it was purposefully hidden.
"Yeah. You are one as well." Rein admitted, as there was no point in lying
She was being watched by someone, and would have no reason to keep her status hidden in their eyes.
Since Miriko was also a Soul Sorcerer, it was safe to assume that she was under control of the Royal Guards in some form.
"I'm guessing you were asked to come to the second quadrant by the Royal Guards when you became an Awakened Sorcerer." She asked as Rein nodded
"Thought so. Anyone can become a Soul Sorcerer if they put in their best effort and work hard enough."
"The thing is, the moment you do become one, you have no choice but to either obey or become a fugitive."
"Personally, I'd rather avoid the trouble of being a fugitive. That's the reason I'm here." Miriko said
There was heavy responsibility along with drawbacks that came with becoming a Soul Sorcerer.
Anyone with power would be silenced or controlled, leaving no freedom.
Ciel and Rein however, were not concerned about the responsibility aspect of their powers.
If needed, they would easily accept the outcome of becoming fugitives or criminals for the completion of their goals.
'So she must have had the chance to become a Royal Guard, but declined due to the drawbacks.'
'In the end, she couldn't leave the kingdom unless she wanted to be hunted as a criminal, and is now stuck here…' Rein thought
[ Maybe she's a Royal Guard in disguise and is trying to get information out of you. There's no need to tell her anything important. ] Ciel warned
"I just wanted to say that you shouldn't rush your decision. If you want, I wouldn't mind letting you be an employee over here." Miriko offered
'She's being quite generous. Is that just her feeling pity, thinking Rein is just a naive and young girl, or is there something more?' Ciel thought
"I haven't decided on becoming one of the Royal Guards yet. Maybe one day, I can work here in case I choose not to become one." Rein said with a nervous face
"I see. Good luck on whatever choice you make!" Miriko said as she handed over the room keys
Rein then left for her assigned room, which was on the second floor.
The first floor was the kitchen and cafe, while the second floor was the inn.
There were six rooms on the second floor, ranging from rooms 201-206.
As the only person who was staying, Rein entered room 201, which was the closest to the staircase leading up.
As Rein was opening the door, Ciel said with an easy going tone:
[ From the looks of it, our observer is now able to oversee two stray Soul Sorcerers at the same time. ]
[ The Royal Guards most likely expected us to stay here, and Miriko is likely to really not be one of them. ]
[ If any of you do anything suspicious, there's likely to be consequences. ]
One thing Ciel and Rein had agreed upon was that they needed a few more allies, else the task they had would be impossible.
Miriko was now on the list of possible allies, but they needed to make sure she wasn't doing anything fishy behind the scenes.
For that, Rein would need to get close without garnering suspicion from the observer.
After opening the door and entering the room, she was relieved to see that the room was quite awesome.
There was a fluffy bed, a medium sized couch and table, along with wardrobes and a personal bathroom.
The windows on the side were covered by curtains that were currently blocking the early night sky.
The room was lit up by candles that flame could be switched on and off.
[ These candles… they're B1 Artifacts, aren't they? ] Rein said
[ Yeah. B1 Artifacts are quite weak, but they are mostly used for stuff like this. ] Ciel confirmed
Artifacts could be made artificially with the help of Forsaken Cores. That was the reason they had a high selling price.
'How many people has Miriko scammed to afford a place like this?' Ciel thought, thinking about ways he could gain money
On the table near the couch, there was some sort of radio shaped object, which was also a B1 Artifact.
[ That thing is a Broadcaster. Every night at 9:00 PM, the day's news will be broadcast when turned on. ]
[ It's something only rich people can afford… ] Ciel said
As Rein still needed to settle down, they avoided turning it on for the day.
Still, there was something else that needed to be done.
Ciel exited Rein's shadow, and used Soul Transfer to finally bring the Starlight Lantern out of their Soul World.
They had not seen the old lantern in recent times, and had an opportunity to speak with it right now.