Eventually, Noela and I left the row of shops and reached the plaza. I spotted Lord Valgas and Elaine waiting there by a carriage beside the fountain. Noela was too distracted to notice them—in fact, she nearly headed someplace else before I grabbed her and approached Elaine and her father.
“I hope your long journey went well, Sir Reiji,” Lord Valgas greeted me.
“It was no problem, Lord Valgas. Thanks so much for your kind invitation.”
Noela was focused on eating her kebabs.
“What are those, Noela?” Elaine inquired.
“Meat. Tender! Very good.”
“I’d like a bite.”
“Bought with allowance. Drills buy own.”
Wow, Noela’s harsh. Elaine was nobility though, so she’d be able to afford it.
“Fair enough,” said Elaine. “I shall have my butler purchase one.” The butler, Rayne, stood behind Elaine and her father. At her words, he headed off to buy Elaine’s kebab.
“You must be tired after your travels,” Lord Valgas said. “Let us leave sightseeing until tomorrow so you may rest at the inn this evening.” There were no inns on the street we just came down, so I opened my map to see where we could stay.
Valgas chuckled. “Heh heh heh! Don’t fret. I’ve already booked your accommodations, Sir Reiji.”
“Thank you. That’s certainly a weight off my shoulders.”
When Rayne returned, kebab in hand, he gave us directions to our inn.
Lord Valgas made sure Elaine and Noela were busy eating before quietly leaning toward me. “I could also arrange for you and I to visit a shop of…delights, shall we say.”
Like a cabaret? I glanced at Rayne, who nodded.
“The entertainment of gentlemen,” Valgas added.
“Mm… Noela’s here, so I’ll have to pass this time.” I probably would’ve run out of cash, and frankly, I didn’t handle that kind of place well.
Since Elaine and her father received formal invitations to the banquet, they were staying at the royal villa instead. I was curious about its interior—in fact, that interested me more than the “entertainment of gentlemen.” I decided I’d ask about it tomorrow.
✦ ✦ ✦
Following Rayne’s directions, Noela and I reached our inn easily. The whole area was evidently full of accommodations, and most had a pub or restaurants on their first floors. Lord Valgas had booked us the best inn, at least as far as I could tell. The clerk seemed to be a gentleman rather than some old geezer.
Valgas had already informed the clerk of our situation, and the man checked us in quickly. He then led us to a room on the third floor. It was too big for the two of us, if anything. Everything was spotless, and we had two beds and a lovely view of the castle.
Noela looked out the window right away. “See castle!”
I sat on my bed, which was comfortably soft. Oh, right. Griffy needed more giant minimizer. I had to remember each dose so the griffin wouldn’t suddenly regain its usual size and cause a scene. “Griffy? Time for your medicine.”
The beast poked its head from Noela’s bag obediently. “Kyuu!” Mini-Griffy ran a few steps and then flew toward me.
Yeah, Griffy’s incredibly cute at this size. Gently petting the tiny griffin, I fed it more giant minimizer. That would keep it tiny for a while. Griffy was so small that it didn’t even need to consume the whole bottle. Meanwhile, Noela wagged her tail and gazed out the window. She was clearly taken by the vista.
“I wish Mina came with us,” I sighed.
“Groo.” Noela nodded, seeming to agree. “Store fine with Ejil.”
“Whoa, what’s this? You’re finally acknowledging Ejil’s abilities?”
“Arroo…” Noela’s expression was complex. I clearly hit a sore spot. “Besides Mina, Master trust Ejil most.”
She wasn’t wrong. Mina could handle anything in the drugstore on top of the household chores, but Ejil had unique strengths, despite being a demon king. He was incredibly on the ball when it came to the drugstore.
“Rely on werewolf more, Master,” Noela pleaded.
“I would if you took work more seriously.”
“Trying bestest!”
Really? Even though you constantly sleep on the job?
After we’d relaxed a bit, the sun began to set. As it grew dark outside, I heard a strange sound. It turned out to be Noela’s stomach growling. I was used to that noise by this point. She had kebabs not long ago and she’s already hungry? Noela never gained weight either. It must’ve had something to do with her species, as she said a while back.
“Food, Master.”
“Uh-huh,” I sighed. “This inn’s restaurant is probably expensive. Let’s check out some other spots.”
“Groo.”
I initially wasn’t sure whether to bring Griffy, but I realized that in a worst-case scenario, the griffin could regain its normal size here in our room. I decided to bring it along to be safe, and we departed the inn.