At Dando’s prompting, I gave the coins a quick count before taking a few into my hand as if inspecting them. I couldn’t really say either way, but there didn’t seem to be any issues.
I put the coins into my small leather coin pouch, which quickly took on some heft. Despite how tiny the coins looked, each weighed about as much as a five-hundred-yen coin. They didn’t look to be pure gold, but whatever metals they were made of were pretty heavy.
“Thank you. You don’t by chance know of a place where I could spend the night?”
“An inn? Well, there’s Marla’s in the center of town, off the main thoroughfare. But I’m not sure if there’s any place in these parts where a person like yerself could stay.” Dando once again glanced over my armor, then gave me an apologetic look.
“I am but a wanderer. All I need is a place where I can lie down, out of the wind and rain.”
After thanking the stable owner, I made my way toward the town’s center.
The sun had now completely set, blanketing the town in darkness. I encountered several people walking quickly along the roads, but it seemed that few townsfolk went out after dark. Each time I passed someone, they looked taken aback when they saw me. I imagined it must have bene pretty terrifying to see an armor-clad man roaming the streets at night.
In the center of town, I found a thoroughfare about ten meters across. It seemed the town of Luvierte only had gates to its east and west, though this road connected the town’s center to its southern part, meaning there was no direct route from the gates to the road.
Two-story, wooden houses and shops lined the thoroughfare, spilling light from their windows onto the road. In front of one shop hung a sign with the image of a barrel on it, which I assumed to be a bar. Loud, male voices could be heard echoing from within. I approached and called out to a man stumbling around near the bar’s entrance.
“I am searching for Marla’s inn. Could you tell me where to find it?”
“O-over there, S-s-sir Knight, sir!”
The drunk man stared wide-eyed at me as he slurred his words, pointing to a building across the road. I thanked him and made my way toward it. A bell rang as I stepped through the door, prompting a surprised-looking middle-aged man to hurry over from behind the counter to greet me.
“Ah, Sir Knight! What brings you to our humble establishment?”
“I’d like to stay the night.”
“Here?! You want to stay here, in a place like this?” The innkeeper’s voice squeaked, betraying his surprise.
I imagined I looked like a mighty knight from some far-flung region. But I confirmed my intention, and the innkeeper handed over a room key, his hand shaking ever so slightly.
A night’s stay cost one sek—a silver coin. Firewood for cooking cost an additional sek. It must have been some sort of discount inn if people had to bring their own food, buy firewood, and cook their own meals in the kitchen. To be fair, the concept of a meal coming with your stay had only started around the Edo period in Japan. In the west, food was still typically a separate charge, so I supposed it made sense here.
Next to the counter, a flight of stairs led up to the second floor. The stairs creaked under the weight of my armor as I ascended. Once at my room, I turned the knob only to find that the door wouldn’t budge. Maybe it was just poorly made, but I heard a light thud as I pushed. It felt as if the door was caught on something. Putting a little more force into it, I heard a snapping noise as it came right off its hinges. The door was now suspended in the air, held up only by the doorknob in my hand.
“Wha?!” I gasped in surprise.
After checking to see if anyone was around, I began picking up the nails that had held the hinge to the door. I pushed them back into their holes, hoping to make the door as good as new. I opened and closed it a few times, and it seemed fine.
While I was glad to learn I was strong enough to push nails in with just a finger, it would have been nice not to have knocked the door off its hinges in the first place. Ultimately, though, I decided it was better to have more strength than less.
The room consisted of a small, wood-framed window next to a simple, wooden bed covered by a large, thin blanket. I set the oil lamp I’d been given on the window sill and sat down on the bed to relax.
What today lacked in physical exertion, it made up for in emotional exhaustion, I thought to myself.
Despite not having eaten anything all day, I still wasn’t hungry, nor did I feel particularly tired. It seemed there was so much left for me to learn about my skeleton body. I wondered if I might be able to function without rest.
I decided to sleep anyway. Not only did it seem pointless to wander the town while everyone slept, it wouldn’t do much to help my reputation as a wandering skeleton, either. What’s more, I’d seen few lanterns in the street when I was out earlier. Only faint moonlight illuminated the town. Even though the sun had just set, it may as well have been midnight as far as the town was concerned.
It was time to get some healthy, restful sleep. Whether or not a skeleton body needed a healthy, restful lifestyle was a question for another time.
My biggest issue for now, however, was whether I’d be attacked in my sleep. The inn didn’t appear to have any form of security, so I’d decided not to take off my armor. I extinguished the lamp’s flame and sat on the bed, resting my back against the wall. The wooden frame creaked in protest at my weight, but I ignored it and crossed my arms, letting my eyes fall closed.
How did I close eyes that I didn’t even have anyway?
This question continued repeating itself in my mind as I lost myself to the darkness.