I gave the prince five gold coins as spending money and told him that he was free to use them if anything caught his eye.
His cheeks reddened, and he joyfully pulled a change purse from his pocket and tucked the coins away.
Oh my god, he was so cute.
I think, because we had been away from civilization for a long while, we were probably feeling giddy and over the moon.
After dropping our luggage and changing into more comfortable clothing, we left our room.
As I walked down the hallway, a thought came to mind. I decided to show the prince the room on the opposite side of the stairs. It’d be another stop on our social studies field trip.
“That’s it there, Wal. The shared room. The beds are really small, you see? They don’t even have enough space to roll over.”
“Wow, you’re right.”
Maybe it was because the sun was still high in the sky, but there was no one occupying the room right now. Luggage had been left here and there, but their owners had probably only left behind things they could afford to part with. Keeping valuables close at hand was a basic, ironclad rule for traveling.
“If multiple people are meant to pack into a single bed like sardines, the beds are usually a little bigger than these.”
“Do you ordinarily stay in a shared room like this?” he asked.
“Nah, I only stay at inns when I’m chosen to handle shopping errands for my village. If I’m traveling alone, then I usually just sleep in a stable. They don’t charge for that,” I explained.
Wald stared at me. His eyes were practically bulging out of his head.
I mean, I was a crafter. I had my own sleeping bags, insect repellents, and air fresheners. It was actually a pretty comfortable experience.
You really don’t need to look at me like I grew a second head— Wait, hm?
A man who seemed to be another guest at this inn was coming up the stairs.
Since Wald and I had been crowded around the entrance of the room, we shuffled aside to let the man through.
After a moment of sizing me and the prince up, the man gestured me over.
“What do you want?” I asked.
“Is he your escort?” he said gruffly, pointing his thumb toward the prince.
I stared at the man. “No, he’s my brother.”
My mistake hit me like a sack of bricks. I had left my cloak in the room, and Wald had done the same. The prince’s eyes were wide with shock—he must’ve realized his oversight as well.
“I see, ha ha! You’ve got an awfully cute brother—how about lettin’ him make some pocket change? I’ll give you fifty, no—seventy gold for him, and I’ll make sure he gets back to you by the evenin’, you get me?”
“That’s like nothing!” I blurted out, unintentionally laying bare both my obvious disdain and my urge to kill the man where he stood.
What the fuck? He was clearly giving a lowball offer, right in front of the prince of unparalleled beauty himself!
And this guy would offer the price of a room for him?! I had never hired a mistress before, so I had no idea what the going rates were, but was that how much these services went for in the sticks?
“You could offer a whole trove of gold coins, and I still wouldn’t sell my brother!” I snarled.
The man dropped to his knees in fear. “Agh, my bad! You were standing right there in the door, so I thought you came to earn some cash before you had your way with him for the night... I’m sorry!” he cried.
I grabbed Wald’s hand, and we returned to our room. Once there, we went over our mistakes.
I groaned. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have brought us to such a shady inn,” I said.
Wald was likewise remorseful. “I, too, must apologize. I had taken my cloak off without thinking...”
With our interest in the market long gone, we decided to stay in our room for the rest of the day.
Markets weren’t anything unique to this village; other towns and settlements were sure to host their own. There would be other opportunities to see one.
After having dinner, which was freshly pulled from my Pocket Dimension, we decided to turn in early.
The encounter with the man during the afternoon had left a bad taste in our mouths, which made sharing a bed all the more awkward. There was nothing to be done about it, though. We only had one bed, after all.
Given the cheery noise filtering in through the window, the village was still bustling. The merchants, their purses heavy with money from sales, would probably be up late drinking after the market wrapped.
But the afternoon’s events still weighed on my mind. I couldn’t believe that I had been mistaken for a gang boss, pimp, or whatever else.
Yeesh. Barbarians must be bad news.
Did they ordinarily sell their brothers for chump change? And given what the man had said, it had sounded like he’d thought I was going to have a go at the prince myself.
Did siblings sleep together in this world? Oh, wait—Wald had told me himself that they did, provided that they had different mothers.
Besides the color of our hair, the prince and I looked completely different. That was probably why the man had made that assumption...
As I reflected on this, the meaning behind the proprietress’s smile dawned on me. Did she think I was a twink chaser or something? I wasn’t!
And that aside, there was something else I wanted to make clear...
That offer had been way too low for the prince!
Just look at how dignified, cute, and vivacious this lovely young man is! If I were to put him up for auction, I’d set the starting bid at one hundred million gold! Not that I’d ever auction him off, but you know!
Given the way my stream of consciousness was filled with intrusive thoughts, my mind must’ve been poisoned by light novels in my old life.
I began to drift into slumber as these dumb fancies jumped around my brain in every direction.
The doorknob of our locked door jiggled violently. The harsh, grating rattle reverberated through the room, and although our door remained closed, it shook in its frame.
Wald and I had been careful to make some space between us when we’d lain down in bed, but now we closed it in an instant. He grabbed my arm and clung to me, and I threw my hands around his back to draw him close.
“Huh? The key’s not working... Hic.”
“Oh, honey. That’s not our room. Ours is next to it...”
A clearly drunk couple was merrily cavorting in the hallway.
I softly exhaled.
The prince, nestled under my arm, whispered, “You know... You were right, Kariya.”
“Hm?”
“I feel safe sleeping next to you.”
He smiled up at me, then moved a short distance away.
Just far enough that he was still within arm’s reach, but closer than where he had been resting before.
“Good night.”
“Good night to you too,” I whispered, and then closed my eyes.
But...it wasn’t like I could get a single wink of the forty I’d wanted tonight. The walls were paper-thin, and we could hear every last noise from our neighbors’ passionate lovemaking.
Next time, we’ll stay at a family-friendly inn.