Afterward, Cipher and Aria went to find the village chief, a middle-aged man who looked to be in his forties. He pondered for a moment, then pointed in a direction and said, "Go to the fifth house over there and ask for lodging."
It wasn't uncommon for passing adventurers to request lodging. In fact, the village chief often intentionally directed them to the homes of poorer villagers to help them earn some extra income.
Following the chief's directions, Cipher and Aria arrived at the fifth house. They gently knocked on the wooden door, and it was quickly opened by a young girl with severe dark circles under her eyes and disheveled hair.
"Hello, we were sent by the village chief to ask for lodging..." Aria began, but the girl simply nodded. "Oh, come in."
Cipher found the ease of her acceptance a bit strange. What about the price? Weren't they going to negotiate?
With a hint of suspicion, she and Aria entered the house, which was clearly laid out as a two-bedroom apartment with a living room and bathroom. The girl with dark circles pointed to the bedroom on the left. "No one's using this room. Just make yourselves at home."
Cipher glanced into the bedroom on the left. It was impeccably tidy and spotlessly clean, with a double bed dominating most of the space, leaving just enough room for a wardrobe and a desk.
An empty room, yet so clean? Cipher wondered. "How much do we owe you for staying here?"
The young girl with dark circles paused before replying, "It's fine. Just stay. You don't need to pay."
Cipher frowned slightly at this response. It only deepened her suspicions. An uninhabited, spotless room with no charge? Could this girl be plotting some sinister ritual involving foreign travelers to achieve some nefarious goal? She remembered countless similar scenarios from anime and movies in her past life—innocent outsiders lured in only to be sacrificed.
Aria, however, clearly wasn't thinking along those lines. She pulled out some money and forcefully pressed it into the girl's hand. "That won't do at all! We're staying here, so we absolutely have to pay you!"
"No, really, it's fine!" the girl protested, but her strength was no match for Aria's. In the end, she was forced to accept the money.
"But... but..." The young girl tried to protest, but Aria simply smiled. "No buts! We'll be staying here tonight!"
Watching this, the girl's hands, clutching the money, trembled slightly. But by then, Aria had already turned and pulled Cipher into the bedroom on the left.
Unfortunately, there were no bathing facilities—no wooden tub, no hot water. Left with no choice, Aria removed her clothes and tore open the scroll Feidric had given her. Though it appeared to be ordinary paper, the torn scroll dissolved into a beam of blue light that vanished into thin air.
A similar light flashed across Aria's discarded clothes. In an instant, her bloodstained leather armor was as pristine as when it had been freshly made.
"Amazing~!" Cipher exclaimed, watching the spectacle. However, she decided to wait before using her own Purify scroll. Her clothes weren't too dirty yet, so there was no rush.
After a quick wash, Cipher changed into her nightclothes and slipped under the covers. Since there was only one large bed in the room, she and Aria naturally shared it.
Unlike her initial shyness at the Adventurer's Guild, Cipher now felt surprisingly calm.
I guess I've mostly gotten used to being a girl by now, she mused inwardly. Is my adaptability just too strong? Anticipating Aria's move, Cipher preemptively extended her right hand to gently block Aria's cheek as she leaned in, pushing her away.
During their escort quests these past few days, they had shared a small tent. While they were awake, maintaining a polite distance was manageable. But once Aria fell asleep, she would involuntarily gravitate toward Cipher, cling to her side, and even try to hug her.
It was as if Aria viewed Cipher as a giant, living body pillow. One morning, Cipher woke up to find Aria clinging to her like an octopus, her despair at that moment was indescribable.
"Sigh, this girl's sleeping posture is so restless..." Cipher sighed softly, pushing Aria away again as she tried to snuggle closer.
Perhaps because she had seen a bloody corpse for the first time that day, Cipher wasn't feeling sleepy. She lay on her side, her tail curled between her legs and stretched forward to rest on her chest. Her right hand gently grasped the tip of her tail, idly stroking it back and forth.
Bored, she treated her tail like a cat, stroking its soft, fluffy fur. The texture was surprisingly pleasant against her hand.
Just as Cipher was finally starting to feel drowsy and was about to drift off to sleep, a faint noise from the adjacent room snapped her awake. Her ears perked up instantly.
Driven by curiosity and a sense of unease, she had been deliberately listening for any sounds from the young girl next door. Until now, the girl had seemed to be sleeping soundly, without making a peep. But now, Cipher could clearly hear the girl's ragged breathing as she seemed to have suddenly woken up.
Then came the faintest sound of sobbing. Cipher froze. Is she... crying?
The girl apparently got up, went to the bathroom to splash water on her face, and then returned to bed. Less than half an hour later, however, she startled awake again, her ragged breathing alarmingly clear.
It was well past midnight, perhaps the fourth or fifth time Cipher had been jolted awake. Exhausted, she was just about to drift off when the young girl next door's ragged breathing startled her again. This time, the girl was sobbing softly, murmuring, "I'm sorry, Dad... I'm sorry, Mom..."
Then came the sound of bare feet padding across the floor, as if she had gone to the living room to retrieve something.
Cipher sat up abruptly, nudging Aria beside her. "Wake up! Wake up!"
Aria merely smacked her lips, as if savoring a delicious dream, and rolled over to continue sleeping.
Cipher sighed in exasperation. Gripping Aria's cheeks, she pinched and kneaded them vigorously until Aria's eyes fluttered open, hazy with sleep. "Ugh... Why is this dish punching me in the mouth...?"
Then she saw Cipher sitting beside her, her eyes glowing faintly like twin gemstones.
Cats' eyes glow in the dark. Isn't that common knowledge?