Chapter 35: 35: Erin

” We are almost there, Miss Elizabeth. ” Albert said while yawning. 

I didn't notice before, but he seemed to be quite tired. Not that it wasn't understandable. He was leading the way for two days already wile just resting poorly. That, without taking into account the time before we meet. 

” That's good to know. You seem to be quite tired, Albert. ” I pointed it out.

” Yeah, as of right now, I'd want nothing more than to jump in my bed and sleep for two days straight. ” 

I nodded in silence and didn't pursue the matter. Even I could tell when someone wasn't in the mood for a small chat. Though, in his case, he was just too tired for that.

It wasn't a big loss anyway. That just gave me more time to observe the city property. 

Looking around, the road was illuminated with some kind of lamps at regular distances. What attracted my curiosity was that the lamps had no flame inside. And I was quite sure that electricity wasn't the answer either. Magic, maybe?

Letting that aside, the city folk was quite active even though the sun was already down. It made sense. 

While either one of the two moon phrases were shorter than the sun one, combined, they were longer. Judging by my previous world average of eight hours of sleep out of twenty-four, it was reasonable to think that people around here weren't sleeping all that time either.

I also had a hunch that a day here was actually longer than in my previous life. I didn't know exactly how much longer, but I guessed that it had to have at least a few extra hours since the difference was big enough for me to notice it.

Because it was enough to sleep in either one of the moons time, the citizens seemed to continue their activities during the blue moon time and probably slept as the red one appeared. It made much more sense like that.

The rest of the city seemed to be in good shape too. The road was paved with stone and from what I saw till now I suspected that they had some kind of sewage system as well. I wanted to observe a bit more, but it seemed that it had to be postponed.

” We are here. ” Albert’s voice just confirmed that. We arrived at our destination.

The place wasn't the best illuminated, but I could see that we stopped in from of a rather nice building. It wasn't too big, but at least it had a second floor.

As the majority of the buildings until now, the first floor was made of stone, and the second one was made of wood and lighter materials. I couldn't see from what was made the roof since it was too dark at the moment.

” Your place isn't bad. ” I decided to throw a random compliment. Even if it was random, experience taught me that sometimes, it had a bigger erect than one would expect.

It wasn't just empty words either. Judging by the number of people who were passing by, his place was really good for business.

” Ah, no, no. You seem to misunderstand something. ” he retorted with a tired laugh. ” The place isn't mine. I wouldn't even be able to pay the rent if I was alone. I'm sharing the place with a close friend and we split the rent in two. I wouldn't be this poor if the place was mine. ”

” Oh... Make some sense now. Anyway, we shouldn't make you lose more time... You still had to unload all the cargo and so on. ”

He nodded his head and we parted shortly after that. The place that he recommended for us wasn't too far away. Just some streets ahead.

It wasn't a regular inn where you could get a room if you paid for it. The place belonged to one of his friends who died some years ago. Now, it was in his wife's possession and since she was left alone with her two children, her life wasn't easy.

Albert said that she would rent us a room if we were to tell her that we were his friends. I didn't dislike the idea either. It was way better to stay in a place like that than in some busy inn with lots of people.

.

.

.

As we arrived in front of the building which resembled what Albert described to us, I stopped and took my time look around at the side buildings for a moment. It wasn't like I was postponing the inevitable. It wasn't.

” Lizza... What are you doing? ” Fiona asked. It seemed that I took a bit long.

” Oh... Sorry about that. I just wanted to see if we arrived at the correct place. ” 

” Mm. Judging by what he said, this must be the place. ” she confirmed and prompted me to get going with a look.

” T-Then, let's go inside. ” I said with a little stiffness in my voice. I had to admit that I had a little reticence when it came to meeting new people. Usually, it didn't affect me too much. I just liked more hanging out with the people I was accustomed rather than meeting new ones. 

This time though, we were two dubious strangers wearing hoods, claiming to be the friends of their friend with no proof of any kind, asking to stay at their house. It would have been strange if I wasn't worried about how the next meeting would unfold.

Fiona seemed to not care though. She just nodded and stepped closer to the front door. Strangely, that gave me a bit of courage as well.

Even the fact that I had no choice but to reveal my race to them, wasn't that concerning anymore. The worst that could happen? We would get rejected, nothing more. Fiona's collar would be kept a secret though...

As we pushed the door and tried to steep inside, it made a cracking sound announcing our arrival. Most likely, the reason was poor maintenance, but the result was the same.

The girl which was seated at the counter fixed her sight on us. She looked around Fiona’s age with shoulder-length brown hair and the same eye color. She was wearing simple clothes at first glance but if you paid attention, the material and the way they were manufactured was much better than ours.

” Welcome! ” she said.

” T-Thanks. ” I responded and immediately regretted. I could not believe that I stuttered at a time like that.

’Huh... What's wrong with me... Just calm down and be natural.’

While I was struggling in my mind, Fiona just stepped inside and started looking around and ignoring the girl like this was her place already. If she was born male, I would have sworn that she would have had balls of steel.

” Eh, I can help you if you search for something. My mother isn't here right now but if you are not here for a special request, I know everything we have on sale. ” the girl said after a while. Seeing our strange behavior, I was impressed.

I cleared my throat and stepped closer to the girl. 

” Actually, we were looking for your mother... Do you know when she might come back? ”

” Yes. She’ll be back in half an hour or so. You were here for a request? If you were in a hurry, I can tell you with approximation if my mother can help you. ” she said and smiled at me while tilting her head a little to peek under my hood. 

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I couldn't blame her for being curious. It was still normal to wear one when you walk outside, but to keep it up even after we walked inside... Not to mention that we were the only customers at the moment.

” Ehm... We didn't come here for a request. ” I sad with a little hesitation. 

I didn't even know what requests they accepted. Looking around, I saw that besides some day to day products, they were selling mainly clothes. There were some articles from leather as well, like leather pants and boots. It was safe to assume that her mother was working in that field...

” Err... But then... for what have you come? ” she said with a perplexed expression. 

I tried to force a smile while searching for a good way to ask the question. Then, it clicked to me.

” Do you know a merchant named Albert? His shop isn't too far away from here... ” 

” Ah... yes, Albert was good friends with my father. He helped us a lot after father... ” she suddenly stopped and seemed to lose her vigor for a moment but she quickly came back to her initial state.

” A-Anyways, did he send you here? That means he came back safely, didn't he? ” she changed the subject.

” Yeah... You see, we came here to Arian City with him. ”

” Oh, is that so? Then, that means that you two were friends with him? ” she said and cast a little glance toward Fiona before turning back to me.

Fiona was looking around seemingly not minding too much what we were doing. At least, that was the impression she was giving to others. Knowing her, I was aware that she was listening to our conversation but she wasn't the type to speak too much with strangers. In a way, she was less social than me, though, for a whole different reason.

I turned my attention back to... 

’Oh, I don't even know her name...’  I didn't ask for it and she never mentioned it either. For someone who wanted to stay there, I wasn't doing a good job.

” Somehow... I mean, yeah... We and Albert are friends. By the way, outside of your mother, Sara, he didn't mention your names. We might as well get acquaintances. My name is Elizabeth and she is Fiona. ” I sad and motioned her to do the same.

” Oh... yes. My name is Erin. Nice to meet you. ” she said a little confused by the strange development. I had to admit that we wandered quite a bit from the main subject. 

” Nice to meet you too, Erin. Now that we know each other's name, let's go back to the main subject. This is the first time we came to this city. Since we don't know the place at all, Albert said that your mother might rent us a room for some days. We will pay for it, obviously. ”

” Ehhh... Um... I don’t... I don't know. M-Maybe... I must ask mother first. ” she said a little unsure of what to do.

*sigh*

She was just a child so I didn't expect her to decide in the first place. 

’But this reaction though...’ Albert recommend the place but that was all. There was a chance to get refused too.

’No other choice... Let's see how this works. I need to reveal it sooner or later anyway.’

I grabbed my hood and slowly removed it to reveal my head completely. Even though I was wearing it for quite a while, my hair was silky and smooth as always. It would have been a lie to say that I wasn't a bit proud of that. My hair was nice and pretty.

Now that I thought about it, I didn't even take care of it in a proper way. I had some days from the last bath but it was looking like I just get out from a beauty salon. 

’Maybe I can take a bath too since I came here. Oh... Ohhhhh... This is not the time for random blabbering.’

I quickly focused my attention back to Erin but what greeted me was a statue.

” Eh... E-Erin? ”

”...”

” A-Are you ok? ” I tried again.

”...”

” Hello, are you alrigh... ”

” HEEEEEEEEEE... W-W-Wha-Wha... ” 

*Bang*

”...” 

This time, I was the one who remained without a word. She somehow tried to come closer but she took a wrong step and now was lying on the floor. 

Fiona came closer since she saw the scene as well. I didn't react in any way since I was too stunned by the result. 

’S-Seriously... Are you joking with me? What is with all the exaggerated reactions?’

” Eh, Lizza... ” Fiona said while approaching. She stepped closer to her, probably to check on her since I didn't move at all.

” Is she alright? ” I asked since the girl was still down.

” Mn. She does not seem to be hurt or anything but she fainted from the impact. ” Fiona gave the verdict.

”...” 

What the fuck was I supposed to do with such a development? I was prepared for a lot of things, rejection included, but I wasn't prepared for this.

 

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