It was rare for her to be quiet in such a situation and I trusted she had some scheme in mind. Thinking it probably wouldn’t be bad for me, I looked back at the receptionist.
“3 rooms, please.”
Selva nodded, satisfied to finally have something going her way.
“We have normal rooms, noble rooms, and royal rooms. Which type would you like to book?”
“We’re only here for a single night so 3 normal rooms.”
“Understood. Would you like any additional services?”
“What sort of services?”
“The room includes breakfast and access to our baths. On top of that, you can pay extra to get access to an illimited buffet of food open all day and night, meeting rooms, a personal guide to show you around the city, and some massages available for the ladies here.”
I queried my escorts again.
“Are you two interested in any of this?”
They shook their heads and this concluded the topic.
“Each room is 55 silvers per night, sir. That makes a total of 165 silvers.”
It was expensive indeed. It was close to the total amount of money Selva would earn for this job, just for one night of lodging. I still paid without hesitation because this sort of price was expected. We received the keys to our rooms and went to check them. Due to a large number of other customers, we weren’t able to get three adjacent ones and ended up scattered all over the inn. It wasn’t an issue, though, since this place had a high level of security.
Despite being normal rooms, they were still spacious, with a large bed in the middle. The furniture was sturdy and of high quality, the sheets were freshly washed, and everything was very clean. My room had a view of the main street but the sound insulation was good enough that I could barely hear its hustle. Everything was several levels above my usual inn in Geola.
We met back in the lobby a few minutes later and headed out to explore the city. We only had a single evening to spend here so we had to enjoy it to its maximum. Wico acted as our guide from the top of my head, pointing here and there and explaining things to us.
Alfiro was a large city, with many interesting sights and locations. It went from shops selling anything one could think of to public buildings like schools, information and community centers, or courthouses. There were also many privately owned noticeable ones, like a bank, a gambling house, or a theatre. We toured the place while trying out the many original dishes that the stalls sold to people. I sometimes also bought some original local items to use as presents in the future.
We weren’t going unnoticed either. Since we were relatively deep into Makji’s territory, the number of non-feline species was low. Many people glanced at Wico with wonder, admiration, or even hatred. Some women were interested in me too, probably for a completely different reason. Selna was receiving the least attention but she didn’t seem to care either way, happily engulfing a great quantity of street food while looking left and right. After around one hour, Wico concluded her guiding work.
“You’ve seen most of it now. Is there any place you want to check?”
I was lightly interested in the bank but I doubted my companions would find any joy in going to this place, if it was even still open at this time of the day.
“I’ll leave it to you, Selva.”
“Hmm… The gambling house. I’ve never been to one.”
“Really? There’re a few of them in Geola, right?”
To be more exact, Geola had most types of entertainment available, and the gambling houses and brothels were just a few of them.
“Yeah. My parents didn’t want me to go. And I didn’t have any money anyway.”
“I don’t mind checking it. Do you want an advance on your salary?”
“…You’re not going to pay for it?”
“Nope.”
She looked half shocked and half disgruntled.
“Okay. Give it to me, then.”
“Sure. Since this is the fifth day, you get 1 gold. Don’t cry if you lose it all.”
“As if I’d lose it.”
I could already picture it.
“Master, do you want your advance on salary too?”
“No, I’m not going to play.”
“You’re tamer than I expected.”
“What about you? Are you playing?”
“No. I’ll just cheer on Selva.”
“We think alike.”
“Is it fate?”
“I’m sure of it.”
Selva interrupted our game of gazing deeply at each other.
“You’re so boring. Let’s go. I feel good about this.”
The gambling house was a wide building without any windows, having three floors in total. We entered without any issues and were met with many other types of customers. Here, the rich were next to the poor, all similar gambling addicts, except that only the first ones could actually afford it. Almost all the people inside were women with only a few males here and there, most of them employed by the gambling house.
There were many types of games, going from card games to dice games, with even a section reserved for skill-based games like knife throwing. I found that choice to be interesting considering there should be many people excelling with weapons among sorcerers but then realized it was only for customers to bet between themselves. It was also possible to order drinks at a bar and there was a menu with food items too.
“What do you want to play, Selva?”
She stared around, clearly out of her element, and it was obvious she had no idea about most of the games being played. In the end, she pointed at the simplest one, a table handling a game of dice.
“That one.”
Even so, they had some rules too because they weren’t just using one dice.
“Do you know the rules?”
“…I’ll ask for an explanation.”
She went to the table and sat there without any hesitation, next to two other customers. The dealer, a feline woman, looked at her from top to bottom.
“Welcome. We’re starting the next round. The minimum bet is one silver. Up or down?”
Selva’s baffled face was quite the sight at this moment.