Chapter 21

The large innkeeper opened his mouth at the counter.

"One night, 1500 sols."

"Y-Yes! Please wait a moment while I prepare it!"

At the inn's reception, I opened my wallet.

There should still be enough money in my wallet.

"Tim, I'm sorry. I rushed out without much on me."

"It's okay! We still have a little money left, so please don't worry!"

Lady Gylne apologized to me with a look of regret.

The innkeeper watched us curiously.

"What's this? You two, could it be that you're running away together?"

The innkeeper approached us with a sly smile.

"Such a pretty young lady, you must be someone's daughter, right? And you, young man, are probably a servant from the mansion, right? So you two ran away with just the clothes on your back! Oh, young man, you're so cute!"

The innkeeper got excited and patted my shoulder.

Lady Gylne blushed and muttered, "R-running away... Tim and I..."

"You don't need to pay! If you two want to escape to a place where that mansion can't reach you, show this letter of introduction to the leader of the merchants at the eastern gate. With this letter from me, Chris, they'll take you all the way to the neighboring kingdom of Linhall!"

"N-No... It's not like that..."

"Come on, don't be shy, kid! Young man, make this young lady happy!"

The innkeeper, laughing heartily, forced the letter of introduction into our hands and kicked us out of the inn.

"G-Gylne-sama... It seems we've been misunderstood."

"Running away... Tim and I running away..."

"Gylne-sama? Are you okay?"

I called out to Gylne-sama, who seemed to be in a daze.

"Huh!? Ah, I'm fine! Still, we even got a letter of introduction!"

"Yes, with this, we can ride in the merchants' carriages from the eastern gate all the way to the neighboring kingdom of Linhall."

"Hmm, I'm not actually a noble's daughter, but the guild might realize Tim's abilities and come after us... Leaving this empire might be a good idea."

"Hehe, thank you. There might be people who recognize the famous Gylne-sama's face..."

"I rarely went out and didn't let anyone paint or sculpt me, but it's possible. Well, Tim, let's... run away."

"...? I'm sorry, Gylne-sama. Your voice was too low at the end, I couldn't hear you clearly."

And so, we started walking towards the eastern gate of the empire.

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"D-Dad! Something's wrong! Come here!"

"Sure, what's the matter, my dear daughter? Did you find someone to run away with? I'll kill him right now!"

The innkeeper, Chris, went to his beloved daughter with a lackadaisical response.

"T-The room where that couple stayed earlier..."

"What the... What is this..."

Chris couldn't believe his eyes.

The room, which was old and dirty, was now sparkling clean.

The glass windows shone like mirrors, and the pure white curtains fluttered in the wind.

The window frames were freshly painted, looking brand new.

The old, worn-out bed had been replaced with a new one, complete with a canopy fit for royalty.

The bedding was of the finest quality, with a silky smooth texture.

"Our cheap inn has turned into a royal suite overnight..."

"T-The shared kitchen is also sparkling clean, and all the cooking utensils are brand new. They're all top-notch..."

"A-Are they a couple of guardian spirits?"

The father and daughter looked at each other with expressions of disbelief.

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"By now, that inn must be in shock."

"But, was it really okay to go that far without permission? I did clean the old furniture and put it in the empty room next door..."

"Using Tim's 'Cleaning,' 'Crafting,' and 'Sewing' skills, we renovated the room, and I left the cooking utensils I created with my 'Cooking' skill. They should be happy, not sad."

"Even though it was by chance, we got our stay for free and even a letter of introduction. It would be nice if they were happy about it."

"Indeed, good deeds usually bring good results. Tim might have gotten too used to that guild."

Lady Gylne and I walked towards the eastern gate where the merchants gather, chatting along the way.