Since she couldn’t make a purchase, there really wasn’t much else she could do.
With dusk quickly approaching, Lanafit could only begin considering her lodging options.
After all, she had sweated through both last night and today.
Finding an inn to take a bath and get a good night’s sleep would be best.
Although Lanafit had always been reluctant to go near populated areas, she couldn’t deny that a room with four solid walls offered a sense of security that far exceeded her flimsy little tent.
It wasn’t that tents were inherently unsafe.
Lanafit always placed magical barriers around herself whenever she slept.
Even if wild beasts came near at night, they wouldn’t be able to harm her.
But when it came to security, she was really thinking about privacy.
About half a month ago, while camping outdoors, Lanafit had picked a scenic spot beside a lake—planning to catch a couple of fish for breakfast the next morning.
But when she stepped out of her tent the next day, she was startled to find two men outside.
She was so shocked, she almost blasted them with a spell.
It turned out they were local soldiers patrolling the area, which had recently seen monster activity.
The two soldiers had genuinely intended to warn her.
But because Lanafit always included soundproofing in her magical wards, she hadn’t heard a thing.
Having received no response after calling out for a while, the two young soldiers had finally lifted the tent flap.
But upon seeing Lanafit’s serene sleeping face, they had honorably chosen to wait outside instead of disturbing her further.
In a country overrun with thuggish soldiers and lecherous riffraff, these two were a rare example of true military virtue—upright and courteous.
Still, Lanafit had declined their polite invitation to come into town for tea.
She packed up her things and hurriedly fled.
Even though it was a lucky encounter—and she had been sleeping fully clothed—Lanafit still felt like her privacy had been violated.
From then on, she expanded her wards to cover the entire tent and stopped using the soundproof enchantments altogether.
But even so, she never truly felt safe.
Magic barriers, after all, are invisible to the naked eye.
They just couldn’t offer the reassuring thickness of actual walls.
So every night, she still slept cautiously, waking at the slightest sound.
Now that she was in the city, Lanafit figured she might as well stay the night and find a decent inn.
Most importantly, the inn had to have ice magic cores for cooling.
Once she had the thought, she acted on it.
Braving the stares of passersby, she stepped out of the alley again.
While searching for herbs earlier, she had already spotted a few inns of decent size.
She walked directly into the best-decorated one.
The moment she stepped inside, a cool breeze washed over her—a sensation that could only come from an ice magic core.
The receptionist stood up at once, offering a professional smile upon seeing a guest enter.
“Welcome~.”
But the receptionist clearly paused for a beat upon seeing Lanafit’s face.
Her bright eyes examined her from head to toe and finally rested on her chest—where her expression showed a trace of… relief?
Well, it made sense.
Lanafit’s beauty often left other women—especially those proud of their own good looks—feeling inferior.
But once they noticed her flat chest, they’d inevitably look at her with the same kind of relieved expression as this receptionist.
Some even showed a touch of sympathy.
Whenever that happened, Lanafit would sneer internally—particularly tempted to drag that pervert Roseithe out in front of them to show them what real despair looked like.
“How much for a room with an ice magic core? One night. Give me one.”
She didn’t want to waste time on small talk.
She simply asked the key question, tossing a card onto the front desk.
It was an identification card issued by an adventurers’ guild, used in place of a formal ID.
In this world, merchants, farmers, doctors—even soldiers—had to carry occupational certificates once they came of age, required for lodging, entering cities, filing complaints, and more.
So for someone off the grid, life was still incredibly inconvenient, even in a world with underdeveloped technology.
At times like these, Lanafit was always grateful she looked so young.
A little smooth talking—claiming to have just come of age and wanting to become an adventurer—plus a couple of low-level spells was usually enough to get by.
Of course, it probably also helped that the receptionist who’d issued her ID had been bewitched by her looks and chose to believe her story about losing her original ID, issuing her a new one on the spot.
The receptionist at the inn studied her card for a moment before smiling again.
“Welcome, Mage Lanafit. Our inn currently offers mid-tier and high-tier rooms with ice magic cores. Mid-tier is five silver coins per night; high-tier is twenty. Which would you prefer?”
“Does it have a bath?” Lanafit asked again. If the room didn’t have bathing facilities, her whole goal of getting clean would be ruined.
“Yes, we have a large bathhouse. Just head down the corridor to the right from the lobby.”
“Good. One mid-tier room, one night.” Lanafit didn’t hesitate.
The high-tier rooms were just too expensive.
This world used a classic fantasy currency system of gold, silver, and copper coins.
One copper coin was roughly equal to one RMB (or similar to $1 in purchasing power).
A silver coin equaled 100 copper coins, and a gold coin equaled 100 silver.
So a mid-tier room costing five silver coins was equivalent to about 500 RMB—a standard price for a mid-range hotel in a first-tier city back on Earth.
But as someone who used to live in a tiny backwater city, Lanafit still found the price painful.
Don’t even talk about the high-tier rooms—no way.
“All right, one mid-tier room, one night. Plus one silver coin deposit—so that’s six silver coins in total.”
The receptionist maintained her smile and handed over a ledger and a pen.
“Please write your name and address here.”
Lanafit took the pen and paper, then casually reached into the small coin pouch hidden in her chest pocket and pulled out six silver coins.
But the moment the pouch came into view, the receptionist’s eyes flashed with a hint of pity.
After all, when the pouch had still been tucked inside Lanafit’s clothes, her chest had at least appeared to have a slight curve.
Now that it was out—tsk, tsk, absolutely nothing.
Of course, Lanafit knew exactly what she was thinking.
Though a little annoyed, she didn’t bother arguing.
She just wanted to pay, sign the form, and take a bath before bed.
She counted out six silver coins from the pouch and handed them over to the receptionist—but at that exact moment—
Clatter—clang—clang—clang—!!
The crisp sound of coins hitting the floor rang out in rapid succession.
The silver coins that had just been in Lanafit’s hand scattered across the ground.
A few even rolled into the corners of the inn’s furniture.
As for Lanafit herself—her eyes had gone blank.
Her pale green irises had lost all focus, as if her soul had left her body.