Rubbing the stubble on his face, Ron couldn’t help but chuckle as he looked at Perica’s face, now covered in a layer of roughness.
This was way more effective than his makeup techniques.
With just a touch of disguise, the two of them had transformed from strikingly handsome and beautiful figures into utterly forgettable nobodies.
No one would ever guess that these plain-looking individuals were, in truth, of noble lineage.
“Let’s go. We’ll stay at an inn tonight and check out this so-called trading market tomorrow.”
The buildings in the town were generally quite low, most no more than four stories tall.
Even without a map, the two of them could easily spot the fifteen-story-high inn in the distance.
At Ron’s urging, the two moved swiftly, like the wind pushed them from behind, their steps so fast they left afterimages.
With the help of Wind Step, they reached the inn lobby in no time.
Calling it a “lobby” was generous— it looked more like the front counter of a tavern.
Wandering adventurers, mercenary squads, traders… a mixed crowd of all sorts gathered here, downing beer to wash away a hard day’s fatigue and comforting their tired bodies with grilled meat.
Thanks to Perica’s cognitive disguise, their entrance didn’t attract anyone’s attention.
“Boss, give us your best suite,” Perica said, knocking on the front desk, drawing a frown from the receptionist who had been reading a novel.
“The best room?”
“You sure talk big!”
The receptionist looked the two of them over with a sneer and casually tossed over a keyring.
“No doubles left.”
“You two gentlemen will just have to squeeze into a king-sized bed!”
Perica, disguised as a burly middle-aged man, went cold at the insult.
His scarred eye gleamed with a dangerous light.
“You think you can brush us off with a trash room like that, just because we look average?”
He slammed the counter hard as he spoke.
But the receptionist, unfazed by Perica’s threatening appearance, snorted in contempt.
“Oooh? Trying to act tough?”
“Do you even know where you are?”
With a sharp shout, two brawny men surrounded them from either side.
One was a trainee-level Magic Swordsman, the other a novice Magic Fist Fighter, both radiating intimidation.
No wonder the receptionist was so cocky.
For a small-town inn to employ guards of this caliber meant they could easily throw out a few troublemakers.
But this time, they messed with the wrong people.
Perica was a Master-level Mage—a whole tier or more above the two guards combined!
They couldn’t even see through her illusion spell.
If it came to a real fight, Perica could literally annihilate both of them with a flick of her finger.
But their strength was so far below hers, they couldn’t perceive the danger.
The receptionist, clueless, mistook Perica’s angry expression for one of fear.
He smirked wickedly.
“Let me tell you something—every inn in this town is under our boss’s control!”
“If you know what’s good for you, apologize now, and maybe I’ll let you have the king bed room.”
“Otherwise…”
“You two can just sleep in the street tonight!”
At those words, the surrounding drinkers burst into mocking laughter.
Perica took a deep breath.
Just as she was about to teach them all a lesson—
Ron placed a firm hand on her shoulder.
“Don’t lose your temper.”
After restraining the ready-to-erupt Perica, Ron stepped forward to the front desk with a calm smile.
“We’re not broke or anything.”
“Can’t you arrange a proper room for us?”
As he spoke, Ron pulled a gold coin from his pocket and placed it on the desk in front of the clerk.
The moment the gold coin came into view, the clerk’s pupils shrank.
If it hadn’t been for the earlier clash with Perica, he probably would’ve already changed his tone completely!
“Oh~”
“Didn’t expect you to have some money, huh?”
Whether it was Ron’s polite demeanor or just the blinding gleam of gold, the clerk’s tone became noticeably less hostile.
“We’re not trying to make things hard for you guys on purpose.”
“It’s just that a bunch of big-name trade caravans are stopping in our town recently, so the rooms are already tight.”
“Especially with this caravan coming in from the Imperial Capital— they even brought rare goods from the Dragon’s Nest!”
“Once word got out, people from all the surrounding towns swarmed in.”
“During times like this, you should be thankful you even got a king bed!”
Hearing the explanation, Ron nodded in apparent realization.
“Oh, I see.”
The clerk figured Ron would back off after hearing all that.
But to his surprise, Ron reached back into his pocket and pulled out a ring.
Watching Ron’s movements, the scrawny clerk waved him off with an annoyed scoff.
“Go, go, go!”
“Didn’t I just tell you? I don’t care who gave you what ring—”
As the clerk started to raise his voice again, his words suddenly stopped mid-sentence.
He stared blankly at the signet ring in Ron’s hand.
“You’re… you’re a friend of Lord Kendo?!”
“Whoa! Why didn’t you say so earlier?!”
“Ahhh what a misunderstanding!”
The clerk’s entire attitude flipped instantly.
He put on a flattering grin and rubbed his hands together like a fly.
“So… you do actually have rooms available?”
Ron casually pulled back the signet ring—one he’d borrowed from Kendo.
While he didn’t want to draw attention, revealing a connection to Kendo was far less risky than exposing himself as the heir of the Castrellero family.
Hearing that, the clerk broke out in a cold sweat, bowing and apologizing non-stop.
“N-no! Regular rooms are all full, yes, but we do have an executive suite reserved by a VIP guest who hasn’t arrived yet!”
“I’ll take you up to see the rooms immediately. Whichever style you prefer, you can have it!”
“Hahaha~ Just, um… please don’t file a complaint about me…”
The front desk clerk groveled with an oily smile, terrified Ron might report him to Kendo.
While Kendo’s status wasn’t much higher than his boss’s, he still had enough clout to get someone like this fired with just a few words.
Ron, seeing the groveling man, didn’t press the issue.
“Then I’ll trouble you to lead the way.”
With the matter settled, Ron turned back to Perica with a faint smile.
“You see? There are ways to resolve conflict that don’t involve fighting.”
“Magic isn’t all-powerful, after all.”
Hearing this, Perica showed a sheepish, slightly embarrassed expression.
“As expected of Young Master~”
“If it had been me alone, we’d probably have a few bodies on the ground already.”
The two of them laughed as they left the lobby.
Watching them walk away, a few men seated in the corner exchanged glances.
“Tsk…”
“Boss, these two look like fat sheep to me.”
“What do you think?”
“Should we…?”
One of his underlings couldn’t hide the greedy glint in his eyes.
The man in charge took a long swig of ale, expressionless.
“No rush.”
“Let’s observe a little longer…”
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