Chapter 28: Cost of Living in the Imperial Capital

“Pay up. Entry fee—one hundred copper coins per person.”

In front of the gates of the Imperial Capital, Li Xian wore a bitter expression, the corners of his mouth twitching.

Paying to enter the city was already bad enough, but a hundred copper coins per person?

‘Why don’t you just rob me outright?’

What made it even worse was that the silly girl beside him didn’t have a single coin on her, so the entire entry fee had to be shouldered by Li Xian alone.

He had worked hard for ten days, taking on tasks to finally earn a thousand copper coins.

After deducting his expenses from those days, he had only about eight hundred left.

Now, in one go, he had to hand over two hundred more—it really made Li Xian’s heart ache.

But no matter how painful it was, the fee had to be paid.

Helpless, he could only tremble as he pulled out two gold coins from his pocket, reluctantly handing them over to the guard.

“Go on in.” The guard curled his lip in disdain, sizing up the young man in front of him.

This guy looked decent enough, even a bit handsome, but it turned out he was just a broke pauper.

What a pity for that pretty girl, following such a good-for-nothing.

What a waste…

With the guard shaking his head and sighing, Li Xian finally led Sara into the grand Imperial Capital.

The Roland Empire was one of the three strongest human nations, and its Imperial Capital was, of course, magnificent.

Once inside, the city bustled with prosperity, the streets packed with people coming and going—a stark contrast to the quiet little town where Li Xian had stayed before.

It was already late.

There wasn’t much time left to wander around.

At the very least, he needed to solve tonight’s lodging first.

But just thinking about it gave Li Xian a headache.

‘Lodging in the Imperial Capital… It definitely wouldn’t be anything like those remote little towns. Who knows how expensive it would be…’

He asked several passersby along the way before finally finding a relatively remote inn—considered cheap by Imperial Capital standards.

Li Xian glanced at the decor, which was many times more luxurious than any town inn, gritted his teeth, and led Sara inside by the hand.

“Two single rooms, please.”

The staff at the counter looked up at him, then said, “That will be ten gold coins in total. Will you be paying in cash or with a Magic Crystal Card?”

“?!” Li Xian was stunned into silence.

‘Ten gold coins! That was a thousand copper coins!’

The amount he had earned from a whole week of tasks was only enough for the two of them to stay a single night?

And this was supposed to be a cheap inn in the Imperial Capital?

Li Xian felt that even if he had ten thousand gold coins, he’d still be a pauper in this city.

The cost of living here was just ridiculous!

“Ahem, uh… On second thought, let’s just get one room. It’s cold out, so sharing a room would be warmer.” Li Xian forced a smile as he spoke.

“Sir, our inn comes with central heating and plenty of hot water.” The staff gave Li Xian and Sara a teasing look, though there was no malice in it.

Clearly, he had misunderstood something.

“…”

“Well, we’re siblings. We haven’t seen each other in a long time, so we wanted to catch up tonight.”

“Would you like me to contact an Ironblood Principality clinic for you? They’re an allied nation of the Roland Empire, and their orthopedics are famous. If you reserve a bed now, you get a ten percent discount.”

“…”

Li Xian fell silent, taking a deep breath.

Then he pulled out five gold coins, laying them out one by one on the counter, and slapped the table.

“Sorry, I admit it. I’m just after her body. I’m shameless. Just give us one room, please.”

“Very well. Please wait a moment.”

The staff behind the counter glanced at Sara, whose face was flushed red, smiled, and said nothing more—clearly used to this sort of thing.

At last, the room was settled.

Guided by the staff, they entered the room.

Looking at the rather nice accommodations, Li Xian felt another pang in his heart.

Those were five whole gold coins!

After paying the entry fee, five gold coins were nearly all he had left.

Now, just for a night at the inn, they were gone.

Li Xian gritted his teeth.

All of this was because of the troublesome, money-draining quest brought on by this fake rich girl beside him…

But glancing at Sara, who was clinging tightly to the corner of his clothes, following him closely, he met her gaze and saw the unease and dependence in her eyes.

Li Xian’s heart softened, and he couldn’t bring himself to say a single word of reproach.

After all, she had nowhere else to go…

With a helpless sigh, he led Sara into the room, closing the door behind them under the inn worker’s suggestive gaze.