A/N: Still scheduled chaps! Big storm incoming in these parts, so I might lose internet hehe. I will read your lovely comments/reviews when it’s over~!
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Finn gave his customers a quick tour of the facilities before he clocked in on the feast he promised. The first place they went to was the bathroom. Nature called after all, especially for the girls who, when nature called them while camping, had to go together with their weapons out.
With the money he had, he bought another bathroom for them, at the other end of the inn. Just four guests like this would take a while to use the bathroom, so might as well add another one since they could afford it anyway.
Well, this was after he sold a few copies of food to the Hearth Market, of course. Fortunately, he still had some extra hidden in his space, and it was just enough so he didn’t go negative.
[Purchased Toilet x1! -30 Gold, -30 Hearth Points]
[Status]
Name: Finnick Altheus Solthar
Race: Human
Class: Innkeeper, Chef
Level: Awakened Tier 2
Awakening Type: Physical
Affinity: Fire, Earth, Wind
...
VITALS
HP: 20/400
Mana: 15/400
Stamina: 23/400
Wallet: 3 Gold
Hearth Points: 9520 Points
...
Skills:
Active: [Ingredient Scan] [Dish Analysis][Heated Arc] [Foraging] [Farming] [Assesment] [Feather Step] [Sticky Soil]
Passive: [Blade Proficiency - Growth Type (Lv 2)] [Monster Instinct]
[Strong Stomach] [Improved Palate] [Fire Resistance]
Condition: Tired, -1 Stamina per hour]
"They have a bathroom and running water?" Marcus commented when they reached the rooms. "Is this soap? Very high-end!"
"I heard only those fancy hotels would have these..."
Plumbing fortunately existed in this world, particularly in big cities and some towns. It was not common though and was a sign of luxury, which impressed them all the more.
The rooms weren’t big, but they were spacious enough and comfortable.
"The room is nice..." Nona said with that monotonous tone of hers, but the sparkle in her eyes told them she meant what she was saying. "Not bad."
"The bedding is so soft... even the beddings of inns in cities aren’t this nice..." Marcus said, touching someone else’s bed.
This earned an ear-pull from Nona, owner of said bed. "You dare touch my bed with your filthy hands, huh?"
"I washed my hands! There’s running water!"
Seeing their reactions, Finn realized that this really was an unusual place.
He couldn’t help but remember Syl, who didn’t seem fazed by much. Even when the inn was practically bare back then, he already had a barrier that could handle mobs and magical rules that applied to anyone who entered.
Then again, shock to her might’ve been just raised eyebrows.
A small smile crept up his face at the recollection. It so happened that Marcus saw it and, as the gossipy kind of bloke, couldn’t help but pry.
"Whoa. Who are you thinking about?" he asked, elbowing him lightly with wiggling eyebrows. "A lover?"
Finn grinned. "Not yet."
Durgan whistled, Nona shook her head, while Leiah’s eyes flickered a little as she looked at him before turning away.
"While I prepare dinner, you should all get cleaned up and get some rest."
He took some home robes from the Utility Room for them to change into. "Hand me your soiled clothes and I can clean them up for you as part of the service," he said, putting up a basket made by Tumble. "It should be ready in a few hours or so. You do have a change of clothing, right?"
"That’s so nice of you."
"So convenient!"
"I am feeling really grimy."
The girls felt a bit awkward. "Will the female goblin do it?"
"All I can say is that it wouldn’t be me," he said, lifting the basket where they’d placed them after changing into robes. They were adventurers who had travelled the wilderness together for ages; they didn’t feel shy for long.
At this, he called Ranran to assist, and they were much more comfortable then.
He watched as they disappeared into their rooms, and he couldn’t help but look around his inn.
Since it was unique even to the well-travelled adventurers, this meant it was unusual.
Rare was valuable, so he had to make sure he could protect this place.
...
On the way here, they naturally encountered and killed a number of beasts. He got Marcus and them to pull in a few so they had no lack of meat.
The women were the first to use the bathrooms, so the two men helped him and the goblins out a lot with food prep.
They helped him butcher the meat so he had a lot in a short amount of time. They did this by taking care of the beasts that had followed them before and were still banging their heads on the barrier.
His customers were hungry, so he didn’t experiment. However, he did pull out quite a selection from his growing menu.
After the goblins assisted the guests, they immediately went to help him with the ingredients. Tumble didn’t have much talent in cooking, but he was a great cutter.
Pang, on the other hand... was lounging, as always. Considering his old body types, he must’ve been used to just lounging around like this.
"When will you be useful?"
"You have a lot of guests now, I’m useful!" he said, though how useful, Finn didn’t know.
Well, he had been lucky that the guests he got so far weren’t the type to cause trouble.
Thinking of it this way, Finn thought that shouldn’t wish for Pang to be useful; it could jinx him to get the troublesome ones, instead.
Durgan walked over. "Here’s the meat," he said with a smile, showing a basket filled with properly cut meat courtesy of the men. His eyebrows rose, impressed.
"These are...really clean cuts."
"My mum was a butcher," he said.
"And your dad?"
"A blacksmith."
Ah, yes. Dwarf .
"I haven’t really done anything in that direction, however."
Durgan’s eyes softened and Finn saw a hint of regret. It seemed like, at some point, he did want to try blacksmithing as well. It must’ve triggered some memories in him, too.
"I think he has potential, la. Be sure to recruit him," Pang mumbled at the side. Finn turned to the Panda, wondering what he was on about.
Only he and the staff could understand Pang, so they had no idea what they were talking about. "What?"
"Ah, it’s technically bad behavior to spoil, but I guess since the topic has been breached, it should be fine. I still need a few cores to partially lift some restrictions though."
Finn’s eyes twitched and took an awakened core from his pocket (actually his space) and threw it into the Panda’s mouth.
"At level 2, there are workshops to choose from. Among them, there is a blacksmith workshop and an alchemy workshop."
"But... didn’t say he had not actually done it before?" Finn said, referring to Durgan and blacksmithing.
"Have you forgotten what you gave to your goblins, la?" Pang asked, making Finn blink at the thought.
The system could grant inheritances.
"Not to mention, Blacksmith shops are to blacksmiths much like how the kitchen is for you, a cook." This meant it also increased the chances of making better weapons.
"What?"
Anyway, both of these factors meant that even if Durgan hadn’t practiced blacksmithing yet, as long as he had the potential, he could awaken the advanced skills!
"The weapons in the market are bound to you, these would not."
The knife that was chopping his spices stopped mid-air. Suddenly, more and more thoughts about the future flooded in his head.
If the weapons and equipment weren’t bound to him, this meant they could sell them.
Then...this meant he’d have a blacksmith shop and an alchemy shop in the middle of nowhere, one where people could buy these resources while adventuring. Again, in the middle of nowhere.
He looked at Pang. "Are you sure you just want me to handle an inn?"
At this rate, the inn would not just be a shelter, it would also be a source of food, a place of traffic, and—eventually— a source of various resources.
With resources, there will come commerce and trade, and then more and more people would come in, perhaps not even to hunt monsters, but just for the sake of heading to this place.
In time...wouldn’t a friggin town develop, instead?