Seeing them like this, Finn smiled. He decided to and more of the inn, to cement the idea that ’3 gold is fair’ to these people.
"Not to mention, you’ll get a nice bed to sleep on, a nice place to get cleaned up, and your clothes will even get cleaned and washed," he leaned down. " Quality Guaranteed."
"On top of that, you are protected by a barrier, so your mind is also at ease," he said. "And you’ll have one inclusive meal on top of that."
"For you guys, I can guarantee that the dish will be an essence meal. If I can’t make it, you’ll get a 2 gold rebate."
"Essence meal? Guaranteed?"
An essence meal wouldn’t be cheap, either!
He smiled. "Yes."
"Ah, if it’s still too expensive, you can also share the room, though the meal is only for one person."
"I also accept cores, though (except for the entrance fee) my exchange rate is equivalent to what the nearest town sells," he said, which meant he’d buy it according to the higher value where it was scarcer.
Zachary nodded. "Okay! We’ll take..."
"Two rooms!" Aaron said, sneering at them. "I won’t share."
Ren didn’t even look at him while Zachary nodded in understanding. He then looked at the goblins. "Will you be fine with sharing with us?"
The goblins flinched and shook their heads. "We are perfectly fine outside, sirs! You have already done so much! You are too kind, mister!" they said. The male one, especially, seemed a lot more gregarious. The girl goblin was a bit more reserved.
Finn smiled and nodded. Although slavery wasn’t as rampant as it was before, and especially not the abuse, the ’lower’ beings like goblins and dwarves were still treated a bit lowly. This spoke a lot about Zachary’s character.
This also applied to the other boys. Although they were much less warm, they didn’t really show much distaste with the goblins.
Anyway, he quite liked them so far.
The five paid for the entrance fees first, with Zachary handing a core each to the goblins, who refused the kindness this time. They even paid for the rest’s entrance fees.
During the hunt (even back before chaos happened), they collected a lot of cores because their jobs were mostly in logistics. Goblins were dextrous and fast so, even if they were weak, they really had a lot of uses out there.
While they had lost their bags during the chaos, they still had a few in their pockets, so they could actually afford to stay there on their own.
In any case, they simply had to agree to pay for the entrance fee, and Pang would take them.
After getting the money, Pang finally decided to unblock the door, toddling to the sofa and then climbing over it. Considering the sofa’s apron was his height, he could climb that really well—like a real panda!
Still, this time the panda slid a bit, and he missed a hold, causing him to slide down on his bum.
"Pff—"
Finn covered his mouth, but stared at the others, who were about to laugh. "Be careful about what you say to him. He might charge you more."
"..." their laughter died very quickly after that.
Anyway, the group was finally led inside, and they gaped at the sight. The decorations were homey and comforting to see, and everything was clean.
They also watched as Finn headed to the sink and washed his hands.
It was running water!
Zachary went next to him and tilted his head as if to follow where the water came from. Of course, it was coming from within the sink and the walls so he couldn’t see it. "How?"
Finn smiled. "Trade secret," he said, waving the excess water away. The others also washed their hands and their faces, and also gulped down quite a bit directly from the sink.
He guided them to the dining room and made them sit down. The two goblins were at the side, as if just watching. It confused Finn at first, asking them why they were not joining.
The three mercenaries blinked, as if forgetting, and then they called the goblins to join in. They looked shy and reluctant though.
This was because their treatment back in the team had always been less. They would only eat after all the others have already eaten, and the food could even be leftovers and scraps, depending on the situation.
Finn understood this a bit belatedly and felt bad. "Don’t worry, you’re the same type of guests as the other three," he said. "I will charge you the same, of course."
They nodded, feeling a bit more confident. The chairs were a bit tall for them though, so they had to make a bit of adjustments, like placing the small baskets over the chairs to serve as bolsters.
With his guests settled, he headed straight to the food he set aside.
He gained a lot—it made him giddy with excitement, in fact—during this foraging mission. He got a lot of good stuff! However, he did not experiment much for this meal. Everyone must be famished. The trial-and-error session could happen later.
For his new guests, he just gave them the remaining braised pork he had made before, heating it up for warmth. He also added some refreshing salad as a side dish and mashed thornroot as their carb source. They were definitely starving and their stats were too low to wait.
The group stared at the steaming food and gulped. The scent alone felt like it was kneading their stomachs!
They felt like they could inhale this food!
"Be careful, it’s hot," Finn said, but it was too late.
Not that it mattered, of course, because even with slightly burned tongues their tears were of joy rather than of pain. "DELICIOUS!"
"The meat is so tender. I feel energized just by tasting it," Zachary said, gregarious as always. "I haven’t eaten a flavoring like this before. I love it so much. Can I have more, please ?"
The two goblins had smaller hands and smaller mouths and ate slower, but their faces filled with enjoyment. "I think I am in heaven...my tongue has never felt this stimulated, my body is shaking," the male goblin, Timble, said.
"I think I am already dead with happiness..." the other one, Ranran, the female goblin, said though much more demurely.
"It balances so well with this white thing...is this thornroot? The salad is also good..." Aaron said. He was a noble so he was much more familiar with ’beast forest’ ingredients than they were. He wanted to show off his prowess, but he ended up inhaling his food first.
In contrast, Ren was silent, eating much more gracefully than others. It was just that his plate was getting emptied at the same rate, which was actually impressive considering everything.
"..."
Finn smiled at them, watching them consume their food, asking for seconds, and thoughtlessly placing cores on the table to pay for it.
When they were done, they patted their stomachs with blissful expressions on their faces.
Finn laughed, leaning down over the table as he stared at them. "So... let me ask again: Is a few gold a night still expensive?"