Earlier than Roger woke up, at the east gate of Beacon City.

A simple and almost crude-looking carriage passed through the gate's inspection and entered the city. Although the war had ended, the scrutiny of people coming and going seemed to continue for a while.

Sitting at the front of the carriage, the carter, dressed in a plain linen robe, pulled the horses to a stop in front of a moderately graded inn, tapping on the carriage wall behind him.

"John, you go in and register first. I will park the carriage at the back."

"Just a moment... Let me... Ugh..."

A weak voice of a young man came from inside the carriage, and before he could finish speaking, it turned into sounds of retching. "By the goddess, are all the drivers of the holy knight group so irritable in driving carriages?!"

"Be careful with your words, John. We came in incognito this time. Bishop Heinrich just made a fuss over Milanía, I can't guarantee that the people here hold goodwill towards the church."

The carter reminded in a low voice, also pulling down the large scarf originally wrapped around his head to fend off the sandy winds along the way. He shook his head to rid of some dust, unraveled the brown short hair pressed into a bundle by the scarf, revealing a handsome face.

"However, if you're not feeling well, let's skip it. You should rest some more."

As he spoke, he flicked the reins, driving the carriage from the back door into the inn's yard.

Not long after, in the main hall of the inn.

"Ah... Business is really slow."

The girl in charge of check-in and checkout at the front desk flipped through the accounts on the table, couldn't help but sigh. Although the city wasn't breached in the end, as the front line affected by the war, it was indeed difficult to quickly recover the business.

Usually, Beacon City, as a commercial hub, had a continuous flow of people, even in the seasons of summer and autumn frequently plagued by sea storms, over half of their dozens of rooms would still be occupied.

But now... it seemed like not even a two-digit number of guests.

Although knowing that business would gradually pick up, the girl's current concern was not about that, but about the conversation her parents had with her last night.

Inheriting the family inn, marrying the person they chose, and having children... Yuck! Who would want such a foreseeable future! How could she bury herself in the grave called marriage at the peak of her youth!

She lowered her head and examined herself in the handheld mirror, nodding in approval. She was quite confident in her appearance. Sneaking out of the window to the tavern at night even drew many people to strike up conversations with her, although most of the time she shyly evaded them.

"Wishing for a fateful encounter... Can I meet a handsome guy?" The girl lazily sprawled across the counter, stretching her arms and letting out a soft moan.

"Hello, do you still have any rooms available for me to check-in?"

"Oh, yes, of course! May I-" Worried about being caught slacking off, the girl quickly straightened up and skillfully prepared to record in the check-in book, but she froze when she saw the guest for the first time, even wanting to rub her eyes to confirm she wasn't seeing things.

Huh? Did the goddess really hear her prayer? A handsome guy did exist! Could this destined encounter be happening today?

"Miss?"

The brown-haired holy knight looked at the girl, who had suddenly frozen, with some confusion, waving his hand in front of her.

"My apologies, I-I-I-I was lost in thought!"

The girl's heart raced, she quickly closed the check-in book with a thud, using the thick leather-bound ledger to cover her face. "Um, I'm Belna, sixteen this year! I currently work at the front desk for check-ins and financial accounting at the inn!"

"Oh... I'm Sullivan," the holy knight, clearly unaware of the girl's reaction, looked a bit puzzled, "But I just want to check-in."

"Um, okay! Let me register for you. Is the third-floor queen room alright? Great view, and the facilities are very complete."

Frantically retrieving the key box with all the room keys neatly categorized, the girl, still jittery, hesitated for a moment before quoting the price.

"Four coins?"

Sullivan hesitated for a moment.

"If it's too expensive, there's room for negotiation! After all, business is slow now, haha..."

Not because it was expensive, on the contrary, having taken on a task from the church ensured he was quite financially secure. The main reason for the hesitation was seeing the prominently displayed price list on the wall behind the girl, indicating that the third-floor room was priced at five coins.

Is it to attract customers?

Sullivan made peace with it, taking out a sizable pouch of coins from his storage ring and placing it on the counter. "Please take this; the money inside should definitely cover a month, and any excess can be considered a deposit."

Handsome and wealthy!

Belna's eyes lit up even more; not to mention the bag of coins, she had also heard of the storage ring worn by Sullivan. The value of these spatial magic items was quite formidable, definitely not something an ordinary person could afford.

"Here's your key. Up the stairs to the third floor, turn right, the room at the end is yours."

Handing over the key, Belna nervously scrutinized Sullivan.

Hmm, he still looks so handsome no matter how you look at it! Come on, Belna, this guest is going to stay here for a month; you must seize this opportunity!

"Thank you."

Sullivan flashed a gentle smile, his stalwart demeanor from his knightly practice mingling with Belna's restless feelings.

"John, let's go."

Huh?

Seeing Sullivan waving to him, the girl blinked, only then noticing the young man lying on the couch for temporary rest given to guests, seemingly as handsome as Sullivan, albeit looking weak and with a quite unpleasant complexion.

"Uh... Alright, I'm coming..."

Johannes stood up, pressing his forehead.

After sitting down and resting for a while, feeling somewhat better, but he figured he should lie down and rest a bit more... Why in the world didn't the divine arts have a spell for motion sickness despite being able to heal, protect, run, and support?

"Um, Sullivan, is this man your companion?" Belna glanced at Sullivan who had reached the stairs.

All her attention had been on Sullivan, totally missing Johannes... But two men sharing a room, particularly one with only a large bed, didn't seem quite right, did it? And they even wanted a room with good soundproofing...

"Yes, is there an issue?"

"Um, I just wanted to say... we do have double rooms in our inn if needed."

"Is a big bed... not enough for two people?"

"It's not that..."

"Then it's fine, no problem."

"Oh, okay..."