Because the official students would be staying somewhere different from the current dorms, the school was arranging for the new quarters to be cleaned and rooms assigned. So every first-year student, whether they’d passed the assessment or not, had to leave campus today.
Students who hadn’t passed, like Alice and Lina, had already set off for the cities where their families lived. Camille Magic Academy had recorded every student’s information during registration. Anyone who failed the assessment would have their details sent to the magic academy in their home city, where they could enroll once they returned.
Most of the other students went home to settle down and start ordinary lives. After all, only a few people could afford to go to school.
Students who passed, like Eve, would find somewhere to stay in the city, then return to the academy the next day to report in and receive their class assignments.
At that moment, in a small inn on a street corner...
“Boss, can’t you make it any cheaper?” Eve had to rise onto her tiptoes just to reach the counter. She was trying to bargain with the innkeeper. She hadn’t had much money to begin with, and she’d spent some of it while at school. Now she was practically penniless.
“If you can’t afford a price this low, why stay at an inn? Get out!” The innkeeper’s face hardened as he ordered them to leave.
His inn was already one of the cheapest in Soto City. But this was the capital of Camille Province, and there was only so low he could go. Eve didn’t even have a third of the amount she needed.
“All right. Thanks, boss.” Eve lowered her head in disappointment and led Xing Hai out of the inn.
“Heh. Poor people belong out on the street!” Even after they left, the innkeeper couldn’t resist sneering at them. The other guests inside, who were checking in, looked just as contemptuous.
But they forgot that this was only a shabby inn to begin with.
Suddenly, their vision lurched. The world spun around them, and by the time they realized what was happening, their heads had fallen to the floor.
Not one of them managed to make a sound before they died. The inn filled with the heavy stench of blood.
And at some point, the inn’s door had closed.
“Xing, why is that inn closed?” After leaving, Eve thought it over and decided to go back. Maybe if she pleaded with the owner and offered to help out at the inn for a while, he’d lower the price.
But as soon as she turned around, she saw that the inn’s door was shut.
“Maybe something came up at home, and they closed early,” Xing Hai said dismissively, a thought stirring in his mind.
The bodies inside the inn vanished in an instant. Even the strong smell of blood was gone without a trace.
As if they had never come into this world at all.
Since he wasn’t sure whether Eve would go back, Xing Hai had taken a moment to clean things up.
“Eve, how about letting me take care of finding us a place to stay?” he suggested.
“I’m your master. Of course I should be the one to take care of this!” Eve said stubbornly.
“Please let me handle it, okay?” Xing Hai crouched down and spoke softly to her.
As my master, how could I let you sleep on the street?
Their faces drew close, and Eve’s cheeks flushed again.
“Th-then I’ll leave it to you.”
The Vlad Hotel. Lobby.
As the receptionist and Eve stared in shock, Xing Hai casually tossed a bag onto the counter. It was full of glittering gold coins.
“The best room, for one night. Is this enough?”
The receptionist swallowed and respectfully handed Xing Hai the room key. “Sir, this is too much.” She was telling the truth. The Vlad Hotel was the best hotel in Soto City, but it didn’t cost anywhere near a whole bag of gold coins. Even the best room cost just ten gold coins, enough to stay in comfort for three days.
“It’s fine. Keep the rest as a tip. I have things to do.” Xing Hai took Eve’s little hand and led her out of the lobby and back onto the street.
There were still some things they needed to buy.
