Chapter 60 Country Inn
They continued walking for an hour in the increasingly heavy rain, and finally saw a roadside hotel.
Jericho drove the carriage into the inn yard, let Andrei and Jiangyou get off, and then drove the carriage to the stables in the back. The horses had been caught in the rain and needed to be dried off as soon as possible.
The weather in Huntington during the summer was extremely changeable, with temperature swings being extremely extreme. Under the scorching sun of midsummer, the temperature could reach 30 or 40 degrees Celsius at noon, but once the relentless downpours began, the temperature would plummet.
A horse's coat is naturally waterproof, but if it's exposed to the rain for a long time, it still needs to be dried quickly. Otherwise, the cold wind will cause the body to lose heat and easily cause illness. The skin folds and areas covered by the hair are also difficult to dry naturally, and can develop psoriasis due to excessive moisture.
These are all things that need to be dealt with as a priority as soon as possible. The grooms and waiters at roadside inns like this will not take good care of the horses for guests diligently and meticulously. If you want to avoid any accidents when you are away from home, you have to do it yourself.
Andrei and Jiangyou rushed into the inn in the rain. The little skeleton pulled the hood of his cloak and jumped under the eaves at the door to shake off the rain. The knight walked straight to the counter and said, "A room, a pot of hot tea, and fodder for three horses."
The old man behind the counter was hunched over, with a long, narrow scar across his left eyelid. He looked like someone you wouldn't want to mess with. He was probably the inn's owner. Upon hearing Andrei's words, he simply raised his eyelids, gave the knight a neutral glance, and then pulled out a key and fetched a teapot from the stove nearby. "One silver coin a day, second floor, third room. Haylage will be delivered to the stables. You can relax here if you like; there's a fireplace over there for warming yourself."
The boss glanced at the door again and said, "This rain is going to continue until tomorrow. Do you need any food? If you provide meals, it's one silver coin per person per day."
"I'll give you two silver coins in total," Andre said. "You don't have to cook. I just need to use your kitchen and your ingredients and seasonings as I please."
He took out three silver coins and placed them on the counter. The boss pondered for a moment, then swept the three silver coins into his arms and said, "Okay, but the ingredients and seasonings can only be cooked and used in the kitchen. You can't take them away."
After agreeing on board and lodging, Andrei took the pot of hot tea and took Jiangyou to the fireplace to warm himself. The weather was so humid that after only a moment in front of the fireplace, white steam began to rise from Jiangyou's skull.
Jiang You: “?” Isn’t this level of humidity a bit too outrageous?
Not long after, Jericho came in from the back door connected to the stable, carrying his luggage. He was also soaked. After throwing the luggage to the young master, he quickly turned into a cat, shook off the water, and then curled up in front of the fireplace to warm himself quietly.
Many people came to the inn to take shelter from the rain, and several groups of people came in later: a noble lady with five or six servants glanced at the occupied fireplace, asked for a room and a bucket of hot water and went upstairs; three hunters came in wearing straw raincoats similar to Jericho's, casually hung the raincoats on the wall, found an empty table to sit down, and bought three bottles of liquor from the owner; there were also three magicians, all of whom looked very young, probably students of the nearby Royal Academy of Magic. While talking about "Ice Magic Element Riot" and "Cold Front Passage", they used drying magic to evaporate the moisture on each other's bodies and sat down at an empty table near the fireplace.
"Boss, give me something to eat!"
Jiang You looked at their posture and thought that they were about to shout "Three bowls of plain noodles" to the boss in the next second, but he didn't expect that what he actually heard was: "Three bowls of oatmeal porridge!"
Jiang You: “…” The food culture here is really poor!
The boss stood up with the help of a cane and limped over to serve the three students some mushy oatmeal. Apart from being steaming hot, the oatmeal was completely useless. It was a thick, pale yellow mucus that made people lose their appetite just by looking at it.
As the boss stood up and walked around, Jiang You could see clearly that he was wearing a brown robe that looked like rags. The boss glanced at her, then glanced at the knight, gave them a warning look, and then limped back behind the counter.
Jiang You: “???” What just happened?
She scratched her head in confusion, and heard the sound of slurping porridge next to her. The three students held the oatmeal bowls and drank it with their heads down. The action reminded people of some common animals in the countryside.
Jiang You couldn't help but grit her teeth, yet she also felt a deep-seated hunger rising from her bones. After a morning of running around in the rain, the little Soul Fire breakfast she'd eaten had long since been completely digested, the Knights having already devoured the remaining dregs. Now she was truly feeling a bit hungry.
"I'll go to the kitchen and take a look." Jiang You stood up and said.
"I'll help too." Andre followed suit, and Jiang You didn't stop him.
To be honest, this inn always gave her the feeling of a shady inn in the mountains. With the knight around, she felt more at ease.
"What happened to that boss just now?" Jiang You asked after entering the kitchen.
"Oh, he's a brown-robed druid," Andre said. "He probably thought you were a dark lich. And since he saw I was a knight of the kingdom, he probably thought you were a prisoner I'd arrested. He used his eyes to warn us not to cause trouble in this inn."
Jiang You: "...That's a bit outrageous...What is a Brown Robe Druid?"
She had only heard of the Druid profession in games, but each game had different settings, and she didn't know what the "Druid" in this other world meant.
"Druids are special mages who specialize in natural magic," Andre explained. "Their magic system is very different from that of ordinary mages. Ordinary mages cast spells by attracting magical elements, while druids rely on being close to nature and life to accumulate life energy.
"However, there are also various factional divisions within the druids. Due to these differences in beliefs and understandings, they often dislike each other and often live alone. Brown druids specialize in animal magic. They can communicate with animals, sense their emotions, and even transform into them. They can also use the energy of living creatures to heal sick people and animals. They are considered a relatively neutral and benevolent faction."
"Hmm?" Jiang You was puzzled. "But the boss had injuries on his eyes, legs and feet? Didn't he get himself treated?"
Andrei laughed. "Rather, that's the result of the treatment... Ah, it wasn't him who injured his leg, but a horse. He gave his life energy to the horse, and took on the horse's leg injury himself. As for the scar on his eye, it was the result of a fight with a ferocious brown bear."
"Wow!" Jiang You was surprised. "So this boss is a good person. I thought this was a shady shop!"
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