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Cheery sounds and laughter rang out in the air as the ox-cart moved over the stone roads. People laughed and giggled as they went on with their days in the small town of Leunderk. White gypsum and lime held together the short brick buildings in their oak-planked frames one after the other, creating a neatly arranged block of houses in the streets.

Flowers and vines reached up and down the windows as their leaves swayed in the gentle morning breeze, the chirpings of birds and the laughs of the children sounded like a harmonious score made only for the town. The smell of fresh bread being put out by the bakers wafted to their noses as the cart moved on, only to be replaced by the scent of sizzling meat, of vegetables, fruits, earthenware, people, and the streets, the whiffs of homely cooking and the aroma of the streets, all of them coming together to form the scent of Leunderk.

The tromp of the ox came to a slow halt in front of a larger building as compared to the rest. Windows were on every floor of the place as a signboard hung out from the fashionable door.

"This your place fellas?" the farmer asked.

"Ah, yes pops." Jamie said as jumped off the cart, Quinton nodded at Claude and the two of them followed down as well.

Jamie walked up to the farmer and tried to hand him a pouch of coins, but the farmer shook his head.

"Ay, I told ya, I was going that way in the first place."

"Still pops, you always help us out with this stuff."

"Just keep it," the farmer tapped Elric\'s back and smiled. "Buy a meal for this lad for me or something."

"Oh! Thanks pops!" Elric intervened.

"Anytime, lad. Come over to house someday, my wife nags a lot, but a good cook."

"You bet, I\'ll be there!"

With that short exchange, the farmer pulled on the reins of the ox again and rolled his cart and the stack of hay away. The group of four watched the farmer\'s back for a few seconds. Then, Jamie and Quinton turned around.

"Alright then, this is our place," Jamie said.

"Fun hanging out with you guys, bye!" Quinton added, and the two started walking toward the gate of the building when a hand scruffed them by the collars and pulled them back.

"Did you think you can get away with that, Quamie, Jinton?" Claude asked.

"Pfft, what\'s with those names?" Elric laughed. Claude thought Mr. Two Surnames had no right to speak like this but focused on the other two first.

"W-what else do you need? Leunderk is here and ready!"

Claude smirked. "Heh, the bed and the food."

Jamie and Quinton were let go of Claude\'s grasp. In a bind, they huddled up together and talked amongst each other. Claude watched them with crossed hands as they whispered and then turned back to him.

"Um, so…" Jamie said. "Do you have… any money?"

"Nope."

ραпdα nᴏνa| сom An instant answer.

Jamie and Quinton knew it! They fucking knew it! The two of them looked down in thought.

They were trapped from all ends, but was it really necessary? Did they have to give up their money like this just to house these strangers? There was no reason—

A snap resounded in the air as Claude cracked his knuckles, and then his wrists.

There was a reason after all.

"Alright then," they said. "Why don\'t you two live in the same inn as us for the time being? A day?"

"Hm?"

"Two days…"

Claude walked closer to them.

"F-fine, we\'ll cover you for a week, okay? Just for a week!"

Claude smiled and nodded. "Yeah thanks, we wouldn\'t want to overstay our welcome either."

\'Overstay!? You aren\'t fucking welcome at all! Go back!\' Jamie wanted to scream those words out but managed to keep them in.

"T-then, let\'s go in."

Jamie and Quinton led Claude and Elric inside the inn. Mahogany planks covered the walls of the inn with small lamp stands sticking out of them. A velvet couch with silk upholstery was set on one end with an empty fireplace in front of it and a glass table in between. At the other end of the reception was a door leading further into the building and a staircase to the floors above. Right across the gate, a chip-carved table of brown greeted them with a middle-aged lady behind it.

The group walked straight to the counter, two with nervous steps and the other two with curious ones.

"Oh? You two are back already?" The lady greeted Jamie and Quinton with a friendly smile, skipping over all formalities.

"Yeah, something came up," Jamie said. "Anyway, innkeep. Can you get us two more rooms for these two?"

The lady looked at Claude and Elric and froze for a second. Claude nodded at her, which seemed to have gotten her her composure back. "Good afternoon," she said. "Welcome to the Laughing Blue inn. I am Rena Blue, I run this place with my daughter."

"Claude, this one\'s Elric." Claude nodded at the lady\'s polite greeting and returned a curt one.

"There are two empty on the second floor, is that fine?"

Jamie and Quinton sighed in relief. Theirs was on the first floor, they could at least breathe in peace for a bit.

"Any will do," Claude said. "Do you also do food?"

"Only dinner and breakfast, sir." Lady Blue answered with a bright business smile. "There are paid, though. Then, I\'ll put you down for the rooms."

"Wait, Lady," As was norm, Elric did not let her go without getting a word in. "Do you have beds?"

"Huh? Yes. All our rooms have beds."

"Tsk, tsk." He flashily shook his index finger around and clicked his tongue. "I am not talking about just beds, but beds."

"Hoh," the lady smirked. "I see, you know your stuff, dear guest. Alright, I\'ll give you two on the first floor, right next to the other two\'s"

Lady Blue and Elric smiled as she handed him the keys to their rooms. A smile that almost made tears drip down from Jamie and Quinton\'s faces.

Without wasting any time, Claude took the keys from Elric and had the other two show them to their rooms. They passed by the lines of paintings and the unlit candle stands as they walked up the spiraling stairs of wood and came up to the second floor. Just like below, the walls were covered in Mahogany planks while a blue carpet ran over the length of the passage on the second floor. Despite the slightly lacking exterior, the inn was a cozy and rich place.

Jamie and Quinton led the two curious guests to the rooms at the end of the passage. Claude and Elric had their rooms right next to each other on the side opposite Jamie and Quinton\'s. They excitedly twisted the keys, and then the knobs, and pried the door open.

The edges of the blue curtains fluttered slightly in the wind coming from the open window. Sunlight barged in at the perfect spot and dimly lit the wide room. Carpet-covered flooring stretched from end to end as a small study table sat in one corner of the room with an intricate lamp on top. A closet was placed next to it, wide enough for Elric to fit inside if he scrunched up a bit.

Opposite the closet was a large full-sized bed. A wooden board made up the head of the bed, twisting in fine cuts. White sheets draped off the bed, curving over the fluffy mattress that fit snugly on top of the frame of the bed. Drool dripped out of Elric\'s mouth as his eyes landed on the bed, not even noticing the side tables next to it.

"C-Claude…" Elric called out to his friend, taking a weak step out of the room.

"I know," Claude answered. "Knock yourself out…"

His voice cracked.

"We are finally at a safe place…"

A smile covered Elric\'s face as he walked inside the room and dived onto the bed. His body sunk inside the soft mattress, almost carrying him away to heaven. Elric didn\'t bother with the grime that had settled on his body or the sweat he worked up in the sun, he pulled the pillow on the bed under his head and closed his eyes, drifting off to sleep right away.

Claude watched his friend with a smile, he had forgotten to shut his door in his excitement. Stifling a chuckle, Claude shut the door behind Elric and turned to face Jamie and Quinton.

"D-do you like it—"

Jamie\'s mouth stopped and swung open.

In front of him, the red-haired man that had kicked his ass not that long ago, bowed deeply.

"Thank you," Claude said. "We\'ll remember this favor and pay you back."

Jamie and Quinton could only nod. Claude smiled at them for the first time since he met them and walked into his room, closing the door behind him.

The two C-Ranked adventurers were left sighing in the passage of the inn.

"I don\'t know if we helped someone or were extorted here," Quinton said.

Jamie and Quinton stood in silence for a short while, maybe they were daydreaming, or maybe they were cursing their luck, or maybe they were not thinking of anything, knowing that it wouldn\'t get them anywhere.

"That\'s just our lives, huh? Adventurers…"

With that, the two of them retreated to their rooms too.

Claude and Elric were fast asleep in mere moments.

That time, they slept for three days straight.