Chương 56: Back in The Capital

Adolin played with a gold coin between his fingers. He was rich. His share of the quest reward had been a hundred gold coins, and the pouch containing every single one of them sat beside him on the bed. He could finally splurge a little, maybe find a better inn once he returned to the capital. Maybe one with softer beds. The kitten was already awake and chasing a mana construct all over the room. It was the only way Adolin had found to keep it entertained enough not to bother him.

He still wasn't sure what to do with it. He could leave it with Lira, but she still needed a few more days to recover, and leaving the small troublemaker with her would probably become a burden sooner or later. So he quickly dismissed the idea. There were the others as well, but he had already told Revel he would be leaving for the capital after she left. He frowned. He probably should have left the cat with Revel as another condition for accepting the job. Well, he could still do that later.

He technically still hadn't accepted the offer officially. Though it didn't really matter. Revel already knew he would accept, and Adolin himself knew it too. Which meant he would need to bring the cat with him. Thankfully, that wouldn't be much of a problem. Teleport could bring along anything touching him, and the kitten had already decided his shoulder was the perfect place to sleep. It would consume a little more mana, but he still had just enough left to make the spell work.

He looked at the kitten chasing a butterfly mana construct around the room. The little creature was slow and clumsy, forcing Adolin to reduce the construct's speed multiple times so it could actually get close to catching it. If he was going to bring the cat with him, then he needed to tire it out first. Otherwise, it would probably cause problems for him. It took almost twenty minutes before the kitten finally got tired and climbed onto his legs, meowing loudly for attention.

After some water and a few snacks, it was ready to sleep again. Adolin tapped his shoulder twice, and the kitten immediately climbed up before curling itself there. Moments later, it was asleep. Now he was ready to go. Adolin stood up from the bed and closed his eyes. He imagined the alley where he had first woken up in this world. It was the safest place he knew to Teleport to inside the capital. Even if someone saw him appear there, it wouldn't really matter.

Most of the people in that part of the city were addicts anyway, and nobody would believe a word they said. Teleport. He appeared inside the alley, and the kitten immediately bit his neck. Adolin looked at it. The kitten simply meowed back at him, sounding irritated.

"Sorry," he said. Teleportation wasn't exactly pleasant, and he had just dragged a tiny kitten through one. Honestly, he probably deserved the bite. The kitten let out another offended meow before making itself comfortable on his shoulder again. Now he just needed to find an inn where he could spend a day or two relaxing. The problem was deciding which one. The inn he had stayed at during his last visit to the capital had been expensive and… boring. He wanted something better than that.

The carriage driver had mentioned a few other places during the trip. There was another inn in the Academy District, only a street or two away from the Garden Inn. Close enough that he could take a short walk there tomorrow and let the innkeeper know Eduard should expect him soon. He also needed to tip the carriage driver at some point. The man had helped him quite a lot back then. Stolen novel; please report. The alley looked exactly as he remembered it.

Well, aside from the extra garbage scattered around and the missing knife that had once been lying on the ground. The smell was still the same, too. Filth and piss. It hadn't bothered him the first time he woke up here. Now, though, he frowned and immediately started walking toward the main street of the slums. Spending time in civilization had apparently done wonders for him. The street was the same, everything was the same. He wasn't sure why he had expected anything to change in the worst part of the capital.

The addicts were still there as well. Adolin glanced at a few of them before looking away again. Even if he wanted to help, he didn't have enough mana to heal even one of them. Teleport had drained everything he had. Well… almost everything. He still had a few drops left. Not that he planned to help them in the first place. He was already in enough trouble with the church as it was, and he hadn't even started teaching mages healing magic yet. That alone was going to bring him even more problems.

Training mages to use healing magic would give the addicts a far better chance at survival than healing a few of them once. It was a complicated problem, and not one he wanted to think about right now. It would just ruin his mood. He quickly left the slums and entered the harbor district. From there, he made his way toward the market. He still avoided unnecessary interactions. He simply wasn't in the mood for them. Still, he noticed the stares he was getting.

It was similar to the first time he had walked through the capital, except now people were staring at the kitten resting on his shoulder instead of him. Well, that was still better than before. At least this time, there weren't any disgusted looks mixed in. There was also Lissandra. He might need to visit her before leaving the capital again. He still hadn't forgotten about the tea spell. Yeah, he was definitely visiting her. He had to get his hands on that spell.

He had already noticed three different groups of priests since entering the capital. One in the market district, another near the harbor, and now a third group in the Academy District. There was no way this was connected to him. Right? It just couldn't be. Surely they should have given up by now. Or were they really that desperate to find the healer?

"Whatever," he muttered. He was taking a two-day break. He arrived in front of the inn. The wooden sign hanging above the entrance read The Magnolia. The building itself was three stories tall, its outer walls covered in colorful flowers, most of them bright enough to stand out even from the street. The courtyard looked more like a small garden than part of an inn. Multiple trees provided shade for the tables outside, and there were at least twenty of them spread across the courtyard.

Adolin didn't waste any time and entered the inn. The inside was far more luxurious than the Garden Inn. His hand instinctively went to his hip, where he used to keep his money pouch. Well, in his first life. Now the pouch was safely inside his inventory. The inn looked expensive. Very expensive. He swallowed and walked toward the man who looked to be the innkeeper.

"Five silver per night," the innkeeper repeated. Adolin stared at him. That couldn't be right. He had paid fifty silver per night at the Garden Inn, and this place looked far better. Yet the innkeeper was only asking for five silver coins. Was the man messing with him? Or had the Garden Inn's owner scammed him?

"Can I see the room first?"

"Sure," the innkeeper agreed, tossing him a key.

"First door on the right. Second floor." Adolin climbed the stairs and stopped in front of his room. The door was made of dark wood, with the number eleven engraved into it. He unlocked it and stepped inside. His frown deepened. The room was easily twice the size of the one he had rented at the Garden Inn. The bed looked twice as large as well. The air carried a pleasant floral scent, similar to the one from the courtyard outside. And it was clean. Spotless. There wasn't a speck of dust in sight.

There was another door that led to a bathroom. Inside was a bathtub already filled with water. It was cold, but he suspected the inn had a way to warm it up if he asked. There was also a large mirror mounted on the wall. Adolin stared at it for a few moments. He had been scammed.