Chapter 464 – Silver Globe Flower Inn

Chapter 464 – Silver Globe Flower Inn

There were two inns not far from the town entrance.

One was tucked in a small alley on the left side of the street, hanging a worn-out sign with the words “Wild Boar Inn” scrawled crookedly in cheap luminescent paint.

The other was on the right side of the street, with a courtyard.

In the courtyard stood an always-lit magical lamp, and on a wooden sign embedded with magical light strips at the courtyard gate, the words “Silver Globe Flower Inn” were written.

“Instructor, which one are we staying at?” Vasida asked.

“Silver Globe Flower Inn!” Mo Lan said. “I hear this is a property of the Duchy of Lance’s marquess. The conditions are definitely better than that whatever Wild Boar Inn!”

The Duchy of Lance had only one marquess — Dayla.

The carriage drove into the courtyard of the Silver Globe Flower Inn.

The copper bells hanging at the entrance jangled noisily, and a staff member immediately came out into the rain to guide them.

“Right this way, honored guests — the carriage shed is over here!”

The carriage pulled into the shed at the back of the inn.

Lilith was the first to step down and handle things.

“Instructor, there’s a covered corridor from the carriage shed that leads directly to the inn’s Great Hall,” Vasida said after prying the magic gemstone off the disc.

Mo Lan nodded, pulled up her hood, and stood to get off the carriage.

Sylph pushed open the carriage door for her.

After Mo Lan stepped down, she noticed the carriage shed was quite spacious — three carriages and five horses were already parked inside.

Of the three carriages, only one was a magical carriage.

Vasida and Sylph each carried two leather suitcases as they climbed down as well.

Sylph locked the carriage door.

By then, Lilith had already gotten the full picture from the shed’s manager. She walked over to Mo Lan and whispered:

“Instructor, the small suite at this inn costs ten standard silver coins per night. It has a small sitting room, two bedrooms, and a washroom. It’ll be a tight squeeze, but it should be enough.”

“That expensive?” Mo Lan frowned.

They were wild mages with no backing — not some wealthy patrons rolling in money.

Lilith said with difficulty, “Instructor, the inn only has two suites left, and the other one is even more expensive…”

“Fine, we’ll take this one then. Book it for two days first — not one!”

Mo Lan played the role of a stingy mage to perfection.

The carriage shed manager kept his head bowed low, though internally he couldn’t stop complaining:

“I heard she’s supposed to be an Advanced mage — how is she even more strapped for cash than some mage apprentices? These apprentices following her really have no future ahead of them.”

Thinking this, he even cast a sympathetic glance at Vasida and Sylph.

Vasida and Sylph’s faces immediately flushed as if scorched by fire. In unison, they shrank their necks and hid their faces inside their hoods.

“Let’s go!” Mo Lan urged with a dark expression.

“Right this way, honored guests!” The shed manager led them through the covered corridor and in through the back door of the inn.

Years later, when the Mage Empire grew suspicious of the Dawn Society’s background and began investigating personnel movements in the Duchy of Lance during this period, they traced their way to the Silver Globe Flower Inn.

The carriage shed manager stated with absolute certainty: “Impossible. The Dawn Society’s Guiding Mentor — do you know what kind of figure that is? How could she possibly balk at a mere ten-silver-coin suite?”

*

The inn’s first floor appeared to be the dining area, and at this hour, the restaurant was packed to capacity.

Mo Lan stood at the entrance and swept her gaze across the room. Good — one Intermediate mage, two Beginner mages, six mage apprentices, and the rest were all attendants, guards, and other ordinary warriors.

“Welcome! Are you here to dine or to lodge?” The owner behind the nearby bar counter asked with a bow.

“Book the small suite for one day first,” Lilith said, pulling a bulging pouch from inside her mage robe. She rummaged through it for quite a while before finally fishing out ten silver coins to hand him.

Vasida caught a glimpse of the menu written on the wooden board behind the counter, and her stomach gave a timely growl.

Mo Lan cast her an airy glance, and she quickly lowered her head.

“…” Mo Lan said to the owner, “Two orders of pan-seared lamb chops, two mushroom cream soups, and two potato cakes. We’ll put our luggage away and come back down to eat.”

“Coming right up!” The owner quickly tallied the bill. “That’ll be two silver coins and fifty-eight copper coins in total.”

Mo Lan’s expression grew even darker.

Lilith emptied all the coins from the money pouch and managed to count out exactly two silver coins and fifty-eight copper coins, leaving twelve silver coins, which she put back into the pouch.

The previously bulging pouch deflated in an instant.

Lilith muttered under her breath, “How are prices in the Duchy of Lance so high?”

“…” The diligent, hardworking inn owner broke into a fine layer of cold sweat on his forehead, unable to help but wonder — was this price really that high for mages?

“Sir, how do we get to the room?” Sylph looked as though she could barely hold up the luggage any longer.

The owner, as if granted a reprieve, called toward the stairwell beside the counter: “Ashley, take these guests to the room at the end of the Second Floor corridor to drop off their luggage!”

A little girl with orange-red hair ducked out from under the stairs. A flash of envy crossed her eyes when she saw Mo Lan’s group of four. “Please follow me, honored guests!”

The sound of footsteps on the stairs gradually faded. The restaurant, which had quieted somewhat with Mo Lan’s group’s arrival, grew lively again.

“Did I see that right? A mage who doesn’t even have a single gold coin in her money pouch! Ha ha ha!”

“Shh! A full-fledged mage who dares go out with just three mage apprentices and not a single guard must have some real skill. I’d estimate that purple-haired mage is at least Advanced level!”

“What? Advanced? How could she be that poor?”

“She is indeed an Advanced mage. I can sense that her psychic power fluctuations are even stronger than mine.”

“Lord Goebel, this…”

“She’s probably a wild mage. Being hard up is normal for them.”

“Even for a wild mage, living like this is rather embarrassing.”

“The Duchy of Lance is short on mages right now. They’re probably heading there to compete for a fief and a title — things will be different for them then.”

“We need to reach Lance City as quickly as possible to register for this year’s knighting examination. The only route is through the Colorado Mountain Range. Having an Advanced mage traveling with us would greatly improve our safety. I’ll personally go invite them later — mind your manners, all of you!”

“Yes, sir!”

…

Mo Lan and her companions came back downstairs as soon as they’d stowed their luggage.

As they reached the stairs, they could still hear the lively chatter below. But the moment they descended, everyone in the restaurant put on a quiet, head-down, eating-their-meal demeanor.

She had already noticed that those mages were all part of one group, and she paid it no mind.

She walked over to a four-person table in the corner and sat down on her own.

Lilith, Vasida, and Sylph took their seats after her.

They were playing the role of young apprentices — being unable to keep their composure was only natural. Right now, they were all curiously glancing toward the mages on the other side of the restaurant, whispering among themselves.

“Here you are, honored guests — all your dishes are served.”

“Mm.” Mo Lan glanced over the dishes on the table and took one order of pan-seared lamb chops and one mushroom cream soup for herself. “The rest is for you three to split.”

“Thank you, Instructor!”