Getting tricked

Sometime later, after following the directions towards the Lovers Nest Inn and asking one or two people for directions, the building with a black flag waving along the wind appeared in their view.

The building didn't have the best appearance and condition, but a lot of people entered and exited, showing it was a busy inn. Inside was a small tavern filled with people drinking alcohol. The men mainly were drinking, and most of the women were wearing light clothes. Vincent even got a glimpse of a few women encouraging the men to drink more.

"Hmm... yep, it's definitely you get for what you pay for."

*Sigh* "Well, let's find someone to rent a room and hope for the best." Vincent didn't look too pleased, but they had to become independent eventually, he believed. He didn't want to impose on Tula's family for a longer duration.

Ten minutes later, a bedroom door opened, and three unsatisfied people entered with a frown. After the door closed, one rushed to open the window and cursed, "You thot! This place is shitty like you! No wonder the tavern was like that!"

Vincent looked angry and thought it would be better to sleep in the forest. The room smelled terrible. But that wasn't all. The room had one mattress lying on an almost broken wooden bed stand and a window with a dusty curtain. Nothing else was inside in the practically abandoned room for the price of a few apples.

"Uff... it reeks! Are we going to sleep here?" Lupa complained while rubbing her nose.

"I will freeze the fatty chest waste of that bitch the next time I see her." Ester had a glimmer of murder in her eyes.

[We didn't visit the herbal shop last time. Why don't we let the room air and buy some refreshingly smelling herbs?]

Vincent liked what Kazumi suggested. "Let's wash the bedsheet and pillowcases. Then I want to visit a herbal shop to buy something that smells nice and helps us sleep. But if the smell is still unpleasant, then we leave this dump." He summoned some water he kept to clean their clothes or their hands from his Soul Dimensional Storage, then they washed and placed the clean fabric on the windowsill to dry.

*A Herbal Shop Entrance*

"I hope we find something to buy in this shop. The people we asked told us that this is the last herbal shop on the city's south side. But why do all the herbal shops cater to wealthy clients? And... should I report the other to Ben?" Vincent complained.

Before arriving in front of the last herbal shop, they had previously visited three herbal shops.

The first one was not too far from the Lovers Nest Inn. It was in the lower district, and as they entered, it didn't take a second to realize it was shady.

Furthermore, a complication occurred, forcing them to leave immediately after Lupa caught a whiff of a drug that made her act more excited than she usually is.

The other two herbal shops mainly were filled with potions and on the expensive side at that. It made Vincent think purchasing spices for food or herbs for the scent would be an impossible feat.

"Please, let me find what we need." Vincent quietly prayed before entering the herbal shop.

*Clink, clink*

A small bell rang, grabbing the attention of the attendant. He stopped cleaning a jar with a mushroom inside and approached Vincent, Ester, and Lupa with a smile.

"Can I help you, sir?" The attendant asked. He summarised the two customers with a beastman slave were adventurers. 'The must have money to visit with a healthy maintained slave.' He thought.

Vincent turned his head from left to right. A smile curved on his face after the shop's inventory didn't look extravagant, yet it was jampacked with jars filled with herbs instead of potions. 'It doesn't look like an expensive shop. ' He thought with a smile.

"Do you have cloves, mint, salt, pepper..." Vincent started asking for a lot of spices and herbs. Then he ended with, "Lastly, do you have scented candles?"

"One moment, sir, let me bring a quotation with the prices of the items you are interested in. You may take a gander in the meantime." The attendant said before leaving for the counter.

The attendant returned a few minutes later with the prices of the available products Vincent asked for. All products had a minimum of thirty grams each for powered products and one hundred milliliters for liquid products.

[Ohh, my... the total is going to be forty silver at the minimum purchase weights! You better pick a few things and save the money for a rainy day.]

*Gulp* Vincent gulped after looking at prices too much for their budget. Then he decided to order, "Give me one hundred grams of mint and cloves. Also, I want two hundred ml of honey."

"Certainly, sir. That will be two silvers." The attendant extended his hand as if he suddenly became distrustful of Vincent.

"We suffered from window shoppers and product runners a few times, so paying upfront has become our policy. I'm sorry for acting rude." He shortly continued with an apology.

"I understand." Vincent placed two silver coins in the attendant's hand. "Now, what about scented candles?" Vincent remembered they weren't on the list.

"What kind do you need? Fragrant or enchanted?" The attendant asked.

"No need for a pricy one. I need one to fill a bad-smelling bedroom with a nice scent. No need for an enchanted version either." A frown appeared on Vincent's face upon imagining how much an enchanted candle might cost.

"Two lavender scented candles should do the trick. They cost ten copper coins each. Do they interest you, sir?" The attendant responded.

Shortly, Vincent handed twenty copper coins and waited for the attendant to bring the products.

.

[1x Small bottle of Cloves (Common Quality) gained.]

[1x Small bottle of Mint (Common Quality) gained.]

[1x Small bottle of Honey (Common Quality) gained.]

[2x Lavender Scented Candle (Uncommon Quality) gained.]

.

After storing the items, they headed back to the smelly cheap room.

*Lovers Nest Inn*

Immediately after returning, Vincent lit the two candles and waited to see if the smell would change to a pleasant one. A few minutes later, the room smelled of sweet lavender. The herbal shop attendant was spot on with the amount needed to make a bedroom smell pleasant.

"The room now smells good. It's like I'm in a field of flowers. Humans really know how to make nice things." Lupa felt happy that she didn't need to cover her nose anymore.

Ester looked at Vincent and asked, "What will you do with the clover, mint, and honey? They cost a lot of money to purchase."

"To make boiled apples, and if Yula has dough, an apple pie. My mother used to make an apple pie at least once a month, and an apple pie with sweet minty cream and honey drizzled on top for my birthdays." Vincent revealed to Ester and Lupa. He showed how much of a boiled apple and apple pie fan he is.

Vincent covered the bed with the cleaned bedsheets and did the same with the pillowcases. "We can sleep here now. The candles have already made me forget what a shitty bedroom this is." Vincent said, yet he forgot the price of the lavender-scented candles. The cost of two extra nights in the horribly maintained bedroom.

"Are we going to live in this city?" Now that they were alone and searching for a place to call their home, Ester wanted to know Vincent's thoughts about this matter.

"I want to do quests and make a lot of money. You see, Vopor briefly told me how his father could design and build any kind of buildings. I was thinking of asking for a custom-made cabin. Maybe a compact cabin with a ground and first floor." Vincent answered with an idea he thought about the previous night.

[I hope we will have enough money for a custom cabin. Wait!... are you thinking of storing the cabin in your Soul Dimensional Storage? I think it would be an excellent idea for when we travel.]

-I'm glad you like the idea... but it also comes with a problem.-

[Placement space, right? You can't summon a building in a place filled with trees. Well, there is an easy solution. Buy an axe to chop trees or find a way to store trees to make an empty area.]

Lupa seemed to like the idea. She grinned and asked, "Do you mean we will have the appropriate time all the time?"

"Appropriate time?... Ohh! Maybe we will have." Vincent shortly understood the reason behind the question. 'Vincent of the future can handle the situation later.' He thought.

*Bam, bam, bam*

Suddenly, they could hear someone hitting the walls of the bedroom beside theirs. Lupa perked her ear when she heard a woman making strange noises.

"I think a woman is hurt! Should we help or prepare for a fight?" Lupa asked. Lupa felt the need to protect Vincent and Ester, so she prepared to get out of the bedroom and fight.

[You better stop Lupa! No one is getting hurt because this place must be a night escort bedroom renting service.]

-...-

Vincent had a similar thought, while Ester was on the same page with a pair of red cheeks. The two of them grabbed Lupa by her arms and stopped her from going out.

[I didn't want to judge a book by its cover even though I reminded you about the herbal shop to help you set the mood, tee-hee.]