"Identification, please."
The trade city Zain, which we reached just past midday, was surrounded by walls roughly five meters tall. In a world teeming with monsters, walled cities seemed to be a necessity.
As we approached the gates, we saw a decent line of people waiting to enter. When it was finally our turn, the gatekeeper—a middle-aged man clad in leather armor and holding a spear—asked for identification.
"What happens if we don’t have any?" I asked.
"Huh? Strange question," he replied. "If you lack identification, you’ll need to answer a few questions about your origin and pay 500 flons to enter."
Five hundred flons?! That’s five large copper coins! Between Rio and me, that would wipe out almost all of our money. The pouch we’d received from the princess contained only five copper coins and ten large copper coins.
From what Master explained, the currency here—called flons—is organized in denominations: 1 flon is a iron coin, with increments of ten leading to copper coins, large copper coins, silver coins, large silver coins, gold coins, large gold coins, and platinum coins.
"Um, would this work as identification?"
I took out the brooch we had received from the princess. It was a good thing we’d held onto it, though its value as ID was about to be tested.
"Hmm? What’s this? …Wait here a moment."
The gatekeeper glanced at the brooch, muttered something, and disappeared somewhere inside the gate.
"This isn’t going as smoothly as I hoped," Rio said, sighing.
"Yeah, but if this gets us through without losing all our money, it’ll be worth it."
"I suppose so."
As we waited, we watched the other travelers entering and exiting the city. Some were adventurer-looking parties, while others seemed like merchants with bodyguards. Among them, I spotted some beastfolk and elves—classic fantasy races.
"Sorry for the wait," the gatekeeper finally returned after about 30 minutes. I was starting to wonder what had taken so long.
"No issues. You may enter."
"Finally!"
"Let’s just be glad there weren’t any problems," Rio said with a small smile.
"Thanks for your patience," the gatekeeper added. "Welcome to the trade city Zain."
And with that, we entered our first city in this new world.
The main street beyond the gate was bustling with life. About as wide as a three-lane road, one lane was nearly entirely occupied by food stalls. Most seemed to sell skewers or other street food, priced between 20 and 30 flons per item.
The surrounding buildings were mostly wooden, with the tallest being three stories high. Thankfully, it wasn’t like medieval Europe—there weren’t piles of waste littering the streets.
"Where should we go first?" Rio asked, her head swiveling as she took in the lively sights.
"Hmm, maybe find an inn to secure a place to stay, or check out the adventurer’s guild if they have one," I suggested.
Finding a guild sounded like the proper isekai thing to do. Plus, I wasn’t keen on camping out again, and we’d need to earn money sooner or later.
"And a bath," Rio added firmly.
"Right. Top priority."
The bath we’d cobbled together in Master’s yard had been decent, but without proper soap, it hadn’t been as refreshing as I’d hoped. Hopefully, soap was a thing here.
"If only high-end inns have baths, we’ll need to earn enough to afford them."
"Let’s start with the inn, then. Good thing the gatekeeper gave us some pointers."
We followed the main street toward the area with inns. While there were some on the main street itself, they catered to tourists and weren’t suitable for a longer stay.
"As long as it’s clean, has a bath, and decent food, I’ll be happy," I said.
"And somewhere safe," Rio added.
She was right. A cheap inn might save money, but not at the expense of safety.
Turning a corner into the inn district, we found ourselves surrounded by buildings bearing signs with a bed symbol.
"Hey, how about this one?"
One sign had a picture of a bath alongside the bed, so we decided to check it out.
"Welcome! Looking for a room?"
A cheerful, stout woman greeted us at the entrance.
"Yes, we’re looking for a room for two. How much per night?"
"A two-person room is 800 flons per night," she replied.
Eight hundred flons?! That would drain nearly all our remaining funds! I knew this place seemed decent, but still…
"Do you have baths?" Rio asked quickly before I could say anything.
"Of course! It’s our pride and joy. Baths are 100 flons per person, though."
"In that case, we’ll take it," Rio answered immediately.
"Huh?"
Her instant decision surprised me, but I didn’t see any reason to argue. This was our first time staying at an inn in this world, after all.
"One night, please," I confirmed.
The innkeeper asked for our names and entered them into the ledger herself. Payment was upfront, so I handed over eight large copper coins for the room.
"Hey! Show these two to their room!" the innkeeper called toward the back.
"Coming!"
A girl about my height with curly brown hair and bright green eyes appeared, grabbing a key and leading us upstairs.
"Are you siblings?" she asked as we followed her.
"Uh, no," I replied.
"Oh, sorry… Are you married, then?"
At her unexpected question, Rio’s face turned crimson.
"N-no, we’re not…"
"S-sorry! I just assumed since you’re sharing a room!"
Her flustered apology only made the situation more awkward. Now that she mentioned it, we had decided on a shared room pretty naturally. After living together at Master’s house, it hadn’t even occurred to me that it might seem strange.
"Still, you’re planning to get married eventually, right?"
Her tentative follow-up made me pause. Denying her again felt unnecessarily cruel. As I glanced at Rio for help, our eyes met, and her expression was softer, almost dreamy.
"Rio?"
"I love you, Shu," she said suddenly. "You’re the person I trust most in this world."
"Uh, I… I love you too," I blurted without thinking, my brain short-circuiting.
"Then it’s settled," Rio said with a smile.
"Settled? Wait, what?"
"Let’s get married," she said simply.
"Y-yeah, okay."
Caught up in the moment, I agreed, leaving the inn girl gaping at us, her face bright red and her mouth hanging open.