First Dragon Hunter: My Black Sun Can Absorb Everything-Chapter 39: Purple Lantern
Garet’s visit to the Flaming Duck ended quite differently than he had expected. Not only did he enjoy a delicious meal and have a long conversation with Ragon, who turned out to be an experienced Awakened, but he also managed to earn a tidy sum thanks to the lean man in the coat.
Garet walked forward, looking at the few coins in his hand. He had a total of 340 coins, 50 of which he spent on food, and he bet 10 coins three times against Ragon, but won only once.
At the Flaming Duck, as in any tavern, anyone could rent a room. Garet decided not to even ask Marra about it, as he understood that the Flaming Duck was one of the noisiest taverns on the entire first floor.
Moreover, he had a better option — the purple card in his hand. He didn’t know if he could trust Franz, but he had to at least check.
"He said to go towards the western peak, so it must be somewhere around here, right?" Garet pondered, looking around.
Since the Iron Gate was located in the middle of a gorge between two mountains, a small part of the city on the west and east sides was covered by overhanging rocks from above. Basically, these areas were closer to the cold walls and remained hidden in the shade from the scorching sun for most of the day, which easily passed through all levels.
To some extent, this increased the value of buildings in these areas, which the locals called the Shadow Crescents, east and west, and they were on every floor.
Also, although crime was low in the Iron Gate, it still existed, especially petty theft in markets and shops. In the shadow crescents, due to the large presence of influential people, this rate was even lower.
’The Purple Lantern? It looks like this place is much more expensive than the Flaming Duck. I hope it will be worth it.’ 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢
Garet stopped as he noticed a dark building in the distance, with exquisite columns supporting several floors full of windows, with light coming out and purple smoke coming out of the chimney at the very top.
Unlike anything Garet had seen before, there were several carriages with well-groomed horses in front of the entrance, and people punctuating their conversation with loud laughter and glasses of wine.
He didn’t realize it at the time, but this was an expected sight when entering any shadow crescent, especially at the higher levels where the concentration of rich and influential people was even higher.
Step. Step. Step.
Garet scratched the back of his head and headed toward the entrance when a bulky man in an expensive suit called out to him.
"Hey, kiddo, where are you going?" He chuckled briefly, holding a glass of wine. "No offense, but this place will eat up all your money."
His buddy with a cigar between his teeth nodded deeply. "Yeah, that crafty merchant knows how to squeeze every last coin out of you, but..." He shook his head. "Damn, he knows how to make you bring him money yourself. He’s good, no doubt about it."
Garet didn’t know who they were talking about as he pointed to the door.
"I think I’ll check it out anyway."
"Hahaha, that’s your right, but we reserve the right to make fun of you when you run out of this tavern after hearing the prices. It scared even me the first time."
Step. Step. Step.
’Tsk, I should have stayed at the Flaming Duck, I’m sure Marra could have found something for me.’
As soon as Garet stepped inside, the pleasant scent of flowers enveloped him from all sides, as did the pleasant light of the spacious hall.
Even now, late at night, many people sat on velvet sofas, at low round tables, often with several glasses of wine or champagne. Some enjoyed a night alone, some enjoyed company, and others even tried their luck on the romantic side.
Garet wasn’t interested in any of that; he just wanted to find a place to sleep, so his gaze turned to the massive wooden arch in front of him, behind which stood a woman with long black hair—she was the administrator.
"Hey, I’d like to rent a room for one night. Is that possible?" Garet asked as he approached her.
The administrator gave him an appraising look before smiling.
"Sure, we currently have rooms available on all four levels. I see you are an Awakened, so according to the owner’s instructions, you get a 10% discount. Also, since this is your first time, there will be an additional 10% discount, for a total of 20%."
Then, she pushed a chart toward him as Garet’s eyes widened in disbelief.
"What the hell!!!" He exclaimed internally, realizing that the bulky man at the entrance wasn’t just mocking him, but warning him of disaster.
The cheapest room cost 300 shield coins per night, and the price went up to 1,000!
Garet understood that the fact that he had become an Awakened did not mean that he would immediately become wealthy, but these prices were too high!
"Is something wrong?" the administrator asked.
"Yeah..." Garet gulped, clutching the chart with his hands. "The prices are a little higher than I expected."
She tilted her head, touching her lip. "I’m sorry, but in that case, I can’t help you. We at the Purple Lantern care about our reputation, so either pay or you’ll have to leave."
It was a difficult decision.
In fact, Garet could afford to rent a room for one day as he wanted, but it would cost him almost all of his money. He would only have 40 coins left, which would immediately go towards breakfast and lunch, after which he would be broke.
"Ahem." The administrator coughed. "Please make your decision. There’s nothing wrong with looking for a more affordable option."
Garet scratched the back of his head as he remembered something and showed the woman the purple card.
"I have this, Franz gave it to me and..."
Before Garet could finish, she snatched the card from his hands, and her eyes widened in disbelief.
"So you’re from Mr. Franz! We only have the best rooms for the owner’s friends!" She exclaimed, quickly filling out a piece of paper.
Garet just smiled awkwardly, trying to pretend that he had planned it all.
’Wait, so Franz owns this whole tavern?!’
The realization hit him along with anger.
