Gonna Be a Demon King!-Chapter 48: Finding Lodging

Xaren pulled a travelling bag from his magic pouch just before they stepped onto the main street.

"Get yours out too," he said to Ilya.

Glancing at the bag he held, Ilya immediately understood and retrieved a similar bag from her own pouch—the one containing her change of clothes.

These bags contained the outfits they would wear for the remainder of the mission. Their Demon Army uniforms obviously had no place here, after all.

Their current clothes were casual sets picked for blending in with normal city folk, with each of them having enough sets to last two weeks even if they wore a fresh outfit each day without washing.

Unfolding the map, Xaren scanned nearby street signs and markers to confirm their location.

"Good. There's an inn down the street. We'll stay there for now using some of the money we were given."

Hearing his quiet mutter, Ilya tilted her head.

"An inn? That's like our barracks, right? How do you get rooms in one of those? You just pay and ask for one?"

"Well, you ask for a room first before paying, but yeah, it's that simple," Xaren replied, folding the map and tucking it back into his pocket. Then, he added,

"I've got a cover story for us, so just follow my lead."

As they walked down the nearly empty street, he quickly ran through the plan with Ilya.

◇　◇　◇

The inn Xaren had spotted on the map was a two-story building, its ground floor doubling as a small restaurant.

Yet, when they pushed open the doors, it was empty.

Behind the counter, a middle-aged man—presumably the innkeeper—looked up, his gaze settling on them with mild surprise.

"Huh? Kids?"

Glancing at the clock on the wall, he noted the hour hand had only just crept past five.

"What the hell are you doing out this early? Go back to your parents or something."

Xaren let out a short sigh, as if exasperated.

"We would, if we knew who they were."

Hearing his words, the innkeeper raised a brow and asked.

"War orphans?"

"We'd be orphans if we knew our parents were dead," Xaren replied. "But we don't know if they're dead or alive. So, technically speaking...?"

It was the truth. They actually had no idea.

As he spoke, Xaren casually navigated through the empty tables, approaching the counter. He glanced around the hall, studying the layout before muttering.

"Must be our lucky day, finding somewhere open at this hour."

Though Xaren said that, he had already expected some inns in this area to still be open.

This was the nighttime business district—many of the inn's customers were probably out drinking or entertaining themselves, so the innkeeper couldn't lock up and had to stay up for their return.

Hearing his comment, the innkeeper leaned against the counter, letting out a light yawn.

"Lucky, huh?"

"We came all the way from District 12," Xaren continued, smoothly slipping into his prepared cover story. "Figured we might have luck finding better work in this part of the city."

District 12 was far from here—far enough that the innkeeper had no way of verifying their claim. Not that he seemed to care.

For the record, they were currently in District 7.

"Traveling through the night doesn't leave you with much energy for the rest of the day," Xaren added. "So we'd like to rest a bit"

The innkeeper looked them over again, his gaze flickering between Ilya—who was idly inspecting the room—and the similar-looking bags they carried.

"Ten coppers per night for a single room. Fifteen for a double," he finally said.

"Fifteen?!" Xaren exclaimed.

"That's a lot. Come on, at least make it ten, and we'll book for a full week."

The innkeeper snorted. "Ten? Do I look like I was born yesterday? Fourteen. That's the lowest I'm giving. I'm already cutting you a deal because you're kids."

Xaren let out a dramatic sigh, taking a counter seat and leaning forward.

"Come on, dude, at least Twelve."

At this, the innkeeper's eyes narrowed slightly.

"Oi. That's what you were aiming for from the start, wasn't it, kid? You think I wouldn't recognize that trick? Hah! You're thirty years too early to try that on me."

Xaren chuckled, scratching his head awkwardly. "Haha, was worth a shot."

The innkeeper just snorted, retrieving a key from under the desk and placing it on the counter.

"Thirteen. Final offer."

Xaren sighed again, though this time with a hint of amusement.

"Fine, thirteen."

He counted out the copper coins and slid them across the counter as he questioned.

"You do breakfast here?"

"Eight o'clock," the innkeeper said. "You miss it, you miss it."

"Eight, huh?" Xaren muttered, glancing at the clock. "Guess I can get some shut-eye before then."

Taking the key, he gestured for Ilya to follow, and the two of them headed upstairs.

As they disappeared from view, the innkeeper leaned back with a chuckle.

"Kid haggles like an old-timer," he muttered. "Wonder what he's been through."

Then, with a sigh, he rested his head on his arms and waited for his nocturnal customers to return.

◇　◇　◇

As soon as they stepped into their room, Xaren spread out his magic power, scanning every corner for anything suspicious.

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Satisfied at finding nothing, he shut the door and locked it.

Ilya, meanwhile, walked over to one of the beds and dropped her bag onto it before turning around.

The moment she did, Xaren felt her gaze boring into him and immediately understood—she was in curious mode.

Sighing internally, he wondered.

'Which question is coming first?'

The shady business areas they passed? Or what was going on between those guys and the security guards?

To his surprise, her first question was about his conversation with the innkeeper.

"How did you make the price go down like that?"

Xaren blinked, then chuckled lightly. "Yeah, that's right. You wouldn't know about haggling yet."

It should be noted that Ilya was still a twelve-year-old demoness who'd only been out of the newborn zone for six months.

Sure, she had three months on Xaren, but most of that had been spent fighting in the Demon Army, attacking human cities. Negotiation and haggling were alien concepts to her.

So, Xaren sat on his bed and explained.

"I made a counteroffer that I knew he'd reject outright. Then, when I brought up the price I actually wanted, it seemed way more reasonable by comparison."

Ilya listened silently, nodding along.

Just as Xaren was about to steer the conversation away and suggest they finally get some proper sleep after a night of camping outside, Ilya grabbed his hand, stopping him mid-turn.

"That area near where we came in," she started.

A chill ran down Xaren's spine.

'Fuck.'

"Why were those people wearing so little clothing? What kind of place was that?"

Yeah. No. There was absolutely no way he was going to be the one explaining brothels to Ilya.

Not happening.

So, for the second time today, he lied through his teeth.

"I have zero idea whatsoever."

Ilya narrowed her eyes. Her Instinct passive skill told her he wasn't being truthful.

But before she could press him further, Xaren yanked his hand free, flopped onto the bed, and yanked the blanket over himself.

His message was clear: No more questions today.

Ilya let out a small sigh, but she didn't push it. Kicking off her shoes, she climbed into bed, thinking to herself—

'Oh well. I'll find out sooner or later.'

The curious girl wasn't giving up anytime soon.

With that thought, she pulled the blanket over herself as well and let sleep take over.