Cere was now strolling through Runia’s entrance square.

The square was immensely spacious, giving more than enough room for merchant wagons to be parked and unloaded comfortably. Merchants who planned to stay overnight would hire one or more guards to protect their cargo. There were also guards that were dedicated to patrolling the square.

The floor was designed using a variety of darker-colored bricks which gave off a feeling of sophistication.

Even though daybreak had only just begun, several groups of people were already conversing with each other in their own circles.

When Cere had made her way out of the square, the streets were lined with countless stalls and shops. Most of the stalls were still empty because it was still early in the day, but some were already being steadily stocked by shopkeepers.

Behind the stalls were small shops, being at most only two floors tall. And if it were not for their lightly decorated banners, they would all appear to be almost identical—a wooden building with a modest door between two windows.

This area was predominately for commoners. But unlike the Miller family, who lived on the outskirts, the shopkeepers here were all citizens of Runia. They were essentially the wealthier type of commoners who earned the right to reside here.

At this time, Cere did not know the conditions for attaining citizenship. For now, she would have to continue renewing her permit at the entrance gate every three days. To her, this was not a problem at all.

The current problem was that Cere’s fatigue had started to return. With half open eyes and a heavy body, she wanted to look for a place to nap.

After strolling for another ten minutes, Cere stumbled upon an inn. It was a two-story wooden building. When she opened the door, a bell was struck, and its sound echoed softly throughout the entrance.

Cere waited in front of the counter alone, assuming that the innkeeper would appear soon. Shortly after, an old man came out from the small room behind the counter.

“A customer at this time of day, huh?”

The bearded old man, whose age had significantly shrunken his height, was scratching his head with curiosity. Indeed, it was quite rare for customers to show up this early in the day. Usually, customers would leave during the morning and registered in the times after noon.

“Yes. I would like to stay for a day.”

“There’s one room left. That’ll be seven silvers.”

Cere slightly pursed her lips. There was no way that a single night costed seven silvers, and especially not for a small inn like this. Cere knew that she was being hoodwinked, but she had no idea what the regular prices were.

“Um, Mister, that is quite overpriced.”

The innkeeper’s brows wrinkled as he inspected Cere, who looked a little tense under her hooded robe.

“You can afford it though, right?”

He had seen through Cere’s shabby outer appearance and noticed that her face and speech resembled that of a noble child—clean and proper. Coupled with her unassertive behavior, she seemed to be of the impressionable type.

“That may be true, but I refuse to be swindled. What exactly makes this inn worth seven silvers for a single day?”

Cere held her stance and voiced her discontent firmly. The innkeeper was held aback as he tried to come up with a reason for his pricing. After a while, he recovered.

“I’m sure you know that His Majesty is planning to give a speech tomorrow, which means that there will be many visitors. I’ll have many customers soon so of course I would raise the prices.”

The shrewd geezer provided a sound reason. Cere, who had applied this logic herself when she predicted Runia’s increased entrance fees, understood that he was not wrong. However.

“One silver is worth fifty dishes at a restaurant. Do you really think people will pay more than three hundred dishes worth of silver just to stay at a dinky inn like this for a single night? I, for one, would rather sleep on the streets.”

Cere kind of… blew up.

Where did that noble presence of hers go? Perhaps she really was just a commoner? The previously astute geezer, having been chastised by Cere, was no longer in sight.

“How does five silver sound…?”

“It sounds like you still wish to continue this folly.”

“Four is the l-lowest I’ll go.”

“I understand.”

The formerly distressed old man lit up and rubbed his hands together gleefully. But Cere was not finished.

“Then I’ll go to another inn.”

And she left.

Even though the innkeeper lowered his price by over forty percent, it was still way too much. In fact, the percentage was not the main issue here. If it were, then forty percent would have been a wonderful bargain, but Cere refused to be a victim of anchoring. Furthermore, she saw no advantages in staying at a place with a deceptive owner.

Cere’s condition had started to become dire with her fatigue reaching its limit. The squabble just now only added to her exhaustion. Still, she did not regret her decision to leave.

After about two minutes, Cere found another inn. On the outside, it already looked better than the previous one. She felt hopeful.

Once again, a bell rang as she entered. This inn was noticeably larger than the previous one, and Cere could hear the footsteps of several people on the upper floor.

The middle-aged lady behind the wooden counter, who seemed to be busy writing something, stopped and greeted her new customer.

“Welcome. Are you here for a room or a meal?”

Cere, feeling the lively and elegant atmosphere, spoke politely.  

“Hello. I would like a room please.”

“How long will you be staying?”

“Ah. Just one night.”

“Okay. That will be two silvers.”

Two silvers. Even after all that haggling with the old man, his lowest price was still double of this one. Feeling relieved, Cere opened her small pouch and took out two silver coins, placing them on the counter.

“Thank you. Your room is upstairs, number nine. Would you like to have breakfast?”

“Not right now, thank you.”

Cere made her way up the wooden stairs to the second floor. There were ten doors, each with a different number carved into them.

When she entered her room, she closed the door, used its stone contraption to lock it, and plopped on her bed. Cere dozed off almost immediately.