Chapter 578 - Gewen In Castilse
Gewen finally decided to stay in a nice big inn in the city center. It was located not far from Moon Lover and the innkeeper said it was also within walking distance to the royal palace. So, he thought the location was very good.
The innkeeper's family was an immigrant from a lesser kingdom in Terra and came to Castilse when he was young. He still knew how to speak the language spoken in Terra and it helped him a lot in his line of work since he dealt with guests from many different regions, including Terra.
Gewen was very happy to meet someone who can speak his language well. When he asked for direction earlier, he had to struggle with the words prepared for him by Edgar on a small notebook.
So, it's good that the innkeeper could communicate with him properly. He didn't like to make a fool out of himself.
Gewen asked the innkeeper a lot of questions about the capital. He pretended to be the son of a salt merchant who wanted to expand their family business and was interested in doing market research in Summeria..
Gewen was impressed to see there were so many tall buildings in Castilse. The man paid for three days stay and immediately went to his room on the fifth floor.
The innkeeper came to the top floor to show him his room. Along the way, he explained a lot about Summeria and Castilse to Gewen.
The innkeeper said Castilse was very densely populated and thus to accommodate the growing population, people build properties vertically. This inn was set up on a five-story building, which was surrounded by restaurants, shops, and many other businesses.
Gewen intentionally asked for a room on the highest floor because he wanted to be able to see his surroundings and studied the situation better. He planned to rest and eat good food to recover his strength, and tomorrow he would start contacting Edgar's men.
Wait... first, he had to wash up and shave. Yeah... he felt so filthy.
"This is your room, milord," said the innkeeper to Gewen. They stopped in front of the room at the end of the hallway. It had a number on the door, 510. In front of his room was room 509. Gewen assumed this inn had 50 rooms total with ten on each floor.
The innkeeper opened the door and motioned Gewen to enter. "Someone will bring you water to wash up very soon."
"Sir, could you also bring me food and wine?" Gewen asked. "I feel like eating in my room for the night."
Before the innkeeper could say no, Gewen had taken out some silver coins and gave them to him. The innkeeper's eyes bulged when he saw the money in his hand. This money was a lot more than what Gewen just paid for his accommodation.
The innkeeper looked at Gewen and sized him up. Now, he was sure that this guest was truly a wealthy salt merchant who came to do market research. Maybe he only wore shabby clothes to avoid being robbed by thugs, which made a lot of sense.
"Why? Is it not enough?" Gewen asked the innkeeper.
The man shook his head and smiled. "No... this is enough, milord. I will get food and wine for you."
"Good."
The innkeeper went to the door to leave Gewen alone, but then something came to his mind. He turned around and asked the young lord something. "Do you need a beautiful woman or two to keep you warm, milord? Winter can be really cold in Castilse."
"Huh?" Gewen furrowed his brows. "Don't you have blankets for me?"
The innkeeper chuckled and cleared his throat. He thought the man before him was so naive to not understand his offer to get him human blankets to warm his bed.
Perhaps this guest had never slept with any woman because he was ugly, the innkeeper thought to himself. Poor guy...
"I mean... women, to warm your bed, milord." The innkeeper finally explained what he meant. "I can get you some beauty from Moon Lover. How much can you afford to spend? They have beautiful girls for as low as twenty copper coins."
Gewen's mouth was agape when he heard this presumptuous suggestion.
This innkeeper dared to offer him girls as cheap as twenty copper coins? Did he think Gewen was dirt poor? Gah..!
He had standard!
Gewen only slept with beautiful girls, from the upper class, and he never paid for sex. Those women all wanted to be with him. And if he was happy with their service, he would give them GIFTS.
He didn't consider the gifts as payment and so did they. Someone like Gewen didn't need to pay for sex. Ever.
"No. I don't want women to sleep with me." His forehead winced. "Just get me my wine and food."
"Oh..." The innkeeper nodded respectfully. "Well, then... I will send a servant to bring water first, so you can wash up, and I will come back in half an hour to bring your wine and meal."
"Good."
After the innkeeper left, Gewen closed the door and lay down in bed, closing his eyes. Ahh... it felt so good to be able to lie down in a straight line like this.
Just like Edgar, he aimed to reach his destination as soon as possible and only stop or rest when the dragon wanted it. If Sand felt like flying for longer, even though he was very sleepy and tired, Gewen would let him. That's how they could arrive in Castilse so quickly.
He had lost count of how many times he woke up on the dragon's back, almost falling to his death because he was sleeping while the dragon did some tricky maneuvers to avoid lightning or steep cliffs.
Fortunately, just like Edgar, Gewen also tied himself to Sand, so when that happened, he could wake up quickly and adjust his position. Now, he was craving for a nice comfy bed and warm blanket.
KNOCK
KNOCK
"Come in," Gewen didn't bother opening his eyes. He thought it must be the servant who was bringing water for him to wash up. He was right. The servant was a young man, probably in his teen, carrying a big bucket of water and towel on his shoulder.
He said something in the local language and put down the bucket on the floor. Gewen finally opened his eyes and sat up. He took a copper coin and gave it to the servant. The servant's eyes lit up when he received the money.
Gewen motioned him to leave. The servant bowed down in respect and left. He closed the door behind him. Gewen suddenly felt his body was filthy when he saw the water. He immediately stripped and washed up.
Only after he used all the water, he felt clean. He had also shaved his beard and tied his hair. The small mirror on the wall confirmed that he was himself again.
His smooth and soft skin was back, and he now looked so handsome and elegant. When he saw his dirty clothes on the floor, Gewen sighed. He must get new and clean clothes. He couldn't wear those after cleaning up like this.
He decided to toss his clothes to the corner and lay down on the bed, covering himself with the blanket.
He would ask the innkeeper to buy him new decent clothes. If the innkeeper was willing to get him hookers, he must definitely be willing to get him clothes, for a fee.
.
.
**********
I can only imagine what the innkeeper would think when he saw Gewen, the handsome man, lying naked under the cover. XD