Chapter 7
Even in the middle of winter, his whole body was drenched in sweat after walking for half a day. He was no better than a tramp, covered with dust from the dry wind. Riftan brushed off his loose robe before entering the inn. The sand dust was one problem, but the smell of the blood of monsters sticking to his whole body was another. There was only one inn in the Golden Sand Village and the owner of the inn was particularly nagging.
Riftan eyebrows pulled together. He wanted to avoid taking a bath in the back of the inn not to make himself a feast for the eyes of the maids.
"What are you doing there not going in, Calypse?" Riftan's head turned to the sudden sound of a voice that spoke with a twisted tongue. A grinning bald man was poking his head out of the inn's open window. "They said something great about you in Devon. I'm not talking about your handsome face."
The man swirled his glass of alcohol and whistled frivolously. Riftan's eyebrows gathered once again, but he ignored the man and walked into the inn. As expected, it was crowded with preoccupied mercenaries. It seemed like those who had been hired for expeditions had already returned.
Looks like I won't be able to get a quiet rest.
He sighed and walked to the counter. The hostess, who was folding laundry, scrutinized him with her eyes. "You never come back in good shape."
"Stop the useless talk, instead give me a room."
The woman grunted and pulled out a rested key from a chest drawer. Riftan picked it up and went straight up the stairs. The hostess shouted after him.
"I'll ask the bath water to be brought immediately so don't even think of lying down on the bed without washing up first! If you make a mess of the sheets again, you know the price you have to pay!"
He didn't even look back and waved his hand dismissively. He wasn't injured much in this expedition, but as he fell hard from a rock, he got a bad-looking bruise near his ribs and his shoulder almost popped out while chaining a half-dragon's leg. Riftan wanted nothing else in the world right now but to lie down and rest. He massaged his throbbing shoulder as he tumbled towards the room assigned to him.
As he pushed the door with his good shoulder, a room with nothing but a single bed and a shelf unfolded before his eyes. He dropped his luggage on the floor and the sword he carried on his back by the bed. He then took off his ragged robes that resembled a rag.
Hunting monsters required him to be as light as possible, so he only wore a breastplate, vambraces made of wyvern leather, greaves, and wrist guards as armor. He loosened the leather seam from his armor and threw them on the floor one by one, then he pulled a blood-stained black tunic over his head.
I'll never be able wear this again.
Riftan looked down at the cloth, remembering it was grey when he first bought it. He sighed and flopped down on the bed. After a while, the son of the inn's owner came into the room with a wooden bathtub.
"I heard you came back today looking like a mess? Where have you been this time? Is it true that you caught and killed six half-dragons all by yourself?"
The boy bombarded him with questions as he laid down rough brushed and towels that were used for washing the horses. Riftan held the brush and frowned, his eyebrows creasing together. He was being treated like an animal. As he felt increasingly ill-tempered, the boy continued to ask multiple question with his dark brown eyes shining like a calf's.
"What did you eat to be that tall? Is it true that you are the third strongest among the Black Horn Mercenaries? What should I do to be that strong?"
Riftan looked down at the boy with bored eyes. As far as he knew, the boy and him were the same age. Sometimes, it was annoying to be treated like some thirty-year old soldier. He sighed and threw a coin at him. He meant for the boy to just receive the payment and leave and the boy quickly caught up with his mood and left the room coldly. Riftan threw off his boot and pants, then soaked in lukewarm water. The bathtub was too cramped for a person to bathe in and the water in it was cold for the weather. But he felt satisfied being able to bathe in clean water.
