Half-elf Notebook

Chapter 150 Negotiating the Price

The owner of the house obviously didn't expect that there was a young girl outside the door, and he was silent for a few seconds.

"Um... we are only willing and able to rent one room. You must pay for it. And one more question... how many people are there among you?"

"Four people."

This time it was Mitaokol who spoke.

"Now, the only people outside the door are the lady you just talked to and me."

This won't put the people in the house down, but it will show that they have no other intentions.

With a creaking sound, a gap appeared in the door frame, allowing light to pass through.

A man in linen clothes, his skin tanned by the sun, cautiously stuck out half of his face and looked at the two people carefully.

Ina was holding the kerosene lamp that Rick gave her.

The soft light shone on her and Mitaokol, and also reflected them clearly in the man's eyes.

Looking at the two people who were much younger than him and could barely be considered adults, the man secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Even though the long sword hanging from Ina's waist made him instinctively afraid, he did not immediately reject or expel her. He only remained vigilant and said:

"Give me the sword at your waist. We will talk inside. I will return it to you when we leave."

Ina did not hesitate, unhooked the metal buckle of the scabbard from her belt and handed it over.

She didn't have to worry about the man in front of her having any improper thoughts.

She and Rick's strength are there, and there are countless ways to get the sword back.

She would also hand over the two glass magic blades on the inside of her coat if the other party asked her to.

However, the other party didn't seem to notice.

He took the sword from the white-haired girl and felt the touch of some kind of animal leather that had been carefully cut and made into a lanyard.

Looking at the intricate and delicate carvings on the scabbard and sword guard, the man's expression couldn't help but add a bit of cherishment, tension, and a hint of greed.

He had never seen such ornate and exaggerated metalwork.

These do not exist in farm tools or the ironware in farmers' homes.

Even the soldiers' military swords looked so plain and crude in front of this blade.

He even dared to swear to the goddess that even the merchant's expensive jewelry worth a few silver coins was far inferior to it.

He didn't dare to think too much, and even his tone became a little more polite, saying:

"Please come in. This is a remote village. We don't have any tea to serve you."

"excuse me."

Ina was the first to cross the threshold, followed closely by Mitaokel.

The space inside the house was small, roughly the size of the single bedroom in Rick and Ina's home.

You can see it all as soon as you enter the door.

There is no so-called kitchen or washroom.

Even the simple cooking stove is integrated into this space. It is set in a corner of the "living room" and forms a straight line with the only two wooden windows in the room.

This must be to minimize the smoke produced by burning straw.

There was only a clay pot for stewing on the stove.

There is not even a stone kiln for baking pasta, so the dishes that can be made must be very poor.

The house has no ceilings and is an exposed beam structure.

A pair of fairly thick logs were crisscrossed, stretching across everyone's heads, and above that was the eaves.

It is composed of several half-open logs placed in parallel, and its main function should be to prevent the intrusion of large amounts of rainwater and the roof from being crushed by accumulated snow.

The outer layer is bundled thatch, which is very common in village houses and is used to protect against rain, wind and snow.

The rest of the room was unremarkable.

A set of hand-made wooden tables and chairs, away from the firewood pile on the stove.

All that can be seen are farm tools, some leaning against the wall, some hanging, with the iron parts already showing patches of rust.

Ina estimated that the most precious thing in the whole room was probably the copper lamp that emitted a flickering light.

Two women were sitting at a cramped wooden table.

A woman with the same hair color and eyes as the man.

There were obvious signs of aging, with nasolabial folds and wrinkles all over her cheeks. She looked to be over fifty, but her blue eyes were still bright and lively.

She nodded peacefully to the two people who had just entered.

The other one had brown hair, brown eyes and healthy wheat-colored skin. Like the man, her posture and expression revealed her wariness towards Ina and Mitaokor.

However, Ina still read a hint of expectation in her eyes.

I don't know what it means.

Both the old woman and the young woman were wearing linen clothes, the difference being that the old woman's clothes were thicker.

After the two of them officially entered the hall, the man hung his sword next to the door and continued to ask:

"Why are you here at this time?"

"The hunting season is over. I heard from merchants that hunting has been banned in Cyrilor Province."

"We are the assistants and entrusted guards of a certain herbalist."

Ina gave a brief explanation and had no intention of going on to elaborate.

The man nodded without asking further questions. He was just asking casually.

He then pointed to the right side, a room without a door and simply covered with linen, and offered his price:

"One silver coin is enough for you to use until tomorrow noon. No food will be provided. If you want water, you can go to the well two houses away from here to get it."

"You can choose any stove. We will provide eight pounds of straw. You will have to pay for the rest. One pound of straw is two groats, and one pound of wood is five groats."

"I am open to negotiation, but I won't make too many concessions. I know you can afford it. If you stay for more than a week, I will only charge four-fifths of the agreed price."

"Little Bieber!"

The old woman suddenly looked at the man with resentment.

She thought Bieber was making things difficult for the two children who came through the door.

"Mother."

Bieber responded in a deep voice:

"We have to prepare this year's harvest for the coming winter, and as you can see, we need every groat we can get."

Since both parties knew that the price was unreasonable, he did not intend to hide it.

He showed his hand.

This price was undoubtedly suspected of being a scam - in Lei Shi City, a double room in an ordinary hotel only costs 25 to 40 Gros.

It is almost the same size as the entire house here, with a wardrobe, a sofa for guests, a separate bathroom, a clean toilet, and a mattress filled with cotton.

For one silver coin, you can add a magic mine lamp, a heater similar to the one in the merchant club, and an independent fireplace.

Mitaokel ​​looked at Ina. In his opinion, this was obviously an unacceptable price.