I gave up on heading to the eastern dungeon as planned and returned from the forest to the town of Boltana.
Just like when I left, the main streets were completely silent, with no sign of anyone walking around.
At this late hour, the only places with lights on were probably the taverns.
The big problem right now was this:
Because I had come back so late, I could not rent a room at any inn…
It was the middle of the night, but more importantly, the inns were fully booked by the many adventurers visiting Boltana. Not a single room was available.
I had planned to enter the dungeon today, so I intended to swap in at an inn after other adventurers left.
The wolf-eared beastkin woman sleeping quietly on my back showed no sign of waking up.
I could not just abandon her here, and forcibly waking her would not improve the situation, so I left her as she was.
With no choice, I turned from the main street into the back alleys again to search for another inn.
But the result was the same.
Even the inn where I had stayed yesterday was already full.
"This time, sleeping outdoors really isn't an option."
As I continued walking, I passed in front of one particular shop.
It was the same shop where I had sold the dungeon materials earlier today.
Strangely, even at this hour, light leaked from the windows.
The shopkeeper must still be awake.
Given his personality, though, I doubted he would lend me a bed.
Still, I had no idea how long it would take to find another place.
There was always the chance he might refuse, but if so, I could just look elsewhere. With that in mind, I stood in front of the shop and knocked several times.
After a short wait, the door cracked open slightly, and the familiar bearded shopkeeper peeked out.
"Hey, what the hell do you want at this hour…? Hm? It's the kid from this morning."
"Sorry to bother you suddenly, but I need a bed to lay down an unconscious woman. All the inns are full."
The shopkeeper looked back and forth between me and the sleeping woman, then let out a deep sigh.
"Yeah, figures no rooms would be left at this time… Damn it, fine."
"Huh?"
The unexpected response caught me off guard.
"What? Is it that surprising?"
"No, I just…"
Following the shopkeeper, we entered the shop.
A sake bottle sat on the counter, and the faint smell of alcohol filled the air.
He had gone drinking in the morning and was apparently still at it.
"Just to ask, who is this girl? Not trying to cause trouble, right?"
"No. I found her in the forest earlier, being chased by a monster. She's been asleep since."
At that, the shopkeeper immediately looked exasperated.
"You went into the forest at this hour? What the hell were you thinking… So the inns are full, and you couldn't get a room."
While saying that, he opened a door behind the counter.
Beyond it was a small, tidy room with a bed and a desk.
The contrast with the rest of the shop surprised me a little.
"Even I keep my sleeping area clean. Use it for now."
I quickly laid the woman on the bed.
"Doesn't look like she has any serious injuries?"
"Yeah. I gave her a potion before she passed out."
"Then she should be fine. Just let her sleep it off."
I left the room with the shopkeeper and returned to the main shop area.
"But seriously, why were you in the forest at this time?"
The shopkeeper asked while sitting on a chair at the counter.
I felt some obligation since he had helped me. For some reason, I did not want to hide things from this man.
"I'm an adventurer. I was planning to enter the dungeon to level up."
"First off, I'm still shocked you were adventuring in that outfit this morning… And you're strong enough to fight monsters solo? That's impressive."
"No, it was actually pretty dangerous back there."
If that monster had attacked at that moment, I did not know what would have happened.
"By the way, did you defeat that undead ogre yourself too?"
"Yeah…"
"What!? Then why didn't you take it to the guild?"
"It's not like I caused any trouble, but proving exactly how strong I am would be difficult, so I didn't feel like it."
The shopkeeper looked surprised for a moment, then let out another huge sigh.
"You should've just said that from the start. Lately, shady adventurers bring in questionable goods, so I was on guard."
"So it's actually a normal shop after all."
"Oi, the 'actually' part is unnecessary! Anyway… I wonder why that girl was in the forest."
The shopkeeper stood up, crossed his arms, leaned against the wall, and stared at the door to the room where the wolf-eared woman slept.
"I don't know. She was just being chased by a monster that blended into the forest darkness."
"What kind of monster is that? I've never heard of anything like it in these woods. What happened to it?"
"It suddenly left. It made a beast-like growl mixed with a snake-like hiss."
"No idea… I've never heard of a big snake-like monster around here either."
But that was definitely the sound I remembered.
So perhaps, like the Killing Bear, it was a monster that had wandered here from somewhere else.
"Maybe a village got attacked, and she fled all the way here. Not many people would travel through the forest at this hour."
"But don't villages have soldiers?"
"That's not how it works around Boltana these days. You might want to be careful going outside town for a while."
The shopkeeper started drinking again.
Just how much had he drunk since morning?
"As I mentioned this morning, Cretia's king favors strong adventurers to exterminate monsters. Know why?"
"No."
"There are too many monsters. The knights and soldiers aren't enough to protect all the villages and towns in Cretia's territory. So they leave it to adventurers. If dungeon monsters are left alone, they eventually spill out to the surface."
I recalled the Skeleton Ogre that had appeared in the upper layers.
It should have belonged in the mid-layers.
If so, perhaps the monster in the forest had also come up from a dungeon to the surface.
"Well, there's no point us guessing here. We'll figure it out once the girl wakes up. Here."
The shopkeeper tossed me a blanket.
"Princess treatment is off the table, though."
With that, he sat back in his chair, pulled the blanket over himself, and closed his eyes.
I did the same, sat in a chair, closed my eyes, and waited for morning.