After Laine finished everything and traded the Beastman Leader's head for a bounty at the Justice Church, night had already fallen. Following the advice of the gatekeepers, he found the Butter Beer Inn located in the center of the town.
Kaltenhaven's streets were completely different from those in Wulan Town. Wulan Town was a small town where most of the houses were typical longhouses, arranged orderly and low. Kaltenhaven was a medium-sized port city with many shops and two-storied buildings on the streets. The cold wind swept the land but didn't deter the city's residents. It was still afternoon, and most residents were hard at work, like the carpenter who was making furniture, urging his apprentice to hasten with the saw cutting fine timber, as the sun was about to set.
Many outsiders and caravans were blocked in the city, and along the way, Laine noticed many citizens' houses being rented out by caravans.
Just hoping the Butter Beer Inn still has some space.
Butter Beer Inn is a name found across the Continent, as many inns offering butter beer share this name. The Butter Beer Inn before Laine had been converted from a tall castle, boasting three floors, with its high, steep roof and chimney spewing black smoke. The walls painted white, and the sign on the door depicted a large wooden cup filled with butter beer, a striking logo.
Entering the inn's hall, which was unlike the tiny inns in Wulan Town, Butter Beer Inn's ground floor spanned over a hundred square meters, with rows of tables and chairs arranged neatly, and a fireplace burning warmly. The bar area was several times larger than those Laine had seen in Wulan Town, almost fully occupied by guests, who mostly drank and made merry, turning the hall into a noisy place.
Teresa, Vice-Captain Viert, and Banda of the Mercenary Corps sat in a corner. It seemed Viert's two-handed greatsword was intimidating enough that no one dared to trouble them. Teresa wore an impatient look, and upon spotting Laine, even waved to him proactively.
Laine sat down across the wooden table and asked, "Are there rooms left?"
"No, when we arrived, only the worst horse stables and thatch huts were left, plus the luxurious suite on the third floor, which has been reserved by Lady Trovik," Viert replied, the thirty-something vice-captain explained that the Blood Axe Mercenary Corps had already reserved a large room with a communal bed for the group to stay together.
The mention of the large room caused Teresa's face to darken significantly. Previously curious, the female sorcerer took a look and nearly fainted from the smell of sweat and foot odor in the mercenaries' messy group room.
So I can only stay in the horse stable or thatch hut, then? Laine saw Banda's barely suppressed glee but said nothing more. Turning to the female sorcerer, he asked, "You should stay here tonight, I'll find somewhere else. Are you okay alone?"
"Definitely, and if Lady Trovik doesn't mind, we could arrange someone to sleep at your door…" Banda eagerly suggested.
"No need." Teresa raised an eyebrow, and Laine secretly found it amusing. How could this woman possibly let smelly men sleep at her door?
After sitting for a few minutes, Laine subtly hinted for Viert that he and Teresa had something to discuss. The vice-captain was perceptive, and he pulled the reluctant Banda away.
Laine switched seats to sit across from Teresa, as the tavern's atmosphere was very noisy, with quite a few drunken patrons wandering aimlessly. One drunk even tried approaching the beautiful female sorcerer, yet the sight of Laine's Knight's Badge sobered him halfway, prompting him to quickly sneak off elsewhere.
"So noisy, why choose this place to talk?" The female sorcerer extended her slender hand wrapped in white lace gloves and picked up the mug on the table, which held coffee mixed with milk. Only then did Laine notice that the female sorcerer had changed her outfit at some point, now wearing a purple high-neck velvet long robe, her slender figure reminiscent of a blossoming violet beside the fireplace.
Coffee is a Southern crop, with such tropical plants only grown in the South. While Nord has abundant milk, coffee beans are undoubtedly carried by the female sorcerer, as this kind of luxury crossing from the Southern Realm over the Empire is beyond most people's means.
"Belte escaped, he set sail yesterday." Laine didn't bother with many words and directly told Teresa the news: "So, do you still want to pursue him? If you decide not to continue, you can use teleportation technique to return to Celestial Vault Castle, and leave the remaining tasks to me."
The female sorcerer's elegant brows furrowed immediately: "What are you talking about? I would never give up just like that."
"Alright, since that's the case, Kaltenhaven here means we can't set sail, so we have to head south to Mijordenhaven to see if there's a chance to set sail. However, the road from Kaltenhaven to Mijordenhaven is quite dangerous, so let's rest for a few days first, wait for you to recover. I think there should be some caravans organizing a trip together to Mijordenhaven, then we can join them and depart together. Teresa, what do you think?" Laine spread the map on the table, pointing as he spoke.