Anyway, all the noise naturally broke the momentum and Finn had no choice but to cut things short.

He opened his eyes and the rest of them stared at his handsomeness, which was heightened by the added aura and the shimmering effect of his sweat.

They gaped. "Who's he?" the captain asked.

"He's our Innkeeper. The owner of this place."

While the others gaped, Leiah kneeled down and took a clean handkerchief, wiping his face for him.

"Leiah?" Finn blinked, surprised. "What are you doing here?"

It had only been a few weeks since they parted. Wasn't Lotus Town a few days away? Did they go on an adventure already?

Leiah nodded. "Things happened."

It was then that the feline wrapped her arms around Finn, rubbing her head on his arms, and this made Leiah try to pry her away.

"Don't you see he's already sweating? What are you doing?"

"Finn likes it warm."

Leiah's face darkened even more, and the tension intensified.

Crackle

Durgan's eyes twitched as he looked at the others. "Shall we head inside?" he asked, almost imploring.

It was too scary out here!

…

Finn sighed, prying Katnia away. That said, seeing their reaction, he realized he couldn't let Katnia be too close to him anymore.

What if, instead of Leiah and the others, it was Syl who arrived and saw that? They were not dating yet, but she might be uncomfortable.

So, while he was intent on pursuing Syl someday, he should watch how he interacted with other women. Katnia was a cat, but it looked like people of this world also saw her as a woman.

Of course, he'd still be friends with them. He'd just have to place a line on anything ambiguous.

He stood up to greet the newcomers. "Welcome to the Wanderer's Refuge," he said to the newcomers, shifting his attention to Marcus. "And welcome back."

"How was your trip here?"

Forever-Friendly-Marcus stepped forward and gave Finn a hug, which made the latter laugh. "You were here a few weeks ago, you missed us so much, huh?"

"Well, we did," Marcus laughed. "Well, I was dreaming of the food even until now.

"Also, we encountered a few friends heading to a mission, so we decided to refer you. Some of them were only core hunting, so we figured to bring them straight to this place and help you both out by the way."

"Oh?" Finn blinked and then looked behind him, realizing that the people Marcus brought in seemed to number 30 or more!

"This is Victor, the leader, and his wife, Reesa," Marcus proceeded to introduce everyone.

The team led by a man named Victor, a fighter-tank, was called the Lian Adventurer Team.

Interestingly, this team only had nine people. The rest were various teams and individuals who had decided to tag along while on the way to save energy. Victor's team also had one of the town's best healers and some good fighters, so it was only advantageous to team up with them.

This was a common practice among adventurers, though the group this time was a little bigger than usual.

"Thank you. But did you tell them how much it costs?"

"Not yet," the bulky blonde said. "They probably thought I was bringing them to a cave."

Victor and the others: "..." They really did.

Finn nodded.

"Well, it's not cheap. The basic rooms cost 2 gold (which can accommodate two people, but the regeneration bonus will be shared). We also have tents you can rent for 1 gold. A meal per room is included per day of stay, but we'd be charging additional for others."

"I prefer payment in gold, but you can pay through cores at less than the market value."

"That said…" he paused, counting all of the guests. "We don't have enough rooms, unfortunately," he paused. "So it seems most of you will be using the tents. Don't worry, it'll still be comfortable, and you can still use our bathroom and cleaning services as long as you rent a tent."

He… really didn't expect so many people at a time yet. Should he start expanding soon?

"Well, actually, depending on how much you value your personal space, we might not have enough tents." He suddenly remembered these people were from different teams. Because Ranran was developing these things in her own time, they literally only had a few decent tents done.

He pointed at a clear grass area with the bonfire. "We can rent out this entire area for a few gold a night," he said. "At the very least, while nature can still get you, you are protected from the beasts outside."

That said, he should expedite the tent business or a camping gear business for situations like this. People who go here would be ready to sleep in the wilderness, but he should still provide them with a true resting place!

How many sleeping mats did they have? He wondered if he could sell them as a separate product later…

Speaking of selling, he might be able to sell tents. Hey, even his nuts could probably sell…

"Well, we'll stay for several days," Victor said, surprising the rest. "We'll just rotate the use of the rooms while the rest camp. Sounds fair?"

The teams looked at Victor, surprised that he had decided on this plan so quickly. Particularly, several days already! How much would that cost?

Victor smiled, looking at his team. "Tell me, why are we here?" he asked, sounding like a teacher throwing out a rhetorical question.

"To gather enough cores for us to use for a few months."

"That's right," Victor nodded, and he looked at his sister, Miya, who was the team archer and math whiz. "Tell us, how much do adventurers make in a month?"

The short-haired woman nodded and answered her brother's question. "The average monthly earnings for adventurers who only take safe jobs are 8 to 10 gold, which is still high in normal standards, but not enough for people like us who want to improve ourselves through cores, equipment, and fighting.

"For us who go out to the danger areas once or twice a month, the average increases to about 15 to 30 gold for awakened, increasing by folds as we level up, but the cost for equipment also increases a bit."

Victor nodded and continued. "We risk a lot for these 15 to 30 gold. It is natural that we'd be reluctant to spend that amount for a few days staying here."

"However…," he paused. "This average is only because our energies and our stats are limited. No matter how much we prepare, we will be tired and spent within a few days at most."

He then looked around, specifically where the invisible barrier was located. "But… what if we had a rest place nearby, right at the heart of the danger zone?"

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