Yarra's Adventure Notes-Chapter 1388 - 174 The Living Preferences of the Undead

"Thanks to the commercial development initiated by Kenseth, there’s been an increase in the flow of people between towns just like this inn, which has over a dozen rooms and already half of them are occupied by guests. Fortunately, the few that are vacant are still pretty tidy, just right for you to stay in. Come take a look, see if you like them or not." Sheila lifted the oil lamp high, pushed open the bone door, and walked into a tomb-like stone house. "This would have been unbelievable about ten years ago, when people’s range of activities, aside from pilgrimage to the capital every now and then, was pretty much limited to their own hometowns, with few ever leaving their villages far behind. Now things are different; not only are merchants eager to travel the world, but even ordinary people, after accumulating some wealth, are willing to roam around and observe the world they live in. After all, every place has its unique features that, no matter how much you hear about from traders, are never the same as seeing them with your own eyes. Of course, there are also those who are too lazy to go outside, preferring to lock themselves at home and stare at the sky all day. I’ve even seen Undead who like to bury themselves in the ground and sleep for half a year at a time. Once you have more Undead, you get all sorts of odd personalities."

"Hahaha, there are people like that among the living too, especially in the southern part of the Yarran Continent where there’s a group of people who just love to do that." Lina followed behind Catherine, along with everyone else, into the room, responding to Sheila’s complaints with a burst of laughter. Hearing Sheila’s description, the young priestess instantly recalled the Dragon Worship Autonomous Prefecture that bordered the Magical Beast Forest in the Neville Federation, and also the bored and lazy creatures there akin to the Guardian Dragon. Reflecting on her experiences in several villages of the Prefecture, she couldn’t help shaking her head and sighed, "The dragon worshippers in the Realm of the Living in the Dragon Worship Autonomous Prefecture, they’re really a lot like those you described. If it weren’t for the need to sustain their living, they would probably prefer to spend their whole lives in a daze. I think if they ever met the Undead you’re talking about, they would definitely have a lot in common."

"That’s impossible because both are too lazy to talk and would rather just sit around daydreaming and sleeping." Pannis casually took another oil lamp from the wall and lit it, holding it high to get a good look at the room, and nodded, "Not bad at all, hmm, it’s much better than a crypt. For starters, there are no coffins or corpses here."

Pannis’s description wasn’t an exaggeration; there were indeed no corpses or coffins, but that was about it. The stone room was quite spacious, and even with ten people, including Sheila and Saen, entering, it didn’t feel too crowded. The stone windows on the walls were grid-shaped, like on the first floor, with four oil lamps hung in pairs opposite each other. A stone table and eight chairs were placed at one end of the room, and at the other end, there were two large stone beds. Underneath the stone cabinets at the sides of the beds were stone storage chests. In the corner of the room, there were neatly stacked containers that looked like clay pots, practically resembling the vessels used for grave goods in a tomb. Essentially, all that was missing were the coffins and the dead to turn this room into a sealed crypt.

"Don’t talk nonsense, it shows no respect for others." Catherine playfully hit Lina and Pannis on their arms as punishment, but she herself couldn’t help but nearly burst into laughter, barely managing to compose herself and maintain a serious face while nodding at Sheila, "It is indeed not bad. After several days of roughing it outdoors, we’re very satisfied with such a decent place to rest. There’s just one thing that needs to be made clear in advance, we don’t have the currency of your world, so we can’t pay rent for staying here. Besides, the surplus supplies we brought from the Yarran World are almost all used up, certainly not enough to cover rent."

"Er, hehe, hehe." Sheila flickered weakly, her expression hazy and stiff as she stared blankly at Catherine, saying unconsciously, "No, no problem, you are special guests and it is certainly our responsibility to accommodate you. Don’t, don’t worry about money."

"That’s really great." Catherine looked around the whole room, clearly showing extreme satisfaction, and happily said, "Take a closer look, this room is indeed very pretty oh, and also very clean. You see, although the windows are just grates, there’s hardly any dust inside, which is quite rare."

"Sigh, elder sister, this is intercultural exchange, you should hold back a little." Freya rubbed her forehead, let out a deep sigh, and shook her head, "Moreover, where’s the honesty that is spoken of in the spirit of a knight, when did we ever run short on supplies?"

"I was talking about surplus supplies," Catherine retorted with a serious face. "Of course, that means what’s left after setting aside the necessary supplies needed for us to consume over a long period of time."

"Rattle rattle."

"Err, Saen said that he’d cover all the expenses here, so everyone is free to stay as long as they’d like," Shiela chuckled dryly, as if she wanted to escape from this subject quickly, and hastily added, "Well, let’s have a look at the rooms first. The rooms we’ve prepared for you all are those that Necromancers tend to prefer. I’m not sure if everyone will be able to adapt, but if you find it uncomfortable, we can switch to other styles that different races like."

"Is there a difference?" Freya forcefully pulled Catherine behind her and, with a polite smile, tried to defuse the awkwardness, "Among the different Undead races, are there also differences in preference?"

"Actually, it’s mostly about the beds," Shiela finally breathed a sigh of relief and assuredly explained, "Skeletons, including Saen, like bone beds. Necromancers and Dried Corpses prefer stone beds, and Ghosts like me favor hammocks suspended in the air. So, the innkeeper often switches the beds in the rooms depending on the guests. Besides the beds, there aren’t many differences."

"No need to switch, this is perfect," Freya mused while picturing herself lying on a bed made of bones and then imagining hanging hammocks made of unknown materials. Her gaze eventually settled back on the smooth stone bed before her. Out of politeness, however, she hid the thought that anyway we would all be sleeping in sleeping bags and simply smiled, "After all, this is also a unique experience specific to the Realm of the Dead, isn’t it?"

"If our guests are pleased, that puts our minds at ease," said Shiela, "Well, since it’s quite late now, we won’t disturb your rest any longer. We hope you all have a pleasant night, and Saen and I will visit again at noon tomorrow to guide you to meet our king. If you have any questions, our king will provide satisfying answers then."

"Then, thank you both for your hospitality tonight," Catherine finally regained her composure, bidding farewell to the two Undead leaders with a knight’s protocol, "I hope that in the future, we can continue to interact as pleasantly as we did today."

"We hope so," Shiela glanced discreetly at Pannis and nodded deeply.