Chapter 142 – Jade Pond City
They arrived in front of the Jade Pond city. This was a large city, much larger than the other towns they saw from a distance.
Even the capital city that Aiko saw when she was with the Princess paled in comparison.
"Halt, pay your fee if you wish to enter Jade Pond City." The guard stopped the caravan in front.
Aiko stared around. There was a line of people, waiting for their turn to enter the city.
Aiko paused. She suddenly didn't want to visit this city...
The duo knew her emotions and didn't force her to enter, they would just wait and listen to her orders.
They waited in line like others. Aiko didn't like to be in crowds, but fortunately, they had hoods, covering their heads.
Humans tend to distance themselves from mysterious people.
"Halt, the fee is 5 Silver Coins per person." The guard said. They were respectful, but stern in their conduct.
Aiko paid them without saying a word. The guard nodded at them and let them enter without any issues.
Aiko was slightly surprised, she expected something to go wrong, but so far this was a smooth sailing journey.
They walked through the City. It was well-paved and decorated. There were hanging paper lamps above their heads on ropes. Most buildings were two stories, with the paper lamps being strung slightly below the second story.
They all marvelled at the sight.
"Should we pick an inn?" The Umbra Fox was the first one to talk.
"We will see..." Aiko said slowly. She was not interested in Inns, as those were always crowded. She didn't like that, but if she wanted to sleep under a roof, she would have to find an Inn.
They walked around. There were many delicacies and vendors shouting loudly.
They tasted a bit of the delicacies over here and there. It was a nice and peaceful atmosphere. Unfortunately, that was short lived...
"You dare to reject us?!" A loud voice shattered the peaceful atmosphere.
"Here we go..." Aiko sighed, rolling her eyes. "Let's go somewhere else."
She was not interested in any young Masters/Misses. It would be a bother to engage with them and they would have to spend a lot of time solving the issue afterwards.
Aiko walked through the darker alleyways. There were hoodlums everywhere, but they ignored her team.
'Seems like they still have some sense of danger, as they are ignoring us.' Aiko nodded slowly.
They arrived at the other side of the darker valley. Looking around, they found a quiet and deserted Inn.
"Let's go there." Aiko pointed at the deserted Inn.
The duo nodded, but didn't say anything. It was better for Aiko to learn from experience than for them to constantly tell her about it.
Aiko entered the place, taking her hood off as a basic courtesy.
The youth behind the counter eyed them up and down before ignoring them.
Aiko likewise ignored him. She never liked rude bastards to begin with.
The main hall was decorated with small trees, but on closer inspection, those trees weren't alive. They were pieced together from small wooden splints and painted, yet they didn't look odd or unnatural.
Aiko stared at them curiously.
"What do you think?" An Elderly man asked Aiko with a gentle smile on his lips.
"They are cute, I never expected that someone could use wooden splints to make a tree out of them. A genuine-looking tree." Aiko nodded slowly, she was still observing the tree.
The Elderly man smiled from ear to ear. This was his work and he always liked the praise, but this was one of the few instances when someone figured out his way.
"Are you staying guests?" He asked politely, unlike that youth.
"We are still thinking about it since the service is subpar, but it's very quiet in here. I'm willing to ignore it." Aiko nodded slowly, moving to another tree.
"We have quite the steep prices, so not many visitors come here, most of them are Cultivators and almost all of them like peaceful and quiet surroundings." The Elderly man explained.
"Oh." Aiko nodded, not perturbed at all.
"The usual price would be one Black Gold Coin a night, but since you are gentle and pretty Young Miss, I will lower it for you to half a Black Gold Coin a night." He liked this Young Miss who didn't make a fuss.
"Are there any large rooms, where we all can sleep together?" Aiko asked.
The Elderly man looked at the servants behind the Young Miss. He smiled taking a guess at her intentions. 'Oh, these youths, sneaking away just to enjoy some pleasures.' He smiled amicably. "Of course, but even with this discount it would be two Black Gold Coins." He sighed.
Two Black Gold Coins appeared in front of his sight. He thought he was dreaming, but then a sweet voice snapped him out of it.
"Are you not going to take them?" Aiko asked, but she was still polite since she did like Elderly people.
"My apologies." He received the money and went behind the counter.
*Slap**Thud*
There was a crisp slap behind the counter. "Bastard, I told you to serve guests well!" He whispered to the youth, but Aiko's team could hear him.
"How was I supposed to know they are-"
*Slap*
"No excuses, you brat! I'm always losing customers because of you! If she wasn't good-natured, my Inn would've been destroyed like the last time!" He cursed the youth and kept slapping him until the youth ran away into the backrooms.
Aiko was still staring at the trees. She was more fascinated by the trees than the events happening around her.
The duo looked oddly at the Elderly man and he coughed awkwardly.
"My apologies for his discourtesy. He is young and stupid, I hope you can forgive him." He bowed towards the duo.
The duo felt like they were dreaming. Aiko just pulled out so much money without batting an eye.
They thought she would be taught a lesson about the coins and prices, but they didn't expect it would end up like this.
The duo was completely unaware that Aiko was already lectured and that she would rather not experience it again...
The room was prepared and the Elderly man guided them to their room. It was a huge room on the topmost floor. The bed was large and looked fluffy, there were many Beast hides placed around like carpets. They all looked high-quality and well-maintained. This whole room screamed rich Young Master.
Aiko nodded, she had simple cloth shoes since she didn't like the usual wooden shoes that other Foxes wore.
It was easy to take them off and test the Beasts' hides.
"Oh, nice." Aiko nodded happily.
"Please enjoy yourselves. If you wish to eat anything, please look at the menu on the table and ring the bell. We will take your order and deliver it as soon as possible." He bowed respectfully.
"Mmmm." Aiko nodded gently.
She was truly a beautiful Young Miss. He wondered from which family she came, but he wouldn't question it. If she wants to hide in here, then he will let her. If she wants to play around, he will naturally let her. She has the money and he provides such services, so there was no issue.
Everything would change if he knew that they were Foxes, but since he couldn't see through their disguise, he served them like he would serve any other Human Cultivator.
...
Aiko took off the coat, revealing the tight uniform. There was still not much to see since she didn't mature, but that didn't mean she was ugly.
The duo likewise took off their coats.
The Blood Fox had a similar uniform to Aiko, but the bulges were apparent on her tight-fitted clothes. Her milky thighs would peek through the slits here and there, adding even more allure to her already alluring body.
Meanwhile, the Umbra Fox was much more slender compared to the Blood Fox, yet her peaks were significant under her clothes. Her thin waist invited gazes, while her wide hips invited trouble.
Aiko stared at them unblinking and there was a single thought coursing through her mind.
'Why does everyone have tits?!' She was slightly upset that she looked like a boy, if it wasn't for her face.
Seeing the upset, yet pouting expression from Aiko they giggled.
Aiko snorted coldly, looking away.
The Blood Fox came close to Aiko. "You will grow in time." She gently caressed Aiko's hair.
"Hmpf." Aiko pouted, but she still enjoyed the gentle hands on her head.
"Are we really going to sleep together?" The Umbra Fox asked Aiko.
"It's cheaper than each having a separate room, it's also safer in case of an attack, so there is just no reason not to share." Aiko explained her reasoning.
The Umbra Fox breathed a sigh of relief and didn't ask further. Normally one would order this room for 'that' kind of thing, but she was happy that Aiko was still oblivious to those sorts of things.
'It would be nice, If her innocence lasted forever.' She thought. She knew that this situation wouldn't last forever and eventually, Aiko would be interested in those sorts of things. The Umbra Fox would have to steel her mind when the time came, but she was now much closer to Aiko and understood her better, so she was not as scared as before.
[Your Servant [Umbra Fox] changed her ways!]
Aiko glanced at the system.
[Servant: [Umbra Fox (Affection: Admires your might and likes you a little)]]
Aiko nodded slowly, it was a good thing that the Umbra Fox was slowly changing, she was worried that the Umbra Fox would still be too scared to meet eye to eye.
'Fortunately, that's not the case.' Aiko smiled. She would cuddle the Blood Fox's tails today, but maybe one day she would test the Umbra Fox's tail.
'...' Aiko paused, staring at the Umbra Fox up and down. "I will find a few Souls for you, so you can create another tail." She couldn't sleep on her if she had only a single tail. 'I hate growing up, I take up too much space...' Aiko cursed gently.
'Mistress wants to reward me with Souls?!' The Umbra Fox was shocked and suddenly felt bad. 'I have been avoiding her, when she was so nice and gentle with me...' She felt awful for being scared just because of some unfounded rumours. Her Mistress was a complete sweetheart and she vowed to protect her!
[Your Servant [Umbra Fox] changed her ways!]
[Servant: [Umbra Fox (Affection: Admires your might and likes you a lot)]]
"..." Aiko stared speechlessly at the system and then at the lightly blushing Umbra Fox. That dolt was humming happily while cleaning the coats from dirt and residues.
Aiko rolled her body on the bed, catching Blood Fox's tails and sleeping peacefully.
...
"Don't you mind that the Mistress..." The Umbra Fox didn't know how to explain this situation without coming off as rude.
"She saved me, it's only natural I belong to her." The Blood Fox said it with a straight face, but the Umbra Fox blushed at her sudden confession.
"Y-y-y-you and her...?" She gestured, but she looked like a young girl who had just found out someone in an indecent act.
"Isn't she the cutest?" The Blood Fox stared gently at the sleeping Aiko and caressed her head.
The Umbra Fox was completely speechless and burning red. She thought that the Blood Fox let Aiko do those things because of the Jade Fox, but now she figured out that was not the case?! What in the world is going on with the Blood Fox and Aiko??
She blushed imagining all kinds of obscene scenarios.
She shook her head several times, she was deeply bothered that her buddies back in the barracks had lovers... she wanted one too, but without the worry of being corrupted.
The Umbra Fox envied these two's passionate love...
What a cute misunderstanding she was having.