Tribal Sign-In: Immortal At The Start

Rion and the others appeared at an empty back street beside an inn, and he muttered, "It appears the past three decades have made the knights lose all hope of ever becoming a symbol of peace."

"Isn’t the duke also from here? How can he do this?" Yuura questioned sombrely.

Rion stepped towards the inn and said,

"He is from here, but what drives humans more than emotions is their desires. The duke desires the throne and is ready to do anything for it."

"Is it really worth it?" Yuura questioned; he couldn’t understand how one could kill their own brethren, their own kin, just to achieve something that asks you to hold compassion for all. It wasn’t just pathetic to him; it was illogical.

"It isn’t, but they delude themselves that it is," Rion stated.

Zaelyane silently followed behind him, and they entered the inn.

Seeing that the inn was empty, their lips fell into a frown, and their gaze landed on a burly man with a disheveled beard standing at the counter, wearing a faint smile that appeared forced.

’Why is it so empty?’

Yuura and Zaelyane stopped by one of the empty tables, and Rion walked to the counter.

Seeing him approach, the innkeeper forced a wider smile and spoke in a low voice, "Welcome... how can I help you?"

Hearing him, Rion furrowed his brows. ’What’s going on? Why is he acting like we are here to ask for direction?’

He took out a pouch of copper coins from his inventory and placed it on the counter.

The innkeeper glanced at the pouch with a confused expression and asked while tilting his head, "Do you need some help with that...?"

"No." Rion shook his head and said, "We want three rooms for... we haven’t decided the time, so just keep the pouch."

The innkeeper blinked a few times and mumbled, "You want to stay...?"

Rion nodded.

The innkeeper opened and closed his lips a few times as he whispered, as if scared of anyone else hearing his words, "Why are you here during such times?"

’Such times?’ Rion frowned. "What do you mean?"

The innkeeper frowned as well and asked, "Are you new to the capital?"

Rion nodded. "We are."

The innkeeper heaved a deep sigh and mumbled, "No wonder..."

"So would you tell me what’s wrong?" Rion asked.

The innkeeper nodded as he leaned on the counter and looked around for a few moments before he looked at Rion and answered, "You know about the civil war, right?"

"I do."

The innkeeper’s face turned grave, and he stated, "Including himself, the duke has six nebulas, and the king had seven royal knight commanders, making the king’s army stronger than the duke’s."

"I know that," Rion mumbled in a voice no louder than his.

"Nearly everyone knows that, but... one of the king’s nebula was injured during the attack on the palace, a few days ago."

’What...?’ Rion’s expression darkened. ’Why is no one talking about such an important event?’

He looked into the innkeeper’s eyes and asked while narrowing his own, "How do you know that?"

The innkeeper blinked twice and muttered with a puzzled expression, "What?"

"I’ve traveled so deep in the capital, but you are the first person I’ve heard this from."

"Oh..." the innkeeper rubbed the back of his head and said, "Well... It’s because no one knows."

Rion looked at him with a deadpan expression and muttered, "Doesn’t that make you more suspicious...?"

"It does." The innkeeper chuckled and said, "But not really. Everyone knows I am the older brother of Thorne."

Rion’s eyes shone with curiosity, and he mumbled, "Thorne as in Selva Thorne, the youngest nebula of Leonara?"

The innkeeper nodded, "Yes."

’Oh. What a coincidence. Ha!’ Rion thought and asked with a worried expression, "Don’t tell me... Sir Thorne is the injured nebula?"

"Oh! No no no!" The innkeeper shook his head. "Sir Delphine is injured, not my younger brother."

"I see..." Rion nodded and asked the important question, "Why are you telling all of this to me?"

A genuine smile appeared on the innkeeper’s face, and he answered with a slight shrug, "I don’t really know, but for some reason I feel like I should tell you."

’Hmm? But I am already using Intent Veil to stop Honoured One,’ Rion thought while frowning.

"It’s like you are much closer to me than anyone else," the innkeeper added while stroking his beard.

Hearing that, Rion blinked a few times and thought, ’Is it because of the ether core?’

The way the innkeeper described the situations made him remember how he had felt connected to the world after forming an ether core.

"I see..." Rion pushed away his thoughts, placed his hand on the pouch, and said, "So what about the rooms?"

"You still want to stay here?"

"I do," Rion responded without any change in his expression and said, "It’s important for me to stay at the capital until I achieve my goals."

The innkeeper, confused by what could be more important than one’s life, took the pouch from the counter and stated, "Follow me." 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

Rion and the others followed as he climbed the staircase and stopped at the door of the first room while multiple others lined the wall.

"As you are new to the capital, I’ll charge two coppers for each room and day." His gaze shifted to Yuura and Zaelyane, and he said, "I hope your stay is comfortable and you can achieve your goal as soon as possible."

"You don’t even know what our goal is..." Rion mumbled with a deadpan expression.

The innkeeper displayed him an embarrassed smile and muttered while laughing, "Even though I don’t know it. I am sure you aren’t trying to harm anyone, at least."

"Why are you so sure?" Zaelyane questioned flatly.

The innkeeper looked at her and said, "Well, I just feel like it."

"You need to stop trusting what you feel... it might lead you to dangers," Rion muttered as he pushed open the door to his room and stepped inside.

Yuura and Zaelyane did the same, and the innkeeper mumbled, "I’d make sure to."