The Paladin in the Abyss

Elothysia showed an obvious look of disgust at the sign, but she said nothing. Lancelot raised an eyebrow and pushed open the large door of the inn.

"Welcome to Tears of Lazaka!" As soon as they entered, a pleasant voice rang out beside them. Lancelot turned his head and saw a halfling bartender behind the counter waving at them.

However, Lancelot's Spirit Perception warned him that this fellow who looked like one of Koula's kin was definitely not a halfling, and his strength was undoubtedly strong.

There were also several Meizeros Demons in the bar, their eyes like ripe oranges without pupils, surveying the surroundings. Lancelot guessed that they were guards hired by the inn's owner.

There were some other things that caught his attention too. A few individuals sitting in the shadows had their gazes fixed on him for several seconds. Although the stares were incredibly covert, Lancelot's sharp Spirit Perception still noticed them. As he turned his gaze towards them, those individuals immediately averted their looks, feigning nonchalance.

Considering the reputation of the inn's owner and the guards all around, Lancelot did not take any further action but quietly heightened his vigilance.

"Wow! Hi there!" Koula was very pleased to see one of his kind, "I'm Koula, what's your name? What are you doing here?"

People call me 'The Immortal' Pakos, I am the owner of this inn," the halfling bartender said with a smile, startling everyone, "Whatever you need, just let me know. Our services will surely satisfy you, and the prices are reasonable."

"Uh, sorry, I didn't know you were..." Koula's smile awkwardly froze on his face as he involuntarily stepped back.

"Ah, don't be nervous. I turned into this so as not to scare the guests," Pakos spread his hands, "To be honest, my original appearance is really too disgusting."

"Respected 'Immortal' Mr. Pakos," Lancelot stepped forward, "please forgive my companion's rudeness. We need to stay here for a few days. Do you have any rooms available?"

"Yes, yes!" The halfling figure, formerly the Lord of Withering, excitedly rubbed his hands, "Would you like separate rooms, or a large suite? I strongly recommend the large suite, which has three beds, the largest measuring fifteen feet wide..."

As Pakos spoke, he revealed a sleazy smile, stealthily glancing at the succubus standing not far behind the group.

"Sounds good," Lancelot didn't attempt to clarify anything, "What's the price for the large suite? And how much for individual rooms?"

"The large suite is fifteen hundred Gold Coins per night, you won't find a more lavishly decorated place in this city. But if you want a more... private space, our comfortable rooms will perfectly meet your needs, and the price is very fair, just two hundred Gold Coins each per night."

"What do you all think?" Lancelot turned to ask the group, "Do we take the large suite or individual rooms?"

"I'm fine with either," Alamir, who had the highest standards of hygiene, was the first to speak, and the rest indicated that whatever Lancelot decided would be fine.

The Human Knight weighed his options internally. Although there were eight of them, he and the Elves only needed to meditate, the skeleton head only occupied a pillow, Little Isha's bed was in his Dimensional Bag, and the Succubus needed no sleep, so in reality, only Bruto, Koula, and Kalalin truly required beds.

However, recalling the few malicious glances from earlier, he decided not to skimp on spending. Despite there being quite a few guards in this inn, Lancelot had no plans to entrust their safety entirely to this Halfling innkeeper.

"We'll take a large suite, and stay for one night," Lancelot said as he pulled from his chest two pieces of yellow jade and one olivine, placing them on the table, "Will this be enough?"

"Enough! More than enough!" Pakos merely glanced at the gems before hurriedly snatching them up as if afraid Lancelot might change his mind. He quickly pulled out a key almost as large as his own arm from a drawer and handed it to Lancelot.

"Go up the stairs over there, the room on the left-hand side of the third floor is yours," Pakos said, his face donning a highly insincere and discomforting smile, "Have you all dined yet? Our Abyss roasted chicken is exceptionally delicious, and with a couple of glasses of our signature wine, the Tears of Lazaka, what a wonderful night it would be!"

"Tears of Lazaka? Isn't that the name of your pub?" Bruto asked curiously, being a Dwarf, he was interested in any type of alcoholic drink.

"Lazaka was a Celestial servant once captured by the Lords of Withering. The wine distilled from his tears could make even the strongest Tanari staggeringly drunk," the Halfling bartender remarked nostalgically, "Sadly, that Angel was later rescued by a group of daring Adventurers. Although he did shed plenty of tears before that, such exquisite wine is diminishing by the bit."

Lancelot immediately understood the source of the Succubus Paladin's aversion, as if he recalled correctly, Elothysia's lover was also a Celestial servant, known to mortals as an Angel.

"We will come down to dine later," Lancelot replied calmly, "Do you have any more ordinary beverages? We wouldn't want to be hunted by some Celestial creature suddenly emerging because we drank that kind of wine."

"Your friend with the bat wings would really like it," Pakos still unwilling to give up, said, "Don't you want to please her?"

"We won't pay for that kind of thing," Lancelot firmly refused again, "See you later then, Mr. Pakos." Read latest stories on My Virtual Library Empire

He turned away from the bar and led his group upstairs.

"Thank you," he whispered to Elothysia as they passed by her.

The Succubus said nothing, just silently followed him up the stairs.

The group reached the large suite on the third floor, and while it was far from the lavish luxury the innkeeper had boasted, the essential facilities were indeed all present. It featured a vast living room, a master bedroom, two secondary bedrooms, and two bathrooms. Baths were the most missed luxury by the group who had spent three weeks in the wilderness, even Bruto was loudly proclaiming that he too needed to freshen up.

The companions took turns cleaning themselves, with only Alamir and Little Isha taking a bit longer: for the former, bathing was part of his religious rituals, and for the latter, it involved using a bathtub — running water was like strong acid to Vampires, and after a few memorably careless mistakes, the Vampire girl had learned not to repeat that error.