Chapter 105: Checking In at the Waystation

No wonder…

No wonder she’d felt like something was off…

If this were a big city, it wouldn’t matter—city gates wide open, people coming and going as they pleased, so naturally there’d be no issue.

But this was just a small territory, clearly not open to outsiders yet. Of course, they couldn’t come and go as freely as in a big city.

And as for whether they could stay the night, that was something only the lord of the territory could decide once they returned.

No matter how many nice things she said or how many gifts she offered, it would only put these two in a difficult position.

After all, they were just residents—they couldn’t make decisions for the territory.

Once Yun Li understood, Lyle continued, “Our lord had some business outside, but he’ll be back before noon at the latest.”

Hearing this, Yun Li responded accordingly.

“I misunderstood. In that case, we’ll just rest here for a while. As for staying the night, we’ll discuss it again once your lord returns.”

Lyle nodded slightly, then he and Dolly opened the stone gate to the territory.

Yun Li signaled to her group to enter in an orderly fashion, carrying their belongings without making any unnecessary moves. She even had the person who’d just taken out some cloth put it back, reminding everyone not to do anything extra.

And so, Lyle and Dolly led them into the waystation.

This waystation, like the tavern, didn’t just have its special function—its basic facilities were all in place as well.

For example, a tavern sells food and drink, while a waystation is like an inn, providing temporary lodging for guests.

The waystation wasn’t large. The first floor was a dining area, and the upper floors were for lodging. There were two more floors above the first: the second floor had eight double rooms—two on each side, and four in the middle row.

The third floor had ten single rooms—three on each side, and four in the middle.

So, in total, there were eighteen rooms, able to accommodate twenty-six people. It wasn’t a lot, but since the caravan wasn’t that big, it was more than enough for their dozen or so people.

Like the tavern, the waystation could be expanded later. But in the early stages, its special function was used more than its basic facilities, so whether it was expanded or not didn’t really matter.

“This is our waystation,” Lyle said. “As you can see, we’re just a small territory, so things are rather simple.” Though he spoke of their humble conditions, there wasn’t a hint of embarrassment on his face.

He could say his territory was simple, and everyone knew he was just stating a fact, not being self-deprecating. But they, as guests, couldn’t show any hint of disdain.

“We’re just borrowing a place to stay—how could we mind?” Yun Li replied, her expression unchanged, showing not the slightest trace of dislike.

They’d slept in tents out in the wilderness before—how could they possibly complain about having a roof over their heads?

Besides, from what she could see, though the territory was small, the buildings were neatly arranged, the ground was clean and level, and the roads had all the basic amenities—lighting, benches, flower beds, and so on.

Aside from the limited number of buildings, it wasn’t much different from some small towns.

To have an environment like this was already beyond Yun Li’s expectations.

She’d even worried there might not be anywhere to stay inside the territory, and that they’d have to pitch tents anyway. But thankfully, things weren’t as bad as she’d feared.

“We’ll just rest here for a while, then. There are sixteen of us, but we have a lot of stuff. If we wanted to rent out the whole waystation, how much would it cost?” Even though there were only sixteen people, they had a lot of luggage—enough big and small chests to fill six or seven rooms.

The important small items could be kept on them, but the larger things couldn’t.

But they couldn’t leave their things outside the territory, nor could they just pile them up on the road, so they’d have to store them in the waystation.

From the earlier conversation, Yun Li had gathered that aside from the lord and the residents, there were no other outsiders in the territory. That meant they could have the whole waystation to themselves.

So she decided to just rent out the whole place.

Lyle thought for a moment, then replied, “We never expected outsiders to visit, so these buildings aren’t open for business, and there’s no set price. This is something we’ll have to discuss with the lord when he returns.”

Yun Li didn’t press the issue, instead urging her people to get organized and rest while they could, in case the lord refused to let them stay overnight. At least they’d have had a day’s rest.

Seeing that they were settling in, Lyle realized that as an “outsider,” his presence would only make them uncomfortable. After a few polite words with Yun Li, he prepared to leave.

“I’m Lyle, and the one who opened the gate earlier was Dolly. We live in the house across from the waystation. If you need anything, just come find us.”

“Thank you for your help,” Yun Li replied. Lyle nodded to them, then left the waystation.

…

After leaving, Lyle saw Dolly waiting outside.

“…They seem like a well-behaved group,” he said, taking a couple of steps forward and briefly recounting what had happened, sharing his impression.

Dolly nodded—she clearly agreed.

After all, she’d seen her share of “wild” caravans, but this was the first time she’d encountered such a harmonious small group.

That’s right—actually, the atmosphere in many small caravans wasn’t very good. Ironically, the big caravans with hundreds or even thousands of people—often thought to be full of trouble—actually had much better internal environments.

Small caravans had fewer people, but everyone was there for money.

The fewer the people, the less complete the rules and profit-sharing, so disputes over money were more likely—hence the bad atmosphere.

Big caravans were different: more people, clear divisions of labor, everyone with their own job.

Each person had their own role, and profits were distributed according to the work done. Even if someone envied another for earning more, it was because that person had worked harder."