"Been waiting long?"
"No, Captain."
Kallen had actually passed in front of Philomina earlier, but she had not recognized "Pavaro." Although she had visited Pavaro's home, the Funeral Society, not everyone could be exceptionally observant.
He checked the time. It was already late at night, and the old captain's ship must have left the port by now. Kallen could not be bothered with any more trouble at this hour, so he found an inn and booked two rooms.
The rooms were quite nice, each with its own bathing pool. The owner said the hot spring water was piped in from the volcano, but filling the pool cost extra.
Kallen paid, and an attendant followed him inside to fill the pool. After a while, when it was nearly full, Kallen walked over and dipped his hand into the water.
The water was not scalding, but he could feel a burning heat. This was not an effect of the hot spring, however; the inn had added a powdered mineral to it.
Soaking in a pool like this would make people feel mentally exhilarated, misleading them into thinking the hot spring was highly effective. In fact, it was rather like mild heavy-metal poisoning, stimulating their latent potential to give them a high, followed by a period of fatigue.
Kallen shook his head. He could not be bothered to demand an explanation and a refund from the owner. He took a shower, then went over to the bed and lay down.
"Knock... knock..."
He had only just lain down when he heard knocking.
Kallen did not intend to answer, but the knocking continued. With no other choice, he went over and opened the door. Two young women stood outside. Neither looked older than twenty, and without makeup, they looked fresh and pretty.
"Sir, would