Jin and the others were listening to old stories told by the master of the long-standing inn, Chidoritei.
"They say that when the first generation built this inn, it was back during the Berkeley Dynasty."
Jin knew a bit about that era himself. After all, he had been present when royal authority transferred from Lijoun de Berkeley to Rotaro de Lafayette.
"In those days, this region was the domain of Duke Rotaro de Lafayette, who was known as the 'Northern Duke,' and it was reportedly governed relatively well."
"I see."
Jin nodded in understanding.
"Here you are."
Just then, the okami served them tea. A cup was placed before her father-in-law, Gregoras, as well.
Taking a sip of the tea, Gregoras Pecker continued his tale.
"It was around that time that this inn was built. Being close to the Klein Kingdom border and lying right along the highway, there was a steady flow of travelers, so they must have judged it to be a favorable location."
"Indeed."
"For its era, the architecture was quite modern, it seems."
"That is very intriguing."
If the layout and interior design remained unchanged from back then, Jin remarked, it held immense value as a historic building and cultural heritage site.
"Hearing you say that would surely make the founder proud."
Gregoras Pecker's story went on.
Jin listened with keen interest.
After listening to the tales of the past, Jin and his companions ate lunch and relaxed in their room.
"That was much more fruitful than I expected."
"Mm."
In truth, this building faithfully preserved the architectural style of four hundred years ago.
"Maybe later I'll secretly... No, maybe I should just make a proper, formal proposal to Reinforce it once more."
"I think that would be best."
"...And another thing. The proprietor here—his name was Gregoras, right? His legs are bad, aren't they?"
Jin had only gotten a vague impression of it, but asking Elsa, who was a top-tier healing master, he figured she would likely know.
"Mm. Without a proper Diagnose, I can't be certain of the details, but it's probably his knees."
"I see."
If it was a condition requiring surgical healing magic, Elsa would likely be able to cure it.
"...What should we do about payment? For my part, I was thinking of framing it as thanks for sharing such valuable stories, using the excuse that I want to preserve this precious building."
"Even so, that alone might already be excessive, but..." Elsa pointed out.
"Yeah... adding Healing on top of that makes it even harder to balance... What should we do?"
"Father, Elsa-sama, how about offering it in lieu of our lodging fee?"
Reiko offered her advice.
"Hmm, that's probably best after all."
Both Jin and Elsa agreed that it was the safest approach.
However, they were in total agreement that it would be best to make both the Reinforce and the treatment appear as though they were no big deal.
That way, the proprietor wouldn't feel overly indebted or overwhelmed.
As an aside, while both healers and healing masters held national qualifications, claiming the title of "master" required a deep knowledge of the Sciences.
In the afternoon, Jin and Elsa set out to explore the town, accompanied by Reiko and Hope.
"Hmm, there's quite a mix of ancient buildings and relatively new ones."
"Father, even when you say relatively new, they are still from around a hundred and fifty years ago."
"Right. That would mean before the rise of the Magic Federation."
Jin analyzed the townscape as he observed the streets.
"...There's one thing that bothers me," Elsa murmured.
"I've been looking around this whole time, but I haven't seen a single sign for a healer or a clinic."
"Now that you mention it..."
"Maybe... it has something to do with why the innkeeper's legs haven't been cured."
"Let's ask about it when we get back."
"Mm."
Jin and the others continued their stroll through the town.
"As for vitality... it seems to have a fair amount. It's quite lively for such a remote border town."
Aside from Jin's group, other tourists could be seen scattered here and there.
"Not to be hypocritical when we're pretending to be tourists ourselves, but what are all these other people visiting to see?"
"Father, apparently there is a seasonal attraction that appears in this region around this time of year."
Reiko, who had been eavesdropping on the conversations of nearby tourists, quietly informed him.
"An attraction... What could it be? An aurora, or perhaps shooting stars?"
"Jin-nii, I don't think that would be limited to just this town. Besides, I've never heard of auroras being seen on Planet Ars."
"I see."
Because Jin had taught her various subjects from Earth, Elsa possessed academic knowledge of auroras.
Yet for whatever reason, there were no records of auroras ever appearing on Planet Ars or Planet Hehl.
Furthermore, a meteor shower wouldn't be unique to this specific region. And solar or lunar eclipses did not seem to occur given the positional relationship between Planet Ars and the Moon, Uni, Jin reasoned.
"...Father, it appears to be fireworks."
"Fireworks?"
Where would they even launch something like that? While Jin wondered, Reiko provided more information she had overheard.
"It seems they are launched from the direction of the Klein Kingdom checkpoint."
"So they're setting them off from the Klein Kingdom's side."
Naturally, that meant they would be visible from this side as well.
"There are likely tourists visiting the town of Naize on the Klein Kingdom side as well."
"That makes sense."
Jin doubted there would be many eccentric tourists who would intentionally go through the trouble of crossing the border to stay in another country's town just for this.
"Ah, but that explains it. That's why the inn had so many rooms booked."
All the second-floor rooms had been occupied, which was why Jin's party had been assigned a room on the third floor.
It was quiet and offered a pleasant view from the window, so they had no complaints.
"Do you think we might be able to see them from our room's window?" Jin asked.
"Yes, Father. If the fireworks are launched, it will be to the east. Our room is a corner room facing east and south, so we will be able to see them if we open the window. Though I expect it will be cold."
"I see. As for the cold, if we put up a wind-attribute barrier, the warm air inside the room won't escape, so that shouldn't be an issue."
"I believe so as well."
"...By the way, when are the fireworks? Tonight?"
"No, it seems to be tomorrow night. They will apparently be setting off fireworks over the course of two days."
"Is that so?...Then I guess we're staying another night."
Feeling somewhat intrigued, Jin decided to leave town only after seeing the fireworks.
"Mm. It's not like we have a strict purpose or deadline anyway."
Elsa agreed as well.
"In that case, I'm curious about the fireworks."
Jin felt a twinge of regret, thinking he would have stayed in the town on the Klein Kingdom side had he known beforehand, but then he reconsidered—staying on this side had allowed him to encounter four-hundred-and-fifty-year-old architecture.
"...Should we have Laojun look into it?"
Jin issued an instruction to Laojun through Reiko.
An immediate reply came back.
"Father, it appears Laojun has already obtained information regarding the fireworks," Reiko reported. "It says it will share the details once we are back in our room at the inn."
"Alright, let's do that."
Though curious about the fireworks, Jin and the others decided to spend a little more time sightseeing around the town.