Chapter 447 - 393: What Kind Does She Want?
Chapter 447: Chapter 393: What Kind Does She Want?
When Gu Ning heard Philinos say he had booked in advance, she froze for a moment, then felt a sharp pang of regret.
"Females get a tenfold discount," Gu Ning said to the calm and unconcerned Little Fairy Bird before her. "You could have just told me you needed to book a room."
Although she wasn’t short on money at the moment, she was saving every penny to buy Inhibitors for Cook and Barto.
The Inhibitors provided by her job benefits seemed sufficient, but Cook and Barto’s conditions had already degenerated severely. She had to buy any extra Inhibitors money could get. Besides, she couldn’t keep asking Alex for his; he needed them too.
She hoped that if Cook and Barto could just make it through the winter, their degeneration would stabilize. Perhaps with better Inhibitors, and by staying far away from Mutant Species and environments like Zone 19 that accelerated a Mixed Breed’s decline, there was even a chance to lower their degeneration levels.
After all, hadn’t Barto maintained his human form for a long time? Maybe Cook could too, and even regain his self-awareness.
She clung to that faint glimmer of hope. Every penny had to be saved for where it mattered most.
After hearing her out, Philinos fell silent for a moment, then asked, "On what grounds?"
Gu Ning didn’t understand. "What?"
Philinos said, "I’m not your family, nor am I your spouse. I can’t use your discount. The hotel requires my identification to make a reservation."
"Oh, I see..." Gu Ning said, though she felt something was still off. "Next time, just let me know. I can make the reservation."
She started to pull her pass out of her pocket, but stopped halfway and put it back. Instead, she gestured to the terminal on her wrist. "You can use my ID."
"There’s no need," Philinos said. "I’ve always booked this way. It’s not that expensive."
"Well... alright then," Gu Ning said. ’What else could she say? The Little Fairy Bird was rich.’
An awkward silence fell over them.
"WOOF!"
While they were talking, Cook suddenly started tearing around the courtyard. After two laps, he leaped into the hot spring, splashing the two of them and shattering the silence.
Gu Ning wiped the water from her face and glanced at the Little Fairy Bird beside her, laughing sheepishly. "Perfect timing for a bath, I guess."
Water droplets trickled down Philinos’s tense jawline. He shot a look at the large Mixed Breed dog splashing about in the hot spring before turning and walking back inside.
Gu Ning glanced from Cook to the seemingly angry Little Fairy Bird, then followed him inside to get a towel.
’It’s getting late,’ she thought. ’Might as well get our baths out of the way.’
Besides, she still had to blow-dry Cook’s fur. With Barto gone, his thick coat would take her at least two hours to dry.
Philinos, moving as if he knew the place well, retrieved two bath towels from the bathroom and handed them to Gu Ning. "There are toiletries by the spring. The towels out there are soaked, but everything else should be fine."
Gu Ning asked, "Aren’t you going to wash up?"
Philinos stared at her. "Do you want me to bathe with you?"
His tone was always cold and sharp, making the question sound less like a genuine inquiry and more like a rhetorical refusal.
By now, Gu Ning had a decent understanding of the Little Fairy Bird’s temperament. It wasn’t just that he disliked interacting with people—he was distant with everyone and seemed to be a serious germaphobe. They had been roughing it on their journey, and while the rest of the team was weathered and grimy, Philinos remained spotless, practically sparkling. He was on a completely different plane from the other members, who were either dusty or exhausted.
Gu Ning’s gaze swept over the jeweled pin on his jacket as she patiently explained, "I mean, are you going to use the hot spring after we’re finished?"
’The hot spring water is fresh and constantly flowing,’ she thought, ’but if Philinos is still grossed out, he’ll just have to use the shower in the room.’
’But for a room that costs sixty thousand a day, not using the hot spring would be a real shame.’
Philinos said, "I don’t like using hot springs that other people have been in."
"Fine." Hearing his reply, Gu Ning simply turned away, not bothering to say more.
’I’ve figured out the trick to talking to the Little Fairy Bird,’ she thought. ’Keep it simple. As long as he understands, that’s good enough. Anything more is just exhausting.’
Behind her, Philinos watched her go, his lips slightly parted as he swallowed the words he’d left unsaid.
’Ning isn’t "other people." We could let Cook finish, then we could use it...’
When he saw Gu Ning pause at the door to the courtyard with a hesitant expression, he quickly strode forward. "What is it?"
Gu Ning turned around. "I just... thought of a problem."
Philinos asked, "What problem?"
Gu Ning lifted her hand to her clothes, sniffing the fabric. "Will this... wash off Alex’s scent?"
Before they came to the Inner District, Alex had gone to great lengths to mask her scent.
Even though she didn’t have a Beastman’s keen sense of smell, she had grown accustomed to the need to hide her own scent.