After Surviving the Apocalypse, I Built a City in Another World

Although Rowan was feeling uncomfortable with being blood related to a piece of trash, they didn't waste any more time as they settled grandma in one of the inns. Because they were still on a mission, they booked it for a week.

It was seriously expensive, but fortunately, they had both saved up a lot, considering the low cost of living and their high salaries in Iron Mountains.

"This…"

Grandma was shocked and very uncomfortable with such an expensive treatment. However, to the couple, this inn was the most affordable one with acceptable amenities to them, who had been spoiled by Alterra and its conveniences. How could they bear to put grandma in a place that was so extremely subpar in their eyes?

Anyway, they just reassured the old woman that this wasn't too heavy for them.

"Well, something like this will be normal to you soon," he said. "But we need you to stay here while we do our jobs, okay?"

At the very least, the System Inns offer a certain amount of protection. They wouldn't have to worry about people suddenly barging in—except for the Lord himself perhaps, but he wouldn't bother doing this. It was one of ithe building's selling points, making it attractive to visitors as well.

Before heading out though, Silvia paused, and took out a mirror from her space (reflective hand-held mirrors were now a commodity in Alterra, and were quite profitable).

She looked at herself. "This won't do," she said, and Rowan and Rhanna wondered what could make the beautiful woman think that way.

She then sat on a chair next to a table and took out some things, which Rowan recognized as 'make-up'. They watched as she painted her face and drew stuff on her face, including a mustache.

From a distance, it was quite natural. Rowan couldn't help but lean down to get a closer look.

The closeness made their bodies tingle though, making them embarrassed. It was even more awkward because of the fact that Silvia now had a 'mustache'.

She cleared her throat, lowering the pitch of her voice. "Is my voice low enough?"

It was not manly, but low enough to be counted as androgynous.

"I will feel useless if we walk around and I can't even interact with people," she said. "Besides, I'm here for a reason."

She indeed was. She was weak for Town level, but she had skills that Rowan did not: Communication skills.

"My name is Silvio," she said with a solemn look on his face.

"..."

Rowan gaped, while his grandmother chuckled.

In that vein, she also stabilized Rowan's hair dye, making it look even blacker than before. It looked very natural, even grandma was impressed.

"I'm seeing so many fascinating things today," she said, and the youngins smiled, telling her she'd see a lot more soon,

Anyway, after preparing for a few more things, the couple headed out to finally begin their reconnaissance.

The first place they went to was the restaurant. They already gave grandma an instant noodle with jerky in the inn. It was definitely much more delicious than what the most expensive restaurant here offered.

They chose an upper-mid restaurant where the self-respecting well-off mercenaries hang out. Basically, lower end restaurants—like those found in villages—were for commoners. The poor people would also occasionally go there to treat themselves.

Anyway, those who had better stature would always target more expensive restaurants, which were usually owned by nobles or had a partnership with them.

This industry was also quite cutthroat, with the businessmen absolutely needing to have the backing of a noble if they wanted to stay in business without getting robbed (by anyone other than the noble they partnered with, of course).

The higher-class restaurants were even more expensive, even if the food might not necessarily be better. However, it was a status symbol so many rich people still went to these places. In the same vein, if a mercenary would frequent there, they were most likely Class C or above.

Now, they didn't need to waste money on trashy food. Mid-tier restaurants and pubs were more than enough for their initial investigations.

The couple ordered some meals and positioned themselves at one of the central tables as much as they could.

The men were boisterous as they chatted and gossiped. There were also a couple of tense moments, usually due to alcohol, but the fights would be stopped by their respective teams.

For instance, it seemed like Lady Taliya had taken another person into her harem. The discussion about her was, naturally, very demeaning.

"How disgraceful. The previous Lord was a good leader, and yet his wife is such trash."

"Lord Mafo is kind enough to give her a good life, and she dares to take advantage of it."

"Well, it's probably why Master Hesso doesn't bother with her, either," another said. "It seemed like everyone's disgusted with her behavior, but tolerates her because she's the former Lord's wife."

"Hey, isn't it getting hotter?"

The mention of his mother's murderer made Rowan's blood boil. Fortunately, Silvia was there and she held his hand whenever he felt like exploding. He would be reminded of her and her warmth, and how letting his anger get the best of him could hurt her, too.

They also found out that Master Hesso and the Lord seemed to have created a new harem filled with Elementalists. They all spoke of it with envy, in sharp contrast to the utter disgust that Taliya was doing the same.

"Amazing… I sonder how soft a watery woman would be…"

"Heh… they might also… squirt a lot, dontcha think so?"

"A fire elementalist could heat up my shaft…"

The vulgar comments were abound, and the more they heard, the more livid they got. On the side, both of them were clenching their fists, trying to hold themselves back.

Obviously, those were all Terrans!

However, they knew that there wasn't much they could do but listen for now, in hopes of helping those women someday.

This was even more depressing than they thought!

However, they had to endure. Knowledge was power and—in this case—life, and they would definitely gather as much as they could.