Three days later. Late night. A tavern called ‘Blackwood Wine Cup’ located at the end of the Squirrel Street.
Originally, this tavern was quite renowned in Squirrel Street. There were dwarves that would frequent this tavern. But, after the tavern called ‘Hearthstone’ became thoroughly renowned in Norland, life became much more difficult for all the other taverns.
As if they were bewitched, the dwarves flooded into that Hearthstone Tavern. Even when the tavern was packed with no room for any more customers, an unending stream of dwarves would still continue to proceed toward that tavern. It was simply no different from a bunch of addicts of the magic craving crystals.
Engaged in the same trade and comforting themselves with words like ‘Best that tavern gets completely smashed by those dwarves!’ to comfort himself, Blackwood Wine Cup was relatively lucky in Norland’s Great Tavern Depression.
The reason for that was because Blackwood Wine Cup was located in Squirrel Street.
Due to the influence of the movies, a large number of Norland’s residents began to tour Squirrel Street. Because of that, Blackwood Wine Cup’s customers increased slightly.
Unfortunately, the increase was simply insufficient. No matter how capable a human drunkard might be in drinking, they would not be able to match a single ten year old dwarf!
Furthermore, when it reaches night time, Blackwood Wine Cup would become even more bleak. Only several drunkards were scattered around the tavern, unconscious. Before the bar was an old lady with a cleaning rag shouting at a youngster.
“Holme! Where the heck are you today?! If you don’t show up in the morning again, don’t think about getting paid!”
“Madam Eileen... I... went to participate in the competition.” Although that was what the youngster said, bruise marks were present all over his eyes and face. He simply looked like a fellow that had just finished brawling.
“Competition? You’re talking about the nonsense spoken by those foolish orcs underground?! If you want to hear those nonsense again, I’ll tell you them right now!”
Right when the tavern owner was about to curse out at the youngster with her hoarse voice, an infant’s cry sounded in the tavern.
The youngster by the name of Holme immediately ran to the other side of the bar. Inside an opened cabinet, he found an infant girl. Holme immediately picked up the infant girl.
“A brat like you who only knows how to dream everyday will not be able to raise that kid! The way I see it, you might as well sell her to those orcs! Perhaps they’ll give you some money!” The tavern owner’s voice had completely overwhelmed the infant’s cries.
Holme did not bother to pay attention to the harsh ridicules from the tavern owner. He looked at the malnourished and swaddled infant girl in his hand. On her forehead was a horn.
Holme tried to comfort the baby to make her stop crying.
Suddenly, Holme remembered that the infant girl has not had anything to eat for nearly an entire day. It was not only the baby, he himself hasn’t eaten anything all day either.
Holme looked around. When he saw the milk placed among the alcohol behind the tavern owner, his eyes shined.
But, a wooden jug soon landed by his foot. The sound of the jug striking the ground was very loud.
“If you want to eat, then stop slacking off! Also that kid, throw her out right now, just like her mom!” said the tavern owner.
The owner’s loud and sharp voice caused the baby to cry even louder. It has reached a level enough to disturb one’s concentration. The tavern owner seemed to be at the end of her patience too.
“Throw out that thing right...” Before the tavern owner could finish her words, the tavern door was suddenly pushed open.
If the people that entered were ordinary guests, she would continue to shout with no concern. But, she saw an arcanotech vehicle outside the tavern!
Since the World Expo, arcanotech vehicles have become the symbol of wealth. Only those major nobles and extremely wealthy merchants were able to purchase those miraculous vehicles.
Because of that, she immediately realized that whoever it was that came was someone that she cannot afford to offend. After a brief moment of shock, the harsh look immediately disappeared from her face and was replaced with a beaming smile. One might even wonder if the muscles on her face were actually slime-like fluids.
“Dear guest... do you need anything?”
She cautiously asked the people that entered the tavern. It was a group of three. The person leading them seemed to be a merchant. Middle-aged. Male. Slightly fat. There’s also a sort of charm to his appearance and the air he gave off.
The tavern owner felt that the man looked very familiar. It seemed like she had met him before somewhere. Unfortunately, she cannot recall where.
Before she could search through her memories, the man began to introduce himself.
“Hello. I am a merchant of the Klia Trading Company. You can address me as Kelman.”
“Kelman... you... aren’t you the person on those drawings?” The tavern owner suddenly recalled where she saw this man. It was from those ‘drawings’ posted on Squirrel Street’s announcement board.
Those drawings were extremely vivid and life-like. It was like they were captures of people in the flesh. She remembers that she had seen his face on a drawing titled ‘Léon: The Demon.’
“You must have mistaken me for someone else.”
As an actor, Sir Weissenasche was naturally proficient in lying. He did not come to the tavern today as the owner of a theater. Instead, he came as a merchant.
Sir Weissenasche took a glance at the tavern. Then, he turned to the merchant owner, “I came here with the intention of purchasing your tavern, madam.”
“Purchase my tavern?!”
The tavern owner was immediately spirited upon hearing those words. This tavern was something passed down from her family. Even though their business has entered dire straits recently and she had indeed had the thought of selling her tavern, she was not planning to sell her family business for cheap.
“Five thousand gold coins,” said an old lady standing behind Sir Weissenasche all of a sudden.
“We are willing to pay five thousand gold coins for your tavern.”
The tavern owner’s heart leaped upon hearing that number. Five thousand gold coins was nearly two years worth of profit from this tavern. Of course, that was before that wretched ‘Hearthstone Tavern’ opened.
With how desperate things were going right now, with only profits in several copper coins from the ales, she might not even be able to make five thousand gold coins in five or ten years.
“This is the Squirrel Street. Do you all not know that there are more and more people frequenting Squirrel Street?!” While she was tempted, the tavern owner was not willing to give up on her tavern that easily.
When the old lady behind Sir Weissenasche was about to speak, the cry of a baby interrupted her.
The interruption completely enraged the tavern owner. She was in the middle of a major business discussion! That discussion could be possibly ruined by that baby!
Right when the tavern owner was about to shout at the youngster to tell him to scram the hell out of the tavern with that baby, a young man behind Sir Weissenasche walked forth with a look of pleasant surprise. Sir Weissenasche made a gesture toward the tavern owner to indicate to her to please excuse them.
“Please forgive those children,” Sir Weissenasche said to the old lady next to him.
“I don’t mind something like this. Let us go inside to discuss more about the pricing of this tavern.”