Without asking for my opinion, the girls decided that they would be joining me on my visit to the tavern. Rather, they were more excited to go there than I was. Although it was supposedly Ember and the other’s first time to go out for drinks, rather than that, they were more focused on the food.
“Threya said that the food here is superb. I wonder how they’ll compare to the ones we had in the capital?”
“Wait, Ember. Rather than the capital, the food back at Goddess Blanc’s place was several levels more delicious! We should use that as a basis!”
“Wait, you mean all of you ate a sumptuous meal back there?! Why did nobody tell me? That’s unfair!”
The girls were chatting happily while following behind us. Fina was just listening in on their conversation beside me, walking ahead of the group like a tour guide.
“Oh, is it that place?” .
As we approached a crowded street, lit by the orange light of torches around us, we found a large establishment with a lot of tables set up. Even the outside was filled with people sitting around tables, chatting happily with mugs of beer in their hands.
“Wow… That’s a lot of people. Is there even a vacant table?”
Ember muttered, looking around worriedly. However, in establishments like this, there should always be a vacant table. And just as I thought, one table in the corner remained vacant. It was pretty big too, so all five of us, plus two little critters, could fit around it.
As we sat down, Fina quickly raised her hand, ordering five mugs of beer and a tray of oily foods to go with it. She really does know how to enjoy drinking.
The ordered beer came soon after and slammed down on our table, with foam slightly overflowing. Everyone took one mug and curiously started inspecting it. Fang was the most curious and took a sip; however, her face quickly turned to a disgusted expression, as if the drink didn’t fit her palate.
“What is this thing? People enjoy drinking this?”
She asked as she put her tongue out, saying “yuck~” under her breath. This little gesture didn’t miss the eagle eyes of the female server as she glared at our table with a deep frown.
“Fang, that’s bad manners. And that’s how beer tastes, so we can’t do anything about it.”
I chided her with a slightly loud voice, trying to appeal to the fact that it was the nonsensical comment of a first-time drinker. Although still upset, the female server turned around and went to the other tables, probably pardoning our previous fault.
“Phew… So, Fang… You don’t want the taste of beer?”
I lowered my voice, enough for only the girls to hear. Fang nodded her head, her tail lowered, and her ears flopped down as if she were getting scolded. However, I wasn’t going to do that. I mean, even I felt the same way with her since the beer was lukewarm. It was honestly worse than what I was expecting. In short, disgusting.
“I have a magic trick to make it more delicious; wanna try?”
I whispered to her, which prompted her attention to return fully. Her ears perked as her tail wagged excitedly.
“Really, Leader?! Then, please!”
As she offered her mug, I moved stealthily and used the combination of water and fire elements to transform some of the watery parts of the beer into ice. Fang was surprised as the content suddenly almost overflowed, prompting her to sip the content in panic. However, unlike before, her face didn’t immediately turn into a frown but rather a surprised expression.
“It’s cold! And it tastes better than before!”
Again, Fang raised her voice, prompting the female server to turn to her again. However, it wasn’t the gaze of blame but rather curiosity. However, all she saw was Fang deliciously chugging the mug of beer, causing her to tilt her head in wonder.
“Puhah! I still don’t like the taste, but it’s not so gross anymore.”
Seeing Fang’s reaction, the others quickly turned to me and begged with their gazes. Having no choice, I froze their drinks too, before they all downed the mugs simultaneously, like seasoned drunkards.
Ember and Igni were curious about the taste, so they took another swig, emptying the mug completely… Should I warn them about their pace? When I turned to Fina, who had experience with drinking, she was copying Ember and Igni and downed her mug instantly.
“Misstreeess! Another serving, pleease!”
She roared, raising the empty mug in her hand.
Unlike before, when the female server returned to our table, a smile was already covering her face. She must’ve realized that we would be ordering a lot of drinks after seeing the girls’ pace. More orders meant more revenue, so she would, of course, cheer for them.
In just a few moments, a new batch of beer mugs arrived. The girls stared at me simultaneously, making me sigh in exasperation. Am I going to be an ice dispenser until we finish?
Before I managed to freeze their drinks, Fina warned them that drinking them in tandem with salty or oily foods would make them taste better, so they slowed down their pace instantly. I am sad to admit it, but they were gluttons after all.
Soon, a large serving of fried food, which honestly looked like chicken, came to our table. Fina led them and picked one, took a bite, then a small swig of beer. The way she exhaled after a set was enticing, making the others quickly imitate her.
As they were having their little drinking session, I was slowly drinking the beer in my hand as I listened to the surrounding chatter. Of course, I was fishing for information regarding the time-travel device that was rumored to be somewhere nearby.
“Hey, little guy.”
Just as I was focused, a grumpy, deep voice called, seemingly pertaining to me. Looking up, I saw a group of drunkards standing behind me. One, two… There were a dozen or so of them, so they looked quite intimidating if they stood like they were blocking the way out.
“Buddy, you’ve got quite a nice party here. Mind sharing some with us? Kekek.”
Another one, a fat and dirty-looking bastard, lowered his head as he spoke right in my face. His breath… Stinky is an understatement, definitely. As I held my breath and pinched my nose, I tried to dissuade them as peacefully as I could.
“Sorry, but you guys aren’t their match. Please look elsewhere.”
After all, looking at their energy levels, they should be nowhere near the fourth stage. More like someone who just reached the third stage. If they tried to pick on the girls, only tragedy would await them.
“Hah? Are ya lookin’ down on us?!”
Another one, a man with a pretty nice set of muscles, came before me and pulled me up by the collar. I… I could snap his arm if I wanted, but I was a step too late.
*CRAAAACK!* *CRACK!* *CRACK!*
His arm, originally having only a single joint at the elbow, was now bending in all directions like a zigzagged road. His gaze landed on his arm for a moment before the pain caught up, causing him to cry, bawling like a little kid.
“You… Dare tussh meee Lowrd?!”
Igni roared, her face slightly red and her words fumbling. She’s definitely drunk, but isn’t that too quick? The problem was that there were three attacks. Looking closer, Ember and Fang were already standing behind the twelve, their eyes shining with killing intent.
“Hehe… You actually tried to hurt Master… You all must be tired of living. Shall I help you?”
“Oneeee… Twooooo… Wazz neksht? Anywaysh, DIE!”
I wasn’t even able to make it in time to stop them, as it all ended in an instant, literally. The muscular man who pulled me up by the collar was turned into a rag, rolling on the greasy floor of the tavern with tears, snot, and blood all over his face.
The others, who were basically just collateral damage, were similarly rolling on the ground. However, they were better off than the first one since they had their limbs still intact. I guess even when drunk, Fang and Ember knew how to hold back.
“But that’s still a bit overdoing it.”
I scolded the three of them, making them kneel before me. However, probably because they were tipsy, my words seemingly had no effect on them. In the end, I let them return to their seats, and they resumed their little drinking contest. Before I even noticed, more food was already on the table, and Fina was still ordering more. She’s not drunk yet, is she?
“Stop! We came here because of a reported… brawl…?”
Soon, guards came to the tavern. However, after seeing the fallen guys, they were confused. Rather than a brawl, it looks like a scene from a massacre, despite nobody dying.
Of course, nobody pointed to us since they were afraid of the girls who were glaring at everyone else drinking at the tavern. In the end, due to a lack of witnesses, the guards could only drag the fainted men to the station and nurse them back to health.
It was doubtful if they would confess what truly happened, though, as claiming that twelve men were owned by three drunk girls was enough to mark them as a laughingstock for a good while.
After the guards left, the tavern continued its operation as if nothing had happened. The others, too, just drank and chatted, completely ignoring the little event that occurred earlier. The girls resumed their drinking spree while I returned to eavesdropping. Such a situation continued for a good while.
“You must be Will.”
Until a female voice called my name.