It took 20 minutes for Rick to find a constable and come back, though he didn’t really bother explaining the situation to them. Using a series of grunts and sighs, the perpetually tired worker somehow got the constable to follow him.
The moment he realized he was being brought to a tavern, the constable groaned as well, for he was almost entirely certain that he had to deal with the result of a brawl. What awaited him, instead, was the massive Ben, covered in dry blood, being fawned over by his girlfriend. She had instantly noticed the man’s weakened state, and directly attributed it to the trauma he suffered, and began coddling the eight foot man like a baby. The girlfriend, Betty, stood at 7 feet and eight inches herself, so her presence was no joke. The dichotomy of a massive woman, her arms rippling with muscles, babying an even larger man was, however, quite funny.
Despite Ben’s best efforts to be interrogated right in the tavern, the constable who happened to know the couple eventually convinced them to follow him back to the constable’s office.
The tavern was pretty quiet after that, until at exactly 5:30 pm, when Roland entered the Midnight Tavern, followed closely by a group of other kids. Considering their job, they were relatively well dressed, with no obvious tears or holes in their clothes, and even they themselves were clean enough to tell they had showered sometime within the last few days.
Perhaps it was just a stereotype that kids doing jobs in small towns such as this were all homeless orphans. Maybe they were just doing extra work to help around the house.
“We successfully passed out all the fliers you gave us, specifically, 712 of them, each to a separate individual. At 10 fliers per copper coin, that’s 71 coppers.”
Lex smiled at the kids and asked, “are you sure you wouldn’t rather just eat here for a week?”
“Money is money man, don’t renege on our deal. You can’t bully us just because we’re young entrepreneurs.”
All the kids behind Roland firmly nodded their heads, looking at Lex fiercely.
Lex chuckled and pulled out a silver coin, worth 100 copper coins, and handed it to Roland. “Well, good job. Here, you can keep the change. I’ll keep an eye out, and if I get a lot of customers who got your fliers, I’ll contact you again.”
Rolands eyes shone as he grabbed the coin, but he managed to keep his voice steady.
“It was a pleasure doing business with you.”
“Why don’t you and your friends grab a table? Since stuff’s free the first day, let me treat you to something.”
“Eh… we’re kids – no I mean, young entrepreneurs,” he said, hesitantly.
“Don’t worry, I’ll only serve you tea. It’ll be good for you.”
The kids exchanged a few looks and in the end decided that it would be in poor business spirit to turn down the irresistible offer of ‘free’!
Lex had a few plates of french fries, along with sweet iced tea sent over in mugs for the kids. Unlike the sugar water that was iced tea back on Earth, this one was made using the leaves of a spirit plant. Not only would it be refreshing, it would nourish their bodies and heal any injuries they have. It was a tea with very mild effects, perfect for non-cultivators.
The entry of Roland seemed to be some kind of trigger, as after the kids sat down, small groups started pouring in. Many of them were holding the fliers that had been passed out, but even more of them came asking about the free drinks.
This is when Lex turned on his charm. With a grin on his face that made it seem like he was having the most fun in the world, and a tray in his hand that was never empty of drinks, Lex began welcoming all his guests. First it was only a few, but quickly the tavern started to fill up with sailors and workers who’d gotten free from work.
As soon as a crowd started to develop, Lex took the sitting kids to one of the private rooms, and allowed them to finish up their snacks at their own pace.
But with that, he returned to the main hall, and began serving everyone who dared enter the crowded room. By 7 pm, there was no longer any room in the tavern hall, and Lex began to carry drinks outside so that guests could at least get something to drink even if they didn’t stay.
He knew that most of the people who came today wouldn’t end up becoming regular customers, but at least this way his tavern would become the talk of the town overnight.
He also made sure to pay special attention in case anyone became rowdy. Brawls and tavern fights were a common occurrence, or so he assumed, but Lex had no intentions of tolerating fights in his establishment.
Lex saw hundreds of different faces, and people came and went faster than he could keep track. It was only due to the system that he was able to monitor the situation.
By 8 pm he had served so many people that even his guests were amazed, and someone by the name of Dirty Rye started a bet for what time the tavern would run out of drinks. One of the sailors brought out a harmonica and took to the stage while another two started dancing.
One man, a hauler at the docks, tried to sing along to the tune, but he was so bad that he was quickly pulled down from stage, accompanied by uproarious laughter.
Dino the baker dropped by along with his wife, a plump woman who worked as a school teacher. She knew half the crowd in the tavern by name, and the other half by their kids’ names. After cracking a few jokes, the couple gave Lex a welcome basket full of fresh muffins as a welcome to the street before leaving.
By 9 pm, the tavern was booming with jovial energy and laughter. At 9:01 pm there was pin drop silence, as a carriage arrived in front of the tavern, its presence announced by a trumpet that cut through the noise and froze everyone in their seats.