Chapter 35: How's the Food?

Late Evening - Late Spring : Kingdom of Kaelallan

*Creaak*

The doors to the bar opened with a creak.

There was various chatter inside, but just like with the guild, everything went silent as soon as I walked in.

"How do you order food here?" I asked bluntly to try and break the atmosphere, and it seemed to have helped. A few of the people started talking again, if only a little.

"Have a seat over there, would you like anything special?" The man behind the bar had a lean but muscular build with a good face, but it was clear he wasn't just a bartender.

-No normal bartender has so many people guarding him..- Using my aura, I could roughly make out how many people in the room were hiding weapons, all of which were staring holes into me.

"I'll just have whatever's the best." I called out to the barkeep as I sat down at the table he pointed to.

"Alright, I'll bring you something special here in a moment." He wore a bright but slightly forced smile as he set down the mug he was cleaning and walked into the back.

As I tried to pass time by petting Ilios, the unkempt man at the table next to mine tried to start a conversation. "What's a noble's kid doing here?"

"I just asked for a place with good food and the receptionist at the guild told me to come here."

A sly smile slowly crept onto his face. "This isn't a place where just anyone can come into, kid."

He tried to sound all ominous but it just made me roll my eyes. "It's a bar.. anyone with money can come in, quit trying to sound cool."

The small chatter in the bar became a deafening silence once again.

"I like your guts kid." Coming out of the back room was the bartender.

In his hands were two plates. One had a bowl with some kind of soup and the other was a plate of meat.

-I guess it was too much to expect vegetables, but the meat looks seasoned with something and it seems cooked well. The soup also seems to use actual broth..- Needless to say, the quality of food was exceeding my expectations so far.

"So are you new around here?" The barkeep was quick to try to figure out who I was.

"Yeah, I'm visiting since I have some business with the royal family."

As if momentarily breaking character, he flashed an odd look before shifting back to a smile. "Ahh so you're a big shot, huh… I guess that explains why you're so calm."

"The reason I'm calm is because no one in this room can touch me, not that."

As I turned to the food, the man at the table next to mine stood up. "How about you bet on that?"

My ears twitched a little as I paused before chowing down on a chunk of meat. "What kind of bet are we talking about?"

"How about a gold?" He stood up and flicked a gold coin out onto the table.

*Cling*

The ring of the coin attracted the eyes of everyone in the room.

-Is this guy an idiot?- It was almost like he was trying to say he was the strongest here. -Maybe this'll be interesting..- "Sure, why no-"

Before I could finish talking he pulled out a dagger and swung at me.

*Fwoosh*

Using wind magic, I swept his legs out from under him and grabbed his head. -You dare interrupt me!-

*CrAcK*

Without bothering to hold back, I slammed the man's head through the floorboards and crushed it against the ground.

I gave his lifeless body a look of disgust as I pulled my blood covered hand out of the hole in the floorboards. "Coward."

The room was completely silent with everyone staring at me in complete awe.

"Haah.." -I couldn't hold myself back..- As I started cleaning the man's blood off my hands with water magic, I confirmed my assumptions about the barkeep. "How much do you want for repairs and cleanup?"

Quickly breaking away from his look of shock, his previous smile returned. Just this time, it wasn't totally forced. "A few silver will do. Would you like me to get you change?"

-He's definitely some underworld big shot..- "Keep the change, and feel free to take whatever he had on him. Just consider it as the payment for the food and the tip."

His smile brightened further as he happily swiped the coin off the table. "I like you already, kid!"

With a light wave of his hand, a masked man from across the room walked over and picked up the body.

With a quick glance at the bartender, they exchanged nods and the masked man disappeared into the back of the bar.

-Just like that, huh..-

Turning back to me, he showed a smile of satisfaction. "You took care of a trouble maker, gave me an excuse to redo the floors and gave a very generous 'tip'. You're welcome to come by anytime, 'no matter what you need'."

I gave a slight smile seeing that things weren't going to get troublesome. "Whether I come back or not depends on the food.''

Finally having a moment to eat, I repositioned my chair and dug in.

-Wow.. it's quite good..- The spices were decent, something similar to basic steak seasoning with some salt, but it worked quite well. -The meat is still juicy and flavorful as well..-

Next was the soup, something I had extra high hopes for.

*Slurp*

"Mmm.." -That.. is really good..- It was far better than I expected, using something similar to beef broth with some bits of meat, and what tasted like potato and rice inside.

"How is it?"

"Surprisingly good actually.." Although not quite as good as the big bison I ate before the trip, it was definitely good enough to take note of.

As I glanced up at the bartender, I felt as if I could see money signs in his eyes.

-A man driven by money... I guess it couldn't hurt..- "My name is Vasilias Whyte."

He hesitated for a moment before responding. "Lewis Rowe.. it's nice to meet you sir Whyte."

We gave a quick handshake before I continued eating.

"So what kind of dog is that?"

I gave a reluctant response as I handed a chunk of meat to Ilios. "He's a frost wolf.."

"He's quite imposing for a regular frost wolf.." When he glanced under the table at Ilios, Ilios glared at him and he immediately broke into a cold sweat. "H..he has a very similar aura to you.. are you related?" He sounded like he was half-joking.

"I guess in a way..." There was a short and awkward silence that followed until I finally finished eating and stood up. "Well, I think that's enough for tonight. I'm not sure how long I'll be in town but I'll be sure to come back if I get the chance."

Seeing me get up, Ilios hopped up and stuck to my side.

"Well, I guess I'll see you around Sir Whyte. Good luck with your business."

"Thanks. Have a good night!"

"You too." He put on a friendly smile and mumbled something under his breath as I walked outside. "Maybe it's my turn to have a kid.."

Although I heard his mumble, I didn't think much of it and continued outside.

Feeling the cool evening breeze blow down the street, I hopped up onto a nearby roof and looked out over the walls towards the horizon. -Still an hour or so till sunrise huh..-

After thinking of a way to kill time, I decided to walk around and explore the city some. -It'd be boring to sit and do nothing for an hour..-

To my disappointment though, the city was more bland than I was hoping.

Most of the city was composed of slums that I didn't have any desire to walk through, the smell was atrocious and the streets were dirty.

The upper district on the other hand was much cleaner. The layout of the buildings was understandable as well, with upperclass markets and trade centers at each compass point. (north, east, south, and west)

Of all the sections though, one caught my eye.

The red-light district.

It was extremely clean with many wealthy looking people strolling the street alongside women in skimpy clothing. -That's to be expected though..-

"For such a cute kid to be alone in this area... Young boy!" A curvy human woman called out to me. "You need to be extra careful in this area, one of those other vixens might try and eat you up.." She showed a shockingly genuine concern.

"Haha, I'm confident in my strength. Thank you for your concern though." I gave a confident look to try and ease her worry.

"Well your wolf does look strong, but that doesn't mean you should be alone... How about I give you a little tour of the place? I'd feel bad if I left you all alone.."

-Man did she really need to raise a flag like that?- But at the same time, I thought she might lead me to something interesting. "I guess I don't mind."

Her face instantly lit up. "Okay! Give me one second though, I just need to tell the miss that I'll be gone for a moment.." Quickly running back to the building she walked out of, she poked her head in and yelled. "Emma! I'm going to head out for a little, it won't be too long!"

The voice that responded carried a motherly tone. "Okay, be safe! Don't drug any cute young boys like last time!"

"Haaaaahhhh..." It was at that moment that I facepalmed harder than I ever had in my entire life.

-------------------

Chapter end