Ch#93
Tie examined the woman before her with sparkling eyes.
Round, pretty eyes.
A soft smile and a warm impression to boot.
'She looks exactly like Teacher Isoljae.'
The woman who seemed to be the pub owner gave off a vibe similar to her teacher at Hanbit Kindergarten.
And that meant,
'A good person!'
Tie instantly dropped her guard, got down to the floor, and politely bowed at the waist.
"Hello, boss lady. Tie came to drink strawberry juice, not alcohol."
"Strawberry juice?"
"Neeeng. Orange juice is fine too if there's no strawberry."
Meanwhile, pub owner Adelin hid her wary expression and looked up.
Two kids and four men.
'A bit of a strange combination.'
Then she gazed at the children before her again.
"Lucarion, what do you want?"
"Same as you."
These kids even knew this was a pub and boldly ordered fruit juice.
Adelin, who had narrowed her brow, finally smiled.
'The age where they want to imitate adults.'
Her village, Kaldbain-Ridge, had plenty of kids like that too.
The problem was that the adults they imitated led somewhat harsh and rough lives.
"Alright. I'll take two orange juices. Strawberries are all out."
Tie beamed at Adelin's response.
"Waaah! Thank you!"
"You're welcome."
"......"
"Say thank you, Lucarion, you too."
"Thanks."
"Not to me, to the boss lady here!"
"......Thanks."
Adelin chuckled and turned to the fruit box behind the counter.
Most of the fruit was rotting, but luckily there were two good oranges.
She split them in half, squeezed the juice, mixed it with birch syrup and clean water, and poured it into glasses.
Sticking straws in, she handed them over, and the child took them with an excited face.
Adelin then turned her gaze to the four men.
"What'll it be for the rest of you?"
At that, one refined-looking man eyed her warily before answering.
"Four of that thing you mentioned earlier."
"Birch Brew?"
"Yeah."
Adelin nodded and began pouring the drinks into the glasses she'd set out.
In the process, through the spigots hanging from the oak barrel, her eyes met a villager's.
'Adelin. You sure you're okay?'
Reading the lip movements, Adelin quickly smiled.
And she shook her head at the other patrons in the pub as if to say not to worry.
Only then did the villagers staring at the outsiders look away.
This was after she'd handed the last glass to the Agavert group.
"Visitors must be rare around here?"
Enzo asked.
Adelin unwittingly glanced at the other patrons in the pub.
Then she smiled awkwardly and asked back.
"Why? Because of that just now?"
Enzo let out a hollow laugh.
"Obviously. It's the first time in my life I've been stared at by that many eyes at once. And they weren't exactly friendly stares either......"
Adelin recalled the gazes fixed on them the moment they entered the pub.
Well, even to her, the villagers' looks toward outsiders weren't all that kind.
"Well, that's true......"
But Adelin, about to speak, closed her mouth again.
'......No need for these people to know.'
Dark underbelly of Kaldbain and all. They were leaving soon anyway.
"Adelin! Another round here!"
At that moment, a patron from the corner of the pub called her.
Adelin quickly turned to prepare a fresh glass.
Veil watched her with a somehow meaningful expression.
* * *
"That woman's a noble."
The moment they moved to a small table in the corner of the pub, Veil said.
"What do you......"
Basto's eyes widened instantly, but Raoul and Enzo nodded as if they'd known.
"I thought the same."
"Me too."
Basto stared at his comrades in bewilderment.
Turning his head, more patrons had entered the pub by now.
They glanced at the Agavert group before chatting with Adelin.
Basto's gaze shifted to Adelin's attire.
'A noble?'
Plain clothes and no makeup.
Adelin was polite and kind, but she didn't seem like the noble type.
Above all, how could the owner of such a rundown pub be a noble?
As he puzzled over it.
"She kept her elbow tucked to her body the whole time handing over glasses, and turned the handles toward us too."
"The eye contact surprised me. Thought it was coincidence at first, but she's doing it every time she serves drinks. Exactly two seconds each."
Basto furrowed his brow.
"What's that got to do with anything? Does acting like that make you a noble?"
Veil stared at Basto in exasperation.
"It's not about the actions themselves."
"Then what is it?"
"It's that she repeats them like clockwork, over and over."
Raoul nodded.
"Exactly. Repeating the same actions means she's likely trained them into habit."
Basto finally let out a small 'ah'.
Well,
Even trivial actions repeated without a single error couldn't be coincidence.
"Looked like men's etiquette though."
"No, there was women's etiquette mixed in."
In front of Veil and the twins starting their debate, Basto looked down at the seat beside him.
Astie and Lucarion were sitting side by side there.
Astie had been mimicking the 'noble etiquette' the comrades were talking about since earlier.
"Like this?"
"No, tuck your elbow to your body."
"Like thiiis?"
"Astie. You spilled ice."
"Eek. Sorry......"
"......"
"But Lucarion, wanna eat this fallen ice?"
"No."
"If you eat one, I'll eat one too! Let's take turns, okay?"
"......Why on earth?"
As expected from a child and summon, utterly unpredictable conversation.
Meanwhile, Veil was still talking about Adelin.
"She seems pretty close with the villagers, huh?"
"I thought so too. Honestly, this village...... the atmosphere is kinda eerie, isn't it?"
"Yes. The inn, and running into a pickpocket in front of the pub."
Veil fell silent for some reason.
He was spinning his emptying beer glass as if deep in thought.
That was when.
"Another round for you all?"
Adelin asked, appearing out of nowhere.
Startled, Veil stared at her before nodding.
"......Sure."
"Make it two for me too, lady."
"Same here."
After Raoul and Enzo's orders, Adelin smiled kindly and headed back to the counter.
"Uncle Basto."
Then Tie tugged lightly at Basto's sleeve.
Looking down, the child was gazing up at him with sparkling eyes.
"Can Tie have one more too-?"
Basto chuckled briefly before answering firmly.
"No. That's enough juice."
Shock spread across Tie's face.
As the child pouted her lips, Lucarion patted her back with an expressionless face.
That night.
The comrades stayed at the pub quite late.
Once Tie fell asleep leaning on Lucarion's shoulder, they walked back to the inn under the cloudy night sky.
Perhaps due to the accumulated fatigue?
Melted by the alcohol, they all fell asleep quickly.
However, before dawn even broke.
An unexpected booming sound shaking the inn window forced them all wide awake.
[Ah- Ahh- This is an announcement to everyone in Kaldbain-Ridge! Today morning, this week's tax levy will come to a close-!]
