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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 13
Chapter Title: A New Life
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There's a truly wide variety of troublesome customers.
“Hey. You, male. Come here a moment.”
“Walking around a tavern dressed like that. A man eager for mating is always welcome.”
The first type of troublesome customer: The Mating Type.
These are the ones I've encountered countless times, whose minds are filled with nothing but men and sex.
Their main attack patterns include overtly flirting, grabbing and pulling at clothes, or feigning drunkenness to lunge.
Just like this.
“Haaah… These abs, incredible… I’m going crazy. I could die happy now…”
A squirrel Beastkin, who had feigned drunkenness to tightly embrace me and fondle my abs, said this as she was dragged away by Diana, who had her eyes wide open and a firm grip on the squirrel Beastkin's collar.
“Crazy. To brazenly molest someone at the Cozy Winter Night inn…”
“But I understand that feeling a hundred, a thousand times over. I’m conflicted myself right now.”
“Actually, isn’t that woman the real winner…?”
People watched the scene with fear, yet with eyes that held unconcealed envy for the squirrel Beastkin being dragged away.
No matter how scary Diana was, it was a shame to miss the chance to fondle a male in front of them.
Such thoughts must be why these situations kept happening.
Diana was often stuck in the kitchen, cooking.
And as an employee, I couldn't just beat up customers like some random lowlife or a beggar.
“You don’t need to go easy on customers! If they touch you, shout ‘No, stop that!’ loudly, or call my name.”
“Then, am I allowed to resist a bit forcefully?”
“…Huh? Oh, yes. Of course. But… won’t it be a bit difficult?”
I understood Diana’s concern. After all, most of the customers who came to Diana’s tavern were explorers.
The menu prices were higher than nearby establishments, but the portions were generous and the food was delicious, so the main clientele were either those with some disposable income or explorers.
In other words, most of the customers possessed a certain level of combat prowess.
“It’s fine. Most of them are people I can still hold my own against, anyway.”
Now that I had both justification and permission, I could finally fight back. Just one of them, come on. I’ll beat their face in—
The second type of troublesome customer was the Drunkard Type. The most common and frequently seen.
“Sir/Ma’am. Sir/Ma’am. You shouldn’t be leaking milk here. Precious milk is just dripping away.”
“Ugh… Milk, please… Milk milk…”
I’d help up a cow Beastkin who was completely wasted and leaking milk from her teats.
“Kwoooahhhh— Kwooo—”
“Kwahhh! Someone shut that harpy’s mouth!”
I’d also cover the mouth of a harpy Beastkin who had passed out, snoring at a decibel level that could easily tear a sound meter, and toss her outside the shop.
Still, that much was understandable, as drunkards like that could be found anywhere.
Besides these, there were various other types of troublesome customers, such as the Dine-and-dash Type and the ‘Hair in my Food’ Type, but considering it was a medieval era with no CCTV, their numbers were very few.
The reason, needless to say, was:
“I heard there was hair in my cooking… Is it this table?”
“Yes. These customers here were raising hell.”
Probably because a Level 70-ish final boss burst out of the kitchen.
“O-Oh, no! W-we never said that! We’ll eat it gratefully!”
“Alright. You all look like new faces. Enjoy your meal~”
The troublesome customers, who seemed to be visiting the tavern for the first time, immediately turned pale the moment they sensed Diana’s unusual aura, then buried their faces in their plates and continued eating.
Regulars or those who knew Diana already knew how to behave, so they didn't cause any major problems.
Serving Diana's warm dishes and dealing with the troublesome customers made time fly by, and before I knew it, closing time was approaching.
But my real work was just beginning.
“They really made a mess. These crazy cow-boys…”
Even with the door wide open for ventilation, the faint smell of sour milk lingered.
While ventilating, I gathered the scraps to clean up, and did the dishes.
“…Balkan. Did you perhaps clear the dishes I left here…?”
“Yes. They were separate, so I just cleared them.”
“…I-I see… Yes… I understand…”
I looked at Diana, who seemed strangely deflated, with curious eyes.
I also wiped the tables and polished the floor.
Still, cleaning with a clear mind was a hundred times easier than dealing with troublesome customers.
“Ms. Diana. I’ll go throw out these scraps.”
“Thank you. Do you remember where it is?”
“It’s the alley behind here, right? I’ll be right back.”
Leaving Diana, who was preparing breakfast soup, behind me, I headed for the alley.
‘Now that I think about it, Diana gave me soup here.’
It was only a few days ago, but that time felt like hell.
There was no one to trust, no money, and I was hungry…
Compared to that, what about now?
I was slowly saving money, and thanks to her warm kindness, I could afford three delicious meals a day.
It was no exaggeration to say it was a huge leap forward.
As I breathed in the cool night air of the Labyrinth City, shrouded in darkness, and walked, reminiscing about the past,
“What is that?”
In the distance, I spotted something clustered together, black.
Perhaps sensing my voice, the black figures moved restlessly in the distance.
Soon after.
Thump-thump-thump!
The black figures sprang up and began to rush towards me.
The direction they were rushing towards was none other than me.
The guard that had been gently loosening in the brief comfort and Diana’s kindness tightened abruptly.
“Stop, you bastards!”
I raised my voice, alerting the enemies, and calmly reached for my waist.
The place where I always kept my axe was now empty.
‘My guard really did drop in that short time. Damn it.’
I thought this, but my eyes remained fixed on the enemies. There were six of them.
I threw the food waste forward, clenched my fists, and took a guard stance.
Come on. Whoever you are, let’s see—
“Gasp!”
“Food waste! It’s food waste!”
“Grab it quick!”
“...?”
The figures stopped rushing towards me and changed their course, heading towards the food waste.
“R-Roast beef…! There’s a piece in there!”
“That’s mine! Give it back!”
“Ugh! T-This is what I found first!”
The six figures started rummaging through the food waste, bickering among themselves.
Their appearance was strangely familiar.
“Hey, you damn bastards.”
Familiar enough to curse at them without hesitation.
The beggars, who had been distracted by the food waste, finally tore their eyes away from it and looked at me.
“You, you’re that…!”
“The crazy helmet guy!”
It seemed they recognized me too. Of course they should recognize the guy they tried to rape.
“I told you, if I saw you again, you’d be dead.”
I clenched my fists and strode towards the beggars.
I happened to need to mend my mental fatigue from dealing with the troublesome customers. Those women were perfect as punching bags.
“W-wait! I-I have something to say!”
“Whoa, Boss!”
“Wait a minute!”
The one at the front, the one the beggars called Boss, stood up with a confident posture, chest puffed out.
And as I took steps, that posture gradually bent lower, until by the time he reached me, he was parallel to the ground.
It was a prostration that was almost an art form.
“Please spare us.”
“So you know you’re in a position where you have to beg for your life, huh.”
“…We’re sorry. We were out of our minds back then, completely insane. We haven’t eaten anything for the past few days. We’ll just take the food waste and leave immediately.”
“Whoa, Boss…”
The one called Boss said that, trembling.
The group of beggars behind him also looked at me with trembling eyes, then followed the Boss’s lead and bowed their heads to me.
“……”
I quietly watched them. They were still in the same state, filthy and reeking like utter beggars.
Behind them, I could see a torn food waste bag, as if ripped open and gnawed by stray cats.
‘Just kill them! The guards don’t even care about them, deeming them worthless! They don’t care about beggar corpses! Are you going to let live the ones who tried to forcibly trample your dignity? You always have to watch your back! Are you going to get screwed over again after what happened?’
The devil in my heart started raising hell. It casually spoke of killing people, wanting to completely eliminate any potential for betrayal.
The unpleasant truth was, my mind was gradually starting to agree with that opinion.
What’s the point of letting them live? It’s obvious they’ll just kidnap and rape other innocent men at night, continuing their wretched lives.
Killing them here is the wisest answer.
“……”
I knew that was the answer. I knew it all too well.
But…
‘Diana even offered soup to them.’
Just as she had offered me soup, for no special reason. Out of pure goodwill.
After a long moment of deliberation, I relaxed my grip.
“Live properly.”
And then, I quietly offered a single piece of advice.
“Don’t forget the warmth of the soup you received last time, and don’t forget that the reason I’m letting you go here is because of that one bowl of soup. Live with that in your hearts.”
The beggars looked up at me blankly.
“Don’t think about raping innocent people, don’t pickpocket, just don’t do bad things and live your lives properly. Understand? Answer me.”
“Yes, yes!”
“If you understand, grab that and get out.”
They nodded their heads wildly, up and down, then quickly grabbed the food waste bags and dispersed.
I wasn’t a great enough person to offer goodwill or help others for free, like Diana.
Nor was I kind enough to throw my hard-earned money into the beggars’ cans.
All I could offer was a single piece of advice and a single act of mercy.
“You’re back? You’re a little late today.”
“I met some stray cats on the way.”
“…Hmm. You did?”
“Yes. They tried to scratch me, so I reasoned with them and sent them away.”
“Alright. You worked hard, Balkan. Thanks to you, closing finished twice as fast as usual. Go on in and rest. Oh, is there anything you’d like for breakfast tomorrow?”
“Anything you make, Ms. Diana, I’ll enjoy eating.”
“…Oh, is that so? Hehe…”
It was a kindness to make me breakfast, so I could at least offer a compliment like that. Besides, Diana’s cooking truly was incredibly delicious.
Leaving Diana, who was smiling pleasantly and gesturing, behind him, I went into my room, washed up, and lay down on the bed.
Working at the tavern wasn’t physically strenuous, but it was mentally exhausting.
This was positive news. It meant he could do physically demanding work during the day.
“One more month…”
In one month, he would have 20 silver coins.
He would finish preparations to enter the Labyrinth by then.
***
First, he aimed to adapt to working at the inn and tavern.
On the first day, he was quite unskilled.
Working with a helmet on naturally narrowed his field of vision.
Because of this, he often bumped into people, and sometimes he’d stumble and almost spill food.
‘This might actually be good training.’
He memorized the table locations, quickly identified the positions and movements of countless people visible through his narrow field of vision, and navigated through the bustling crowd to serve food swiftly.
As he did this, he began to faintly sense not only the people directly in front of him but also those outside his field of vision.
‘When fighting goblins, chaotic brawls were always a torment.’
In chaotic brawls where it was hard enough to even protect himself, how many times had a goblin struck him from behind, out of his sight?
Honestly, if he hadn’t worn his helmet, he would have died five more times.
If he developed this sense further, he could even prevent such situations.
After working for several weeks, focusing on his spatial awareness, he definitely bumped into people less and made fewer mistakes.
“Eheheh… Eek…!”
When he drew his axe from his waist and aimed it, the Mating Type troublesome customer who had been stealthily approaching from behind shrieked and backed away.
Most troublesome customers could be dealt with this way. Indeed, an axe was an excellent means of communication.
“Say, have you heard the news that they’re starting a major construction project on the first floor of the Labyrinth next year?”
“Ah. You mean that Labyrinth pioneering project? From what I’ve seen, it’s 100% going to fail. It’s madness.”
Around the time his vision issues were resolved, he began to realize the true charm of working at the tavern.
‘I can get information.’
Many people gathered at Diana’s inn, and they were mostly explorers.
He was already feeling a lack of common sense and knowledge, but by eavesdropping on the explorers’ conversations, he was able to acquire basic knowledge about the Labyrinth and minor news about the Labyrinth City.
“…No way. Is it true Diana hired a male employee?”
“How many times have I told you it’s true? Even I was wondering what was going on when I first saw him!”
“What got into that woman who’s never even held a man’s hand her whole life…”
And perhaps because he’d made an impression on people for over a month, customers gradually started to recognize him.
[Zirnier Basil Lv.6X]
[Seraph Adeline Lv.7X]
Especially those two in the secluded corner, their faces hidden by masks.
They came late in the evenings sometimes, had high levels, and seemed to be acquainted with Diana.
“I’ll take those to them.”
“But you have so much to do, I can–”
“I’ll do it. Understand?”
Diana half-forcibly took the food he was about to serve.
No matter how busy the kitchen was, Diana kept him isolated, not even allowing him to talk to those two.
He didn’t know why, but it seemed she wanted to prevent him from interacting with them.
He just accepted it and focused on his work. It wasn’t by his own will; the troublesome customers forced him to concentrate.
“Ah, you can’t spray milk on the wall!”
That damn cow Beastkin is acting up again—
***
“You worked hard today too, Balkan.”
He was sprawled out on a table after finishing the closing clean-up when Diana handed him a warm glass of milk and sat down opposite him.
“…Thank you. I’ll drink it well.”
Honestly, just looking at milk made him nauseous now, but he swallowed it down, trying his best not to show it.
Clink—
He tilted his head back as far as he could to drink, and when he returned his head to its normal position, a coin pouch was sitting on the table.
“This is your salary for this month. Since you started working, Balkan, we’ve had more customers, so I put a little extra in.”
“Thank you!”
He hugged the coin pouch, which jingled with a clinking sound, tightly.
“…You don’t need to check if all the money is there?”
“Well. It’s from you, Ms. Diana.”
He didn’t do the petty thing of counting the money coin by coin right in front of her. Because Diana wasn’t the kind of person to play games with money.
After a brief conversation with Diana, who had an emotional expression, he clutched his head, showing signs of fatigue.
“Oh dear, I must have kept you too long. You must be tired, so go on up and rest quickly.”
He nodded, said his goodbyes, and went up to his room.
Whoosh!
As soon as he entered the room, he counted the money.
There were no less than 15 silver coins. Combined with the money he earned from the long-shot bet, that was 24 silver coins!
He grinned widely and dove onto the bed.
Tomorrow, he would be one step closer to his distant goal.
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