Chapter 25: Harassment
Slowly, the once-boisterous tavern fell quiet.
The men stopped singing and boasting, and I could feel countless pairs of fiery eyes boring into me. Annoyed, I instinctively lowered my head even more.
Suddenly, someone let out a whistle.
“Wow, look! Whose shy little girl is this? Absolutely stunning~”
“Sis, all alone? Come over for a drink! What do you want? Big brother will pay!”
“Look at how she’s dressed. Does she seem like she’s missing your copper coins? Just eat your own food; even venison can’t stop you from talking.”
“But this girl is too beautiful… Good heavens, words can’t even describe her beauty… She’s practically an angel…”
“Black hair… she must be a noble from out of town. What’s she doing in a place like this…”
“Lovely miss, the big brothers are over here waiting for you! Come on over!”
“Hahaha—”
The tavern erupted into noise again, with the men’s chatter revolving around me. Perhaps due to the alcohol, most of them were incredibly loud, and some seemed to want me to hear them, standing up from wooden tables to shout.
I knew they were trying to get my attention, but it just irritated me. I didn’t want to look at their faces and made my way through the rickety tables to the bar.
“Ouch!”
The plump lady behind the bar raised an eyebrow in surprise upon seeing me.
“What wind blew in such a beautiful little sister to my humble tavern tonight… Are you here alone?”
Her voice was squeaky and quirky, kind of like a duck, but her tone was relatively friendly.
I wasn’t in the mood for small talk. Hunger and fatigue made me feel drained, and I didn’t want to waste time. I asked directly, “Do you have food?”
The lady seemed momentarily taken aback but then laughed, revealing a face full of wrinkles and a mouth full of yellowed teeth.
“Yes, we have everything! Don’t underestimate our little place; the food is not much worse than what the nobility has. What do you want to eat?”
I tilted my head, thinking.
“Meat.”
At this point, nothing sounded better than meat.
“Venison, beef, lamb, pork—anything’s fine. Just give it to me.”
The lady burst out in a bigger smile, leaning in closer so I could see her densely packed freckles all squinting together as she grinned, making me frown.
“Oh dear, you love meat that much, huh…”
At that moment, someone behind me interrupted, “Miss, we have meat here! A freshly roasted leg of lamb, it smells so good!”
“Get lost! You bunch of boorish guys, don’t scare my special guest today!” The lady scolded the speaker playfully, then turned back to me. “I just killed a deer today and have two back legs left. I’ll cut the tenderest meat for you and roast half a pound, plus a bit of malt beer. How’s that? If it’s good—”
“No beer,” I interrupted, shaking my head. “Two deer legs, roasted, all of it.”
Seeing the plump lady’s smile falter for a moment, I quickly explained, “Not for me. I’ll take it to go.”
I pulled out two coins from my money pouch and slapped them on the bar.
Meat is cheap in the Royal City; this should be enough…
“Quickly, please.”
When the fat lady saw the shining coins, her eyes lit up.
“Oh dear, you won’t need that much for two legs!”
She said this, but her hands were already swiftly pocketing the coins. She then turned to a passing tavern servant, widening her eyes as she shouted with a husky voice, “Sander! Go tell the kitchen to roast the leftover deer legs and get a warm cup of goat’s milk for the lady, and do it quickly!”
“On it!”
The servant rushed away. The plump lady turned back to me, her smile returning.
“Uh, dear miss, those two legs are pretty hefty! Although two coins are too much, there’s still something extra… I don’t know exactly how much. We’ve never sold things this way at the tavern; usually, people order by the plate. How about I find someone to weigh them for you?”
She narrowed her eyes, smiling sweetly at me, but I understood her game all too well.
If I started haggling, I might waste a lot of time. The lady could see I was anxious, and she probably guessed there were still coins in my pouch—this was clearly a moment for tips.
“No thanks.”
I just didn’t have the energy for her tricks. The feeling of fatigue was pressing down on me, intertwined with my fierce desire for food, torturing my nerves every second. All I wanted was to eat and then crash into a deep sleep.
“Just hurry with the meat.”
The plump lady nodded happily.
“Sure thing, miss! Please find a place to sit for a bit; I’ll have the deer legs out to you soon… Oh, you want them wrapped up to go, right?”
“Mhm.”
“Got it~”
Soon, a servant came out from the kitchen with a cup of goat’s milk. He froze a moment upon seeing me still standing at the bar but hesitantly approached.
I didn’t hold back; I almost snatched the cup from his hands, tilted my head back, and gulped it down in one go, licking the milk foam off my lips before handing the empty cup back to the dazed servant.
“One more cup.”
The goat’s milk had a strong gamey flavor and didn’t taste great, but it warmed my stomach slightly.
The servant stood there, dumbfounded and unsure, his eyes darting away as he couldn’t bear to look at me. Then, he heard the plump lady yell at him, “Hurry up!”
He jumped as if awakened from a trance and dashed off.
“Miss, aren’t you going to sit for a bit? What are you standing here for?”
“……”
“…Miss?”
!
“Hm? I’m here.”
I felt a brief fuzziness in my mind… No, I need to hurry back.
“Why don’t you go sit over there and wait? There are empty spots!”
The fat lady suggested, but I shook my head.
“No, it’s fine.”
I felt that my current state… was better while standing.
If I sat down, I was afraid I would just flop right onto the table and pass out. With so many stinky men around discussing me and staring without a care… I couldn’t fall asleep here; it was too dangerous.
Who knows what a drunk might do?
So I just stood there waiting.
However, just after I downed my third cup of goat’s milk, a sudden ruckus erupted behind me like a bunch of rowdy birds, followed by footsteps approaching.
Groggily, I became alert and turned my head to see who it was.
“Miss, I’m… from the Anderson family, the second son… Nice to meet you… May I ask…”
It was a drunken man. His face was scruffy with a messy beard, and while his clothes were clean, his face was flushed, staggering as if on a boat. Alcohol had clearly muddled his mind, and his bloodshot eyes struggled to focus.
“Beautiful miss, your… your name…”
He swayed toward me and reached out as if to put his hand on my shoulder.
I jumped back in surprise, dodging his hand.
“Don’t touch me.”
“John, get back to your seat!”
The plump lady glared at the drunken man, then pointed at a distant table, shouting, “You bumbling idiots, hurry and get him out of here, he’s drunk!”
“Hahaha—”
“Where would he get the courage if he wasn’t drunk!”
“It’s up to you, John!”
The people at that table seemed just as tipsy, and upon hearing the lady, they burst into laughter, showing no signs of caring. The other patrons clearly thought this was an amusing spectacle, clinking their mugs and chewing their food as they watched the drunken man lurch closer to me.
“Oh, beautiful miss. I don’t… don’t mean any harm, I just… kinda, like you…”
