Chapter 20: Touchdown
I lifted my head and gazed at the “Mrs. Acorn” oak sign at the door, then glanced at the tavern’s stone structure, which had three floors and a chimney puffing out smoke. Inside, I could hear some faint rustling—definitely not as rowdy and chaotic as the taverns I had passed earlier. After a moment of consideration, I figured this tavern probably had rooms for rent, so I decided to stop my search right there. I pushed open the double wooden doors and stepped inside.
Ding ding—
The cheerful little bell at the entrance chimed, and in that instant, several pairs of eyes turned to check me out.
The tavern wasn’t particularly crowded.
It probably wasn’t just because it was daytime. The earlier taverns I passed were loud enough that I could hear the brawling from outside, but here it was eerily calm. I figured it had to do with the tavern’s secluded location—by now, I was practically out of the Jasmine Street zone. The street was getting quieter, and I could see the ragged figures of starving locals flitting past in the corners.
Stepping into the tavern, I noticed the tables and chairs were in pretty shabby shape, which was clear even from the outside. This seemed like one of those old taverns, nowhere near as lively as the ones in the city center. In fact, it looked a bit dilapidated. There were only a few tables occupied, and the patrons didn’t look like they were living the high life.
More like shabby drunks, most of whom were passed out, snoring loudly in their chairs or on the floor. The few who were awake eyed me with less-than-friendly looks.
On the bright side, the place didn’t stink too badly.
At least, it was tolerable.
Well, this will do…
In a place like this, the prices shouldn’t be too steep.
Ignoring the wandering gazes on me, I pulled down my hood and hurried to the bar. I raised my head to look at the maid, who was polishing a glass, cleared my throat, and asked, “Hey, do you have any food?”
“…Hmm?”
The maid continued cleaning for a moment, then lazily lifted her head, responding nonchalantly, “What do you want? Rye bread, salted fish, ham… Oh, we’re out of ham. Want a plate of salted fish? But if you don’t buy any drinks, I can’t serve it… Huh? What’s a little girl like you doing here?”
She squinted at me, then scrunched her yellowing face into a frown, “…Little girl?”
“I want bread.”
I stated firmly, ignoring her skepticism. Standing on my toes, I lightly rapped the counter with my fingers—knock knock.
That sound seemed to annoy her: “Move along, move along. What’s a little girl like you doing here? You’ve got some nerve! Got any money on you? Don’t you fear getting knocked out…”
She blabbered on, but there was a strange glint in her eyes like she’d never seen a girl like me daring to come to a tavern alone. Although she was telling me to leave, her hands were still busy polishing that glass, and she didn’t actually seem inclined to kick me out.
“I’ve got some.”
I lowered my head, retrieved a few silver coins from the pouch at my waist, and tossed them on the bar: “How much bread can I buy with this?”
The maid’s curiosity sparked at the sight of the coins. She stopped talking, put down the glass, gave me a skeptical once-over, picked one coin up, held it to the light for a good look, and then bit into it with her teeth. Seeing it was, in fact, a genuine silver coin, she broke into a grin.
“Enough. But you can only buy three pieces of bread.”
She said this while stealing a glance at the pouch around my waist.
The pouch was hidden under my cloak; she couldn’t see anything.
“Is it really that expensive?” I furrowed my brows.
Figures…
Out there, everything’s overpriced, so of course, the tavern would be no different.
“Do you have anything cheaper to eat?” I asked again, and the maid’s smile widened, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth: “Kid, you must be new around here, huh? Where’s your family? Starved to d*ath?”
“…That’s none of your business.”
“They probably did starve to d*ath,” she continued. “I don’t know where your money is coming from, but in this city, that amount won’t get you far. You won’t be able to buy more than a few loaves, and you’ll be hungry again in no time… Do you have more money? If not, big sister can teach you how to make some. Want to hear?”
“Not interested.”
I shook my head, not wanting to waste more time on her. I stretched out my hand, palm up: “Just give me the bread, three pieces, that’s all.”
First, let’s secure the three loaves.
In the evening, I could go find something edible in the nearby wilderness…
The maid sized me up for a moment, saw my resolute attitude, and chuckled while shaking her head. She took my coins, then turned around and pulled out three pieces of bread straight from under the counter without even wrapping them in parchment. She tossed them onto the bar with a smirk that implied she was up to something: “Remember, if you’re hungry, come find me. I can help you make some money.”
It seemed like she was plotting something…
But I couldn’t care less about her schemes, as long as she didn’t bother me. As I stuffed the three palm-sized loaves into my pouch, I asked, “So, do you have rooms here?”
“Of course we do!”
The maid seemed even cheerier now, bobbing her head like a chick pecking at grains: “There are plenty of vacant rooms upstairs! It’s cheap to stay, only one copper coin a night.”
“Hmm?”
That’s practically free!
Definitely smells fishy…
Now, I was even more curious…
“Kid, how long do you plan on staying?”
She asked, and I casually pulled out five copper coins from my pouch and threw them to her: “Here’s a start. We can settle the balance when I leave.”
While handing over the coins, I noticed the maid was craning her neck to see what was in my pouch. The moment I raised my head, she quickly turned away.
“Alright, follow me upstairs.”
The maid sidled out from behind the bar and led me up the rickety staircase, which had no handrails. The men sitting below who were still somewhat sober stared at me with open eyes, not saying a word. If it had been a defenseless girl, she might have been scared enough to bolt—but only if she could get away.
I, of course, wasn’t worried about such things.
In taverns, chaos is the norm; all kinds of people are around. Running into scoundrels or desperate criminals happens often, just like it did back in the Eastern Continent. It would just make me feel like someone was ready to shower me with silver coins.
Let’s hope they have at least a few coins to spare…
With those thoughts, I followed the maid to a shabby door on the second floor. She fumbled around for a while before finally opening it. A musty smell hit me as soon as the door creaked open, but it wasn’t too strong. Inside was a hard bed, a cupboard, and a coat rack. Everything looked a bit worn but reasonably clean, and apart from that, there was nothing else.
“Here you go. Just stay here, and don’t break anything. Damages ain’t cheap to fix…”
The maid reminded me a few times and then shut the door, heading back downstairs. Once I heard her footsteps fade away, I took off my cloak and hung it on the rack. I arranged my linen dress, smoothing out the wrinkles before tossing my pouch on the cupboard. I grabbed a piece of bread and took a bite, feeling a wave of drowsiness wash over me. I leaned back against the head of the bed, closed my eyes, and drifted off.
…………
I had planned to just take a short nap, but the next thing I knew, it was nighttime.
I was jolted awake by a loud commotion from the next room.
