Chapter 30: Chapter 24: Lady Virdini
"Is anyone here?"
Little John pressed the service bell on the counter. DING-A-LING.
"Coming," an aged female voice called out from the back of the shop. Half a minute later, a hunchbacked old woman in a long black robe, reeking of medicine, came to the counter.
"What potion do you need?" she asked hoarsely.
"I’m here to collect my payment, Lady Virdini." Little John took out his gathering commission slip. "Tender branches of Red Thorn, twenty kilograms in total."
Shire had given him three packages this time—one small and two large. One of the large ones was filled with the tender branches, and it had taken him considerable effort to haul them all out of the forest.
"Here are Two Gold Coins. Take them." The proprietress placed the money on the counter.
Little John stared at the slender, deathly pale fingers extending from the black long sleeves. The dark, bluish fingernails made him feel a twinge of unease.
He tried to get a good look at her face, but the black hood covered most of it, revealing only a pointed chin.
"Is there anything else you need?" Lady Virdini asked.
Her raspy voice was like gravel scraping his eardrums. Little John frowned slightly and said, "Oh, that’s all."
Although he had now saved up 3 Gold Coins, he still didn’t dare spend the money on any potions.
Little John grabbed the Gold Coins from the counter, said his goodbyes to the proprietress, and on his way out, his gaze fell upon a corner of the counter where a book caught his attention.
The book’s cover was slightly worn, and some of the pages had been dog-eared. The spine revealed its title: Nobles behind the Bed Curtain of Plantagenet City.
’Isn’t Plantagenet City the capital of the Fran Kingdom?’ Little John wondered. ’And Valentine County, where I am, is just a territory on the Kingdom’s northwestern border.’
’This old lady is really something else...’ A slight smile touched his lips as he walked out of the shop.
Watching him leave, Lady Virdini lowered her head to take stock of the goods on the counter. "So many tender branches. Excellent. Now the Awakening Potion only needs two more ingredients."
Her voice was crisp and melodious, as if she were a completely different person from the one with the raspy voice from moments before.
She ticked off ’tender branches of Red Thorn’ on an ingredient list, then tapped her finger a few times on ’Blue Thorn Grass’ and ’Slime core powder’.
"Blue Thorn Grass is manageable, but the Slime core powder is more troublesome. I wonder if I’ll be able to make enough Awakening Potions in time."
With that, she put down the ingredient list, picked up Nobles behind the Bed Curtain of Plantagenet City from the counter, and slipped into the back of the shop.
...
"One order of smoked fish over rice."
Little John put down the menu. "And a Light Beer."
"Alright." The waitress looked at him, as if waiting for something.
Little John fixed his gaze on the Ear Cleaners chatting and drinking in the distance, not even turning his head.
"One moment." Seeing that he clearly had no intention of tipping, the waitress huffed softly, took the menu, and left.
’Sorry, but I ordered the cheapest thing on the menu. Don’t expect a tip from me,’ Little John chuckled to himself as he watched her walk away.
It was that feeling of one poor person getting the better of another—like successfully getting the baker to round down the price of a loaf of bread.
"Did you hear? The Association announced it was a Magical Beast that did it," an Adventurer said.
"A Fearsome Claw Bear, an Intermediate Magical Beast. I heard only one person from their whole party made it back," the person next to him chimed in.
"I told you it was a Magical Beast, but some people just have to be stubborn." The Green-haired Elf at a corner table wiped his mouth with a napkin. "Makes you wonder how short their hair is."
The Elf was clearly still holding a grudge against the Dwarf for calling him long-haired and short-sighted.
"#&~!%," the Red-bearded Dwarf cursed under his breath.
He had been loudly insisting that goblins were responsible for the Adventurer party’s disappearance, but now he’d been proven spectacularly wrong.
"I hear the Association is offering 1 Gold Coin for any information on the Fearsome Claw Bear’s abilities," someone said.
"That money’s not worth earning. Several parties have already gone missing. I haven’t even seen Coulson and his crew lately."
"Yeah. Dying just to find out its Ability? Whoever wants that Gold Coin is welcome to it."
"Since a certain someone is so capable, why don’t they go claim that bounty?" the Red-bearded Dwarf jeered.
"Oh, don’t worry, someone will claim it. The parties looking for a promotion are chomping at the bit." The Elf elegantly cut a piece of steak, dipped it in sauce, and brought it to his lips. "Then again, some people who fancy themselves so worldly... I wonder if that beard is just glued on."
"What did you say, you snide bastard?" The Dwarf snatched up his tankard, ready to throw it. But when he realized it still had ale in it, he threw his teammate’s plate of grilled fish instead.
SPLAT. The half-eaten grilled fish, dripping with sticky sauce, slapped onto the Elf’s hair and began to slowly slide down.
The Elf’s hand, still holding his knife and fork, froze in mid-air. He gasped, sitting stunned at the table.
In the next instant, his eyes became visibly bloodshot. His body shot up like a compressed spring. "You stump! How dare you..."
He lunged forward, only to be held back by the crowd. But the Red-bearded Dwarf just sauntered up to him with a grin, and with a *flick*, tossed a napkin at him.
Then, he crossed his arms with an infuriatingly smug look, as if to say, ’See? I can play your game and leave you with no moves left.’
The Elf was trembling with rage. He laughed, a sound devoid of humor. "Fine. Just fine. You stump, I swear I won’t return to the Great Dome until I’ve run you through."
"Haven’t you heard the saying? A full bladder can take you a thousand miles, but the runs will stop you in your tracks," the Dwarf said breezily, still prodding him with the outhouse joke.
"-*/+-*," the Elf cursed in Elvish, broke free of the hands holding him back, drew his sword, and lunged. The two of them were instantly locked in combat.
Little John sat in the corner, chuckling to himself. He loved watching the Ear Cleaners fight. It was much more entertaining than any street performance.
He even cheered them on a few times.
However, he remembered he had things to do that afternoon.
Little John took out his Pocket Watch and checked the time. ’Still enough time.’
"Your smoked fish over rice."
The two-meter-tall tavern owner set down the dish, then stood there holding the Light Beer, watching him quietly.
Little John, still holding his Pocket Watch, stared back at the owner, waiting for him to put down the tankard.
The two stared each other down for several seconds, completely unaffected by the CLANGING and CRASHING of the brawl beside them.
Finally, the owner made the first move. He looked at Little John’s Pocket Watch, then back at Little John’s face.
Little John immediately understood his meaning. ’You’re holding an item worth dozens of Gold Coins, and you’re not going to leave a tip?’
Little John looked the owner in the eye, snapped the watch’s cover shut, and tucked it into his pocket. Then, he reluctantly fished out 1 Silver Coin and placed it on the table.
The owner set down the beer. When his hand left the table, the Silver Coin was gone.
’Such slick sleight of hand,’ Little John thought.
The owner tucked the serving tray under his arm and turned to leave. Little John called out to him, "Boss, can I ask you something?"
The owner held up one finger.
An unpleasant memory surfaced, and Little John immediately backtracked. "Never mind, I’ll go ask at the Association."
"Enjoy your meal," the owner said, turning and walking away without another word.
Little John picked up his spoon and stirred the rice. ’It used to be ’Enjoy your meal, *sir*.’ Now it’s just ’Enjoy your meal.’’
He was delighted that the owner hadn’t managed to earn an information fee from him. He felt like he was finally getting the hang of being an Adventurer.
’Later, I’ll go to the Association and ask what they meant by ’promotion.’’
’I also need to tell Shire about the Fearsome Claw Bear. I have to warn him to be on his guard.’
’This smoked fish over rice is terrible.’
