Chapter 2

Chapter 2. "A Lizard Man and a Glass of Beer."

It happened after we had finished breakfast and I was carrying the dishes back to the kitchen.

The shop door, which had been shut tight, slowly creaked open, and something that appeared to be a lizard's head slipped cautiously through the gap and into the inn.

It peered all around the room, inspecting the inside, the left and right, above and below, one by one. Then it spotted me and began staring fixedly in my direction.

Its head, astonishingly enough, was set at a height of about two meters, and the shoulders and legs that had edged in through the doorway with it were equally formidable. Come to think of it, was it standing on two legs?

Since it kept glaring at me, I glared right back.

No matter how I looked at it, its face was the classic slightly inverted-triangle shape of a lizard.

As far as I knew, there was only one kind of creature that was that large and walked around upright on two feet.

At that moment, it opened its mouth a little and spoke.

"…Th-this place... is cold outside. It is warm in here. May we come in? We will pay."

As it said that, it raised the net-like thing made from wooden vines that it was carrying in one hand.

Inside were three gray rabbits.

I took my eyes off them and looked back at the Lizard Man that had squeezed partly through the doorway.

It had a solidly muscled body and a huge frame, enough that it looked like the leader of a pack, but when I looked closely, I saw that its body was trembling ever so slightly.

Good grief, so it had camped outside.

Autumn was setting in now. It must have been cold.

As I was thinking that and looking over at the fireplace, where the embers were dying out, Rene appeared behind me before I knew it.

The moment she saw the lizard head sticking through the door, she brightened and exclaimed,

"Oh my~ Are you guests? Please, come in!"

Still drying the damp hands she had just used for the washing-up on her apron, Rene strode forward with that distinctive elf-like gait of hers, went to the door, opened it a little wider, and approached the Lizard Man who had squeezed in.

I followed right behind her.

It probably was not going to attack, but one never knew.

Rene hurried over, smiling brightly, and flung the half-open door wide. Outside stood two more Lizard Men, each only a little smaller than the one in front.

About one meter ninety, I supposed? In any case, when Rene threw the door open, the two of them recoiled in surprise.

But the one who had spoken to me did not retreat. If anything, it looked down at Rene with a tired expression and said,

"We camped outside. We are Lizard Men. If we get cold, we cannot move. Until the sun rises high into the sky... will you let us warm our bodies here? We will pay."

As it said that, it held out the three rabbits in the net to Rene, just as it had done to me.

Three rabbits in all. Three Lizard Men, too.

One rabbit per person, then?

Rene took them and answered with a bright smile,

"Yes, of course. Please, come in. You have not had breakfast yet, have you? Han? What are you doing standing there? They look terribly cold, so hurry and light the fire."

"Mm, all right."

A short while later, when I came back carrying an armful of firewood, the Lizard Men from before had occupied one of the tables and were sitting on chairs, exchanging words among themselves.

Of course, it was the Lizard Men's language, so I could not understand a thing, but when I approached, they all made guarded little movements.

Then the Lizard Man who had spoken to me earlier raised a hand and calmed them.

Just as I had thought.

He was the leader, or close to it.

Though I never would have expected the sight of Lizard Men sitting in chairs to look this strange. It was a rather amusing sight.

I watched them briefly, then noticed their shivering bodies and hurried over to the fireplace.

I set the wood down beside it, laid kindling across the bottom first, piled a generous heap of dry leaves on top, and then placed a few logs over that.

Afterward, I brought over a lamp, opened the lid, and poured the oil inside evenly over the firewood.

This was the best method when you needed to light a fire quickly.

Rene scolded me for it sometimes, but still.

Then I closed the lid again and quickly looked around.

Rene was gone.

From the kitchen came the sound of her humming to herself, so she was probably making something to bring to the Lizard Men.

What was interesting, though, was that the Lizard Men sitting quietly at the table were all watching me.

Even the leader had rested his hand on the table and was staring at me with an expression that seemed full of curiosity.

I flashed them a grin, then, as though to show them properly, made an exaggerated gesture toward the fireplace. Picking up the flint resting on the mantel, I struck it several times into the hearth.

Clack! Clack! Clack! Crack!

Fwoosh!~

I had almost singed my hair off.

After a few strikes, the sparks flew, and luckily one landed on a branch soaked with oil.

The fire caught.

But the expressions on the Lizard Men who were watching were the real masterpiece. The two who were not the leader leapt to their feet and pointed back and forth between me and the blazing fire in the hearth as they shouted,

"Shaaaat!? Na, na hari e chiridon!!"

"Na hari!! Khan! Jara na hari!?"

"………."

What in the world were they saying?

Then, while the three of them were still chattering among themselves, the leader rose from his seat and walked toward me.

He really was walking on two legs, and on his body he wore something like a jacket made from chain links and animal hide, though I had no idea where he had gotten it.

Around his ankles were strings threaded with animal teeth, and around his waist was a broad belt.

Hanging from it was a large shortsword, which, again, I had no idea where he had acquired. Finally, beneath his eyes and across his forehead were red stripes, which made a strong impression.

I stepped well aside from the fireplace and leaned against the wall.

He came up, gave me a quick glance, and then crouched down in front of the fire.

Then he said something to the others behind him.

"Tun, ira cha pin."

At that, the other two came over as well and sat in a circle around the fireplace.

As they dropped to the floor, the long tails trailing out behind them delighted me for some reason.

After looking once at the Lizard Men warming themselves by the fire, I gathered up the wood scattered messily across the floor and stacked it neatly in one corner.

Just then, Rene appeared carrying a tray with beer mugs on it.

I hurried over to her, took the tray from her, and set it down on the nearest table. After handing it over to me, she turned her eyes to the Lizard Men.

Seeing that they were sitting on the floor instead of at the table, she tilted her head slightly.

Then she looked at the fire pouring from the hearth, gave a small smile, and came over to me.

Picking up one of the beer mugs from the tray on the table, she set it before me and said,

"This one is yours."

"Huh? You know I cannot drink."

"I know."

"Then why?"

At my question, she glanced subtly toward the Lizard Men.

Ahh.

In case they refused it, she wanted me to set the example first.

Nodding to her, I said,

"But will beer really be enough? To me, it looks like they need something stronger."

"I mixed in a little gin. If I do it this way, the effect comes much faster."

Hearing that, I tapped my forehead with my hand a few times, and Rene let out a little giggle. Then she bent down and offered one of the mugs to the Lizard Men leader.

"Drink this. It will warm you up."

The leader gazed wordlessly at Rene's face for a moment, then accepted the mug and cautiously sniffed the beer inside.

Beside him, the other two, each holding the mugs that Rene and I had handed them, silently watched what their leader was doing.

A moment later, after all kinds of hesitation and inspection, the Lizard Men leader cast a glance at me, where I stood holding a mug identical to theirs. At once, a look from Rene flew at me as well.

So I lifted the beer mug high, as though to say watch closely, and drained it in one swallow.

Gghk.

Drinking alcohol first thing in the morning...

Then Rene added her explanation.

"You saw that, did you not? There is no poison in it. Go on, drink."

The leader, who had been observing me in silence for a while, looked up at Rene and said,

"You... are an elf. Elves do not lie. We trust elves."

And with that, he was the first to drain his mug.

Well, with a mouth that large, I supposed he could empty it in one go.

The other two hesitated a little longer, but soon they too emptied their mugs cleanly, just as their leader had done, and held out the empty cups to Rene.

Rene smiled brightly, took the empty mugs from them, and disappeared into the kitchen.

A little later, after I had gone outside to feed the horses and came back in again, each of the three Lizard Men sitting by the hearth had another full mug of beer in front of him.

Seeing that, I grinned, then went over and sat beside Rene, who was sitting at a table in the dining room, knitting.

With laughter in my voice, I said,

"It seems Lizard Men really do like beer."

"Hehe~ I suppose they do."

She turned her head slightly, looked at the Lizard Men using their tails to lift pieces of firewood and toss them into the hearth, then smiled softly and said,

"Han, thank you."

I leaned my upper body against the table and spun a ball of yarn in the basket with one finger like a cat playing with a toy.

"All right, but what are you thanking me for?"

"For bringing me here. Healing the wounded kobolds yesterday, and being able to have a wonderful experience like treating Lizard Men to beer today... all of that is thanks to you. Ordinarily, when groups like these meet, they can only be wary of one another, or fight. But it is different here. Here, we can help even people like them. You know that to me, experiences like this are a great joy, do you not?"

"Mm. Because you are an elf. An elf who shares herself with everyone, and an elf who receives herself from everyone. And among elves, you are a little special."

At that, Rene smiled brightly and nodded.

Then she set aside her knitting, clasped both hands together, closed her eyes, and whispered,

"El Rantra, who watches over the elves and the forest, can you hear me? Though I am an elf abandoned by you, I am still your child, so please hear my words. As you already know, I am very happy right now. If you ask me why, I would answer like this. It is because I was able to take a wonderful man like Han as my husband. The things he does are things that make me happy as well. What he loves, I love too. I tell you this every day, but I love this man. You already know that? Then please hear it once more. I will love this man for all eternity."

Oh, come on, that was embarrassing.

Please, dear wife.

When you are praying, do not look at me while you do it.

Prayer is meant for someone called Lady El Rantra to hear, is it not? Not me.

Honestly, when you say things like that while looking straight at me, it makes me feel strangely shy.

When Rene finished her prayer, she saw my burning face and smiled radiantly.

"I love you."

"Thank you. I love you too."

Mm, why was my heart still pounding like this?

We had been married for more than ten years!

Maybe it was because I reacted like this that she always seemed so happy when she looked at me.

She smiled sweetly at my face, then resumed her knitting.

Sitting beside her, I quietly watched her slender fingers moving as she knitted, and without thinking, I let the question slip out.

"Say, Rene. That thing you are knitting right now... who is it for?"

She smiled softly and answered without even turning her head,

"It is not for you."

"Hm? Then who is it for?"

"Seeecret~"

She slowly turned her head, pressed a finger to her lips, and gave me a wink as she spoke. I looked at her face and could not help smiling.

Well, she did not keep anything from me.

I would find out soon enough.

Still, no matter how I looked at it, what she was knitting seemed to be a hat to wear on the head.

So why did it have holes in it?

I had no idea.

In any case, I had nothing in particular to do until the afternoon, so I sat quietly at the table and soon found myself absorbed in the movements of her hands as she knitted.

Her brilliant golden hair, carrying a soft sweet fragrance, was tied back with a blue ribbon and flowed down her back.

Her long ears held her hair in place behind them like hairpins. And her mysteriously gleaming golden eyes were quietly following the movements of her slender fingers, which moved slowly and quickly all at once.

Then, at some point, those golden eyes turned toward me.

Her beautiful face began to tilt slightly.

Then she reached out and touched my forehead before saying,

"Han, are you ill somewhere? You do not have a fever, though."

"Huh? Mm, uh... no, no, it is nothing. Ah, hahaha."