Chapter 82

Chapter 82. The Old Woman in the Tower (7)

Unlike before, the main road, which had once been dirt, had been laid with paving stones.

On top of that, there were more new buildings in the village than old ones, and I could see new buildings being constructed here and there.

Rene, who was looking at it with me, opened her mouth leisurely.

“It has changed quite a lot.”

At her words, I gave a small smile and turned the horse’s head, sweeping my gaze over the surroundings.

Come to think of it, it was not only the surroundings that had changed. It seemed there were far more people as well.

“Eek~!? He looked at me!”

“Girl?! It was me!”

“He is so handsome.”

Had they only just passed twenty?

Watching young ladies in the prime of their age squeal at the sight of me and hide somewhere, I gave a bitter smile.

At that moment, a voice like someone looking at flowers blooming in a field came from beside me.

“You are popular.”

It was Luna. I gave a small laugh and slowly urged the horse forward.

Then Rene came along beside me and said,

“Let us go to a nearby pub first.”

“Ahh. We can eat lunch and then go shopping at the market.”

And so, while receiving heated(?) gazes from the people living here, we headed toward a decent pub.

Perhaps because we had ridden for half a day, Luna, who was sitting behind Rene, looked tired, so we urged the horses toward the closest pub for now.

When we reached the front of the shop, a boy of about sixteen ran out.

“Welcome. Will you be staying?”

“No, we will only eat lunch and leave, so please take care of the horses.”

“Yes~!”

I got off the horse first, helped Luna down, and then unloaded the luggage.

Then I held out the reins to the boy, but the boy did not take what I was offering. Instead, he stood there with his mouth hanging open, staring fixedly at Rene and Luna standing beside me. (More precisely, at Luna.)

Seeing his gaze, I gave a small laugh, placed the reins I was holding into his hand, and opened my mouth.

“Young man, please look after the horses.”

“Huh? Ah, yes!”

The boy suddenly came to his senses, bowed his head at a ninety-degree angle, and ran behind the inn while leading the horses.

I gave a small laugh at the sight of him, then turned my head toward Luna, who was rubbing her backside.

“You are popular.”

At my words, Luna merely snorted.

Rene, who had been quietly watching us from beside us, smiled gently and lifted her backpack.

“Now, enough of that. Let us go inside.”

At her words, I nodded, lifted my backpack, slung it over one shoulder, and went through the door.

Then something like a small cheer came from inside.

“Whoa?! He is killlling it! He is so handsome, girls~!”

“Aaah~ Hey, handsome man! Come over here!”

“Handsome~!”

Ugh, what was this?

When I opened my eyes wide and looked around inside, I saw a group of young ladies gathered around one table, waving at me.

But their enthusiasm did not last very long, and the reason was Rene and Luna standing on either side of me.

“Awww~ He was a married man with a child?”

“If he is that handsome, I am fine with him being married.”

“Forget it. Look at his wife, his wife. She is incredible.”

After hearing those young ladies’ words, I gave a bitter smile.

What kind of young ladies were they?

While I was thinking that, something poked my thigh from beside me. When I lowered my head, it was Luna.

She looked up at me with a mischievous grin and said,

“That ended before you could enjoy it.”

“As if?”

I said that and went inside, taking a suitable seat.

There were not that many customers.

It was a quiet pub with only the young ladies who had screamed at the sight of me earlier and a few young and old men playing cards on the other side.

While I was putting the backpack under the table, a pretty black-haired girl who looked a little too young to be working in a place like this ran over and asked for our order with a kind smile.

“Welcome. What would you like to eat?”

“Could we have three simple lunches?”

“Yes. Of course you can. Would you like beer or tea as well?”

The girl spoke with a bright, friendly smile.

Rene smiled brightly, looked over all of us once, and opened her mouth.

“One glass of warm milk and two cups of tea, please.”

“Yes, understood. Please wait a moment.”

The girl bowed and ran to the kitchen.

I watched the girl’s back for a moment, then turned my head and looked around once more.

I did not want to do it either, but since I was in the same lodging and dining business, whenever I visited another establishment, I always ended up looking over the interior at least once.

And as a result, I could judge that although the interior decorations were nothing special and there were only four tables, the cat sleeping quietly on top of the fireplace was impressive, and overall, the shop had a small, warm, and cozy feeling.

Somehow, it felt similar to Mr. Grayden’s shop in Alcantria.

A shop that was not opened for the purpose of making money, but simply remained open because of its regulars.

Mr. Grayden’s shop was that kind of place too.

I think Jonathan had said that the place stayed open without closing because so many adventurers stopped by there.

Was this place the same kind of shop?

While I was thinking that, the girl from earlier brought a glass of milk and two teacups on a small tray.

Before our meal, we were able to drink a sip of warm tea.

At that moment, I heard snickering laughter from the men playing cards, so I listened in that direction for a moment.

“Puhaha! How about it, Boss? Hurry up and hand over everything you have.”

“Damn it! Hey, you punk, tell me honestly. You did not cheat again, did you?!”

“What are you talking about?! I do not cheat anymore. Right, Chelsia?”

At that, one of the young ladies sitting at the table, a girl whose hair shone red, answered with a bright smile and a wave of her hand.

“Of cooourse! My darling does not do that anymore, Leader.”

“Mmmgh~”

Leader? Were they some kind of traveling troupe?

At that moment, the black-haired girl who was coming out of the kitchen with a tray of food on a small tray looked at them and raised her voice slightly.

“There are other people here, so could you be a little quieter?”

“Aaah~ That is too much, Brangdi. Do we not look like customers to you?”

“I am telling you to be quiet. Quiet. And are you sisters not tired after drinking all night? That is why none of you still cannot get married.”

At that, the young ladies sitting at the table began darkening one by one, either staring gloomily at the table or clinging to each other’s chests and whimpering as they mumbled something.

She was a much more formidable child than she looked.

The girl called Brangdi glanced at the women leaning gloomily against one another, then came to our side and placed the food we had ordered before us with a kind smile.

“Here are three simple lunches. Please enjoy.”

But what came out was beef steak.

Seeing that, Rene wore a rather uncomfortable expression. When Brangdi saw her face, she looked at the steak for a moment, as though wondering if something was wrong, then slowly opened her mouth.

“Um… Is something wrong?”

Rene looked at her with a bitter smile, and I answered in her place.

“My wife cannot handle meat very well. So please bring something else, miss.”

At my words, Brangdi made an Ahh expression, then opened her mouth with a smile.

“I see. Then please wait a moment. I have something good.”

And a little while later, what she brought out was vegetable stew.

Seeing that, Rene lifted her spoon with a smile, while Luna, who had been cutting meat with a knife and bringing it to her lips beside her, shook her head at the sight.

Rene could not eat meat very well.

If it was something like ham, she could tolerate it to some extent, but dishes that still retained the original form of a living creature—in other words, food like this, where the texture of the muscle remained intact—were something she could not eat.

Dark elves and elves who had lived for quite some time did not care much about such things, but young elves like Rene had something close to fastidiousness, so they could not hunt and eat the meat of deer or rabbits they had played with since childhood.

Though they could kill them to protect themselves.

When I first traveled with her, I hunted a deer for dinner and had no idea how much nagging I would receive for it.

On top of that, we ended up having to bury that deer in the ground.

We made do with pieces of bread for dinner that day. Mm.

“How much is it?”

“Um, including fodder for the horses, it is eighteen thousand woni.”

After hearing her words, Rene took two ten-thousand-woni silver coins from her pocket and handed them over.

Brangdi, who received them politely with both hands, put her hand into her skirt pocket to take out the change, but Rene declined.

“It is fine. Keep it. Instead, could we leave our luggage here? We are going to shop at the market.”

“Ah, um….”

Even though it was money she could accept without issue, Brangdi seemed to hesitate for a moment over whether she should give the change back or not.

But following the advice of the young ladies from earlier, who were sitting in front and chatting, she seemed to decide to nod and keep the change.

“Know the value of money, Brangdi. That sort of thing is not something you refuse. Besides, she said it is in exchange for leaving their luggage here. Just accept it.”

“Mm… Yes, I will. Thank you.”

Rene smiled faintly with her eyes at the sight of her and spoke again.

“We will probably come pick up the luggage in about an hour. Please keep it for us until then.”

“Yes.”

After saying that, Rene looked back at me.

I slowly rose from my seat, picked up one bag I had emptied in advance, and walked over beside her.

As soon as I reached her side, I lowered my head and said,

“Are you coming too?”

“Then should I sit here alone and wait for you?”

“No. Let us go together.”

I had forgotten that Luna hated being left alone most of all.

In any case, I slung the bag over one shoulder and was about to go outside to shop at the market when a voice called from behind us, so I stopped for a moment and turned my head.

“Um, please wait a moment. You seem to be travelers. Do you know where the market is? It moved recently.”

“It moved?”

At my words, Brangdi smiled slightly and called a certain name toward the kitchen, and that name was quite unusual.

“So you do not know. Please wait a moment. Brandy!”

“Hm? Sis, why did you call me?”

“Could you guide these people to the market?”

The one who appeared a moment later was the same boy who had stared at Luna in a daze earlier.

Sis? Then were they siblings?

Brangdi and Brandy… Those were interesting names.

Brandy, who had been called out by his sister, saw us and made a slightly strange expression. Only after Brangdi asked him again did he nod a little and show his agreement.

Rene and I gave small smiles at the sight, while Luna sent him an expressionless gaze.