Chapter 249 - The owner

As Kretos was eating he looked at the owner of the Lonely Cat who was wiping a glass at the counter. Kretos couldn't sense any mana coming from the man. For him not being able to sense the mana of the other person could only mean two things, the man had perfect control of his mana that he's able to hide it from Kretos's senses, or the man had no mana at all that's why there was nothing to sense. 

The first reason seems a bit too farfetched as the way the bartender moved doesn't seem to indicate that he was a master or anything of the sort. On the other hand, the latter was nearly impossible, every living being born in this world is suppose to have mana. 

'Could it be he's not from this world?'

Nero noticed Kretos looking at the bartender every now and then. He could already guess what Kretos was thinking, for he too thought the same when he met the owner of the Lonely Cat. Yet for some reason, Nero felt a bit of danger from the guy and didn't investigate any further. 

Nero was a rather cautious individual so if he wasn't a hundred percent sure he could escape the predicament he wouldn't do it. An example of this was when he probed Kretos. He was already looking at the owner waiting for the proper timing. When he noticed that the owner was about to serve them with their food and drinks he initiated his plan. 

As he predicted once he failed to probe Kretos the bartender intervened. No matter how aggressive Kretos was the bartender had this weird aura about him that could soothe almost anyone. 

...

The three ate their meal in silence as it started raining outside. The pitter-patter of the rain outside coupled with the dimly lit room of the tavern made for a cool ambiance. The owner continued to clean his wares despite no one using them. Once he was done it looked he wanted to smoke again but as the cig was about to reach his mouth he stopped. 

The owner sighed as he placed the cig back into its case, he then proceeded to head into the kitchen. After a few minutes, a very aromatic smell started to come out of the kitchen. Kretos and the other two who just finished their meal felt hungry again. 

Amon who had near zero self-control stood up from his chair and headed for the kitchen, but as he got closer he felt something was wrong. There was an invisible barrier blocking him from entering the kitchen. Still, that wasn't going to stop him, as he was about to force himself through, the owner of the tavern spoke. 

"Any troublemaker will be blacklisted from the Lonely Cat." Hearing what the owner said Amon no longer forced himself through. 

"Then can I order another meal?"

"You know the rules one meal per person. Beer can only be ordered three times. You need to finish all the beer until the last drop and eat everything on your plate until there's nothing left. Anyone who breaks the rules will be blacklisted from the Lonely Cat." 

"You know boss, this is why no one likes coming here. Not only are you in a secluded area, your food and drinks are expensive as f*ck, but the most sh*t thing is all these f*cking rules. How can you even run a business like this?"

"You really know to hit where it hurts, don't ya brat." The owner/bartender/cook of the tavern appeared from the kitchen holding a plate filled with food. The air was saturated with a spicy perfume, as the owner sat on his chair. Amon's mouth was salivating in anticipation, he couldn't help but drool uncontrollably, watching the food as if he hadn't eaten for weeks.

Kretos couldn't help himself as well as he looked at the unknown food, filled with different things. The only thing he knew that was on that plate were the strawberries. Even though they were normal strawberries, Kretos felt hungry just looking at it. 

As the owner was about to eat, Amon looked like he was going to steal the food, but just as he was about to move Nero stood up from his chair. 

"Amon we're leaving." Surprised by Nero suddenly talking Amon slipped and almost fell. 

"It was nice meeting you... Kretos." Even now Nero couldn't help but hesitate to say Kretos's name. 

"Well, it wasn't nice meeting you at all," Kretos responded without even looking at Nero as he drank his ale. 

"I see... Nonetheless, I hope we get along the next time we meet." With his perpetual fake smile, Nero didn't look bothered by Kretos's comment. 

"Hmph, fat chance."

"Amon let's go." Amon looked at Nero then at the food the owner was eating, then finally at Kretos. He then sighed as he reluctantly followed Nero. 

"Hey Kretos, we'll have our fight sooner or later. Until then, you better stay alive." 

"I should say the same thing to you," Kretos replied with a vicious smile on his face. Seeing the two interacting with each other Nero shrugged his shoulders. 

"Thanks for the meal owner, I placed the payment for the three of us on the table." With that Nero and Amon left the Lonely Cat.

Once the two were gone the atmosphere grew quiet. It was still raining outside as Kretos took one final chug of his ale. When he was finished Kretos approached the owner. He unleashed a portion of his mana to see the owner's reaction.

"Hey, can you tell me your name?" The owner who was nearly done eating his meal looked at Kretos and frowned. 

"Can't you see I'm eating, talk to me after I'm done." Hearing the owner's indifferent response Kretos was shocked. Usually, when people sense his violent mana they would have some sort of reaction, but the owner had no reaction except for slight irritation.

'It seems like he can't sense my mana pulsating... Maybe he truly doesn't have any ounce of mana in him.' Kretos then proceeded to wait for the owner to finish his meal. Once the owner was done he looked at Kretos and spoke. 

"Kazuya Haruto... In this country I guess, it's supposed to be Haruto Kazuya."