Chapter 53 - Alfred

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio  Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Cyroda Village seemed to come alive at night, as the people who had been busy working the entire day finally got a chance to rest. In this era, when sources of entertainment were very rare, the three most common methods people had to entertain themselves were: drinking, gambling, and whoring.

Other leisure activities like the autumn hunt, horse racing, and more were not accessible to the common folk.

Hence, when the people who had labored hard for a day could finally rest, the taverns in the village of Cyroda were already filling up to the brim. As a trading hub that was frequented by merchants, Cyroda Village had already undergone four expansions, and most of the businesses here were related to the service industry, such as inns and taverns. These businesses consisted of almost two-thirds of the entire village’s industries.

Fine Wine & Sharp Blades.

It was a name that had a powerful ring to it, but at the same time, the name also clearly communicated to customers what the store offered.

This was the most prestigious tavern in Cyroda Village, but it only had a total floor area of about 330 square meters, and could only fit around thirty tables, seating a hundred customers at most. It was not that the tavern’s owner had no money to expand, but rather that he was lazy. Even though he had received requests from many different people to expand his tavern’s size, after so many years, the shop had not grown from its original size.

To secure a seat inside this tavern, many people would come the moment the tavern opened its doors early in the evening.

In order to consistently attract so many customers to this tavern to spend their money, the tavern offered food and drink of a quality that was evidently much higher than the offerings of the other taverns. Other than that, however, there was one more important thing unique to this tavern: Fine Wine and Sharp Blades.

The Thorny Crusted Boar was one of the most common herbivores in this world. In fact, this type of boar was something between a living creature and a demonic beast, and it was only classified as a living creature because it did not have the ferocity of a demonic beast. In the world of ‘Miracle’, this kind of boar was used in the same way bulls were used on Earth in ancient times to plow the fields. They needed very little food for sustenance, but they had great strength and a mild temperament. They also had a high fertility rate, so aside from using them for farm work, they were also slaughtered for food.

Even then, the Fine Wine & Sharp Blades tavern chose to only use the four legs of a Thorny Crusted Boar that was one year old for their cooking. Combined with their unique sauce and special cooking method, they created a smoked boar leg that was not only tender and juicy but also carried the aroma of wine. However, this only brought out the taste of wine, and it would not intoxicate anyone.

The name of this dish was ‘Fine Wine’.

‘Sharp Blade’ referred to an alcoholic beverage that was the tavern’s specialty, and nobody knew how the tavern’s boss had formulated it. The drink came in two cups. The first cup had a light, sweet, and dry flavor as it entered the mouth, and it was gentle on the taste buds. As one swallowed it, there was a cool, refreshing feeling, unlike the heat and burning sensation from normal spirits, and it almost felt like one was drinking a kind of fruit juice.

However!

On drinking the second cup, the sweet and dry taste in the mouth transformed into a unique spiciness, which intensely tingled the taste buds, but not so much that one would spit it out. As it went down the throat, it burned like lava, and this was when people started to regret not spitting out this strange liquid. Though, the most obvious sensation was when the drink reached one’s stomach, and at that moment it felt like one was being stabbed through the chest cavity with tens of thousands of sharp blades.

This was the source of the name ‘Sharp Blades’.

These two signature dishes cost 7 silver coins each. It was an expensive price to pay and not something that everybody could enjoy, so even though they declared a limit of only selling twenty portions a day, the reality was that it had never been sold out before. On average they would only sell two or three portions of Fine Wine a day. Sharp Blades sold better, and they could sell around five to six portions a day.

On the uncommon occasion when large groups of merchants were passing through, they might sell more than ten portions.

Just then, Sean entered through the door with Cecilia in tow.

The tavern had just started for the day, but there were only three empty tables left in the store.

People were already starting to enjoy their nightlife and were not concerned with who was coming into the shop, but every time the tavern doors were pushed open, people would still subconsciously take a look. Most people would just give a cursory glance, and only people harboring a guilty conscience would try to study the new arrivals or try to find out their background.

Cecilia and Sean’s entrance was like throwing a pebble into the surface of a calm lake.

“It seems like we’re not welcome here.” Cecilia was an apprentice magician who could break through her limits at any time and become a full-fledged magician, and she naturally had sharp senses, able to instantly feel a lot of hostile intent directed at them.

“It’s because we’re dressed too much like aristocrats,” Sean laughed, not taking it too seriously. “In this world, many people feel that there is a difference between aristocrats and commoners. Just like how commoners are not allowed to freely enter aristocrats’ areas, aristocrats are not allowed in commoners’ areas… Unbeknownst to them, these people have already started to regard themselves as inferior livestock, and even think that being a vicious mutt is an improvement.”

Sean was not speaking in a loud voice, but it was loud enough for the patrons close to the door to hear. At that moment, they all looked at him in anger.

“And there are others,” Sean ignored them and continued his explanation, bringing Cecilia forward without a worry, “who are curious about our identities. They think that maybe they can squeeze something out from us, to fulfill their desire of reaping without sowing… These kinds of people are even sadder than those who willingly become vicious dogs and livestock.”

At first, hearing Sean’s criticism, the people with dishonest intentions hung their heads in guilt. Then, as Sean’s tone changed, they also stared at him in anger.

“As usual, you’re causing trouble everywhere.” Cecilia furrowed her brow slightly. “You’ve almost ingrained the aristocrats’ harsh way of speaking into yourself.”

“If I wasn’t good at getting into trouble, I wouldn’t have a little follower like you now,” Sean replied jokingly.

At the same time, the two of them recalled the day they first met.

A rainy night, rogues, and fresh blood.

Then almost in the same instant, they regained their senses, neither of them noticing anything strange about the other.

Sean and Cecilia walked together to a table, and under the shocked stares of the patrons around them, they took their seats at the same time.

On the other side of this table, which was directly facing Sean and Cecilia, sat a man. He had a very tired, haggard face, covered in stubble, and his two eyes seemed to be wordlessly recounting the painful experiences of his life. His humble appearance indicated that he was not doing well for himself before coming to the tavern, and even his dinner was the simplest and cheapest dish of minced meat stew.

‘Abject poverty’ was the best way to describe him.

“You came looking for me?” the man asked in a hoarse voice, frowning slightly.

“Yes,” Sean answered, nodding.

“Do we know each other?” A look of suspicion surfaced on the man’s face.

“We don’t know each other yet,” Sean chuckled in a friendly way, “but we will get to know each other very soon.”

As though he had suddenly understood something, the man immediately said with a soft sigh, “Sir Fregan, what more do you want? If you want me to stay away from my own daughter, you can go back and tell him that it’s not happening!”

During the last part of what he said, the man’s voice grew slightly emotional.

“I think you might be mistaken.” Sean was slightly taken aback, but he quickly understood what was happening, and felt more sympathy for the man. “Perhaps we can talk more over dinner.”

“I’ve already had my dinner.”

“Just having these leftovers for dinner is not appropriate for someone of your status.” Sean raised his hand and snapped his fingers, and a waitress came over to their table immediately. “Fine Wine and Sharp Blades, we’ll start with three portions. Then, bring us a little bit of everything good at your tavern. You can keep the change as your tip.”

As he said this, Sean took out 5 Portoroa gold coins and handed them to the waitress. Promptly, the waitress became bright-eyed, and her attitude towards them became much more respectful. The food and drinks that Sean ordered would only cost a total of slightly more than 45 silver coins. In other words, this waitress could earn close to 5 silver coins for her tip.

All the other customers in the tavern were stunned.

For hard-working ordinary people like themselves, Sean’s expenditure on this night was equivalent to the amount they would spend in a month,

“You all… are you sure I’m the one you’re looking for?” The man with the sorrowful eyes was shocked, visibly in disbelief.

“What’s your name?” Sean looked him in the eye.

“Alfred.” The man hesitated for a short while before answering, as though his name was something he was incredibly ashamed of,

Sean nodded his head matter-of-factly as he replied, “Then there’s no mistake. The person I’m looking for is Alfred.”

Alfred’s face was full of astonishment as he stared towards Sean. In this village, his reputation was not good, and for certain reasons, aside from this tavern, Fine Wine & Sharp Blades, none of the other taverns or inns of the village would dare to serve him. As for treating him to a meal? That was something absolutely nobody would do.

At that moment, Cecilia suddenly opened her mouth to speak. “As a magician, I can’t consume alcohol.”

“As a girl, you need to learn how to drink,” Sean retorted straightforwardly. “A girl who does not know how to drink is a very troublesome matter.”

“That doesn’t make any sense!” Cecilia tried to argue back with logic.

“That’s enough nonsense out of you. If I ask you to drink something, you drink it. This stuff I’m giving you is good for you.”

Cecilia’s face was filled with an expression of wavering doubt.

If it was not something good, Sean would not allow Cecilia to try it. Even though he always maintained his theory that girls had to learn to hold their liquor so others could not get them drunk, in this world it was unlikely that anyone would dare to get Cecilia drunk in front of him. It was indeed because ‘Sharp Blades’ was a rare and precious drink. The first time one drank it, one would receive a special effect, which provided one with a permanent bonus of one point in both Will and Endurance, but this effect was only given to players with a profession below rank two.

Back then, this was the first instance of a special tool to increase attributes that players would encounter in the northern region of ‘Miracle’. When Sean found out about this last time, he was already preparing to rank up to a rank four profession, so he had let his chance slip away. Now that he had the choice to do it over again, Sean would not miss this opportunity again. Thus, even if he had to force it down her throat, Sean would make Cecilia drink a portion of it.

On the other hand, Alfred had unfortunately missed his chance, and he knew this because when Alfred had spoken his name, Sean had already seen his class.