Chapter 44

Chapter 44: Bring your coat, please! part

Just when everything was settled and the mayor was about to ask Kaya to lead them outside, Rina got up clutching her hands.

“I want to forfeit the bet!”

She said as she jumped up from the couch.

“Miss Rina, we’re all tired, this is no time for jokes”

The mayor replied condescendingly.

“I mean it! everyone knows I’ve been saved many times. When my parents died and I was all by myself, you bought the tavern from me and allowed me to work in there to pay for their funeral, I know you did it to keep the other merchants from taking it over from me because you let me buy it back at the same price. Then Rudd helped me against Thomas thugs on several occasions. for what you’ve done for me I’m truly grateful and I won’t have enough life to pay you back for your kindness.

But now it’s become clear to me that I was being childish by attempting to keep the tavern as a memento when it was supposed to be a business. Seeing it thrive under Ryu’s management opened my eyes and I’ve never been as happy as I am today, but the truth is I took a loan and couldn’t pay it.

.....

The bet with Ryu allowed me to sleep easy for the first time since I bought back the tavern and I’m finally having fun.

But it’s time to take responsibility for my own actions.

Ryu, you win, you can keep the tavern, and since I’m don’t have a way to repay you, it means I’m your slave now”

Rudd lowered his gaze and covered his eyes with his hand and even the mayor looked sad.

“I don’t want this, you can’t withdraw from the bet. Who knows maybe you’ll win”

Ryu replied

“It doesn’t work like that Ryu, she’s not asking you, she announced her loss, declared she can’t pay back and offered a proper compensation, all in front of the mayor of this town. Even if you wanted to refuse, you can’t. You could sell Rina to someone willing to pay 3 gold coins if you want your money back, but I highly doubt someone will be as stupid as to pay that much. I’m sorry”

Meanwhile Rudd was inwardly thinking on different ways to gather enough money.

“Fine, guess I’ll be responsible for you now. I’ll squeeze the money out of your body if I have to”

Ryu joked, but no one laughed and they walked out in silence.

By the time they got outside it was already dark, winter season had shorter days, but they were inside the office so long that Ryu couldn’t tell the time.

Dylan hurried back to the tavern, all the conspiration talk made him hungry, leaving Rina and Ryu alone.

“Why did you do it Rina?”

Ryu asked her with a voice that sounded so serious it almost made her tremble.

“It was meant to be, I was going to lose anyway so...”

“Cut the crap Rina! You know what I mean!”

Ryu raised his voice almost yelling.

“When you were lying on the floor bleeding, everyone thought I was relieved because it meant that I would win back the tavern if you died”

She made a pause looking at Ryu straight in the eye.

“To tell the truth, I actually did think that. Their suspicions turned everyone against me for a moment, and for the first time I felt as if i didn’t belong in there and I don’t want to feel that way again. When you revealed madame Bianca’s plan and that you were trying to help this town, you sounded like a hero to me. Maybe you did it over greed, I know heroes aren’t real, they’re just made out stories to help people have some hope, but the people of Ironwoods are like my family and I’ve seen many people struggling to survive or even perishing because they couldn’t afford a measly bowl of soup. If you do it, if you save this town, what I did today would have a meaning... because I did it on my own volition”

Since she was smaller than Ryu, she had to look up the whole time, and she kept her hands over her chest to cover herself from the cold wind that ran through the street.

“What a crappy first date we had...”

Ryu sighed.

“Hey, the night is still young. Maybe we can continue our date elsewhere”

“To be honest, I’m not fond of the idea of dating a slave. Now even if things went great, I wouldn’t know if it’s because you felt something or if it’s because I’m your master”

“Oh! so you think only because I’m your slave now you’ll get lucky tonight uh?”

She placed her hands on her slim waist, faking an anger that was betrayed by her huge smile.

“I’ll tell you what, take me to dinner and I’ll think about it”

Rina said in a coquettish manner.

“You do know that the only place we can go now would be the brothel right?”

The thought of going in madame Bianca’s as customers made them giggle childishly, but they didn’t want to go back to the tavern just yet and it was too cold to take a stroll.

They headed up to the brothel, neither of them have ever been inside, just like madame Bianca has never set foot in the tavern, even before Ryu took charge of it.

It was an adventure for both of them and even though they didn’t have any ulterior motive than just having dinner, it felt as if they were doing something forbidden.

When the hostess saw them come in she whispered something into a young girl that was nearby and then turned to Ryu.

“Welcome mister client, how may I help you?”

She said bowing politely.

“We need a table for two”

“I’m sorry, but we don’t have any tables available”

Her face remained professional, but he could sense there was something off.

“Then I’d like to grab something to go, please”

“That won’t be possible either mister client, I’m afraid the kitchen is closed, come back some other day”

The moment Rina got inside the brothel she felt uneasy, the adrenaline rushing through her body dissipated when she noticed the hostess attitude, and she pulled Ryu’s arm looking up to him to convince him to leave the place.

But he wasn’t a wimp like everyone thought, he was outraged. Rina thought it was because of her, that he didn’t want to see her humiliated, but reality was different.

It wasn’t that he didn’t care about her feelings, but nothing could stand in between Ryu and his food. He was starving so bad, if the hostess didn’t let them in he might even bite her, just to get something in his stomach.

Just when Ryu was going to insist and make a scene, a woman who looked mature but still attractive came in. She had a fake smile stuck in her face and she was adorned by jewelry, it was madame Bianca herself.

“What are you saying Mary? our place is always open to our dear customers! You must be miss Rina, and this handsome man is...?”

She scolded the hostess and greeted the couple.

“I’m Ryu, It’s a pleasure to meet you madame Bianca, I see the rumors of your beauty are understatement”

“You’re too kind mister Ryu, I’ve heard a lot about you too, You must let me try your cooking one of these days. I was expecting you to come to my place and you never did, I can see why now”

The last part she said staring at Rina.

“Mary, make sure they are properly served at the restaurant, I don’t think they want to be eating at the bar, surrounded by people”

The hostess stood up and quickly took them to the restaurant. Rina was in awe looking at the luxurious chandeliers, the smooth tiles on the floor and the beautiful furniture. Everything in there looked like a piece of art, making her feel embarrassed by the state of the tavern.

She always thought that she was a worthy rival of the brothel, when in fact, people came to the tavern just because it was cheaper.

The restaurant was the most expensive saloon in the brothel, even the waitresses were dressed in elegant night dresses and, despite being prostitutes, they looked like proper ladies.

Hiraku’s group never ventured in that room, not only because it was more expensive, but also because they didn’t have the necessity of such services. But it was perfect for Ryu, he just wanted to distract himself and have a nice dinner.

Being hit on by girls everyday was more than he could handle and he feared he might fall into their charms not out of love, but just because of his low desires. Anne and Helena had him stressed to the point he was about to burst, he couldn’t have just a fling with either of them and whoever he chose would mean the other would be mad at him.

Rina was different, she was just an upbeat girl he met recently. She wasn’t dense like Anne nor oversensitive like Helena, she said what she had on her mind without a problem and Ryu enjoyed her company.

The restaurant was quite impressive, luxurious but not tacky, and very spacious. Tables were so separated they couldn’t hear what the other people were saying.