Chapter 65

Chapter 65: Do not trust prostitutes, please! part

After madame Bianca raised the prices and Thomas acquired most of the supplies in town, the situation at the Silver goddess tavern was desperate. They had been surviving with whatever they had left after their kindness act of feeding the town at a cheap price and they had to face people constantly coming at their door to beg or cause trouble.

“Please, it’s ok if its just scraps”

Begged a child from the other side of the door.

“For the last time, go away! there’s nothing in here for you”

Ryu screamed angrily making Helena frown.

“You don’t need to be so cruel to children Ryu”

“What am I supposed to do? we’re starving and this people are convinced we’re swimming in food. Anne barely survived and she’s in no condition to go hunting, as if that wasn’t enough, we’re trapped in here. If we so much open the door, people will try to break in”

.....

Ryu walked from side to side looking more like a caged predator than a human being. His hunger is pushing his sanity to the very limits, he even started looking at Mochi with entirely different eyes.

“Come kitty kitty”

He whispered with a watery grin leaving Helena in shock.

“Ok Ryu, get a hold of yourself! you’re scaring the cat now”

Rina growled making him come back to reality.

“This is so unfair, we were doing so good and now everything’s gone overboard. If only I hadn’t spend so much before the freeze”

“It’s not your fault, besides, even if we had the money madame Bianca would have found a way to keep us from buying anything”

“That may be so, but still, it’s been so hard”

“Here here”

Rina said embracing Ryu and pulling his head close to her chest, providing him enough mental clarity to listen to his own thoughts. Everyone was dispersed among different tables at the tavern, they all looked depressed and, of course, they too were hungry. They made the extra effort to keep Anne well fed by reducing their own rations, but it was just enough to get her back in good health.

The only ones who looked completely normal were Eiri and Kairi, they were used to much worse and hunger alone wasn’t enough to bring their mood down. Even with the lack of food they were already a lot better than they were when they were free. They have a nice soft bed, a room just for the two of them, they get paid more than fairly and they have fun hanging out with everyone at the tavern.

But Ryu didn’t see things like that, all he saw was that he took upon himself the responsibility to look out for everyone and, so far, he’s failed. It’s not that they were not prepared for the freeze, on the contrary, Ryu had made sure that he had enough supplies to last until spring, but he made a huge mistake. When he started researching different extracts he got addicted to it, and he spent all the food on making all those useless extracts.

“I’m deeply sorry, I failed you in many ways and it’s my fault we’re currently on this situation. I would understand if you want to leave the tavern, I won’t have anything against you if you left now”

Ryu said after standing in front of everyone and bowing apologetically.

“No way mister Ryu, you did nothing wrong, if anything it’s our fault for eating so much. Please don’t bow your head in front of us”

Sera pleaded and everyone joined her.

“Mister Ryu, I know it’s not my place since I’m the last one to join the tavern. but I’m more than grateful for how you’ve treated us”

Ksenia said with a tear on her eyes. Ryu made sure that even if he didn’t have food for himself, her sons would still have enough for a week.

“I’ll follow you to the bitter end, boss!”

Dylan exclaimed creating an emotional ambient and everyone’s eyes got teary. But Rina wasn’t that kind of person, she’s faced many hardships her entire life, even when her parents were alive, but she’s never let anything defeat her. So, instead of saying words of support like Sera, or courage like Dylan, she just leaned close to Ryu and gave him a huge bump in the head leaving everyone at the tavern flabbergasted.

“Enough drama for today, just tell us how much more are we supposed to wait until your friends come to help us”

Just after Rina finished speaking a loud knock on the door resounded on the tavern, lifting everyone spirits. But when Claire went to open the door she noticed it wasn’t Hiraku, nor anyone from his group. It was one of the brothel’s guards, with two guards standing behind him.

“Good afternoon miss, may I come in”

He said smiling at Claire, who in turn looked at Ryu asking for approval. Ryu nodded and she let the men in. Every bit of Ryu’s instincts was screaming that they were dangerous and all that smiling was nothing but a facade, still he had no choice but to let them in.

Ryu sat on a table and gestured them to have a sit, yet only the captain sat in front of Ryu, the other two stood still behind their leader.

“I’m afraid I don’t have much time”

He said politely declining the beer that Rina herself put in front of him.

“Its just one beer, I don’t think madame Bianca’s gonna be mad if you’re just a few minutes late”

Said Ryu inviting him to drink with him.

“Well, if it’s just one I don’t see any harm in it”

And they both took a long gulp from their mugs.

“So, what brings you here today? as you can see, we’re not open”

“Madame Bianca heard that you are having a hard time and she wishes to invite you to her manor, she also sent you this because she’s worried of your well being”

When he spoke that words the guards standing behind him put two heavy sacks on the floor, one contained flour and the other contained potatoes. Both were the most basic ingredients, but it was enough to feed everyone at the tavern for a week, if they don’t take into account Ryu’s unusually high appetite.

Rina accepted the gifts with a huge smile on her face, even if it wasn’t a sincere gesture, it would feed them all the same.

“How can I refuse madame’s invitation when she’s been so kind to us”

Ryu said after finishing his beer and placing the empty mug on the table loudly. He knew exactly what was going to happen, but there was nothing anyone could do to avoid it. Rina was worried sick for him and Sera wanted to come along, but he stopped them both.

“I’ll be back soon”

He said smiling in an attempt to reassure them that everything was going to be fine.

As soon as they exited the tavern the men led Ryu to the brothel since madame’s manor was next to it and they were connected. He wasn’t apprehended nor was he treated violently, but Ryu couldn’t shake the feeling that he was going to face the gallows.

Once inside the brothel the guards followed him right to madame Bianca’s office.

“So you came, mister Ryu”

Madame Bianca greeted him with her usual fake smile

“Did I have a choice?”

He replied coldly.

“Come on dear, don’t be like that, this is just a friendly invite”

She said with a scoff while rummaging through some documents.

“But, is it really? you’ve taken us out and half Ironwoods belongs to you now. Tell me what do you want and lets get it over with”

“What I want is you, of course, I only need you to sign this document stating that you’re my slave now and everything will be fine”

“And why would I do that exactly?”

“Because my personal guards are outside your filthy tavern at this precise moment, and if they don’t hear from me in the following hour they will burn it to the ground. I swear If you weren’t so capable I would’ve just sent to kill you long ago, when I first heard that you were plotting against me”

Ryu’s expression stiffened and he lowered his gaze.

“so you knew?”

“I must say I’m impressed, not only by your cooking skill but also by your wits. In fact you did had a chance at beating me, but you were too naive to notice. If only you kept your plans to yourself, if you had let Dylan pay for assaulting you, you wouldn’t be on this position now. If you come with me to Celarent I’ll spare the lives of your playthings, they would be mine, though”

“How... How did you know?”

“You are so predictable, you were betrayed of course. Come inside dear!”

She said loudly and the door immediately opened and a woman on her thirties came inside. She was good looking and was dressed in an uniform that emphasized her curves, her neat appearance and serious demeanor allowed Ryu to recognize her on the spot.

It was no other than Kaya, the mayor’s assistant.