Chapter 255: The Tavern Fellas

It lacked the sensuality to be called a date.

Two men walked side by side beneath the clear sky of the capital. They were Lutz and Gerhardt. The reason they were walking together? Simply because they had nothing else to do.

After arriving in the capital and securing accommodation, Claudia had left to gather information. Left behind were the three lads – Lutz, Gerhardt, and Josel – with nothing to do until Claudia returned.

With a troubled expression, Josel said, “I’ll investigate how the security is maintained in the capital,” and went out alone. He wanted to see the number of checkpoints and the behavior of the knights with his own eyes. In such a case, Gerhardt decided not to accompany him, knowing he shouldn’t interfere.

After idly wandering around their inn for a while, they grew bored. Eventually, Gerhardt knocked on Lutz’s door and said. 

“Hey, how about taking a stroll somewhere?”

They went outside without any particular destination in mind, simply wandering around aimlessly.

This was the capital, the most prosperous city in the kingdom, but for them, who had no interest in sightseeing, such things didn’t matter. Souvenir shops and historic buildings held no appeal to them. They lamented the restrictions that prevented them from visiting the capital’s blacksmiths.

“Bored.”

“Yeah, really bored.”

“I wonder if someone will pick a fight with us…”

“That would be nice…”

Despite muttering such dangerous thoughts, no one dared to pick a fight with the men as they looked around. Both were well-built, one an elderly man and the other a young man, and both carried fine swords at their hips. They were clearly not to be trifled with.

They even tried entering an alleyway, but no thugs blocked their path with knives.

“Hmph, even the scoundrels in the capital have good manners.”

Gerhardt expressed his unreasonable anger, and Lutz squinted as he watched him.

…I guess nobody wants to pick a fight with a macho old man who exudes a killing intent everywhere he goes.

Villains had their own crisis management skills. Although they felt gazes from all around, no one revealed themselves. They must have judged that it wasn’t worth getting involved.

In the end, they walked back to the main street without drawing their swords.

“Hey, Lutz, don’t you feel uneasy leaving all the information gathering to Claudia?”

Gerhardt stopped and said, looking up at the sky.

“Well, I guess so, but that’s Claudia’s specialty, and we shouldn’t interfere with her, right?”

“As long as we don’t interfere too much, it’s fine, right? Look at that.”

Gerhardt pointed straight ahead, where a tavern sign hung. It seemed to be open even during the day.

“Just listening to gossip in a tavern can surprisingly be helpful.”

It was a statement that seemed to come from an ex-adventurer. While it wasn’t clear how serious he was about gathering information, it was certainly better than walking around looking foolish.

“That’s a good idea.”

Lutz agreed and followed Gerhardt into the tavern.

The inside of the tavern was surprisingly clean, and there weren’t drunken revelers crowding the place as one might expect. It truly lived up to its reputation as the capital.

“Beer, soup, and grilled fish.”

“Same for me.”

The waitress, wearing a short skirt, cheerfully replied “Okay”, and Lutz and Gerhardt watched her as she walked away.

“What, Lutz, are you interested too?”

“No, it’s not like that. I just thought her outfit was cute.”

“So you’ve become obsessed with buying dresses now?”

“I know it sounds vulgar… but… she’s really, um, out there.”

“You’re truly unwavering…”

As they chatted nonsense, the dishes were placed on the table. They both grabbed their beer and looked over the spread.

There were no spoons or forks. It seemed they were supposed to tilt the plate to drink the soup and eat the grilled fish with their hands.

“I hate this kind of thing about the capital. They take the church’s preaching too seriously.”

Eating was a sacred act, and some advocated eating without utensils as much as possible. It was inconvenient in every way, but such opinions prevailed due to the influence of the church.

The farther away from the church’s headquarters, in other words, the more rural the area, the weaker the influence. Both Gerhardt and Lutz preferred to use utensils.

Gerhardt muttered complaints as he took out a two-pronged fork from his pocket. Lutz also retrieved two short sticks.

“…What’s that?”

“It’s tableware from the East, called ‘hashi.'”

“Isn’t it inconvenient to use?”

“It’s surprisingly good once you get used to it.”

“I see…”

With a somewhat skeptical expression, Gerhardt picked at the grilled fish and put it in his mouth.

“Wow, this tastes delicious.”

“The salt flavor is strong.”

“It’s probably due to differences in distribution. The food at our tavern is just bland.”

“I’d like to have salt flowing in from the coastal territories.”

“Let’s hope Josel can ensure the safety of the roads.”

After enjoying the food in the capital and drinking about half of his beer, Lutz remembered something and spoke up.

“If Leonard’s sword is found, what excuse should we use to claim it?”

“Excuse?”

“I’m talking about who owns the sword. Was it given to his family, inherited by a member of the Thirteenth Knight Order, or returned to His Majesty the King? Do we have a chance to intervene there?”

“If the sword is intact, it might be difficult, but if it’s broken from the battle with the giant orc, maybe we can get it at a lower price?”

“That’s something we’ll have to wait for Claudia to find out.”

He wanted the sword to be broken so he could afford it, but he didn’t want his own crafted sword to break. Lutz’s feelings were quite complicated.

“There’s another problem.”

“What is it?”

“The more magic power we infuse into the sword, the more gems we’ll need to use. Who will pay for them?”

“It would be ideal to find a sponsor.”

“And it’s not just about getting enough gems; I want to use special ones. ‘Eye of the Conqueror’ is used up, so should we ask the Count to lend us the ‘Crimson Pulse’?”

“Adding fire attributes to Leonard’s sword… it feels a bit inappropriate…”

Leonard once burned his allies to defeat formidable enemies from the coalition nations. It felt awkward to use gems from the body of a fire demon on the sword that such a man owned.

“I thought anything would be possible in the capital, but it seems like we’re facing a mountain of problems.”

“Still, it’s better than being bored in the Count’s territory.”

“Actions speak louder than words.”

Gerhardt smirked, and Lutz nodded deeply. They both finished their beer, stood up, and emptied their mugs.

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