I honestly hate drinking, that is, until you pair me with a lady. A beautiful one, at that. I really wish Jean would go away, but he didn't. The night endlessly continued, all three of us slowly getting drunk with each passing minute. The smell of alcohol intensified, and the other people in the room are starting to become increasingly bolder. I look at the clock and see its smaller hand pointing upwards, all the while hearing the loud voices of the noblemen bragging about their successes. I can hear vomiting on a nearby restroom.
"Why don't you just take your helmet off? I'm honestly having a hard time just watching you."
"Yeah. Why don't you take your helmet off? " Esmeralda added. " Don't you get hot?"
"It's not that I don't want to. It's because I don't want you guys to see my beauty."
"What?"
"MORE BEER, YOU DAMN WAITER!!" a nobleman shouted. "HURRY UP!!"
"Oh, y-yes. Coming right away."
Huh. Would you look at that. My bladder's starting to act up. Yep. I need to pee.
"I'll go to the bathroom for a sec."
"Don't take too long, alright?" Jean replied.
"It depends. I think I might throw up."
"Haha. Don't worry. We'll wait." Esmeralda smiled with flushed cheeks.
I went to the waiter and asked a glass of water before going to the bathroom. It's much more efficient. The first thing I did was look at the mirror. My eyes look tired. Definitely not sexy at all. I wonder what Esmeralda thinks of me. The smell of puke and something filled one of the three stalls in the room. I wash my face, falsely hoping that even just a bit cures this headache. Damn it. It still hurts. I--
"OH!" I bumped into someone. "Sorry."
He had good facial features. And he smells... weird. His perfume had this very soothing effect on it. His face is solid, almost inanimate, and I couldn't help but look at his soul. He appears human, but not once did I ever saw his eyes move. I went to the nearest stall and relieved myself. A faint scent of vomit triggered a little bit of my gag reflex, but I tried my best to ignore it and continued on my business.
...
"I'm back. Where's Jean?"
"He went outside. He said he'll be right back."
I return to my seat as Esmeralda nibbled on her chicken leg. The room got quieter, mainly because the delinquents near the entrance had one too many. One of the noblemen began harassing a woman serving their drinks, but I'm having enough problems on my own. That damn ringing in my head is starting to return and it's only making me want to sleep and vomit at the same time.
"You're getting red." said Esmeralda with a worried tone. "Os something wrong?"
"My head hurts. I think I'm gonna pass out."
"Poor thing. Here. It's a good thing I brought this."
"What's that?"
"A potion. It cures hangovers. I always carry one in my pocket. I tend to be a bit...rowdy when I'm drunk."
"Thanks."
...
"It's pretty hard managing on your own, is it not?" Esmeralda calmly said. She's starting to be more open now. I didn't drink after she gave me the tonic, but she downed another two.
"I imagine it must be."
"You've never been alone?"
"I don't know. I really don't remember. Jean just found me and decided to take me in."
"He never told me that."
"How did you two meet?" I asked.
"Oh. He didn't tell you? I work for him."
"Wait, what?"
"I was homeless once. No one would hire me back then because I didn't attend academy. He just appeared out of nowhere and asked me to work for him. I didn't even tell anyone I'm a seamstress. It's not even work. He just comes from time to time to ask for favors."
"Did he also give you a black rock as down payment?"
"Yes. That's called a Void Sphere. Those things fetch at a very high price."
"What did you do with the money?"
"I bought an abandoned shop for cheap. I've been living in it ever since. This would never have happened if it wasn't for him, and I'm really grateful for that."
"What did I miss?"
Jean interrupts the conversation as Esmeralda's face turn red. He just looks at Esmeralda for a second before taking a seat. I surmised he also got smitten. I look at the clock. Twelve and a half in the morning... It sure is starting to get quiet now. All the teens and the dwarves lay dead passed out on their tables, and I just stare as the waiters struggle to wake them up. All three of us just sat there, Jean drinking another mug and Esmeralda just aimlessly staring at the distance. One of the noblemen excused himself to the restroom.
"Let's talk business, shall we? What was his name again? Nelen?" I asked.
"Yes. She's a female, mind you."
"Wait. Nelen?" Esmeralda joined. "The one with a million Cings on her head?"
"You never told me that."
"Well... Yeah. Sorry. Anyways, she's notorious for her red eyes and her quickness. She has a lot of titles, but she's mostly known as 'The Maiden' in these parts."
"Is she dangerous?"
"She killed a king once."
"Trust me! It's understandable!" Esmeralda snapped. "That b---"
Two servers and a guard outside rushed in as the ear-piercing scream snapped everyone back to reality. The noblemen immediately went to check on their buddy, and the chaos just escalated from there. Cussing and sobbing filled the bathroom and I noticed that everyone's attention was now shifting into something else. The door. What happened in there?
Then they appeared.
The guy clad in platinum plates, the one who was harassing a server earlier, had a face full of sweat and snot. His eyes grew red as the guard dragged him out of the lavatory, and boy was he throwing a temper tantrum. He then catches my eye, and almost instantly, he storms forward. He grabs me by the shirt but Jean shoves him away.
"You!"
"Wh-what? What's going on?"
"Somebody died. He got," One of the guards say as they struggle to contain the man. "strangled."
"What?"
I return inside, to where they all said it happened. Two waiters stood by the far end of the room, talking while staring inside the third stall, one shaking his head, and I hear the smashing of plates and mugs outside. Sweat started forming in my forehead, and I hesitantly shuffled towards the men. The smell of vomit intensified when I passed by the second stall, and my face went sour as the scene unraveled in front of me. Clad in the same pristine metal his brother wore, the man sat on the toilet, head and hands hanging loosely, a red mark coiled around his neck. There were no bruises except for the marks. The victim clearly didn't resist. It's like he's been waiting for this.
"Do you know this guy?" The guy said to the other.
"Aldous of House Farhas. You seriously never noticed?"
"House Farhas? Isn't that family rich?"
"Noble, too. I can't believe someone would do this."
"How much do you think the bounty would cost?"
"Probably huge. It's a house we're talking about."
The guys continued on chatting, but I didn't pay any attention anymore. I was busy playing detective as I examined the body in front of me. Someone not flushing their vomit when I entered seemed strange, sure, but a corpse? I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I just went inside a half an hour ago. Nothing was special. And what have I done wrong? All I ever did was wash my hands, pee and almost puke myself. The vomit smelled really bad. Wait.
Then it hit me. There was another smell aside from the vomit. Perfume.
"There's this guy I bumped into." I entered. "He was already inside when I came in. He had this handsome face with blue eyes. Did you guys see him?"
"I never really noticed. Blue eyes aren't really new around here."
"Yeah. No one really went inside except for you."
What? That's... strange. Okay, there's something fishy going on with this guy.
"How about the smell? He also had this calm, soothing perfume all over him." I insisted.
The larger of the two shook his head, but the other had a different opinion.
"Now that you've mentioned it, I smelled something sweet in the alley when I took the trash out. How about we go outside and explain it to the guard? That'll help him out."
"I'm going to have to get you guys out now. " The guard returned. "The Examiners are coming."
"Ah!" the small guy squealed. "You're just in time."
...
The room was quiet, but the grim atmosphere filled every corner of the room. The hired hands wordlessly continued on their work; They had a business to run, after all. Call me a jerk, but I honestly felt sorry for them rather than the brat throwing a tantrum. They could get fired and sued for simply doing their job. Platinum over there seemed calm now, holding a glass of water as one of his friends patted his shoulder. The guard approached him and talked, but I didn't pay any more attention to it because Jean took mine.
"What happened?"
"Exactly like the guard said. Let's go back for now. We don't want you getting strangled now, don't we?" I sarcastically remarked, because that's the only way to mask my fear. This place is getting dangerous. Especially for us. We were drifters, and drifters are extremely prone to danger. I instructed Jean to pay, and the three of us left the bar shortly after.