"Wait a minute. We won't be drinking that much. We'll only take one." Glenn quickly went up to the waiter and took only one of the five bottles of alcohol he brought with him. Carl, who was watching from the side, quickly intervened in the matter.
"Whoa! What are you doing, Glenn? If we won't be drinking now, then when?"
"Young master, it probably is best not to drink this much when it's only daytime."
"Easy now Glenn, I'm an adult. I also know what is good and what is bad for myself."
The waiter who was quietly standing beside them quickly chimed in as he was afraid of the situation running out of control.
"Um.. if you think the drink is too strong for the young master, we can bring the lighter ones as well."
"That'd be great." Carl replied with a gentle smile and the waiter swiftly walked away from the scene. As soon as they were left alone, Glenn quickly faced Carl and stared at him with an unamused face.
"What is it?" Carl asked, feeling a bit intimidated by the stare.
"Young master, sometimes it amazed me by how much you have changed."
Carl fell silent for a few seconds before he thought of a good-enough reply for Glenn's statement.
"I told you people change for the better, Glenn. And I just happened to be one of them." Carl returned to his seat as he continued. "You know my situation in the castle. If I don't do something for myself now, I'm afraid it will be too late."
Glenn was quiet the whole time he listened to his young master. He quietly sat back to his seat and took a deep breath.
"I'm sorry about what happened earlier."
"You don't have to feel sorry. I know you were simply worried about me."
"No. You were right. You're an adult now, so I don't have to worry about every single little things you do. But I'm genuinely curious.."
Glenn stealthily took a peek at Carl, which Carl caught in the blink of an eye.
"Why do you keep staring at me with those eyes?" Carl shot him a defensive look to which Glenn quickly explained himself.
"You misunderstood. I was simply curious about the purpose of us coming here."
"Ah.. I see."
Instead of explaining their purpose, Carl simply took a sip of alcohol from the bottle in front of him and looked around the inn.
"Young master?"
Carl ignored the words of Glenn until an old man with a long grey beard approached their seat. Carl softly whispered to Glenn just before the old man reached the place they were sitting.
"There comes the owner."
"What are you planning-"
Before Glenn could finish his words, the old man was right beside them along with two waiters behind his back. The old man was holding two bottles of alcohol, probably the ones the previous waiter said he would bring. And the waiters behind the old man were carrying more bottles of alcohol along with dishes which Carl ordered the moment he went inside the inn.
"We're glad to have you here, young master." The old man politely bowed his head.
"Oho.. I never thought I would be recognized in a place like this."
"You are too humble. Of course every citizens of this territory would recognize the benevolent young master."
"You flatter me."
Carl faked an embarrassed smile which bewildered Glenn to the core. On their side, the old man who smiled benignly caught a sight of the alcohol which Carl was holding on his hand.
"You seemed to be here for quite a while now, young master. I'm sorry for not coming to greet you earlier as the owner of this inn." The old man gently bowed once more. From the tone of his voice to the facial expression he was showing, one could tell he truly felt sorry for not noticing Carl the moment he stepped inside his inn.
"I kept on hearing these apologies which I really did not need." Carl started. "No, don't feel sorry. We only arrived just moments ago, and this bottle is the one my butler took from the waiter just seconds ago."
"Is that so? Then I hope you will enjoy your time here."
"Thank you."
Carl brightly smiled and the old man along with the two waiters went back to their places. Glenn, who was watching from the side, imitated Carl the moment they were left alone.
"That was one creepy smile, young master."
Carl frowned at the fake embarrassed smile Glenn imitated of him and chided.
"Stop that and start digging."
Glenn chuckled and the both of them started ingesting the meal along with the alcohols the waiters previously poured on their side. The two of them gobbled up every last one of their meals and by the time they emptied every last one of their plates, it was almost three in the afternoon.
"Couple of hours later and the sun will set. What are you even planning on doing here, young master?"
Carl took a sip from the last bottle of alcohol on their table and leaned toward Glenn. The other one promptly followed with a serious look on his face. Carl asked him in a low voice.
"I thought you knew?"
"Wha-"
Glenn was dumbfounded as he reclined back to his seat and ran his fingers through his hair. He then leaned toward Carl once more and spoke in a low hushed voice.
"If I knew would I even bother on asking you?"
"Well you had no questions back when you submitted your report."
"I didn't know back then your plan was to get drunk on an old wooden inn like this," Glenn paused for a while and continued. "I thought you just plan to confirm things on your way to the market."
"That's right. I came here to confirm things."
"May I ask what is it you wanted to confirm?"
Carl did not answer and instead just pulled out a mischievous smirk on Glenn. The brown haired man decided to give up and indifferently watched his young master who was peacefully taking a sip of alcohol while continuously looking around the inn.
'There seems to be no one on the upper floors right now.'
Carl suddenly stood up from his seat and headed toward the upper floors of 'Dragon Bones Inn'. Glenn, who was taken by surprise, promptly followed from behind and grabbed Carl.
"Young master, what are you doing?"
"There're seven workers here which means there's no one in the upper floors right now."
Glenn recalled he mentioned the number of workers in the report he gave to Carl, and knew right away what Carl was trying to achieve by getting drunk and approaching the upper floors of the inn.
'There's only one reason young master would want to go up there.'
Glenn thought but before he could speak, a female worker went up to them with a worrying look on her face.
"What are you two doing here?"
Glenn had a panicked look while Carl was just hanging around on Glenn's shoulder with an irritated countenance. If it was any other place, they would have simply thought of a minor excuse and walk away. But the area they were standing was the stairs that led to the upper floors of the inn.
"I'm sorry but you cannot go up there if you did not book a room in advance."
It was in the rules of the 'Dragon Bones Inn' that a normal customer who went there just to dine was not allowed on the upper floors, even if they were the son of the territory lord.
While slightly turning to his right to check on Carl, Glenn caught a glimpse of one waiter grabbing a knife from a nearby table and heading to their place.