By the time Rio left the Ricca Guild, the western skies were already
turning red. Once the sun set, the city gates would be closed to any kind of
traffic going in or out.
Rio, however, was walking down the main street, leisurely searching for
an inn. He had been on a fairly strict schedule on his way here, and had to
sleep outside numerous nights in a row. He wanted to rest easy on a proper
bed for at least tonight.
As he glanced around at his surroundings, he could see street signs for
inns practically everywhere, but he wasn't about to settle for just any old
place: there were differences in the facilities that inns could offer, and Rio
was searching for one with a bath.
However, the bathtubs of the Strahl region were a little different in
appearance to one that a Japanese person might imagine. This was partially
due to the fact that water was not as readily available here as in Japan, and
the general population's lack of desire to submerge themselves in bath water.
This meant that bathtubs deep enough to submerge a person simply didn't
exist. In fact, the word 'bathtub' here referred to shallow tubs that only held
enough water to wash one's hair and body.
Furthermore, the only ones who washed themselves every day were
members of royalty and nobility — commoners would never spend money on
baths. This meant that having a bucket filled with water and partitioning a
private space away from others was enough to be considered a rather
splendid bathing facility.
That being said, even that much would be difficult to find if Rio just
wandered into any cheap inn, so as a former Japanese person, he was very
selective about the bathtub status of the inn he chose. Just as Rio was
pondering between his choices...
"Hey, mister!" A voice suddenly called out to him from behind. Rio
turned around.
There stood a cute local girl in an apron and tunic dress, who looked to
be around two or three years younger than Rio, making her around ten years old. The girl looked up at Rio with a bright and friendly smile.
"Um, do you mean me?" Rio asked, pointing at himself.
"Yup! Are you looking for somewhere to stay?"
"Yes, but who are you?"
"I'm working in that inn over there! Would you like to come stay at our
place?" The girl asked, pointing at a wooden, three-story building that
towered over its surroundings.
She clung to Rio's arm tightly, as though it was her way of refusing to let
a possible customer get away. Despite her young age, she was very good at
drawing in business.
"I'm looking for a single room with a bathtub. Do you have something
like that available?"
Naturally, Rio wasn't able to tell whether bathtubs were included by
looking at the inn from the outside, so he figured it'd be best to simply ask
the person actually working there... All the more so if she had purposely
come to him for business. With that in mind, Rio put forth his request
conditions. The girl beamed and nodded.
"Yup! We only have individual rooms at our inn. We still have rooms
available, and you can even rent a bathtub, too. So... will you choose us?
Please?"
The little girl laughed happily, then peered at Rio, catching a glimpse of
his face under the hood of his cloak. Her eyes widened by a fraction.
"I guess I will." If he put it off until too late, there was a chance that all
of the free rooms in the city could become taken. This place fulfilled his
conditions, so Rio nodded, immediately deciding on it.
"Hehe, yay! One guest, coming right up! Follow me, this way! This
way!" With a light blush on her cheeks, the girl pulled Rio's arm
energetically.
Upon entering the inn, the two were faced with a vacant reception desk.
There was a swinging door to the right that led to the cafeteria, where quite a
bit of hustle and bustle could be heard from within.
"The fee is paid upfront. It'll be seven large coppers for one night, dinner
included. You can get the bathtub free as a bonus!" Ignoring the commotion
within the cafeteria, the little girl explained the prices in a loud and clear
voice.
The price was neither cheap nor expensive; for a commoner staying at an
average quality inn in a single room, the price tag was to be expected. For
reference, staying at a shared room in one of the cheaper inns would have
cost less than one large copper.
"Here you are, then." Rio handed over seven large coppers.
"Thank you for your business! Oh, that's right... What's your name? I'm
Chloe!" The girl asked with an innocent and professional smile, befitting for
her age.
"I'm Haruto."
"Haruto, okay! You're probably a little older than me, right? It's nice to
meet you!"
"Yeah, nice to meet you."
"Hmm... You're kind of quiet. You seem cool, Haruto. You should take
your hood off and smile more! Come on, lets see that smile!" Chloe pouted
with a slight look of dissatisfaction at Rio's calm reply.
"Haha..." It was difficult to smile on command, but Rio did his best.
"Hmm... Okay. I guess that's acceptable. I'll lead you to your room
now!" The smile returned to Chloe's face. She nodded, then grabbed Rio's
hand and walked off.
What a bubbly girl, Rio thought with a bitter smile. After being
surrounded by impish children during his days in the Royal Academy,
meeting someone like Chloe, who actually acted her age, was rather
refreshing.
They marched their way up to the third floor, where Rio's room was. It
was around twenty-two square feet in area, with nothing but a bed inside.
"Here we are. You can only lock it from the inside, so don't leave your
valuables when you leave the room. It's dinner time right now, so you can
come down to the first floor once you're ready. Or do you want your bath
first?" Chloe explained at the doorway of the room.
"No, I'll eat dinner first."
"Got it. Then call me when you need the bathtub and the water prepared.
I think I've explained everything... Do you have any questions?"
"Nope, I'm fine."
"Great. Well, let me know if you need anything. ...Oh, that's right! Many
of our patrons are adventurers, so try not to pick fights with them, yeah?"
Chloe added as an anecdotal warning.
"All right, got it," Rio said, nodding a bit tiredly. He wished she had told
him that during the negotiation stage of his visit, but those kinds of
adventurers could be found in more or less every inn, so he gave in.
Adventurers were jack-of-all-trades that belonged to organizations called
adventurer guilds, usually specializing in dirty work. They'd act as
mercenaries during wars and exterminate monsters and other dangerous
beasts during times of peace. Thus, most adventurers tended to be rather
rough around the edges. It was common to see drunk adults picking fights
with each other on a daily basis.
"Be careful, okay? Even if they're not adventurers, adult men can be
really stupid. They get mad quickly and always turn to violence... You might
get picked on a little, but since you're still a child, they'll probably let you go
without a fight if you just nod along with them," Chloe said with insistence.
There was a faint shadow over her face.
"It's all right, Chloe. You have work to do, don't you? You'd better get
back before you're scolded," Rio replied, giving her a soft smile.
"Yeah. See you later, then!" With a nod, Chloe turned around. But before
she left, she stopped abruptly.
"Umm, if you have some time after dinner... I'd love to talk to you some
more. I like my job a lot, but I don't have many friends around my age," she
said bashfully.
◇◇◇
Rio stepped into the cafeteria to find a large gathering of red-faced adults
making quite a racket; it seemed as though business was booming at the inn.
Some of the customers were even wearing swords — those were probably the
adventurers. They stared after Rio's hooded figure brazenly, but he
purposefully ignored their stares. Just as he was looking around for a place to
sit...
"Haruto! Welcome! Here, this seat is free."
Chloe, who was working as a waitress inside the cafeteria, noticed Rio
and came running. Even with his hood on, she recognized him instantly from
his stature. Rio let Chloe drag him to a counter seat.
"I'll bring you your food right away. What would you like to drink? The
first drink's on the house."
"What do you have?"
"The free options are beer, wine, and mead. Oh, and tea with milk."
"A beer, then."
"Heh... You can drink something that bitter, Haruto?"
There was no drinking age limit in this world, but it seemed like Chloe
was still unaware of the delights of beer. Rio chuckled.
"Yeah. I'm actually pretty hungry right now, so if you could, please bring
the food out quickly."
"Got it! Mom's pretty proud of the meal she cooked tonight, so you
should look forward to it!" Chloe said, before running into the kitchen. As
though they had been waiting for just the right moment, two male adventurers
seated at a nearby table stood up.
"Heeey, kiddo. Aren't ya a bit young to be drinking beer, huh?"
"Yeah. Weakling like you should be drinking milk, don't ya think?"
"Tell me about it!"
They were probably drunk already. The red-faced men burst out into
hearty laughter as they took the two seats on either side of Rio in an overly
familiar manner. He sighed, his expression twisting at the stink of alcohol on
their breaths. The other men nearby grinned as they watched on, treating the
spectacle like an appetizer to accompany their booze.
"Hey, you lot! Don't pick on Haruto. Let him eat his food in peace,
okay?" Chloe warned the adults, pushing Rio's meal at him from the other
side of the counter.
"We're not pickin' on him, Miss Chloe. We were just startin' a
conversation with a kid we haven't seen before."
"Das right. He looks like a new adventurer. We thought we'd give 'im
some pointers, bein' his seniors and all." The men argued back at Chloe with
cheerful smiles. "Geez. Haruto, you can have as many servings of bread and
soup as you want. I baked the bread myself, you know!" Chloe said gently to
Rio after sighing in exasperation. The wooden plate that she offered him was
stacked with food.
"Wow, it looks delicious. I'm getting seconds later," Rio said, taking out
the cutlery he had prepared beforehand from his pocket and using his knife,
fork, and spoon to eat. Chloe had said this meal was her mother's pride, and
he could taste it.
"It's great. Could I ask you to bring my beer, too?" Rio requested as he
elegantly brought the food to his mouth.
"Oh, right," Chloe nodded absentmindedly and returned to the kitchen.
"Tch, look at them table manners. Think you're a noble, huh?" The man
sitting to Rio's right clicked his tongue in boredom.
The cafeteria was filled with people eating with their hands, making
Rio's refined use of cutlery stand out. It made him appear as though he was
putting on an air of importance, much to the displeasure of the others in the
room. They didn't find it amusing at all.
Rio ignored the man's words and continued to eat his meal silently,
which further enraged the men. They finally snapped in anger.
"Listen here, brat. Your seniors are talking to you right now. At least take
off yer hood," the man to Rio's right said, before boldly reaching for his
hood. Slap! Rio smacked the man's outstretched hand away without looking
up. The expressions on the men changed instantly, and the one who had his
hand slapped away glared darkly at Rio.
"Seems like someone needs to learn their manners..."
"I could say the same to you. This is our first meeting, is it not?" Rio
sighed, objecting to the man in a cold voice and making him greatly furrow
his brow.
"What did ya say?"
The atmosphere soured. Until...
"All right, break it up, break it up! Take your fight outside!" Chloe, who
was in the middle of bringing the beer over, jumped in between them in a
panic.
"Come on, Miss Chloe. This doesn't count as a fight, right? Or are ya
givin' this brat special treatment?" The man whose hand was slapped away
said, clearly unhappy.
"That's not... my intention..." Chloe flinched at the dark glare the
dangerous man sent her.
"Then shut yer trap. I'm going to teach this kid some manners. Hey, boy!
Take off your hood and get on your knees. I'll forgive you if ya do that." The
man to Rio's right ordered unreasonably with a sharp look.
However, Rio continued to enjoy his meal silently, which rubbed the men
the wrong way. The spectators around them sniggered at the sight.
"Heh, he's ignoring them."
"They're being looked down upon. Serves them right," someone said
mockingly.
"Y-You..." The two men started to shake with rage at being humiliated.
"H-Haruto! Hurry up and take off your hood!" Chloe fearfully urged Rio
to comply.
"...I don't want to." Rio gave an uncomfortable smile and shook his head
at Chloe.
"So you're going to ignore what we say and only answer to Miss Chloe.
Is that it? Is that's how you're gonna be, huh?"
"How else should I respond to someone who clearly approached me with
ill intent? If there's a correct response, please, do inform me," Rio asked the
man with a tired affect in his voice.
Getting involved with something like this is nothing but trouble.
Rio had been raised in the slums where power was everything, but he
found that the adventurer's society was rather similar indeed. The way both
groups thought was extremely simplistic. For both of them, being looked
down upon was the equivalent of defeat, because their livelihoods depended
on their strength. They couldn't afford to show any weakness. Even if Rio
apologized here, there was no guarantee they'd forgive him. They'd simply
push their accusations further, saying something along the lines of
"Apologizing means you admit it was your fault."
"...A correct response? Don't change the topic. Right now I'm askin' ya
how you're gonna make up for this. All ya need to do is apologize." The man
whose hand Rio slapped away insisted on having things his way. Rio let out a
mocking huff before moving a slice of meat toward his mouth.
"Do you really wanna learn things the hard way, brat?" The men stood
up from their seats with a loud clatter.
"Hey Gene, Assil. Shouldn't you teach the kid a lesson?"
"Yeah, he needs to be knocked off his high horse a little. Especially bein'
a newbie and all. Teach him the rules of livin' as an adventurer around here."
The men sitting nearby tried to rile up the men bothering Rio even more.
Chloe tried to speak up against them, but was silenced with a single sharp
glare. She closed her mouth out of fear.
"Stand up," the man whose hand was slapped away earlier said, grabbing
Rio by the collar with his left hand.
The man was nearly two meters tall, so at twelve years old and at 160cm
tall, Rio's feet easily dangled in the air. However, the act of grabbing
someone's collar in a fight was usually nothing more than an act of
intimidation; it occupied your hands and left you defenseless to
counterattacks.
"Haha, typical Gene and his brute strength. Go and get 'im, man!" The
spectators urged on the man holding Rio up.
If this one's Gene, then the other must be Assil... Not that it matters. Rio
cast his cold gaze over the two men once.
"Tch, you're one impudent brat." The man named Gene clicked his
tongue, muttering with breath stinking of alcohol.
"You reek. Could you stop talking... No, stop breathing at me?" Rio
asked unhappily, twisting his face.
"You asked for it now."
Gene made a fist with his right hand and swung it at Rio's face. But Rio
moved his hands easily, and in the next moment —
"O-Oww!" Gene screamed. Rio nimbly grabbed Gene's left hand and
twisted it, allowing him to push Gene's doubled-over body down to the
ground.
Gene grimaced from where he was pressed down; he had yet to process
what had happened. The same went for everyone else watching them.
"H-Hey! What did you do to Gene?!" Assil demanded, flabbergasted.
"It's self-defense, obviously," Rio replied bluntly.
But that wasn't what Assil wanted to know. He was talking about how
Rio had pinned Gene so easily, but Rio wasn't about to disclose that.
"How long are you going to keep that up for?! Let go of Gene already!"
Assil clenched his fists impatiently and tried to punch Rio.
Rio let go of Gene and swiftly dodged the incoming fists. They were just
the sweeping punches of a wobbly drunk, and Rio had no trouble reading
their path and avoiding them.
"Stop dodging me!"
Assil panted for breath, but no matter how many times he swung his
punches, they never made contact with Rio. But he persistently kept
swinging, so Rio tripped him. Assil went flying through the air.
"No can do," Rio said with a short laugh at Assil's fallen figure after his
pathetic tumble.
"Y-You..." Assil's anger caused him to jump right back up on his feet,
but he suddenly froze when he saw who was standing behind Rio. It was
Gene, and he had drawn the hidden blade at his waist.
Meanwhile, Rio had noticed Gene's presence long ago.
"If you use that, I won't hold back either." He glanced behind himself,
cautiously, and offered that single warning.
"Shut up! As if I could let you walk all over me any more than this... I
won't forgive you even if you beg, you damn brat!" Gene yelled furiously.
Suddenly —
"No spilt blood on my floors!"
A woman who seemed to be the proprietress of the inn stepped out of the
kitchen, led by a terrified Chloe. She looked to be in her late twenties; this
was most likely Chloe's mother.
Normally, the city guards wouldn't take action against a brawl between
two drunks at an inn, but even they couldn't overlook fights that resulted in
dead bodies.
"Heeey, Rebecca, sweetie. Sorry, but we gotta defend our honor 'n all
that. We can't jus' step down so easily," Gene said, staring at Rio with a
crazed look in his eye. It wasn't that he was reluctant to back down; he
clearly had no intention of backing off at all.
The fact he was too drunk to calmly process his thoughts played a large
part in his decision-making.
Rio stared back at Gene, who was moments away from lunging at him. If
you don't want to lose face by picking drunken fights, then you should live
more modestly, he thought to himself in exasperation.
But Rio had no intention of voicing those thoughts out loud and fanning
the flames. He had enough of these two troublesome drunks before them, and
just wanted to go back to his room and rest. To him, Gene and Assil weren't
opponents worth fighting, so he didn't want to get any more involved in their
troubles than he already was.
Ah, well. If they're going to attack, I wish they'd do it quickly. That way,
what ever I do would be in self defense, at least.
Rio's thoughts were starting to take a disturbing turn, but his words could
only bring disaster. He could probably provoke them into attacking with
some generic taunts, but claiming self defense wouldn't fly too well after
inviting the trouble himself. The fight would be deemed both their faults that
way. To establish the situation as an undeniable act of self defense, he had to
ensure Gene attacked him without provocation in a clear way.
That was why Rio turned the corner of his mouth up into a sneer in a way
that only Gene would see. Gene gave a spiteful click of his tongue and threw
himself at Rio at full force.
"Mr. Gene!" The proprietress Rebecca yelled, but Gene did not stop. He
thrust the knife in his right hand forward, aiming to stab it through Rio's
shoulder.
With a small sigh, Rio stuck his right hand out towards the incoming
knife. Gene's knife and Rio's hand crossed, but not a drop of blood was spilt.
Instead, Gene's large frame soared through the air. Rio had brushed away the hand with the knife and tripped the man's feet up, before throwing him over
his shoulder. Gene crashed into Assil, sending the two of them to the floor.
Of course, Rio left both Gene and himself unharmed, but — "Gah! Oww..."
Gene's knife was stuck in Assil's thigh. The momentum of the fall had
probably flipped it in Gene's hand. Assil groaned in pain, holding down the
injured area with a pale face.
"M-Mr. Assil! Are you all right?!" Rebecca left the counter in a panic.
"A-Assil? I-I'm sorry!" Gene apologized through his shock.
"Oww, oww..."
Seeing Assil's face twisted in agony made both Rebecca and Gene lose
their calm. "Y-You brat! What did you do to Assil?!" Gene turned the brunt
of his rage to Rio.
"What? It was an instance of proper self defense. You're the terrible one
here, stabbing your friend like that," Rio replied in an earnest voice.
Though it had been an instance of self defense, Rio felt a strong sense of
repulsion from crossing the line of murder — because of Amakawa Haruto
within him. However... He was tainted enough by the values of this world to
overlook just a little bit of unavoidable damage. That was why he couldn't
find it in himself to pity men who got hurt picking on others for their own
amusement.
"What? You're the one who did it!" Gene flared up at Rio's words,
unable to accept them.
"The knife was in your hand. Since you were the one who decided to
thrust it at me, my self defense was more than justified. Or are you telling me
to shut up and just let myself get stabbed?"
"Wh... N-No, but..." Gene hesitated, pressured by Rio's indifferent tone
and gaze.
"You should stop the bleeding quickly. It's not a fatal wound, but it's not
something you should ignore, either," Rio said, causing Gene to turn back to
Assil with a gasp.
Rebecca was trying to perform emergency first aid on him, as she had
ordered Chloe to fetch some alcohol and a clean cloth.
"I'm going to remove the knife and sterilize the wound. It'll hurt, but
you'll have to endure it," Rebecca said, before pulling the knife out of Assil's
thigh. He yelled out in pain.
Rebecca washed out the wound with alcohol, then wrapped it with the
cloth, instantly staining it blood red.