The two headed downstairs. The girl who attended them earlier was now gone, and the man that escorted them was the one now ushering customers inside. Having noticed the two, he gestured them towards a two-sided door. The two went ahead and opened the doors.
Inside, they could see rows of chairs and tables filled to the brim.
"One more ginger ale here, miss!"
"More roasted beef please!"
"Yes! Coming right up!"
The tavern's waitresses were too busy handling the order requests of their patrons. Like an ant, they made a beeline of going towards the kitchen, then exited with the ordered dish or ale in hand.
One of the waitresses noticed Fei and Sofia.
"Sorry, miss customers. Please, take a sit on any empty table," she said. "We' 'll attend to you shortly," she said as she sped away towards another customer waving to have his glass refilled.
Fei and Sofia searched for an empty table. Good thing that they went downstairs earlier, as there is only one empty table left. They sat down and started skimming through the menu list.
"Wow! They sure have a lot to offer!"
"Yes. They also have some fish dishes as well"
"Fish, huh? I am tired of eating bland river fishes,"
"These are ocean moonfishes, see?" Sofia pointed towards the menu, to the part that says "Ocean Moonfish Risotto.
"Oh! A saltwater fish! I can't remember the last time I had one," Fei commented. "Still, the capital sure is great, having this diverse food, even stocking up on marine resources,"
"Yeah. I think they use ice magic when transporting fishes from the sea," Sofia said, sharing her thought on how the capital kept their fish stocks fresh.
Soon, the waitress they'd spoken to earlier saw them. She came running as soon as she finished the last order. Her hair is disheveled and her breathing is ragged, probably from the constant running around. She took out her pen and note, ready to take their orders.
"Hi! I'm very sorry for the delay. Have you decided what to order?" she asked them.
"Yeah. We'll be having two of this risotto, two grilled chicken, a salad, and a cold drink to accompany them," Sofia replied.
The girl jotted down their order, reading them again so as to not miss anything. The girl disappeared once again into the kitchen. After 15 minutes or so, the girl arrived, their orders on hand.
"Here you go. Two ocean moonfish risotto, two grilled chickens, a salad, and two glasses of freshly-squeezed lemon to boot. Enjoy your meal!" she said, taking a bow before heading towards another table.
"Shall we eat then,"
"Yes. Lets."
The two started eating their now late dinner.
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"Ahhhh! That was delicious!"
Fei and Sofia just finished eating their meal. The taste of the risotto was so refreshing and new to her that Fei can't help but ordered another set. Sofia had already finished as well, wiping her mouth with a napkin. Now, they are only left with the drinks that they had.
The earlier rush did not seem to have faded, as the waitresses are still busy handling the orders of every customer in the establishment. With each customer leaving, another one comes in.
In retrospect, their business is blooming. However, the ones serving seem to be unable to keep up with the demand. Their tired faces say it all. When the waitress earlier went to clean their table, Fei can't help herself but ask what was on her mind.
"Sure is a busy night, huh?"
"Eh? Ah, yes. This is a typical night for us," the waitress replied, her hands full with the used dishes and plate. "but to be frank, we are somewhat underhanded tonight," she added.
"Well, if you don't mind, we can help with serving the guests for a bit," Fei suggested, receiving an approving nod from Sofia. "The risotto was good, so this is the least we can do,"
"No, no, we can't do that! You're a guest as well, so"
"Oh please! It's not that big of a deal. Anyways, we have time to spare, so, what do you say?"
The girl thought for a bit, before excusing herself saying that she will relay it to the owner. Soon after, she went back from inside the kitchen.
"Uhmm, miss customer, the owner agreed to have you help. Of course, you will be properly compensated for your work," she said as she guided Fei and Sofia into the 'Employees only' room. She took out two pieces of clothing from their closet and handed one each to Fei and Sofia.
"This is our tavern's uniform. Once you've changed, please see me outside,"
"Sure. By the way, I am Fei, Fei Guillard. And this is Sofia,"
"Sofia Cheele, a pleasure,"
"And I'm Anna, Anna Brunswick. A pleasure to have you on board, Miss Fei, Miss Sofia,"
The girl, Anna, excused herself, leaving the two alone in the room.
"I've always dreamed of serving as a tavern waitress before," Fei said as she carefully puts on the uniform handed to her. The clothe fitted her perfectly down to every last detail.
"So that's why you volunteered so eagerly,"
"Yup! Isn't this nice?"
"Maybe every once in a while,"
After putting on their uniform, the two went out of the room. Seeing them all geared up, Anna, and the rest of the girls of the tavern showed them the ropes of table serving. After hearing all the necessary parts and seeing it firsthand, Fei and Sofia assured the waitresses that they'd got it all covered.
"Leave this to us,"
"Uhnn,"
Not surprisingly, another legend was made that night, but that is a different story to tell.
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Early morning the next day.
"Glad to have you in the Salmon Run, feel free to come back again anytime," the girl, who happened to be the owner as well of the establishment, said as she bid farewell to Sofia and Fei.
"It was short, but we really enjoyed our stay here. We'll drop by for sure the next time we return to the capital," Fei replied.
All of their luggage and personal effects had already been transferred by the owner's husband. The carriage is set for departure anytime now. After saying their farewells, Fei and Sofia boarded the carriage. With a single whip of the coachman's whip, the carriage started moving at a leisurely pace.
They soon found themselves outside the capital and on their way back to Ancdam.
"It's like we went on a field trip," Sofia commented as she took a party from the basket of sweets the tavern girls gave them. The sweetness of the pastry really got Sofia's sweet tooth.
Fei took one pastry from the basket and ate it as she looks outside the carriage.
"Yeah. Once we're back, we need to turn over our quest completion, then I need to work on my book, then there's the topic of the risk assessors investigating the Northern Province,"
"You wanted to go, right?" Sofia asked her.
"Obviously! Just imagine the new types of monsters waiting to be discovered in those areas!" Fei replied excitedly, imagining the myriad of monsters just waiting to be classified.
"Still, Lecter did not include us in the team formation. I think it would be rude of me to impose myself so easily into their mission. Besides, we can still explore some areas while we work on quests, right?"
"Of course. I would also need to complete several quests before I get qualified for a Rank Up,"
Adventurers have ranks that determine the quest difficulty that they can potentially handle. Of course, their ranks are subject to changes. One can increase their rank by taking a certain number of quests, while others can get re-assessed by the guild if requested. There are also cases where someone got a Rank Down or the lowering of ranks. This is mostly due to old age, injuries sustained in previous missions, and the number of quests failed. Absences for a long time from taking quests are also grounds for a Rank Down.
Since Sofia is a B-ranked mage, she decided to use the quest completion method to get qualified for her Rank Up.
"Yeah. We'll take a bunch of quests and get your numbers in no time,"
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Back at the castle, inside one of the inconspicuous corridors, two figures can be seen lurking. Each of them has their face covered by their hood, while their cloaks make it hard to make out their identity.
"The King finally made his move. Have you alerted Bast?" he asked the other hooded figure. The person in question nodded his head in affirmation.
"Yes. She has been informed last night,"
"Then what are her orders?"
"To continue monitoring the assessors and slow them down without raising suspicions,"
The man relayed the orders they'd received from Bast, supposedly their superior.
"It can't be helped then. We will continue what we are doing until instructed further"
"Yes, that is the plan."
"What about the girl?" he asked again, now regarding the girl.
"She said that to pay her no mind, and to focus on the mission at hand,"
"... She is too dangerous to be left alive,"
"I know. But orders are orders, and we are only to follow orders,"
"Yeah, all for the Chaos God,"
"All for the Chaos God,"
The two figures disappeared into the shadows as if nothing has ever been there in the first place.