"Let's head back," I said to Vera. "They can handle the rest here."
Vera nodded and came to my side.
"Are we heading back to Greyhound, or to headquarters, sir?" She asked dutifully.
"Stop, we're off the clock now. I just want to relax. We can go back if you need anything, but how about hitting the bar? I'm pretty sure I saw a nice one on our way." I waved my hand dismissively.
I surprised myself by what I said, yet simultaneously, I felt an immense tiredness.
"The bar at this time of day, sir?" Vera asked.
"Yeah, I'd go drinking alone, but I think that'd just be sad. And knock off the 'sir' and 'captain.' Gives me the chills when you say that in public." I responded.
Vera calling me captain made me uncomfortable. She was around ten years older than me. The only reason I was her superior was that I was stronger. I was ranked ten, and Vera had recently become ranked eight.
Without waiting for Vera to respond, I started walking. I was still in my work uniform, so I switched to something more casual. Vera caught up with me and asked,
"Where shall we go?"
I looked at her. "Are you sure you don't want to change first?" Our work uniforms were good, but I didn't think they were that good.
"I'll be fine, Alex." Vera responded.
"Well, there is this nice bar-slash-cafe that I saw nearby." I said.
We talked about small stuff the rest of the way—nothing too important. To be specific, we didn't talk about any work stuff. Talking about yourself and catching up is small talk, but it's still important.
We arrived soon enough. It was a nice building, in the center of town, but not too busy. It had a homely feel, something like a coffee shop. I lead the way in, opening the door as a gentleman. I am a nobleman.
As I opened the door, a bell rang. It was the bell of the door, signaling a customer. The interior was even more homely than the outside. Neat tables lined the windows, and the bar was dimly lit. The atmosphere almost clashed between the windows' natural light and the bar's dim light.
Yet, the room's decorations brought the whole thing together. A jukebox in the corner played peaceful music throughout the shop. Some customers were in, but the shop wasn't crowded. We sat down at a window table.
I rifled through the menu, a blend of appetizers and drinks. Nothing caught my eye, but Vera seemed immersed in her choices. It'd probably been long since she had been to an actual restaurant. We spent most of the last two years at Greyhound and our headquarters.
We had good food, but this place specialized in drinks and dessert, a rarity in Greyhound. We had a vineyard, but it wasn't producing yet. The grapes tasted delicious, so we knew the wine had to be good.
Unfortunately, it would be locked away fermenting for another two years.
Not after long, a waitress came over to our table.
"Hello, welcome to the Rero Bar and Cafe. My name is Sarah, and I'll be your server today. How may I help you today?" the waitress greeted us.
"Yes, I'll take the sweet cream crepes and a… fruity mocktail, please." Vera responded first. I took a bit longer.
"And I'll have a whiskey, whole bottle, please. And any sour fruit juices you have, thank you." I made my order.
"Those will be out shortly." Sarah responded curtly and walked away.
"A whole bottle?" Vera asked.
"It's fine, not like I can get drunk." I responded.
"Even though, this is your first time. Isn't whisky a bit strong?"
"I'd rather a good whiskey than beer. Beer's just hops."
"If that's what you want." Vera ended the discussion.
We talked as our orders came out. The drinks came out first. Mine was relatively easy, and the crepes were quick to cook.
Sarah came over with my order first. She also carried two shot glasses and two normal glasses. The whiskey was from a brand I didn't know, but it was 15 years old. The fruit juice was also high quality. I got orange, cherry, lemon, and other sour ones.
While we waited for Vera's order to be ready, I opened the whiskey bottle. It looked similar to a Jack Daniel's but smelled surprisingly sweet. I poured two shots. It would be insanity if I drank the whole bottle myself. I'd drink most of it, but brought Vera here to share. She was only getting a mocktail anyway.
"You want to do shots off the bat?" Vera asked as she took her glass.
"It's fine. I'm not a wine connoisseur or something. I came here to drink."
"Alrighty then, on the count of three."
We started counting together, "One… Two… Three… drink!"
I downed the shot. It burned on the way down.
"We should have gotten chasers first," Vera said after she downed the shot.
"Surprisingly sweet," I commented. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.
As we recovered, Sarah came over again with Vera's order. It looked good, and I was tempted to order food myself.
Vera dug in quickly, obviously overjoyed by the sweet dish. I sat back and sipped on some of the juice. Sour had always been my favorite dessert flavor.
Vera asked me between her bites, "Why'd you want to come here?"
"I'm tired," I said.
"Well, this week has been hectic." Vera looked tired just from remembering what we did.
"I'll say. We started with the cults on Monday. That took until Wednesday. Then we started on our branch. I think I got less than 15 hours of sleep this week." I chuckled. "That was a lot, but no, that's not what's making me tired."
"What is it then." Vera asked with her mouth full.
"I think it's life." I said as I looked out the window.
"I don't know what to do." I continued.
"I'll drink to that." Vera raised her mocktail. "We've all been there at least once."
"I think this is different. I have nothing I want to do. At least, I don't have anything I desire so much that I'm motivated to do it."
"You still have responsibilities here, Alex. Don't forget that we're all here for you."
"But you can continue without me. It makes no difference if I'm here or not. Greyhound is more Garth than me. The guild is more Oshan. I have no influence. I have no reason to be here."
"That's not true—"
"But it is. Of course, I run the guild and still do stuff, but the groundwork is laid. If I left now, you could carry out my vision. My closest friends are you, Garth, and Oshan. Other than you and my pets, I have nothing. No family, no other friends."
Vera stayed silent.
"I mean, I'm not going anywhere. Literally and figuratively. I have no direction, so I here I remain."
"You said you had some desires, but you weren't motivated." Vera asked.
"Well, yeah. I want to get stronger, experience life and go places, but I don't know where I would go. My desire doesn't outway my laziness, I guess you would call it."
"Why don't you go back home?" Vera asked another question.
"It's a long story." I tried to brush it off.
"We've got as long as you need." Vera responded.
I grabbed the cherry juice and mixed it with the whiskey in a drinking glass. When I sipped it, I found it surprisingly good.
"Well, it starts like the rest of you: with a daemon. They attacked my home town. A beast horde stampeded through the city, and the demon led them alone.
He was the rank I am now. I don't know what he was doing on the central continent, but he said it was for scouting. I caught his eye.
He said something about a prophecy, and he was scouting for the 'child of prophecy.' He happened to hear of me, I guess. I was a relatively popular noble. When he saw me, he saw me as a threat, or an 'abnormality' as he called it."
I stirred my drink. After thinking for a bit, I magicked some ice into it, and it sunk after some bobs.
I chuckled.
"That was the whole reason why he leveled my town. All because of a fucking arrogant kid." I looked at Vera, her face mysteriously unreadable to my current state.
"How could I go back after that?"