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The Tavern's traffic was light as Rita began to let people in. Most regulars were around as she wiped her glass behind the counter. Thoughts of her last interaction with Dante flowed through her mind. Seeing his reaction to the rejection hurt her since it seemed to be something he really worked hard to get out. Even if he knew the answer would be no, it was something he felt brave enough to ask. She sighed deeply as a glass clinked on the counter.
"You know, thinking about it too much will make you look wrinkly like me," Bernard said, inching the glass to Rita, hoping she'd fill his drink once more. She looked at him with low eyes, unable to honestly figure out why she couldn't get her mind off of it. She's rejected chiefly many instances of him trying to do many things, but why did this bother her so much?
"Sorry, I'm just…conflicted, is all," she said, filling his drink again.
"It's just…I don't understand why he'd want to leave so much. I thought we'd set up everything well over the years; even the people here accepted him. So why would he-"
Another clink of the glass hit the counter. Bernard stared at Rita with intent in his eyes. He was clearly seeing something that she could not. He rose from his seat and tapped her forehead, and she flinched backward from the sudden action.
"You can't keep a bird caged forever. Eventually, their wings have to spread open."
"I know he's a growing boy, but even now…I don't think he's ready for what's out there."
She clenched the rag she was using to clean the glass, worried about the possible outcomes of what could happen when he left. She was left responsible for protecting and raising him to be an upstanding man. Though she felt he'd possibly never be ready to go out into the world without the trouble of being found out and killed.
"When will he be ready if you don't let him try? Why not trust in your teachings over the years? You've practically made the kid want to become a respectable swordsman nonetheless."
"I-..."
Just then, the doors opened, and Rita welcomed them in. There were three men, all donning adventurer gear and bearing their weapons in hand. Rita noticed that they were adventurers from outside the village, possibly stopping in to get some food and leave after hunting in the Eurus Mountains. The frontman laid a paper on the counter and pushed it to Rita. The photo showed the faces of two kids, both donning academy cloaks.
"These two kids went missing from their group today, and we were assigned to retrieve them for the Academy. We came here wonderin' if you knew where they could be?"
The man's face was grizzled. Clearly, he was just some passerby adventurer who lucked out on the assignment of looking for these kids. She took notice of the others behind him. They didn't seem like the toughest group of adventurers she'd seen, but it was never bad to be wary. She took a deep breath before speaking with the men.
"I have no idea who these kids are; this isn't an informant guild; it's a tavern, as you can see."
A few laughs could be heard around the place from the regulars. Clearly, Rita had put it out of her mind to help people looking for a quick buck, mainly if it didn't directly involve her or Dante. The man furrowed his eyebrows at the answer and began to laugh along with everyone.
"Yeah, yeah, you're right. It is quite the Tavern, sadly stuck in a shithole like this village. No clue why two kids would try to run off around these parts. Must wanna get messy or somethin'." he said as the two behind him shared a laugh.
"I mean look at this place, a village sitting on the mountainscape of who knows where, with a bunch of nobodies wasting their day in a bar like this."
"We should've known not to check here; nothing but worthless drunks and skanks running the place anyways." The two behind bickered as they shared a laugh with one another.
Rita looked at the two intensely, not taking too kindly to the words being spouted about the people in her bar.
"I don't take too kindly to the belittling of my customers; I'll let you guys off this time as long as you buy a drink and go off on your search. This place doesn't have the answers you want."
The grizzled man grinned as he held his hand up.
"Alright, alright. I'll back off clearly, but the lady doesn't know anything. Let's continue our search."
The two behind agreed as they began to walk out of the bar slowly, but before leaving, the man had something else to say.
"We've tried the Tavern; why not look around the village? Surely they could be hiding anywhere…maybe even the little shack behind this dump. Let's go take a look there."
Rita's eyes widened as the thought of the adventurers looking there and possibly finding Dante irked her. She slowly began to reach for a drink, and keeping them in the Tavern was a priority to avoid all cases of him possibly being found.
"Who knows, maybe they'll appear if you wait a bit. If they get lost, the townsfolk will guide them here. So why don't you boys sit back and enjoy a drink on the house?" She poured three glasses and pushed them out on the counter. The three men looked at one another and smiled as the two began to drink their glasses while the grizzled man held his in hand and inspected it.
"Pretty good ale you got here; I didn't know the barkeep could be so generous."
"I'm not the worst when it comes to customer service."
"If only more reasonable people like you could be in this dump."
A strain appeared on her head as the man spoke down on the village once more. Sure, it wasn't the best place, but the people here are nothing short of amazing as they've fully embraced Dante and her throughout the years, even if some were more reluctant than others. She had done her best to stay calm through this troubling exchange, but the constant berating of the village and its people began to irritate her. Suddenly, Bernard, sitting quietly, tapped the man on the shoulder to grab his attention.
"Hello, sir. We've done nothing but show hospitality to you and your group. We'd appreciate it if you treated us the same way."
Silence befell the room before a moment passed; the grizzled man's face slowly began to stir into one of a devil before he swung his arm, throwing Bernard onto the ground with a punch. Bernard hit the ground as blood spewed from his nose; an audible gasp sounded in the Tavern before anyone was able to move. He grinned as looking back at the crowd in the Tavern and spoke once more. This time, with demands rather than requests.
"Everyone listen up! We're not playing games with you low-class scraps. You're going to tell me exactly where these two are before we start burning this sorry sack of a village to the ground!" he said as he grabbed his sword and put it to Bernard's nape. He then ordered the other two to take everyone outside with him. Everyone hurried outside as they drew their wands, forcing them out while Bernard and Rita were left with the man. Looking at Bernard, he spoke to him once more.
"You should know your place before speaking peasant. You'll lose your senses before you utter another word-" Suddenly, a force was felt on his chest, as he'd been punched out of the tavern doors. Landing in front of everyone grouped up outside by the others.
"What the-"
"Boss, what happened!?"
Suddenly, a shadow formed from the Tavern's door. The group began to cheer as they saw a glint in the darkness, and a sword flashed as they stepped into the light.
"I tried to be civil with you outsiders, but you just don't listen. Now I have to send you guys packing."
Rita stepped out of the doors, irritated at the man sitting on the ground's transgressions. The man slowly rose to his feet and looked at Rita with fire in his eyes, visibly angry at being hit with such an attack. He drew his sword once more and pointed it at Rita.
"I swear, I'll make you regret crossing me in your sorry life! You and this place will burn to the ground and perish like the bugs you are!"
She stared intently before looking back in the direction Dante had walked away from after their conversation and frowned. She wished to at least apologize for being so dismissive of his wish, but now wasn't the time to worry, as there was an opponent in front of her.
"I can't allow these men to do as they please, so I must take them down. No matter what. " she said to herself as she readied her sword. In the end, there would be no way out of this situation other than defeating the man standing in front of her.