Chapter 87

The magic tide had passed for a long time, and Dumb Wind Town seemed to have returned to its former prosperity, only many faces were no longer the faces of the past.

If one asked the adventurers wandering the streets, what was the proof of the town's recovery?

The answer was not in the rebuilt Adventurer's Guild hall, nor in the new branch president who would arrive in two months; the answer was right here, right now!

Because,

Just today,

Just on this night illuminated by three moons,

The Rotten Willow Tavern reopened!

Adventurers hooked arms and shoulders, cheering loudly as they poured into the already very crowded tavern, and couldn't wait to come to the front desk to order a cup of the inferior wine they remembered.

If one had to say who wasn't infected by this joyful atmosphere, it would probably be the owner of the Golden Sun Wood Tavern.

Today he was so idle that he could cross his arms and lean outside his own tavern door, coldly counting the heads pouring toward the street opposite.

In the Rotten Willow Tavern, even the windowsills were full of people today.

Everything was the same as before.

The wooden door that creaked when pulled, the dirty floor covered in wine stains, and the sour smell of inferior wine in the air.

If one had to say what was different, it was probably that the owner had changed from a dirty, fat middle-aged man into a great beauty in a uniform.

This brought a different kind of interest to everyone.

I don't know what the Guild was thinking, actually sending a delicate beauty to manage this bottom-tier tavern filled with vulgar adventurers.

No wonder they had to pair her with a 1.9-meter tiger-man as a hotel waiter...

In front of the bar, the woman named Mary was wearing a clean white priest's robe, the stand-up collar fitting snugly against her snowy neck.

She had a sweet smile on her face as she handed a wooden wine cup to a lecherous customer in front of her, and cleverly retracted her hand in time to avoid being touched by the other party.

The customer didn't seem to want to give up, holding the wine cup and leaning in to strike up a conversation: "Landlady, are you a priest of the God of Light? This uniform really suits you!"

"It's just a personal preference to dress like this," Mary replied with a smile, seemingly not hearing the frivolous intent in the other party's words.

The customer didn't seem satisfied with just verbal flirting and reached out a lecherous hand covered in sweat and hair toward Mary.

But halfway there, it was grabbed by a large hand that had even more hair than his.

"What... what are you doing?"

The customer seemed to want to ramble a few more sentences, but the tiger-man couldn't be bothered to talk nonsense with him, grabbed his arm and dragged him out, remaining indifferent even as he screamed exaggeratedly all the way, and soon threw him out—this was already the 13th one tonight.

In a corner of the tavern, Norris was working hard on the grilled snake steak in front of him.

He had arrived early enough to get an empty wine barrel to put his plate on.

He had inexplicably had a stroke of luck recently; the nobleman-dressed man he met in the dungeon last time had actually fulfilled his promise, found him, and gave him a gold coin.

Later he found out that the man was named Aiding, a diamond-level adventurer.

The little meat scraps that flowed from the fingertips of these powerhouses were a windfall for someone like him.

This gold coin, plus the 1 gold and 20 silver he had saved from mining, meant the debt for the third round this year was settled, and he could even join in the fun like this occasionally, rewarding himself with a good meal instead of drinking mushroom soup every day.

Just as Norris was immersed in his little happiness, an adventurer squeezing through the crowd kicked over the wooden plate containing half a plate of honey-glazed grilled snake steak.

The snake meat rolled onto the wooden floor covered in black footprints, and Norris felt as if he heard his stomach whimpering.

That was a delicacy that had cost him a full 30 copper coins...

"Ah—so dirty!"

The adventurer who kicked over the plate disgustedly brushed his pant leg, his boot heel crushing the snake steak that was still steaming.

"Can't even find a good place to eat shit." This adventurer wearing a silver-level badge cursed and left, seemingly thinking that not moving his hand to beat up Norris, whose pant leg he had dirtied, was already showing mercy.

Without standing up to argue, or even cursing in a low voice, Norris just shrank back timidly, not daring to meet the eyes of the people around him.

He was just a level 21, lowest-level adventurer who had just crossed the copper-level threshold, and he was alone; he couldn't afford to offend anyone.

Being a coward was better than being dragged into an alley and beaten half to death.

Should have known not to join in the fun at the Rotten Willow Tavern...

Someone nearby noticed this little farce, but it just sparked a burst of laughter mixed with the smell of tobacco.

Adventurers believed in strength and courage; no one would stand up for a copper-level coward.

Except...

"Stop!" Feiling blocked the path of the silver-level adventurer, her slender finger almost poking the tip of his nose, "You want to leave after dropping someone else's stuff? No apology or compensation?"

And behind her was Feiyin, who hadn't been able to pull her back, and Vila, who looked helpless.

"Move!" The adventurer violently pushed Feiling's hand away; he glared at the girl who was a head shorter than him and reached out to push her away.

Clang—

Even in such a crowded environment, Vila's curved blade still accurately pressed against the palm of this adventurer; if he had pushed forward a little more, his palm would have been poked through—between silver-level and silver-level, there was also a difference in strength.

"What... what are you doing? This is a tavern!"

His strength was inferior to others, and he was being pointed at with a knife, so the adventurer panicked a little.

Although this was in the city, the tavern was filled with fools who would risk their lives on a whim; he didn't want to gamble.

"I'll pay, I'll pay! Don't point that knife at me!"

The adventurer took two steps back, turned around, and planned to remember the guys who had made him lose face.

He didn't dare to retaliate against Vila, who was stronger than him, but that coward who didn't dare to make a sound when he kicked over his plate could be used as a punching bag later.

It was just that after he turned his head, he found that the person who had been by the wooden barrel had long since left, leaving only half a piece of snake meat on the ground that had been stepped on and ruined.

A tall figure squeezed through the crowd and stood in front of the four people who had caused the trouble.

Feiyin, who had a more sensitive nose, even smelled a trace of the body odor unique to felines.

The tiger-man crossed his arms and looked at the four of them, his head tilted toward the door.

The meaning was obvious: do you want to get out yourselves, or should he help you get out?

"Bad luck!" The adventurer who was kicked out cursed in a low voice and quickly moved away from Vila and the others.

"Bullying the weak and fearing the strong, trash!" Feiling glared at the adventurer's back, looking like her anger hadn't subsided.

And Vila just sighed; he had just ordered the signature dish, Sauce Puji Noodles, and hadn't even taken a bite yet, and now they were kicked out...

"Let's find another place to eat; I'm still hungry."

The three of them quickly found a restaurant that was still open, but after sitting down, they found that there was a guy sitting at the next table sucking on fluorescent mushroom soup with his head down.

"It's you!"

Feiling recognized this guy immediately, whom she had taken the initiative to help, but who had run away first.

Norris, with his mouth full of glowing light, subconsciously shrank his neck, his eyes darting around in panic, although he didn't know what he was afraid of from the other party.

Maybe the aura of this girl in front of him was too strong...