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Chapter 41: Tavern

Within the alleyway, Shinto walked on the broken stone paths as he stopped in front of an old wooden door, beside it was a small sign that read 'Tavern Parmic'.

"Hm, I guess this is the place." Reading the sign, Shinto placed his hand on the door as he pushed it forward, opening the door to the tavern.

...

Entering into the building, Shinto was greeted by an empty presence in the room. Looking around in the surrounding area, he saw that there wasn't anyone in the tavern but him. Could this even be called a tavern when no one was here?

'Wow... It sure is dead in here...' He continued looking around the area as his eyes locked onto the furnish in the area. 'Hmm... Furnish seems quite new.'

Besides the lack of presence, he saw in the room, there was a few tables and chairs by the side that seemed to be well kept and cleaned. For what seemed to be an old building, the establishment's furniture seemed to be in new condition. Though, he couldn't say the same for the walls and flooring of the room.

Unlike the tables and chairs which show off a well authentic look, the ripped wallpapers and broken floors of the room ruined one's impression of the establishment at first glance. Individually, the tables and chairs would look nice, but alongside the walls and flooring, it gave off an awkward and uncomfortable feeling just looking at it.

'Since the furnish seemed quite new... Was it only just recently the tavern moved here? That could explain why the walls and floors seemed untouched but...' He couldn't put his fingers on it, however, he felt something was weird with the order of events here.

Thinking about it, shouldn't the walls and floors be patched up first before putting furnish in? From the looks of it, they were left untouched for a really long time.

'Huh... Well, looking at the damages on some parts, it looks like the repairs would be costly. At least the floors and walls are cleaned.' Shinto thought to himself as he looked at the front of him.

In front of Shinto was a counter, much like other Taverns, it was a counter where one would order and get their food and drinks from.

'Anyways... Where's the owner?' Shinto couldn't find the owner anywhere. Could it be that he was in the kitchen?

Taking a step forward to the counter, he heard a voice coming from behind the counter.

"Oh? A customer?"

Noises rang through the room from behind the counter as Shinto saw a man coming out from the door behind the counter. The appearance of the man was that of a grey-haired man, he looked to be well into his late-60s, though despite the looks of his age, he seemed well fit and healthy.

Above the man's head was the name [ Greld ] which glowed in a bright blue hue.

As the man walked out of the door, his eyes made contact with Shinto. Quickly, he welcomed him. "Ah, welcome, welcome. What can I do for you today?"

"Is this place Tavern Parmic?" Shinto asked.

"Right so, this place is Tavern Parmic," Greld said. "Now, what can I do for you today?"

"Oh, I don't need anything. I'm just here to meet up with someone."

"Oh? You're here to meet up with someone?"

"Mhm. I hope you don't mind."

"Not to worry! Though, it's a surprise, why would you meet up with someone in this place of all places?"

"Ah... Well, they have to do something here."

"Oh, I see. Well, you can sit by the counter and wait around, are you sure you don't need anything? Maybe you would like to order something to eat while you wait?"

"Something to eat?" A thought came to mind as Shinto's stomach growled. "Uh... Yeah, I think I'd like to eat something."

The man nodded his head, "Then what can I cook up for you?"

"What's on the menu?"

Upon asking for the menu, the man moved his hand below the counter as he took out a menu and passed it over to Shinto.

...

Just like in real life, eating food in-game is a necessity for players as well. Without eating food, they won't be able to replenish their stamina, and thus would be weak and feel fatigued during battle.

After Shinto finished ordering his food, Greld made no haste as he headed into the kitchen. A moment later, he came out with the food ready.

In his hand was a plate of fish and chip freshly cooked up. Upon a look at the food, it was well cooked. The fish was well tendered, covered in a fragrant sauce while the chips looked to be well crispt, beside the chips was a small bowl filled with creamy sweet sauce.

"Here you go, Fish and Chips freshly cooked!" Greld grinned.

"Thank you," Shinto said as his eyes ogled when the dish served before him. He unconsciously licked his bottom lip as he grabbed the spoon and took a bite into drizzled in a fragrant sauce. Its crunchiness continued to cackle like music to his ears as he immediately indulged the savoury taste that melted into his mouth.

The other hand worked its way to the nearest pile of chips. He took a couple of it and drenched them into a creamy, sweet sauce. After a few dips and swirls, he queued it up in front of his mouth, waiting for the fish to finish.

He had to admit, it was one of the dishes that quelled his hunger. It was simply delicious, even for a simple dish such as this.

"Oho? I take it you like the dish?" Greld laughed.

Still savouring the food within his mouth, Shinto nodded his head silently as he continued eating the dish until there was nothing left on the plate.

"Hoho. Seeing you enjoy the dish makes me happy," Greld smiled, "If only I had more customers like you..." the man sighed.

"..." Shinto looked over towards the man as he swallowed down the last bits of food in his food. Soon after, he spoke in a questioning tone. "...Might I ask, what happened to the Tavern?"

"Well... Things happened and it turned to be like this." The smile from earlier disappeared off of Greld's face. "If only things went differently then..."