Chapter 42: Bring your coat, please! part 2
When Claire and Rina woke up they hurried up to serve breakfast, Helena went downstairs while Anne stayed with Ryu. After all they've been through they knew Helena had to be in top shape in case she needed to heal Ryu.
Not even a single day has passed since Ryu was unconscious and everyone was already missing him. Claire's cooking wasn't that good since she only had a couple days to learn from him. Nevertheless, it was way better than before since she never had someone to properly teach her the first thing about cooking and she just learned from experience.
It was about noon when Ryu woke up, he had the weirdest dream where he was tied up and being tickled with feathers. Despite this, he felt completely renewed and when he opened his eyes the first person he saw was Anne sitting besides him.
"Finally!"
She said as she threw herself on top of Ryu and hugged him tightly.
"hey! calm down, you're stronger than me!"
Ryu managed to growl while being asphyxiated by her tight embrace.
When Ryu came downstairs everyone was there except for Dylan, there was only one table in good condition and most of the chairs were broken too.
"Ryu, im glad you're awake but you shoould be resting"
Helena calmly grabbed his hands and took a closer look at him.
"Hey hey! the man is finally back on his own feet! I was about to start looking for another job!"
Said Rina patting him on the side.
Everyone took turns to greet him as if it had been a long time since they last met, but Ryu was so hungry he couldn't think on anything else. When Rina served him breakfast he thought it was the most delicious meal he has ever had, he ate so fast it was impossible to miss the resemblance with Ayumi's table manners making Anne and Helena giggle.
When Claire noticed that Ryu was eating the food as soon as it was served, she was on cloud nine. Not because she fancied Ryu, which she did not despite being so grateful towards him, but because she felt honored that someone loved her cooking.
"Ryu, you should go to the mayor's house as soon as you get better"
Claire said after she finally snapped out of her moment of self realization.
"Can't you see he's still recovering? he can't go out, doctor's orders"
Helena declared with her eyes closed.
"But it's about Dylan, he felt so bad about what happened he was going to confess"
"Is that so bad that he needs to go right now?"
"I don't know exactly what's going to happen, but if the mayor finds him guilty he can go to prison or worse"
Rina said, wondering how can they be so knowledgeable and yet ignore the simplest aspects of everyday life in town.
Ryu didn't reply because he was busy stuffing his mouth with food and as soon as he finished his meal he got up and left the tavern without saying a word.
The streets were so empty and everything was so calm it looked like a deserted town. The only noise that could be heard was Ryu's steps on the snow, it was past noon but ever since the miners came back from the mine they didn't have anything to do. That's the main reason why the tavern was always full, but Ryu didn't know this because he had been working from dawn to dusk because of the bet he made with Rina.
Since he's been so busy, he didn't know his way in town, even though it was a small town, every building looked the same because they were covered in snow. An icy wind and a message indicating him that he just lost one health point were the sour reminder that he forgot to bring his coat. He headed back to the tavern but mid way he met with Rina who was out of breath and with an extra coat on her hands.
"Hey boss! you forgot your coat!"
Ryu was shivering already and he was rubbing his arms quickly to try to get some warmth.
"You don't say"
He scoffed and grabbed the coat from her hands.
"Why did you come instead of the girls?"
Ryu asked
"Ehh! You hurt my feelings Ryu, I am a girl too, you know"
Rina brushed an imaginary tear from her eye
"I didn't mean that, I meant why didn't they come?"
"Your wives were too tired from last night, Helena stayed up late and Anne said she couldn't get enough sleep, so I volunteered myself. It's been months since I got the time to stroll through town and now that the tavern is closed I got all the time in the world"
"How many times do I need to tell you, they're not my wives!"
"So, are you saying you're single?"
Rina inquired
"Well, yes..."
"It's a date then!"
Rina grabbed Ryu's arm surrounding it in between of two warm and soft mounds of tender flesh, making Ryu thank the heavens for being alive.
"Fine, let's have a date"
"Wait, are you being serious right now?"
Rina felt a void in her stomach when she heard Ryu say that. Up to that moment Ryu has been one of the very few men in town that never tried to woe her, she felt safe with him because of that, but if he was interested in her she may have to distance herself from him. But, can she afford to do that?
Rina knew she lost the bet already, winter was the best season for her business, yet on the first few days Ryu made almost as much money than she did past seasons. She will lose the tavern to Ryu and still be indebted to him, she wasn't a naive girl so she knew she would end up a slave. But seeing the tavern flourish like that made her so happy, she had too many conflicting feelings and for once, she was out of words.
"Why not? You're single, I'm single, and I don't remember the last time I dated"
'mainly because I don't have memories from my past' he thought.
"I don't know what to say, I never thought of dating"
"Too bad, you can't reject me because it was your idea"
Ryu chuckled as they kept walking arm in arm, but now Rina was so uncomfortable. She felt every movement on Ryu's arm brushing off her breasts with every step, but if she withdrew now it would be even more awkward.
"Our first stop will be the butcher shop, but I don't know the place so lead the way miss Rina"
Ryu said making an exaggerated cheesy movement making Rina realize he might as well be joking.
"Oh, I see you do know how to treat a lady"
They both laughed and the uneasiness on Rina's side dissipated completely.
Once they got to the butcher shop, Rudd was in there too.
"Yo Rudd! what are you doing in here?"
"What a surprise Rina! I came to collect Bob's wolf furs, And you?"
"I'm on a date with Ryu!"
Rina said sticking out the tongue in a mockingly manner. Only then Rudd noticed the presence of Ryu.
"We came to collect our furs too mister Rudd"
After hunting most people would ask the butcher to do the dirty job, not only because it was a difficult job but also because he was so experienced that he never ruined the materials. He would skin the animals and take out their claws, fangs or tails depending on the species, but most importantly, he knew how to get the best cuts of meat in the best possible condition. If a hunter was overloaded, they sometimes would attempt to do it themselves on the field, but it was so wasteful that most of the time they just gave up on whatever they weren't able to bring back.
"I see you recovered well, that medicine sure is great"
Rudd grunted. He didn't like Ryu one bit, not just because of the humiliation he suffered the day he met him, but also because he was in love with Rina and it took him one year to be as close as he is with her now. Yet, an outsider came and in less than a month he already got a date with her.
"Your products are ready Rudd! These are the best quality materials I've seen in maybe thirty years! I'll offer you a great deal if you sell everything to me"
Said a fat, yet muscular man as he came from a door behind the counter. When he saw the cook standing behind Rudd his expression shifted completely.
"I don't have your stuff, I lost it! now scram!"
The butcher yelled at Ryu, but before he could reply Rudd said calmly
"Don't play games fatty, you know I'm a hunter, you can't cheat your clients like that or I may have to turn you in"
The fat man started sweating buckets and cleaned his forehead with a handkerchief.
"I'm just kidding Rudd, you know how this is..."
"In that case you won't have a problem if I stay here to see that you pay them a fair price"
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone