Chapter 24: Chapter 23 - Escort Mission(Part 4)

"Welcome to the Beer Mug! Where would you like to sit? You can sit at the bar up front, or take one of the tables, there are seats here on the ground floor, up on the first floor as well as on the rooftop. And we also have private booths, though that will be an additional cost of 250 Erons per hour," A waitress greeted and informed us with a friendly smile.

Huh, the waitress uniforms here are pretty cool. It consisted of a short-sleeved shirt and a knee-length skirt, with the skirt and the lower half of the shirt an amber yellow color, and the top half of the shirt was white with frills. I think the outfit is supposed to resemble beer, with the white frills representing the foam.

"Hm...it's a bit crowded and will probably get even more crowded the later it gets, so a booth sounds good to me. What do you think?" I asked Aura.

"Yeah, sounds good to me, and 250 Erons an hour sounds pretty reasonable," She replied with a thumbs up.

"Great! Then, let me show you to a booth, right this way," Responded the waitress with a smile, leading the way as we followed after her.

She guided us through a corridor ahead of the main bar area on the ground floor, before a row of wooden sliding doors came into sight. She then stopped in front of one of the doors and slid it open, as Aura and I peered in curiously.

Hey, this is pretty nice. The booth wasn't very big, but had enough room for about three or four people. There was a round table in the middle, surrounded by a C-shaped black couch at the back, with a fluffy black carpet on the floor, with a lantern overhead, illuminating the space in a slightly dim light.

Hm? What's that at the back wall? A bell? There's a string attached to it, running up along the wall and ceiling.

"Please take off your footwear and keep them in here until you leave," Instructed the waitress, sliding open a panel on a wall inside the booth, revealing a couple of small shelves inside the panel.

"Got it," I replied, taking off my shoes before stepping inside the booth, my feet practically sinking into the carpet.

The design of this space, it's almost...modern.

Well, maybe not quite that good, but it's certainly a lot more sophisticated and elegant that anything I've seen in Septen. Come to think of it, my room at the inn gave off a slight modern vibe too.

Hm...maybe there's someone in Centralis who, like me, was reincarnated here from the modern world I lived in, or a world similar to it, at least. Well, whatever, I suppose it doesn't really matter.

"Here are the menus. Feel free to take your time and decide what you want to order. And once you're ready to order, just ring the bell on the wall and I'll come to take your order shortly. Make yourselves comfortable," Smiled the waitress, closing the door as we both entered.

"250 Erons an hour for this? That's...that's such a good deal! This is so comfy!" Grinned Aura, as she leapt over the table and flopped onto the couch, sprawling out onto it.

"Move over a bit, you're kinda hogging it," I replied, sitting down as she got up with a slight pout.

Huh, she wasn't kidding, this is certainly quite comfortable. The couch is so soft, it's all fluffy spongy, I'm practically sinking into it. The leather was nice and smooth without being too squeaky, it's so comfy.

"Let's see what they got...hm, the booze is a bit more expensive than that bar we go to in Astaroth, but the food is a lot cheaper, and they've got a much wider selection. Hm? Potato fries? Potato fries what? What does that mean?" She frowned in bemusement.

Huh? Fries?

Potato fries, huh...yeah, it wouldn't make sense to call them 'French' fries in this world. Well, not that French fries were actually French. Fun fact, French fries were actually invented in Belgium. I think I learned that from one of the animated Spiderman shows.

On a more relevant note, there's no doubt about it then, there's someone in Centralis who's sharing or selling ideas and suggestions, someone who's from a modern world like I am.

I earlier said that it doesn't really matter because, regardless of whether or not there are other people who have reincarnated in this world like I did, I really don't care.

But if they're using their modern knowledge to improve this world, that changes things a bit. Whoever did this, thank you. If I ever find out who you are, I'll put you on my no-kill list. You're welcome in advance.

"Let's try it out. It's pretty cheap, and we're sort of on vacation, kinda, so might as well try something new, right?" I pointed out.

"Sounds enticing, I'm convinced. Yeah, let's do it! As for drinks...how about a medium sized bottle of something strong, plus a couple of beers? They also sell rolled joints of weed here, about the same price as in Astaroth, let's get a few of those too," She grinned eagerly.

"Yeah, I'm game. Let's get a bit more food too, we can always order more later, but might as well start off strong-...h-huh? No...no way. They've got pizza here!?" I blurted out, my eyes widening as my gaze fell onto the familiar word.

"Pi-what? Oh, you mean this? What's with your pronunciation, it's got two Zs, you pronounced it like it had a T," She responded in amusement.

No way I can explain it convincingly, so I'll just act like I made a mistake and pronounce it like it's spelled.

"I just, uh, bit my tongue a bit, that's all," I replied nonchalantly, before adding, "Anyway, if this is made properly, it'll be really good. Let's get it too."

"Okay, I'll take your word for it. Let's also get some water, my throat gets super dry when I drink and smoke without having any water to wash it down afterwards. I think that should be enough to start with...shall we call the waitress?"

"Yeah, let's place the order," I nodded, before reaching back and ringing the bell.

"Wait-...aw, no fair...," She muttered, her shoulders slumping slightly.

"Huh? What-...ohh, I get it, you wanted to try ringing it, didn't you?" I realized, a teasing smirk appearing on my face as she turned slightly red.

"N-no, I'm not a little kid or something!" She blurted out defensively, her face turning redder as my smirk widened.

"My bad, you can ring it the next time we want to order, okay?" I grinned as I let out a slight, amused laugh.

"H-hey, come on, it's not like that, I-I was just-...," She began to deny.

"No need to get all embarrassed, you said it yourself...if you're excited, there's no reason to suppress that excitement, right? Wanting to do something that may be considered childish doesn't necessarily make you childish, so there's nothing to be embarrassed about. Heh...you really are quite cute," I smiled as I brought my face closer to hers and met her gaze.

"U-u-uh...," She stuttered, her face bright red, right as someone knocked on the door.

"Hi, it's me, you rang the bell? Are you ready to order?" Came the waitress's voice.

"Yeah, come in," I called out, moving away from Aura as she kinda slumped and sank down into the couch, covering her face with her hands as I glanced at her from the corner of my eye.

As the waitress entered, I gave her our order, which she jotted down with impressive swiftness and efficiency.

"Would you like everything brought in at the same time, or as soon as they're available? I can bring the drinks and joints right away, but the food you ordered will take a bit longer."

Have to say, the customer service is impressive, it's genuinely better than most places in my old world, and leagues above anything I've experienced in this world prior to this. I think I might be seriously considering moving to Centralis...

"We'll take the drinks and weed early then, I have more of an appetite when I'm drunk and stoned anyway. Thanks," I replied with a smile.

If the quality of the food and drinks are on the same level as the quality of the service, I wouldn't mind giving this waitress a generous tip. I'm definitely appreciating the standard of service provided so far...

"Alright, I'll be back shortly," She responded, before leaving the booth and shutting the door.

"It really is weird seeing you so polite," Remarked Aura in bewilderment.

"It's not a good idea to piss off workers in the service industry. If I were a waiter, and a customer was rude to me, I wouldn't be above spitting in their food or drinks," I shrugged with a wry smile.

"Huh? Wait, does that actually happen?" She responded incredulously.

"Probably more often than you may think. I mean, try putting yourself in that situation...imagine you're a waitress, and you come across a super rude customer who, like, tries to grope you or whatever. You can't retaliate directly since that would probably get you fired. Would you just let it go and put up with it?" I asked her.

"...no. I definitely wouldn't, I'd want to retaliate in one way or another...okay, gotta keep that in mind," She nodded thoughtfully.

She went quiet for a bit after that, looking deep in thought, before the waitress returned with our drinks.

Aura looked a bit wary, staring into the beer mug for a while before hesitantly drinking it, though she was less guarded with the bottle of whiskey we bought, since the top was sealed.

And not long after that, the food we ordered arrived, and the first thing I took note of were the portion sizes...the pizza was massive, bigger than a large pizza from the Hut.

And the fries, holy shit...it was a bowl filled to the brim with the stuff, the kind of bowls you use for popcorn.

There was also a smaller bowl that came with it, filled with a familiar red sauce, I could tell right away, just from the scent, that it was ketchup. Man, what a blast from the past. Whoever made this happen in this world, bless you.

"Woah, these are good! Crispy and perfectly salty on the outside, while being softer on the inside. And this sauce goes really well with it too, the sweetness complements the saltiness nicely," Grinned Aura, dipping a couple of fries in the ketchup and tossing them into her mouth.

"You've got a bit of sauce on the corner of your mouth," I informed her with a smile, feeling a good buzz already.

The booze here is a fair bit stronger than the watered down piss they serve in the bar I frequent in Astaroth, nice. Definitely worth the price, this place is great.

"Huh? I do? Where?" She frowned, picking up a napkin and wiping the left corner of her mouth, but the sauce was on the right corner.

"It's on the other side," I remarked, picking up a fry and pressing it onto the streak of sauce by the corner of her mouth before taking a bite of it.

"Y-you could've just pointed," She huffed, wiping the sauce away as I munched on the fry.

These are good...well, not that it's a complex recipe, but still, it tasted pretty similar to most of the fries I ate in my old world.

It's kinda making me nostalgic...I ate a lot, and I mean a LOT, of fast food in my previous life, so the taste of French fries are very familiar to me. Damn, I think I'm getting a bit emotional...

"What do you say we spark one of these up?" I suggested, picking up a joint.

We ordered five in total, and they turned out to be bigger than we expected. Yeah, we're gonna be a hell of a long way from sober by the end of the night.

"Yeah, let's do it!" She nodded eagerly, before holding up her index finger and forming a small spark of lightning to light it up.

The waitress has provided us with a matchbox, but this looks easier.

I put the joint up to my lips and leaned towards her finger, igniting the end of the joint and taking a deep puff, slowly exhaling through my nostrils as the strong, pleasantly sour scent filled the booth.

"This is some tasty stuff," I mused, as I took another puff and handed the joint to her.

"It does smell pretty strong. I feel like these fried potatoes or whatever are the perfect snack to go with a joint," She grinned, taking it from me and taking a short, sharp puff, sucking in the smoke and tilting her head back as she opened her mouth, letting the smoke float out.

"Oh, you have no idea how right you are..."

"Now, then, let's try this pizza thing," She remarked eagerly, handing the joint back to me and reaching for a slice, her eyes widening at the gooey bits of cheese stretching out as she lifted a slice, "Oh, wow, that looks so tantalizing...let's see how it tastes."

I watched her expression as she took a big bite, once again getting some sauce around her mouth, her eyes widening as she began to munch on it.

"How is it?"

"Sho good!" She exclaimed with her mouth full, before swallowing and adding as her eyes gleamed, "It's amazing! There's so many different flavors that it's hard to explain just what's so good about it..."

"Let's see here...oh, this really is pretty good," I remarked in surprise as I picked up a slice of my own and took a bite, before adding, "The dough is perfect, not too thick, not too thin, and baked to perfection, it's slightly crispy and flaky on the bottom, but soft and fluffy inside. The sauce is the ideal amount too, it's enough that you can properly taste it, but not so much that it overwhelms any of the other flavors.

Then there's the cheese, they've heaped on a pretty generous serving of cheese, and it's perfectly gooey and melty. And finally, the toppings...the meat is well seasoned, the onions have been lightly caramelized and the green bell peppers seem like they've been roasted a bit."

"Huh. That was kinda impressive, you summed it up so well. You sure are passionate about food, huh," She replied in bemusement.

Uh, guess I got a bit carried away.

My expectations were so low, I thought this couldn't possibly live up to the pizza I've tried in my old world. And well, it doesn't, I've definitely had better, but I've also had worse. Yeah, this is super impressive by this world's standards.

We both went mostly silent after that, finishing the joint as we wolfed down the food before us like we hadn't eaten in days, lighting up another joint as we got through half the pizza and about a third of the way through the large bowl of fries in no time flat.

It wasn't an awkward silence though, I felt strangely comfortable. I don't dislike this, it's kinda pleasant.

"Mmmm...this is nice. We're still only getting started, but I'm feeling real good...," Grinned Aura with a slight laugh, the whites of her eyes very visibly red.

She looks pretty stoned already, and we've only had two joints, three more to go with the possibility of ordering more very much on the table.

"If the food is this good in a bar, I bet it's even better in some of the restaurants here," I said thoughtfully, slumping back into the couch.

"Oh, I didn't even think of that! That's definitely something to look forward to. Let's ask around and check out the best places tomorrow!" She suggested with an look of excitement.

"Sure, sounds good."

"Hey, mind if I ask you a question?"

"Hm? Yeah, go for it, what's up?" I responded curiously, as she lit up the third joint and took a puff.

"This is a bit personal, so you don't have to answer if you don't want to. I was wondering, why are you the way that you are?" She inquired curiously.

Huh?

"Uh...I beg your pardon?"

"I mean, like...how'd you become like this? Back during the entrance exam tournament, it was clear that you were used to killing people and stuff, so I was curious about your past."

"Ah, that's what you meant. Hm, well...I'll spare you the details, but basically, I learnt very early on that you can't trust most people or rely on them for help. The incidents that played the most significant roles in shaping me were, let's see...right, it all started when my parents sold me off because they didn't like the way I looked," I recalled with a grimace, continuing, "After that, a bunch of stuff happened, and I wound up in an orphanage for about eight or so years before I entered that tournament. Everything I've got today, I earned solely through my own effort, with no help from anyone. And now that I'm strong enough to defend myself from most who would do me harm, I won't take any shit from anyone, never again."

Yeah, I skipped a lot of details, it's probably for the best that I keep the whole reincarnation thing to myself.

"That sounds awful...your parents selling you off, I mean, I can't even imagine how horrible you must have felt after that," She replied somberly.

"Eh, I'm over it, that was a long time ago. So, what about you? You've got some issues of your own, so I'm guessing you've got a pretty tragic backstory yourself?" I prompted her.

"Yeah, I guess that's one way of putting it. I never met my mother, she passed away when I was born. So, I was raised by my father. He was a kind, virtuous man with a strong sense of justice. But I really wish he hadn't been, it proved to be fatal," She replied bitterly.

The mood's gotten pretty grim in here, maybe we should change the subject. Not that I'm not curious, but...

"Uh, you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."

"No, it's okay. I've kept this bottled in for years, it'll be good to get it off my chest, so long as you don't mind listening. It's a pretty long story. A few years ago, there was a string of incidents in my home town, women were being raped and then murdered at night. My father took it upon himself to put a stop to it, since the Knights stationed there were completely useless.

They were drunk all day and never bothered patrolling the town or anything, so my father decided that he'll solve the issue himself. He eventually found out that the culprit was the town's mayor, and was preparing to expose him for his crimes.

But unfortunately, that mayor caught on and framed my father instead. He even paid a couple of other men to act as witnesses and claim that they saw my father committing those crimes. My father was lynched to death by the families of the victims, all I could do was watch in horror before running away in fear.

That's when I awakened my Magic, and by the time the fear and anguish finally faded, all that was left was rage. I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that my father was innocent, so I snuck over to the mayor's home, I planned to kill him.

By the time I got there, I was starting to get nervous and have second thoughts, I even found myself considering the possibility that my father might actually be guilty. But that's when I heard them.

The mayor, along with the men he paid to frame my dad, they...they were drinking and celebrating, laughing as they talked about what they had done. I waited till they were more drunk and then killed them, they could hardly put up much of a fight in their inebriated state.

I then took all the mayor's money for myself and fled from that town, eventually ending up in Astaroth City. I've mostly kept to myself since then, though I soon realized that violence gives me relief, it helps me blown off steam.

Even in my immense, blinding rage when I killed those men, I clearly remember the feeling of a powerful rush washing over me. Their expressions, their screams, their blood, it...it all gave me immense pleasure.

Sometimes men will corner me in an alley or something at night, and I welcome it, because it gives me an excuse to tear them apart. That rush I feel when I'm absolutely crushing a person who deserves it, there's nothing quite like it. So, yeah...that about sums up my tragic backstory, as you put it," She concluded with a weak smile.

I kinda feel bad for prompting her to recall all that, this is a bit of a new feeling for me...

"Not sure if this is the right thing to say, but...," I trailed off hesitantly, before continuing, "That's seriously inspiring. Genuinely. You were screwed over, your entire life ruined in the blink of an eye, but instead of letting it plummet you into the depths of despair, you let it fuel your rage, got revenge and became a stronger person for it. The core details may be different, but in essence, we've been through similar experiences."

"Huh. Not the response I was expecting, but you know, what? Thanks. I feel kinda encouraged and, I don't know, validated, I think? So, thank you," She replied with a warm smile, before clearing her throat and adding, "Alright, that was a bit of a mood killer, huh? Let's get back to the present and enjoy ourselves! Like you said before, we're basically on vacation for the next few days, so let's make full use of it!"

"I'm all for that. Cheers," I grinned, holding up my beer mug, before she picked hers up and clinked it against mine.

"You know, it's something most people would probably hate you for, but I really like how direct you can be. It's refreshing, honestly," She responded, leaning her shoulder against mine.

"Oh, uh...thanks, I guess," I replied, a bit awkwardly.

"Mhm, you're very welcome."

Maybe it's the alcohol and weed, but she sure is close right now. Is that an invitation to make a move?

No, better not...I doubt that's her intention after reliving the pain of her past. Plus, considering her previous flustered reactions to my teasing, it's too unlikely. Not worth the risk.

And besides, I have to say, this is pretty nice on its own. For the longest time, I always preferred my own company over hanging out with other people. But something's different with her. I genuinely enjoy her company, I'm...I'm having fun.

_____________________________________________

Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Don't forget to vote, and feel free to leave a comment, I appreciate any and all feedback and criticism!

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