Volume 1 Chapter 5 The Tavern’s Signboard Girl Is Just A Victim I
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
In the adventurers’ town, at the East End tavern ‘The Boar’s Trot Inn’──.
A small waitress girl was weaving through the adventurers who were toasting after finishing their quest.
”Hey, Essie, is the ale ready yet?”
”Yup! Thanks for waiting!”
In response to the adventurer’s voice, a girl with a brown ponytail placed a bunch of mugs down with a thud.
She was Esther (Essie), the owner’s daughter of the bustling ‘The Boar’s Trot Inn’.
Her outfit had a big open neckline and a short skirt that went up to her thighs.
She wore white knee-high socks.
While she had a cute impression, parts of her outfit were quite revealing.
(Today, a lot of customers are here too.)
Esther thought, smiling at the adventurers who were happily eating and drinking.
At first, she felt a bit embarrassed in this waitress outfit, but now it didn’t bother her at all.
In fact, it was a little thrilling to see the tough guys who could take down monsters staring at her, which made her feel a bit superior and happy.
”Esie, your butt looks sexy today!”
”Eek!? C-Come on! Stop it, Mr. Gal!”
Esther’s face turned bright red as an adventurer grabbed her mini-skirted bottom, and she puffed up in anger.
The men around her burst into crude laughter, “Hahaha!”.
In ‘The Boar’s Trot Inn,’ Esther was the princess.
It was normal for a girl to feel happy being pampered by everyone.
”Esther, ‘Shrimp with Chili Sauce and Bean Risotto.’ It’s at the farthest table on the right.”
”Okay, Dad. Since we’re full, this will be the last order for now.”
With a smile, Esther said this to her only family member, her father, who was the owner of ‘The Boar’s Trot Inn.’ He was a skilled cook and ran the tavern with a focus on cleanliness, even if it was simple.
He had a solid reputation and status in the commercial guild.
”Alright. Then just go around the tables and take extra drink orders.”
Her father said this while looking around at the staff, including Esther.
”Customers have been increasing lately.”
”Yeah, looks like we’ve got some people here just for the food, not just the inn guests.”
”Haha, it’s all thanks to my new dish, ‘Shrimp with Chili Sauce’!”
”You’re the best, boss!”
”Hahaha… Oh, let me get that for you. Here you go.”
Esther forced a smile and picked up the ‘Shrimp with Chili Sauce and Bean Risotto’ from the counter.
(But will I always be like this?)
As she carried the dish, a thought suddenly crossed her mind.
She was still in her teens, but in a few years, she would be 20.
And if she wasn’t married by then, she’d be considered a spinster.
So, she had to find someone to marry before then and take over her father’s ‘The Boar’s Trot Inn’ and protect it.
(But who will I marry…?)
The only people she met were the adventurers who laughed boisterously and toasted inside the inn, or the delivery guys who brought supplies regularly.
If things went as expected, her partner would be an adventurer.
Of course, she didn’t mind the muscular, rugged men.
Her father used to be an adventurer, and she wasn’t bothered by dirty or smelly guys.
She could even tolerate an average-looking face.
(It might sound terrible, but men are like shrimp in the end.)
Esther licked her lips as she looked at the ‘Shrimp with Chili Sauce’ on her arm.
In other words, removing the head and shell and eating only the s*xual insides.
At least a man with a strong core would satisfy her strong s*xual desires and not leave her frustrated.
But still, as a girl, she dreamed of marrying a clean, rich, prince-like man.
(Someone like the Rank 1 adventurer, Sir Rean, for example.)
Esther pictured the handsome, blonde-haired, blue-eyed leader of the East End’s top adventurer group, ‘Lion’s Companion’.
She wondered if he would pin her down on the bed and devour her like a beast.
If she pretended to resist, would he overpower her, and suckle her breasts like a hungry animal…
”…”
(This is bad… I might be getting wet.)
Esther paused and stood with her legs together.
A familiar scent, the one that always arose from her crotch when she was in heat, seemed to waft up from between her legs.
Shaking her ponytail, she tried to shake off her naughty thoughts.
However, Esther’s brown eyes were scanning the sweaty forearms of the adventurers in front of her, as if searching for prey.
(Later…, in bed…, a lot, right…?)
Esther took a deep breath to suppress her animalistic desires.
Haaah──.
A damp sigh escaped her saliva-coated lips.
As she held back her beastly urges, she made her way to the table in the far right corner.
Esther put on her usual bright smile as best as she could.
”Here’s your ‘Shrimp with Chili Sauce and Bean Risotto.’ Thank you for waiting!”
”Thanks.”
The plate was taken by a man in his late twenties with black hair, dark eyes, and tanned skin.
He was of average height.
Sitting down, it was hard to tell, but he seemed a bit shorter than the average adventurer──maybe just over 180 centimeters (5’9″).
He wore silver glasses on his face, a thin black shirt, regular leather pants, and shiny shoes.
(Azraelian…? An adventurer, maybe?)
As Esther stared at the scars peeking from his shirt, she thought that.
But he wasn’t wearing armor or carrying a sword.
Maybe he left them at the inn.
He looked like he was solo, so he might have more freedom without a party to worry about.
(Black hair, dark eyes, and tanned skin──he seems so exotic and mysterious.)
Esther absentmindedly thought while admiring the man’s slim but toned body.
(Well, Sir Rean is bigger and more handsome, though.)
”Is there something on my face?” the man suddenly asked.
Esther snapped back to reality.
She had been staring at his face, drawn in by his glasses.
”Oh, n-no. I’m so sorry! Um, this is your first time at ‘The Boar’s Trot Inn,’ right?”
”……Yeah, that’s right.”
He said that and took a sip of the water in his glass.
(What was with that awkward silence at first?)
”Um, how about some drinks? Today’s ale is less sour and really tasty.”
”……”
”Uh, sir…?”
”What?”
He replied in a grumpy tone.
(Oh no. Did I make him mad? Smile, smile.)
”Um… if you need anything, just let me know, okay?”
”Wait.”
”Uh, what is it?”
Just as she was about to leave, she was stopped, and her body tensed up.
Esther forced a smile to hide her nervousness and went back to the man.
”……”
”……”
Both of them were silent.
Esther could hear her heart pounding loudly.
(He looks really serious… He’s not going to suddenly hit me, right?)
”That menu over there…”
”Y-yes…! What’s on the menu!?”
”I wonder what it says?”
”Huh?”
The man with black hair repeated himself to Esther, who looked confused.
”That menu over there. ‘Shrimp with Chilli Sauce and bean risotto.’.”
”Oh, oh…”
Esther let out a small sigh and continued with a smile.
”It’s shrimp, sir. ‘Shrimp with Chilli Sauce and bean risotto.’ It’s our new special dish!”
”Oh, so that’s how you read it, shrimp.”
”Actually, this is what you ordered.”
As Esther pointed to the Shrimp with Chilli Sauce dish with a wry smile, the man casually said, “I ordered it because there were some unfamiliar words. It smells delicious. Seems like I picked a winner”.
There was something about the way he sat and spoke that made him seem very confident.
”You ordered it without knowing what it was?”
”Is that strange? When I find something unknown, I go for it. If there’s a dish I don’t know, I try it. That’s the joy of traveling.”
”I see… So, you’re a traveler then.”
”Yeah.”
He said that casually while pulling the Shrimp with Chili Sauce dish closer.
His tone was straightforward, but he slightly shifted his chair, as if inviting her to sit and chat for a bit.
”……”
The stories of adventurers hunting and the occasional tales from traveling bards were what changed the monotonous daily life of the inn staff.
Esther glanced over at the counter.
Her father was slowly starting to clean up, while the other servers were busy serving in their own ways.
It was a brief lull in the busy tavern.
”Well then, I’ll just bother you for a bit…”
”……”
The guy sitting next to her didn’t say a word.
He was quietly eating his food.
(Good. So what he meant earlier was ‘you can sit here.’)
He was quiet and a bit hard to read, but he seemed like a nice guy.
Thinking that, Esther decided to ask for his name to get him talking about his travels.
”I’m Esther, the owner’s daughter. What’s your name?”
”Kian.”
The guy pushed a plate of Shrimp with Chili Sauce toward Esther.
”My name is Kian. ‘I just got here today’ as a traveling monk.”
* * *
”Kian…? Kian, you’re one of those ‘garbage scavenger’ from Azrael, right?”
As soon as Kian said his name, the girl sitting next to him changed her expression completely.
He watched her closely while sipping water.
If things kept going like this, she would probably stand up and run to the back of the shop.
(Well, if I’ve been living in this town for over ten years, my bad reputation must be well-known.)
Under his glasses, Kian’s mind was racing.
”Oh, so there’s someone with such a sad nickname?”
”Uh, um…”
The girl──Esther──was glancing at Kian’s outfit.
Finally, she looked at his neat face behind the glasses and tilted her head, saying, “Huh?”
”How did my fellow countryman end up with such an embarrassing name? What happened?”
”Oh, it’s a different person… right?”
”There are a lot of people named Kian in my country. It means happiness.”
”Wow, really?”
”What’s that guy doing now?”
”N-no! Please forget what I just said! That’s not something you say at a drinking table!”
”Is that so?”
”Yes, yes! More than that, I want to hear about Mr. Kian’s travels! And I’d like to order more food too!”
”Alright, after we finish what we have, let’s get one fish stew and one Shrimp with Chili Sauce.”
Saying that, Kian took out 5 silver coins from his pocket.
”No way, it won’t even cost 5 silver coins! You’ll get change back with just one!”
”I forgot to mention, but I’m thinking of staying here for a while. Just pick any available room.”
”Ah, ha, yes! Thank you so much!”
With a smile, Esther went to grab the food.
While she was in the kitchen, a warrior with a bright red face kicked a chair and stood up, starting to make a scene at the table nearby.
”Ah!? My wallet’s gone! Where did it go!?”
”Idiot, you probably dropped it somewhere while you were wasted.”
”Don’t mess with me! My earnings for today are in there! That’s a Rank 5 adventurer’s daily pay! Uaaah, where is it, where is it!?”
”Tch, so loud…”
When Esther returned to Kian’s table, she looked worriedly at the big guy.
”I wonder if something happened? I hope it’s not a fight or anything.”
”Don’t worry.”
Kian took a sip from his glass and continued speaking.
”If something happens, just use me as a shield. I may be slim, but I can at least dodge a few hits.”
”No way! I can’t use a customer as a shield! Oh, look, it seems like Dad went to handle it!”
”Looks like it’ll be fine.”
Kian settled back in his seat, seeing the muscular owner stepping in.
Esther glanced at the central table with a bit of worry, but once she saw the big guy calm down, she turned back to Kian.
”So, Mr. Kian, you’re a monk, right? That means you’re a warrior monk of Azrael?”
”Yeah. I’ve been through tough training since I was a kid. There was even a month I was thrown into a place with nothing but sand and rocks.”
”Wow. How did you survive?”
”First, I secured water, then fire, and finally food. I was with some friends. There was even a girl about your age. Her name was Sarah.”
”Really!?”
Esther leaned in, her eyes sparkling at Kian’s story.
Her chest was prominently displayed on the table.
A faint, sweet scent wafted up from her lower body.
Kian, with a sticky gaze on her, added some flair to his story, drawing the girl in.
* * *
(I’m being stared at a lot…)
While Esther listened to Kian’s story, she was aware of his lingering gaze.
There was no hiding it.
He boldly observed Esther’s chest as she sat on the table, her plump backside spreading out on the chair.
If it had been a muscular, big guy, it might have felt scary, but with this guy named Kian, he seemed more like a ‘playful rogue,’ which made him kind of charming.
(I wonder if he was playing around with a lot of women during his travels.)
Esther looked up at Kian with a sideways glance, trying to read his expression.
Suddenly, Kian stopped talking.
”Mr. Kian?”
”Esther. Your neckline.”
”Ah…”
She was caught off guard by his sudden comment, and as she was about to be overwhelmed, Esther quickly covered her chest.
Kian continued to look down at her with cold eyes behind his glasses.
”It’s not good to expose your skin like that to a stranger.”
”…But you were staring.”
”Oh?”
His dark eyes glinted with mischief.
Esther felt uneasy and waved her hands in a fluster.
”Well, um, how should I put it? But you were looking, right?”
”I wasn’t looking.”
”Really?”
”Kukuku… If I said I was looking, what would you do?”
”That’s so naughty!”
She clapped her hands together.
It was obvious that his body was different from a woman’s; it felt like hard, trained muscles.
Instinctively, she sensed that a man’s body was made for fighting.
Imagining him sweating, flexing his arm muscles, and roaring made her lower belly warm with excitement.
At that moment, the big guy at the central table started causing a ruckus again.
”You, Gal! You were the one who stole my money!”
”I don’t know! Your wallet just happened to be in my bag! You must have put it there when you were drunk!”
”The silver coins are missing! You stole them!”
”Oh, what did you say, huh!?”
Two bloodthirsty adventurers kicked their chairs and stood up.
The surrounding adventurers quickly moved the tables aside and started betting on who would win among the onlookers.
It was a drunken boxing match.
Esther’s father, standing nearby with his arms crossed, shouted, “You idiots! If you break my shop’s stuff, you’ll have to pay for it!” He, being an adventurer himself, never stopped these kinds of fights.
”Oh, Dad, not again…”
The central area was filled with brawls and onlookers’ shouts, and Esther frowned as she looked over.
Two men were fighting, throwing mugs and apples at each other.
One of the apples landed right next to Esther and exploded on the floor.
”Eek!”
”Esther!”
Kian pulled her close.
Esther’s chest was pressed against his hard, muscular chest.
Her n*ples rubbed against her underwear, causing them to twitch.
”Uh, yes, Mr. Kian.”
”Esther.”
Kian didn’t let go of her.
His muscular arm wrapped around her waist, radiating a scorching heat.
”Ah…”
Esther felt her body go weak as she was stared at by his dark eyes behind the glasses.
Kian’s voice whispered in her ear.
”We’re getting out of here. To the back of the inn.”
Esther knew what those words meant, and she nodded.
”Yes, Mr. Kian.”
* * *
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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