CH 70

Ch. 70: The Tavern in its True Form

As I continued to act as though I was dozing off, the tavern owner called out to me.

“Hey brother, ya’ feeling tired?” Werner: “Yeah, maybe so…”

“You haven’t touched your bread.”

Werner: “I haven’t eaten anything today, so maybe the alcohol is hitting me harder.”

One of the customers laughed at my comment.

“I’m jealous that you can get drunk with that little bit of alcohol.”

Although it might be a common sight at a tavernーー

ーーthey were quietly glancing at me before trying not to be noticed.

They’re attitudes changed dramatically since I acted as though I sipped my drink.

Only the waitress’ attitude towards me did not change.

Other than the waitress, everyone seemed more relaxed after I began my sleepy act.

Looks like they really did try to put poison in my food and drink.

Then next, I’ll just act like I’m going home.

Werner: “.......I think I’ll head home now.”

“Well, that was fast.”

Werner: “Yeah, I don’t know why, but the drink is hitting me harder today. I’m feeling very sleepy.”

“You must be really tired then～”

Werner: “You might be right. I’ll just take the bread and eat it at home.”

“Sure thing.” Just to emphasize my sleepiness, I tried falling over out of my seat as I tried to stand up.

I thought I convinced everyone that the medication was working on me whenーー

ーー<KIIIーーーNNnnn> (*sfx high pitch shrill)

A very sharp Magic Arrow came flying towards me.

It was perfectly timed with my fall so it was no coincidence.

There’s no way to dodge this.

I raised a Magic Barrier to block the Magic Arrow.

“You’re terrible at acting.”

I heard the waitress mumble under her breath as she came rushing towards me.

Her onslaught of attacks were intense, and I could not find an opening to stand back up.

As they saw the waitress commence her attacks, the tavern owner and the 3 customers began their Magic attacks.

Looks like they are all members of the same group.

And on top of that, they are all users of Attack Spells.

There’s no tavern like that in this city.

So either they are part of the Knights of Lumen or spies from the Galatea Empire.

Werner: “What if I was just a regular customer?” Still laying on the ground, I use my left hand to block the waitress, tavern owner, and 3 customers’ Magic attacks ー a total of five Spell casters worth.

I enveloped my hand with Magic to deflect their attacks.

One of the Spells I deflected hit the wooden floor.

After the wood exploded and shattered, I saw the dirt underneath.

Werner: “......now then.”

As I continue to deflect the fierce oncoming Spells with my left hand, I slowly get up off the ground.

“WHY YOUーー?!”

One of the customers screamed in rage as they swung a sword down at me.

He probably wanted me to keep lying on the ground.

Werner: “It’s dangerous swinging a sword in confined spaces.”

And I grab the blade of the sword with my right hand.

“MーMonster?!”

Werner: “Hey, that’s very rude.”

Saying those kinds of things in passing can really hurt someone’s feelings.

I wish they would be more careful with their words.

As I stood up, I slammed my fist into the customer’s face.

“BAHーUGHHaahhhh”

A spray of blood flew out like a fountain as he flew and hit the wall.

Seeing me get up to my feet, the tavern owner yelled out an order.

“Tsch! Retreat!!”

The two customers and the tavern owner turned tail and began making their escape.

The man I punched also crawled up to his feet and tried to run as well.

But the waitress continued her attack against me.

As I continued to deflect the waitresses’ attacks, I called out to the backs of the fleeing men.

Werner: “If you’re going to run, you should just do it without saying anything. Do you think I’ll let someone who says they’re making their getaway actually escape?”

“Shut up!!”

The tavern owner retorted with an angry scream, and I detected a high Magic Energy escalating quickly in the area.

The energy was coming from the center of the tavern.

Or rather, it was coming from the chest area of the waitress.

A sudden escalation of Magic Energy ー in other words, a powerful bomb.

The tavern owner was planning to blow up the waitress and take me out in the process.

Even if I don’t die from the blast, they would get rid of the suspect that was responsible for attacking my sister.

It would also double as a way to silence her.

And finally, while I am busy dealing with the explosion, the tavern owner and the customers were planning on escaping.

Werner: “..............”

I moved my hand towards the waitresses’ chest and pushed it past inside of her clothes.

There, between two soft hills, I reduced and eliminated the ever-expanding Magic energy.

I found some sort of Magecraft Artifact there between her breasts.

Apparently, that was the source of the powerful bomb.

As soon as I dispelled the Magic energy, I destroyed the Artifact.

It would be troublesome if they re-initiate the explosion sequence.

Werner: “......okay, that was dangerous. But we’ll be safe now.”

“.............” As I drew my hand out, the waitress fell to the floor and sat as all her strength left her.

The murderous rage I felt from her before was all but gone.

She may have realized that they planned to sacrifice her as a decoy as a human bomb.

And with that realization, her face reddened now with anger towards the tavern owner and his group for trying to kill her.

As I keep an eye on the waitress, I speak to the tavern owner.

Werner: “You are not able to escape, yes?” “WhーWhy…why is this thing even here….?!”

The tavern owner and the 3 customers were banging furiously against an invisible wall.

Werner: “As soon as you started all this ruckus, I initiated a Magic Barrier. You cannot leave this area without my permission.”

“WHAT?!”

“WHY DIDN’T THAT THING EXPLODE?!”

Werner: “I disabled the bombing device. You guys really are the worst.”

Reflecting on the amount of energy that was coming from that Artifact, if it had ignited, this entire block would have been decimated.

I’m glad that I put up the Barrier just in case. Even in hindsight, that was the best precaution I took.