I'm interested in her—that adventurer woman who I'm hearing so much about. As I thought, she really was strong. From the small research I did, I found out that she's apparently an A rank adventurer. That's not something an ordinary person could accomplish.
I went to the guild to search for her, but they told me that she's away. If that's the case, she must be resting. She did just defeat another strong monster, so that's reasonable.
It seems I wasted my time...
That person is really pissing me off. I understand that she must be tired, but it still pisses me off that she's not around when I specially took my time to look for her.
Why am I looking for her in the first place? Do I just want to be acquainted with her? Or do I want to punish her for stealing my prey?
Well, the truth is, she just seemed interesting... But I guess I don't have anything else to do now that she's away...
There's that cheap tavern near the guild. It's close by, so I can just go there to pass the time drinking alcohol instead.
Since I spent most of my money in that brothel yesterday, I'm broke at the moment. I can only afford a few glasses, but that's enough.
I arrived at the tavern in no time. As expected, it's gloomy as usual. The furniture and lights inside can be described as cheap at best. There are also only a few people present, most of which are adventurers, while some are just ordinary commoner men.
I could go to a more expensive high-class bar, but then again, I'm broke. Well, it's not like I hate this tavern's atmostphere. I like it much better in fact than that of a pretentious expensive bar.
"Welcome!" the tavern owner greeted from the counter. "A glass?"
"Yeah," I replied as soon as I sat on my seat.
With a loud thud, the owner slid me my drink—A large glass of beer, with so much foam it's flowing down on the counter.
With no reservation, I gulped down half of it right away. Its coldness felt relieving for my throat. The taste is somewhat weak, but that's too be expected.
The soft foams that formed on the surface of the glass stick on my lips, so I wiped them off with my sleeve.
"Look, she's here again...!"
"Why don't you try to talk to her?"
I heard some suspiscious conversation from a pair of adventurers on a table near me.
So they're trying to hit on a girl? What are they hesitating for? Adventurers usually wouldn't think twice about hitting on someone. They have the same mentality as us nobles. They think they can intimidate just about everyone to do what they want.
Curious, I turned around to see who they were looking out for.
"Hm...? Isn't that?"
What I saw was the same back I saw from the crowd the other day. It was the same person, with her short blonde hair and pointy ears. She also has the same cyan cloak, and aside from it, I can only see the leather boots she was wearing.
So these guys are attempting to approach her? They must be excited since she's an elf.
Hmph. They're not a big deal. Yes, elves are mostly born beautiful, but it's not like that beauty is exclusive to them. There are a bunch of noble women or even prostitutes that can look far better. Frankly, human girls have more variety in their beauty.
Ah... But now that I have the opportunity to do it, I think it would be smart if I hit on her now... It's not like I will be able to find a prettier woman in a tavern like this, so I might as well do it...
"Get me another one," I ordered.
"Sure! Here you go, lad!" the tavern owner said as he quickly handed me another foamy glass.
"Go for it!"
"L-Let me fix my hair first...!"
Too late. If those guys won't do it now, then I will.
So I left my stool and went to that person's table. I did not mind the rude stares of the two cowards who can't decide to come through. They won't have their chance now.
"Hey," I greeted after taking my seat, "If you don't mind..."
"Huh...?"
My sentence was cut off. No, it wasn't because that girl interrupted me with her soft moan, but because my mind momentarily went blank. It was the first time that I was all of a sudden lost for words.
"Who are you?"
"Ne... Nero..." I caught my voice in my throat and stammered.
For the first time in what feels like forever, I'm feeling nervous. A drop of sweat dripped on my forehead. My mouth started to twitch, finding the next words to start off a conversation, only to fail as my target got ahead of me first.
"Nero? Sho, what do you want?" the otherworldly beauty suspiciously asked.
"I'm just... Uhum...!" I coughed. "I just wanted to introduce myself to such a pretty lady like you," for the first time, I hesitated on directly giving off a compliment.
"Hmrr...?" she moaned again.
Her eyes on me is a bit intense. It must be because of her skepticism of me, but it may as well be the result of her apparent drunkenness. Even her words were a bit rough, in contrast to her soft and attractive voice.
"Can you please tell me your name?"
"Hm? I'm Eria..."
Wonderful. Her name suits her well.
I've seen the portraits of the goddesses before, and this girl, Eria... She's even more beautiful than any of them...!
What is this? How can I just randomly find someone at this caliber of beauty drinking alone in a worn out tavern like this?
"What is it? You're being rude. Quit staring at me so much."
"I-I'm sorry...! Um... Here..."
I set the extra glass of beer I bought earlier on the table, offering it to her. As it slid right in front of her, I just realized that she hadn't even yet made a dent on her own glass of beer. However, I didn't see it as a problem, as it seemingly had already gone warm, evident by its clear appearance. My offer of another cold one should only be considered as mindful.
"Kuh...! Are you giving this to me?"
"Yes, it's on me."
"Bud I can't even finish thish one!" she loudly complained, her words coming out a bit slurred.
Is she the type to get drunk easily? She seems like it...
"Hey, Nero! Can you finish this for me? I can't take it anymore..." she pushed her own glass of beer in front of my face, yelling.
"Hm? Okay..." I reluctant obliged her request.
Since she asked for it, I carefully took the beer from her hand and finished it all at once.
"Wooww! You're good, Nero! I'm jealous..."
"I-Is that so?"
Even when she's drunk, she shouldn't be acting so casual with someone she just met...
"Hey! Can you finish this for me too?"
"What!? But I'm giving that to you...!?"
Is she stupid? She's having me drink the same glass of beer I specifically bought for her?
"Pwease..."
"Ah..."
It would be rude of me to drink it, but since she's staring at me with those expectant eyes...
"If... If that's what you want."
Feeling the pressure, I reluctantly drank it down as well.
"Amazing! You're amazing, Nero!" she complimented while clapping her hands.
Is she a child? She's throwing me off so much...
Tch! Although I'll admit it, she's rather cute...
"Now that's over..." I sighed as I put down the empty glass on the table.
Crap... I should hit on her, but now I don't know where to go from here...!