Chapter 51: Tavern and Notice
As he approached the door, the originally muddled drunk man instantaneously sobered up. A chill rapidly crept over his mind, and as fear seized his consciousness, his face suddenly turned bloodless, becoming pale.
Gauss reached out and grasped the person’s wrist, not letting go.
He didn’t have much malice towards this drunk. When someone is so inebriated that he’s oblivious to the world, what can you expect from him?
The reason for not letting go was simply that the man’s legs had completely lost strength, shaking like soft noodles.
If Gauss let go, the man would surely collapse to the ground.
"Stand firm, I’m going to let go."
Gauss spoke calmly.
"Yes!"
The drunk shivered all over as Gauss’s emerald-green eyes glanced at him, as if an electric current surged through his body.
Gauss released his hand and watched the trembling drunk in front of him, whose manner resembled a small terrified chick. He couldn’t help but shake his head inwardly.
Did he really look that frightening?
When he washed his face earlier, he thought his features looked rather delicate.
The tavern was silent.
However, the Night Owl Squad wasn’t really concerned about the tavern’s unusual silence. Having been exhausted from a busy day, they had narrowly escaped from a ghoul moments ago. Though there hadn’t been any combat, it had caused them to break out in a cold sweat.
So at this moment, everyone just wanted to report their findings as soon as possible, then take a bath and have a good night’s sleep.
"Brave warriors, what is this?"
Tavern owner Harvey came out after receiving the notice and instinctively frowned at their disheveled appearance but quickly forced a smile.
"Boss, let’s discuss this inside."
At this moment, the tavern was so quiet that there wasn’t a sound; the entire hall was focused on what was happening here.
However, it was obviously inappropriate to recount what had just happened in front of everyone, as it might cause unnecessary panic.
So everyone followed Harvey back into a private room.
As the squad left the hall, the tavern slowly filled with hushed conversations.
"So scary..."
"They look like murderers."
"Shh! Keep it down, they might still hear us."
"..."
Inside the private room.
Levin and his companions recounted the events from beginning to end to Harvey.
"Hiss, you mean there’s a ghoul wandering near the village!" Harvey took a sharp breath upon hearing this.
For common monsters, ordinary people can deal with them with some effort, even if they’re not as specialized as adventurers. At most, it would result in some casualties and failure to completely eliminate the monsters.
But for a monster like a ghoul, it goes beyond what ordinary humans can handle.
Even though the village has trained militia, they cannot match a monster several times stronger than themselves.
The only consolation was that if what these adventurers said was true and there was only one ghoul, then perhaps the situation wasn’t too dire.
After all, loner monsters rarely initiate attacks on human settlements.
"Yes."
"Then, can you brave warriors deal with that monster?" Harvey tentatively asked.
Although the ghoul attacking was unlikely, having such a fierce beast prowling the village’s perimeter made it difficult to sleep at night.
"Do we look like we can kill a ghoul? Making it back alive is already a blessing." Levin showed a bitter smile, speaking the truth.
After all, it was nothing to be embarrassed about.
Harvey surveyed the crowd in front of him.
Unlike ordinary villagers, Harvey, a manager for a large merchant guild, had seen much and was naturally able to discern their fearsome yet disheveled appearance.
If they had successfully completed their tasks, they would have taken their time to clean their gear, rather than rushing back covered in blood and guts.
"Indeed, it was presumptuous of me." Harvey sighed, feeling foolish for thinking adventurers of their level could contend with such a monster as a ghoul.
"I’ll hold a meeting with several other managers tomorrow. If the situation is confirmed, we’ll likely reissue a commission regarding the ghoul to the Adventurer’s Guild."
"Thank you for the intel, as for the water ghost clearance task, once I’ve sent someone to investigate tomorrow, I’ll draft a report for you."
Harvey stood up.
"You’ve worked hard tonight. Why not stay at our tavern to freshen up and rest for the night?"
Harvey’s face had turned slightly dark from being cooped up with them in the enclosed room, the stench overwhelming his senses.
Taking this as an opportunity, he hurriedly made his way to the door.
He opened it before the others could reply.
Swiftly exiting first.
"There’s a bathroom at the back, I’ll have the staff prepare hot water for your bath."
Gauss and his companions exchanged glances, but couldn’t refuse the hospitality. Plus, now that they were safe, they couldn’t stand the sticky, fishy stench clinging to them either.
After a brief hesitation, they got up to follow Harvey.
The night passed without incident.
The next day.
Walls of gray-brown stone blocks, the oil lamp hung on the wall had burned out, low oak beams blackened with soot, with sunlight filtering through the narrow window’s wooden lattice, casting scattered light spots.
Gauss opened his eyes on the soft bed, lying quietly for a while.
Only after becoming fully awake did he sit up and stretch lazily.
"It’s been so long since I slept this comfortably."
Pressing down on the coarse wool blanket beneath him, though the worn edges exposed the yellowed cotton inside, it was far more comfortable than the linen mattress Gauss usually slept on.
"Easy to move from thrift to luxury."
Rising, Gauss started getting dressed and putting on his gear.
While putting on his clothes and leather armor, he once again noticed his movements were significantly more agile, without that usual awkward feeling when reaching behind to tie.
At this moment, Gauss realized that the agility enhancement improved various aspects, not just those few minutes in battle.
Perhaps his regular weapon training efficiency would also increase as a result.
Leaving the tavern.
Others had also gotten up one by one.
They greeted each other in the hall, the tavern’s staff quickly serving breakfast.
"I wonder how much we’ll earn from this task?"
"Yes, yesterday we couldn’t collect all the water ghost spoils, only managed to take part of it."
"Robbed by a ghoul, a first in life."
They discussed last night’s ordeal over breakfast.
After a night of rest, much of the unease had dissipated.
Now they even lamented their lost mission rewards.
"As long as Harvey provides the explanatory document, with the guild’s stamp, we should still receive full payment," Levin reassured.
"The only loss is the water ghost materials."
"And the additional reward we were promised earlier; I wonder if that’s still on the table," Daphne sighed.
She had been saving up to buy a magic stone to use as a staff core, and it was painful to lose a potential income.