Chapter 916: Snow, Sake, and Middle-Aged Men
The tavern is busier than usual. In this town of Polka, where there aren’t many decent industries, there’s little to do once the snow falls. There’s chopping firewood, repairing houses, and managing preserved food, but compared to the hectic days before the snowfall, there’s a sense that the worst is over, which is why you see more middle-aged men having a drink starting in the afternoon. Well, it’s not like they’re going to keep drinking until nightfall, so the wives tend to turn a blind eye as long as it’s just a little. After all, alcohol has the effect of making you forget the cold and lifting your spirits. There’s a belief that everyone needs this in the heavy, oppressive, and restrictive winters of snow country, and snowy regions tend to be particularly tolerant of drinking during the winter. While they may not be as open about it as the men, women and children drink from time to time, too. In the countryside, cut off by snow and with fewer people around, there just aren’t enough things to make life fun. ……I’m trying to sound all serious here, but basically, alcohol tastes good, and everyone can laugh for no reason, it’s just fun.
“Ah, enough already! It’s daytime service, and there are way too many drunks! If you get any wilder, I’ll splash you with holy spring water!”
The middle-aged men are hyped up, making a racket and getting rowdy. Things take a weird turn, one minute they’re punching each other, the next they’re suddenly making up. Someone tries to imitate Cosmos’s dance, trips, and knocks over a table. It’s a scene unfolding in the tavern that you’d never believe is happening in broad daylight. At Polka, there’s a sense of security knowing that even if you get a little hurt, there’s the Holy Spring Water. So even if someone gets injured in the commotion, everyone just laughs it off and keeps drinking. It’s fine for the people involved, but it’s a real hassle for the waitstaff and the owner.
“Please stop that sort of thing, 100-man Special Duty Commander”
“You shouldn’t stick your neck into a drunken brawl from the sidelines, no matter where you are. Unless they’re pulling out knives or something, that is”
100-man Commander Becker refrained from drinking and was silently savoring his stew. Well, it’s true, there’s nothing to be gained from getting involved with drunks. After all, they’re drunk, so you can’t reason with them. ……I suppose I should reflect a bit on how I often rashly end up siding with the drunks. And while scolding them, I’ll cheer on Savory and Cute as they struggle to keep serving.
“No more refills for you! Once you finish that, you’re out! If you complain, I’ll call Laila! And you over there with the nosebleed, once you finish that, you’d better go wash your face with holy water or I won’t take your order! Hanging around looking like that is obstruction of business!”
“Hey, hey, Savory, that’s a bit much”
“I haven’t had anything but booze yet. At least let me eat something”
“I’m not your mom!!”
Savory shouts at the top of her lungs, forcefully dealing with the drunks. The drunks send pleading glances toward the Master, but he shakes his head and rejects their requests. Well, that makes sense. It’s generous of him not to have kicked them out already.
“Hey……damn it, Andy. She’s your girlfriend, right? Put in a good word for me, will ya?”
“Whoa, she’s coming this way. Stop approaching people with that face”
“I mean, anyone can get a nosebleed. I don’t deserve to be denied food just for having one”
“It’s the reason and the amount that’s the problem!”
The middle-aged guy who got his nose broken in a brawl has blood staining his mustache, chin, and throat bright red. I think, that’s gotta be affecting his breathing, but hey, he’s drunk. He probably thinks it’s fine since he can breathe through his mouth. Honestly, it’s gross and scary, he needs to get treated at the Spirit Spring as soon as possible. Just as the drunk was about to keep arguing, someone grabbed him by the collar from behind and yanked him back……it was Leda.
“You’re out”
“Guee……ah, who are you?”
“A dragon, I suppose?”
Faced with such a succinct display of authority, even the drunkard must have realized he was out of his depth, as he backed down and left the establishment. The other drunks also realized it would be unwise to mess with me or Savory any further and quieted down. 100-man Commander Becker whistled.
“Hyuu. She’s pretty cool, isn’t she? Unlike Maia and Emma, she’s got presence, and she seems more serious and reliable than Laila”
“……Please don’t say that, Emma gets especially sensitive about it”
Well, it’s true that Maia and Emma tend to get underestimated because they’re small. Even though it’s becoming common knowledge that they’re dragons, sometimes you still have to use force to get through to drunks. In that sense, Leda, with her fully grown physique and stern demeanor, is a godsend in situations like this.
“Did you come all this way just for this?”
“I’ve been watching over you from the shadows all along. ……Was that too forward of me?”
“No, it’s a relief. ……It’s not good to scare people into doing your bidding just because you’re a dragon, but drunks are a different story……”
“Yes. I was worried that, depending on the situation, you might be in danger”
“Well, with 100-man Commander Becker here, that’s hardly likely, is it?”
“You just went and made him my bodyguard without asking? Oh well, whatever”
If this person were so inclined, he could take down every drunk in the tavern in an instant. Even if he said he wouldn’t lay a finger on the drunks, if I were to get into danger, there’s no doubt Dianne would later scold him, saying, 「You were right there watching……」 In that sense, I was counting on the fact that this person would definitely come to my rescue. Call me petty if you want. Weaklings in a fight have their own survival tactics. Back in Basson, I relied on my ogre subordinates and Isaac.
“Still, 100-man Commander Becker, now that your hair’s back to normal, isn’t it about time you headed home?”
“First you make me your bodyguard without asking, and now you’re trying to send me away right away?”
“No, that’s not what I meant……”
It’s just, you probably aren’t exactly in a position to be idle. If you’re going back, it’s my job to let the dragons know and have them send you off, at least in theory.
“……I was watching that female knight from Saint Gardo, and it got me thinking”
“Huh?”
“If I’m not mistaken, it was just the other day she came here. ……You said she was so weak back then that she was easily defeated by that pair of sentries. And now she’s already that polished. ……I guess you could just say, that’s Captain Dianne for you, but”
Mopping up the last of the stew with a torn piece of bread and stuffing it into his mouth, 100-man Commander Becker held up a finger.
“If you train seriously with this Polka, even a novice can get their basics down to that level. Besides, even that Baron is over fifty, yet his movements are still so solid. ……I used to just blame it on my age and give up, but I’m starting to think that if I retrain a bit more now, maybe I can extend my shelf life as a warrior just a little longer”
“Ah……I see”
Even strong warriors start to show their age, as the saying goes. But really, that just means the parts they’ve trained are revealing an imbalance with the parts that have weakened over the years. If it’s a spiritual spring capable of comprehensively healing the human body, then by deliberately pushing those weakened areas to the limit and re-training them, I should be able to regain my endurance, even if I can’t quite get back to how I was in my youth.
In a place without a spiritual spring, I’d have to be extremely careful; it might even be a gamble that could end up destroying my body. But with this Polka, I don’t have to worry no matter how hard I push myself.
“So, I’m working hard on the special training regimen Captain Dianne put me through back in the day. Let me do this a little longer, will ya?”
“Got it. Let me know when you’re ready to head back”
Out here in the snow, not everyone is just sitting around idly. There are people like this, steadily working to build their own futures. I can’t just be lazing around either.
Well, that’s beside the point.
“I’m exhausted. I’m really, really tired today. ……Please praise me”
“Wasn’t the deal that you’d give me a little something extra?”
“You praise me, Master. I give you a little something extra. Don’t you think there’s a way to do both at the same time?”
“……Fine, I guess”
In the storage room/changing room behind the tavern. I stroke Savory and praise her. ……Her butt. Savory doesn’t seem to mind. Smiling triumphantly, she pressed her lips against mine.