Dark Fantasy: Magical Eye Knight – Chapter 66

Chapter 66: The Black Barley Inn (3)

TL: Potato-tan

Proofreader: Asianpotato

 

As Remeron and Phel neared Errandis, they decided to find an inn to stay at first. Needless to say, the latter’s insistence was overwhelming.

 

“Haven’t I been doing whatever you asked to do so far?

 

Thanks to me, we were able to arrive here in two days instead of the usual one week. So this time, let’s do it my way. Okay?”

 

“Okay, okay. But have you ever been here?”

 

Phel shook her head. But her expression was confident.

 

“No, I haven’t, but someone I know recommended a place. They have great dark beer.”

 

“Is that someone a drinking buddy of yours?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

Of course. Remeron sighed as he watched his friend, who loved alcohol a little too much. Of course, Phel sighed countless times as she watched Remeron, whose exploratory spirit was too great, so they were on the same wavelength.

 

The guards at the north gate couldn’t hide their surprise as they watched the approaching elves. The guard replied.

 

“W, What brings you here?”

 

Phel silently took out a seal from her arms and showed it to him. The seal bore the image of a Möbius strip, adorned with a leaf. It was a seal given to the Elven Rangers.

 

The guard barely recognized the seal.

 

“You’re Rangers. Are you here about the dungeon?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“I understand. Should I send word to the Lord?”

 

“No need. We’ll do it ourselves.”

 

The guard nodded and stepped aside.

 

“May you have a good time.”

 

Remeron and Phel passed through the city gate and walked down the main street of the Errandis estate. The midday sky was clear, with few clouds. Countless people walked the streets in the sunlight.

 

“Where is it?”

 

“Hmm, I think it’s on the corner of the inn street. The name is probably Black Barley or something.”

 

“Then that must be it.”

 

Remeron and Phel walked towards the inn, receiving many glances. Elves were not a common sight. However, no one dared speak to the two elf warriors, who were armed with steel armor, long swords, large bows, and quivers.

 

Just then, the two elves noticed a group of people coming towards them from the opposite side, receiving almost as many glances as they did. There were three of them: two were beastkin, and one was an orc. Phel frowned.

 

“Ugh, an orc. How unlucky.”

 

“Why, because its skin is brown? It’s not green skin. Even those guys hate their own kind with different skin colors. They’re primitive.”

 

“Those guys don’t look very civilized either. They’re all torn up. The orc doesn’t even have a shirt.”

 

As Phel stated, the beastkin and the orc were all wearing—or hanging—torn and tattered clothes. They didn’t look very good, even at a glance.

 

Remeron’s eyes lit up, and he scanned them in an instant.

 

“They have traces of fighting.”

 

Blood covered the orc almost completely. He had dried blood caked on his nose, mouth, and even his chest.

 

The blow tore and swelled his face, leaving traces on his abdomen. It seemed that his left arm was not moving well either. Remeron stroked his chin as he watched the orc walk awkwardly, possibly due to pain.

 

“It’s not easy for an orc of that size to get hurt that badly. . . How did it get like that?”

 

“Remeron. . .”

 

“Oh, okay. Don’t make such a scary face.”

 

Soon, the orc group and the elves came close enough to smell each other.

 

The orc, who had been walking with his eyes on the ground, suddenly flared his nostrils and raised his head. His eyes met the two elves. Kai’s brow furrowed like Phel’s.

 

“How unlucky.”

 

Phel instinctively heard Kai’s little mutter. Phel stopped. She said.

 

“Hey. What did you just say?”

 

Kai also stopped.

 

“Those long ears of yours are useless. You can’t even hear properly.”

 

“What the hell? Do you want to fight, you little punk?”

 

Kai and Phel growled at each other and glared at each other. The animosity between orcs and elves is well known. Remeron unconsciously put his hand on his forehead.

 

Phel placed her white hand on the hilt of her sword, as if she were about to draw it at any moment. Kai also clenched his fists, his muscles rippling.

 

The tense atmosphere caused the people around them to quickly leave. However, they didn’t move too far away. Rather, they were watching with interest from a certain radius.

 

Remeron pulled Phel back.

 

“Hey, hey, Phel. Stop it. Why are you even drawing your sword?”

 

“Didn’t you hear what that bastard said? He called us unlucky and useless long ears!”

 

“We are pointy-eared, so what’s the big deal? And you said they were unlucky earlier too.”

 

“Hey━”

 

As Phel was about to nag Remeron for being an elf, even after saying that, the beastkin and the beastkin were also holding the orc’s arms and trying to calm him down.

 

“Kai, let’s just go! They’re elves!”

 

“We need to go back quickly and make a plan. We’ve already spent all the money we have on holy water. Gollid or Heltrophy might come back to provoke us.”

 

At those words, Kai loosened his clenched fists.

 

His heart was still pounding after the fight with the ridiculously strong human earlier, which made him say things he didn’t need to say.

 

Of course, he hated elves, but it wasn’t a good idea to pick another fight that he didn’t need to.

 

He had to figure out how to spend the night tonight, and in order to do that, he had to go back to his base and rest.

 

The shock that the human, Russell, had left on his body was something that even Kai, who followed the now-forgotten wild god, Vulcan, could not easily overcome.

 

In the end, Phel and Kai simultaneously pulled away. Phel stomped away in anger and shouted at the watching crowd.

 

“Get out of the way! Have you seen enough?”

 

The people stepped back, saying, “Oh, oh.” No one could stand their ground when a beautiful elf approached them with such a fierce expression.

 

The beastkin bowed slightly to Remeron and immediately dragged Kai away.

 

Remeron shook his head and walked towards Phel, who was already far ahead. Phel, already lost in the dense crowd, was looking around, confused.

 

Soon, the two elves found the Black Barley Inn on the corner of the inn street. It was bustling, but Phel couldn’t take it anymore. She was furious because she hadn’t been able to properly resolve the conflict that had just happened. She shouted without asking or questioning.

 

“Two glasses of dark beer!”

 

And then, a little late, she noticed the state of the inn.

 

“. . . .Huh? What? Why is it such a mess?”

 

Phel looked around the inn’s messy first floor with a bewildered expression. The first thing she saw was dirt and dust, overturned plates, and food scraps flowing between them. The inn servants were busy moving around, cleaning up the mess.

 

On the other hand, Remeron saw something completely different. Consider the deeply imprinted footprints and bloodstains on the floor. The traces of something had hit the inn’s wall hard. A sword’s broken blade lies beneath it.

 

Remeron’s eyes sparkled as he saw the beginning of a new incident, or perhaps the scene after it had ended. At the end of his gaze was a tall man talking to a young boy.

 

Just then, Laura saw them coming in and greeted them.

 

“Welcome! Are there two of you?”

 

“Yeah. Like I said before, I’ll start with a dark beer.”

 

“I understand. Please wait a moment, and I’ll make a seat for you. It’s a bit of a mess right now, as you can see.

 

Remeron couldn’t help but ask.

 

“Did something happen?”

 

“Oh, that. It’s nothing.”

 

Nevertheless, Remeron could see Laura’s eyes briefly glancing at the man over there.

 

Robin handed two money pouches back to Russell.

 

“It’s too much. This is enough.”

 

Russell took one, put it in his pocket, and gave the rest back to Robin.

 

“Then I’ll use this to pay for the lodging and food. If it’s not enough, let me know.”

 

Robin eventually made a helpless expression and handed the money pouch to the old dwarf standing at the bar. And he started sweeping the floor again with the broom that Laura had leaned against the wall.

 

The dwarf handed Russell a mug filled with dark beer and spoke.

 

“Thanks for earlier.”

 

Russell shrugged and drank the dark beer. And his eyes widened.

 

The dwarf smiled as he watched Russell gulp down the beer and go into the kitchen to get a new beer mug. When he came out, Russell had finished his beer and was wiping the foam off his lips.

 

“It tastes good.”

 

“Well, it was made by a dwarf. It can’t be tasteless.”

 

“Right! Right! Hehehe!”

 

The heads of Russell and the dwarf tilted to one side. A white-haired girl, Aellasis, was leaning her head on the bar. Because her cheeks were so puffy, her mouth was like a goldfish.

 

“Your daughter?”

 

“. . . . . .No.  She’s just a companion.”

 

“Sorry for the misunderstanding. Oh, I didn’t even tell my benefactor my name. I’m Luke Hakumdein. Call me Luke.”

 

“Russell.”

 

Laura cleaned up the floor and rearranged the fallen tables and chairs while they were talking. Remeron and Phel sat down on the chairs that Laura had brought out and placed their arms on the bar.

 

Luke, who had taken their orders, brought out two dark beers each, and Phel immediately immersed herself in the world inside the beer mug. However, Remeron didn’t seem to be interested in the beer, and he turned his head to Russell.

 

“Excuse me?”

 

Russell, who had been slowly savoring his dark beer, turned his head. An elf he had never seen before was staring at him, grinning. Russell said it with a startled face and voice.

 

“. . . . . .Hello.”

 

“My name is Remeron. I came here to investigate the ruins.”

 

Russell also gave his name.

 

“Russell.”

 

“Yes. Mr. Russell. Did anything happen before you came to this estate?”

 

“What happened?”

 

“Like a raid in the middle of the night, or something.”

 

As soon as he finished speaking, Remeron felt a chill run down his spine as he saw Russell looking at him quietly.

 

It felt like he was being pointed at by the tips of two swords. It felt like his eyes would pierce through his eyes and scoop out his brain. And unbeknownst to Remeron, Russell could actually do that.

 

Remeron swallowed his saliva unconsciously and continued.

 

“B, Before you cleaned the floor here, I noticed some footprints. Only four of them moved violently, and one of them was similar to yours.”

 

“So?”

 

“I have good eyesight and memory. My companions and I found three bodies in the forest this morning. It was on one of the forest paths leading to the estate.”

 

Russell did not answer and simply sipped his dark beer.

 

The inn was quiet. The only customers were Russell, Aellasis, Remeron, and another elf woman whose name he didn’t know. The elf woman didn’t care about her companions at all; she was just enjoying the dark beer.

 

It was past lunchtime, and it was too early for guests to come and stay. Robin and Laura went outside with the money pouch that Russell had given them. The hard-working servants appeared to have gone out with them, probably to buy new tables and chairs.

 

Remeron said.

 

“It was truly a great feat. Luring the man who was holding a crossbow without knowing what it was and killing him in one blow, splitting the man who was running from behind in half at once, and even the amazing swordsmanship that prevented the third attacker’s neck from falling even though he had been slit. I wanted to meet you once I saw you, and it feels like I’m really lucky to meet you like this.”

 

“Why are you so sure it’s me?”

 

“There are many reasons. These factors include the size of the footprints, the stride, and the body movements made when wielding the weapon. But even without all that.”

 

Remeron looked at Russell with the innocent eyes of a child who had found a treasure that only he knew about.

 

“It’s just a feeling. And a detective should never ignore his feelings.”

 

‘A detective’. Russell chuckled and drank his dark beer again. He was starting to like this beer more and more. Maybe he would stay longer than he thought.

 

“It doesn’t seem like you’re trying to arrest me for murder or anything.”

 

Remeron waved his hands vigorously.

 

“Not at all! That was self-defense against the raid. And what authority do I have to do that? I just like strong people. Especially humans like you. . . Excuse me. It’s really amazing to me that a short-lived species like humans can build up such strength.”

 

“Amazing?”

 

“Yes. It’s impossible to take my eyes off the sight of a race that can live less than a hundred years, overpowering monstrous monsters.”

 

“Maybe it’s because we live short lives that we burn brighter.”

 

“Oh. . . . . .”

 

While Remeron was impressed, Russell put down his empty beer mug and stood up. Then he walked over to Aellasis, shaking her shoulder.

 

“Aella. Are you going to come with me to buy clothes and stuff?”

 

“No.”

 

‘I knew it.’ When Russell asked for a room, Luke took him to a special room on the 4th floor. It was a much better and larger room than the dining room on the 2nd floor and the single room on the 3rd floor, and it overlooked the city.

 

Outside the window, he could see the buildings below, as well as the heads of people below them. Colorful hair.

 

Russell went down the stairs and told Luke to take care of Aella. As he nodded, Remeron, standing beside him, spoke up.

 

“Where are you going?”

 

“I need to buy some things. I need to buy some clothes.”

 

“Can I come with you?”

 

“Do as you please.”

 

Remeron told Phel, who was just drinking beer, that he would be back. Phel just waved her hand while holding the beer mug in her mouth.

 

In conclusion, it was the right choice to take Remeron with him. Unlike Russell, who didn’t know anything about women’s clothes, Remeron was really good at it.

 

In addition, with his great eyesight, he must have already seen Aellasis’s height and size, and he even picked out tops and bottoms that fit her perfectly. As he picked them out, Russell quietly bought the clothes.

 

There was a time when Remeron was surprised to find out that the coat Russell was wearing was a magic item, but the two of them returned to the Black Barley Inn when it was dinner time.

 

Unlike the earlier empty dining room, the first-floor dining room was filled with people. Robin and Laura had brought in more people than tables and chairs.

 

The chandeliers and shelves on the ceiling were adorned with candles, making the interior as bright as day. You could even spot the pores on the person next to you.

 

A young girl and an elf woman were in the middle of the crowd. They were glaring at each other, and there were two large beer mugs filled with dark beer on the table in front of them.

 

“Then. . . start!”

 

With the signal, Phel and Aellasis simultaneously raised their beer mugs and started gulping them down. Their eyes never left each other’s. People were shouting.

 

“Wow! Go, elf lady! I bet on you!”

 

“What a stupid bastard! Look at the white-haired girl! She’s already on her fifth cup!”

 

“Where does that little belly go?”

 

The cheers from the guests got louder as the contents emptied.

 

‘What is this?’ Russell chuckled in disbelief. Remeron shook his head.

 

“I’m sorry. It seems like my companions are getting a little excited. As you can see, she loves alcohol.”

 

“It looks like that girl is enjoying it too, so I’ll let it slide.”

 

Kuaaa!

 

With a rough cheer, Phel and Aellasis put down their cups. People compared the amount of liquid left in the beer mugs. Surprisingly, Aellasis had a little less.

 

Phel screamed.

 

“Wh, wh, wh. No way. I lost to a human girl! Is my alcohol tolerance that low? Damn it.”

 

“Hehe! Don’t underestimate the tolerance of a dragon! Hic!”

 

‘That punk’. Russell frowned, but fortunately, no one paid any attention. They seemed to think it was just nonsense from a drunk girl.

 

Just then, Aellasis spotted Russell and waved her hand vigorously.

 

“Hey! Russell! Over here! Hurry up!”

 

Russell chuckled and walked over to them. The wary glances towards the foreigner soon disappeared as he offered everyone a glass of dark beer.

 

Lively music and dancing filled the dining room, and laughter filled the air.

 

🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷

 

Except for a few lights, the estate was dark. The ground was illuminated only by the bright moonlight in the night sky.

 

It was late at night. Most people were asleep. Just then, the lights that had been on until now were turned off, and a man who had been about to eat but was instead eaten himself stumbled out of the building.

 

The man, who was returning home after breaking up a drinking party, suddenly realized that if he turned left at this alley, he would be at the back of his house. This would allow him to enter his room without facing any reprimands from his wife. The man did not hesitate to praise himself. He walked along the shortcut.

 

Even in the central region’s warm weather, it was chilly at night. Naturally, the man’s bladder contracted as he walked deep into the back alley.

 

The shivering man stood in front of a nondescript wall and unbuttoned his pants. A golden stream of liquid shone brilliantly under the moonlight.

 

Just then, a strange clicking sound came from somewhere. In his drunken state, the man thought that the sound was coming from the right side of the alley.

 

The man moved with his pants still unbuttoned. As he was about to look into the alley, the passing clouds covered the moonlight. The interior of the alley grew dark, and all the man could see was the silhouette of something crouching.

 

“Hiccup, who’s there? If you sleep there, you’ll catch a c, cold. . .”

 

The man’s voice trailed off. The rapidly passing cloud cleared, and moonlight began to illuminate the interior of the alley again.

 

As the cloud cleared, the silhouette’s shadow moved. The man thought that the thing lying on the floor looked like a human leg. The man was correct.

 

Another cloud, larger than before, covered the moon again. The alley’s interior was dark again. In the darkness, a pair of red eyes flickered. In the darkness, the red eyes grew longer.

 

Someone said it in darkness.

 

“Where is that man?”

 

Someone answered.

 

“Black Barley Inn.”

 

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