Knight Lords: Infinite Simulation and the Path of Light

Chapter 201 Rotten Mushroom Tavern 2
As for the tavern's environment alone, it's definitely not as good as the taverns I stayed at when I came from the North. Although Rotten Mushroom looks bigger, it's more geared towards living, leisure and entertainment. As for accommodation, I don't plan to try the hourly room packages here for the time being.

As Haven surveyed the tavern's interior and analyzed his next move, a voice rang in his ear.

"Hello, sir/madam, would you like to have a meal or stay overnight?"

Haven turned around and saw a young man dressed as a waiter standing beside him, a towel draped over his shoulder, looking at him with a smile.

"Eating~~~ What kind of food do you have here~~"

The tavern was a bit noisy, and Haven didn't have any ideas for the moment, so he decided to sit down and see what was going on.

After looking around, Haven found a table that looked relatively clean and sat down.

Although it was relatively clean, the greasy sheen of the table surface still made Haven hesitate to put his arm on it.

Half-leaning in his chair, Haven turned to look at the young man who had followed him. The young man, whose face was covered in acne, was grinning at him.

"Is this your first time here, sir? You look unfamiliar."

When asked by his buddy, Haven's eyes lit up as he remembered the place his mother had told him about.

"Ah, yes, I came from Roteslo. I'm an adventurer, and I'm looking for some work in the capital. This will be where I rise to prominence."

Hearing Haven's arrogant words, the guy was inwardly rolling his eyes, but outwardly he still showed an expression of admiration.

"That's right, that's right. From the moment you entered, I noticed your extraordinary demeanor. You will surely become one of the most famous figures in the Adventurers' Guild in the future."

Faced with the waiter's flattery, Haven looked quite pleased and casually took the menu the waiter handed him and started looking at it.

Immediately, his brows furrowed more and more.

Holy crap!!!

'Holy crap...'

Is this for human consumption?

"This could kill someone, right? Is the chef at this tavern Indian? Do they have a health permit?"

After hesitating for a while, Haven ordered a creamy mushroom soup with bacon slices and bread that didn't seem too complicated.

After all, dishes like stir-fried dragon iguana eggs with black-haired cow testicles, water-boiled donkey penis soup, and stewed black mountain wood ear fungus with white rabbit yin...

These dishes sound incredibly impressive, but Haven doesn't even plan to try them. They're all too potent, and given the restaurant's hygiene, it's easy to experience the original flavor of the ingredients.

When the waiter saw that Haven had only ordered a very ordinary mushroom soup, a hint of disappointment flashed across his eyes. After all, from the moment the man walked in, he knew that this young man dressed as an adventurer was probably a novice.

He looks like the kind of naive young man who's heard too many bard stories, a hothead who's got a little money in his family, bought a set of equipment, and went out to make his way in the world.

I thought I'd met a newbie today and could trick him into making a few more substantial dishes, which would increase my commission a little. But it turns out he's just a penniless bum who only knows how to talk big.

"okay……"

"Please have a seat, sir. I'll go get your food."

Watching the waiter's departing figure, Haven began to observe the surrounding customers. To gather information, Haven deliberately found a crowded spot to sit down, crossed his hands in a spellcasting gesture, and softly chanted a few words. It was the same spell from the evil learning package given to him by Mora: 'Spirit Fox Ear'.

As the spell was successfully cast, the sounds of conversation in the surrounding area instantly became clear.

"Hey~~ Did you hear? Old Luo lost everything at Jinzhuzi's the other day, even his pants were gone. He owed so much money that he was forced to stand on the gambling table, brandishing his old man, and dance for everyone. I heard he danced much better than those sluts at Ganlin shack."

"Hahahaha, I know that, I know that. Old Luo really had a run of bad luck that day, his luck was so bad, I thought he'd grabbed a handful of dog poop."

"Hahahaha, who can argue with that? I was sitting next to that guy, and at first I even said I'd bet with him, but later, whatever he bet on, I bet against. Speaking of which, I have to thank that old bastard Rory; if it weren't for him, I wouldn't have won so much money."

'Oh, damn it, you bunch of mean-spirited bastards, how dare you say such things about poor old Rory! That old guy gave us a real show of flying birds! He hasn't shown up at the tavern for days, could he have frozen to death?'

'Hahahaha, no way! That old guy's tougher than the bedbugs in my sewer. I'm still waiting to see that old bird dance again.'

"Hahahaha~~ Damn, that's too good for them, let's toast old Rory."

Unsurprisingly, the language was rude and the behavior indecent; the man kept mentioning his genitals, even punctuating the sounds with commas. However, this noisy and chaotic environment, far from pleasant, surprisingly allowed one to feel a sense of emptiness. Just sitting quietly, listening, and watching seemed like a very pleasant experience.

Just as Haven was lost in thought, the sound of a porcelain bowl colliding with the table startled him awake.

"Good day, guest. Your cream of mushroom soup and two bacon rolls are here. Enjoy your meal."

"Ah~~ Thank you~~ Here, take this."

Haven took a silver coin from his pocket and tossed it to his assistant.

"Consider the rest as your tip~~~~"

The waiter hurriedly caught the silver coin, the hard feel of it in his palm making his heart pound faster. After all, this meal only cost 30 copper coins, and this young adventurer had given him two days' wages in one go.

For a moment, the tavern staff all wanted to sincerely repent for the slander they had just made in their hearts. How could they have spoken ill of such a generous customer like that? They deserved to die.

The waiter, realizing what had happened, quickly put on a smile, afraid that any misbehavior might displease the generous customer.

"Sir, you are too kind. It is my duty to do this. A generous person like you will surely become the greatest adventurer."

Haven picked up the soup spoon from the plate and gently stirred the creamy mushroom soup. The milky white broth churned rapidly as he stirred, with finely chopped mushrooms, ham, and other ingredients bobbing up and down. A fragrant aroma slowly rose from the soup. He found the waiter's compliment somewhat amusing, but it was just a simple amusement; he didn't mean any disrespect. The difference in attitude was indeed quite obvious. From the moment the waiter handed him the menu, Haven could tell that the waiter wanted to rip him off.

After all, those dishes with names that sound like bizarre cuisine are actually made from parts of magical beasts, and each dish costs at least in gold coins. Even if I could afford it, I wouldn't eat these strange things.

"Hehehe~ You seem like a nice guy. In my hometown dialect, we're very destined to meet."

Blinded by the silver coins, the young man had no sense of reason left and echoed them:

"Yes, yes, yes~ You're absolutely right, sir. From the moment you came in, I realized that we were very destined to be together, so I quickly came to greet you. I never expected that we were truly so destined to be together."

"It's my honor that you think so highly of me, Aji. Please just tell me what you need, and I, Aji, will do everything I can without hesitation."

Watching the hotel staff thumping their chests, Haven felt that these ordinary people were sometimes quite interesting. In their eyes, most of the time, today was the most important, but on some special occasions, dignity and face were more important than anything else.

Hehehehehe~~~

Haven gave him an "I knew it" look, like he was thinking, "Good bro."

"Hey, Aji, are you busy right now? If you're not busy, why don't you come have dinner with me? It's no fun eating alone."

Hearing Haven's words, Aji hesitated for a moment. After all, although the tavern wasn't too busy at this hour, if he didn't work and just ate and drank with this young master, he would inevitably get a scolding from Boss Marigolo Yang when he came to work later.

But if I entertain this rich young master well, he might reward me a few more later, which would be enough for me to have some fun in the shack. Come to think of it, it's been a long time since I've relaxed.

Haven seemed to sense what the tavern waiter was hesitating about, and then reached for the pocket at his waist again.

There was a crisp sound of ‘pop’.

Haven slammed five silver coins onto the table.

"Get some good wine over, and order whatever you want to eat. Come have a meal with me, it won't take up much of your time."

Looking at the five gleaming silver coins on the table, Aji's throat bobbed involuntarily. This was more than half a month's salary for him; this young master was truly generous.

Finally, under Haven's coercion, Aji reluctantly but secretly delighted went to the front desk.

This time, with the help of money, Aji returned even faster, carrying a bucket of craft beer and some snacks.

"Here it comes, here it comes! Sorry to keep you waiting, sir. Let me tell you, in this weather, a smooth, fine-grained beer and a spicy, marinated silverfish is truly one of life's greatest pleasures~~~"

Haven took the glass of wine that Aji handed him and took a small sip. As for the taste, for Haven, who was used to drinking Blackthorn and mead, it was just average, not bad and drinkable.

As for the spicy silverfish that Aji strongly recommended, Haven glanced at the pair of small fish still wriggling in the bright red chili sauce on the plate and subconsciously refused to try it. Haven estimated that he would never try such a raw food challenge in his life.

"Hehehe~ Not bad, not bad~~"

After a few drinks, Aji got into the swing of things and lost all his inhibitions, becoming increasingly bold.

"Hiccup~~~"

After letting out a long, drawn-out burp, Aji looked at Haven, his face flushed.

"Adventurer, no offense, but... just looking at you, anyone with eyes can tell you're a virgin..."

"A virgin!!!! Do you know that~~~"

As he spoke, he gestured with his hands to Haven, but looking at Aji who was already drunk, Haven had a hard time understanding what he was gesturing from the other's gestures.

"If you ask me, you shouldn't have come here. This isn't a place for a good person like you."

He was about to pat Haven's shoulder when he noticed Aggie's hands covered in red oil. Haven subtly dodged, picked up his glass, and handed it back to Aggie, then said with a troubled expression:

"Sigh... To be honest, I ran away from home because I was angry with my family. I plan to start my own business and not let them treat me like a child anymore."

As he spoke, he dramatically slammed his wine glass on the table, his chest heaving violently, as if he were furious.

"These damn idiots, are their brains all filled with water?"

"My job level is too low, and I don't have any quest records. I can only take on the lowest type of quests. Damn it!!! They're blind! I'm going to be a famous adventurer someday. How could I possibly do those quests that involve finding and delivering things?"

At this moment, Aji's alcohol-blinded mind completely empathized with Haven. After all, who didn't dream of becoming an adventurer when they were young? The days when you could earn a dozen gold coins just by going on a mission were the dream of every boy living in the slums.

"Damn it, you're absolutely right. Those fat bastards, their brains are full of shit, and their eyes are even blinder than a chaba beast."

"Of course I wanted to become an adventurer, but those damn guys insisted that what they were talking about wasn't martial arts. Damn it, I had to wash Tommy's dirty clothes and smelly shoes for two whole years to earn that skill."

In his outburst of cursing, Haven felt that this guy, Aji, had completely opened up to him. It seemed that he no longer needed to use his illusion magic on this seemingly simple-minded fellow. After all, after downing a whole barrel of beer, the bartender had even told Haven about how he had been eavesdropping on other people's humming when he was eight years old.

Seeing that the time was ripe, Haven stopped beating around the bush, since if he drank any more, Aji would probably get drunk.

"That's right, Aji, you're absolutely right. Those damned guys are blind. So, by chance, I heard that the tavern owner here also has some quests, and I thought I'd come and see if there's anything suitable for me~~~~"

"Hiccup~~~~~~"

Aji let out a long, intoxicating burp.

"This matter... I'll take care of it. I'll go ask around for you in a bit. Speaking of which, the boss should be here by now."

(End of this chapter)