Tavern

Roy led the group of sailors along Brown Street...

The port cities of the Elven World were quite distinctive. Many of the buildings were exquisitely constructed, though the gardens behind the street-facing houses could not be seen.

Even when elves had courtyards, they usually did not grow vegetables in them.

They preferred to cultivate flowers and plants, trimming them neatly, and at most planting one or two fruit trees.

To elves, gardening was also an art.

The sailors curiously looked around at the delicate buildings. They also stared without pause at the elf women, whether young or old. They would first look at their faces, then let their gazes travel down their necks—to their chests, slender waists, hips...

Every now and then, they would exchange a few words in Imperial Language that Roy could not understand.

Perhaps because they drank World Tree Juice, even elf women who had lived for six or seven hundred years did not look particularly old. At most, they had a few faint wrinkles in certain places on their faces.

To these sailors, there was no way they could tell that the elf woman watering flowers ahead of them was two hundred years older than their great-great-great-grandmothers.

Whenever the sailors heard Roy introducing the shops along the street, they became much more attentive.

They even lingered for quite a while outside Mrs. Winnie's Potion Shop at the street corner. The shelves outside were filled with flowerpots, but instead of ordinary flowers, they contained Magic Herbs that Roy could not quite identify.

According to Ms. Belinda, Roy would have to slowly learn such basic knowledge after he started school.

However, the group had clearly stayed outside the Potion Shop a little too long. Though they had behaved rather restrainedly, Roy could still see the desire in their eyes.

The young mage introduced himself as Benjamin. Since Roy could not communicate with the other sailors, there was no need for him to know every one of their names.

In fact, Roy even felt that the young mage's name was fake.

Whenever he called out "Benjamin," the young mage's response was never quite immediate. It was not an instinctive reaction.

Benjamin's explanation was that this was the first time someone had called his name in Elven.

Since the sailors were generous with their money, Roy decided not to fuss over such matters.

"I only know where the taverns are. I've never actually gone inside one."

Roy said this to the young mage Benjamin.

Benjamin invited Roy, saying, "Then why don't we go in together later and have a look?"

"I know of a tavern with a very good reputation..." Roy said, pointing toward a semi-open-air tavern at the end of Brown Street.

This was the end of Brown Street. The tavern had been built against a cliff facing the sea, with its terrace hanging over the cliffside. It made for an excellent viewing platform, and half the terrace was hidden beneath tree shade.

To reach the shore from here, they would still have to go around the back alley and descend a long stretch of stone steps.

Elves were skilled at designing such unconventional buildings, and liked incorporating natural scenery into their gardens.

This tavern had quite an atmosphere. It was a very simple-looking little house, filled with all kinds of drinking vessels, and a mingled scent of alcohol wafted out from the doorway.

The terrace overlooking the sea had only six tables, and there were not many people in the tavern at this hour.

Benjamin stepped onto the terrace. Leaning against the railing, he could just see the bustling docks, and he said excitedly to Roy:

"Yes, this is exactly the kind of place we need. We need a little tavern like this to have a few proper drinks. You probably can't imagine how dull and tedious it is to sail on a ship for a full year and a half."

Silver Moon Elves usually liked drinking tree sap. These alcoholic beverages were shipped in from the Dark Moon Elf Kingdom.

A server came over holding a menu covered in Elven writing. She was a Dark Moon Elf with somewhat dusky skin. She was clearly a little timid and kept looking at Roy.

It seemed that Roy was the only one among these people who could give her even a little sense of security.

Roy had seen her on the street before, though he had not known she worked at this tavern.

After learning that the house specialty was a sparkling wine, and that its price was indeed quite affordable, the sailors split into two tables. Each table ordered two bottles of sparkling wine, along with stronger rum. As for snacks, there were only some Dried Fruit and dried fish, with no other food.

The instant the cork was pulled out...

Pop.

The bubbling golden liquor was poured into the cups before the sailors.

The tavern's only female server stood behind the Bar Counter, watching the group of human sailors with great curiosity.

The elf woman was rather pretty. Her lips were lightly painted, and when she leaned against the Bar Counter and sat down, there was no disgust or contempt in her eyes.

Once everyone sat down and had a glass of sparkling wine, there was clearly much more to talk about.

Roy did not drink.

Ms. Belinda had expressly forbidden it. She would not even allow Roy anywhere near a tavern.

In Ms. Belinda's eyes, Roy was still only a child who could drink nothing but World Tree Juice.

"How do you solve the food problem? I mean when you're sailing at sea," Roy asked curiously.

Benjamin took a sip of wine and said with a satisfied expression, "What's so difficult about that? Can't you just catch fish from the sea whenever you want?"

Who didn't know fish could be caught from the sea whenever they wanted... Roy grumbled inwardly.

"I mean, can you eat vegetables on the ship?" Roy continued.

Benjamin suddenly puffed out his chest, his face full of pride and superiority, as he answered:

"Of course. My professional specialty is botany. We need to cultivate some fast-growing vegetables aboard the ship as well. The cabbages and tomatoes I grow on board are quite good."

Roy continued asking curiously, "What about fresh water? If you can't find an island or a port, and you use up all the fresh water stored aboard after such a long journey, what do you do? Rely on collecting rainwater to survive?"

Benjamin stared at Roy in astonishment. Only after confirming that he truly did not know did he explain, "I thought elves would be more advanced than us in this regard..."

The mage felt around at his waist, then pulled a silver-plated square plate from his robes. He turned the side covered in engraved patterns upward and inserted a thin crystal shard into a gemstone slot. As strange magical lines lit up across the patterns, droplets of water began to condense on the plate.

Watching the tiny droplets scatter and strike the silver-plated metal plate, Roy finally understood that they relied on magic to provide water while sailing at sea.

"With this kind of Magic Metal plate, you won't lack drinking water during a voyage?" Roy asked.

After Benjamin removed the crystal shard, he carefully dried the silver-plated metal plate with a handkerchief before saying, "Not just drinking water. A lot of the time, we even rely on it for bathing."

Roy found all of this incredibly novel, yet at the same time, he felt faintly disappointed. This place really was very different from his original world!

"How long have you been here?" Benjamin took another sip of wine.

The Sailors beside them had begun chatting among themselves. They spoke rather loudly, badly disrupting the tavern's originally quiet atmosphere. Fortunately, there were not many people in the tavern.

There was actually still one patron sitting in the corner. A bottle of rum sat on the table before him, more than half of it already gone. He looked somewhat drunk, his head lowered as he counted the few remaining nuts on his plate, looking terribly bored.

Just from his profile, Roy felt that he looked somewhat familiar.

"I was born here. I've always lived here," Roy said casually.

Benjamin asked again with an envious look, "You grew up in the Elven Kingdom?"

Roy nodded, not understanding why he was asking again.

"Then have you ever been to Buenos City?" Benjamin pressed.

Roy immediately shook his head.

The young mage looked somewhat disappointed and took another sip of sparkling wine.

On the tavern counter sat a conch shell that could play the songs of sirens.

It looked magical, but in truth, there was simply a Magic Crystal hidden inside the shell. A set of runes had been engraved into the crystal. Such things were common here. Boss Lady Mrs. Winnie from the Potion Shop at the street corner had one too, though its music was a little more lively than this one.

The elves drinking in the tavern were all quiet. Few of them gathered around tables like these Sailors, talking loudly and grandly.

In the elves' eyes, such behavior was also a form of vulgarity.

Roy could not help glancing at the drunkard sitting in the corner. The reason he had noticed him at all was because he had appeared in Ms. Jillian's courtyard next door before...

Besides selling fish, Ms. Jillian's favorite pastime was dating different male elves, occasionally even bringing them home for the night.

Roy had seen this seemingly drunken elf more than once. His appearance was somewhat distinctive, with dusky skin that suggested he was a Dark Moon Elf. Jillian called him "Jefferson."

Jefferson wore a somewhat old set of Light Leather Armor. His hair had gone untended for a long time, making him look rather unkempt.

He seemed to be waiting for someone. Half a cup of rum sat before him, and he never finished it, only taking a shallow sip each time.

Roy felt that he definitely would not want Roy to walk over and greet him right now...

He was somewhat drunk, muttering something under his breath the entire time.

After draining the last mouthful of wine, he blearily looked at the empty cup in his hand and snapped the fingers of his left hand with practiced ease.

The young female server hurried over with the menu in her arms.

She bent down as much as she could, placing the menu before him and waiting for him to choose a drink.

The drunken Jefferson wrapped one arm around the female server's soft waist and used his other hand to grab her little hand, murmuring something quietly.

The elf server repeatedly shook her head in refusal, but Jefferson would not let up. His hand had already closed around the elf server's wrist...

"%￥,&...%￥#." (Stop, let that girl go.)

A sailor at the neighboring table shouted loudly.

He was speaking Imperial Language, and Roy could not understand much of it.

But then Roy saw his face fill with indignation as he abruptly stood up, rushed toward the corner table, and reached out to press a hand down on Jefferson's shoulder.