"Hey, your beer."
A cloudy beer was pushed in front of Alexander.
Alexander, who had been pondering his next move, came back to his senses.
His brows furrowed slightly. "Wait, I didn't order a drink just now. Are you trying to force a sale on me?"
The tavern owner shrugged. "The gentleman beside you bought it for you."
"Hm?"
Alexander turned to follow the tavern owner's gaze.
Then he met Paul's eyes across the other side of the bar.
Without showing any reaction, Alexander rapidly sized Paul up from head to toe before letting his gaze fall on the glass in front of him.
Looking at the murky liquid in the glass, Alexander couldn't help frowning.
"I'm saying, if you're going to buy someone a drink, at least get something decent, will you? Did you deliberately order this cheap stuff to imply that this is all I'm fit to drink?" Alexander said in a low voice.
Whoa, he sure had a short fuse.
The tavern owner began silently putting away the fragile items on the bar.
In response to Alexander's questioning, Paul shook the glass in his hand.
It contained the same murky liquid.
"Don't get so worked up, kid. I'm a down-and-out third-rate adventurer, so this is all I can afford to drink. Naturally, this is the best I can afford when buying someone else a drink too. Don't be so picky." Paul smiled.
"...Well, that's true."
Alexander nodded.
Then his gaze returned to the glass in front of him.
After a long silence, he finally picked up the glass and, under Paul's slightly surprised gaze, drained the entire thing in one gulp.
Bang—
The empty glass was slammed heavily onto the bar.
Alexander's expression remained unchanged as he gently exhaled a breath of stale air.
"So? How does