Play Hard When It's Time to Play

Before long, Marianne had arranged a fairly clean wooden table for them.

Large mugs of ale, platters piled high with roast meat, and all kinds of fruit pies were brought to the table.

"Don't be shy, everyone. Eat your fill!" Gray said with a grand wave of his hand.

Zeliel speared a piece of roast meat and put it into his mouth. Rich juices flooded his palate, filling the air with fragrance.

The meat had been roasted to perfection too, its skin crisp without being burnt. It was truly delicious.

After finishing a piece of meat, he took a huge gulp of ale. The word "refreshing" alone was no longer enough to describe how Zeliel felt.

He even felt a bold, carefree satisfaction, as though this was how life ought to be lived. Even the exhaustion from fighting monsters had faded by more than half.

After greeting the tavern owner, Marianne, who was clearly close to Gray, came straight over to his side.

Gray laughed heartily and pulled her into his arms, then snapped his fingers toward the other side of the tavern.

Before long, several more barmaids answered the call. One petite redhead sat directly on Marcus's lap.

Surprisingly, Marcus did not refuse her. Instead, he quietly began flirting with her.

"Your chest is so firm, hehe..." The redhead's hand had already slipped halfway into Marcus's shirt.

Zeliel was initially a little surprised, but after giving it some thought, he understood.

Adventurers lived lives on the edge of death, fighting monsters day after day. Everyone needed an outlet to release their stress.

Marcus might not indulge excessively, but there was no need for him to suppress himself either. When it was time to have fun, he should let loose.

"Zeliel, do you remember my promise to make you a man? Now's the time to make good on it." Gray grinned wickedly and beckoned.

A slender hand landed on Zeliel's shoulder from behind. The voice that followed was sweet and seductive enough to make his bones melt.

"Young master, shall I drink a few cups with you?"

Zeliel's spine tingled.

She was a rather sweet-looking girl, with rosy lips that made one want to steal a kiss.

But Zeliel quickly waved his hands in refusal.

"Uh... no need. I'm fine on my own."

"Come on, don't be shy."

The girl moved closer, almost whispering into his ear. Zeliel could even smell her fragrance. "I'll be very gentle."

"N-no... I really am fine on my own." Zeliel politely refused again.

Zeliel had not been some inexperienced nobody in his previous life, but he simply did not have the habit of fooling around in places like this.

"All right."

The girl looked rather regretful. "If you want to, come find me."

As she spoke, she lightly pressed a finger to her lips, then blew Zeliel a kiss.

It was no wonder the girl found him hard to forget. Zeliel was exceptionally handsome, far better than those drunken old men. It was only natural that she would want to pluck him.

As for Vales, there was even less to say. He looked utterly uninterested in women and refused with stern righteousness.

By ordinary standards of beauty, Vales was also quite handsome.

His elven blood made his features far more refined than most, and paired with his serious expression, he had a distinctly ascetic air about him.

After several rounds of drinks, more than half the roast meat on the table had been cleared away.

Gray was already looking a little tipsy. He took another huge swig of ale and let out a belch.

"Say, Vales... what was going on with you this afternoon? You almost got yourself killed."

"I know. I owe you—"

Before Vales could finish, Gray cut him off.

"Don't talk about owing anyone anything. Have you forgotten what you said yourself? On an adventure, we're supposed to support each other."

Gray waved a hand. "I've just never seen you space out in the middle of a fight before. Did something happen?"

"It was nothing... I was just shocked by the Giant-winged Bat's method of attack," Vales said.

"Those flying bone fragments?"

"They were bone spikes wrapped in wind blades," Zeliel corrected.

"That's right."

Vales's eyes flickered. "When I saw the Giant-winged Bat launch bone spikes at high speed while wrapping them in wind blades, the attack somehow reminded me of my own class... Intermediate Rangers attack like that."

"You mean... Rangers who have mastered battle aura?" Marcus suddenly spoke.

"Yes." Vales nodded.

Among Warriors, Rangers, and Assassins, the greatest difference between lower-tier and intermediate-tier classes was battle aura.

Without battle aura, one could never advance in rank for the rest of one's life.

"You could still gain insight in the middle of battle. You're much better than me. It looks like Blackstone Town will have another Intermediate Ranger before long."

Gray laughed loudly and raised his mug high. "Let's treat this as an early celebration for your breakthrough. Cheers!"

He drained the ale in his mug in one gulp.

"Cheers!"

"Cheers!"

Everyone raised their mugs in celebration.

"Also, I want to toast Zeliel!"

Marcus rose to his feet. He was somewhat drunk as well, and his body swayed slightly.

"Without you, we wouldn't have made so much money lately. I hope we can keep it up in the future and grow stronger with every battle!"

The team Marcus used to lead generally only took ordinary commissions.

They would clear out wild beasts, do some gathering jobs, and at most kill monsters rated [Easy]. Even when they encountered [Hard]-rated monsters, they would deliberate for a long time.

But now, they had killed [Hard]-rated monsters one after another. They had earned more than ten gold coins from three commissions, something they would never have dared to imagine before.

"To Zeliel!"

"To Zeliel!"

They all raised their mugs in celebration again.

"You're too kind. Without your help, I wouldn't have grown this quickly either." Zeliel smiled.

Just as the atmosphere was at its liveliest, a frivolous whistle suddenly came from nearby.

"Hey! Marianne, you can't play favorites like that. Come have a few drinks with us too!"

The speaker was a bald, burly man dressed like an adventurer.

His gaze roamed over Marianne's body, and his smile was utterly unrestrained. "We won't short you on your hostess fee!"

The smile on Marianne's face froze for an instant, but she quickly regained her seductive expression.

She raised her cup toward that table from afar. "Sir, I really can't get away today. How about I introduce you to an even prettier girl?"

"No, no. You're the one I want with me today!"

The bald brute strode straight over to Marianne and reached out as though to pull her away, completely ignoring Gray beside her.

"Are you deaf, you bald donkey?"

Gray spoke. "Didn't you hear what Marianne just said?"

At those words, the bald brute's expression immediately darkened.

"You little punk, who the fuck are you calling names?"

The tavern's atmosphere suddenly turned tense, and quite a few people looked over, eager to watch the show.