Bang!
"If you know what's good for you, behave yourselves! Don't start trouble in my tavern, or don't blame me when I stop being friendly!"
Just as everyone was eyeing Jack and itching to make a move, the one-eyed tavernkeeper, who had been smiling until then, slammed her palm onto the counter. A fierce glare flashed in her remaining eye as she swept it over the rest of the tavern.
At the same time, the pressure of a High Mage rolled off her and swept across the room.
The atmosphere in the tavern froze.
But Jack, seated at the bar, could clearly feel that her shout had driven away many of the hostile looks aimed at him.
His nerves settled at once.
Before the tavernkeeper could say another word, he grinned and stepped in as peacemaker. "Hey, it's all right, it's all right. No need to get so worked up, ma'am. We're respectable adventurers here. Who'd stoop to petty theft?"
"We're all friends. No need to make things so tense."
Anyone else could have said that. But from White Rat, who was always swindling people, it carried no weight at all!
The one-eyed tavernkeeper shot Jack an exasperated look. After a moment's thought, she told the bartender behind her, "Bring a mug of ale to every table. On the house."
"Now that's generous!"
"That's our tavernkeeper! Once I've saved enough money, I'm marrying you!"
"Trying to take advantage of her in more ways than one, are you?"
At the tavernkeeper's announcement, the adventurers burst into praise, and the tense mood turned lively again.
Even so, their gazes kept drifting toward Jack at the bar, full of curiosity and suspicion.
They were plainly fascinated by how Jack, bankrupt for three months, had suddenly come into money.
The tavernkeeper was no exception.