"She's willing to talk to you again now?"
"I guess because my driver's license was something she handled back then, she felt obligated to see it through," Hesta said. "I've sent her several emails lately, and she only replied to this one."
Ligo burst out laughing. "Haha, so she still wants to cut ties with you—but why?"
"How would I know?" Hesta was utterly baffled. "I thought we got along pretty well?"
The car drove into town. From a distance, they saw a crowd gathered in front of the tavern. Those in the back could not see what was happening up front and kept standing on tiptoe, squeezing forward.
Both Hesta and Ligo realized something was wrong. They immediately pulled over by the roadside and hurried toward the tavern. As they neared the entrance, Hesta spotted a military jeep with an exceptionally high chassis parked beside the tavern. She had not seen vehicles like that the last time she came—most soldiers who came here to eat and drink arrived on foot or by running.
Hesta was about to push forward when a hand suddenly grabbed her. "Hey—"
Hesta turned around and saw a farmer watching her anxiously.
"You don't look local. What are you trying to do?"
"...I'm going in to take a look," Hesta replied. "Do you know what's happening inside?"
"Can't you tell from all this?" the farmer said. "Some military officer is causing trouble in there. You shouldn't go in at a time like this."
"Do you know why he's causing trouble?" Ligo came over as well, standing on the farmer's other side.
"Because the tavern owner's a loose woman," the farmer answered. "She takes money from soldiers to let them touch her ass—hey! Hey!"
Hesta had already shoved through the crowd and rushed inside. The instant