"Hey! Ayusa! Another glass of rum!"
Already a little drunk, Barn lay slumped over the counter, but he still remembered to wave for Ayusa. Now serving as the Black Tavern's bartender in Shakuyaku's place, she obligingly swam over to the liquor cabinet on the left and took down a bottle of rum.
Yes, you read that right. Ayusa really did swim over. To accommodate her as a Fish-Man, Shakuyaku and Lia had specially converted the space behind the counter into a large pool, with liquor cabinets arranged around it. Ayusa had developed quite well by now, as her tight bikini made clear. Her grass-green hair clung wetly to her body, and droplets still glistened on her fair arms as she slowly poured the rum she had just fetched. Though her face still held a trace of childish innocence, that did nothing to stop her from attracting more and more customers to the tavern.
Ayusa had practically become the tavern's main attraction. Perhaps the only people who still came here just to drink were Barn, who was blind, and Rayleigh, who was terrified of his wife. Oh, right, there was Lia too. As a fellow woman, she probably wouldn't be attracted to Ayusa. Uh, probably...
Rayleigh looked at his old friend, who had collapsed onto the counter beside him, and smiled as he patted his back.
"What's wrong, old friend?"
Barn reached around his chin and knocked Rayleigh's hand away.
"What are you doing? We're two men-a young guy and a decrepit old geezer, at that. Do you have to get so mushy?"
"Haha, you may look young, but you're not much younger than this old geezer."
Rayleigh laughed at Barn's words, but Barn didn't laugh. He slowly lifted the face he had kept buried against the counter. There was melancholy