The Rat Tavern is located on the edge of the slum, near the Adventurers' Union, and is one of the places frequented by adventurers. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 infoThe interior is a little insincere, the tables are wobbly because they are often used for fights, and the wine is as unpleasant as water, but the food here is cheap and plentiful.

As a result, cash-strapped adventurers often come here for dinner, and it's also a place that Lyle's former squad members often go to.

"Boss, bring me a glass of ale, don't mix it with water."

"Fuck your shit, I never add water to the wine here."

"Then bring me the most expensive rye bar, ah, and some food."

The owner of the tavern, about forty years old, was exposed to his swarthy muscles and bear-like muscular body outside his dirty apron. The owner of this tavern used to be thought of as a gangster, and in fact he was heard to have been an adventurer himself.

Since there weren't many customers now, the tavern owner glanced at the guest in front of him as if he remembered something, and stopped what he was doing.

"Hey, guest, I think you still owe me a debt."

“…… Is there such a thing, and how much does it cost? ”

"It's been a while since I've seen each other, and it's been quite refreshing, and it seems that this mission has made a lot of money. Originally, I planned to do this, if you cry and tell me that you owe the first as before, Lao Tzu will directly blast you out. ”

Kicked out with his feet. The tavern keeper added, wiping the glass from his hand with a dirty-looking rag. "By the way, in that case, by the way, I will also return the accounts of the other guys in your team, a total of two silver and thirty-four tinkers, including the seventeen tinks of catering you just ordered."

The black-haired guest rubbed his weedy hair with his hand and pulled out a small money bag from his bosom. The tavernkeeper was staring at his every move, and if he suddenly said something like I forgot to bring the money, he could quickly throw the guy out.

Although the action was a bit grinding, the guest finally took out three silver coins.

"Uncle, you don't need to look for it this time, I'll deduct it when I come to drink in the future."

"Oh, I didn't expect you to have a happy day. Speaking of which, why don't you see the rest of your team? ”

Lyle thought for a moment and replied.

"Dead."

“…… That's right. The tavernkeeper opened his mouth and closed it again.

It's not uncommon for a regular to disappear for months before news of his death comes back. The so-called adventurer is this kind of profession, and it has long been common for someone to die suddenly, and basically their customers have been exchanged for this reason.

"Although you haven't been here for a long time, you are still a regular customer, at least this glass of wine is what I invited."

"It's really stingy, if you want to invite it, you can wrap this meal."

"Shut up and return Lao Tzu's sadness." The tavernkeeper sighed. "Some time ago, when your captain came here for a drink, he told me that it was a fairly simple task, easy and well-paid, and I thought there was nothing so good in this world. …… So what kind of mission are you doing, after all, your team is not a battle-oriented team in the first place, right? It stands to reason that the task that should be taken on is not so dangerous. ”

Lyle took a sip of the ale and stuck out his tongue "ah".

"Hey, this wine is really mixed with water, tsk, it's worse than horse urine! As for what the mission is, I can only say that it has something to do with the recent vampire thing. ”

“…… Sure enough, that's the case. Fart! A little devil like you who doesn't know how to drink alcohol should give Lao Tzu juice. ”

The tavernkeeper replied with no more words, and silently wiped the wine utensils in front of him with a dirty cloth.

Lyle looked around and noticed that there were many fewer diners than he remembered, only sparse figures scattered in the corners. Originally, the monster was just disguised as a human, not the real Lyle Raljos, what would he say on such an occasion, the monster looked down for a moment and then accosted the boss.

"Anyway, have there been a lot fewer people here lately? In the past, it should have been crowded with people everywhere, right? ”

"After all, times are changing, and after a while, my main customers will also change from adventurers to soldiers."

“…… Do you mean that the church wants to garrison the Knights? ”

"Because of the impact of the recent vampire incident, the people are panicking right now. Don't you see that a lot of high-level adventurers have died, and such a large force has been sent to station, basically the adventurers can't find a job. Many adventurers are now moving to other cities. And because of the recent garrison incident, sooner or later, the streets here will be full of soldiers. Although there are announcements that all the vampires lurking in the suburbs have been eliminated, there are also rumors that the vampire has not been eliminated at all. I said, since it's a related person, how about revealing a little bit of the inside story to me? ”

"All I can say is that I have no comment on that."

"In this case, there is no need to send so many people over, and it's not like it's a support." The tavern owner sighed, "Speaking of which, aren't you going to leave the city?" ”

"No, there are no plans to do so yet."

"Yes, that's it......" The tavernkeeper held out a hand over the table as he heard the sound of some metal clashing. If you plan to leave, the cost of the journey is essential, so you should take these copper plates back. ”

Do you want to refuse, or not. Lyle thought for a moment and shook his head in decline.

"Hey, you uncle...... Is it finally so bad that you want to chase away customers? ”

"Hmph, you stinky little devil still dare to pretend to be a big guy in front of me, and you have been thrown into the river several times in front of me."

With that, the tavern owner shoved the money into Lyle's hand.

This was probably the so-called irresistible kindness that the monster theoretically knew, and after a moment's pause, he shoved the money back into his arms and took a sip of ale.

"Then uncle, since you are so uneasy about the current situation, why don't you choose to leave here?"

The tavernkeeper shook his head at Lyle's question.

"I've got all my savings in this shop, and I have a whole family to raise, and unlike you adventurers, it's not easy to walk and go. You know, every place has a so-called local protectionism, even if I sell my property, I can't guarantee that I won't be extorted from the hands of these people, and the probability of encountering robbers on the road is high. If it's just me suffering, it's okay, if my family lives in the slums for the rest of their lives, I might as well be killed by vampires with my possessions. And there are so many knights to protect us, so it's safer to hide behind a high wall. ”

"Don't worry, if the vampire does show up, I'll take care of it."

"Okay, it's really going to be those knight lords at that time, how can it be your turn to come out as a C-level imp. Besides, if even they fail, we might as well find a comfortable position to hug our families and welcome death. ”

"I'm telling the truth."

"Okay, I'm looking forward to the day when you become a hero."

Taking Lyle's words as a joke, the tavernkeeper laughed a few times, and then looked at Lyle with a somewhat surprised expression.

"I haven't seen you for a while, and even my expression is different. After all, people have to live to live, and money is naturally indispensable. But you ......," the tavernkeeper hesitated for a moment before continuing, "after all, your team has just had that kind of thing, and I remember that the union rules don't even take a job if you say that one person can't even take a job." What are your plans for the future? ”

"Probably ......, it's not as hard as you think."

The tavernkeeper looked down for a moment, then pointed his finger to the corner.

"You see those guys, most of the adventurers who will be here at this time are about the same as you, either their teammates have died or they are facing disbandment because their teammates have left the city. Hawkers, they're all C-level adventurers anyway, and they shouldn't have such high requirements for their teammates, so you can go over and ask if anyone is willing to form a temporary team with you to accept work. But you're not a combat ,...... It might be a bit difficult for me to find teammates. ”

Lyle and the team he was a member of were pure thieves, a team known for their stealth actions. In the eyes of other adventurers who value martial prowess, the sneaky thief is nothing more than a parasite that ruins the reputation of the adventurer. Rather than fighting monsters, the connection between Lyle and the underworld is deeper.

"I'll figure that out."

Lyle smiled wryly in response to the tavernkeeper's concerns.

"Ah, yes." The tavern owner put down his work, and with a serious expression on his face, Lyle couldn't help but put down the wine glass in his hand as well.

The tavernkeeper's muffled voice came.

"There is one more thing you have to pay more attention to, because the recent chaos has seen a lot of adventurers who take advantage of the opportunity to blackmail, and a guy like you who has no backstage and has lost the team is simply their best target for blackmail."

"It's going to do that,...... What about their dignity as adventurers? ”

The tavernkeeper shrugged.

"That's idealism, and the dignity of the so-called adventurer is nothing more than a deception to a child. Becoming an adventurer is not fame or money, and the ideal situation is, of course, fame and fortune. But there are very few who become famous, and many who die sideways. Usually they look down on thieves like you just for saying pretty things, and they are all guys who work for money, and they do it just to give themselves a little psychological comfort, to make themselves appear superior to comfort themselves. Anyway, whichever argument is beneficial to you, you can use whichever one is good. Just like this time. ”

"What's their reasoning?"

"If you want to leave here and go to other cities to seek new development, it's called funding. Anyway, it's hard to bring a bad reputation with you in this city, so if you want to leave, you're naturally going to take a lot of money with you, right? ”

“…… What a pathetic bunch. ”

"The people in this world who can survive to the end are often such pathetic and pitiful creatures. I have reminded you, then even if you are blackmailed in front of me, I will treat it as if I didn't see it, after all, there are some things that you can't participate in when you open the door to do business. ”

Lyle glanced at the tavernkeeper. With dark and sturdy skin and a huge body like a bear, if it were an ordinary adventurer, it would probably take only three or two hits to be beaten by him. But open guns are easy to block and dark arrows are difficult to defend, even if you are not afraid of others coming to the door to provoke trouble, you will be afraid of what others will do behind their backs.

Lyle, who understood what the tavernkeeper meant, nodded.

"Solve your own affairs by yourself, and I will take care not to cause trouble."

"Hmph, I'm asking you to be careful not to cause trouble here. Those guys have a very hard backstage, and even the adventurers' guild can't help them. ”

Although the overall atmosphere of the Adventurers' Guild is loose, it should have considerable control over the interior, otherwise it will not be able to convince these guys with muscles in their heads. Since there is no way to even do such a union, it is most likely an external force, the underworld, the rich, the knights, and even the consuls may also be involved.

Lyle searched through his mind for memories and found a name that fit the impression better. Thinking of what they had done, Lyle also submissively lowered his voice.

"Do you mean ......\?"

"That's them. Your team has also suffered from them at the beginning, you should know what kind of people \ are and what kind of means they will use to retaliate against the unpleasant guys. ”

The so-called alliance is actually a group led by a team of A-class adventurers, which includes most of the A-class adventurers in Dragon Landing City and a large number of B-class adventurers, and behind these guys there are funders of various background forces.

It's just a bunch of rats, and even if they get together to solve it, it won't be too difficult for Lyle to solve. Moreover, both the Adventurers' Guild and the Knight Leader have demands on themselves, so it's not bad to take this opportunity to blackmail them into being your own umbrella.

The corners of Lyle's mouth went up.

It's so interesting, the human world. Light and shadow are tightly entangled, and the adventurers who were supposed to protect the people from the threat of monsters have secretly become profiteers, and there are even nobles and underworld shadows behind them.

As the saying goes, there are two sides to one thing.

"Ah, the adventurers you're talking about blackmailing everywhere aren't a trio. A magician in a red mask, a big man with wolf fangs tattooed on his face, and a gloomy man with red hair? ”

"Well, that's right. So you've already seen them? ”

"No, it's the first time I've seen it."

Lyle pointed to a corner of the tavern, and saw that the men he had just described were talking about something around a figure. The poor creature in the middle was wrapped in a dark gray cloak and couldn't see clearly, but it was discernible from the surrounding atmosphere that was avoiding.

Blackmail, at a glance.