Hill is the owner of a tavern in Morag.

It is said that this tavern called Velvet Salary was run by his grandfather's grandfather and has been passed down from generation to generation.

According to his father, who died of green spots, the downy was a weed that could be found everywhere outside, and the reason why their ancestors gave the tavern this name was so that the small tavern could be as small as the downtown, but it had an incredibly vigorous vitality.

But Hill grew up never seeing a real velvet salary...... It is said that the out-of-town traders said that the weed was present in Morage, but for some reason it did not spread to Morag.

"Maybe it's because weeds are afraid of the plague here." At that time, the footman joked with a smile as he drank the ale with a lot of impurities.

Not long after, he collapsed on the streets of Morrag due to the Black Plague, never to leave the plague city again.

It's such an ominous city.

Hill often thinks so.

Except for a few merchants who had ventured their lives to enter the place, there was a dull twilight in the whole of Morag, as if they were about to enter a decaying coffin at any moment.

In addition to the stinking drunks, the only people who came to the tavern were the ruffians who wanted to scavenge for oil and water from him, the little shopkeeper.

If it weren't for the two barely semi-official forces of Windmill and Heihe, I am afraid that he would have been murdered and robbed of his wealth long ago—although he himself had nothing to rob of.

Hill's greatest joy is when he meets an outsider trader, who is always optimistic and positive. It's also very talkative.,Always chattering non-stop.。 Whenever this happens, Hill will always give them a free glass of ale and listen to them talk about the outside world.

Unfortunately, he already had symptoms of green spot on his own arm, and he would soon die of this strange illness, just like his father.

Occasionally, Hill would have expectations such as 'I'd love to see the world out there' or 'I'd love to see what it looks like', but he knew very well that his life had been confined to this huge, yet extremely small world, since the moment he was born in this desperate city.

- It was supposed to be like this.

But. Something that broke the status quo happened suddenly.

A terrifying monster suddenly appeared over that lake in the city. Even from a distance, the terrifying coercion made Hill tremble.

At this time, it was the great magician who appeared in front of them.

As for what kind of magical magic the old man used to solve the monster, there are still many speculations circulating in the streets and alleys. The only thing that can be said for sure. The old man was dealing with the monster at the same time. It also removed the curse that had been haunting this plague city for decades.

Hill was also pleasantly surprised to find that the green spot on his hand was also gone.

In the originally lifeless city. Finally, a ray of light from the future is beginning to appear.

The people who were still a little skeptical about all this at first still maintained their old habits, but under the guidance of the windmill and the Black River, gradually people who were verified to be free of the disease left Morag or joined the lord's caravan and started a new life. So the rest of the people finally went from being anxious to becoming more active and wanting to devote themselves to a new life.

It's just that in this way, the business of the Velvet Tavern is even worse.

The people who had had enough of the Morag were desperately trying to get out, but the people outside had no idea of coming in, and in just a few dozen days, the population of Morag had dropped sharply from 400,000 to less than half, and the whole city felt empty.

At this time, it was the magician who saved the city again...... Or rather, the magic academy founded by the magician master.

Although the specific situation of Hill is not very clear as an ordinary citizen, but from the recent sudden influx of merchants in the city, the academy established by the magician master in the Illian Empire has mysteriously disappeared, so the caravan that originally cooperated with that academy to carry out various alchemy materials, magic items and a series of alchemy products can only modify the plan and target the only external school district of the academy called Edric, that is, the school district in the city of Morrag.

Judging from the results, they seemed quite satisfied, and thanks to them, Morag was once again prosperous, and unlike before, the once cursed city was no longer filled with twilight, but with a sudden new vitality.

It is precisely because of this vitality that Hill has recently felt that he can no longer live like this.

"Excuse me~" The welcome bell at the door rang crisply, and then the familiar voice rang out.

Three teenagers and a young girl streamed in through the door.

They were dressed in mage robes of different colors, and they also held various magic wands in their hands, and they looked awe-inspiring and full of spirit.

"Welcome." Hill stopped what he was doing and walked to the bar with his usual smile to greet them.

"Boss Hill, it's business as usual." The young man in the lead, with a familiar smile, snapped his fingers at Ciel.

They are Adric's students and regular customers of Hill. He prepared three cups of hot cocoa and one cup of hot milk and placed them in front of them in turn.

Kamiyu took a big sip of hot cocoa, then let out a long breath and showed a pleasant smile: "Sure enough, the hot cocoa with a down salary is delicious!" It's great to have a drink after completing the mission! ”

Dorothy, who had a cat tongue, licked the milk in small sips, and said disdainfully to Camyyou, who was dancing beside her: "Cammyu, don't be so loud, it will affect the other guests." ”

"But the boss's hot cocoa is really delicious." Riddle also spoke, and the little chubby Dun Tannis next to him nodded in agreement.

Ignoring Dorothy's words, Camillo looked behind Hill and noticed that there were several more large packages behind the bar.

"Boss, ...... are you," he looked at Hill suspiciously.

"Oh, I'm going to take a look outside." Following Kamiyu's line of sight, Hill smiled after realizing that he had seen the packages: "Recently, looking at you who are full of vitality, I don't know what I am doing, and my old heart seems to have a new momentum." ”

"That's a good thing!" Riddle put down the mug in his hand and took the lead in congratulating Hill: "Boss, your skills are so good, you can definitely open a tavern somewhere else!" ”

"Yes, yes, the boss's fried steak is really delicious! And the vegetable salad too! And stewed potato soup too! Tannis nodded in agreement.

"It's just that the thought of not being able to eat the boss's food in the future is a little melancholy~" Kamiyu also said with a smile.

"I'll be back."

Hill said suddenly.

"Huh? No, you don't have to worry about us, boss! ”

Dorothy said in a bit of a panic, "That guy is just a constant troublemaker, you don't have to care about what he says!" ”

"No, it's not."

Hill looked at the four little guys in front of him who were a little stunned by his words, and said very seriously: "No matter how far I can go outside, Morag is my hometown, and this is also the only main store in Velvet Salary, and the others are all branches!" So one day, for the sake of my hometown, I will come back! ”

The four little ones look at me, I look at you, and then smile together quite tacitly.

"So, for the success of our Hill Boss branch, let's have a toast!" Kamiyu slapped the table and shouted.

"So it's going to cause trouble to other guests, stop it!" Dorothy was on the side trying to stop him.

"Cheers!" "I'll do it too!" But Riddle and Tannis had already chimed in, holding their mugs aloft.

Hill looked at this scene and showed a gentle smile, his eyes turned to find that at the door of the tavern, it was already winter season, but there was still a small grass standing upright against the cold and wind, and the scene was exactly the same as the pattern on the sign at the door of his tavern...... (To be continued......)