Inside the 'Cod Death' hotel.

The halfling boss was not angry at Barrit's rude act of taking away his gold coins, but said in a soft voice to the gold coins in Barrit's hand:

"Come, little darling, don't be naughty, come to Daddy. He smiled apologetically at Barrett, "I'm sorry, she's more recognizant and doesn't like to let strangers hug her, so give her to me." The halfling leaned out of the counter, snatched the gold from Barritt's with great dexterity, and put it back in his hand to observe it carefully.

Although the little man in front of him is very greedy for money, he is not very good at business, and if it weren't for the fact that the dishes are too expensive, the 'Cod Death' would not be so deserted. Of course, Barrett doesn't understand business things, but he is very good at slashing and killing.

"Bring me a rye beer first. Barrett turned back to the table and sat down in a random chair, "Let me think about what to eat." ”

"Fresh cod, Mr. Barrett. "Fresh cod that has just been delivered in the early hours of the morning from the 'Summer Port', thousands of miles away, has the smell of crushed ice and the sea. There is no shortage of cod in the 'Cod Death', and this is the sad place for the poor fish. ”

"Of course, it's too much to come here without cod. Barry nodded, "A pan-fried cod with more basil leaves and pepper, and a roasted octopus tentacle to help me pick a thicker one, which should be roasted with seaweed, and mixed with devil peppers in the chili sauce of the brush, no more, just a little." You know, if you add too much of this, frost bugs will breathe fire. Barrett made all kinds of requests, "Another onion soup, more cheese, don't be reluctant." To add the blue cheese, its spicy and pungent flavor goes well with the onion. ”

The price of the dishes was high, and Barrett naturally had to find a little more from other aspects.

"Rest assured, your request is more valid for us than the king's order. Unless, the king will bring me his 'heads', yes, a lot of 'heads'. The halfling boss deftly jumped out of the high chair at the counter, poured Barrett a large glass of rye beer, and then walked in the direction of the kitchen.

"Where's Tracy?" Barrett wondered, "Isn't she supposed to do these things?"

"Left a few months ago and no one knows where she went. I kindly asked her, but the girl didn't tell me that you know, if Tracey didn't want to speak, the gods couldn't force her to speak. The halfling boss's voice rang out from the kitchen, his tone full of banter, "I guess she should be like a cod, migrating to her hometown, getting married and having children." ”

"Someone wants a girl like Tracey?" Barrett asked in surprise. It was a good-looking girl, with a hollow star-shaped hairpin pinned to her short black hair. But this girl has a strange personality, and when she sees everyone with a blank face, nothing surprises her, and no one makes her laugh. The undead are richer than the expressions on her face.

"Shhh I gotta tell you, she's good at this. The halfling boss stepped out of the kitchen again and returned to his high chair at the counter. "I've told her many times not to do it, it's rude to spit on a guest's dish. But that girl never listened to me, I was still her boss, ten silver coins a month, and food and lodging, and now I can't find someone as good as me. ”

If it's a small inn in some unknown village, the salary is really okay, but this is Garano, a commercial city in the western part of the griffon kingdom. Here, the salary of ten silver coins per month is a bit low.

"At least she's not here now. Barrett said.

"She's not there, so there's no way she's spitting in your onion soup, but then again, what's dirty about a pretty girl's saliva. A narrow smile appeared on the face of the halfling boss, "Some adventurers will deliberately anger her and make her do it, and then she will stand next to the guest and watch the guest drink her saliva, although her face is expressionless, but I can see the smugness in her eyes." But she didn't know that this was exactly what the lewd guys wanted. ”

It's nothing, it's not easy to find an upright person among adventurers," as the proverb goes, 'The same rye breeds different people.'" 'There is no shortage of wonders in this world.

"You're right, there are fewer and fewer normal people. The halfling sighed, "I wanted to recruit a new waiter, and I offered such a good salary, but no one was willing to come and apply." The halfling boss wiped the beautiful calendula coin again, "By the way, how long do you want to stay when you come back this time?" ”

That's because you have too few guests here. "Two days, or three days. Barrett took a hard sip of rye beer and burped comfortably.

"So short, and then go back to the Misty Forest?"

"No, somewhere else. "There's nothing Barrett can't say about his plan, "There's a 'Clover City' in the eastern part of the Griffin Kingdom, have you heard of it?"

"I'm sorry, but I've never heard of it unless it's cod-rich. "I was only five years old when my dad brought me to Garano, and I haven't set foot in the city since," replied the halfling boss. ”

"Your dad is a businessman?" Barrett asked casually.

"No, he's a thief, a well-known thief, good at picking locks and cracking traps. No amount of complicated locks and traps can bother him, and if you had been born thirty years earlier, you might have heard of his name among adventurers. The boss said with a hint of pride in his tone, "You know, our race is good at this. ”

"This inn was opened by your father after he gave up being a thief?" asked Barrett again, "and this is not far from the three guilds (adventurers, merchants, and craftsmen), and the land is scarce. Being able to open a hotel here, it seems that he should have made a lot of money back then. ”

"Unfortunately, it's not. The boss sighed, "He died in his third year here, he didn't die for venturing to some strange place, he didn't go into the dungeon for itchy hands and stealing, he was suffocated by a cod bone stuck in his throat." ”

"But the cod doesn't have any bones, you should know it well, it's just one backbone. Barrett was curious.

"It's that backbone. The halfling's eyes stared straight at an unmanned dining table, "My dad swallowed the whole bone of a cod in his mouth, and the whole bone got stuck in his throat. He whimpered, as if he wanted to say something, but couldn't. I was terrified and shouted for help, but then he collapsed on the table with a purple face, and God knows why he did it. There was only a trace of sadness on the halfling's face, more of an inexplicable blankness, "To tell you the truth, although that fish is delicious, it is not worth it." ”

Barrett felt a little unusual and ridiculous from the description of the halfling boss, but he didn't say much, it was too long ago to find anything more. What's more, this way of dying is not too bad.

"Don't talk about that, or you'll lose your appetite for a while. The boss's face showed a courteous smile again, "You said you were going to 'Shamrock City', why did you go to that place?"

"Actually, that's not the final destination. "I took on a strange assignment. "But it's not as strange as your father's death," the mission asked me to go to a place called 'Giethoorn' near that Shamrock City to find a little girl. "In fact, her soul is in the little tombstone in my ring.

"What happens when you find it?"

"And then......" Barrett thought for a moment, and then took a sip of the remaining rye beer in her glass, "and then fulfilled one of her wishes, and that was it." ”

......