Chapter 72
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 72
Chapter Title: His and Her Tavern
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"Shall we get going now, Kitty?"
A little ways down the road, I glanced back to find Eclair still rooted to the spot, staring at me.
She somehow steadied her flustered, darting eyes and offered a small protest.
"Kitty...? That's a bit... no, isn't it?"
"Why? It's cute. And common too. Bet the girl at that bakery Rike and I always go to is named Kitty."
I didn't mention how Rike had also named the white cat living in the alley Kitty, but whatever.
Just hearing it was enough to lower anyone's guard a notch, regardless of the reason. Pretty brilliant naming, right?
"A cute name like that just screams fake name...! At least mention something that fits your image a little."
"It fits perfectly fine. You're so picky..."
She'd just said she wouldn't be picky moments ago.
Thinking my words were some idle joke, Eclair let out a heavy sigh.
"...Roman. I get that you're joking to ease the tension for the mission, but I need you to take this one seriously."
I walked right up to Eclair, who was staring straight at me.
"Even if I'm just some adventurer cracking crude jokes in taverns, when it's time to work, I'm dead serious. I wanna wrap this up and get home ASAP."
"I didn't mean crude... or anything like that."
"I know, I know. If Kitty really rubs you the wrong way, we'll think of something else. I thought it suited you fine, but if you hate it, no big deal."
"..."
About ten seconds passed.
Unable to settle on a decision, she stayed silent, then pulled her hood low over her face and turned away.
She'd been picky as a mother-in-law about picking a fake name, but apparently even this agonizing wait was too much.
She didn't object to Kitty anymore and headed toward Limno's entrance.
...
...
Limno's entrance was just a round mirror that detected disguises and concealment magic, guarded by a handful of people. That was it.
It was my first time in a place where you could stroll in with your face all wrapped up like this without issue, and it threw me even though I knew what to expect.
Even the empire's slums and back alleys would be warier of newcomers.
"Whoa!"
I couldn't help but marvel at Limno's raw, unfiltered vibe the moment we passed the entrance.
Beastkin, whom you'd rarely see in human-supremacist Harun Empire, were everywhere.
Scattered among the teeming crowds were a few rare races here and there.
Dwarves, elves, dragonkin, and so on.
It was a bizarre neighborhood where humans like us made up less than half.
Eyeballing it, beastkin—who outbred humans with ease—seemed the most numerous.
-Nyaaan!
-Eek... don't touch my tail!
-Today, the three of us...
Was it because the sun had set, or was it Limno itself, or was this just normal?
Clusters indulging in risqué fondling filled every alley corner.
They panted excitedly, eyes rolling around as if reveling in the stares, practically flaunting it.
The real kicker? Passersby showed zero interest in their PDA.
'Animal ears... yeah, killer for sure. Wonder where I can snag a headband?'
Seeing all those perky beastkin ears got me fantasizing about what Rike would look like with a pair.
Animal ears on her would be murder... for me.
"Roman! Stop spacing out. We're moving."
Eclair fixed her gaze dead ahead like a racehorse and strode off with long steps.
"Kitty? Even if you're not sleeping, we need a base to regroup at if things go south. Kitty."
"...Don't say the name twice like that! I was already thinking about it."
-
Limno's lodgings were pure highway robbery with insane prices, perpetually packed to bursting.
Gamblers flooded in like sand on the floor, but rooms were limited.
The streets of this pleasure city were outright dangerous.
Word was, securing a spot to crash was essential—even if you skipped meals for gambling.
And that's not all.
Plenty shelled out their last coins to finally drop their inhibitions.
Even buying companionship in the brothels sometimes meant bringing them back to your room for the full experience, depending on the play.
Limno's inns raked it in nonstop.
It was a blatant shakedown ecosystem, and folks fell for it knowingly.
'All in cahoots.'
To suck every last drop from marks with even a little juice left, counters had pawnshops and "low-interest" loan spots right next door.
Seeing those dark-circled eyes in line, their futures were plain as day.
'Straight-up slave factory.'
In Limno, where slavery was legal, perfect setups for churning out slaves littered the place.
The counter and stairwells were plastered with ads for slave auctions, red-light districts, and casinos.
With Eclair behind me, I climbed the stairs, checked the room, turned the key, and shoved the door open.
Creeeak, kiiig!
"Charging top dollar and can't even oil the damn hinges..."
We barely snagged the last available room and hunkered down.
Eclair felt the same, but I had no plans to sleep anyway during our stay in Limno, so we'd poked around for the cheapest spot in sight.
No bed—just lumpy, sagging bedding folded sloppily on the floorboards. Total half-assed joint.
"Head out right away, Kitty?"
"Kit...! Sigh... explanations first. Sit."
She pulled not a sketch but a bundle of papers from her pocket, spread them on the floor, and lined them up.
Stabbing around Limno blindly for Cutler Duer was peak inefficiency.
The spots we needed to hit first boiled down to two types.
Regular haunts where rebels turned in weapons on entry but frequented often, or places where they came and went freely without surrendering arms.
"Where to first?"
"Places requiring weapon surrender to start."
"Why?"
"Taking down Cutler Duer is priority one, but he didn't flee alone—he bolted with his knight order."
With that, she sorted a few sheets from the floor and handed them over.
"Upper brass speculation, but... knowing his personality, he'd have planned for rebellion failure from the start. Probably settled here with his crew, backed by Limno strings from the jump."
"If possible, nab the whole knight order and collaborators too. Got it."
Eclair nodded in agreement.
I flipped through the candidate sheets, committing them to memory.
"Minimum: handle Cutler Duer. Maximum: collaborators. Mopping up remnants isn't in the brief, so if I spot any, I'll solo 'em."
"Perfect. Let's team up and clear 'em quick."
Her businesslike demeanor now felt like her way of smoothing things over.
"...Thanks. I'll push for extra pay on top of your help."
"Push whatever. We won't kill every face we see, right?"
"Pin down key players first. Then wipe 'em in one go. Picking off one by one risks suspicion, no matter how quiet."
"Clean and efficient. Dinner and scouting—hit this tavern first?"
-
Our first Limno stop: a tavern called Golden Honey.
Before entering, Eclair handed her sword to the beastkin guard at the door and we stepped inside.
-Another fried set here!
-Anyone wanna bet drinks on blackjack?
-Hahaha!! Mare! How about me tonight? Bet you felt nothing with that guy yesterday!
It evoked the rowdy late-night Adventurer's Guild.
But!
Beyond the overwhelming male ratio and familiar vibe, it was leagues beyond a normal tavern.
A steamy stage show smack in the center?
Empire adventurers would weep with envy, but something even wilder caught my eye.
"Elves?"
"...Elf girls."
The servers taking orders.
And every dancer on stage—all pointed-eared elves.
Elves didn't mean zero female patrons, but the few women eyed them with blatant lust.
Pure greed, like they'd chainsaw world tree branches on sight.
Standing to be seated, a figure dashed over from afar.
"Sorry for the wait! Table for two? Or more in your party?"
"Just us two. No smoking, so away from the smokers if possible."
"Got it! First time here? How about the elf stage? Close seats cost extra, but no one's ever disappointed."
The server grinned brightly, gesturing to the stage where a sheer-clad elf dancer was exiting.
"Not yet. I'll call if we want."
"Right this way~"
Guided by the bronzed elf to a corner booth, I flipped open the stiff menu.
Thud.
"Well, now."
This might hit too hard for a knight who's only forged blades and blood till now.
One full page blatantly listed elf services with prices.
Even illustrated examples—so explicit it killed the arousal and just cracked me up.
"Hmm."
Eclair frowned, cheeks faintly flushed at the unexpected menu.
Tempted to tease her, I held back and called out instead.
"Kitty—order food first. Back pages have normal meals."
"Bread and soup's fine for me."
"Liquor?"
She shook her head side to side. I flagged the server and ordered.
'To scope the staff, just wait...'
Killing time till food, I ogled the passing elves.
True to their "race of beauty" rep, flawless pretty faces...
But that's it.
What unicorn-blood guzzler heads to a glorified brothel?
Eclair, who'd been sipping water cautiously, tapped the table, cleared her throat, and drew my eyes.
"Roman... you seem utterly uninterested in elves? Because of the young lady?"
A sharp question that didn't suit "Kitty" one bit.