"TONIGHT! YOU ARE FREE TO DRINK THIS PIG PISS YOUR HEARTS CONTENT!" The Boss smacked the barrels that had been stacked and lined up on a wall prior.

A few more men came from the back door which only we, the employees, were usually allowed to use. They are bringing something big covered with a broadcloth to the centre of the hall. When they are about to drop it on the table, the customers immediately pull away their food and glasses, making a space.

*Thum* A loud noise was made.

"TONIGHT! WE WILL CELEBRATE THE RETURN OF EIJNAR THE DRAKESLAYER!"

The Boss unveiled the surprise, and then all that happened was a lot of shouting and stomping. They are so merry and loud that even Yusia are having a hard time. I mean, the crowd's reaction is perfectly understandable to me, given what was presented before everyone. It's a Drake skull that is already cleaned through and carved with Eijnar and his party's name on it as a mark of conquest.

"No way! This is . . .?! This is Monum The Tomato!"

"Are you for real?! How do you know?!"

"My former frontline guy made this dent near his right eye with his mace! Well, he paid with his life for that though. A fired-up dude, that one."

". . . You are right! It's her! The drake who rough up my neighbouring village! They said she ate 30 people that evening!"

Wait what?! Thirty?! And they name that drake with a vegetable name as if they only drink water and eat sunlight?! Sigh, what the hell with adventurers? Their sense of humour is so absurd given the danger they had to face to bring breakfast to their table.

"Oh, I know that name," Yusia suddenly muttered to herself.

"You know something about it?"

"Yes. Dad said that it used to wander around the southwest road, and was a nuisance for tradesmen that they had to take a detour to avoid an encounter."

I see. So, it's a good thing that they have been hunted down. It's a deed worth celebrating alright.

"But, why the name . . . ."

"That's because of its colour. It had green scales on its head that differed from the rest of its red body. It slithers around the ground like a vine, hence the name given."

Ah. So that's why.

Anyway, this is going to be a super busy night since The Boss opened the barrels' bibb and let all the sizzling beers flow nonstop. Sometimes, it makes me wonder if The Boss was really interested in keeping the place profitable with all the free and party he always throwing around. Hmph, it doesn't matter as long as I get my check. Now, let's get ready for a very hardcore shift.

I went to the back room and changed my attire. I don the apron, wet my hair and slick it back, and also, of course, roll my sleeves up to 3/4 of my hands. Then, I noticed that Jimmy was not around. Maybe he was out for an errand? That's too bad I can really use his help for the next three rush hours. Whatever, I'll just do the dishes as fast as I can before getting back to the counter.

Now, I'm on my stage. No less than ten people waiting on the counter, including Yusia. First things first, a complimentary drink for all. Three light liquor watered down, and a pint of honeyed tea.

"On the house, welcome to Sleepy Stag."

"Fuck this shit, boy. Get me your strongest stuff!"

As the man throws the small mug to the back of the counter, I can see that Yusia is startled. She shouldn't worry, this is an everyday meal for me. That's why the glass and my mental fortitude are both made of iron because the job doesn't take anything or anyone that easily breaks. Take and give, eat and spit, pull and push, that's all there's to it.

"Mark Adams; Black Dog, 44% alc. content."

The man swings his hand to grab the bottle, but I am faster, as always.

"350 Ausvin a bottle. Payment upfront."

"The owner said it's free!"

"The free drinks are the only ones in those barrels," I pointed with an open hand to where Rolf played a drinking game with the others.

"Are you fucking kidding me?! You think I don't know you were just ripping me off! Just give me the bottle and your face won't get ugly, understand?!"

Huft. There are always people like this. How I wish everyone would just be slightly smarter than to make any cheap intimidation like this to the man who pours their drink.

"I advise you not to touch me."

"Or what?!"

He glared at me, and I looked at his eyes indifferently. Then, I move my eyes upwards and raise my eyebrows to give him a hint. He followed my eyes, and when he twisted his head to see what was behind him, he was stunned and immediately released his grip on my collar. I mean who wouldn't?

"Fine. 350 Ausvin? Fucking cheap. Who do you take me for? Just get me the bottle already!"

"Thank you. I wish you happy drinking."

"Hmph!" The man takes the bottle and walks away.

Who wouldn't be polite when a bear-like giant is standing right behind them, ready to break their neck? With arms so big and strong that it can burst a head open like a watermelon, and a body so unbreakable that no blunt damage can do shit on it, no one would ever think of being impolite. I'm sure that even the knights will be wary of such a man.

"Thanks, Igor."

The giant simply nods and returns to his seat in the corner of the room, watching anything that goes too far.

After such a troublesome customer, I continue to serve the other customers. Luckily, after what happened, they are much more well-behaved. I love how it is always helpful to set an example in front of others. Now, I can go full speed a little bit showing off what I can do to my friend. Though I'm far from good, a few tricks of bottle flipping and juggling never fail to stall time with some entertainment so the queue won't get mad. 

Soon, they are fulfilled, and I get to the farthest left of the counter.

"What can I help you with, my lady? Is there any drink you fancy today?"

"A-Ah, I don't. I mean, I'm still not allowed to drink.," Yusia answered reluctantly.

"Please worry not, my lady. We also have quite a variety of non-alcoholic drinks that are supposed to be fine for underaged."

I give her the book menu after cleaning up a bit. It's a little dusty after all, since most people already know what they are going to drink, or simply take a pick of one of the bottles on the display. 

"Um . . . Ady, I don't know any of this name."

"Why, of course! We name it ourselves. Those words don't exist outside of this place."

"Then how do you expect people to understand what they are choosing?"

"We don't. That's because we want to emphasise that picking something to eat or drink is an adventure on its own."

The words seem to strike a spark in her head, given how her eyes seemingly widen and glitter.

"But what if people don't like the idea of eating something they don't know?"

"They can always ask, and I myself, always make sure to ask for their certain conditions like allergen and such, and make the proper adjustment or suggestion."

"That sounds like an awful hassle."

"Of course, that's why it's called work."

"But it feels personal, I like it," she giggles.

I unintentionally smiled when I heard her saying that. It's always nice to have people that are open to new ideas. In a city this big and diverse, being conventional is tough. We need to always stay ahead of competitors, making edges in business and keep inventing ways and things for our trade.

Yusia ended up ordering Almiranja. Basically, it's just orange juice and milk added with two shots of roasted ginger water essence.

"Was it The Boss idea?"

"No, it's mine. The Boss is more interested in interactive things, such as parties and that pool over there."

"Pool?"

"Yeah, that 'hunting pool' over there. They made a ranking system to show who's the biggest shot in this whole tavern. I'm sure after he did a good job slaying that drake, Eijnar's rank will rise to third place tonight."

I pointed at the rank board hanging in the centre of the place, it's so massive that it's easy to see who's on top and who's on the bottom. Roughly twenty names are on the board, with each person writing their own name, some names are kind of hard to read. Yet, just like anything, nobody is interested in the bottom rank. Their eyes are only fixated on the top 10 - if not the top 5.

"Frederick Sarabas remain at the peak, and Rima Idante is right on his tail with a small difference of points. Who are they?"

"Monster hunters, true veterans on top of that. I've never seen both of them though, in my two years working here."

Besides the names of the hunters, there are also points in numbers, made out of rolling carved woods to represent four digits numbers. The number of Frederick is 788, meanwhile, Rima's is 761. If a drake is worth 70 points, then Eijnar should be able to catch up with Boris, making both points 444.

"What's the advantage of having high points?"

"You get a free meal anytime you want, free supply before expeditions, my boss connections, and a great deal of respect from others."

"All of that to gather a crowd? My dad would say that it's quite a risk to balance out the benefits."

"And that's where you went wrong, my lady."

I pointed to the place next to Igor. It's a lark desk full of books and people gathering. That's where the two other staff, Berry and Cherry, work. What are they doing? Bookkeeping, of course. But it wasn't about the accounting of the whole place that the officials rely on to levy the taxes - because that's my job, but rather it's about something more amusing.

"What's going on with that table?"

"Wager. Based on the move of the hunting leaderboard, people love to wager who's going where per month or quartal year, or semester, or even bigger - per year."

Then, I pointed to the ranking board once more.

"See the numbers on the left of the hunter's name? That's how much people are wagering on them. The Prize Pool - if you win, of course."

"Wha-?! 3 million Ausvin on Frederick and Rima?!"

"Yep. but since the pool doesn't show the details of the wager contract, it was just there to engage the customers with a surging feeling of excitement, just like what you did."

Yusia smiles and drinks her fill solemnly while I tend to the other customers. She ended up accompanying me working for two hours. We talk about a lot of things since she's surprisingly a curious cat despite her lack of expressions. I'm glad I got to know her more, but there's only one question in my mind that I haven't found the answer to.

"Maybe it's too late to ask this, but is there anything that you want from me?"

"Hm? What do you mean?"

"I mean, surely there's something you want by coming here all the way from your house despite the moon in the sky."

"I already told you, I want to spend my time with you."

Sigh. This again? Does she think I will believe such a straightforward answer? Pretending to have such an innocent thought pattern doesn't work on me, Yusia. I've seen worse. Much much worse.

"Does your dad tell you to spy on our establishment business process? Does he want to mimic certain aspects of our trade to be applied to your sister's tavern? Stealing ideas is a common practice, and I have to admit it's not the most charming side of business. However, since I'm not against competition and a stout believer in a perfectly competitive market bearing the most economic benefits to the state, I allow you to know what you know."

Yusia looked at me with empty eyes. It seems I hit the mark with that confrontation. Then, her eyes suddenly burst with life and excitement.

"Ah!" she raised her index as if her mind clicked on a good thought.

"Wait! Did I just give you ideas?!"

Aaah, that's so foolish of me. I thought she was thinking what I thought, but it turns out that she didn't. Tsk. It's hard to judge people's characters, let alone to read their minds. Although The Boss always said that's the essence of having a good life, will I be able to master that skill someday?

"Ady, you are so smart. But I'm really here because it's so much fun talking with you."

"Huft. I don't mean to doubt you, I was just . . . ."

"Mmhm. It's okay. Dad said people who think like that tend to keep the family safe."

Uh, did I just get praised? That feels weird. Good, but weird. Wait, or was it weird because it's good?

Suddenly, a table is rolling down to the floor.

"AH! THIS DOG IS WETTING HIMSELF AGAIN!"

"QUICK! KICK HIM OUTA' HERE! THIS AIN'T NO PLACE TO PLAY FOR WEAK-ASS DRUNK."

Soon, people start to get drunk and make a fuss, and the crowd is getting even rowdier now that Eijnar himself and his party entered the building. The red-mohawk dwarf is tossed around by everyone celebrating the party's achievement and the true air of festivity quickly escalates.

"Yusia, this place is going to get so rough and dirty. Believe me, it's not a place for someone like you. Heck - I wouldn't even be here if I didn't have to. So, I think you should go home now."

"Yes, it's getting late. I'll take my leave now and tell my dad how amazing you are."

"Well, thank you for that, I suppose."

Yusia stood up and delicately bowed to me, raising her skirt. It's funny to see her acting all solemn and graceful in this growing chaotic place. She looks like a blooming rose in a field of trash.

"Farewell then, Ady. See you tomorrow."

"Yeah, see you. Take care on your way home, and don't stray from the main path. Keep yourself surrounded by people and stay within the line sight of the guard patrol."

Yusia walked out of the place, dodging a few wrestling men and flying tankards all over the place. She moves rather clumsy but it's very entertaining. I can't believe how relaxed I am right now despite the horrifying hours of serving and cleaning that are going to come. I might be still working at 1 AM in the midnight, but yeah . . .

Tonight is a fun night.