"Man, what a day!"
"Here, bring me a pint of lager!"
The tavern buzzed with activity.
Though it wasn't very spacious, it was filled with people.
This wasn't your average tavern.
It also served as a gathering place for mercenaries, so it was bustling with mercenaries who had just finished their jobs.
Into this establishment walked a man.
While his clothes were tidy, the sparse and unkempt beard he sported didn’t make him stand out amongst the mercenaries.
He walked slowly and took a seat at the counter.
"What can I get you?"
As he settled into his seat, a young girl approached and asked him.
"A pint of lager and call the owner over."
"Pardon?"
The girl looked puzzled at his request.
This place was a gathering place for mercenaries.
If he was asking for the owner, he was essentially asking for the master of this place.
This wasn't someone who'd just come out because he was asked.
"Um… I’m not sure if I can get the master to..."
"You don't have to force him to come. Just tell him Robert is here."
The girl eyed Robert up and down.
His attire seemed somewhat upscale, but he himself didn't look too impressive.
He gave off the aura of an ordinary man.
If she wanted to call the owner, she could.
However, she wasn't the type of person who would call the owner for someone she didn't even know.
Would the owner move just because someone called him, without knowing their identity?
'Drunkard, perhaps?'
Yet he seemed too sober for that.
After some thought, the girl remembered the name Robert.
Among mercenaries, Robert was a name one couldn’t possibly not know.
A demon who masked his face and dominated the battlefield.
Despite possessing immense magical abilities, he acted as a mercenary.
This legendary figure hid his identity and always remained behind a mask.
Before his true identity was revealed.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})The owner occasionally spoke of him.
He claimed to be friends with Robert, but no one ever believed him.
Everyone dismissed it as the owner's drunken nonsense.
The problem was that because of the owner's words, there were people who occasionally came pretending to be Robert.
The girl briefly looked at him, then turned away.
‘He must be another imposter.’
"I'll pass on the message for now..."
Robert didn't respond.
The girl gave Robert another glance before moving on, not to fetch the owner, but to continue her tavern duties.
After Luna made her bold declaration.
She sat in her room, hugging a pillow, lost in thought.
"Oh, what have I done..."
Just what kind of confidence did she have to say such a thing?
Luna gripped her head and screamed.
Although she had declared it so confidently, Luna hadn't really prepared anything.
Without anyone like Ena nearby, there's no one to ask for love advice.
She had to figure it out on her own.
"How could I possibly charm Rudy..."
She had nothing.
When Ena offered her a love potion, she should have accepted it.
"No... What's the point of relying on something like that?"
She wanted Rudy to like her for who she is, not for superficial reasons.
Luna shook her head several times and looked out the window.
Smoke rose from the chimneys, and the sunset painted the horizon.
It was the calm atmosphere of a peaceful city.
Though there were many people for a rural domain, it wouldn't be considered bustling.
It felt similar to the atmosphere of other domains near the Railer territory that could be called cities.
"At least I know a bit about a place like this..."
She could take the lead when going on a date.
It meant she could naturally take Rudy along with her.
However, Luna didn't think of it as something anyone could do.
After daydreaming about her date with Rudy, Luna clenched her fists.
"Yes, let's be bold. Really bold."
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})Luna immediately got up from her seat and headed towards Rudy's room.
"Rudy, hello..."
When Luna knocked, Rudy came out.
"Oh, uh... Luna?"
Rudy greeted her with a seemingly flustered face.
It hadn't been long since Luna declared,
'I'm going to make you fall in love with me!'
Having made such a declaration and then immediately coming to see him must have surprised him.
"Well... we should... have dinner, right?"
"Yes?"
"Why don't we go out instead of eating at the inn? Just a quick stroll around..."
After pondering for a moment, Rudy nodded.
Seeing Rudy's agreement, Luna broke into a broad smile.
"Then, in 20 minutes! Let's meet in front of the inn!"
"Okay, I'll change my clothes and come out."
It hadn't been long since they entered the room, so they were still in their school uniforms.
Walking around in uniforms would draw too much attention.
Academy students were always the center of attention, so changing was a good idea.
With that, Luna returned to her room and looked at the clothes she had laid out on her bed.
"Will this do?"
It was an outfit she had prepared before going to Rudy's room.
It wasn't flashy, but it was a pretty dress.
It was perfect to showcase Luna's cuteness and innocence.
"Yes! I'll give it a try!"
Luna nodded and muttered to herself.
Quickly changing, Luna immediately went to the front of the inn.
Maybe because she changed so fast, Rudy wasn't out yet.
"Phew..."
Luna, who always took appointment times seriously, let out a sigh of relief.
However, she suddenly remembered what Ena had said.
A promise with a man is always 10 minutes late.
She said a woman's charm was in playing hard to get.
“Ah…”
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})Luna recalled those words and let out a regretful sigh.
“Should I... go back in?”
As she pondered this and took a step towards the door, she saw Rudy descending the stairs.
She couldn't go in now.
The inn was small, and there was only one staircase.
There was no other entrance.
“I... I should hide first!”
Luna spotted a small patch of bushes next to the inn.
They were short bushes.
Quickly, Luna moved to hide in them.
Once inside, a concern crossed her mind.
“How do I get out from here?”
She had agreed to meet Rudy in front of the inn and now she was hiding right there in the bushes.
If she came out of the bushes, she'd surely be seen by Rudy.
She couldn’t let that happen.
She couldn't show such a pathetic sight when she was supposed to display her charm.
Luna swiftly emerged from the bushes.
“Ah.”
“Huh?”
As she bolted out, Rudy was right there in front of her.
The two locked eyes and stood in stunned silence.
Luna was wearing a dress adorned with pretty floral patterns, but in her rush from the bushes, leaves had gotten caught in her hair and on her dress.
Rudy, alternating his gaze between the flowers and leaves, rubbed his chin and said,
"...Decorations?"
“No, not at all!”
At Rudy's comment, Luna brushed off her dress.
“I dropped something in the bushes and went to pick it up!”
Luna said this, thinking it was a good excuse.
At that, Rudy smirked mischievously.
“What did you drop?”
"W-What did I drop?"
Luna was caught off guard by the unexpected question.
“Um... well…”
She couldn't answer and just shifted her eyes around.
She hadn't brought anything that she could've dropped.
She didn’t need to bring money since Professor Robert had given it to Rudy, and the only valuable she had was her magic book, which she had placed in her small bag.
She was wearing the bag over her shoulder, so she couldn’t have dropped it.
While Luna was deep in thought, Rudy chuckled.
“Why were you hiding there?”
Rudy brushed the leaves off Luna's hair.
Luna stared intently at him.
Rudy was wearing clothes that seemed too lavish to be ordinary but didn't have the boots that nobles usually wore.
However, anyone could tell he was of noble birth by looking at his face and hair.
Seeing Rudy in different attire than usual and brushing off her clothes made Luna’s face turn increasingly red.
“Uh…”
Luna lowered her head, trying to hide her flushed face.
Rudy gently tapped Luna’s head and spoke up.
"I'm hungry. Let's go eat."
With that, the two walked into town and entered a nearby restaurant.
They didn't go in with a specific place in mind but simply chose the one that looked the most appealing in the area.
Since they had Professor Robert's money anyway, they wanted to eat the best.
"Rudy, what will you have?"
"Um... I don’t really mind, anything is fine."
"In that case! I'll have this pasta, and would you like a steak?"
"Why?"
"Because I want to taste both! We can share!"
Luna said with a chuckle.
Her plan was simple.
Order two dishes, then when she wants to try Rudy's food, she would ask him to feed her.
Or, she could feed her dish to Rudy.
If either of the two scenarios played out, she would consider it a win.
"Excuse me."
However, Rudy, having had a similar experience with Rie before, spoke up.
"I'll have one sirloin steak and this pasta here..."
Rudy sneaked a glance at Luna before continuing.
"...And could you bring us individual plates for sharing? Like two sets of tableware."
"…What?"
Luna stared in surprise.
"Yes, understood. We'll get it ready right away."
"Oh, no..."
Luna stammered, prompting the server to look at her curiously.
"Is there a problem?"
"Um..."
It wasn’t like she could ask them to prepare only one set of tableware now.
"No, it's okay..."
Looking a bit dejected, Luna watched the server leave.
"So, what's the matter?"
Rudy teased with a playful grin.
"You... You did that on purpose!"
"You said to resist, so I thought I’d resist as best I could."
"I said it'd be better if you did fall for me..."
Luna murmured shyly.
A short while later, they finished their meal and left the restaurant.
"You could have let me feed you just once!"
"No."
"Ugh..."
Luna was fervently protesting to Rudy.
She hadn’t even expected Rudy to feed her the steak or pasta.
She just wanted to try feeding him once.
However, Rudy rejected the idea, dodging her attempts with determination.
Rudy was firm in his refusal.
He said if she could charm him, he'd let her feed him a hundred times, but until she did, it was a no-go.
"You're so mean..."
Luna muttered, glaring at Rudy, when suddenly -
CLANK!
"Hm?"
"Huh?"
A loud noise echoed nearby.
It sounded like something had been shattered.
The sudden noise captured the attention of the peaceful town's residents.
"What was that?"
Both Luna and Rudy moved towards the source of the sound.
It came from a tavern.
People were rushing out of the tavern, and loud noises continued from within.
Crash─
"Ah, there's someone inside..."
"Watch out!"
The voices of the people around sounded panicky, but the situation didn’t seem that dangerous.
The building wasn't on fire, and the walls weren't broken down.
There was just a loud noise coming from inside.
"You've grown quite a bit, haven't you?"
Then, a voice echoed from within.
Upon hearing it, Rudy and Luna exchanged glances.
"This voice..."
"...Sounds like Professor Robert."
Having said that, the two slowly walked into the building.
"Hey, kids! If you go in there...!"
Someone tried to dissuade them from entering.
However, they paid no mind.
Having gone through countless battles, they didn't feel much danger from a situation like this.
As they entered, the intact interior of a tavern was in sight.
Apart from some chairs knocked over by people evacuating, there wasn't much damage to the tables or other areas as one might have expected.
"What's going on?"
Rudy said so and looked up at the second floor.
Since the first floor had a clear view of the second floor, they could see it just by raising their heads.
There stood Professor Robert, pinning a sturdy-looking man beneath his feet.
Despite the man's imposing build, he was unable to take any action and could only struggle beneath Robert's feet.
"...Professor, what are you doing?"
Rudy asked with a baffled expression.
"Oh, is that you, Rudy?"
Robert responded while adjusting his sleeves.
"Just disciplining this guy a bit. You can head back to the inn first."
"Please, please spare me!!"
The man below let out a loud scream.
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