玉蒲团之云雨山庄

"You\'re right! You\'re right! It must be because of him! Looks like you\'re the lucky star that brings this load of customers for us today, Lyan!"

Two waitresses that have been accompanying Lyan since he enter the tavern until he finished all of his food are sitting closely and clinging to him from both sides.

"Well, because of the sudden rush of customers, we\'re the only lucky ones that could continue to enjoy our time with you, though~" One of the waitresses said with a playful wink as she looks at her coworkers stealing envious stares at her.

Right after Lyan finished his meal, somehow the tavern suddenly got a load of customers, making the business to suddenly get busy. The rest of the waitresses are forced to serve the other customers as well, and after raffling with coins, the two waitresses besides Lyan are the ones that won the prize to continue to accompany him.

"Hey, hey. Don\'t you think that the place is getting too rowdy here? How about we go to a more quiet place?"

"You\'re right! It\'ll be easier for us to talk in the room upstairs, don\'t you think?"

The two waitresses press their chest towards Lyan\'s arms as they cling to him on purpose. Under normal circumstances, the two of them would not make such an obvious move because of their pride in their beauty. The reason why they are inviting and seducing him so openly is that they are getting desperate.

Lyan has been replying to their passes positively, but he does not react to any of their physical touches even though it\'s obvious that they are inviting him.

But the reason why Lyan did not answer to their moves is not that he\'s not interested. It\'s normal for him to follow the flow and accept their invitation, but right now, his focus is on elsewhere.

"Eh? Do you need some- Hiiee!!" One of the waitresses beside Lyan shrieked and silently went away in fear after looking at the person that grabbed her shoulders.

"Looks like this place is now empty," A deep and majestic voice filled with confidence appeared from beside him. it\'s a voice that contains no hesitation within it. Like a thunder striking its target, it\'s clear and unhesitant.

"Eh? Who are-" As the remaining waitress beside Lyan that seems to be more braver than the other one about to protest to the person that just sits beside Lyan, another man appeared.

"Sorry, young miss. But that knight over there hasn\'t gotten any waitress serving him for several minutes already. I don\'t think it will be good if he lost his temper here," A refined and charismatic voice appeared from the other side.

"Y-Yes? Ah... You\'re right," The waitress got stunned by the handsomeness of the man for a moment and ended up accepting and following his words to serve the knight that seems to be not getting served by the waitress for a while.

"I guess this seat is now vacant as well. Please excuse me," Just like the other man, the handsome man took the seat beside Lyan replacing the waitress without hesitating.

Without replying, Lyan continue to swirl the glass of wine in his hand with his eyes closed. His moves are slow but refined, stealing the attention of the two men beside him.

Judging from how they got captivated by his refined moves, it means that they come from a lineage and social class that is sensitive to the refined beauty that commoners would not understand.

"What a refined way to handle your wine. It seems that you\'re quite used to balls and gatherings of the wealthy and prestigious," The deep voice praised Lyan.

As Lyan squinted his eyes, the sight of a big man with a build of a warrior staring at him with a pair of firm and sharp eyes entered his sight.

"Surely you jest. It\'s just something that I learn to fill my boredom," Lyan replied with a shrug before taking a sip of the wine in his hand.

With his stomach filled with the great meal served by the tavern and a glass of wine that matches the aftertaste of the food, he\'s in his greatest mood. It\'s rare for a tavern to serve meals and heavy foods other than snacks, Lyan doesn\'t have any expectations for the taste, but it turns out that the food is very delicious as well.

"Looks like you\'re in a very good mood. Does the food served here that delicious?" The refined and charismatic voice asked him.

Lyan squinted his eyes, and a small frown appeared on his face for a moment as if he tasted something bitter. It\'s not because of the fact that the face that he saw is the familiar face that he saw on the other occasion before, but it\'s because of how the handsomeness of the person doesn\'t seem to fade at all despite wearing just a plain cloak.

"Yes, it\'s very delicious indeed. But I don\'t recommend you to order them as well. It will be annoying to see the waitresses\' expressions melting as they saw you enjoying your food," Lyan uttered with a snort.

"I see... That\'s interesting. Hey, young waitress," The big man called the waitress that passed on their backs, making her jolt because of the volume of his voice.

"Y-Yes?"

"Serve me the same food and wine that you serve this man. If you serve me quickly I\'ll pay thrice the price," The big man said firmly.

"W-We\'ll make it as soon as-" Before the waitress could finish her words, the handsome man cuts in.

"Ah. Please give me the same order as well, please. If you serve me before that big man over there, I\'ll pay you ten amount of the price of the food. So please serve me first, okay?" The handsome man gives a wink to the waitress, making rather than her body, but her heart jolted instead.

"Y-Yes..." The waitress answered with a feverish voice before going to the kitchen with a red face.

"To think that you would waste much money just to get your food served before me, how ridiculous," The big man snorted.

"Of course not. It\'s just that I firmly believe in the recommendation given by this man over here about how delicious the foods are. I happen to have some extra cash in me, so why not?" The handsome man replied without even getting pressured by the ominous pressure the big man is emitting.

"Hmph! How foolish. That is the reason why this country could not get a step forward. The people standing at the top keeps on wasting their time and money for a foolish thing like this," (The Big Man)

"Oh my. Did you forget that you also offered to pay thrice the amount of food before me?" (The Handsome Man)

"It\'s because I treasure the amount of time I have. I valued my time to be much more valuable than my money. You need to know the true value of things to be able to lead people properly," (The Big Man)

"Coincidentally, it seems that I valued my time more than you do. That\'s why I offered more money to be served earlier. Don\'t you think so?" (The Handsome Man)

"You and your playful remarks. Looks like you never change," said the big man with a frown as he crossed his arms.

"Of course. Your temper seems to never change as well," The handsome man replied with a smirk as he closed his eyes.

"Um... You two seem to be getting along rather well and know each other well. Why don\'t one of you exchange your seat with me? It\'ll help the two of you to talk easier," Lyan was about to rise from his seat, but his shoulders got held down by the two people beside him.

"There\'s no need to do so, this country might get rowdy because of the sudden loss of their crown prince if you do so,"

"It\'ll be greater if you continue to sit on your seat. It will be a great loss for the kingdom if one of the greatest nobles to die on this night,"

The two of them continue with their spiteful remarks to each other while holding Lyan from leaving his seat.

(I guess I should have stayed in my inn room, after all...) (Lyan)

___________________________________________________________________________

Name: Lyan Arkanium Evocatore

Occupation: Mythril-ranked Mercenary

Money: 3,797,710,950 Elnes / 3797 gold 71 big silver 9 big coppers 5 coppers

Weapon: Magic Glaive, 1 (Decent) One-handed Sword, 2 (Good-Quality) One-handed swords, 1 (Decent) bow

Equipment: Black leather cloak, Leather Armor, Breastplate, 2 Health Potions, 2 Poison Vials

Grimoire\'s Companions: 8 High Spirits, 3 Valkyrie, Shadow Goblin Lord (Lv. 5), Papilio Slime (Lv. 45), Galewing Butterfly (Lv. 45), Rock Golem (Lv. 50), Deadlight (Lv. 63), Moonlight Butterfly (Lv. 45), Ice Golem (Lv. 50), Acid Ant Queen (Lv. 9), Magma Bear (Lv. 1), Fey Mammoth (Lv. 1), Arcane Retriever (Lv. 1)

Grimoire\'s Army: 6 Shadow Servants, 800 Skeleton Army