Chapter 50

*Slurp*.

Alnu took a good bite of the tempura, making a satisfying sound.

It was a tempura of shiitake mushrooms, one of the most popular items on the izakaya’s menu.

Alnu, who had moved to the counter, was being watched intently by Eifa and Hermine as he ate.

“This is… amazing.”

“I’m glad you like it. Please, help yourself.”

Shinno directly served Alnu from the freshly fried and drained tempura.

Starting with mushrooms like shiitake, shiitake, and enoki, followed by okra, lotus root, eggplant, sardines, squid, and octopus, there were many ingredients available.

Alnu kept putting them in his mouth one after another.

He ate with the enthusiasm of a child in the middle of a growth spurt.

He had to wash down the food with beer to prevent it from getting stuck in his throat due to his haste.

“Tempura is such a wonderful thing. I’ve eaten many fried foods, but this is the right choice. I want to let Issak try it too.”

“Issak?” Shinobu asked, and Alnu, without stopping his eating, smiled slightly.

“He’s my friend. You could say he’s my best friend.”

“I’d like to invite him next time.”

“Yes, Issak has a real weakness for good food.”

Alnu devoured the tempura as if he were gobbling it up.

Fork, mouth, chew, swallow, fork, mouth, chew, swallow…

Holger and Etvin, who were watching from either side, had their throats rumble in unison. They both raised their hands to order at the same time.

“Shinobu, I’d like some tempura too.”

“I want tempura as well, as soon as possible.”

“Sure, autumn delicacy tempura. Thank you.”

Shinno, who served as the third-ranking chef in the ryotei Yukitsuna, worked efficiently.

However, even so, the three of them ate quite quickly, leaving their plates empty.

“You don’t have to rush, the tempura won’t run away.”

“No, but Shinobu, even if it doesn’t run away, it will get cold.”

“Eating it fresh and hot is the best way to show respect to the cooking and the cook, isn’t it?”

While the two of them talked and ate, Alnu alone slowly savored the food, muttering to himself.

“The crunchiness of this tempura is just exquisite, like a young girl walking barefoot on a sandy beach in early summer… no, that’s not it. Like the stars filling the autumn sky.”

“Alnu, is that a poem?”

“Yes, actually, I aspire to be a bard.”

“A bard…?”

Shinobu almost said, “But you don’t seem very good at it,” but quickly stopped herself.

She didn’t know what kind of poetry existed in this world, but from the reactions of the two men and Hermine, who were focused on the tempura, and Eifa, it seemed Alnu’s poetry wasn’t very good.

He was skilled in handling women and maintaining his dignity, but his poetry lacked grace. He must be that kind of person.

“Ah, what kind of poetry do you sing, Alnu?”

“That has been my dilemma. Should I sing about war and heroes like Bedeger, or the beauty of nature like Diestavek, or perhaps the fleeting and sad love songs like Ainem and Garmrich?”

“Huh, huh…”

Alnu listed names as if possessed by a fever, but Shinobu didn’t know any of them. She thought the genres of poetry weren’t much different from her world.

Before she knew it, Alnu had stood up and was gesturing with his hands.

“But I think meeting this izakaya Nobu today was fate. The direction I should aim for has just been decided. Clovinkel. I will sing about food and fine wine like Clovinkel. Don’t you think it’s a good idea!”

Seeing him declare it as if shouting, Shinobu realized something.

This customer was drunk. And quite heavily.

The people of the ancient city could drink a lot without showing it on their faces.

Even when they overdid it, they only turned a little red or their eyes became glassy. Shinobu, who was used to this, sometimes didn’t notice.

She had only served Alnu a mug of beer, but she gently persuaded him to sit back down.

What should she do?

Even if she wanted to call his friend Issak, the guards wouldn’t show up today because of the archbishop’s formalities.

As she was thinking this, the front of the izakaya became unusually noisy.

“Let’s get that Alnu out here!”

Gently sliding the glass door to peek outside, she saw a group of men she recognized gathered in front of the izakaya.

The ones shouting in loud, rough voices were the thugs who had been beaten by Alnu earlier. There were about ten of them, having doubled in number, probably thinking they couldn’t beat Alnu alone.

“What should we do…”

Shinobu, turning pale, was gently patted on the shoulder by Alnu.

“It’s okay. Leave it to me.”

Before she could stop him, Alnu boldly stepped outside the glass door.

He delivered a satisfying blow to the nose of the man shouting the loudest, then smoothly circled behind him and choked him.

“Hey, you guys. It’s best not to move recklessly. I’m just drunk enough to lose control if I’m not careful.”

The men, who had been shouting in numbers, fell silent and took a step back, intimidated by his efficiency.

Alnu, with his glassy, drunk eyes, gestured to the nearest man.

“You there, if you value his life, gather the money from your friends.”

“What, are you extorting us?”

“Extortion? Don’t be ridiculous. Your friends caused a disturbance in this izakaya earlier and left without paying. This is the bill.”

“That’s too much…”

“It’s the interest and the lesson fee. Pay up quickly!”

“Yes, yes…”

Seeing the thug, who was half-crying, gather the money from his friends, the leader, whose neck was being choked, groaned in pain.

“Your technique and style… Could you be… the ‘Drunk Eye’ Alnu?”

“I already told you my name. I’m Alnu.”

Hearing the name, the men, who had been ready to attack, suddenly lost their nerve.

“Hey, the ‘Drunk Eye’ Alnu… He’s the legendary man who, a few years ago, cleaned up the thugs in the ancient city with just two people… I heard he disappeared.”

“Does he have any weaknesses?”

“There are two. But…”

“What are they?”

A ripple of whispers spread through the group of thugs.

Shinobu and Shinno exchanged glances at the mention of Alnu’s weaknesses. What could they be?

“The ‘Drunk Eye’ Alnu… as his name suggests, is weak against alcohol. He gets drunk with just one ale.”

“Is that useful in a fight? What’s the other one?”

“It’s… his poetry, which is bad.”

Hearing this, Alnu shouted.

He lifted the thug whose neck he had been choking and threw him at the one who had commented on his poetry.

Picking up a wooden stick that one of the thugs had dropped, he charged into the group in a rage.

“Oh, oh…”

Before Shinobu, Shinno, and the other people in the izakaya, the one-on-ten fight had turned into a battle of one berserker against ten men.

The result was obvious.

“I’m sorry for the trouble.”

When everything was over, Alnu was the only one standing in front of the izakaya.

The ten thugs were lying on the ground, groaning weakly.

“Here, this is what they forgot to pay earlier.”

Alnu handed a leather bag to Shinobu, who took it hesitantly.

Without another word, Alnu waved and disappeared into the night of the ancient city.

Eifa said one thing,

“From now on, no poetry talk in the shop,” and everyone nodded in agreement.