Wild Boar Inn II

"Here."

The room that Margaret brought Carolyn to was on the right, the third door from the staircase. She could see two more doors further down, and another set of doors on the left facing the doors on the right, making a total of ten rooms. She had counted seven keys when she first entered the inn, and assuming that the other keys were given to customers, there were three other people staying at the inn. She didn't know if this meant business was poor or if it was the same as usual, but she made a mental note of it.

Margaret opened the door with the key she brought and then handed it to Carolyn.

"This is your room. Make sure to lock the door. It's not foolproof, but it's better than nothing. There's a chamber pot under the bed, throw the waste down the latrine in the outhouse and wash it when you're finished. If you want water, then you have to fetch it yourself. Food is served in the tavern, down the passage from the entrance. You're free to feel hungry, but you only get three free meals a day. We start cooking at half past dawn and stop at ten in the night. Any questions?"

"Yes. I know you refused my request to work here, but could I help--"

Interrupting Carolyn as she tried to offer to help at no cost was not Margaret, but her own stomach. Considering the amount of walking and running she had done, it was no wonder that she was hungry, but she felt betrayed by her stomach for choosing such an inopportune time to remind her of that fact.

Fortunately, the growl didn't upset Margaret, in fact, it put a smile on her face, the first since their meeting.

"Why don't you put your bag down and get yourself something to eat first?"

"...Yes."

Margaret went back downstairs, passing by Carolyn with her cheeks flushed from embarrassment. She didn't want to remember the incident, but the fact that Margaret smiled was a silver lining. The etiquette engrained in her by her mother made her feel ashamed, but if it was useful in helping her accomplish her task, then it was more bearable.

After a few deep breaths to suppress the shame, Carolyn entered her room and placed her bag on the chair next to the bed before closing the door. She wasn't sure how secure the inn was, but she didn't think her room would be broken into on the first day at least. Nonetheless, she had very precious items in her bag, so she had to take extra measures to ensure that they weren't stolen.

Once she was finished, Carolyn considered asking Margaret for cleaning supplies so that she could clean her room, but given their most recent interaction, she chose to have lunch instead. After returning to the first floor, Carolyn couldn't find Margaret, so she went towards the door down the passage from the entrance.

Past the door, she found the tavern, and it was packed with rowdy men. Few of them appeared to be drunk, but they all had at least one mug of beer on their table. She tried to look for Margaret, but visceral disgust soon paralyzed her. She had figured that it would be fine to remove her cloak, but quickly regretted that decision as she sensed their slimy gazes. She didn't believe herself to be in much danger, but she found it hard to accustom herself to this sensation.

"Hey, what are you blocking the entrance for? Go and take a seat."

The voice that shook her out of her daze was from a young woman who appeared to be in her early to mid-twenties. She had short amber hair and wore an apron similar to Margaret's, so Carolyn guessed that she was part of the staff.

"Ah, sorry about that."

Carolyn swiftly scanned the room and headed to the most isolated table she could find. She was still uncomfortable, but she could slightly distract herself by looking around the tavern and thinking about what to order. Along the way to her seat, she found Margaret coming from the kitchen with trays of food and mugs of alcohol. Despite having both hands full, she moved deftly and distributed the food and drinks to the right customers. The other waitress, who had spoken to Carolyn, moved with similar agility.

However, it wasn't their movements that made the biggest impressions. Margaret looked like a physically strong woman, but there were still a few men in the bar that possessed power surpassing hers. However, even they looked at her with respect. Carolyn didn't know what she did to attain such a status, but Margaret's unyielding figure earned her admiration.

Carolyn felt the same about the other waitress. She didn't have the same domineering status among the men, and they likely wouldn't act on their desires because of Margaret's influence, but they stared at her with the same lustful gazes that targeted Carolyn, with some adding raunchy compliments. Carolyn even spotted a few cases of men trying to 'accidentally' touch her body as she walked through the tables. However, the waitress didn't let their gazes or actions stall her, nor did she let them succeed in their tricks.

Gazes were brushed off with indifference while inappropriate comments were met with the bare minimum acknowledgement. Attempts to touch her were either avoided or earned a slap if they interfered with her work. The lack of retaliation from the patrons played a factor, but Carolyn didn't think the waitress would back down if it came to a fight either. Of course, if all the men attacked, a loss would be guaranteed, but at the very least, her first response would be one of anger rather than fear.

'I thought I had made my resolve, but compared to these two, no, even compared to those children, it's still far from enough.'

As Carolyn sighed despondently, she sensed someone approaching her. She scolded herself for feeling panic at first before looking at the one closing the distance.

"You're Carol, right?" the waitress asked.

"Yes."

"You can call me Mila. Ma said you wanted something to eat. You have any requests?"

Briefly surprised by the relationship between Mila and Margaret, Carolyn took a moment to think of her order. There wasn't a menu nearby, so she first guessed based on what the other patrons had.

"Um, could I have a chicken sandwich?"

"Sure. One chicken sandwich!"

Carolyn watched as Mila walked towards the kitchen after shouting her order. If she wanted to work here, then she would have to display that level of confidence, but while she might be able to do it under normal circumstances, she was too mindful of the gazes around her to pull it off now.

"Hey missy, I ain't seen you before. You new?"

While Carolyn lamented her timidity, one of the drunk men nearby spoke to her. She flinched in surprise, but after a moment to remind herself of her mission, she tried to respond.

"Ah, you could say something like that."

However, it didn't go very well. Not only was her voice shaky, she also struggled to make eye contact. His hazy consciousness dulled by alcohol made his intentions less clear, but facing the lust in his eyes head on was too much for her.

"Oi! Don't you know, huek, to face someone when they're talkin' to you? You you you, you think you're better than me?"

Carolyn agreed with his stance of facing someone when talking to them, but on her part, she wanted to argue that he wasn't exactly looking at her face either.

"Oi! Are you listening to me?!"

As his tone grew more aggressive, Carolyn panicked, but she couldn't manage more than a quick glance. Looking at him any longer inspired enough disgust to make her want to vomit. If she wanted to work here, then she had to endure this nausea, but overcoming her discomfort wasn't proving to be easy.