Wild Boar Inn III

Carolyn's dilemma persisted until the situation reached the ears of the other patrons.

"Hey Rudy, leave her alone. She probably can't stand to look at that ugly mug of yours. Hahahaha!"

"I'm impressed she hasn't puked already. Hahahaha!"

"Oh, shut up you guys!"

Once the drunk man heard the other patrons making fun of him, he redirected his focus to them. Carolyn could still feel their gazes on her, so she didn't sigh in relief, but she did feel noticeably less tense.

'Even fighting those thieves didn't feel as hard as this. Can I really work here? No! I can't think like that. Remember your purpose, Carolyn.'

Sensing her faltering resolve, Carolyn hastily shook her head, but the pessimism lingered. Logically, she knew she had to overcome her distaste for their slimy gazes if she wanted to work here, but she simply didn't know how. When it came to other negative emotions, she had little experience with anger and hate, but those emotions didn't bother her as much as lust. If they just intended to harm her, then she could consider how to fight back to gain courage, but lust wasn't equivalent to malice, so she found it hard to commit to violence. At the same time, the thought of giving them at least one good slap wasn't unappealing either. Unsure of how to confront their gazes, Carolyn kept her head down as she waited for her order.

"Here's your order, one Chicken Sandwich. I also brought a cup of water."

"Ah, thank you."

Carolyn expressed her gratitude and tried to distract herself with the sandwich on the wooden plate in front of her, but Mila's presence remained. She looked up at her in confusion, but Mila left without saying anything else. Carolyn wouldn't have minded if she stayed, but she didn't have a reason to force her either.

The sandwich was delicious, so Carolyn had no issue packing it into her stomach. Unfortunately, that also meant she had nothing else to distract her. There was nothing stopping her from returning to her room, but she couldn't get rid of the idea that she would be running away, so she was reluctant to make that choice. As she stared at the empty plate and cup, an idea appeared in her mind like a flash of lightning. Being a waitress might be too much for the current her, but she could surely help in the kitchen.

With her spirits uplifted, Carolyn stood with the plate and cup in her hands as she moved towards the kitchen. However, on her way there, passing other patrons was unavoidable.

"Hey little lady, where you going?"

One of the men she passed by, called her and reached for her body from behind. Carolyn could hardly see the man in her peripheral, much less his hand, yet her body moved before he could touch her. Her left foot rose from the floor and swiftly found its way to the man's neck, but stopped just before making contact.

Even those who had seen everything from start to finish could hardly believe their eyes. Though she hadn't been here long, the way that Carolyn acted gave everyone the impression that she was a sheltered miss who had been tossed into the real world, but that one motion was enough to force them to reevaluate her.

Once she regained her bearings and noticed the fear on the face of the man who her foot was targeting, Carolyn immediately pulled back her foot and apologized.

"My sincerest apologies! I don't know what came over me."

Now anxious for a different reason, Carolyn put down the plate and cup repeatedly bowed her head. The man was still too shocked to respond, but before he had the chance to say anything, Margaret intervened.

"Okay, that's enough. You seem to be a little too tense, girlie, so just head up and rest for now."

"Okay..."

Feeling defeated, Carolyn obeyed Margaret's suggestion and returned to her room. She knew that her body had reacted to something, but with no evidence as to what that was, she couldn't even make a proper excuse.

"To think I would make another mistake so soon."

With her back on the bed and her eyes on the ceiling, Carolyn sighed. It was already an issue that she couldn't comfortably interact with the patrons, so being a small push away from kicking one of them probably didn't earn her any points. There might have been a chance of her working behind the scenes in the kitchen, but now she had to be grateful that Margaret was allowing her to stay at all.

"Still, I can't spend all my time moping around."

Carolyn felt much regret, guilt and disappointment regarding how she behaved inside the tavern, but now that she wasn't feeling those creepy gazes, she could pull herself together in a short time. She sat up and began thinking of what to do next. Given that she had likely lost some of Margaret's trust in her, Carolyn determined that she first had to regain that trust before asking for employment. The real question was how.

The most obvious answer that came to her was to help with running the business, which was the same as what she had planned before. Unfortunately, Margaret didn't seem like she would accept her help just because there was no price tag attached. For the time being, Carolyn decided to clean for herself and look for an opportunity to show her worth. She wanted to get right into cleaning her room, so Carolyn decided to buy a few simple items to do the job. She hadn't chosen this option originally because she wanted to save money, but she could see herself returning to the slums to visit the siblings and Benedict, so there might be a chance to do some cleaning there as well.

She wouldn't be resting like Margaret told her to, but in a sense cleaning would clear her restlessness more effectively than napping would. Once she decided on taking this shopping trip, Carolyn took a hemp messenger bag from her luggage and placed her money pouch and other items inside. If there was ever a need to travel light, this was the bag she received from Teri to pack her things in. Apparently, he used it when he was younger and had to travel to patients' houses.

Once she had packed the messenger bag, Carolyn equipped her cloak once more, wore the messenger bag over it, and left the room. She didn't forget to lock the door, but by the time she reached the bottom of the staircase, she had to stop because of the unexpected face she spotted.

"Are you going out?" Mila asked.

Carolyn wasn't sure why Mila was at the front desk, but she wasn't afraid of being seen either.

"Yes. I was thinking of buying a few things to clean my room with. That wouldn't be a problem, right?"

After a long pause, Mila responded, "No."

Naturally, her pause made Carolyn curious, so she inquired.

"Is something wrong?"

"Not really. It's just, you're a bit different from how you were in the tavern."

"Oh, I should apologise for troubling you like that. I was a little nervous, is all."

Carolyn became embarrassed once she was reminded of how she behaved inside the tavern, but she tried to hide it with an awkward chuckle.

"Hmm, I see."

Mila didn't respond with any particular emotion in her tone, so it was hard to tell if she was really convinced or not. Staying on the topic likely wouldn't do much good, but a question came to mind that Carolyn felt she had to ask.

"Um, Ms. Mila. What impression did you have of me when you saw me in the tavern?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Well, no reason. You could call it curiosity. Of course, you don't have to answer if you don't want to."

Despite saying that, Carolyn stayed in place, waiting with anticipation in her eyes.

"...I'm not saying this with any malice, but in my eyes, you seemed like a frightened little mouse. Too scared to move yet at the same time ready to bite any cat that got too close."

"I, see. Thank you."

Mila wasn't sure why she was thanked, as her words could easily have been taken as an insult, but Carolyn left afterwards. She was a strange customer, so Mila hoped her stay wouldn't come with any trouble. Still, she found herself slightly interested in seeing what the girl did next.