Chapter 2: A Day In the Life of a Charming Bartender Named Aries

Sunlight seeped through the narrow gap between the curtains, stirring Ryder awake. He had fallen asleep while attempting to unblock his mana pathways.

‘I don’t get how people ascend through meditation.’

Ryder did hear that they used some sort of medicine before meditation, but that was most likely a scam. Even if it did work, Ryder probably would not get a pathway of high quality.

‘Never thought I would miss the days where those bastards throw us into monster dens as children and expect us to survive.’

Surprisingly, a life-or-death situation was the best way to open a pathway. However, with the war over and the Rot taking over the south, Ryder did not have the opportunity to be in such a situation that could allow him to be threatened or be threatened and survive.

‘Now, this is one hell of a dilemma.’

Well, not that it mattered too much in the short-run. Ryder felt his nape. There, a tattoo of the crescent moon was etched into his skin. Having this mark meant that he was a servant and as a servant, he would have a physique just slightly lower than his master’s. Ryder had felt slightly stronger during his time on the ship. At first, he thought he achieved a breakthrough, but it was just the mark doing its work.

‘She must have been a Chosen now.’

Ryder should feel happy. She was one step closer to their goal. However… something inside him wished she would share some of that burden.

‘Well, she defeated me so I would have to just do as she wishes.’

Ryder pulled away the curtains and opened the window, the salty refreshing smell of the ocean breeze entered his room, allowing Ryder a sigh of comfort.

It had been several months since their battle at Herbren. Ryder had joined the townsfolk in their evacuation to the Empire. After a few months, he made his way to Breen, a coastal city to the south of the Empire.

It was once a major trading hub between the Empire and the Republic, but the war had brought the city’s finances down due to the lack of visitors from the South. They expected things to normalize when the war was over, but the civil war happened and after that, the Rot suddenly appeared out of nowhere, collapsing the Republic.

With the Rot, even locals attempted to move out, especially when they heard the merfolk in the Althei Sea had mostly gone extinct, now slaves to the Rot. Those same merfolk now occasionally storm Breen in an attempt to establish a foothold in the Empire.

To prevent an economic collapse, the Empire put up measures to increase tourism to the city, including making the city a bastion. With soldiers all over the Empire guarding the city, including the recently re-established Lucine military and the royal army, the city began to thrive once more. Of course, with a thriving city, businesses must hire more labor. Fortunately, the refugees from the south were there to fill in any labor shortages.

Ryder ensured proper hygiene was maintained. His teeth were brushed, his body was washed with soap, moisturizer applied on his face and his hair brushed. He grabbed the evergreen hair tie from his table and put it between his lips. He tied his hair into a ponytail and with the hair tie, fixed it in place. He then wore a pair of black leather gloves, hiding the tattoo of a black four-point star on his left hand. Thus, the charming bartender of the Sea Conch Tavern, Aries, was ready to serve.

He walked out onto the tavern floor, greeting the adventurers with a smile and fist bumps. He blew a kiss at his admirers waiting at the bar table as he walked to his workstation, watching them swoon over him.

“Welcome to the Sea Conch. How may I serve you today?”

***

Ryder breathed a sigh of relief. It felt like the tavern was getting busier and busier each day. The boss, a gruff old man who was once a knight of the royal army, counted the coins in the box with glee.

“It’s… It’s a haul! I am making money! So much money!”

The boss was throwing coins up into the air, causing them to fall all over the floor. Ryder quickly picked them up and put it on the table to ensure not one would go missing. After all, Ryder also liked money.

He was never paid as a soldier when he was in the Twilight Squadron so he occasionally got them from raids and scavenging. The amount of things money could buy was astounding. He remembered a saying, “Money can’t buy happiness.”

Whoever said that probably did not have enough money. Money is happiness. That was the real truth.

Ryder was especially sensitive to the coins since today was his payday.

He watched eagerly as six gold coins dropped from his boss’ hand onto his. Wait, six?! Not three?

He looked at the boss with teary eyes.

“A tip. You deserve it.”

“Boss…”

‘You really are a great boss even though you sometimes hoard the food and drinks for yourself which cause us to lose some profits but all is forgiven.’

“You’re free to go. Just remember to head back before sundown and avoid the coast. I heard a little girl went missing just recently.”

“Thank you, boss, but I am not a little girl, am I?”

The boss sighed.

“I guess you are not, but adults have gone missing too, you know.”

“Right, I’ll be careful.”

He stopped by the door.

“By the way, if you don’t mind, how long has the girl gone missing?”

“Around last night, I think?”

“And the adults?”

“A little more than a week ago for the last one.”

“I see. I’ll be off then.”

Ryder exited the tavern with glee as he counted his coins. He had saved just enough to reach fifty gold coins. That should be enough for what he wanted to buy.

First, he entered a clothing shop and bought a suit and tie. He noticed that more affluent ladies had entered the tavern for his services so he wanted to look more presentable so he could serve high noble ladies one day.

‘Maybe a princess too. That would be nice.’

Next, he headed towards an arts and crafts shop where he finally got an upgrade to that musty leather deck box. This new deck box was made with polished ebony wood, giving it a spicy aroma. Its edges were cushioned with high-quality Croden cow leather and its interiors with red velvet. It also had a separator, allowing Ryder to separate the suits from the arcana. Its designs were even more intricate with twenty-two symbols representing each of the Arcana at the front of the box and at the back, the four suits in their representative directions: the wand to the north, the grail to the east, the pentacle to the south, and the sword to the west.

He walked out of the shop, whistling a happy tune. He looked at the sky. It was a deep orange now and the street lamps had lit up.

“I guess I can make one last stop.”