7. Strawberry Wine

Back inside the Sunflower Shop, Frudel was still sitting beside the fire.

“Yo,” I leaned close and whispered into her ear.

As expected, she jumped out of her chair and screamed. She grabbed a dagger from the nearby counter and pointed it in my direction.

I displayed what one might call a true shit-eater grin. I hoped to catch her off-guard and my plan worked. Now, I wore the world’s cheesiest smile.

“Hmph,” Frudel lowered her weapon, “I did not expect you’d return.”

“What? You thought I would come around, inquire about your missing sister, and just leave?”

“That’s what I was hoping for. Yes.” She locked her arms and leaned against the wall. “Now, would you mind if I were to ask you to leave?”

I ignored her insult and showed her the root-twirled dagger.

“Not until I show you what I found after clearing the Nightwood Mines!”

She leaned forward and looked at the dagger. She stared at it for a while. Then, leaned back against the wall.

“That’s a sacrificial dagger.”

“That’s what I thought!” I said with excitement, followed by the realization. “Wait, why are you so nonchalant about it?”

“What kind of question is that? It’s part of Florean culture! We make food sacrifices to the gods to earn their boon! How could you not know that?”

Well, truth be told, I spent about a thousand hours with Ancient Blades and never actually paid attention to the story, so... this one might be my fault.

“Uhh, sorry!” I scratched my head. “The thing is, I’m an outsider, so––“

“A Loxan?”

“What the fuck is a–– I mean, judging by your voice, you would be angry if I answered yes, so absolutely not!”

Despite shaking my hands and gesticulating like a lawyer in court, she did not believe me.

“You bastard!” She shouted, throwing a tankard at me, “Your kind is a disgrace! You are not welcome in our shop!”

Barely dodging all the things she threw at me, I managed to break through the door and closed it. Even after seconds, I could still hear various items being thrown against the door.

“I really hit a nerve there, didn’t I?” I thought. It would not have bothered me, were it not for the fact that I had no idea how to proceed with this quest.

As it turns out, my mission was far from done, only my last objective got finished. How to proceed from there, I had no clue. Even the journal was little help, as it wrote nothing about where to head next.

But no matter. The sun was on its way down. Night slowly crept in above the mountaintops. It would be dangerous to stay out in the dark.

I had shelter, nor cash. Furthermore, I forgot to search the undead for any spare coin. Remembering this made me facepalm.

“Maybe I could knock on a few doors, beg for a few spare coins for a room in the inn...”

For some reason, this is not how I imagined things would turn out for me in a fantasy world. Kind of ruined my illusion.

I went ahead and entered the bar, walked straight to the barkeeper, and braced to humiliate myself. However, as I was clearing my throat to do one of the most awkward thing in my life...

“Oh, it’s you!” said the old barkeep, as if he had just seen an old friend.

I looked at him with question marks in my eyes, pointing at myself.

“Yup, I’m talking to you! You are that hero who cleared the Nightwood Mines! You are the talk of the town. The children are pissing themselves in excitement to meet you! Oh, but where are my manners? I should not speak such dirty words to the village’s hero!”

In an instant, all my pride returned. All of it. I felt a warm happiness run through my heart, followed by my suddenly inflated ego getting in the way of things.

“Indeed!” I raised my hand to my heart. “I am Axel, the one who fought the hundred vicious monsters in that mine! It was a bloody battle, of wits and strength! But in the end, no undead was powerful enough to win against me. None of them, even together as one!”

The barkeep’s enthusiasm shot down. He stared at me with cold, dead eyes.

Shit. I have become what I hated so much:

Cringe.

“A-Anyways,” I stuttered, “I was in search of a little girl you might know. She’s called Heidl.”

“Of course, Heidl the Fragile! Poor little thing, she lost her Father in the war and now her Mother works herself half-dead for money.”

“Don’t forget that her sister is a bitch,” I added bitterly.

“Please excuse Frudel. She has not been the same since the loss of her Father.” The barkeep reached under the counter and handed me a tiny bag. “Here, take this as compensation on their behalf. And don’t worry, I’ve already prepared a room for you. This night is on me, hero.”

The little bag had a few coins inside, worth around 20 Gold. Not the mineral kind. The currency of this world was called Gold. Why? I have no clue; it was clearly not made out of gold. Or maybe it was?

I entered my room and locked the door behind me. It was a small room with little more than a bed, table and chair, and a wooden tub, filled with steaming hot water.

Bread and meat occupied the table. Next to them was a bottle of wine.

Huh. I feared I might have to spend this night on the street, yet here I am, in one of the coziest places in the world.

I dressed down and slowly entered the tub. A bolt of warm pleasure shot through my body as the hot water touched my toes. I squeaked, then immediately covered my mouth.

I descended into the tub like a rocky giant and embraced the warmth. Then, I grabbed the wine and popped off the cork. Plop! One of the most satisfying sounds in the entire world.

The wine poured into my mouth like a waterfall, splashing and slashing around my tongue as a sea of red. Strawberry, it tasted, but a lover’s kiss it felt. Sweet, warm, exciting.

I gulped. And as I drank more, I gulped even louder. Never have I been the drinking kind, as I found the taste of alcohol to be disgusting. But this masterwork of wine was unlike anything I have ever tasted. Like fruit juice, but somehow even sweeter and better.

I exhaled loudly after pulling away the bottle. The sweet thing was inside my stomach, but even there, I could feel its tingly warmth.

“Goodness gracious,” I sighed, sinking deeper into the hot tub, “I knew that doing good can be rewarding, but this much? If Heaven is different for everyone, then this is mine. I would fight a thousand more monsters just to feel this cozy warmth again. And... maybe... I will...”

As I sunk deeper into the tub, my consciousness slowly drifted away and away, further and further into the realm of darkness and dreams. My fingertips numbed in just a few seconds, followed by the rest of my body.

I was falling asleep.

However, that was not the end of my day. Because soon, I would visit the [ Pillars of Creation ]...