Chapter 09 The Girl and the Mercenaries (Part IV)

If there was one thing that Sylvia could freely do in her current situation, it was to be crude. Unlike when she was a duchess, survival came before etiquette, grace, and vanity.

This is to say that Sylvia, having been brought back in time, could curse all she wanted.

“Damned old man.”

Sylvia’s knees buckled underneath her.

“Short ol’ Shorte who stinks of tobacco.”

Unfortunately, Sylvia couldn’t reclaim her days of youth after having lived a noble’s life.

She sighed as she gave up and lay on the earthen floor.

Shote had indeed tried every trick he could to make Nadir pay more than he should. Of course, when the man insisted on paying the fair price, Shote took his losses out on her by working her to the bone.

‘I remember my first life, but changes keep happening.’

From what she could recall, Shote made her work less because he was happy that she had led the mercenaries to the inn.

Sylvia now understood why. Since she had helped Nadir, it was only natural that something would change.

“Then … if I don’t meet him tonight, how will the future change?”

“If it changed too much, what I know of the future would be useless.”

Sylvia might even have to live in the slums until she died. That is, if she could survive until adulthood.

She shook her head and closed her eyes for a moment to try to put her thoughts in order as it began to rain outside her four walls.

‘I’m finally alone, but I can’t move to heal myself.’

Unfortunately, her short moment of reprieve got interrupted when Shote slammed the door open. The light from outside spilled onto her lifeless-looking body.

“You dead, girl?”

Sylvia groaned.

“Don’t go writing me off as a corpse, old man,” she grumbled as she sat up. “If I die before you, I swear I’ll hunt ya.”

“Talking back now, huh? Brats these days got no manners,” he said, scolding her, but he was grinning.

The old man’s teeth had plenty of gaps, and the few that remained were heavily stained from decades of smoking.

He pointed behind him with a thumb.

“Get out. The customers you bought this morning are asking for ya.”

‘Why?’

‘This didn’t happen before.’

Another small change.

In her memory, the evening ended as usual. She awoke in the middle of the night due to an intruder.

Nadir and his group had never called for her before.

“Quickly now, girl. Don’t keep the customers waiting.”

As Sylvia passed him by, he added, “Head on up. Last room on your left.”

“Why’d they ask for me?”

Shote shrugged.

“Beats me, girl. If something happens, scream,” he said, already walking away. “If they try anything funny, the knights will get them.”

Sylvia walked past the curtains dividing the short passage between the rest of the first floor and the backrooms. She emerged from behind the reception desk.

Just then, someone called out to her.

“Sylvie, you going up?” Taleer called from the kitchen, which was to her right, separated by shorter curtains.

They brushed against the heads and shoulders of the adults entering and leaving the kitchen, which at the moment, was only Taleer.

Taleer waved her over. He was already in his thirties, but his youthful face betrayed his age.

Since he worked in the kitchen most of the time, Taleer always wore an apron. Sweat coated his light brown skin due to the heat, but his light brown eyes were lit with satisfaction.

Sylvia swallowed thickly as she entered the kitchen and stood an arm’s distance away from him. The meat stew he was pouring into bowls smelled heavenly for the girl who hadn’t eaten yet.

“Smells good?”

“Can I have the leftovers?” she asked.

Taleer placed a hand on the top of her head and smiled.

“I made a lot, so you can have them for breakfast tomorrow, too.”

Sylvia’s pretty pink eyes sparkled. In her previous life, she lived as a duchess at some point and before that, a guest of House Winston. Therefore, this meat stew, deemed as commoner food, never graced her palate ever again.

She bit the inside of her lower lip.

‘Keep it together.’

“Yes! I’m going to stuff myself full!”

Taleer laughed. He moved the bowls onto a couple of trays and added more food.

“Isn’t this rice?”

Grains were expensive, and therefore, only cooked when requested. Brown rice, in particular, was considered a luxury for commoners, more so for people like them.

Since Shote kept only a small stock, he offered it only to those who looked like they’d be able to pay his exorbitant price.

“The guests you brought requested it,” Taleer replied. “Been a while since I was asked to serve this.”

“Ah …” Sylvia said, realizing why Shote was amused by her retort earlier.

“Don’t make that face. It’s the loser’s fault for getting scammed.”

“That’s true,” she said, nodding.

If they were smarter, they’d realize that they were being swindled.

‘I didn’t expect Nadir to be a little dense. I assumed he had more brains than the other two since he seemed to be the voice of reason in the group.’

“I was too quick to judge,” she mumbled to herself.

“What was that?”

“Ah, nothing, nothing,” she said, waving her hands.

Her gaze returned to the trays. Besides the brown rice, they also requested … tankards of ale. Judging from the strong fruity scent, they must be of the stronger variety.

“Do mercenaries drink a lot?”

“When you’re an adult, you’ll understand,” Taleer replied, nodding as if he’d said something wise.

“Is this all for them?”

“Yeah. Take a tray, Slyvie. I’ll hold the rest.”

“You don’t have to,” she said, but Taleer had already picked up the other two trays, balancing them perfectly on each hand.

“Thanks.”

“No problem. Shote’s been hard on you all day.”

They exited the kitchen through another passage, this one with the curtains parted in the middle and each side tied out of the way.

The inn’s first floor was nearly empty except for a few guests having their dinners and the inn’s patrons, a small squad of low-ranking knights nearing their retirement who guard the capital’s walls.

“Oho, Sylvie!” Sir Danus, the squad leader, called out.

He wore light armor that had never seen war, likely as old as his years in service but well-maintained. The other six members had the same standard-issue equipment. Their swords lay at rest on their respective sides, always within reach.

“Working hard again, aren’t ya?”

“Shote, that old coot! Is he even feeding our cute Sylvie?”

Yet another one was nodding his head.

“We’re cheering ya on, Sylvie!”

“Hang in there!”

“Any louder and you’ll disturb our guests’ rest,” Taleer said with a smile.

“Gah. Adopt her already,” Sir Danus said as he chugged his ale. “Ah-h. That hits the spot.”

“Hard day?” Taleer asked. “Take it easy there, sir knight.”

Sir Danus waved him off.

“Gah. Some nonsense about a corpse coming back to life.”

His fellow knights laughed aloud.

“Oi. Oi. Do you really believe that, leader?”

“Ol’ Rick’s getting senile, I tell ya!”

“Hm. Hm.”

Taleer shook his head.

“That gravedigger’s going to have to retire at this rate,” he said. “How many times does this count?”

“Ha-h-h-h. He was insistent about it; shaken up like he’d seen the man crawl out of the grave himself,” Sir Danus replied. “It’s along our patrol route tonight, so we’ll see for ourselves. Least we can do for Ol’ Rick.”

Taleer nodded.

“Let’s go,” he told Sylvia, letting her climb up the stairs first.

‘Adoption, huh.’

‘That doesn’t sound too bad. Taleer will inherit the inn in the future, and I can continue to work here.’

‘He’s a nice man. He’ll meet a nice woman one day and form his own family. He probably won’t kick me out.’

‘Family, hm.’

Sylvia frowned, recalling what ‘family’ had meant for her in her first life.

‘That was then.’

‘They’re all alive now.’

“Don’t mind them, Sylvie,” Taleer said. “You’ve been a big help since you started working here. Shote doesn’t say it, but he likes having you around.”

“Sure, he does,” she said. “No one works like a mule like I do.”

Taleer laughed awkwardly.

“Well … he means well, Sylvie.”

‘Yeah. Compared to the streets, I have my own box and I can eat my fill. I get paid two coppers a day without excuse.’

‘Shote’s a good employer, and his son’s a good person.’

“I know that.”

Sylvia couldn’t see what expression Taleer made. She didn’t need to.

Whatever sentiments she had toward this place that sheltered her paled in comparison to the purpose of her life.

‘I’m grateful, but I have to get out of here soon. This isn’t where I’m supposed to be.’

Their sentiments wouldn’t ease the scars on her heart.

The years of torment she’d lived haunted her mind continuously, and there was only one thing that could lay it to rest.

‘A corpse coming back to life. Heh. That’s just like me.’

-gn_cc-