Tavern Experience

Gunter's words did not lead them astray: there was indeed a small, but not quiet town awaiting at the end of the road within the forest.

The soft sunlight of the noon day danced down on Merdlum, and like a child that had been reunited with a lost toy, the muscular man danced, clapping his hands as he moved towards the tavern.

"Mead-o! Mead-o!" Gunter chanted.

'Ah…I'm going to have no copper by the end of this, huh?' He realized.

–

As soon as he entered the tavern, with Edith naturally opening the door for him and walking by his side, he was greeted by the boisterous environment within; many men and woman, most of which were geared in variety of outfits: some leather, some steel, and even some of more draconic, bone-like armor, drank and ate happily.

'...It really is a fantasy world,' he thought.

Sitting down at a table, all he ordered for himself was a loaf of bread and some meat while Gunter chugged mead down the hatch without any restraint. Though he insisted, the silver-haired girl was firm on not requiring anything to eat at the moment.

"Ga-ha-ha! That's good!" Gunter said with flushed cheeks as he slammed his mug down.

Still, after things had calmed down somewhat, Lucas found himself bewildered by all of it again; especially the fact he managed to summon a wildly cute girl as his companion.

"You both are familiar with this world, right?" He asked.

All he got from Gunter was a booze-smelling belch and a nod, but Edith gave him a proper answer:

"Yes, from the past and future of Fantasia. It's your call that gave us life in this era—in return, I pledge my undying loyalty to you, Lucas Moreland," the silver-haired girl placed her hand over her chest, speaking genuinely.

He rubbed his head, feeling a bit bashful, "I didn't really do anything, but I'm not going to reject your help. Both of you sure seem strong. Still…don't you guys have anything of your own you want to do?"

"What do you mean, Master?" Edith asked.

"Well, I mean, do you have any dreams of your own? Both of you," he asked.

His words seemed to catch the reserved, quartz-armored woman off guard as she was unable to form her response right away.

Gunter quickly had an answer of his own as he slammed down another mug of mead, wiping his chin, "A dream?! I guess mine would be to taste the booze of every city in this era! Ha-ha!"

"Of course," Lucas laughed before looking at the silver-haired girl, "what about you?"

Edith gave her answer to him, "…My purpose is simply to follow you and help you accomplish your own dreams, Master. That's enough for me."

"Be honest!" Gunter demanded with a smile.

"What?—" Edith leaned back, covering her nose as the words of Gunter were followed by his unruly breath.

"C'mon, ya can be truthful here! I get it–yer all about this honorable knight stuff, but everybody has dreams of their own!" Gunter said before taking another sip, "Tell her, Lucas! What's your dream?!"

As the question was flipped back on him, he found himself stunned for a good few seconds as both of his familiars were now watching him intently, waiting for an answer. It seemed they were highly interested in whatever his answer would be.

'Dream?...Honestly, I'm good just living a pretty alright life, but I know that won't do. With this ability at my side…I might just be able to rise to the top in this world–I don't know much about it, but I bet these words will suffice…' He thought with a smile.

Wielding a smile of his own, he looked at them with his bright-blue eyes, "I'm going to become the strongest in this world–I'll defeat any demon lord, dark god, or whoever-whatever big bad you throw in my way."

"Phew, nice choice of words. That's the man I'll follow," Gunter whistled, raising his mug.

Edith smiled somewhat, seeming satisfied with his words as she tucked a strand of her silver hair behind her ear, looking down, "...If I had to speak of a dream of my own beyond following you, I guess…I've always been interested in the pastries of other regions."

"Pastries?" Lucas was caught off-guard by her words.

It was a surprisingly adorable goal set by the girl, but looking past her shining armor and sword at her hip, she had an innocent cuteness about her; that face of a princess was unmistakably cute.

"That's a dream I can get behind! How about it, Lucas?! We'll visit every tavern and every bakery in each city we cross?!" Gunter asked.

"It's going to hurt my wallet for sure, but alright–you've got a deal," he agreed.

–

Though as another mug of mead was requested by Gunter in celebration of their summoning, Lucas took the sack of coins from his pocket, or at least what used to house coins: not a single copper was left.

"Urgh…" He let out, feeling the familiar pain of brokenness once again.

"What's the matter, Master?" Edith asked.

He looked up, shaking the empty pouch side-to-side for the two to see, "I'm all out of copper. I only arrived in Fantasia a few minutes before you both arrived, I wasn't exactly made of cash, ya know…"

Those words of his were half-pointed at the booze-loving warrior, who blinked a few times, seeming to realize that it was indeed him that ran through all of Lucas's funds.

"That's a problem, indeed," Edith put her hand to her chin, "You have nowhere to sleep yet, do you? A single room at an inn will cost three copper, at least."

He shook his head, "I don't have a damn thing besides what I'm wearing."

For some reason, the muscular, booze-smelling man stood up, running his fingers through his shaggy hair as he chuckled, "If it's coins, dontcha worry about it!"

"Huh? What do you have in mind, Gunter?" He asked, looking up.

Gunter slapped his own chest, "Just sit there and watch–in one hour, I'll have that sack filled with coins once more!"

It was definitely a declaration that he couldn't ignore, even as doubtful as he was of the boisterous, clearly drunk man's words.

"What's his plan…?" He audibly wondered.

Edith seemed to have an idea, "If you haven't checked, Master, I believe there is a hidden skill that Gunter possesses."

"Hidden skill? What is it?" He asked.

Though he intended to ask the silver-haired spellblade, his question was answered by his own system as it opened up a digital screen in front of his eyes, which seemed to be seen only by him as he nervously glanced around.

It presented him the hidden status belonging to Gunter:

[(N) Booze-Lover Gunter | Special Traits: Smells like mead! | Hidden Skill: Booze Immunity SSS+]

"Huh?! That immunity is super high-ranked…but, it's kind of useless, isn't it?" He wondered.

Edith had a small smile, "I don't know about that."

Looking over, he watched what Gunter's plan was as the boisterous drinker approached a table occupied by experienced adventurers, who were dressed in scars and weathered armor.

'Wait a minute…is he going to…?' He began to realize.

Gunter brought his own chair, slamming it down before sitting with a wide smile, "How about a drinking contest, friends?!"