Tavern

The two siblings were walking through the streets of the town, looking for the target of their destination. Tristan and Layla were feasting with their eyes, capturing and etching the fantasy-like sights into their minds...

Moments later, they finally arrived at a small wooden structure with a stone base. Right above the entrance of the structure was a wooden plaque with words that Tristan understood as "Moric's Tavern" on it. Hearing the hustle and bustle inside the structure, it was definitely the place that Tristan was looking for.

When they arrived, the sky was nearly covered by black hue.

"Wait here a second." Tristan said as he dashed away, leaving Layla standing in front of the tavern. A minute later, he returned with something in his hand.

"Here, cover yourself with this, Layla." Tristan said as he stretched out his hand to Layla, showing the thing he obtained. He gave her some kind of leather coat, which could cover most of Layla's body.

"Oh my gosh, Tris... Where did you get this piece of cloth? Did you… steal it? Are you an elf thief now?"

"Nah, I am just… 'borrowing' it. Something that I learn from my four years of extended education"

Layla just nodded and grinned while quickly wear the coat to cover her clothes

"Yuck! It's so smelly. You really know how to treat a girl, Tris." Layla commented with a clear tone of sarcasm while rolling her eyes.

"Don't worry. This is only temporary. I will 'borrow' a better one for you later.."

"I see. What a ladies man you are."

Tristan deliberately ignored his sister's words, as if he heard nothing at all and the words were stranded in the night sky.

…

The two of them immediately went inside the tavern. The moment they did so, they were quite surprised by the sight that greeted them, especially Layla. They never expected that the place would be packed with people.

There were at least three dozen wooden tables spread around the tavern, with most of them filled with people eating, drinking, or chatting. In short, those who were currently having their good time.

At the corner of the room, Tristan noticed a young man singing a song, accompanied by an unusual-looking music instrument.

"So, if we are looking for information… I guess, the bartender?" Layla said, unsure with her guess.

Tristan just shook his head at his sister's answer, "No, that's not it. Just follow me."

Tristan knew that normally the best way to get information was from the bartender. However, with the situation he was in now, he couldn't just ask around about things he didn't know to begin with. If he did so, it would definitely arouse a lot of suspicions.

Tristan chose one of the last few empty tables, which coincidentally located at the corner, and took a seat there.

The moment her body hit the chair, Layla immediately launched another question, "So, what are we doing now?"

Tristan glanced at her, and smirked, "Watch and learn."

Tristan studied his surroundings carefully, and focused on his enhanced hearing. He really did not know anything about this world. Hence, he chose to observe and listen to the chatting that took place around him.

With the help of the system in his head, Tristan could understand everything that the people around him were talking about. Some of them were talking about how tired they were after working all day, some of them were discussing which girl they managed to get in the town, while some of them were talking about their gains from their adventure today. All in all, it was apparent that humans really liked to brag, even those from completely different worlds.

Tristan also observed the food and the drinks on the tables around him, and noticed that they were not that much different compared to what he could find on Earth. Scanning the entire room, he also spotted two young women that appeared to be the tavern's waitress getting flirted with by a group of burly men several tables away.

Tristan threw his gaze towards the front table, where he could see how people paid for their meals with a brown-colored coin. Guessing and referencing from the fantasy-like information he knew, it was probably a copper coin.

All of sudden, Tristan's ears picked up something that was extremely interesting. It was the word 'outlander'. The same word he heard the town guard saying his sister was.

Focusing on his hearing more on the two men's conversation, Tristan then heard about an outlander flying machine that was seen in the sky above the town a while ago.

While listening attentively, one of the young women, a waitress, was approaching his and Layla's table, and placed two glasses of drinks and a plate of food on the table.

Startled, Tristan was about to say that he didn't ask for this when the waitress beat him to it, "It's on the house, sir elf." said the waitress with a smile.

Instinctively, Tristan cast his gaze over to the front table, where the bartender was. A huge man with a bushy beard and sideburn on his face was raising his glass towards Tristan.

"Well, maybe because I'm an elf, I actually don't really need money here." Tristan thought to himself.

Tristan nodded his head to the bartender, showing his thanks. He then shifted his attention to the food on the table, and proceeded to try them. The meal was quite good; a meat roll-like dish that was savory to the tongue and a brown drink that tasted like honey water.

"Tris, it's an alcoholic drink! I can definitely get used to this!" Layla said as she chugged the whole glass after she took a sip of the drink. The two siblings quickly finished the food as they were indeed quite starved.

"So, what's the plan now, genius?" Layla asked as she wiped her oil-covered mouth.

"The plan is, you stay here and I will find money for us."

"Wait, wait, wait.. Hold up. I can help you!" Layla said as she got up from her seat.

"No. Finish your drink and sit back down. Sit nicely."

Layla was grumbling, but she still followed Tristan's words. Looking at his sister's behaviour, Tristan unconsciously let out a smile.

He then walked towards a certain table that was packed with people. There was a group of men betting on what appeared to be an arm wrestling match. It was sort of a challenge with coin as a reward.

Tristan gave them a look for a while. It appeared to be a pretty simple challange, and he was very confident he could easily win with his strength.

Hence, when the opportunity arrived, Tristan immediately stepped forward and sat on the match chair.