Trouble at the inn

"It's all right, Claire. You have work to do, don't you? You'd better get back

before you're scolded," Kyle replied, giving her a soft smile.

"Yeah. See you later, then!" With a nod, Claire turned around. But before she

left, she stopped abruptly.

"Umm, if you have some time after dinner... I'd love to talk to you some

more. I like my job a lot, but I don't have many friends around my age," she said

bashfully.

Kyle stepped into the cafeteria to find a large gathering of red-faced adults

making quite a racket; it seemed as though business was booming at the inn.

Some of the customers were even wearing swords — those were probably the

adventurers. They stared after Kyle's hooded figure brazenly, but he purposefully

ignored their stares. Just as he was looking around for a place to sit...

"Kyle! Welcome! Here, this seat is free."

Claire, who was working as a waitress inside the cafeteria, noticed Kyle and

came running. Even with his hood on, she recognized him instantly from his

stature. Kyle let Claire drag him to a counter seat.

"I'll bring you your food right away. What would you like to drink? The first

drink's on the house."

"What do you have?"

"The free options are beer, wine, and mead. Oh, and tea with milk."

"A beer, then."

"Heh... You can drink something that bitter, Kyle?"

There was no drinking age limit in this world, but it seemed like Claire was still

unaware of the delights of beer. Kyle chuckled.

"Yeah. I'm actually pretty hungry right now, so if you could, please bring the

food out quickly."

"Got it! Mom's pretty proud of the meal she cooked tonight, so you should

look forward to it!" Claire said, before running into the kitchen. As though they

had been waiting for just the right moment, two male adventurers seated at a

nearby table stood up.

"Heeey, kiddo. Aren't ya a bit young to be drinking beer, huh?"

"Yeah. Weakling like you should be drinking milk, don't ya think?"

"Tell me about it!"

They were probably drunk already. The red-faced men burst out into hearty

laughter as they took the two seats on either side of Kyle in an overly familiar manner. He sighed, his expression twisting at the stink of alcohol on their

breaths. The other men nearby grinned as they watched on, treating the

spectacle like an appetizer to accompany their booze.

"Hey, you lot! Don't pick on Kyle. Let him eat his food in peace, okay?"

Claire warned the adults, pushing Kyle's meal at him from the other side of the

counter.

"We're not pickin' on him, Miss Claire. We were just startin' a conversation

with a kid we haven't seen before."

"Das right. He looks like a new adventurer. We thought we'd give 'im some

pointers, bein' his seniors and all." The men argued back at Claire with cheerful

smiles. "Geez. Kyle, you can have as many servings of bread and soup as you

want. I baked the bread myself, you know!" Claire said gently to Kyle after sighing in exasperation. The wooden plate that she offered him was stacked

with food.

"Wow, it looks delicious. I'm getting seconds later," Kyle said, taking out the

cutlery he had prepared beforehand from his pocket and using his knife, fork,

and spoon to eat. Claire had said this meal was her mother's pride, and he could

taste it.

"It's great. Could I ask you to bring my beer, too?" Kyle requested as he

elegantly brought the food to his mouth.

"Oh, right," Claire nodded absentmindedly and returned to the kitchen.

"Tch, look at them table manners. Think you're a noble, huh?" The man sitting

to Kyle's right clicked his tongue in boredom.

The cafeteria was filled with people eating with their hands, making Kyle's

refined use of cutlery stand out. It made him appear as though he was putting

on an air of importance, much to the displeasure of the others in the room.

They didn't find it amusing at all.

Kyle ignored the man's words and continued to eat his meal silently, which

further enraged the men. They finally snapped in anger.

"Listen here, brat. Your seniors are talking to you right now. At least take off

yer hood," the man to Kyle's right said, before boldly reaching for his hood. Slap!

Kyle smacked the man's outstretched hand away without looking up. The

expressions on the men changed instantly, and the one who had his hand

slapped away glared darkly at Kyle.

"Seems like someone needs to learn their manners..."

"I could say the same to you. This is our first meeting, is it not?" Kyle sighed,

objecting to the man in a cold voice and making him greatly furrow his brow.

"What did ya say?"

The atmosphere soured. Until...

"All right, break it up, break it up! Take your fight outside!" Claire, who was in

the middle of bringing the beer over, jumped in between them in a panic.

"Come on, Miss Claire. This doesn't count as a fight, right? Or are ya givin' this

brat special treatment?" The man whose hand was slapped away said, clearly

unhappy.

"That's not... my intention..." Claire flinched at the dark glare the dangerous

man sent her.

"Then shut yer trap. I'm going to teach this kid some manners. Hey, boy! Take

off your hood and get on your knees. I'll forgive you if ya do that." The man to

Kyle's right ordered unreasonably with a sharp look.

However, Kyle continued to enjoy his meal silently, which rubbed the men the

wrong way. The spectators around them sniggered at the sight.

"Heh, he's ignoring them."

"They're being looked down upon. Serves them right," someone said

mockingly.

"Y-You..." The two men started to shake with rage at being humiliated.

"Kyle! Hurry up and take off your hood!" Claire fearfully urged Kyle to

comply.

"...I don't want to." Kyle gave an uncomfortable smile and shook his head at

Claire.

"So you're going to ignore what we say and only answer to Miss Claire.