Long live the Boss (part 1)

"That boy is quite something... is he your relative, Mister Connor?"

While continuing the inspection, the woman asked the graying man offhandedly as if only wanting to make a conversation.

"Oh, nothing of the sort, although I wish he was. Young Medea is a stay-in apprentice of a potion maker named Gerard. While I do say he is an apprentice, it's more like he is Gerard's errand boy. Medea is such a helpful youngster. When he is free, he often helps me with the inn doing the cleaning and serving the patrons when things get too busy for my old bones – he can even do accounting. If I had a son or a grandson like that, I would not be worried about what would happen to this place after I would have retired."

The graying man boasted while putting his hands behind his back and closing his eyes with a smile.

"...am I getting overly conscious...? Ah...!"

The pinkish-blond-haired woman muttered to herself, looking to the side while one of her hands moved towards her stomach and then slid lower – until she flinched and stopped herself, getting flustered at her own actions.

As she completed the check-up, the woman left her mare in the innkeeper's hands and entered the establishment.

Inside, there was one more person than she expected – besides the black-haired boy filling a large tankard with a beer behind the counter, there was a large, rough-looking, burly man with a slightly thuggish face and arms the size of the pinkish-blond-haired woman's waist, sitting at the counter with a tankard of his own.

"..."

The woman hesitated and didn't approach them, instead sitting at one of the tables on the opposite side of the inn.

"Here you are, Miss!"

Medea walked around the counter, picking up a platter of vertically cut pickles and serving both the snack and the drink to the woman.

She took the tankard and took a small sip out of it as if testing it out.

"I would be careful with the drink, lass. The owner makes his own beer, and he makes it devilishly strong."

"..."

The thuggish-faced man at the counter glanced over and warned her, causing the woman to furrow her brows and make a grumpy expression as if her pride was hurt.

*WHAM*

She then proceeded to drink up the entire tankard and slammed it against the table.

"Guah! Another one!"

She demanded while wiping off her face from the beer foam.

"I got a strong head!"

She added in a feisty tone as if she was challenging the large man, but he just turned back to his own drink while the black-haired boy hurriedly took the empty tankard and went to refill it.

"..."

Being ignored by someone she was talking to certainly didn't seem to feel right with the pinkish-blond-haired woman as she squinted her eyes, staring daggers at the back of the burly man.

She proceeded to stand up and walk towards the counter, sitting on its opposite side.

"Here you are."

"Thanks, boy!"

Medea pushed the tankard her way, and she took it with a nod, too focused on the silent man having a drink in silence to really pay attention to anything else.

"Haaa... nnngh..."

She then drank half of the tankard in one go and lened forward, touching her inner thigh and sliding her hand up, before glancing at the man minding his own business.

"I said, I've got a really strong head, damn it!"

*thump*

"Alright. I believe you, lass."

The woman declared, smacking the half-empty tankard against the counter, and the thuggish-faced man furrowed his brows at her and nodded, not really getting the hint.

"Ngggg...!"

That response ended up flustering her even more as she gritted her teeth and raised her tankard, emptying it with such momentum that she almost fell off the stool she was sitting on.

"Anh... anhother one...!"

The pinkish-blond-haired woman slurred her words with a face flushed red, and she moved her seats again, this time choosing one right by the large man.

"What are you doing at an in... sho early in the morning?"

The woman asked him while Medea served her another beer.

"I was doing the night shift. Ask the... young Medea. He knows I'm always here in the morning after work."

The man shrugged his shoulders and explained, motioning with his tankard at the smiling black-haired boy...

*thunk*

"Eeey! Cheers!"

His gesture was either used or misinterpreted by the woman who raised her own tankard and bumped it against the man's while wrapping herself around the man's arm and cheering out.

She then proceeded to drink her beer a bit too fast, making it spill quite a lot on her clothes.

"Nnngh...!"

She let out a troubled moan and put the tankard away while looking at her beer-stained clothes.

"I made a mesh..."

She grumbled as her head bobbed to the sides heavily.

"Hmmm...? Ehehe~!"

Then she hummed and looked up at the confused man's face, and her face became all smiles.

"Hey... this place... um... in thish place... how about a lad like you... would want to find himself in a lass like me...?"

The woman stumbled a bit with her words, but pushing the man's hand between her thighs while rubbing her chest against his muscular arm got rid of any doubts one could have about her motives.

"I... I mean... can I...?"

"Yesh! I can't whait anymoooore...!"

The man raised his brows and asked in shock – the girl hiccupped and nodded her head while already humping his hand, she was so busy that she didn't even realize that the man wasn't asking her...

"..."

...but the black-haired boy behind the counter, whose face turned serious as he nodded and motioned towards the staircase leading to the higher floor with his eyes – which made the burly man spring into action, picking up the woman and carrying her to one of the rooms upstairs.

"Ahn~!"

The woman let out a satisfied voice and bit her lips while gazing at the face of the man taking her away.

"A royal currier traveling incognito... I'm glad that I managed to live this long to work for a boss so resourceful."

The graying innkeeper entered the inn through the backdoor connecting the main building with the stable and nodded at the black-haired boy with approval.

"One needs to jump on an opportunity once it presents itself to them. How are the locks, mister Connor?"

Medea said casually with a serious expression while turning towards the innkeeper.