Sword, Magic and Academic Society

Tucked away in the side street from the main avenue, <Lizard Fang> was a brick-and-mortar shop that catered to explorers in the Royal Capital that I entered alongside Uncle Shell.

With the clock ticking 10 PM, one could hear the ruckus created by the drunken customers all the way to the main avenue.

The shop was modeled after a dining bar, with 10 round wooden tables placed here and there and 8 counter tables in front of the bar counter. And two huge fangs decorated the wall behind that counter — which I presumed to be the origin of this shop's name — each one meter long.

When we were in, Uncle raised his hand towards the middle-aged person handling the counter, perhaps the master of the place, who gestured towards the back of the shop with his chin. His hands whipping out the food did not stop for a moment.

I followed to the spot pointed out and saw Boss Lynd and the warehouse’s Saki already having their drink at the furthest table. The other tables were occupied with veteran-looking, decently equipped explorers when I took this chance to glance around at the clientele.

I guess Uncle Shell must have been some sort of bigshot as everyone stopped their actions the instant he entered the shop. And I, who looked no different than a kid still wet behind the ears equipped with beginner equipment, received just as many gazes seeing I was with him. Their gazes were inquisitive yet somewhat mocking.

I enhanced my super-hearing to listen in to their conversations:

“Hey, who's that with the bow following behind Shell? Never seen him before.”

“There's also Lynd at the back, I bet it should be that ‘Mad Hound' the kids of the other societies are making a fuss about. I remember he's a short bow user as well.”

"Pff, you gotta be pullin' my leg. See how he's gazin' 'round like he just rolled in from some hick town? I reckon even our alley pups got more sense than him. I'm fixin' to give that youngster a lesson in tavern etiquette, bein' the seasoned explorer 'round here.”

“—ough. Cut it out, will ya? It w’uld be a pain in the ass to deal with tha Shell or Lynd.”

"Cut it out. It's normal to catch a few bumps in a tavern brawl, they won't step in. They'd be a joke if they did.”

‘Woah, now this is the devil-may-care attitude of adventurers itching to roughen up newbies with their fists for real!’ should have been my feelings…… Normally…… But I was dead tired after having to run around without even a break.

As if I wasn't already exhausted, my oh-so-great Uncle decided to further speed up on the way back just because he couldn't wait to swim in beer. Look, he wasn’t even paying any heed to the conversations going around. I bet his mind was now only filled with beer.

“You knew you would find them here?”

“You bet. They know the next stop I would be taking after learning about our outing to handle the Honey Ants’ den would be to indulge in Ant Honey Grilled Rock Lizard and beer.”

He said with a grin. Then we headed for the table of the Boss and all while I was wracking my brain on how I could escape this situation with minimal effort.

At the end of the day, I would just see how it went. I abandoned thinking any further and followed after him. Just when I was about to go past that scout-looking boy who was looking for a fight, he had one of his legs out to trip me. Haa, so cliche.

I didn't turn to glance at them but I don't even need to guess the shit-eating grin on their faces.

‘Seriously?,’ I sighed in my mind at such an uninspired way of bullying. If this was a galge game, it would have looked like this—

Option A: Kick that leg, make a ruckus, and clarify everything.

Option B: Dodge the leg and give them a breezy greeting.

…..Though either of them would just unlock headache-inducing events. So I just let myself get caught up in this childish act.

As a result, I, of course, tripped and rolled forward, ending up with a nosebleed.

“Ah, my bad.”

I apologized to my senior who was just ready to launch a counterattack with a mocking smile and made my way towards where the Boss was while pressing on my nose.

“Pfft, and they called him ‘Mad Hound'. My foot.”

“What's funny about bullying the weak? Ya seriously suck man.”

I ignored whatever they were talking about.

“What the heck was that?”

My act must have been obvious to the Boss as he asked with a skeptical look.

“... I'm just dead tired after Uncle Shell made me run like a horse.”

“...So you let yourself get tripped and get a nosebleed? C’mon, you were still fine after taking a strengthened punch… Even just giving them a taste of your fist would have been faster.”

“Ahaha! I see you're still an eccentric brat.”

Uncle was exasperated while Saki-san laughed out loud.

◆

“Aren't you just asking for trouble here, Shell? You know kids, especially those who can't take care of their diapers, are strictly out! Doesn't matter if it's with your introduction. Boy, come back when you're D-rank.”

Unlike the pretty waitress fluttering around and taking the orders at the other tables, our order was taken by a robust granny, apparently the owner of the place. She glared at me from the get-go.

So, like what, was this store only for D-rank and above explorers?

“Long time, Pan. This guy has some things going on. And it's not like no one but D-rank explorers are allowed here, no? So just let it be.”

“Yeah, it's not. But a little boy coming in here this late in the evening is just asking for trouble, what happened just now was a good example. Take the boy's feelings into account as well.”

“Geez, what a pain! That's why you should have just stuffed them with punches, Ren! Trouble is on you, so go and give them a taste of your fist! I expected more from the man of the rumor!”

“Shut up with your absurdness… Anyway, yours is ‘Ant Honey Grilled Rock Lizard and beer’, right?”

While I was smiling wryly at his words, Uncle's mood became upbeat again.

“I almost forgot. Here, Pan! It's the honey of the honey ants as a souvenir from yours truly. Grill as many rock lizards as you can and bring them here! Also, add up a middle-sized barrel each for me and this boy. Put it in priority!”

“Haa~, fine. I don't care what happens later.”

Pan-san reluctantly agreed and retreated to the back of the shop.

Just when I thought I was finally going to get some peace, that scout from earlier and his three comrades all started chattering in a loud voice to let everyone in the shop hear them.

“Tsk, Ant Honey Grilled Rock Lizard for that brat, really?”

“I heard ‘Apple House’ was already a decadent husk, but I never expected them to mooch off of Shell for luxury.”

“Truly a lowly act from the bottom rung bunch.”

A vein popped up on the forehead of both the Boss and Uncle and they turned to glare at me. They jerked their chins, telling me to ‘Go and take care of them.’

Come on, let a tired man take his respite for goddamn sake!

‘Fine,’ I reluctantly stood up from my seat.

E/N - I understand that the MC was too tired to deal with this cliche but I don’t get letting himself trip over that jerk’s leg. Just circle around, avoid it, or walk out. He had so many other options.

T/N - Well, avoiding would have escalated the situation as MC mentioned.