67 Inteiru Expota - Tension (1/2)

It's early afternoon, and we haven't found anything related to the masked men or snake earring group. We're back at the table inside the Icy Tavern.

Ada, who was so keen on utilizing the time we have effectively, is silent as the rest of us rejoin her.

Seeing how no one else is saying anything, I interject, ”Well, what else have you guys found?”

My question is met with silence. How ironic. Despite Ada making a fuss about wasting time, none of them have found anything else other than our encounter with those men.

”We didn't find anything, but two of our groups heard something about an auction event somewhere,” Aisha informs. ”We'll have to repeat our scouting process to find out more.”

”I have a better idea,” I say. Since we can't exactly get access to some of the larger residences in the city, we'll fall back to our original discovery. ”Let's explore the rest of the underground city. As we mentioned in our story, we think Floyd might know a few things. He's at the Casino somewhere down there.”

I don't know if none of them think it's a good idea or if they're all too scared to get a pass, but no one answers. I continue, ”Unless you guys have a better idea…hurry up and get a pass. We don't have all day. Half the day's already over.”

”Let's go with that,” Aisha says. ”Any objections?”

A moment of silence before Aisha continues, ”Great. Do you know where to obtain passes?”

”I don't know. Just go any Dwarven blacksmith, they'll probably do it. Try the Dwarven district,” I say, and then my stomach growls. ”While you guys do that, I'm gonna grab some grub with Hina. We haven't had a chance to eat anything since arriving.”

”Right. We'll be back as soon as possible,” Aisha says and stands up. The rest of her team follow and leave the building.

”Good call, I'm starvin',” Hina says and walks out the door. I follow.

”Let's find a Human establishment. I don't wanna risk having to eat some strange rocks or something at another place. Not saying that it's all they eat, but you know?”

”No objections here.”

We repeat the process of going into restaurants and looking around a few times. On our third attempt, we find Human servers. It's a bit crowded, but I'd imagine most places will be considering it's the Inteiru Expota. Well, except the Dwarven places. There seems to be an overabundance of them in this area. Everyone can enjoy a nice universal meal while only Dwarves can eat those rocks, though it's only Humans in here as far as I can see.

A man carrying some food walks past us and says, ”I'll be right with you. There are two open tables. Feel free to take the smallest one in the corner.”

We sit down at the empty booth in the corner. Oh, two Dwarven men are sitting at the table next to us. They have their arms crossed and look grumpy. There are a few small rocks on the table. That's interesting how this place accommodates Dwarves by giving them some rocks. I wish the Icy Tavern had some food for non-Dwarves too.

”So, we have some downtime. Let's talk about that Aerkin battle,” Hina says and beams with an open mouth. Looks like someone enjoyed themselves.

”What—”

”I take everythin' back what I said about monsters bein' dumb,” she continues before I can say anything. ”Well, the bear was dumb, but the wolf was amazin'.”

I think back to the moment that I thought was most impressive. ”Yeah. He had an ingenious plan to attack only when the bear exhausted its Fire Affinity. If he didn't, the bear's Fire magic would have been continuously used and replenished at the same rate allowing him to use it as a defense mechanism as the Earth magic closed in on him. It made me realize that I should be more careful about how I use my magic, considering I have low Fire Affinity.”

Hina smiles smugly and answers, ”Well, I don't have to worry. It's a shame your talent won't be of much use when everyone's Mana manipulation skill catches up to you. You'll be at a severe disadvantage with your low Mana capacity and Fire Affinity.”

I smile back and respond, ”Well, if I cut their throat with my swords before they can use any magic, it won't be a problem. High Affinity and Mana capacity mean nothing if you make dumb decisions like the bear.”

”Fine, but seriously. What'll you do when you can't overpower the enemy? It won't work if they're stronger like those masked men. Or when they're smarter than you? You'll lose a battle of attrition.”

”Run like hell, what else? I won't get into those situations. Unfortunately for those Aerkins, they have nowhere to run. It's life or death,” I answer, though technically my Fire magic is the strongest. Nothing can overpower it.

The server from earlier runs up to us and says, ”Sorry, we're quite busy at the moment. We don't have a menu for today since we have an overabundance of various monster meats. Ten silver coins upfront for one plate of an assortment of meats.”

Ten silver coins…? That's ridiculously expensive for one meal. Is it because it's overcrowded in the city? People are taking advantage of this to charge way more than the standard. We don't have time to look for another place that might be the same way. I'm starving too. We have enough money, so it's not a problem. I drop twenty silver coins on the table and respond, ”Sure. Give us two servings. One for each of us.”

”Right away, sir,” he says, picks up the coins, and then walks away.

Considering that these Dwarves next to us haven't got their food yet, it'll probably be a while for us, given their grumpy expression.

”Don't you feel sorry for those Aerkins?” Hina asks. ”What if we had to fight to the death?”

”Feeling empathetic for monsters?”

”Not specifically all monsters. Just the ones like Splinter, who's smart and can make decisions like us. They're no different other than their physical appearances. It's not fair to bucket them with the generic monster. They deserve a separate name.”

”I call them good monsters. I encountered a turtle in the past after the tournament,” I say, thinking of Rocky. Hina knits her eyebrows. I continue, ”Long story. But, some rocks on top trapped him in place. I removed the rocks and then…”

Luna's face appears in my head. I hesitate and then continue, ”Luna said turtles taste great in soup, but I said it would be sad if we saved it only to eat it for lunch, so in the end, we didn't. I named him Rocky. I didn't know he was a monster until he used Water magic on Hiro, who had it coming because he was harassing Rocky.”

Hina laughs softly. ”I can see that.”

”Well, even though I admit he was quite friendly, I'm not sure if he's comparable to a person. Would they know right from wrong? Just because Splinter's battle tactics were amazing, doesn't mean he's the same as us. Good monster or not. We'll never know because we can't communicate with them.”

”Actions speak louder than words. Rocky didn't try to kill Hiro, did he? He knew that seriously attackin' him wasn't appropriate for the situation. You don't need to communicate with words. He didn't have killin' intent, right?”

”Yeah, but how do I know he isn't really good at hiding it? If you're trying to compare it to a person…skilled fighters have no problem concealing their bloodlust.”

”There's body language and verbal cues too. Did he hiss or look like he was about to attack anyone?”

Hmm… She has a point. Rocky was lounging on the grass, minding his own business, relaxed. But he could've been biding his time. ”No, but he could've been waiting for the right opportunity when our guards were down. I mean, he clearly didn't have any bad intentions, but if he did, it would be too late.”

”You're stubborn. But you realize that everythin' you said could be true of people too, right? We give them the benefit of the doubt until they show otherwise. Why shouldn't those good monsters be given the same standard? As they say, innocent until proven guilty.”

”Because a lot of people have fallen to monsters. It's the whole reason why villages are surrounded by walls. To protect them from the vicious monsters that roam Eiruta.”

”We have killed a lot of our own too. Take the attack on our city.”

I sigh and then concede, ”You're right. I don't know what else to say. But, society has deemed monsters all hostile for a long time. Probably since the beginning? I don't think that viewpoint will be easy to change. It doesn't help that a lot of monsters look scary.”

”We can change. After all, we're movin' toward coexistence with the other races.”

”I guess, though I'm not sure how many people you'd be able to convince that there're good monsters from the bad ones.”

”I don't like how you call them good monsters. The Aerkins like Splinter. Think about it. There are real criminals among us, right? All people can make decisions, but not all of them are good. I'm sure the same can be said of monsters.”

”Ehh…this is getting too complicated. Now you want to divide the monsters up into three groups? At this point, maybe even four. For all you know, that bear could be capable of making decisions too. Or every monster on the planet. Except that most of them are dumb since you want to compare them to us. ”

”Well, we don't have to give them all names. As long as you know what I'm talkin' about. Monsters like the bear are like most monsters we encounter. They operate on instinct. They do what they do because they don't know any better. Then there would be those like Splinter. All I'm sayin' if we should give those monsters a second chance.”

”Right, so how do you propose we do that? It's not viable to wait and see if every monster will kill you. We need to hunt them for food and materials too. That's why we have Adventurers.”

”We have our local slaughterhouses and farms. The animals we breed specifically for our main food supply. We don't need to hunt all the monsters out there. I don't know how we're goin' to do it, but I'll make it my mission to see through this.”

”Okay, but those monsters you want to live alongside of have to hunt to stay alive too. What if they have no other choice but to attack Humans, Elves, or whatever?”

”That's easy. We'll increase the number of animals we raise and leave some for them. Mass feed them.”

I scoff and then interject, ”Okay…”

Hina frowns and asks, ”What's that supposed to mean?”

”I mean…it's a bit of an unrealistic solution. You want to increase our food output to feed monsters when we have poverty problems with our cities. People that can't afford food or housing. Instead of fixing that first, you wanna feed the monsters. Hell, even the baseline amount of food the army provides is lacking. That aside, you're trying to change centuries of behavior with no real benefit to us. And earlier today, we were discussing how the Xog were terrifying because they're upright monsters who can think. After meeting the Felodians, I'm skeptical whether we'll ever achieve coexistence with them.

”And you can't understand the Dwarves either who we can communicate with. But you're jumping ahead of all of that and want to pick out the good monsters of all the bad somehow and treat them the same as us. Don't get me started on the other social problems that we discussed, how men belittle women and everyone shunning people like Porters for no good reason. We should resolve that first, don't you think?”

”That's true…” she mutters. ”But I'm still goin' to try. It's not somethin' I can do on my own, so…will you help?”

”I don't know how to even begin helping with that. Honestly, I don't really care. The only thing I want is to kill the one responsible for the attack on our city. That's all. I hope you haven't forgotten what's most important here.”

Hina sighs. ”Yeah…about that. As much as I want to find the ones responsible and give them justice…I'm startin' to realize there are more important things.”

”What's more important than revenge? Don't you wanna make them pay? Especially since they killed…you know... Your boyfriend.”

”Yeah…and that's all I wanted for a while…but I realized. I don't think I'll be happy even if I find those responsible. Lucius would want me to be happy. Instead of making life miserable for those who attacked our city, I want to make livin' more tolerable for those still alive. You should—”

'Shut up,” I interrupt. ”Don't push your ideals on me. I told you. I only want revenge. And I'll do anything to accomplish that goal. So, are you the one thinking about backing out now?”

”No, of course not. I hope you didn't misunderstand me. I still want to find those responsible. It's important so that they don't create another tragedy. It's a different mindset. What're you goin' to do after you achieve your goal? Go back to bein' an Adventurer?”

”I don't know. I haven't thought that far yet. I'll cross that bridge after I kill that masked man. The one responsible for everything.”

”You should cross that bridge now, so you don't feel lost after you've killed him.”

”Nah. I don't want it to distract me from doing what I need to do.”

”I'm worried about you. About the things you'll do to achieve your goal. I only hope that you don't lose your sense of self. Don't turn into one of them; a monster.”

”Don't worry. I won't stoop to their level. Thanks for your concern. More importantly–”

”Sorry for the long wait. Here are your meals,” the server says and sets down two plates of various cubed meats in front of us. It makes my mouth water. Perhaps ten silver coins doesn't overrate the quality of this food.

I frown skeptically and look toward the Dwarves who still haven't gotten anything.

”Enjoy,” the man says and then turns around.

One of the Dwarves picks up a rock and then chucks it at the server before he walks away. He turns around, and one of the Dwarves says, ”'Ey, ye fuckin' Human. We've been waitin' fer owor half an hour. Whaur be our food?”

The server smiles and clasps his hands together. ”Please, sirs, don't throw your food. We've provided you a few snacks to munch on while you wait. We're very busy today.”

”Busy ma fart-box,” one of them says while both stand up. They walk toward the man. ”We've seen ye serve oder customers arrivin' later roight in front o' us. ”

”Ye dare serve us deez crummy rocks an' call it food? Ye ma fuckin' racist,” the other Dwarf says.

The server takes a few steps back and points his palms forward. ”Please, sit down. We'll have your food out soon.”

Hina suddenly stands up and says, ”Excuse me.”

”Huh?” the Dwarves interject and stare our way.

Hina lifts her plate and continues, ”You're free to take my plate. I know you've been waitin' for a while, and you deserve it.”

She signals me with her eyes.

I sigh and stand up, too, with my plate in hand. ”Take mine as well. We don't mind waiting a little longer.”

”We dank ya, Humans,” they say and take our plates. We all sit back down in our seats.

”Ah. Dis be delicious. It been worff de wait.”

I stare at Hina and frown. ”Seriously?”

She smiles and responds, ”One small step at a time. If other Humans are mistreatin' the other races, we can make up for it by bein' nice. As you said, this is an issue we have to tackle first before thinkin' about savin' monsters like Splinter.”

I frown with a skew. I'm not sure if that's a good idea…

The server comes back with two plates of meat. That was surprisingly fast. Succulent pieces of meat here I come! He sets it in front of us and quietly mutters, ”Midget lovers…”

My grin quickly dies as the perfectly cooked meats from earlier are gone. The meats on both of our plates are half burnt and dried out. I eat a piece, and it tastes as good as it looks. Still edible, but not very good. This is also beef, nothing like those mystery pieces of other meats we had previously. All of these pieces are beef, one of the most common pieces of meat. We paid ten silvers for some burnt low-quality common meat.

I stare back at Hina and ask, ”So, you were saying…?”

She quietly eats her meal. I don't blame her. Even I wouldn't have thought that we would get backlash from our own kind from showing generosity toward Dwarves. We saved his ass and this is how he treats us. It wasn't even a big deal. We quickly finish eating our meals and then leave the place. We make our way back to the Icy Tavern. The others should be back soon as well.

”This isn't goin' to be easy…” Hina says.

”What's that?” I ask.

”Coexistence.”

”No shit? Because of you, we wasted twenty silver coins on a subpar meal. I was looking forward to that assortment of monster meats…”

”I'm sorry,” she says and then takes out twenty silver coins. ”Here.”

I accept it and say, ”Thanks. Don't bother carrying out small acts of kindness next time. It's not like that's gonna solve the problem at its core.”

”Yeah. You're probably right…but I feel like I still need to do it. It doesn't feel right to stand idle while somethin' like that happens, though. Couldn't it turn into an international crisis if those Dwarves reported that restaurant?”

”Who knows. But I doubt that server is the only one who isn't fond of Dwarves. Or even Elves and Xog. I'm sure the members of the other races feel the same about other races. No matter what you do, nothing's gonna change. You see how hopeless your mission is?”

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”It's doubtlessly challengin', but not impossible. I can't do anythin' from the bottom of the army. I need to move up.”

”How's that gonna help?” I ask, thinking of Captain Albius. He doesn't want to rank up because the higher rank requires more administrative responsibilities. ”You'd have to be a Major…or the General.”

”Fine. I'll aim for the very top. I'll become a General.”

I laugh.

Hina frowns and says, ”There you go again…”

”Sorry, it's just you're too optimistic. I don't think there're even any female Captains. Now, you wanna overtake General Nero all of a sudden. We don't even know if that's possible.”

”I'll make it possible. It'll show that women are just as capable of men, accomplishin' two goals at once.”

”Good luck with—”

Screams resound up ahead and a roar afterward. Is it a monster? An escaped Aerkin?

Hina and I glance at each other before rushing toward the source. At the next turn, there's a wave of people fleeing the area. But not everyone is fleeing which makes it weird. It could be that the people remaining are confident that they could fend for themselves if need be.

There's a line of people standing up ahead. Huh? Is that Ruby? The ministers are next to them, but the others aren't here.

”Ruby!” I exclaim.

”Kai!” Ruby turns around and exclaims with a grin. ”I did whatcha asked me ta do.”

”Good job. What's going on here?”

”A buncha monsters appeared,” Ruby informs.

”No one's killed them yet?” I ask. Are they escaped Aerkins? Considering the panic, they aren't good monsters. The others must be handling the situation.

”I'll kill 'em now,” Ruby says calmly and turns around.