Wearing a tattered trench coat with the brim of her hat pulled low, Ximo stepped into the tavern. She slid a silver coin across the counter and spoke in a low, gravelly voice, “A bottle of whiskey.”
Yes, this was the feeling. Then the protagonist could get the intelligence they wanted straight from the bartender!
Ximo nodded to herself, but when she glanced down at her black-and-white maid outfit, she tossed the Wild West cowboy fantasy out of her mind.
Fine, pretend she hadn’t thought of it.
Ximo had to admit that copying methods from anime was pretty unreliable, but on second thought, these kinds of taverns in another world were dens of all sorts—anyone could be there. It was worth a shot to fish for some intel.
Following the map’s directions, Ximo left the more prosperous areas of Camberlan City and headed west into a rundown district that was far shabbier than before.
“Left here, then straight ahead…”
Ximo blinked her eyes and tilted her head to figure out the route. As a modern person, she overlooked one thing: security in this other world wasn’t like in modern society, especially not in a place like this.
“Looks like a servant from some noble house. What’s she doing in a place like this?”
“Who cares? Servants from those noble lords always have plenty of loose change on them for us to shake down.”
“Hit her up?”
“Let’s go.”
What Ximo didn’t know was that as soon as she entered this slum-like rundown street, several pairs of eyes in the shadows had locked onto her. Focused on finding her way, she turned left and right a few times before finally spotting the “Slum Tavern” marked on the map.
She pushed open the door and strode straight to the bar, steeling herself before sliding a silver coin across the counter.
“One glass of…”
“We don’t serve alcohol to minors. If you don’t want trouble, get out.”
The burly man behind the bar wiping glasses didn’t even look up. Sensing the disturbance, quite a few people in the tavern stopped talking and turned to stare at Ximo.
There was nothing weird about her, right? Why were they all staring… Ximo hadn’t quite processed it when a familiar arm suddenly draped over her shoulder. A lanky man with dead-fish eyes sidled up and sat right next to her at the bar.
“Baol, no need to chase her off so quick. Two beers—I’ll cover this young lady’s.”
Baol glanced at the dead-fish-eyes man and let out a barely audible sigh. Without a word, he turned to pour the drinks.
“Uh, who are you…?”
“This young lady out playing alone? How about keeping your big brother company for a few drinks?”
The dead-fish-eyes man whistled lecherously. Two more men closed in, one on Ximo’s right and one behind her, completely boxing her in at the bar.
“I don’t know you.”
Ximo brushed off the hand on her shoulder and finally realized the situation was off. She shot to her feet, only to meet the dead-fish-eyes man’s unfriendly glare.
“Not giving your big brother any face, huh?”
Damn it!
Ximo cursed inwardly. She’d been too naive—this dump wasn’t like the modern society she knew!
She glanced at her slender arms, knowing she had zero chance in a fight. Right on cue, the System’s mechanical voice chimed in her mind.
“You’re really living up to that Innate Sickly Young Lady Doormat Saint Body, huh? Wasn’t getting bullied enough back at the mansion? Had to come out here for more abuse?”
“Plot deviation detected. Uh… I don’t get why a noble Camberlan Family young lady like you would come to a place like this, but since you’re working so hard to stay in character, how about I give you another task?”
【Special Task: As the Camberlan Family’s young lady, you’ve wandered alone into a sleazy downtown tavern and caught some eyes. Weak as a kitten, you’re in dire straits.】
【Please complete the task: “Get kidnapped by street punks and robbed of all your money (Incomplete).” No penalty for failure.】
Ximo’s heart sank. The System had explained before that these special tasks triggered randomly based on the current situation—which meant, from the looks of things, she was about to get kidnapped?
“Take a seat, have a drink with your big brother. How about it?”
The dead-fish-eyes man’s hand landed on Ximo’s shoulder again, this time with some force, but she instinctively flung it off.
As a modern, upstanding young woman, she sure as hell wasn’t putting up with that!
Her reflexive move naturally came off as rejection in his eyes. The dead-fish-eyes man’s expression darkened instantly.
“Don’t make me drink you under the table…”
“Gentlemen, mind if I interrupt?” an abrupt voice cut into the conversation. “If you’re done, can I take my family’s maid and go?”
A red-haired girl Ximo didn’t recognize winked at her, then continued, “I just went out back to unload some goods, and you run off here? Come on, let’s head back!”
The red-haired girl wore practical long robes and pants, her face dotted with faint freckles. Though squeezed in among a bunch of slovenly, drinking brutes, she didn’t look nearly as out of place as Ximo did.
Ximo got that the girl was bailing her out, but the dead-fish-eyes man wasn’t having it.
“Your family’s maid?” He sized up the red-haired girl. “Then tell me, what’s her name?”
Dead-fish-eyes knew she was here to help—after all, they’d spotted Ximo the moment she entered West Street, and they hadn’t seen anyone else with her.
Her lie exposed, the red-haired girl didn’t flinch. Instead, she laid it out plainly: “I’d advise you to let that girl go if you ever want to drink in any tavern on this street again.”
“Big mouth for such a little thing, huh?”
“Fish Eye,” the usually taciturn burly bartender suddenly spoke up. “I won’t give you trouble, so don’t make things hard for Miss Luo Keke. Wouldn’t want everyone ending up without a drink.”
He slid the two glasses he’d poured across the counter to the dead-fish-eyes man. “These two are on me. Let’s call it even for today.”
The man nicknamed Fish Eye glared daggers at Luo Keke, who stared right back without backing down. After a tense few seconds, Fish Eye deflated. He waved a hand, and the fat guy blocking Ximo from behind stepped aside.
“Little miss, you’re lucky today!”
Before Ximo left, Fish Eye hissed the words venomously under his breath.
As the tavern door shut behind her, Ximo heard the System’s task failure notification in her mind and let out a deep breath of relief.
“Whew, that scared me to death. Thanks so much just now.”
“No big deal.” Luo Keke waved it off, then eyed Ximo up and down with open curiosity. “I’m just wondering—what’s a Camberlan Family maid doing in a place like this?”
Ximo froze. She knew her identity? But she had no clue who this person was.
Crap, she’d just been rescued, and now she didn’t even know the rescuer’s name. That was awkward.
