HEO 127

Silver nodded without hesitation. In the meantime, the pirates had taken over the tavern. Charcoal Fire Bear roared, slamming his fist onto a table.

“Bring out every single keg of booze you’ve got!”

By the time Wolf and Silver stepped onto the second-floor hallway, clouds of hallucination herb smoke were already billowing up the stairs. The room was small. Two narrow beds were placed with a single nightstand between them. The floorboards were warped, and the ceiling was so low that Wolf could touch it with his palm without even fully extending his arm.

Silver crossed the room in three or four steps and flopped face-down onto the bed.

“Silver, aren’t you eating?”

At Wolf’s question, Silver merely shook his head, his face buried in the pillow.

“Then go to sleep first. I’ll eat outside and bring something back for you.”

Silver didn’t even lift a finger. As Wolf stepped out into the hallway, the sound of deep, steady breathing drifted from behind.

The second-floor hallway was like a house on fire. Smoke drifting up from the floor below filled the corridor, and the pungent visit our sitestyle="position:absolute;left:-9999px;font-size:0;">[stolen content]scent of hallucination herb assaulted Wolf’s nose with every breath. The tavern was hell. To put it another way, it was the kind of sight one would imagine if hell decided to get festive.

At one table, a pirate was dancing barefoot, crushing a glass underfoot. Blood streamed down, but the man wore the happiest expression in the world. Beside him, two one-armed pirates held onto each other’s empty sleeves, spinning in a dance that resembled a waltz. At a corner table, a group of men with hallucination herbs stuffed up their noses were pouring all their strength into an arm-wrestling match. Three or four unconscious bodies already lay sprawled on the floor. Glasses flew through the air. The tavern employees, huddled in a corner and shivering, squeezed their eyes shut every time a glass shattered. In the midst of this chaos, the innkeeper sat at the checkout counter with a look of total resignation, staring blankly at the floor.

Wolf pushed open the inn door and stepped outside. It was easy to tell at a glance that the Shark Tooth Gang had occupied the inn. Clouds of hallucination herb smoke leaked from every window. A passerby inhaled some of the smoke and stumbled, colliding with a wall.

Red Eagle hopped onto Wolf’s head and looked around the street. Everyone passing by stared at Wolf. More accurately, a barrage of gazes landed on Red Eagle, perched proudly atop Wolf’s crown. It was a natural reaction; a parrot admiring the night view from a man’s head was a far rarer sight than a warrior clutching an axe.

Oil lamps sparsely lit the roadside. A cat darted out from a narrow alley and crossed in front of Wolf. The alleys shifted from narrow to wide, and after rounding a collapsed wall, a small square appeared out of nowhere before leading back into another alley. Wolf continued to walk in silence. The commotion of the streets gradually faded, and the scent of the sea grew stronger. After walking a bit further, the breakwater appeared in the distance between the alleys.

At the end of the breakwater, several ships were bathed in moonlight.

They were all naval vessels under the direct command of the Stohl royal family.

Deep in the night.

Wolf pushed open the inn door with his shoulder. A foul stench hit his nose. It was a mixture of sweat, alcohol, the smell of fish, and something that smelled like human bodily fluids.

The frenzy in the tavern was burning even more intensely. A one-eyed female pirate standing on a table used a half-eaten herring as a conductor’s baton, leading an orchestra unauthorized copythat was completely invisible to the human eye. In front Read on Read BL Novelsof the counter, a bald pirate with his trousers pulled down to his knees was vigorously doggy-styling a filthy inn mop, eventually letting out a loud [unauthorized copy]squirt of fluids. Those two were the only humans Wolf could actually see; the rest existed only as hazy outlines obscured by the thick smoke.

The innkeeper sat at the counter, staring into space. He looked as if his soul had departed through one of his ears. Wolf tapped the counter with his fingertips.

“Bring out a meal on a tray. Something edible for a human. Something that hasn’t been stepped on by anyone.”

“Just one serving? The person staying with you already ate.”

The owner mumbled without looking up. Wolf blinked.

“My companion did?”

“Yes. He came down earlier and polished off two pots of pork stew as if by magic. He didn’t use a spoon or ladle at all; he just drank it like water. Then he went back up with a keg tucked under each arm.”

“Hmm.”

Wolf tapped the table. Well, since it was like that, maybe he’d have a drink with Silver.

“Fine. A bottle of the local specialty wine and one glass. Plenty of cheese, too.”

“One moment.”

The innkeeper brought out the glass, cheese, and wine on a tray. The moment Wolf opened the room door, he almost dropped the tray. A massive cloud of smoke poured out as if a volcano had erupted. The smoke was so thick and acrid that the interior of the room was nearly invisible. Gah?! The innkeeper didn’t mention this!

“Silver? Did you open a charcoal-grilled lamb shop in here?”

He tried to make a joke, but there was no answer. Something was faintly shimmering beyond the haze. Only after Wolf waved his arm like a windmill to clear the smoke did a person finally reveal himself. Silver was leaning against the headboard of the bed, sucking on a hallucination herb. He was clutching dozens of bundles of the herb to his chest, holding them as dearly as stuffed animals. On the floor, a keg with a hole punched through its belly lay like a fallen soldier. He had emptied the stew pots without a spoon or ladle, and it seemed he had skipped the civilized convenience of a glass for his drinking as well, punching a hole in the keg and drinking the whole thing.

Red Eagle covered its beak with one wing and shrieked.

“The smell is horrible! I’m leaving! Open the window!”

“No can do. It’s dangerous for you outside.”

Wolf coughed and backed into the hallway. Tears pricked the corners of his eyes.

“You’re too cute. If you go out into the street, someone will kidnap you immediately.”

“So you want me to become a smoked parrot dish in here? No way!”

“Don’t worry. There are plenty of vacant rooms.”

Wolf evacuated Red Eagle to the next room. While smoke drifted up from the floor below through the gaps in the wooden boards, it was like a pristine highland compared to the roasting kiln of a room.

“Stay here. The pirates will be drinking in the tavern all night anyway, so it’s fine to stay here.”

“You stay here too! Don’t hang out with that druggie! You’ll be corrupted too!”

“Don’t worry. I’ll just pluck that damn weed out of his mouth and come right back. Just pray that the weeding operation is successful.”

After reassuring Red Eagle, Wolf returned into the cloud. Silver waved his hand enthusiastically, like a shipwrecked survivor who had spotted a rescue ship after twenty-eight years on a deserted island.

“You’re here, Ice Armor Warrior! Come here quick, you brat! You gotta play with me!”

“Who is Ice Armor Warrior?”

Wolf stepped over the fallen keg and crossed the room. Silver took the hallucination herb out of his mouth and pointed it at Wolf. Orange sparks fluttered from the tip of the herb held between his fingers.

“You’re Ice Armor Warrior, who else, you brat. Uh, but wait?”

Silver narrowed his eyes and leaned his face close to Wolf’s. The smell of alcohol and hallucination herbs pummeled Wolf’s nose.

“That’s weird. Ice Armor Warrior, why does your face look like this? I don’t see any beard!”

“I never had a beard.”

“Your face is weird too! Suddenly you’re fucking handsome.”

“I was always handsome.”

“It’s strange! You’re not the Ice Armor Warrior I know!”

“Yeah, I’m not Ice Armor Warrior. But who actually is he?”

“You bastard, did you even forget who you are?”

Every time Silver opened his mouth, puffs of hallucination herb smoke emerged. It felt like talking to a chimney. Wolf ground his teeth silently, set the tray on the nightstand, and sat on the edge of the bed.

“Silver, want to taste this cheese? It’s a local specialty.”

He cut a piece of cheese and held it right in front of Silver’s nose. Bait deployed.

“They say it was aged in a sea cave for two whole years. The salty sea breeze seeped in, so the taste is incredible. Take a bite. You’ll regret it for the rest of your life if you refuse.”

“What do you mean ‘rest of my life,’ this bastard is always so dramatic… Huh? Hmm?”

Silver, who had been grumbling as if annoyed, suddenly had a flicker in his eyes. Like a puppy encountering a treat for the first time in its life, he sniffed the air and swallowed his saliva with an audible gulp.

“Well… if you’re pleading that much, I’ll eat just one piece.”

Silver spat out the hallucination herb. He then snatched the cheese, popped it into his mouth, and [unauthorized copystolen content0;position:absolute;left:-9999px;">]immediately widened his eyes.

“How is it? Incredible, right? Another piece, say ‘ah’—”

Wolf firmly crushed the spat-out hallucination herb under his shoe and offered another piece of cheese.