“Snow buried the city, the wind slit the throat...”
“Mortals in the mud, kowtowing and waiting...”
Accompanying that slightly raspy, rough voice...
Elias and Charlotte pushed open the heavy oak doors and slowly stepped into the tavern named Snowy Owl's Howl.
They were greeted by a blast of hot air mixed with cheap tobacco, fermented ale, and the scent of intense, burning pine.
It instantly dispelled the cold, damp smell of the Hope County night mist.
Elias kept his hands tucked into his trench coat pockets as he looked around.
He had to admit, the place really did have a genuine Northern winter decor style.
A massive stone fireplace in the center of the hall roared with fire, emitting the sharp crackle of bursting wood.
The walls were hung with massive pelts from unknown beasts.
Even though they had been tanned, the faint dark red patterns on the fur still carried a trace of unsettling wildness.
Various rugged iron decorations and spiked animal bones were hung in a calculatedly haphazard fashion.
It was indeed completely different from the Southern steam-industrial style, exuding a primitive, exotic charm.
Following Charlotte, who was flitting through the crowd like a butterfly...
Elias steeled himself and followed her to a round table where several young women were sitting.
“Hey!”
Charlotte skillfully leaned forward and greeted the two of them happily.
“Victoria!”
“Mary!”
The two girls, who had been whispering and laughing together, immediately looked up.
“Hey! Charlotte!”
The girl on the left, who had dazzling blonde hair and emerald-blue eyes, lit up. Her gaze instantly skipped over Charlotte and landed on Elias.
“Is this your brother?”
“That's right, this is my brother, Elias.”
Charlotte puffed out her chest with pride and pulled on Elias's sleeve.
“Al, this is Victoria.”
She first introduced the blonde, blue-eyed girl on her left.
Then, she gestured to the girl on her right, who had slightly curly brown hair and a few cute freckles on her face.
“And this is Mary.”
“Hey, ladies!”
Elias pulled out a perfectly standard, polite smile and gave a somewhat awkward wave to the two of them.
“What are you drinking?”
Victoria's beautiful eyes boldly sized up Elias's tall frame as she spoke first, her voice carrying a hint of warmth.
“How about some Burn-throat?”
Mary, sitting beside her, chimed in with a suggestion, clearly not afraid of causing a bit of trouble.
Burn-throat?
Elias quickly searched the archives of his memory for the term.
This stuff was a potent distilled liquor unique to the North.
Supposedly, some kind of hallucinogenic herb was added during the brewing process, and its alcohol content was ridiculously high.
One gulp felt like downing a glass of liquid fire.
“No, thank you.”
Elias shook his head decisively, smiling apologetically as he said:
“Some mulled wine will be fine.”
“It's the Spark Festival today. If I let you ladies drink too much, the parade tonight won't be nearly as much fun.”
He spoke with extreme gentlemanly grace, drawing light giggles from the two girls.
But in his mind, he had other calculations.
He wasn't just talking nonsense.
Ever since he had consumed that Scale Two potion, which carried that eerie pollution, his body had been forcibly reshaped by supernatural power.
His liver metabolism and blood circulation were more than just a little bit enhanced.
Forget a glass of Burn-throat.
Even if he chugged an entire barrel of medical-grade alcohol, it likely wouldn't have any actual anesthetic effect on his current physical body.
He was, in a literal sense, immune to drunkenness.
But he had come tonight with the hidden mission of a grave robber; he couldn't exactly go dig up John's grave smelling like a brewery.
That would be far too disrespectful to the deceased.
Well, truth be told, he just didn't want to waste time drinking.
“It's fine!”
Mary waved her hand dismissively and said casually:
“My brother will be here soon.”
“He'll be there during the parade, and besides...”
Mary suddenly changed the subject, her eyes darting playfully toward Charlotte.
“My brother has wanted to meet Lottie for a long time!”
Huh?
Who?!
Elias's nerves tightened instantly.
He looked at the girl named Mary with wariness.
The gentlemanly poise in his eyes almost vanished completely.
What was the meaning of this?
If they were after him, he could treat it as a formality and just endure it.
But going after his sister? That was another matter entirely!
Where did this blind pig come from, daring to eye our family's fresh cabbage?
Just as the alarm bells were ringing in Elias's head...
On the small wooden stage...
The strumming of the lute suddenly changed its tune.
“A nameless traveler fell in love with a girl in the woods...”
“The girl rubbed her frozen hands, kneeling to pray to the heavens...”
“The traveler shook his head and drew his rusted iron.”
“Stop praying! The lords in heaven went deaf long ago!”
“Laughing loudly, he walked into the blackest snow pit.”
“The wood won't light, the stones won't spark...”
“Then use the lives of mortals to make a sound!”
Boom—
These lyrics, filled with extreme madness and despair, were like a heavy hammer slamming into the noisy air of the tavern.
“What is he singing?”
Elias frowned, not quite understanding these lyrics that felt so much like a pagan sacrificial ritual.
“It's the tavern's specialty.”
Seeing Elias's confused expression, Victoria leaned in with a smile and explained:
“It's an ancient way bards used to sing, performing old Northern epic poems.”
“I heard these poems are nearly lost in the North.”
“It gives this place more character, doesn't it?”
“It certainly has character.”
Charlotte nodded repeatedly in agreement from the side.
Elias followed suit, nodding somewhat ignorantly.
However, he secretly nudged a certain soul playing dead in his mind.
“Old man!”
“What the hell is he singing?”
“...”
Old Ed was silent for two seconds before erupting in an exasperated roar in Elias's mind:
“I died fifty years ago, not thousands of years ago!”
“And I'm a Southerner!”
“You're asking me about some ancient Northern epic?!”
“Why are you shouting?”
Elias retorted unceremoniously in his head:
“I'm showing you respect!”
“Treating you like a well-traveled old man who is my personal think tank!”
“A think tank! Do you understand the value of that?”
“See, I finally show you some respect, and you get all upset instead.”
“Heh.”
Old Ed sneered repeatedly.
“When you're actually insulting me, your tongue is never merciful!”
However, despite the bickering, Old Ed relied on his lifetime of knowledge to analyze the situation in a more serious tone:
“But the melody of this song really does sound like those lost folk songs from the North.”
“It's very likely an ancient tune passed down.”
“Specifically one describing the desperate human ancestors of the Dark Era.”
“Oh?”
“The Dark Era?”
“Then it really is related to the Spark Festival?”
“Obviously,” Old Ed retorted irritably.
“Asking that question is like sitting in a carriage and asking the driver if he has anything to do with the horses moving.”
“Al?”
Just as Elias was about to snap back...
Charlotte's crisp voice suddenly sounded in his ear.
He snapped back to his senses, his attention forcibly pulled back to the reality of the matchmaking atmosphere.
“Victoria is talking to you!”
Charlotte quietly nudged his waist with her elbow.
“Hmm?”
“Sorry, I was just lost in thought for a moment,” Elias said, immediately putting on an apologetic smile and turning to Victoria.
“It's fine!”
Victoria didn't mind. She rested her chin on one hand, her emerald-blue eyes staring straight at Elias.
“I was saying, my father is always trying to find me a wealthy young man.”
She sighed with a bit of helplessness, sounding like she was complaining, but also hinting at something.
“But the so-called rich heirs he finds all have some unbearable habits.”
“So...”
Victoria paused, her eyes filled with a trace of expectation and testing.
“I wanted to know, what do you do for a living?”
Elias froze when he heard the question.
What was with this intense sense of déjà vu?
Was the next part going to be:
“Do you own a house? Do you have a carriage?”
“What's your monthly salary in gold crowns?”
Rate on N.U.
