Volume 2 Chapter 9 (1/2)

After completing our preparations, we finally arrived at the bar.

We were recommended to this bar by the receptionist after I had asked for a place where we could enjoy a good meal as adventurers regardless of the price.

As it was my first time arriving in Greenwood outside of the game, I wasn’t familiar with the place nor do I know about the places we should go. It is precisely at this moment where we should rely on someone familiar with the town such as the receptionist or the owner of the inn.

After arriving at the front door, I could tell that we had came to the right place. There were many adventurers of different races enjoying themselves in the bar. Having adventurers as your main customers is a rough situation as it is difficult to survive unless your performance is highly efficient for your cost to make up for possible damages in the property.

[Youya, there is the smell of good meat *slurp**slurp*.] (Luna)

[The smell of the vegetables here is great too. I’m familiar with plants so I can tell a fresh vegetable from a bad one.] (Til)

[I do not frequent lively stores like this. My heart is pounding from excitement.] (Selene)

Before we managed to place our orders, Luna, Til and Lutra.. I mean Selene seem to be looking forward to the food here.

When the waiter arrived, I asked for their recommendations. When entering a store for the first time, I tend to order their recommendations rather than pick out a dish I would like as I like to try out the store’s most confident dish.

[Luna and Til prefer juice to alcohol?] (Selene)

[Uhn. Alcohol is bitter. Milk with honey is good.] (Luna)

[Right? Juice is delicious you know! I am a believer of fruits!] (Til)

In this world, a child would be considered an adult once they reach the age of 13, thus both Luna and Til are able to drink alcohol, however the two of them refused to drink as it was too bitter for them. Times like this made me miss the old days of having a drinking party late at night.

[How about you Selene?] (Youya)

[I would like to have wine.] (Selene)

[The wine here won’t be the same as the wine you drank in the past. It’s much lighter and younger.] (Youya)

Nobles typically drank wine that has been nurtured for a long period of time, however such luxurious goods aren’t present in general shops like these. The wine served here is typically a young wine that was made in the year and its method of production isn’t suitable for long term preservation.

[That is interesting. I’ll have to get used to an adventurer’s wine so I am definitely going to order it.] (Selene)

[Got it. Excuse me miss. Can I have one milk with honey, grape juice, one ale.. Actually cancel the ale and give me 2 wine instead.] (Youya)

I ordered a cup of milk, 2 jugs of wine and a grape juice. It is a nice thing to drink wine from time to time as well.

The drinks came fairly quickly in this store as the waiter immediately brought us our orders.

With sparkling eyes, Luna gulped down her warm milk with honey. I was always wondering if her love from milk was derived from her fox traits as she seems to love milk. Til said that the grape juice tasted decent while Selene was surprised to see the wine served in a jug, Nobles often drank wine from a glass but adventurers gulp wine down from jugs. Selene learnt by observing the surrounding adventurers and followed suit.

[Delicious, however is this really wine?] (Selene)

[Well at least I think so. That is the taste of an adventurer’s wine.] (Youya)

[I see. So this is the taste that uncle Youya and your friends often drink. It has no deep flavour to it, it tastes as if it was mixed with a bunch of different ingredients and the grape flavour is diluted. However, it’s still good and easy to drink. I like it.] (Selene)

Following her words, she tilted the mug and drank another mouthful. The wine drank by adventurers often varies all the way from the grapes harvested to the method of manufacturing the wine. Nobles are picky with their wine and often only use delicious grapes from the trees. However, cheap wine for adventurers often only consist of using more and more grapes. Naturally, since it was made with inferior grapes in sweetness and quality, only inferior quality of wine can be made. However, it isn’t edible the way it is as the sugar content and alcohol concentration was still low. Hence afterwards it was mixed with various ingredients such as honey, lemon juice, other grape wines and alcohol, increasing its volume while improving its taste. Thanks to that, the taste of the wine in each bar varies.

There are even several stores that merely add water to the mixture instead. However, the shop here was amazing with good tastes. The wine was well made, sweet with a strong acidity and the taste of hidden spices behind it. My body began to feel warm drinking the wine. After the drinks came the food.

[Youya look! It’s a mountain of meat!] (Luna)

[Wowow, now this is what you call a dish!] (Til)

The recommended dishes came and the two girls became rowdy.

[It’s a deep fried dish. This is rare to see. Fried dishes are extremely delicious.] (Youya)

[It tastes amazing!] (Luna)

[It’s delicious, however the oil may be a little too much. It’s a little unbearable to eat.] (Til)

The recommended main dish was thick roasted pork with a coating of sweet sauce. It could even be the meat that we delivered for the quest earlier today.

It’s been awhile since I ate a fried food. The meat juices bursted inside of my mouth as it mixed with the sweet sauce, completely overwhelming the aftertaste of the wine. Afterwards I took a gulp of the wine and realised that it was a mixture of lemon juice, grape juice as well as several species that went surprisingly well with greasy dishes. The food here was magnificently compatible.

[Luna, Til. Juice is fine but how about trying some wine? This dish goes really well with their wine. Til mentioned that the excessive oil was bad but it’s pretty refreshing to match the wine with the dish.] (Youya)

[Alcohol is bitter!] (Luna)

[I don’t understand the concept of turning sweet grapes into bitter drinks.] (Til)

[Well, just try it.] (Youya)

Without their permission, I ordered two more jugs of wine. Even if the two of them refuse to drink it, I could drink them afterwards.

[If Youya says so..] (Luna)

[Only because you are selfish enough to make us drink it!] (Til)

The two of them took a jug of wine each.