Chapter 3: Place your bets
The sun was still out when I reached home and as expected none welcomed me.
I have been living alone as far as my memory went but I must have parents considering I was born but where are they. Though I have never been bothered by it that didn't mean I wasn't curious and since I am always treated nicely by my fellow townsmen I never got the opportunity to miss them either.
The only time I thought of my parents was when I was at the edge of Island Hermes, however, I still did not miss them at that time but I did want to ask them whether they would love me in my current condition.
Ignoring my thoughts before I start feeling sad I decided to enter the kitchen and prepare a meal for myself. Just as I feared the only things that can be considered food were in scarcity. Most of the food that I bought have been spoilt and the only edible thing is a loaf of slightly molded bread.
'I could still eat it if I remove the molded part.'
Before I can make any unsafe life choice I took my shopping bag and headed straight towards the market hoping to buy some food.
I was halfway done in my shopping when a child came up to me and handed me a pamphlet that belongs to a famous tavern. I took that pamphlet and before I could talk to him the child left. I didn't recognize the kid but he must be a child of an acquaintance.
I looked at the pamphlet and apparently, my local tavern is holding a half-price event on their popular dishes. The tavern that is mentioned, Bogwood, has a special in their menu called bog butterflyfish, a dish that uses my favorite fish and turns it into fine dining cuisine.
I hastily returned to my home, dropped my shopping bag, and rushed to the tavern. Luckily Bogwood remains open till late night so my chances of missing the event were null but my desire to taste bog butterflyfish overpowered my rational mind.
I walked through the town and reached the tavern. I opened its closed door and when I did I saw that everyone inside the tavern was looking at me. This was confusing considering that most of them are the peoples I don't know.
I ignored their stares and headed straight to the counter. I handed them the flier and they acknowledged it.
"What do you want? Only one order." said the man behind the counter.
This man had a rough voice which made it so that everything he said could be easily be mistaken as hostile. On top of that, he also had an intimidating scar that went from his head to his right ear which stood out on his shaved head.
"Bog butterflyfish," I answered. I must have sounded lazy to him since he shrugged at my answer.
"You sit there." The man pointed at one of the empty tables which I happily obliged.
While I was waiting for my meal to arrive I could hear people whispering. Their muffled voice didn't distract me but the fact that they were looking straight at me made me selfconscious.
"Here is your meal." Soon a waitress brought me my meal. She was a gentle girl someone I personally knew.
"Thanks." I thank her and started eating my long-awaited meal. This dish, bog butterflyfish, is expensive and has a serving that is not enough to make you full which is why even though this is my favorite dish I avoid ordering it.
As the name suggested Bog Butterflyfish is a fish that is first baked inside a banana leaf with citrus juices and spices and then fried in thick butter. It is served with fresh salads and a slice of lemon along with plain salt for people with a saltier taste.
Unlike the popular belief that Bog butterflyfish is a dish made out of a bog fish, it is a marine fish. Butterflyfish are caught from the marine oceans and raised in salt lakes of Island Prometheus before selling them to the taverns such as Bogwood.
Originally bog butterflyfish was called 'Bogwood's first baked butterflyfish' which was shortened by the customers to its present name. And the only reason I know all this is because in my early academic years I was given the task to make a report on any local cuisine as a way of understanding how food habits change over history and I chose Bog Butterflyfish. It did give me an unhealthy amount of knowledge on this topic.
"I see you are already here." I heard Mr. Jonathan call for me when I was halfway done on eating my meal.
"I am here but why are you here and what is that?" I asked when I noticed a small treasure chest in his hands.
"You will know soon enough." He answered and sat next to me before giving his orders to the waitress.
He waited for me to finish my food before asking, "How was your exam?"
His question was loud and clear and everyone inside the tavern leaned closer eagerly waiting for me to answer.
"I didn't appear it," I answered.
A deep defeated noise filled the tavern while others had soft cheers.
"Is that so?" He said with a dull expression that instantly turned into a smile, "don't be so gloom about it." He said after continuously slapping my back, "I know you are worried about buying me a new carriage but I can still wait another year."
Just like always, Mr. Jonathan tries to cheer me on in his unusual way which was not necessary considering I was promoted and given a choice to join the expedition to explore the ruins of Durran.
"That is not necessary," I explained. "I was promoted without any examinations and in a few weeks from today I will be going on an expedition to explore the ruins of Durran."
Mr. Jonathan was a man of few expressions but this was the first time I saw a genuine smile on his face. This was the happiness of a man that could not be faked or described. Mr. Jonathan wasn't the only one who was happy about my promotion and I found a few others who also shared the same expression as him while most were unhappy.
"He was promoted." A man cheered and soon others followed. The tavern turned into a concert hall after a song and people were cheering at the top of their lungs.
I found it weird that the rough-looking tavern owner allowed this.
"Everyone gather around." Mr. Jonathan called and the crowd joined him. He kept on calling names and then after looking at a list in his hands handed them some money from the small treasure chest.
It didn't appear to me at first but I soon realized that they were reaping the rewards after betting on me. I was most surprised when the tavern owner came to take his winnings along with the waitress.
As I watch Mr. Jonathan handing out money to the winners I noticed that many of the people believed that I will promote today. It did make me happy that these many people believed in me.
While Mr. Jonathan kept handing out money to the people I went closer to him and asked, "How much did you bet on my promotion?"
He did not answer me directly but he had a huge grin on his face, he then handed me the list of people who bet on me. It was unusually fantastic when I found that Mr. Jonathan bet 2675 nars on me, a weird number that can only be produced when someone goes all-in on a bet.
However, what surprised me more was the fact that the tavern owner who bet 200 nars on me was the second-highest bet.
I watched closely at the people who were receiving their winnings and found that their winnings were three times more than their actual bet. That would mean that more than twice the money was bet on me failing the promotion. It did make me sad but when I saw the genuinely happy faces of people who believed in me I can only celebrate with them.
"I see you have a lot of money," I said when I saw Mr. Jonathan close the chest that had more than one-third of the total money.
"Of course I have." He proudly proclaimed and proceeded to place the chest inside his bag.
"Should I still buy you a new carriage?" I asked.
"Yes, this money will go towards me buying Harpy."
"Harpy?" 'Aren't those magical beasts that can make you deaf with their screams?'
"You should at least know the name of the bird that carries you around." He frowned.
Harpy was the name Mr. Jonathan gave to his carriage carrying hawk. I can't remember the time when he introduced me to his bird, so I shouldn't be blamed for not remembering her name.
"So does that mean you won't be paying any rent on your air carriage?" I asked.
"No, I still have to pay for borrowing the carriage but I won't need to pay for Harpy." He explained. "So you better gift me a carriage so that I can start keeping all the money that I earn."
"Don't worry I will," I assured him.
An air carriage service is an enterprise based service, anyone who wishes to use an air carriage from these enterprises must first register as an air carriage pilot and the company will provide them with one. They do have to pay them a fixed monthly fee for renting their air carriages. However, they still do allow the pilots to buy an air carriage from them.
They can either buy a hawk, that way the pilot won't be paying rent on the hawks, and people who already have a hawk can also buy carriages from them.
Since owning a hawk is expensive most people never cancel their contract and decides to keep paying the rent.
He then stood up on the table and announced, "On this joyful day of Andrew being promoted into an Archeologist I would like to treat every one of you. The drinks and appetizers are on me. Eat and drink as much as you like."
People cheered when they heard Mr. Jonathan say that and they started ordering beverages of their likings but then their cheers settled down when they heard the waitress speak,
"Aren't appetizers free with drinks," she explained.
"Yes," Mr. Jonathan answered with a straight face, asking as if something was wrong with that.
After realizing what the Waitress implied he explained himself, "I won't pay for their meals. Especially when you have dished that are as expensive as 150 nars, I would go bankrupt if started paying for their meals too."
It was understandable, alcohols that are served in this tavern are mass-produced, and hence it is cheap, at the price of 10 nars for each mug, but the dishes are something that requires effort and costs more according to the ingredients. No one in their right mind and financial condition of Mr. Jonathan would agree on paying for everyone's food.
When people realized how much Jonathan was spending on them they level of joy dropped but a free drink is still a free drink.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
BooKyodai
BooKyodai If you have read it this far then please add this story to your library.
It surely motivates me to improve myself.
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