Chapter 3: Hungover encounters
William had woken up a little past mid-sun hour. He felt sluggish and unable to properly move around. The sunlight was harsh on his eyes as he walked past the glass door of his back porch.
"I have the headache of a lifetime. Ugh, I'm never drinking again. Where's the tea?"
The man was on his way to the kitchen. Once he got there, he searched the cabinet where he stored his morning tea as he made statements he wasn't bound to stand by.
"I feel like I'm on the verge of throwing up. Seriously, how was I able to do this a few years back?"
He thought back to his younger days. He used to drink and mix a huge quantity of alcohol and wake up the next morning in a perfect state of health. The years have gone by, and his stomach is as sensitive as ever. He was thankful that he had thought about drinking water and eating food last night. Even though it was at the last minute, he was sure that it could've been worse for him if he hadn't.
He had found the tea and had it brewing on the stove. As he waited, he looked around for what he could make for breakfast. He opened the first cabinet: nothing. He opened the second cabinet: nothing. The third cabinet: nothing...
"Damn it, I'm out of food."
The blacksmith had spent two weeks locked up in his home working and unpacking his belongings without taking a single step outside. He was bound to run out of food at some point. Unfortunately for him, since he didn't have any food left in the house, that meant he had to head to the town once more and buy from the food market.
"Fuuuuck!"
***
"I feel the sun is as hot as ever."
The man walked side to side, barely able to make the steps. He was hungover and had walked about an hour to get to the town. The sunlight had given him a migraine and he was feeling nauseous. It was a miracle he didn't collapse on his way there.
"I think I should eat some food before I buy any from the market. You know what they say, "Don't buy food on an empty stomach." and I also don't want to be an easy prey for these ruthless merchants."
William knew the body language one must have in order to qualify as a merchant's prey. Shoulder slumped, slow paced, face down and no direct eye contact, were signs of low self-confidence. It can cause a person to be assaulted or scammed.
"I should pull myself together. Years of experience have taught me not to act a certain way or else I could get into trouble. Ugh, but this stupid stomach won't stop rumbling—Hm?"
The blacksmith was holding his belly as a fruitless attempt to stop it from making noises when he noticed a familiar building.
"This is the bar I walked into yesterday. I see, it's a restaurant in daylight hours."
The man was looking at the entrance to the bar he went to last night. The one where he purified his soul with alcohol to cleanse away his sorrows. The one that had him in the sorry state he was at that moment.
"Wait a second..."
William thought back to his drunk memories from last night. He recalled having a conversation with Lucy yesterday. Aside from catching up with her, the blacksmith was pretty sure something about food was involved.
Just like a strike of lightning, it came to him, "Of course! she was going to bake me a cake as a birthday gift."
The blacksmith was not one to indulge in sweets out of his own free will, but he was starving, any type of food seemed very delicious in his mind.
"Perhaps I can convince her to do something else instead. Just the thought of having cake for breakfast seems bazaar... Alright! Here goes nothing."
The man passed through the swinging doors to be welcomed with a chockful of stares. William jumped, surprised at his welcome and, with a gulp of strength down his throat, he proceeded to sit at a table. All eyes reverted to their first position, although William still felt unease.
"This is strange..."
The blacksmith tapped his finger on the table as a nervous habit. He didn't know what it was but, despite no one looking at him anymore, he felt that all eyes were on him. The usual noise from constant chatter or the sound of clicking plates put on the table was nowhere to be heard at this restaurant. It was awfully quiet.
"By the looks of things… Is anyone—?"
"—Good evening, sir. I will be your waitress for this evening. Are you ready to make your order?"
"Yeah, I came to eat some of your food. What is today's special—woah!"
The waitress cocked her head, "Is there a problem?" Her ears twitched.
The man was about to make his order when he spotted the waitress's bunny ears. Although he had seen some half beasts in the past when traveling as a merchant, this was the first time to see one up close. It's very uncommon to encounter such people and it took William by surprise.
"It seems this place wants to emotionally wreck me to death with its weird atmosphere."
"Is there something not to your liking?"
The man shook his head, "Not at all. It's just your ears... Can I—"
"—I would refrain from doing so." The woman said with a chill smile on her face.
"O-of course." William's shoulders slumped disappointedly. He knew he would get rejected, but he still thought he would give it a shot. That is the audacity of some men, and the blacksmith should've known better. "My apologies Ms..."
"My name is Marla. Although it's not okay, I understand why you wanted to. My ears are really adorable."
"I truly understand miss Marla. It will not happen again."
He has heard tales of half human and half beast people ever since he was a kid. From a political standpoint, it was frowned upon by many beliefs. Protests and even wars have been happening for that same reason. Most of the half breeds are secluded from the public. That is why most ordinary folk die without seeing one.
"Alright, then I will give you a clean slate." she said while puffing out her chest, proud that she got her point across to the blacksmith, "That being said, what will you be ordering today?"
The man scratched his cheek, "Actually, I was hoping to see if Lucy was around."
"Hm?" The woman raised an eyebrow, "What business do you have with my Lucy?"
"It's just umm..." The blacksmith was suddenly at a loss for words. How was he supposed to explain she was giving him free food without sounding like a freeloader? "...Wait, did you just say, "my Lucy"?"
The waitress put her hand on her chest, "Of course! Lucy is my everything! She's my friend, my savior and the only person who can touch my cute ears. I know everything that's going on with her. I swore to protect her from any weird-looking or suspicious men."
The blacksmith pointed at himself, "Do I look weird?"
The waitress covered her mouth, "Just a little, a bit, a bunch, a lot."
"Make up your mind miss!" the man sighed. The waitress was more troublesome than he thought. He wondered how they allowed to hire a woman like her in such a place. "To answer your question, I just wanted to see her. That's all."
The woman's eyes suddenly sparkled, "Aha! I see. Are you and Lucy becoming a thing? She's really popular around here, you know. She's got many contenders who want to take her hand in marriage. It won't be easy to get her attention, even for you mister, Jaeger."
"I-Um..."
She smacked the table and leaned closer to the blacksmith. Their faces inches away from each other, "Oh, but please do tell me what caught your attention! Was it her presence, her beauty, her personality? I simply must know. Let's compare notes!"
The blacksmith was at a loss for words. His migraine was getting worse with this interaction. Marla showed an easygoing personality at first, but she was a chatter box when it came to gossip.
"Listen, she asked for me to come today. She said she had a job that I could take."
The waitress leaned back from the table, "Ah see..." She accepted the blacksmith's explanation, even if she didn't fully believe it. "Oh, well. Unfortunately, Mister Blacksmith, she's not here today. She said something about having urgent matters to take care of."
"I understand. Did she mention when she would be coming back?"
The waitress shook her head, "She didn't. It's got everyone in a slump today. The customers refuse to drink or eat anything. They look at the door every time a person enters in hopes that it's her. They ended up scaring away the customers until you showed up."
"Wait, it's all because of her?!"
The waitress put a hand on her hip and raised her index finger on the other, "Well, of course. Didn't I tell you? She's very popular around here. She has her own fan club and everything. Just earlier today there was a red-haired man asking for her."
"Really?"
"Yes, yes. He had a beautiful face! Although his getup was a little odd."
"That sounds very troublesome."
The waitress chuckled, "Don't worry, Blacksmith. Although he seemed very charming, you seem to be more her type." she said with a smirk.
"I meant for her! If that's the case, she shouldn't be wandering around by herself."
"Don't worry sir. No one would dare lay a finger on my Lucy. If they do, they would be dead before dawn by my hands."
"Right..." the blacksmith had given up. He confirmed Lucy wouldn't be at work for the rest of the day. It was pointless for to continue the conversation in the state he was in.
"You know sir, it's nice to be chatting with you, but I suppose you should order something. Unfortunately for you, it won't be done by my precious Lucy since she's not here today, but the food is still pretty good."
The blacksmith looked at the menu, but he couldn't decide, "You know what? I will just take the special of the day. Whatever that may be."
The waitress nodded, "Alright, your order will be coming right up." She leaned closer to the blacksmith's ear and whispered, "Come back next time. Maybe then you can get the free cake she promised."
The blacksmith twitched, "How did you--"
The waitress leaned back and chuckled, "--I told you, I know everything that's going on with my Lucy." She enjoyed teasing the blacksmith. With a big smile on her face she said, "I'll come back soon with your order, blacksmith."
***
"So, are you the only one selling food at these times? Now that I think about it, weren't you working late last night as well?"
The man in front of the blacksmith stood with his arms crossed and one eyebrow raised, "Yeah, what of it?"
The blacksmith scratched his cheek, "It's just… well, one would assume there would be someone else in your place. An employee perhaps?"
The merchant snorts, "It doesn't please me to have these conversations with you as well, blacksmith, but I have a business to run. Unlike yourself, I work hard every day. I don't need an employee. I can work by myself just fine."
The man wryly smiled, "I never said that you didn't… It just seems like you haven't moved from that same exact spot. Don't you get tired?"
William had just bought food for the week from the same merchant he had stumbled upon last night. Just like before, the street market was deserted, all the stands were empty except the one with the merchant in front of him. Paul's nostrils flared a little as he touched his beard out of habit. He certainly grew tired of people rather quickly, especially if they kept asking him questions.
"Is it that once you leave your place, everyone can put their stands up again? It would explain why you're still the only one around."
The merchant grinned, "Something like that. They made a big mistake putting me in such a position. They should've known I would not let an opportunity like this go by. No competition means more money for me. I can go on for weeks!"
"That seems unhealthy. What about food, rest and hygiene?"
"I sell food you idiot. I'll just eat a bit of my stock. My wife will help me with my other necessities, of course."
The blacksmith took a step back, surprised at the sudden revelation, "Huh?! I didn't expect you to be a married man."
"Unlike you, I am taken and with two kids at that. You should try becoming an adult sometime."
The blacksmith pouted, "Everyone lives differently Paul…"
"You will get tired at some point, blacksmith. Once you do, you will want a family to settle in with."
"No one is as lucky as you, Paul…"
The merchant nodded, "You bet they aren't! You should see more pretty ladies. What happened to that songstress girl?"
"Unfortunately, Alice and I didn't work out, Paul..."
The merchant slammed his hands on the table, "Will you stop that?!" then he sighed, "I see… well, there's always more woman where she came from."
The blacksmith felt his heart stop at the mention of her name. That said, he wasn't going to let the merchant know. No one needed to know about his business, especially his love life.
"I'm already over it. It's been months since we ended things. Just give me the food, will you? I'm still too hungover to be having this talk. Also, don't give your wife so much trouble with your antics."
"Just think about it. You're in your mid-twenties. It's about time to look for that special someone. It's also not bad having a little critter running around the house."
"I don't know about a kid, but I'll think about finding a partner. For now, I'm okay as it is."
Paul went ahead and put the food in a bag. It was pretty big, so he had to step outside the counter. "Here you go. Thank you and come again, I guess."
The man wryly smiled as he extended his hands and grabbed the big bag, "I hope by then you've worked on your people skills. I'll see you around Pa—huh?"
In the corner of his eye, William saw a figure that quickly approached the stand. In its hand the figure had a key which was inserted into the lock that kept the prepared meals secured on a display for the customers to see.
"Wait, isn't that…"
The lock surprisingly popped open, and the figure took the meals off of the display. Before William could say anything more, the culprit quickly ran away. Even so, he recognized that golden blonde hair.
The merchant turned around when he heard the lock pop and saw them running away as well.
"Hey, someone just stole from me! Blacksmith, do something!"
"Me?! What am I supposed to do?"
"You know I can't leave this stand. Go and catch him for me! I-I'll double the food!" he pleaded.
The blacksmith sighed, "Alright, that's a business proposal that I can go by. Hold this for me for the time being."
The merchant quickly took the bag back from William, "Alright, just hurry!"
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone