Chapter 16
She quickly followed and asked.
In truth, despite her quick response, she had little intention of actually ordering or drinking alcohol.
She was only answering mechanically.
“Wine? There’s rum and beer too.”
Yulines nodded toward the oak barrels lining one wall.
Opposite that wall was the counter, where those drinking seemed mostly to have come alone.
Meanwhile, groups of three to five drinking in the center either spoke quietly or occasionally went over to the piano and played.
Was my assumption wrong?
She had thought it would be similar to other places her master had gone to, but, contrary to her expectation, there weren’t many shady or sinister-looking people.
No, there were hardly any.
Sia tilted her head in confusion and let out a small sigh.
The ceiling rose high to the third floor, with multiple rooms surrounding the space, but all of them connected from the ground floor.
No matter which floor or room, you couldn’t reach it without stepping on the stairs from the first floor. Even rooms on the same floor weren’t connected by corridors.
Why was the access between rooms designed so inconveniently? The answer was simple: the real purpose for coming to this establishment happened inside the rooms.
At that moment, Yulines blocked Sia, who was heading toward the counter.
“No, you should take a seat.”
“And what, am I supposed to drink something…?”
Sia said with a dissatisfied tone as Yulines lightly pushed her back. He chuckled lightly, then quickly sobered and replied.
“Why should I order for you as well?”
“…I’ll just sit over there.”
Sia turned, smiling faintly as if entirely unbothered, though inwardly countless thoughts were running through her mind.
Then why had she asked, “Shall we get a drink?”
Why had she mentioned rum and wine?
Suppressing her irritation, she took a rough seat and again surveyed the interior.
As her eyes grew accustomed to the establishment, she faintly overheard a conversation at a nearby table.
“…So what did you do?”
A deep-voiced man set down his beer glass and asked the person across from him. His gestures, brushing foam from his beard, were rough and coarse.
“I sold it to the knights here.”
“How did you know it wouldn’t work?”
“My younger sister had been sick for years. I gave it to her, and she was dead the next morning.”
The man across the table nodded slowly. His small glasses were striking against his face, barely resting on his nose.
Would the glasses even function? Lost in thought, Sia caught the next words from the bearded man.
“They said the water came from the Spirit Forest and would take effect in a week… and it killed her the next day? They must have thought I was an idiot.”
“Ah… so?”
“I only sold it for a week, all planned. Intended to just take the money and run.”
The glasses-wearing man nodded while eating popcorn. Pleased with the reaction, the bearded man leaned back and crossed his arms with some difficulty; his thick muscles made it hard to do so, but he smiled casually.
“So I sent it to one of the rooms upstairs.”
“Which kind, slave or boy?”
“Too obvious. The kingdom was gathering humans as shields anyway, from the north where the war broke out. I just tossed it to them.”
The bearded man chuckled, drinking the remaining beer. His face clearly pleased with his choice. The man with glasses muttered something about a cruel bastard, but he too was laughing along.
“Do you want a drink too?”
Before she knew it, Yulines had approached and asked. Despite his words, he only set down a single drink on the table, as if being intentionally mischievous. Sia remained silent but got up and headed straight to the men talking.
“Eh, where are you going?”
Yulines’ voice was faintly anxious. Sia stood between the two strangers, expressionless, and spoke.
“I’d like to hear that story in detail.”
The men were taken aback by her sudden intrusion. They seemed to exchange brief glances, unsure whether to be angry or try to harass her. Eventually, the bearded man spoke first.
“What story do you want, little lady?”
He had chosen harassment. Sia met his gaze coldly, then curled the corner of her mouth.
“Well, perhaps starting with the man who sold the water from the Spirit Forest?”
Her master wasn’t all that knowledgeable about this world, having not come here often.
To avoid her, he would need money, but there was no way he had worked diligently to earn it.
After a millennium of not encountering such situations, would it suddenly happen now?
To earn money easily without labor, fraud was probably the fastest and simplest way.
He likely sold water claiming it was from the Spirit Forest, thinking he could make a quick profit.
Sia reflected on her master’s predictable behavior and waited for what would be said.
“The kid was hopeless.”
The bearded man replied with a scowl.
The term “kid” immediately told Sia that he was speaking of her master. She listened silently, focusing on his next words.
“But he could talk so well… He made it sound like a single drop could fix anything. Even revived withered plants.”
He had used magic.
Sia suppressed a sigh as she realized the obvious pattern. A throbbing headache started from her temples to her crown.
“So it’s no wonder people here went crazy. He showed up for the first time last week, came three times… and every time, chaos ensued.”
The bearded man shook his head in disbelief. Apparently, naïve people had believed the magic and water’s effectiveness completely.
A remarkably cunning mind.
Emphasizing the “Spirit Forest” raised expectations, while his magic confirmed those expectations.
At the same time, his morality hadn’t progressed. He had swindled people throughout history—Goryeo, Joseon—and his skills hadn’t dulled.
“Also, quite the looker. At first, I thought it was a girl.”
“How old did you think they were?”
“Well… around fifteen?”
The man stroked his shaggy beard. His thoughtful expression seemed to recall a boy he had encountered recently.
Bright, light brown hair, big round eyes, a gentle smile… and he had believed the story that this kind, young boy came here because he needed money.
If he were truly a good boy, he wouldn’t be here.
“Completely rotten guts. I wasn’t like that at his age. The kid is young, and yet learned nothing but bad habits…”
“When did you realize the water didn’t work?”
Sia asked quickly to keep the story on track. It seemed that as soon as the bearded man realized it was ineffective, he had sought revenge. But if too much time had passed, finding her master could have been difficult.
She maintained a calm face while watching his lips.
“A day or two ago… unfortunately, my sister didn’t take any medicine and died because she trusted only that water.”
He muttered rough words in frustration, then shoved a mouthful of popcorn into his mouth.
“That was the last day he said he would sell. Only came three times, that’s it.”
“Before that, no one realized it was ineffective? By the third time, someone should have…”
Yulines, listening, asked incredulously.
Even if someone bought the water, they could have drunk it at different times. Someone must have tried it first—how could he have sold it for days?
“You know the saying! One time isn’t enough; you need to take it multiple times. And humans’ minds are already full of flowers—they only hear what they want. They pick and choose what they hear.”
The bearded man explained, exasperated, popping out popcorn crumbs with emphasis.
Yulines quickly stepped back to avoid getting any on himself.
“So even the people who came to argue ended up paying and buying again…”
The bearded man trailed off, muttering weakly.
A thought crossed Sia’s mind.
“So they didn’t just buy it once.”
Her words weren’t quiet; the three men at the table looked at her.
Sia ignored their sudden attention and asked the bearded man:
“Sir… aren’t you also one of the people who bought it multiple times?”
