3 bar menu

128. [Altora] Disaster and Skirts – Part 1

「Don’t even think about crossing the Vehl Family again. There won’t be a next time.」

With that parting threat, Remonde turned and left with her men in tow. Altora and Mina silently watched them go. Oddly enough, it wasn’t humiliation but relief that first welled up in Altora’s chest—and that surprised him more than anything.

「That woman’s like a dungeon in human skin…」

He noticed the sweat slicked across his palm and wiped it off. Mina, ever unflappable and tougher than even Altora in some ways, glanced at him and casually brought something up.

「By the way, Altora-san.」

「Huh? Uh… what is it.」

「Gordon-san…」

At the mention of that name, Altora remembered the big guy he had completely forgotten.

「Ah, crap. Right. I totally forgot. Well, whatever.」

「We had him hiding in the tavern in case we needed someone to put out a fire, remember? But with how things turned out, I bet he missed the timing and is still in there soaking wet.」

「Prediction: he down tomorrow with a cold.」

「Damn it. The water barrel plan was a great idea… but it ended in a pointless hassle.」

The most valuable thing in the tavern was the booze itself. So Altora and company had preemptively hidden the actual barrels and replaced them with old ones filled with water. That way, even if the Vehl Family stole them, it wouldn’t hurt their pockets—and if things got too fiery, they’d have instant fire suppression. Two birds with one stone.

But someone had to stay behind to open the barrels when needed. Gordon was chosen based on brute strength, but thanks (or no thanks) to the neighbors’ quick response, his moment never came. Instead, he spent the whole ordeal hiding and getting pelted with water and sand.

So in exchange for Gordon catching a cold—

The very next day, just as Remonde had said, a green-haired man showed up at the tavern with money in hand. Altora had assumed it would be the thug from before or one of his cronies, but when he asked, the young man simply tensed up and muttered, 「He still can’t stand…」 before hurrying away.

「Tch. Guess the elves don’t care much for small talk or mercy. But fine. They’re outta the way, and we’ve got the money. Now it’s just a matter of rebuilding.」

「Step one: renovations. The place is scorched and gooey.」

「We’re gonna build the ultimate tavern, one that’ll have men lining up out the door. A real fortress of booze.」

And so began the days of trial and error.

They rethought the exterior and menu to better match the customer base…

「Dad and I lost out to the other taverns mostly because we shared the same clientele. They just scooped them all up. Should we target a different crowd this time?」

「Nah. That just turns into a new turf war. We’re taking our old customers back. This time, we’re the ones doing the crushing.」

「We’re not crushed yet, you know!」

They crunched the numbers…

「Customer spend per head? Just have ‘em drop 100,000 ins each.」

「Altora-san, pretending to be a delusional rich guy isn’t gonna get us anywhere.」

「You wanna keep that scrawny neck of yours?」

They worked on unique selling points…

「If we try to stand out with the food and drink, it’s going to cost us. No way around it.」

「There’s gotta be something. Something you invest in once and it gives you an edge for life.」

「Hmm… uniforms, maybe?」

「Uniforms, huh? Yeah, that could work.」

At the same time, they also had to handle marketing and maintain a watchful eye on the Vehl Family, just in case. It was a full-time operation for the five of them—Altora’s crew and the Rayleighs—but after a few weeks of nonstop work, they finally finished preparations for the grand reopening.

No real interference came from the Vehl Family during that time. Occasionally someone threw a rock, but once Gordon showed his massive frame and scowling face a few times, even that stopped.

「It’s finally here.」

At last, the once run-down tavern stood ready to open its doors again. The result of countless sleepless nights of planning, debating, and refining.

And out of all the ideas thrown around for drawing in more customers, the most effective one—surprisingly—came from this man.

「Me… as manager!?」

Gordon, former palace gatekeeper, was promoted to tavern master in recognition of his contributions to the store’s direction.

「In name only. The old man had no spine left. He can’t scare off the green-haired punks. You’re just a scarecrow.」

「I was a gatekeeper, after all. Standing and glaring is kinda my thing.」

「Why do you sound so proud about that? Whatever. I’ll run the place. You just stand there and break anyone who gets rowdy or tries to dine and dash.」

「G-got it.」

Altora settled into the role of head server. He’d balked at the idea, insisting he couldn’t do waiter work, but Eria had roped him in with a simple line: 「Good-looking guys should be out front.」 Cooking duties went to the former tavern master, Mina’s father, Maimo Rayleigh. Mina and Eria handled table service.

As for the uniforms, to make a splash, they opted for maid-inspired outfits modeled after those worn by noble households. The idea came from a tavern Gordon frequented back in his adventuring days. Not only was this concept unheard of in the city of Fathie, but even across the whole country of Narshe, there were no known competitors. As pioneers, they stood to make a killing.

「Suspicion: the excessive frills suggest someone’s personal kink. Also, the skirts are short.」