Fairy Tale Survival with Ability Copying

The tavern's conditions were far from good.

After all, this was just an ordinary tavern in an ordinary border town.

The interior was dimly lit, relying only on a few low-quality tallow candles stuck into iron holders and the flickering peat fire in the hearth.

Flames licked at a blackened pot hanging from an iron chain, inside which an unidentifiable stew bubbled away. The steam gathered beneath the low ceiling, forming a greasy haze.

The roof's exposed beams were blackened with soot, from which hung dried sausages, strings of onions, and even a long-stiffened wolf's head specimen.

The ground was packed dirt, scattered with fresh rushes meant to cover the filth—but beneath them, the earth was already soaked with spilled alcohol, food scraps, and even suspicious dark stains. Stepping on it felt soft and uneven, and every step might stir up fleas.

At the center stood a rough long table, split from a single oak trunk, its surface scarred with knife marks, stained with alcohol, and pitted with deep dents.

Around it were equally crude benches, some with crooked legs, barely stabilized with stones stuffed underneath.

In the corners were a few small square tables reserved for those who could afford extra copper coins—if they could even be considered respectable guests.

Levi and Yalina scanned the crowd, and the crowd did the same to them.

By the hearth sat two stubbled wagon drivers who had been loudly arguing over who owed whom a drink. Now, their eyes both landed on Yalina.

At the end of the long table, a one-eyed veteran hummed an off-key war song in a hoarse voice, tapping out a mismatched rhythm on the table. When he heard the door open, he merely glanced at Levi and Yalina before lowering his head again and continuing his tune.

On the surrounding benches—or simply standing in the shadows—were locals in patched linen clothes. Farmers, sipping weak ale in small gulps, their eyes wary of everyone around them, including Levi and Yalina, before lowering their heads again.

Of course, there were also a few adventurers in the tavern—some in small groups, others alone. The way they looked at Levi and Yalina carried a clear note of scrutiny.

The entire tavern was filled with a weary kind of noise.

A broad-shouldered woman with a grease-stained apron approached them.

"Welcome, travelers from afar. I'm Marta, the owner of this tavern. If you don't mind, you can call me Aunt Marta."

"What would you like to eat? Our creamy cabbage stew is quite good. Add a roasted pork chop, some freshly baked crispy bread—and of course, fresh wine is a must. What do you think?" she introduced enthusiastically.

Yalina looked at Levi.

Levi nodded and said to Marta, "Not too much."

"Of course. Knowing one's limits is a rare virtue," Marta said, though it sounded like nonsense.

Then she heard Levi say, "Start with ten servings."

The moment those words came out, the entire tavern froze. Even Marta seemed petrified.

After a brief pause, she looked at Levi's not particularly imposing build with a strange expression and asked uncertainly, "Sir… I may have misheard. Let me confirm—did you say you want ten portions?"

"Yes. Of everything you mentioned, ten of each," Levi said.

"Are you expecting some friends to join you?" Marta asked again.

"No. Just the two of us. Go ahead and prepare it. Don't worry—we have enough to pay."

As he spoke, Levi tossed out a gleaming gold coin.

One gold coin could be exchanged for one hundred silver coins.

One silver coin could be exchanged for one hundred copper coins.

And a fresh mug of ale only cost a few copper coins—no more than ten.

That level of purchasing power was more than enough.

In fact, a single gold coin was already a considerable fortune—something many people could only dream of.

When the people in the tavern saw the gold coin Levi had thrown out, many eyes lit up like cats spotting a mouse. Dark thoughts began to surface in their minds.

From time to time, they cast glances at Levi and Yalina.

Yalina's knight-level perception picked up something wrong. She frowned, her gaze turning cold as she swept her eyes across the room.

But it didn't help. Very few people could sense Yalina's true strength. Only a handful of figures hidden in the shadows showed slight changes in expression—their faces growing serious.

Meanwhile, on the other side, after Aunt Marta caught the gold coin Levi had tossed to her, her expression turned complicated. She gave Levi and Yalina a long, deep look, then quickly piled a thick smile back onto her face and said, "Very well, honored guests. Your food will be ready shortly."

"I guarantee you won't be disappointed."

With that, Aunt Marta headed toward the back kitchen. As she lifted the dark, tattered curtain, a faint livestock-stall stench drifted into the room.

Because behind the tavern was not only the kitchen—but also the stable.

The smell in the air was truly hard to describe.

Yalina had spent several days following Levi through clean, hygienic wilderness conditions without any strange odors, so she wasn't quite used to an environment like this.

She followed Levi and found a relatively clean table to sit down. Miss Nightingale Odelle also had a place, but she did not speak—because a talking bird might attract unnecessary trouble.

Although Levi wasn't afraid of such things, it would still be troublesome. Miss Nightingale Odelle didn't need anyone to remind her—she had that much self-awareness.

After they sat down, the tavern hall, which had briefly fallen silent, once again descended into all kinds of noisy chatter.

Levi watched with interest. Viewing the scene through the eyes of a modern man, he felt an atmosphere that was difficult to describe in words.

Yalina, on the other hand, did not feel this way. Her soul belonged to this era, so even if she knew, she would not understand Levi's current feelings. She simply looked around idly, pricking up her ears to listen to the various whispers around her.

"Have you heard? The old king's favorite third prince, Prince Romdis, has been missing for several months."

"How could I not know? The old king has already issued a bounty—anyone who provides clues about the third prince gets a reward of one thousand gold coins. And if someone actually finds him, they'll be granted land and become a noble!"

"Do you want that?"

"And you don't?"

"Rumor has it the third prince went missing somewhere around here. If you didn't want it, you wouldn't have come all the way here."

"Hahaha, this place is still a bit too far from where he disappeared. I've heard many people believe the prince went missing in the Misty Swamp—got lost in there, most likely. That's why so many people have gone in to search. Aren't you going to try your luck inside?"

"Search for what? So many people have been searching the Misty Swamp for so long. The prince hasn't been found, but the number of dead just keeps piling up. Isn't it possible the prince isn't in the Misty Swamp at all?"

"So that's why you came here?"

"Yeah. Might as well try my luck."

"And how's your luck been?"

"Hahaha, what do you think?"

"Hahahaha, drink!"

"Cheers!"

…

Yalina's expression turned strange.

She had grown up in a small place, and ever since she began traveling with Levi, she had spent most of her time wandering through forests, rarely staying in human settlements. She truly hadn't known that her country's prince had gone missing.

But even if she knew—so what?

Yalina didn't care.

At that moment, Aunt Marta, along with the attendants and the cook, brought out the food, filling the entire table.

"There are still a few dishes being prepared in the back kitchen. It'll take a little more time—and there isn't enough space here to place everything anyway," the tavern owner, Aunt Marta, said to Levi and Yalina.

Levi nodded, picked up his knife and fork, and began to devour the food with a mix of elegance and the ferocity of a tiger feeding.

Yalina couldn't match Levi's speed, but compared to most people, she still ate quite fast.

Seeing this, Aunt Marta's gaze shifted slightly. Aside from those born with enormous appetites, there was only one kind of person whose food intake far exceeded that of ordinary people—

Knights.

It was once said that a knight's strength could be judged by how much he ate.

Aunt Marta didn't know whether that saying was true, but Levi and Yalina's appetites truly shocked her.

Especially Levi—this man who didn't look particularly large or strong actually ate far more than Yalina.

Much of the food on the table ended up in his stomach.

Their behavior once again stunned many people in the tavern.

Some of them began to show uncertain expressions.

The entire tavern fell into a strange silence.

Even when a middle-aged man gently pushed open the slightly greasy oak door and walked into the tavern, almost no one noticed.

He swept his gaze across the entire room, and his eyes landed on Levi, who was eating heartily.

Although Yalina was also eating with gusto, her portion was smaller, so she didn't attract his attention.

These dishes… couldn't be called delicious.

At best, they could only be described as bad.

But Levi and Yalina weren't picky eaters—they still finished everything.

Like a storm sweeping away fallen leaves, they wiped out several people's worth of food from the table. Levi still felt it wasn't enough. He turned to the stunned Aunt Marta and said,

"How much longer for the rest of the food?"

"Bring me a few more portions as well."

As he spoke, the magic of Conversion flowed through his body, transforming the food he had eaten into a warm current that nourished his flesh.

Although these were only ordinary foods, and their effect on Levi at his current level was negligible, over time, small accumulations would still slowly improve his physical attributes.

Aunt Marta looked somewhat numb. Hearing this, she nodded and said, "Of course. Please wait a moment, honored guest."

She turned to head toward the back kitchen.

At that moment, the middle-aged man sat down at Levi's table.

"You don't mind, do you?"

The man looked at Levi.

Yalina immediately became alert. Levi had already seen through the man's background, so he simply shrugged and said indifferently, "Suit yourself."

"Then I'll have ten portions of the same food as well," the middle-aged man said to Aunt Marta.

He also took out a gold coin.

Aunt Marta glanced at Levi, then at the middle-aged man. Her gaze suddenly fell on the signet ring on his hand. Her pupils contracted, and she immediately broke into a radiant smile.

"No problem. Please wait a moment, my lord."

The entire tavern fell into a strange silence.

The middle-aged man seemed used to it. He sat in a natural and elegant posture and said to Levi, "Hello. My name is Henry."

Levi glanced at him and replied, "Levi."

"You don't seem to be from the Kingdom of Amtyr?" Henry said.

"Oh? What makes you say that?"

"Your accent—it carries the tone of the Kingdom of Francis. My apologies, it sounds quite similar, but I'm rather sensitive to it," Henry said.

Suddenly, he frowned and clutched his chest.

Levi knew the reason. His heart was in such pain it felt like it was about to split apart, bound tightly by iron hoops, kept alive until now only by the tenacious vitality of a Great Knight.

"You look terrible," Levi said calmly after taking a large sip of wine.

"Yes. I'm dying," the man replied in the same calm tone after steadying himself.

Levi nodded and said nothing more.

But Henry, the loyal servant of the Frog Prince, clearly had something he wanted to say.

"However, before I find that person… I cannot die."

"People as loyal as you are rare these days," Levi said, draining the rest of his wine in one go.

"Heh…" Henry smiled faintly, a trace of memory surfacing in his eyes.

"That is her child. I promised her that I would watch over her child properly—watch him grow up, watch him find the one he loves, watch him bring new life into this world. If I can do that, then even if I die, I will have no regrets."

Levi understood instantly—some story involving a noble lady and her guardian knight.

The only question was whether this honest man in the fairy tale had ever climbed into that noble lady's bed back then.

Well… it should be the queen, actually.

Could it be that this so-called Frog Prince was actually Henry's child?

After all, when it came to nobles, one couldn't have too much faith in their sense of propriety.

He had heard that in certain places, as long as a noblewoman ensured the legitimacy of her first child, the rest didn't matter—everyone did as they pleased.

After all, the other sons wouldn't have inheritance rights anyway.

Things like "my mistress's lover isn't me" were not uncommon.

Thinking of this, Levi's gaze immediately turned strange.

Henry didn't notice at all. He asked Levi, "You're from the Kingdom of Francis?"

"Mm." Levi nodded.

"Where are you headed?"

"I don't know."

"You don't know?" Henry's gaze immediately took on a scrutinizing edge.

Levi remained unmoved and said, "Yes. The world is vast—I want to see it. I'm just wandering around."

"I see." Henry fell silent for a moment, then said, "I'm looking for someone."

"If one day you come across that person on your travels, or find any clues about them, I would like to ask you… to help that child."

Henry spoke solemnly.

"We'll see," Levi replied casually.

A trace of displeasure flashed deep within Henry's eyes, but it quickly disappeared.

He stood up, bowed toward Levi, and said, "I'm counting on you!"

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I will post some extra Chapters in Patreon, you can check it out. >> /TitoVillar

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