Book 15: Chapter 90
The doors to the pub swung open. Cold, fresh air blew into the stinky, dark pub, drawing the attention of the customers. Next, the door slammed into the wall with a heavy bang. The swinging door almost put the flames in the building out, thereby dimming the interior.
Four individuals donning thick, heavy cloaks stood in the centre of the pub and looked around. The pub was the same as many other rundown pubs. There were filthy drinkers sitting at the tables. One could pull off botches of the thick layer of oil stains on the tables. The smell of liquor from the dark wooden cups filled the air inside. All of the drinkers had red faces. There were a few people playing cards together and being rowdy.
The owner of the bar was a man with a big beard. He wore a slightly tattered vest on his hunched back. He had a cigarette dangling from his mouth. The holes in his vest were most likely from his cigarettes burning it. When he heard the door open, he didn’t look up. Instead, he continued wiping the cup in his hand. However, the cloth in his hand was dirtier than the cup he was wiping.
The four individuals removed their hoods. The appearances illuminated the pub and plunged it into an abrupt dead silence. Everybody looked at the four individuals and spaced out. The few people with cups in their hands stopped midway and forgot to drink, thereby leading to the wine pouring down onto their body. Even the owner, who initially deemed their rowdy entrance annoying, froze. The cigarette dangling from his mouth dropped down and burnt his beard. He cried out and then quickly discarded his cigarette. He threw it to the ground and violently stomped on it a few times. He then angrily looked up at the four as if they were the ones who threw the cigarette at his beard.
The four were women. More precisely, remarkably pretty women. The four of them didn’t fit in with the place. They shouldn’t have been there. How was it possible for four such beautiful women to appear at a rundown pub? The rundown pub had been in business for ages, but never had there been women of their calibre dropping in. It’s impossible for beautiful women with such smooth skin to exist in the harsh cold and windy conditions. But there they were.
Vyvyan looked at the people around with a smile. Her blue eyes stopped on the spilling liquor. She softly giggled and, in a soft voice, remarked to Elizabeth, “You can tell they’re drunkards with one glance.”
“We aren’t at home. What sort of luxurious treatment were you hoping for? During wartime, having enough to eat and drink to stay alive is adequate.”
Elizabeth whipped her long black hair and then walked over to the counter with big strides. Vyvyan softly chuckled. She looked at one of the shocked young men, narrowed her eyes and, in a teasing manner, held a finger up to her lips to signal for him not to make a sound. However, her enchanting appearance and mannerisms caused the young man to judder. With a flush unlike that induced by liquor, he laid himself down on the table.
Nier coldly watched her Empress go up to the counter. Elizabeth leaned onto the counter and said to the owner, “Bring out your best thirst-quenching liquor. We want four cups. While I’m at it, I want to ask you something.”