Chapter 91: Pachy’s Bill

Chapter 91: Chapter 91: Pachy’s Bill

After his fifth cup, Maurice’s face had turned a deep crimson. Sweat beaded on his forehead, and his breathing grew heavy.

Hesia, on the other hand, steadily finished his sixth cup. His expression remained unchanged, his eyes were clear, and he even picked up a barbecue skewer for another bite.

"You... you bastard..." Maurice hiccuped, his words slurring. "How... how can you outdrink a Dwarf? I don’t believe it. You must be forcing yourself."

With a trembling hand, he reached for his sixth cup.

He took a deep breath and chugged it down, but this time, he had to stop midway to catch his breath before barely managing to finish.

When he set the cup down, his body was already swaying.

Hesia swallowed his bite of barbecue, smiled, and poured himself a seventh cup, which he again drank at a steady pace.

Maurice watched Hesia’s effortless display, a storm of shock and anger brewing inside him.

He thought back on his hard work over the past few days. He hadn’t gone to Blackwater Swamp at all.

For some reason, odd jobs like finding lost cats and dogs, picking locks, and clearing sewers had finally picked up in town, and he had worked day and night to earn a few Silver Scale coins.

This exorbitant bill...

Especially that damn Delicious Creamy Mushroom Soup. If he lost, the money he’d earned through blood and sweat these past few days would vanish in an instant.

At this thought, he had no choice but to brace himself and reach for his seventh cup.

But he had only just half-grasped the cup when the potent stench of alcohol rushed into his nostrils. His stomach convulsed violently, and an uncontrollable wave of nausea surged up his throat.

He barely managed to pour half a cup, his hand shaking so badly that much of the ale spilled.

He tried to drink it, but the moment the cup touched his lips, he could no longer hold back the intense nausea.

"BLEAARGH—!"

He clapped a hand over his mouth, his face turning a purplish-red as he desperately tried to swallow the vomit back down. But his body’s instincts overpowered his Will.

With a THUD, he slid under the table like a sack of potatoes, coming face-to-face with Bruce.

Just as Maurice collapsed, Hesia calmly refilled his own cup. Then, under the dumbfounded stares of the crowd, he drained it in one go, as if his fallen opponent were nothing more than an irrelevant interlude.

The contest was decided!

CLANK!

The crisp sound of the empty cup hitting the table was the signal of victory.

The entire tavern fell silent for a moment, then erupted in thunderous cheers and whistles!

Laila cracked a rare smile. "Nicely done."

Then she turned to the nearly unconscious Maurice and nudged him lightly with the tip of her boot. "Alright, the show’s over. You lost the bet, Maurice. Fork over the money."

"Tonight’s bill. And the 80 Silver Scale you owe me."

"Settle up. Now."

However, Maurice lay motionless on the floor, as if he’d completely passed out. He even let out a soft snore.

Laila shook her head in resignation. "Ugh, forget it. Belte, you go ahead and pay the bill."

Just then, Bruce made his move.

It trotted over to Maurice’s head and sniffed, then lifted a hind leg, aiming its pride and joy right at Maurice’s face, preparing to mark its territory.

"Wait!"

Maurice jolted and scrambled up from the floor.

He frantically wiped at his perfectly dry face and slurred, "I... I must have fainted! My bad! My bad! I’ll pay! I’ll pay!"

"Proprietor! The bill!"

Pachy, who normally showed zero interest in actual work, moved with astonishing speed at the word "bill."

He scurried over like a green gust of wind.

"Ah ha! My dear friends! Finished enjoying your wonderful time at the Oak Tavern? I trust our service was to your satisfaction!"

He produced the bill and cleared his throat. "Five cups of Goblin Foot Ale, two cups of Oak Barrel-Aged Ale, one Flame-roasted Wild Chicken with Berry Sauce, six Iron Skewer Giant Strength Barbecues, one Delicious Creamy Mushroom Soup... that comes to 7 Silver Scale and 80 copper nail."

"Plus one keg of Fireplace Black Beer, at the special price of 2 Silver Scale and 50 copper nail~"

He glanced toward the bar to make sure his wife, Jin Jia, could hear, then loudly announced, "That’s a grand total of 10 Silver Scale and 30 copper nail! I’ll knock off the change, so let’s call it an even 10 Silver Scale! I, Pachy, am the fairest businessman around!"

Though extremely reluctant, Maurice tremblingly pulled out a bulging Money Bag.

He struggled to open his bloodshot, drunken eyes and fumbled inside it for a long time, only to pull out three lonely Silver Scale coins.

Resigned, he upended the Money Bag, dumping its entire contents onto the table with a RATTLE.

A chaotic JINGLE JANGLE filled the air as a huge pile of coins spilled across the table, taking up a considerable amount of space.

But a single glance revealed a depressing sea of copper.

Like a defeated King sifting through the last of his treasury, Maurice rummaged through the pile.

He picked out all the Silver Scale coins.

Nine in total.

Then, he had to count out more than half of the copper nail coins to barely cover the rest of the bill.

After collecting the money, Pachy’s smile grew even wider. "Thank you for your patronage, my most generous friend! Please come again!"

With that, he took the money to the bar, though he kept a close watch on them.

Laila looked at the pathetic little pile of copper nail coins left on the table and knew there was no hope of getting her 80 Silver Scale back from him today.

"Forget it. You can pay me back what you owe me next time."

As if granted a pardon, Maurice thanked her profusely, slurring his words. "I’ll... I’ll pay you back! Thank you, Boss Laila! You’re so... HIC... kind!"

Amidst Maurice’s mumbled thanks, Hesia and his companions got up and left the Oak Tavern.

Seeing them finally leave, Maurice let out a long sigh of relief. ’I thought I was going to lose even that last handful of copper nails,’ he thought.

The alcohol was in full effect now. His head was spinning, and all he wanted was to go home and sleep. He struggled to sweep the remaining copper nail coins on the table into his Money Bag...

However, a green hand suddenly shot out.

The hand stopped right in front of him, its fingers rubbing together impatiently.

He looked up.

The proprietor, Pachy, had somehow materialized beside him again.

His long, pointed ears twitched alertly as his shifty eyes scanned the room. After confirming that Jin Jia wasn’t looking their way, he hissed in a low voice:

"Hurry up! Don’t dawdle!"

His greedy gaze fell upon the copper nail coins on the table, but he saw Maurice was about to sweep even those last few coins into his Money Bag.

Pachy’s breath caught, and his voice immediately grew shrill, tinged with the fury of betrayal:

"What about my smile? That sincere, 30-copper-nail smile that bloomed just for you! Are you telling me you won’t even pay a few copper nails for it!?"