Chapter 74: Mr. Lorin, You Wouldn’t Want Her to Know About What Happened Today, Would You?

Chapter 74: Chapter 74: Mr. Lorin, You Wouldn’t Want Her to Know About What Happened Today, Would You?

Early the next morning.

The tavern downstairs had lost last night’s rowdiness. Occasionally, the SWISH of a broom sweeping the floor and the CLINK of dishes clattering together drifted up. Lorin sat up with a haggard expression. The wooden bed let out an overwhelmed CREAK, while Pip slept like a log beside him, his snoring not changing pitch in the slightest. He got dressed, took a few Silver Coins, and tiptoed out of the room.

Lorin planned to get a good scrub at the bathhouse. From the Mist Forest until now, the journey had been nothing but fighting and traveling. Even with the Weak Cleaning Technique, he still smelled. Of course, the main reason was that he was still thinking about his 200 points of Exploration Experience. It was the perfect time to take a proper bath before rolling the dice, and he could buy Erin some breakfast along the way. Who knew, maybe Erin would be in such a good mood after seeing a delicious breakfast that she would forget about making him memorize the Flaming Arrow Spell?

He went downstairs to the tavern lobby. The lobby was a mess. Last night’s revelry had left tables full of empty cups and leftover bones, and several puddles of spilled liquor stained the floor, making it sticky to walk on. Gustav was bent over, sweeping the floor. He looked up, saw Lorin, and paused.

"Good morning. Do you wake up this early every day?"

"I don’t exactly want to." Lorin pointed at the ceiling. Right now, there was more than just Pip’s snoring upstairs. The rooms were filled with drunk Adventurers; the scene could only be described as absolute bedlam. "Is the bathhouse open in the morning?" Lorin asked.

Gustav nodded, gesturing toward the door with his chin. "Take a right after you head out and go past two streets, you’ll see it. That bathhouse is open all day."

"Alright, thanks." Lorin thanked him and pushed the door open to leave the tavern.

Although midwinter had passed, the temperature hadn’t risen at all; in fact, it had grown even colder. An unobstructed gust of freezing wind hit his face, making him shiver violently since he hadn’t eaten breakfast yet. He thought, "I should have eaten breakfast before coming out..."

Fortunately, the public bathhouse wasn’t far, and Lorin quickly found the place. After paying a Copper Coin, he received a rough bath towel, gave his body a simple rinse, and slipped into the bath. The hot water quickly engulfed his body, and he let out a comfortable sigh, allowing his mind to completely empty. Lorin lay there for a long time, until his bones felt deliciously numb from the soak, before slowly opening his eyes and climbing out of the pool. He dried himself off and got dressed.

He felt at least five pounds lighter, radiating a refreshing cleanliness from head to toe. Leaving the bathhouse, Lorin leaned comfortably against a bench in front of the bakery. As he waited for the first batch of morning bread to come out of the oven, he focused his mind and pulled up the system panel.

He thought, "Bring it on, system, let me see your limits!"

...

[Using 100 points of Exploration Experience, you have rolled the dice: 1]

[Points: Five]

[Reward Obtained: Charm +1]

[Charm: 13 → 14]

...

He thought, "Why is it Charm again! What’s the point of this stat!!!"

Lorin rubbed his face fiercely, feeling like his bath had just been washed down the drain. Wait... he suddenly narrowed his eyes. He remembered Lily, the waitress at the Furnace Tavern. He previously assumed her inexplicable forwardness was due to his handsome face. But maybe it wasn’t? He wondered if it was because his Charm was too high, or perhaps the two complemented each other.

But he didn’t want to become a male Succubus!

He told himself to forget it; maybe with higher Charm, bargaining for things would be easier. Lorin took a deep breath, pulled the panel back up, and ruthlessly took another draw.

...

[Using 100 points of Exploration Experience, you have rolled the dice: 1]

[Current Balance: 64 points of Exploration Experience]

[Points: Five]

[Reward Obtained: Charm +1]

[Charm: 14 → 15]

...

Lorin expressionlessly closed the panel. He crossed his hands, pressed his thumbs against the spot between his eyebrows, and sat silently on the bench. After a long while, it wasn’t until he heard the proprietress shouting that the bread was out of the oven that he squeezed a single curse through his teeth.

"Damn it..."

Accepting the three sweet buns handed over by the plump proprietress, Lorin looked at her radiant smile and thought his Charm might actually be working. Instead of handing the money right over, he probed, "Can you make it a bit cheaper?"

The plump proprietress’s smile vanished in an instant. She snatched the bread back from Lorin’s hands without hesitation and stared at him expressionlessly. "No discounts. Do you still want it or not?"

"Yes, yes, I want it..." Lorin sighed. He counted out fifteen copper plates from his pouch and finally rescued his bread.

He consoled himself by thinking that perhaps his Charm had played some role after all—at least the proprietress was willing to give him the bread before taking his money. He took one out and ate it as he walked back. A bun the size of his palm cost a full five Copper Coins. In the past, he wouldn’t have even considered it, but now he bought it without a second thought.

Alright, maybe it hurt a little. But to learn how to craft Magic Scrolls from Erin, he wouldn’t skimp on this minor cost.

"Mhm... tastes pretty good." Lorin took a bite. It was sweet and fluffy, carrying a hint of honey, and he even crunched on some nuts. No wonder it was so expensive. To be fair, although he found the proprietress’s business attitude lacking, her baked bread was genuinely delicious.

Upon returning to the tavern, Lorin saw Lily, who had just started her shift, but there was no sign of Gustav. Confused, he asked, "Morning, Lily. Where’s Gustav?"

Lily was wiping down the bar counter. Seeing Lorin walk in, her eyes instantly lit up. "Morning! The customers drank so much liquor last night, so he went to restock the inventory."

She quickly glanced at the empty lobby, and mischievous thoughts immediately sprouted in her mind. Fighting over a man out of jealousy? That was a game for little girls. Lily walked around the bar to stand in front of Lorin, twirling the hem of her skirt with her fingertips as she spoke with a distressed expression.

"Mr. Lorin... could you do me a favor? The old man told me to prepare breakfast for today’s guests, but he didn’t even chop the bones for the stew!" After saying this, Lily stuck her tongue out playfully and looked at Lorin with anticipation.

"Uh... alright."

Lorin checked the time. Since they had all stayed up late yesterday, Erin was most likely still in bed. He followed Lily into the kitchen and, completely off guard, looked around without spotting any bones.

"The bones haven’t... hm?"

Just as Lorin was about to ask if the bones hadn’t been brought out yet, Lily suddenly lunged at him, her soft body pressing tightly against his as she wore a wicked smirk. "Fooled you, dummy!"

"...Ah?" He swallowed hard. Feeling the warmth in his arms, his heart couldn’t help but race.

"I know Mr. Lorin hasn’t confirmed his relationship with that Lady Mage. If it’s just this much..." Lily leaned against his chest, taking a deep breath of his scent as her right hand slowly slid downwards. "I’m sure you won’t mind, right?"

"Eh? Eh! Eh..." Lorin’s eyes went wide.

He thought, "So... this is what Charm is used for? Then why did that auntie...?"

Lily didn’t care about his shock in the slightest. She groped around for a moment, then squatted down of her own accord. Looking up at him, she mumbled indistinctly, "Mr. Lorin... you really... are getting... more and more... handsome..."

"HISS..."

Lorin had no time to be surprised anymore; his hands unconsciously grabbed Lily’s hair.

"Mhm..."

Lily let out a soft groan of pain but didn’t stop her movements. After a long time, she licked her lips and leaned over the counter. Looking back at Lorin, she smiled softly. "Mr. Lorin... you wouldn’t want that Lady Mage to find out about what happened today, would you?"