Inn Overlord: Reincarnated with Enhancement Magic, Now Worshipped as a Divine Messenger! - Chapter 30

(Seraph’s Perspective)

“Heh, what’s the problem?”

A man carrying a longsword grabbed Jeanne’s arm and continued speaking.

“I said I’ll pay, didn’t I?”

In this world, many inns also function as taverns. Because of that, it’s not uncommon for tavern employees to spend the night with customers in the upstairs lodging rooms. It’s similar to the adult entertainment industry in Japan. Though, why do I, who was just a high school student in my previous life, know about such things? Let’s keep that a secret. No, actually, any Japanese high schooler has probably looked it up at least once out of curiosity. Of course, our inn does not encourage such behavior.

“Could you please let go of me? I have work to do.”

—…You’re doing well holding back…

I thought that, but for a moment, a strange feeling welled up inside me, bringing discomfort. The adventurer with the longsword still didn’t let go of Jeanne’s arm. Instead, he tried to pull her closer.

“Come on, don’t be so uptight—huh?”

Even though he pulled, Jeanne didn’t budge. The adventurer found it strange, but perhaps he assumed he was just drunk and grinned suspiciously.

Jeanne repeated herself with a more intimidating tone.

“Could you please let go of me?”

With her uncovered eye, Jeanne glared at the adventurer carrying the longsword. The tavern fell silent. Then, David stepped out of the kitchen.

At that moment, another adventurer from the same party—a flashy-looking archer—spoke up to David.

“Oh, here comes the boss. Listen, we’re willing to pay properly, so why don’t you lend us your goods for just one night? Personally, I’d prefer this girl.”

The flashy adventurer stood up, approached Luka, and tried to put his arm around her shoulders. However, Luka smoothly avoided his touch. The adventurer smirked and said, “Oh? Playing hard to get?” Luka puffed her cheeks in irritation, which, to some, might have just made her look cuter.

David spoke up.

“Call my employees ‘goods’ one more time… No, actually, just get out. Get lost, now!”

“Old adventurers sure like to yell, huh? Listen, we’re here on a proper guild request, helping out this backwater village.”

Saying that, he pulled out a request form from his pocket. That was the problem. If we acted against them, it would cause trouble later. If I used the Army Ants to deal with them, the danger level of the Demon Forest would rise, and the kingdom might send a subjugation force. Fewer people would visit the village.

But to be honest, I was furious. Seeing people I considered family being treated this way made me so angry that I seriously considered getting rid of them.

“We came all this way because you needed help, and this is how you treat us? We should let all the other adventurers know what kind of place this is. Kicked out for no reason, and on top of that, with top-tier ‘goods’ up for grabs? First come, first served, right?”

At those words, David’s aura became murderous. Then, another adventurer from their party—a tall man carrying a halberd—stood up. He was even taller than David. Looking down at him, the man spoke.

“I’ll take you on.”

The tall adventurer grabbed his halberd, but suddenly, he was struck from behind. He went flying to the far corner of the tavern. The one who had hit him wasn’t David—it was Hazan, one of our regular customers.

Hazan hiccupped and spoke to the adventurer party.

“Hic… I won’t tolerate rudeness here!”

Rubens, another regular, restrained Hazan from behind.

“You’ve had too much to drink, Hazan!”

“Oi, hic, Rubens, don’t stop me!”

The tavern was in chaos. I was shocked too. That massive adventurer had been knocked out cold by a single punch from a farmer.

—Huh? He was that strong?

Hazan took a bite of the tempura I made from Land Crab, then turned back to the adventurer party.

“You too! You tried to lay a hand on Luka, didn’t you? Hic…”

Hazan broke free from Rubens’ hold and stepped toward the flashy archer. The archer instinctively backed away. Understandable—after all, the man carrying the halberd was likely the party’s tank. Seeing him get knocked out with a single hit must have been terrifying.

“And you too! Hic… Let go of Jeanne already!”

By then, Jeanne had already slipped free from the longsword adventurer’s grip. The adventurer finally noticed and made eye contact with Jeanne.

“I told you to let go!”

Even though he had already let go, Hazan still swung and punched the archer square in the face. The archer flew across the room, landing right next to the knocked-out halberd-wielder, twitching all over and completely unconscious.

The longsword adventurer finally drew his sword, but before he could do anything, Tōryō, the carpenter building the village’s defenses, stepped up behind him. With his large hands clasped together, Tōryō slammed a powerful fist into the back of the adventurer’s head.

The impact sent the adventurer crashing face-first into the floor, embedding his head into it.

—Wait, why are these people so strong?

Tōryō, slightly drunk, spoke.

“Don’t worry, I’ll fix the floor tomorrow… So, what do we do with these guys?”

The room fell silent. Everyone was stunned, both by Hazan and Tōryō’s strength and by the question of what to do with the defeated adventurers.

Then, Albert spoke up.

“…Can we take these guys off your hands?”

Everyone turned to Albert, waiting for an explanation.

“These guys have always been troublemakers. They’re well-known among adventurers. I was thinking of turning them in to the guild tomorrow. What do you think?”

David nodded.

“I have no problem with that… Jeanne, Luka, are you okay with it?”

“I don’t mind.”

“Yes!♪”

Albert and his group were frequent visitors to the inn, so everyone, including David, trusted them to handle it. David helped transport the unconscious adventurers to the jail at the village chief’s house. It was too late to send Albert’s group to the adventurer’s guild in Barmüller tonight, so they locked them up for now.

Laura tried to waive Albert’s bill, but Setsuna insisted they pay properly and left the money.

What would happen next?