The Demon Tide had been gone for a long time, and Dumb Wind Town seemed to have regained its former prosperity, though many faces were no longer the same as before.

If you asked the adventurers wandering the streets, what was the evidence of the town's resurgence?

The answer wasn't in the rebuilt Adventurer's Guild hall, nor in the new Branch President due in two months; the answer was right here, right now!

Because,

today,

on this night illuminated by March,

the Rotten Willow Tavern reopened!

Adventurers, arm in arm, cheered loudly as they surged into the already crowded tavern, eagerly ordering a glass of the mediocre wine from their memories at the counter.

If anyone wasn't infected by the cheerful atmosphere, it was probably the owner of the Golden Sun Wood Tavern.

Today, he was idle enough to stand with his arms crossed outside the door of his tavern, coldly counting the heads of people flocking to the opposite street.

Inside the Rotten Willow Tavern, even the window sills were packed with people today.

Everything was just like before.

The creaking wooden door, the filthy floor stained with wine, and the sour smell of the poor-quality wine in the air.

If there was anything different, it was that the owner had transformed from a dirty, fat middle-aged man into a stunning beauty in a seductive uniform.

This added a different kind of charm for everyone.

Who knows what the guild was thinking, sending a dainty beauty to manage such a tavern filled with rough adventurers.

No wonder they paired her with a 1.9-meter tiger-man as a hotel waiter…

At the bar counter, the woman named Mary, dressed in a pristine priest robe, with the collar snugly fitting her snowy neck.

With a sweet smile, she handed a wooden wine cup to a leering customer in front of her while deftly withdrawing her hand in time, avoiding his touch.

The customer, unwilling to give up, leaned closer with his wine cup and said, "Madam, are you a priest of the God of Light? That uniform suits you so well!"

"It's just a personal preference to dress this way." Mary replied with a radiant smile, seemingly unaware of the man's lascivious intent.

Not satisfied with just lewd talk, the customer extended his hairy, sweaty hand towards Mary.

Yet, halfway through, it was caught by a larger, hairier hand.

"What... what do you want?"

The customer seemed to want to babble a few more words, but the tiger-man was in no mood for nonsense, grabbing his arm and dragging him outside, indifferent to his exaggerated screams, and soon threw him out—this was already the 13th one tonight.

In a corner of the tavern, Norris was diligently working on the roasted snake ribs in front of him.

He had come early enough to grab a spot, using an empty barrel for his plate.

He had recently been unexpectedly lucky. The man dressed like a noble he met in the Underground City actually kept his promise and found Norris to give him a gold coin.

It was only later that he learned the man was named Edin, a Diamond Level adventurer.

The scraps from the fingers of these powerful individuals were windfalls from the heavens for someone like him.

The gold coin, along with the 1 gold 20 silver he saved from mining, was enough to pay off the debt due in the third round this year, and he could even occasionally indulge in the excitement like this, rewarding himself with a good meal, rather than having mushroom soup every day.

As Norris was immersed in his little moment of happiness, an adventurer squeezed through the crowd and accidentally tipped over the wooden tray holding half a plate of honey-glazed roasted snake ribs.

The snake meat rolled onto the wooden floor full of black footprints, and Norris seemed to hear his stomach whimper.

That was a delicious dish that cost him 30 copper coins…

"Ah—so dirty!"

The adventurer who kicked over the tray disdainfully dusted off his pant leg, his boot smushing the still-steaming snake ribs.

"Eating garbage and you don't even bother to find a decent place."

The adventurer, wearing a Silver Level badge, cursed and left, as if not physically assaulting the one who dirtied his pant leg was already a magnanimous gesture.

Nor did Norris get up to argue, nor did he even mutter a curse under his breath; he simply withdrew timidly, not daring to meet the eyes of those around him.

He was just a Level 21 adventurer, barely over the Copper Level threshold, still weak and alone, unable to provoke anyone.

Better to be a coward than get dragged into an alley for a beating.

If only he hadn't joined the crowd at Rotten Willow Tavern…

Nearby, people noticed the little incident, but only responded with laughter mixed with the smell of tobacco.

Adventurers revered strength and courage; no one would stand up for a timid Copper Level individual.

Except...

"Stop!" Fei Ling barred the Silver Level adventurer's path, her slender finger nearly poking his nose, "You think you can just leave after knocking someone's tray over? No apologies or compensation?"

Behind her stood Fei Yin, who couldn't hold her back, and Vera, looking resigned.

"Get out of the way!" The adventurer violently pushed Fei Ling's hand aside, eyeing the girl a head shorter than him, reaching out to shove her aside.

Clang—

Even in such a crowded environment, Vera's curved saber was precisely poised at the adventurer's palm, a little more pressure and his hand would be pierced through—there's a difference even among Silver Level adventurers.

"What... what are you doing? This is a tavern!"

Not as strong as the others, and having a blade pointed at him, the adventurer became flustered.

Though it was in town, the tavern was the last place short of reckless hotheads ready for a fight, and he didn't want to take that gamble.

"I'll pay, I'll pay! Just don't point that knife at me!"

The adventurer retreated two steps, turned around, planning to remember the face of the one who humiliated him.

He didn't dare retaliate against someone stronger like Vera, but the coward who didn't dare make a sound when his tray was kicked over, that one he could return to vent his anger on.

Only upon turning around did he find that the person by the barrel had long since left, leaving only the half-squashed snake rib on the floor.

A tall figure squeezed through the crowd, standing before the four who caused the ruckus.

Fei Yin, with her keen sense of smell, even caught a hint of the characteristic feline body odor.

The tiger-man folded his arms, looking at the four, nodding towards the door.

The message was clear: would they leave voluntarily, or did he need to help them leave?

"Bad luck!" The ousted adventurer cursed under his breath and quickly distanced himself from the trio of Vera.

"Spineless coward afraid of the strong!" Fei Ling glared at the adventurer's back, still visibly angry.

Vera only sighed; he had just ordered the house specialty sauce Puki noodles, hadn't even taken a bite, and now he was being thrown out...

"Let's find another place to eat, I'm still hungry."

The three quickly found another open restaurant, only to discover after sitting down that at the adjacent table sat someone hunched over his Glowing Mushroom Soup.

"It's you!"

Fei Ling instantly recognized the person for whom she had voluntarily stepped in, yet had fled before her.

With his mouth full of luminous mushrooms, Norris instinctively shrank back, his eyes darting around nervously, even though he himself didn't know what he was afraid of.

Perhaps the aura of this girl in front of him was just too powerful...

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