Sub Quest (3)

Clap!

I clapped my hands and broke the slightly subdued atmosphere. At times like this, flashing a charming smile and acting a bit cheeky is the number one rule for a suspicious character like me, right?

"Ah, how would I know such things? Just kidding, kidding. I threw in the S-rank as a joke. Our inn is just that amazing! It's more for showing off, you know."

"….."

"Think about it. The ranking system is weird, right? A, B, C, D, and then suddenly S. It's so out of place. Don't you think?"

Leonardo's expression was lukewarm, clearly uncomfortable, but when I kept being bold, he reluctantly nodded.

Ah, you're missing the point, Leonardo. You don't know the real rules. I smiled without showing my teeth and rolled up the paper. Even after that, seeing no sign of the tension easing from Leonardo's serious expression, I playfully unwrapped a candy and popped it into his mouth.

"….."

Leonardo glared at me as if asking, "What are you doing?" but I pressed his lips together with my finger, preventing him from arguing and quickly changed the subject.

A puffed-up cheek from the candy didn't make him look very scary at all.

"Anyway, are you going to buy the information or not?"

Leonardo, deep in thought, rolled the candy around in his mouth. The faint clack of it mingled with his murmuring voice as he spoke.

"…I'll hold off for now. I'll come back after I've saved up more money."

Good. That gets me out of trouble for now. I sighed in relief and gave my hands a casual shake.

"Right, good thinking. Geez, I was wondering how to refuse without hurting your pride when you wanted to buy information with that little bit of money. Guess you're not so savvy with market economics and prices, huh, young master?"

Leonardo silently bit into the candy, crushing it, and then quickly counterattacked.

"When it came to catching chickens, you were as wilted as old spinach, but now you're all fired up when you're teasing me."

"Why bring that up now? I told you, I've never dealt with birds before! Can you just forget about it?"

Damn my pride!

At that moment, Vittorio, who had been watching us, tilted his head slightly and asked, 

"…So, are you two friends?"

"Huh?"

Both Leonardo and I turned to look at Vittorio. He flinched a bit and then wore a somewhat grumpy expression. Ah, I recognize that look. Some kids make that face when they feel uncomfortable or awkward.

"No, I thought you two were more like employer and employee… but it seems like you get along pretty well."

Thanks, Vittorio. It'd be good to establish our relationship here to secure some narrative weight. I straightened my back and gestured confidently at myself.

"The kind and generous innkeeper with a big heart."

Then I pointed at Leonardo with a grin.

"A former delinquent and runaway I picked up off the street. Oh, and also my odd-job worker and temporary employee."

"A delinquent?"

Vittorio asked in disbelief.

Well, after seeing Leonardo throw himself to save him and scold Lord Lopez right in front of him yesterday, it seems like Vittorio has developed a bit of fondness for him. I smiled and glanced at Leonardo.

"Yeah. This guy here," I continued, "he doesn't act like it now, but he had quite a wild past. From what I know, he used to live a pretty reckless life, out partying every night."

At that point, Leonardo swiftly covered my mouth, his expression a little awkward as he raised an eyebrow and gave a tight smile. 

Did he imagine something? I was about to say that he used to drown himself in a bottle, not that he was out causing chaos. 

Chuckling, I noticed Leonardo's face slowly twitch as he caught on to what was happening. He reluctantly removed his hand, and I, with a pleasant smile, continued to enjoy teasing him.

"More reckless than you'd think—"

"Enough."

Leonardo quickly clamped my mouth shut again. Vittorio, watching us with a somewhat uncomfortable expression, alternated his gaze between the two of us and shook his head.

A brief struggle passed, and the afternoon arrived. While Leonardo busied himself with his usual pre-opening training under the guise of 'preparing for the inn,' I sat with Vittorio, leisurely preparing some food. It seemed better to keep the boy occupied rather than letting him wander around with bruises on his legs.

The conversation between the adult and the child as we peeled potatoes went something like this: how things were in the slums lately, whether we were making enough money, if the rooms in the inn were comfortable enough, and if any bad people were bothering the street urchins in the area, among other things.

Vittorio seemed a bit awkward with the conversation, but he answered well enough.

"How's the port lately?"

After a brief pause, Vittorio blinked a couple of times before responding.

"On days when a lot of cod is caught, there's decent work. It's mostly simple tasks, just repetitive stuff. We're busiest in the early morning and late evening. There's a lot of competition, too, so even those just trying to handle fish all day long end up stationed at the port. Not everyone can find work, though."

"Really? I'd like to talk to those guys sometime."

"I'll let them know."

[Archive Access: Loading previous scenario notes.]

Lord Lopez: "So, Lord Roald, what does Count Ertinez think about the joint investment in the trading port?"

It's still bothering me. After all, this character has even been given a name. It definitely has some role to play. It's hard to think of him as just a one-off character who's quickly thrown in for the sake of the story and then discarded.

The setting of an arrogant noble who looks down on commoners is so typical… He might not be the final boss, but perhaps he'll be one of those early minor villains.

I should have paid more attention to Lord Lopez during the carriage collision scene with the "Innkeeper's Insight." The scene felt too real, almost too grounded for just a dramatic moment, and my attention was diverted, so I didn't connect the dots back then.

I cursed my own mistake as I peeled the potatoes. It couldn't be helped. There's not much you can gain by just sitting around and thinking, so the only way forward is to get out there and investigate. The one clue I have is the port, so I'll need to dig into that.

Before I knew it, the sun was setting.

Customers began trickling in one by one, ordering drinks and snacks. It seems like the day is fast approaching when I'll have to admit that my business leans more toward being a tavern than an inn.

I started to subtly coax those who seemed to know the port by identifying features like thick, rough fingers, weathered skin from the sea breeze, and sunburnt faces. Laughter erupted from a table in the distance.

I glanced over and saw the old man from this morning who had missed the chicken. It seemed his boast about spreading word of the inn wasn't just hot air, as a group of people were gathered around him, raising their glasses.

"Well, this handsome young fellow! He's as quick as a cat, and such a polite guy too!" the old man shouted loudly, gesturing toward Leonardo.

Objectively speaking, Leonardo Ertinez did have a pretty striking appearance. Though his eyes were sharp, giving him a fiercer look rather than the smooth and charming vibe, and despite the fact that his body wasn't yet as honed as it could be, it was still quite impressive.

I leisurely watched Leonardo, who was awkwardly bending at the waist and hesitating among the old men. The old man, grinning drunkenly, caught sight of me and gave me a playful poke in the side.

"Hey, innkeeper! How about lending me that worker of yours?"

I leaned casually against the table, smiling nonchalantly.

"Where would you be putting him to use?"

"Well, there's always work to be done. It's not easy finding someone, you know! You have to go around asking and putting in some effort to find someone decent."

Resting my chin on my hand, I listened to the old man's words, tilting my head slightly. Hmm, I thought. Sinistra seems like a pretty prosperous place, but do they not have any employment services here in the city?

Now that I thought about it, there were no institutions like a poorhouse, only the slums, and even the homeless seemed to gather and live on the streets in some sort of disorganized manner.

I fell into thought for a moment before heading down to the basement. I remembered seeing leftover construction materials scattered around down there. I eventually found a large corkboard, likely leftover insulation material, and hauled it back upstairs.

With the corkboard and some wooden planks tucked under my arm, I emerged to find some customers peering curiously. I waved for Leonardo to come over.

"Do you think we can mount this here?"

"Let's give it a try."

After handing him some nails and a hammer, I had Leonardo start assembling a notice board on the spot. With his sleeves rolled up to his elbows, he hammered away with a few swift motions, and soon enough, a sturdy notice board was done. Before long, the chatter died down, and customers were watching with interest as Leonardo and I hung the board on one wall of the inn.

"Alright, if anyone here needs work or wants help with something, just write it up and put it on this board. Be sure to include the payment, where to come, and what the job is. That way, anyone visiting the inn can see it and offer their help. If no one bites, I'll just call up a few people I know to take care of it."

"What if I can't read or write?"

"In that case, I'll write it up and read it for you, so don't worry about it."

"Wait, you can read and write?"

"Of course I can. You all have been making fun of me all the time, but if you really knew me, you'd see that I'm not half bad at this stuff!"

Confidently puffing out my chest, I was met with playful jeers from the customers. Truthfully, I had realized something the last time I read a street sign—it turns out I had gotten a language patch! Well, I suppose I should be grateful for that, at least.

Surprisingly, the notice board idea gained a much more positive response than I expected.

As time passed, more and more people began posting job offers, and soon the board was covered in marks from nails. Some people didn't even use it for job hunting—there were notices like, "Anyone interested in knitting? Let's meet up!" or simple sketches and writings that people shared when they were feeling lonely, all in the spirit of sharing hobbies.

Looking at the now-packed board a few days later, I rubbed my cheek in amusement. It made sense that such a simple idea hadn't been widespread before—after all, not many people could read or write. 

But in our inn, since I could read and write for people, or even act as a mediator for their work, the system was running smoothly. In that sense, I had to admit, I was pretty lucky.

More than anything, this made getting information so much easier.