Chapter 2: New Century (Epilogue)
Winter City, Eye of the Storm Tavern.
“Boss, another pot!”
Groin’s loud voice echoed throughout the tavern. The adventurers at the next table covered their ears, feeling a buzzing in their heads.
Even so, they didn’t dare to provoke the old dwarf. Not only were they not angry, but they also wore smiles.
“Master Groin, this round is on me. Please be more careful when you craft my equipment next time!” Without a second word, the adventurer rushed to pay for the drinks.
“What do you mean?”
The old dwarf, having gotten the better of them, puffed out his chest, his face flushed, and said indignantly, “When have I ever not been careful when crafting equipment? Tell me, what piece of equipment have I made that wasn’t a masterpiece?”
The adventurers chuckled awkwardly and dared not speak.
A while ago, this old dwarf had gotten drunk and made the joke of forging an axe blade on a shield. They didn’t dare to bring this up, as it would surely make the old dwarf fly into a rage. However, when the dwarf was not drunk, the equipment he made was indeed very reliable, absolutely considered fine equipment in Winter City.
Besides that, there was also the equipment from Enzo.
While the quality was slightly inferior, the price was cheap, the output was high, and orders placed that day could be picked up within an hour. The old dwarf’s equipment required waiting at least a day, and the higher the quality, the longer the wait.
Seeing that these adventurers were sensible, Groin snorted and said no more. When his gaze fell on the girl in front of him, his face once again filled with a smile:
“Nina, come on, keep drinking, hahaha! Alas, it’s been so long since I’ve had such a good time. You didn’t dare to come out for drinks when the King of Winter was here. In this vast Winter City, I couldn’t find anyone to match me drink for drink, it was so boring.”
Opposite him, Nina was wearing a maid’s outfit, holding a wine barrel, her body half-supported by it. By now, her face was flushed crimson, her eyes were glazed, and she hiccuped occasionally.
Although she was in a daze, she still giggled foolishly, echoing the old dwarf’s words:
“Exactly! In Winter City, it’s just the two of us who can drink the most! Let, let’s continue! Hic!”
A moment later, the tavern owner brought another barrel of beer.
He knew Nina and Groin; they were regulars at the tavern.
However, Nina used to come sneakily, dressed in a black cloak, completely wrapped up for fear of being recognized. In recent days, she had become bolder, even coming in her work clothes.
The owner shook his head and said to the old dwarf:
“Sir, I have to say, Miss Nina should not be of age yet. If the King of Winter finds out, it might not be good…”
“What’s not good about it?”
Groin snatched the wine barrel from the owner’s arms, skillfully pried open the lid, and said nonchalantly, “What does age have to do with drinking? Besides, Nina just came of age a couple of days ago. She could drink well before, and she can drink even better now. Even if the King of Winter comes, so what? This is personal freedom!”
“Alas…”
Seeing Groin’s stubborn demeanor, the owner shook his head, put his hands behind his back, and helplessly returned to the counter.
It was fine for the old dwarf to drink with the maid from Winter Fort.
He was just afraid that the King of Winter would find out later and shut down his tavern as well.
He wasn’t deliberately selling alcohol to Nina; it was entirely Groin, the incorrigible old dwarf, who had held a flintlock gun to his head.
“Come, let’s continue!”
The annoying owner finally went away.
Groin laughed heartily and poured Nina a full glass.
“Continue, continue!”
The old and young raised their glasses and clinked them together.
Beer foamed and splashed, and the aroma of malt filled the air.
It felt like life had reached its peak at this moment.
Soon, the entire barrel of wine was gone. Even with Groin’s good drinking capacity, he started to feel groggy.
However, Nina remained in a slightly tipsy state, and this state of mild intoxication kept luring the old dwarf to drink more.
The old dwarf always thought Nina was about to get drunk, but in the end, he was the one carried back, while Nina could walk back to Winter Fort on her own.
The public security in Winter City was currently impeccable.
System soldiers patrolled all over the city, and ill-intentioned hooligans were mostly arrested and sent to mine. Those who weren’t arrested found jobs and lived honestly, so there was no risk of being taken advantage of after getting drunk. Nina was also secretly escorted by Crusaders on her way back.
Just as they were at the height of their revelry.
The tavern door burst open with a “bang,” and two teams of fierce knights charged in.
They went straight to Groin’s table.
Without a second word, they pinned Groin to the table.
“You, what are you doing?”
Groin’s big nose hit the corner of the table. He was both angry and in pain, his thick palm slapping the table repeatedly, not yet having recovered from the sudden attack.
He was powerful, but in his drunken state, he couldn’t even use fifty percent of his strength.
Even so, it took both Sky Knights all their might to hold down the small, sturdy, and infinitely strong old dwarf.
“Hey, hey, hey! Soldiers! Did you arrest the wrong person? Do you know who I am?”
It wasn’t until Xi Wei walked in front of Groin.
The hot-tempered master blacksmith was still yelling angrily, “I am a master blacksmith of Winter City! Your equipment, part of it is my credit! Let me go! If you don’t let me go, I’ll roll on the ground!”
Xi Wei glanced at Nina, who was slumped over the wine barrel beside him, her pretty face flushed red, her eyes dazed, and a foolish smile on her face. His anger surged, and he directly slapped Groin’s bald head.
A crisp “snap” sound was clearly audible throughout the tavern.
“Why don’t you roll on the ground and show me? Huh? Groin, are you tired of living? Drinking with my maid!? How old is she?”
Xi Wei became more and more angry as he spoke.
He slapped Groin’s bald head several more times.
The first slap had already sobered Groin up.
He recognized Xi Wei’s voice.
He also recognized the demeanor of the person in front of him.
This was the real Xi Wei, not the Sakura that Nina had mentioned, the one who was so busy in the Winter Fort office that she couldn’t turn around every day.
It’s over!
This was Groin’s first thought.
His actions of taking Nina out for drinks had been discovered!
What should he do?
Would he be driven out of Winter City by the King of Winter?
If it were when he had just joined Winter City, Groin would have wished Xi Wei would drive him out. But now, he had no such thoughts at all.
If he left Winter City, where would he find so much to drink?
The cheapest beer in the tavern was better than any good dwarven wine.
In the dwarf tribe, he had to brew his own alcohol if he wanted to drink.
In Winter City, daily, foreign people and adventurers brought him all sorts of wine.
Such days were priceless!
Groin thought left and right, but couldn’t find any reason to explain Nina’s matter. He simply rolled his eyes and cried out,
“Oh, my stomach hurts, my, my head also hurts…”
Then he slapped his own forehead, knocking himself out.
Seeing Groin try to shirk responsibility by feigning unconsciousness, the veins on Xi Wei’s forehead throbbed.
“Playing dead, are you? Someone, lock Master Groin in the dungeons for a month. No one is allowed to bring him any alcohol during this month. If anyone dares to bring him alcohol, I’ll kill them on sight. I don’t believe I can’t deal with this old scoundrel!”
