Chapter 6: The new dawn

(Mayn kingdom, northern frontier: Falco township.)

While not as large as a city, there was a small town located right before the border Fortress separating the Mayn kingdom and the Swan Mountain range up in the north.

The Mayn kingdom was one of the three human powers that ruled over the Garud continent, the second largest of the six continents of the world.

As a great power, the kingdom had stood tall for thousands of years, predating the other two human powers that ruled the continent alongside them.

And while they were the oldest, they were not really the most noteworthy to the rest of the world because of their will to remain neutral and peaceful.

They did not go around waging wars or occupying lands. They were powerful by themselves, and they had existed that way.

Not that people of a small township like this one thought much about their kingdom. For them, life was simply about passing their days in a rather peaceful manner.

"Did you know?"

"Come come, read this!"

"This is so shocking. I know they are greedy, but..."

Falco township barely covered a radius of ten kilometers.

It wasn’t a particularly interesting place since most of the people who came here were either going from the border to the other parts of the kingdom or going on a dangerous journey beyond the northern gates.

"They say they found the demon remains there."

"Shhh. We aren’t supposed to talk about that."

Surrounded by high walls that were hundreds of years old, with no great powers here to protect this rather peaceful place, the town was simply a temporary resting spot for the travellers.

There were many inns here, many places to eat and rest. But, over the last three years, a particular place had risen to become a popular attraction of the township.

"The priests and the holy knight confirmed it was a demonic beast."

"I have a friend who worked in the merchant’s castle. She told me she saw the knights herself."

"So... the demonic beast was lost in the capital? Really?"

The inn was called Puzzles.

It was a relatively new place that opened three years ago and instantly stole much of the business from many other inns in the town thanks to their unique drinks and special dishes.

The rooms were pretty clean here, and they had special features like bath places inside each room and dedicated services for the customers staying with them.

There were some strict rules and stuff, but the place was a hotspot for both the people of the town as well as the visitors coming from afar.

Three very beautiful ladies worked in this inn, and the owner of the inn was a wizard when it came to drinks: the town’s people had already tried their best but it was confirmed that he could make any kind of drink that the requesters could think about.

"Hey~! Owner~!"

"Hello sir~. Would you like the regulars?"

"Yes! And make it extra sweet!"

Sweet alcohol, spicy alcohol, drinks with strange flavors, textures, and consistencies. The people of the town had only known the common beer that they drank in the bars or the fancy bottles of wine that weren’t affordable to them.

But then they opened their inn in this town, changing the boring place for the better.

"Can you take this to table no.12."

"Yes."

"Is the order for no.10 ready?"

"Yes, dear!"

His dark hair and yellow eyes were pretty distinct. But, the male customers envied him for not only his skills, but also for his three wives who worked in this inn with him.

They were pretty ladies, all three of them.

-Ting!

"Alright, here’s your order sir."

"Thank you as always, Miss."

The chef lady who always had her dark gray hair tied in a bun while making all kinds of amazing dishes, the server lady, the cutest one among them, who had curly brown hair and the black haired lady who looked after the rooms above: all of them were an attraction in themselves.

Even if most of the rough, working men came to this inn to see and taste all kinds of delicious things the owner could prepare, stealing a few glances at the ladies was never discouraged.

They often cursed the owner for having such amazing luck, but, over the years, the men of the township had understood how they should be keeping their ladies away from that charmer instead of envying him.

They were lucky he wasn’t going around eating from all the available plates, otherwise all the women who camped around the inn just to earn his passing gaze would not need any other prospects at all.

"Hello."

That was puzzles, a puzzling inn in a simple town.

With its upper floor reserved for the rooms and the lower one for passing guests, the owners here were pretty popular not just in this town, but also beyond that.

"I’d like a simple cup of coffee... and an envelope, if you have it."

"Ah, of course~. Just a minute, please."

The people who regularly visited this place had seen this a few times at the very least.

People would come and ask for simple things like coffee or juice along with an envelope.

When they investigate why the owner sold the envelope, they’d never receive a certain answer... just one that satisfied their personal curiosity.

The owner was good at twisting words and situations, but, while it was rumoured that the owner was involved in something strange, the common people especially knew how not to probe into things that are none of their business.

In this world, people die just because of their curiosity. And, above that, the people of the inn were too good.

Ever since they arrived, the town had become a brighter place.

They were like neighbors to each family in the town, and the kindness that they showed to their fellow townsmen in need did not go unnoticed by them.

"Here’s your order, sir. Please enjoy~."

The envelopes were kept secret.

Even if someone were to go and ask for an empty envelope, they wouldn’t know where to use that normal piece of paper.

People had tried it, and that was the end of the story. At least, for most of them.

"Huuu... it was tough as usual."

Those who knew how to use the envelope would know the value of those pieces of paper.

"Do we have any requests?"

Once the night kisses the small town and most of the households go to sleep, the light of the inn’s lower floor goes off as well.

The hallway above stays illuminated, but the guests who fall in love with the warm rooms do not worry about walking out. It’s almost as if they are trapped inside once it’s nighttime.

"Two requests. One for tea and one for soda water."

"Oh! Soda water!"

"It’s been a while since we had one of those."

The process was a little complex.

To make use of it, those who knew how to use the envelope would have to first bring it to the northern fortress.

There, they would find a small inn called (Answers).

They must place their written and stamped request in this envelope and hand it there.

The Puzzles have nothing to do with this one but it’s a central intelligence agency that must send all of the ’letters’ it receives to the capital city.

There, the ’letter’ sent by the requester gets delivered to a blank mailbox.

From there, a certain postman picks up the letter and delivers it to an address that authenticates it, and after screening the requests, the ones who are of value to the organization are sent here, back to where it all starts.

The more complex the drink they order, the more difficult their request is. In their terms, water is the simplest, then juice, then tea or coffee, then comes the things like soda water, and lastly, the top-grade requests are specifics: water with a single drop of syrup, wheat beer with a side of peeled oranges.

They are always looking for requests like that. But since their most recent request by the masters of Mayn underworld was of the highest difficulty, they were now taking it easy.

"They want us to find a missing cat."

"Oh? And who’s the requester?"

As he placed his red mask back on his face, the excited smile bloomed on Andrew once again.

"It has the mark of the Mayn royal family."

"Oh?"

Barn was sighing while shaking her head, her brown hair turning pink once again as she removed the ring on her index finger.

Snow did the same but along with her hair, her clothes also changed from that of a chef to a proper knight uniform.

Spot was still holding the letter, wondering why they should even consider this request.

But then again, the reward stated in the request wasn’t small.

’Only a royal family could part with a branch of the World Tree, after all.’

This mission was going to be a fun one as well.