The Innkeeper

She observed him for a moment. He looked even younger than her, and if it weren't for the fact that she had seen every single worker at the tavern come to him for instructions, she would still find it hard to believe that he was the owner of this place.

Not that the Midnight tavern was anything special. There were hundreds of taverns and inns in the outer city, and while many of them were just ordinary, some of them were quite renowned, as well.

There was the Cats Lap, which was run by Madame Lisa. Not only was she recognized as the best cook in the actual city, rumour had it that in her younger days there was a noble from the inner city who wanted to marry her. Just that story alone, alongside her famous beauty, brought in customers from all over.

There was the Dons Den, which was famous because everyone knew that the owner was an underworld leader, but no one had ever proved it. Still, the kind of deal one could get there attracted many customers, though regular travellers also visited often.

There were many more that stood out, while in comparison, the only unique thing about the Midnight tavern was the strange material its building was made from. In fact, if anything, the tavern seemed almost too ordinary, which was also enigmatic.

Even though the charm of the triplets, Naki, Nami and Nani, had taken hold of the city, no one ever made trouble for them, which was strange. The drinks in the tavern were also unusual and weren't available anywhere else. There were rumours that even the mayor of Barin city secretly bought some bottles from them from time to time.

Not that the young huntress cared for any of that. The only thing she cared about was if her suspicions about this tavern keeper were true or not! He never revealed his powers, but from the things he said, she was sure he was some kind of secretly powerful old man.

"I've finally done it," she said, seeing that the tavern keeper was content to continue pretending to sleep. "I've killed one hundred Jarasian lizards, all by myself. Do you think I'm ready to break through to the next realm now?"

The tavern keeper opened his eyes and pretended to be surprised to see her, but he was a terrible actor. Or maybe he did it on purpose.

"Ah, the ever mysterious young Miss Huntress. Oh dear, I see you're covered in wounds again. Why don't you take a seat, while I have Naki come take a look at you."

She wanted to protest, more focused on the answer she was looking for. But then she remembered that she was exhausted, and so collapsed into an empty lawn chair.

"So do you think I'm ready?" she asked once more.

"Ah, Miss Huntress, as you know, I am but a humble tavern keeper. I would not much about cultivation," the tavern keeper said as he got up and pulled up an easel and set an empty canvas on it. He grabbed a paintbrush and a wooden board with some paint on it, and looked at his canvas, as if he was trying to decide what to paint.

The young girl only rolled her eyes. It was always like this. The door opened and Naki came out, holding a first aid kit. Was she supposed to ignore the fact that he had clearly not sent any word to her, yet she came? She even brought the first aid kit. If that was not an indication that he was secretly an expert, she didn't know what was. The problem was, if she asked Naki, then the ever faithful barmaid would only say that she noticed the huntress's condition when she was going through the tavern, and decided to help out on her own. There was always a convenient excuse for them to use.

"Of course, I have read a few books that might lend some insight," the tavern keeper said, as he finally started to paint. "But Miss Huntress, you have to decide for yourself if you trust the words of a random book."

"Yes, yes, you know I trust your books," she said as she tried to ignore the stinging pain from her various cuts and bruises. For some reason, the treatment always hurt more than the actual wounds. But then again, no one else could treat her wounds as quickly as Naki could, so it was worth it.

"Miss Huntress, according to the books I've read, tempering your body through actual combat will go a long way in helping you set your foundation. But it also comes back with some flaws, which is that your body is riddled with injuries that haven't had time to heal. Now that you've tempered your body, why not take some rest? Our new and improved Hot tub room should prove especially useful in helping you heal and relax.

"Of course, if you can afford to use the best offer on the Hot tub room, then just a day's worth of rest would be fine. Otherwise, I'd say you give it a few weeks of regular use before trying to break through."

"A few weeks of rest?" she repeated, clenching her fists. She didn't have a few weeks to spend.

"What if I'm in a rush? What if I'm about to… hunt a huge monster that will only come once, and I only have a few days left to prepare? I can't avoid it even if I want to."

The tavern keeper paused his painting and turned to look at the huntress for a moment.

"Miss Huntress, I think you have a few things mixed up," he said after a moment. "What does cultivation level have to do with hunting a big monster? If the monster you're hunting is a little more powerful than the ones you're used to, then you just need to use better tools. For now, why don't you try your hand at painting, Miss Huntress? You're clearly stressed. It won't help you come up with any answers. Here, come and see if you can paint the same symbols that I painted."