Novels2Search

Chapter 38: Tension Mounting

After decimating the gang and saying that they were from Whitebridge I went back to the Fierce Boar inn with Dob and Lob. I saw Pepper manning the counter as usual and patrons of the Inn sitting down and eating dinner.

It's time for dinner already?! I guess time flies when you're having fun.

I walked up to Pepper, Dob, and Lob following behind me.

"Hey Pepper!"

"Hello, Jameson! Would you guys like something to eat?"

"You read my mind! Yes, that would be fantastic!"

"Great I'll get that right out to you guys. Just find an empty table."

"Ok. See you soon!"

I turned around and scanned the room for an open table. It wasn't hard to find an available one and I turned to Dob and Lob and pointed at the table. We headed over to it and sat down. While waiting for our food to arrive I had a nice conversation with Dob and Lob despite the language barrier.

It's gotten much easier to talk to Dob and Lob after hanging out with them for a while. I feel like I can almost tell what they're thinking.

I glanced around the room at the other people enjoying their meals. I felt myself salivating at the thought of a warm delicious dinner.

Mm. I can't wait for our food to arrive.

I didn't have to wait long as a few minutes later I saw Pepper walking to our table holding a tray piled with three plates.

"Hey Pepper! That was quick!"

"Thanks, I appreciate it. Hope you guys like your food!"

I gave Pepper a thumbs up in sync with Dob and Lob.

She chuckled and gave me a thumbs-up before going back to fulfill the other customers' orders.

"Okay guys let's eat!", I said looking at Dob and Lob.

The dinner was simple but tasted amazing. A nicely cooked piece of meat lay on the side of each plate. Emitting a small amount of steam from just having come off of the fire and covered in a light layer of seasoning. The meat was complemented by a side of vegetables and some kind of fruit. The fruit tasted kind of like a mango.

Ohh I love mangos so much. This is a godsend.

Stolen story; please report.

I quickly plowed through the delicious meal. I'd wanted to savor it but I just couldn't help myself and in an almost trance-like state, I soon found my plate to be completely bare.

Wow, that was good.

Dob and Lob had eaten slower than me so it was practically torture to watch them eat while I had already finished. I was slightly tempted to try to steal from their plates but I knew that was my tastebuds talking and that stealing their food would be a mean thing to do.

After Dob and Lob had finished we said goodnight to Pepper and went to bed with our stomachs, mostly, satisfied. I woke up the next morning rather early but I lay in bed until I felt like I wanted to get up since I didn't really have a plan for today.

I guess we could just continue doing the missions for the ABW but I want to do something different today. Maybe we could just walk around town. That sounds like it would be nice.

I went out to where Pepper always was figuring that Dob and Lob would already be up. To my surprise, I didn't see them out there.

They must still be sleeping. I better get them up.

I walked back to where Dob and Lobs' room was and knocked on the door a few times.

"Dob and Lob. It's time to get up!"

A minute or two later they opened the door and walked out while rubbing their eyes.

"You guys sleep well?"

Dob and Lob gave me a middle thumbs up.

"Ah, I see. Well, don't worry because today we're not doing any missions. We're just gonna walk around and have a nice relaxing day."

I watched as their faces lit up and they both gave me two thumbs up!

Two thumbs up?! Wow. They must've really needed this.

So we headed down and had breakfast and then headed out in high spirits, ready to finally have a relaxing day without any fighting or trespassing. I didn't have any specific destination in mind and neither did Dob and Lob so we just wandered around at random.

An hour into our day a guy standing in the middle of the street we were on. He was on top of a box and seemed to be angry.

"Are we going to put up with this blatant provocation?! They've gone too far. I can overlook the occasional person from Whitebridge that does something wrong but now there was a whole gang! This needs to be stopped immediately or I think us from Blackbridge should go show Whitebridge that we won't take these attacks without retaliation! Who's with me?!"

To my slight terror and surprise, quite a few people agreed with the outraged individual.

Have I really tipped the scales this much? Will I be the primary cause of a war? No. I have to go back to Whitebridge and hope that I've done enough. I can't cause any more unrest or they might really go to Whitebridge and cause a ruckus which could result in a real war! I should try to defuse the situation somewhat.

Wait no. I can't. Scorpion has lots of eyes and ears. If I were to try to calm the situation Scorpion might find out which would completely ruin my chances of moving up in the ABW's ranks and might even pose a real threat to my wellbeing.

It pained me that I couldn't interfere but I knew that I had no choice. I turned toward Dob and Lob and we continued wandering around, taking in the sights, sounds, and smells. But they seemed a bit muted now and I was feeling a bit less joyful than before.

We ended our day by returning back to the Fierce Boar inn and having another delicious dinner. This time I managed to savor it as I knew I would be away from Blackbridge for a while.

If Scorpion does decide to raise my rank that's great and I can hopefully complete my mission for the Guild. On the other hand, if he doesn't then I will have to find some other way to get the information I need as I don't want to raise the tension in Blackbridge anymore. I should head back tomorrow right in the morning. The sooner I get back the sooner I can be done with this.