Part 5
Reality is often different from fantasy. Eden had hoped Lela to be a beautiful lady. Instead, in front of him is a young woman, no more than 2 years older than him, looking no prettier than an average girl in his village. She’s wearing a tight purple shirt and brown trousers. They’re thicker from what Eden can observe, providing excellent protection while somewhat showing off her womanly figure, although the lack of it on her upper half makes the men less distracted. Around her waist is a purple belt, carrying 2 long daggers and a small satchel on her left.
Her hair is all tied up and covered by a purple bandana, Eden can only know that her hair is brown, probably, from a few strands that manage to stay out. Her teeth are yellow and very disorganized, and he has to see them every time she opens her lips to drink. Her face is full of freckles. And her brown eyes...
[It...it’s...beautiful.]
Eden shakes his head, snapping out of his thoughts. Eden wants to meet Lela not because he wants a beautiful woman by his side. He wants to meet Lela to…
While Eden is still lost in thoughts, he is shoved out of the way by 2 big muscular men, with overcompensating weapons behind their backs. Eden doesn’t mind, it’s his fault for standing at the doorway, so he just walks towards the bartender while observing the 2 men who just entered the bar.
“You’re just in time, kid.” The bartender tells Eden in a hushed but excited tone. “Idiots like them come to town almost every week. Have a good look at the poor souls who mess with Lela.”
“Hey! Ugly bitch! Look over here!” One of the 2 men shouts at Lela as they’re standing right to the left of her table.
“Go away, I’m drinking right now.” Lela says slowly so their pea brains can understand while continuing drinking and not looking at them.
“You think your such a hotshot for being Talented, huh? Well, me and my boy here are both Level 30. You wanna take this outside? Or you so scared and pissed your pants already?” The other man tells Lela while he and his friend make an intimidating posture. “After we done here, we gonna take your turf. If you beg, I may even let you be my personal toy, hehe.”
“If you insist on humiliating yourself.” Lela sighs as she slowly stands up. “But we don’t really need to take it outside.” Without giving them a second to react, Lela turns to face the opposite side of these men and kicks her right leg in behind. Her leg hits right in between one of the men’s legs, making him scream and crouch down, holding his little man in pain.
“Why you little…” The other man tries to punch Lela, but she just disappears.
Eden is observing the fight intently and notices that she didn’t disappear, her movements just suddenly become so fast that it’s hard to keep up for a normal person. Still, those movements are considerably faster than his. Lela then “reappears” from behind the brute with her dagger out and ready and stabs him in the shoulder. He roars in pain as Lela lightly punches him at the back of his neck, and he falls down, unconscious. The fight is over within seconds.
“Boys, can you help little ol me by cleaning the trash from my favorite place to drink? I’m just a weak woman who can’t carry them all by myself...” Lela suddenly acts girly and points towards the two men lying on the floor, her voice changes from normal and quiet to overly sweet, to the point of disgusting.
“You got it, Miss Dandelion! Anything for you!” One man says as he and his buddy start running towards the bodies and try their best to drag the trash out of the tavern.
“Thanks! You’re so sweet!” Lela makes a broad smile at those men, then she continues to sit down and have her drink. Eden is repulsed by her ugly smile, but he doesn’t express it outwardly. Everything returns to normal as if nothing has happened.
“You see, kid, that’s why you should never mess with her.” The bartender suddenly turns to Eden and explains, but Eden’s attention is currently on something else.
“Thank you, my good man, but I think I know what to do now.” Eden waves at the bartender distractingly as he stands up and starts walking towards...Lela?
“Hi, I’m Eden, nice to meet you.” Eden takes out his hand for a handshake as he stands right where the 2 men back then just stood. Everyone suddenly goes silent as they look over to Lela and the mad young man.
“What are you all looking at?” Lela says in an angry tone, not a yell but loud enough for everyone inside to hear. They quickly stop staring and mind their own business, only the bartender still looking at Eden with fear.
“You saw what just happened, and you still wanna do this?” Lela continues, her eyes are still focused on her drinks.
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“I’m not here to challenge you or anything, don’t worry.” Eden says as he confidently points his thumb to himself. “I’m a traveler who is looking to make a name for myself. I’m wondering if you want to join me and we can create a legacy together.”
“Pftttt...HAHAHAHA!” Lela spits out her drink and starts laughing uncontrollably after hearing Eden’s proposition. Everyone else is dying to know what Eden just said, but none of them are brave enough to eavesdrop.
“I’m being serious though.” Eden comments, his expression is still unchanged, unmoved by Lela’s laugh.
“Hahaha…... That was the worst flirt I have ever heard! Look, man, I don’t know where your eyes have been paying attention to tonight, but you’re crazy to think that I’m a pretty gir...” Lela answers as she turns to meet Eden’s gaze and suddenly freezes up when she sees him. “...It doesn’t matter. I’m not going to abandon my territory to go marry someone I just met.” Lela quickly shakes her head and continues.
“I do not intend to marry you, what? I’m planning to form a team to travel together, and I would love to have you, that’s all!” Eden blushes at the marriage misunderstanding and quickly tries to explain himself.
“A wannabe adventurer? Are you a Talented?” Lela asks while measuring Eden from head to toe, trying to get some information about Eden from how he looks. She notices his sword but thinks nothing of it, assuming he’s carrying the sword as a secondary weapon, not that bad of an idea for a quick night out drinking.
“As a matter of fact, I am!” Eden says confidently. In truth, he has no idea whether it is true or not, but from what the bartender said yesterday, it is best for him to hide his ignorance and shows confidence in front of a challenge. Besides, surely he must be a Talented given how he could overwhelm so many bandits at once, right?
“Oh, do you now?” Eden now has her full attention, Lela holds her drink and turns her legs so that she can face him directly. “And how much will you pay me?” She asks, raising her eyebrows.
“I don’t have much on me right now. We’ll split 50-50 for all loots we find. And I’ll pay you more when we’re better off.” Eden sweats as he answers while being increasingly pressured by Lela’s overwhelming presence. All the cards in this negotiation are in her hands, but Eden cannot give her too many concessions. Her confidence is making him nervous for the first time in his life.
Eden starts breathing slowly to calm his nerves, and it’s working. He looks straight at Lela’s beautiful eyes and smiles. Lela then looks away, blushing a little bit. This simple practice is far more effective than how Eden could have hoped for.
“...Alright! You’re pretty convincing yourself, pretty boy.” Lela sighs, still not making eye contact. “I’ll join you on your little ‘adventures’ on one condition.” Lela continues while thinking of what the condition should be. After a moment of thinking, a devious smile appears on Lela’s face, and she says: “Bring me a bear’s paw within an hour, as proof that you’re really Talented, then I’ll join your team.”
“Right now? In the middle of the night?” Eden asks, confused by this unorthodox request.
Lela nods. “Completing it now would make you trustworthy enough to follow.”
“You promise to join my team if I do that?”
“I promise.”
“Alright, I’ll do it for you!” Eden says confidently and runs out of the tavern. The place suddenly becomes quiet after he leaves.
“Are you really going to leave us if that boy succeeds, Miss Dandelion?” One of the fellow drinkers looks at her and humbly asks.
“Don’t worry, everyone! I’m not gonna leave you.” Lela says in a loud but gentle voice. “No way that boy can complete my request in time. Around this time, bears have gone deep into the forest and slept already. It’s impossible for a newcomer like him to know where they’re sleeping though.”
“Miss Dandelion, are you...luring that poor boy into his death?” The bartender nervously asks.
“If Eden was lying to me about being a Talented then I am.” Lela casually answers. “If he’s telling the truth then he’ll be unharmed. Disappointed after one frustrating hour though, maybe.”
No one dares to ask any more questions, and they go back to their drink. Some even silently pray to the well-being of another potential victim of Lela.
15 minutes later, Eden opens the door with a fresh bear paw in his hand. The smell of blood from the paw still radiates around it. Half of the customers present spit out their drink out of shock, including Lela, for the second time tonight. The rest do not do so simply because they are currently not having any drinks in their mouths.
“Here, a present for you.” Eden smiles as he gives the paw over to Lela, whose mouth still opens wide out of shock. “Man, I’m beaten. I’ll see you tomorrow morning then?” Eden says as he walks back to the door, waving at Lela while all eyes are on him.
“Y-yeah…” Lela answers, waving back at him, but her mouth doesn’t close.
After Eden has left, Lela finally returns from her shocked state. With the paw on her hands, she slowly makes a small smile.
“Hey, barkeep! I want you to have this.” Lela says as she walks over to the bartender and hands over the paw to him. “It will be a great decoration for this place. Thanks for having me around all this time.”
“D-don’t mention it, Miss Dandelion.” The bartender nods gratefully as he takes the paw from her hand, though he’s not sure if he should decorate it.
Lela then turns to the rest of them. “Sorry guys, but I’m afraid I can’t keep my promise earlier. I hope that when I’m gone, you all will know how to handle yourself?”
“W-we will, Miss Dandelion!” One of the toughest-looking men in the room answers nervously. Lela smiles and waves at them for possibly the last time. Within seconds, she has also left the tavern.
“I-is she gone?” One man at the back asks the bartender after a long moment of silence.
“I think...she is!” The bartender happily answers.
And with that, the tavern bursts into loud cheers that have never been seen before in town.