The stream of Campers into the Dawnwood Inn was reducing by the moment. On the contrary, most were trooping out, having finished their meal. Eldon could see groups of various sizes, from three to seven. Many had already started forming their teams.

Eldon watched closely for a few more moments but turned away in disappointment. He still wasn’t there. It was as though he was a ghost—impossible to find. Eldon and Zachary had searched high and low for him but had nothing to show. To make matters worse, they weren’t the only ones looking for the S-rank Camper of Robin Camp. The encounter with Aiken and Galen the previous night had made that clear.

The two hadn’t even veiled their intentions—or rather, it was better to say that Aiken hadn’t. He had expressed his desire to join the team of the “strongest S-rank in the world right now,” the legendary Abyss Eye. He told them where he had checked and the measures he had taken to track Abyss Eye’s movements more efficiently. By the time he was done, Zachary and Eldon couldn’t find any reason to hide their purpose from him either.

There were only nine slots available. Just the people he knew amounted to almost half that number. What about those who he still did not know about? What were his chances of successfully joining Abyss Eye’s team? What would be his chances of surviving if he failed to do so?

The fork clattered onto the table as Eldon slowly grabbed fistfuls of his hair and pulled. The pain was somehow comforting, pushing away those thoughts, suppressing them. He turned his gaze to the cup of black liquid.

Gritting his teeth, he pulled it to himself. Bitter, just like my life.

Eldon gulped it all down and smacked the cup on the table. The bitter taste was fitting. That was what he wanted. Somehow, the resonance between what he was feeling within and the taste of the liquid combined gave him a certain sense of contentment.

There was more in the wooden jug, so he poured some more and gulped that down. Again and again, he did it. As he drank the final drops, the room exploded into applause. Startled, Eldon looked down to see the customers clapping and whooping heartily. Eldon blushed. He hadn’t realized they had been watching him.

The waiter returned with a bigger jug and a warm smile.

“There’s sorrow in life, young lad,” the old man said, pouring the steaming liquid for Eldon. “It is inevitable. The experienced seek it out, one way or the other. They let it entrance them. It comforts them. … But they must be wary not to let it consume them.” He smiled a crooked smile and left with the used dishes.

Eldon mulled over the man’s words while sipping his drink. He looked around. There was another reason why he chose this spot. He could have spied on the Dawnwood Inn from anywhere in the vicinity, but he had chosen the “Real Coffee Shop” to meet a particular person.

She was nowhere to be seen, so Eldon focused on watching the Dawnwood Inn and its vicinity. Maybe since Abyss Eye disliked crowds, he would wait until after most had left before arriving. However, when Eldon looked out again, someone else caught his attention.

A lady stepped out of the inn wearing Bone-embroidered robes that could not hide her voluptuous figure. Her fair face reflected in the sunlight was ethereal, capturing Eldon’s attention. She stopped outside the inn’s gates, looking around. Eldon idly wondered who she was looking for until she suddenly turned in his direction. Startled, he reflexively turned away.

Was he imagining it? He took a deep breath and looked out again. Hm? She wasn’t there... Oh, wait... She was rapidly approaching the Real Coffee Shop. Eldon panicked. The lady was an A-rank. Could she have caught him staring at her? But she was so far away. What did she want to do? Was it a coincidence?

While he was tugging at his locks in frustration, the door swung open, and the fair-skinned lady stepped in. Eldon held his breath. She’s probably not here for me. Even if she caught me staring for some reason, there were surely many others among which I surely don’t particularly stand out... She wouldn’t go this far for someone like me, would she?

The shop fell silent as all eyes turned to her. She looked carefully around. Her gaze went past Eldon, then focused on him.

Eldon couldn’t breathe. She approached his table with a smile. From up close, he could better see the intricacies of her beauty. Fair, healthy skin, long flowing hair, and cherry red lips... Eldon had not seen many that were more beautiful than her.

Eldon watched her settle into the seat opposite him, bringing a flowery scent with a tinge of coolness. She smiled at him, then looked at the cup in his hand.

“What’s that?” She asked, pointing at the cup. Her voice was cool.

Eldon stuttered at first, fumbling over his words until he took a deep breath and said, “Coffee. That’s what it’s called.”

“Why haven’t I heard of it before? Is it delicious?”

“I hadn’t heard of it either until I got here,” Eldon replied. He pointed at the approaching waiter. “He told me about it.”

“Good day to you, young lady. What would you like—coffee, like this young man, or tea instead?”

Huh? Eldon turned to the old man, confused. The old man hadn’t asked for his opinion before giving him coffee. Why was he giving the lady a choice? Was it because she was an A-rank?

If the old man noticed Eldon’s questioning gaze, he did not show it. He was smiling at the lady as though Eldon did not exist. Still, he didn’t seem to Eldon like a person who would discriminate based on strength... But who could say?

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“I want the coffee. I’ve had tea before. Let me try out this mysterious civilian drink.” Her eyes contained a playful glint that, for some reason, Eldon felt didn’t match her personality.

“It’s not particularly delicious,” Eldon tried to warn her. “In reality, it’s a bit bitter.”

She laughed. Eldon thought he heard the men in the distance gulp. They had even stopped their half-hearted discussions to focus completely on this table.

“I see what’s going on... You want to have this all to yourself!”

“What? No. Why would you think that? I’m just—”

“I saw you enjoying it just before. Those men over there are the same.” She smiled triumphantly. “You think you can trick me? Think again! Kind uncle, please bring the coffee.”

The waiter laughed and tottered away. In the few minutes it took him to return, the girl focused intently on Eldon, barely looking away from him for even a moment. Eldon could only squirm in his seat and look around. Oh, so there are fifteen men and seven women in this shop, how nice...

The old man returned and poured the girl a steaming cup. She thanked him with a smile, raised it to her lips, and drank it. Eldon could have sworn he heard the sound of collective gulping as the men who were so focused on the girl’s full red lip swallowed uncontrollably.

Eldon watched her face anxiously. He wasn’t afraid that she would harm him, regardless of why she approached him, because there were laws against that. However, these were normal people. If she felt humiliated or mocked after discovering the truth and decided to bring down the building, Eldon would be unable to stop her even if he wanted to.

Surprisingly, her eyes brightened, and she broke into a grin. “I knew it! You wanted it all for yourself!”

Confused, Eldon turned to the old man, who winked at him and turned away. Eldon raised a hand to call him back, but the man disappeared quickly. Who would have thought the thin old man could move that fast? And I thought he was a respectable old man after he gave me that mini-speech...

Eldon could only sigh and stare at the girl’s mischievous expression. Once again, he felt something was off about it... it was like she was forcing the expression. He waited for her to speak, but she only sipped her drink and kept looking at him until he gave up.

“What exactly do you want from me?” Eldon had no delusions that people like Zachary were common—especially not among the Campers. Whatever she was here for was unlikely to be beneficial to him.

She intertwined her fingers, leaning forward, and replied to him with another question. “Since you lied, you owe me one. Don't you?”

“Huh?”

“You lied about this.” She glanced at the steaming cup. “And now I’m asking you; don’t you think you should make up for this somehow?”

“What? No. I didn’t lie.” Eldon pushed forward his cup. “Here, taste this one. I don’t know what the old man put in yours, but...” Eldon trailed off at this moment, suddenly realizing what a fool he was. That old man... He simply added sugar, right?

“So you admit you were lying?” The girl said. “Great, because I need your help.”

Eldon was irritated by the realization that he had been made a fool out of by the old man and momentarily forgot he was speaking to an A-rank. “I didn’t lie. Check somewhere else if you’re looking for someone to push around and pressure."

She paused, startled. Someone whistled. The whistle brought Eldon back to the present, and he hurriedly clarified, “Ah... That’s not what I meant... I was trying to say that...”

“No, it’s fine,” the girl said, leaning back. Her demeanor changed subtly but clearly. “I’m here to ask if you already have a team. Do you?”

“Hm? Ah, no, not yet.” Eldon was still jittery about how he had spoken to her, so even though he thought it weird that she approached him about this, he replied.

“Good. I’d like for you to join my team, but there are some things I need to be sure of first. You see, most of my current teammates are from the North. Where are you from?”

“Parsimony Camp.”

She stared blankly at him.

Eldon added, “It’s not a famous camp, so you probably haven’t heard of it.”

“Okay,” she said after a pause. She thought for a moment, then said, “I know all the high-level Camps and even most at the medium level, but I’ve never heard of Parsimony Camp...”

“Yes. Like I said, it’s not well-known.”

She frowned, clearly confused about something.

A thought occurred to Eldon. He laughed awkwardly. “After so long, we still don’t know each other’s names. I’m—”

“There’s no need for that yet.” The girl raised a hand. A frigid air settled around them. Her mischievous expression had vanished without a trace, leaving a cold expression. The expression gave Eldon the sensation that, while she was indeed sitting before him, she was far out of his reach.

“You... What is your danger rating?”

“Huh?”

“You’re from Parsimony Camp, which I have never heard of before. At most, you could be either a B-rank or an A-rank. However, the probability of you being either is too low, given that the ratio of strong to weak people in any Camp is abysmal. What is your Danger Rating?”

Then it clicked. Indeed, something was off about an A-rank trying to poach me into her team. Turns out she was just mistaken.

Just what gave her the impression that he was strong?

A few awkward moments of silence.

“I’m... D-rank.” Somehow, Eldon felt a wave of bitterness in his heart as he said it. He pointedly did not look at her face and gulped down his bitter drink.

“I see,” she answered after a pause. She pushed the cup away from her and stood up.

Eldon thought she would be angry at him for whatever reason, but her voice was surprisingly calm—overly cool. As she left, only her light footsteps resounded through the silent cafeteria.

Somehow, the cool response made Eldon feel even more bitter. I’m not even worth getting angry at, huh...

“Kid... You just had to go and mess it up, huh?” A man in simple clothing shook his head and spoke deeply. “You see a catch like that, you just gotta get it no matter what! If it were me, I’d nod my head like a chicken and proclaim that I am an A-rank! Not just any A-rank either, but one under consideration to be upgraded to S-rank!”

His friends laughed at him.

“Don’t teach the kid bad habits, Skittle. Didn’t the Old Mrs. kick you out because of your sleazy behavior?”

“Ha! Not just the Old Mrs.... I met Evelyn last week during a training session at the Arena. Guess what she told me...”

“That’s easy! She was pissed that he was not, in fact, Commander Revel’s secret son who had been kept hidden from the public.”

“You guessed it!”

Laughter.

“Keep it up, boy!” One of the men gave Eldon a thumbs up. “One of these days, your honesty will surely pay off, and you’ll find someone who doesn’t care about superficial things.”

“Yeah, right. And who’s your girlfriend again?”

“You wanna fight?!”

Despite how he felt inside, Eldon could not help but chuckle. He watched the playful and relaxed air of the men with mixed emotions. They were weak, but they were content with their lot in life. The strong lived in a completely different world from them, and therefore, they could relax and speak merrily about them. Since they weren't Campers, they only faced danger when they went on missions or expeditions into the Beast Clan’s territory.

On the one hand, Eldon envied them, but on the other hand, he hated that fact—that he was caught somewhere in the middle. He was weak, but unlike them, he was not safe from the strong. He couldn’t hide from it. Every moment, he remembered his weakness.

Sighing, he drowned those thoughts with more coffee. Instead, he thought of Zachary, wondering if he was making any progress on his end.