The next day, early morning.
As the wooden sign reading "Tavern" was hung outside the shop, it signified the official opening of the establishment.
There was no such thing as ribbon-cutting ceremonies in this world. As long as the shop sign was displayed, it meant the business was open.
The tavern jointly run by Yuuki and Rebecca had already drawn plenty of attention during its renovation. Now that it had officially opened, even more shop owners along the street couldn't help but glance over.
Since it was still morning, there weren't many customers inside. After all, no one woke up early just to drink—taverns truly came alive at noon and in the evening.
Even so, Rebecca had risen early and headed straight into the kitchen to prepare in advance.
After washing up, Yuuki brought Rebecca's younger siblings along to tidy up the tables and chairs. The lively chatter of Marco, Luca, and the others echoed through the hall from time to time.
"Be careful, you lot. Don't bump into anything."
Yuuki glanced at them. Seeing that they were just fooling around, he reminded them casually before returning his attention to the ledger in his hands.
With the tavern now open, Yuuki and Rebecca could no longer operate as casually as before. Each had clearly defined responsibilities—Rebecca managed the kitchen and cooking, while Yuuki handled customer service and finances at the front.
It looked troublesome, but for Yuuki, it wasn't unpleasant.
At first, the tavern had merely been a cover for his identity—and a reasonable excuse to remain in the royal capital. But now, he had come to see it as a place where he could unwind his tightly wound nerves and think things through calmly.
Sometimes, knowing too much wasn't necessarily a good thing.
A faint sense of urgency lingered in Yuuki's heart, yet he understood clearly that some things had to be taken one step at a time.
Before long, the quiet hours ended.
As noon approached, customers began entering the tavern one after another. Surprisingly, only a small portion were passersby who came on a whim.
Most of them were people Yuuki had "saved" during the attack on the royal capital—when Mariella, disguised as Yuuki, had rescued them. Upon hearing that the tavern was opening today, they had rushed over at once.
In just moments, the tavern grew lively.
Quite a few customers thanked Yuuki as he passed by, leaving him feeling helpless internally while maintaining a polite smile in response.
"May I take your order?"
Yuuki stopped beside a table tucked away in an inconspicuous corner and smiled at the man sitting there, his hat pulled low and his clothing tightly wrapped.
"For a tavern that just opened, this many customers is impressive."
The man lifted his head, revealing a pale face marked by vertical black streaks along his cheeks. His voice was low and hoarse.
"You're injured, Valtos."
Yuuki's smile didn't change as he lightly flipped through the menu in his hands. From a distance, it looked as though he were simply introducing dishes to a customer.
"There was an accident during the attack on the royal capital. Fortunately, you didn't participate—otherwise, your identity might have been exposed."
Valtos lowered his head slightly, his voice remaining rough.
At the words "an accident," Yuuki showed no surprise. Instead, his tone grew serious.
"It was the Black Bulls' captain, Yami, wasn't it? Is Lord Licht all right?"
Valtos's narrow eyes fixed on Yuuki for a moment.
"So you already know. Yes, it was him."
"Don't worry. Lord Licht is unharmed."
His voice unconsciously took on a fervent tone as he continued.
"The power Lord Licht possesses far exceeds your imagination. How could those Magic Knight captains possibly be his match?"
Hearing this, Yuuki put on a show of relief.
"That's good to hear. Is there anything you need me to do?"
He continued flipping through the menu.
"For the time being, stop gathering intelligence in the royal capital."
Valtos looked at Yuuki with a faint trace of scrutiny, speaking calmly.
Yuuki nodded in understanding.
With that, Valtos said no more and stood up to leave.
As he passed other tables, he overheard several customers talking about how Yuuki had saved them during the attack. His eyes flickered slightly.
Watching Valtos's retreating figure, Yuuki curled his lips into a faint smile.
Good thing I prepared in advance.
"Yami really doesn't hold back," Yuuki thought to himself.
"Valtos and the others must have taken serious injuries… Licht was probably hurt as well."
Though Valtos's sudden appearance hadn't been part of Yuuki's plan, it wasn't entirely unexpected.
With such an incident during the attack, even if Licht hadn't said anything, Valtos would have sensed that their intelligence regarding the royal family had likely been leaked.
His visit wasn't just a warning to lie low—it was also an observation. A test.
"Even knowing how little I actually have access to, Valtos still keeps his guard up," Yuuki thought, shaking his head imperceptibly before turning to continue serving other customers.
Just then—
The lively atmosphere of the hall was abruptly crushed by a loud shout.
Bang!
"Yuuki! I'm here!"
The tavern door was thrown open as Asta burst inside, shouting excitedly.
Yuuki turned toward him with a smile, his gaze naturally shifting past Asta.
One by one, the members of the Black Bulls followed him in.
"Whoa, this place is huge!"
"Where's the booze? Didn't you say it was all-you-can-drink? This is a rare chance!"
"It smells amazing! I can smell food!"
"Auggh, don't drool—it's embarrassing! And seriously, why do I have to spend my precious day off eating with you guys? I want to go see Marie!"
"Didn't we agree this was a vacation meal? You can't just leave. Eat first, then go."
"Ugh—"
As their bickering voices echoed through the tavern, the entire hall fell silent.
All eyes turned toward the Black Bulls.
"Magic Knights?"
"It's the Black Bulls!"
"And so many of them!"
"They're eating here? That's unbelievable."
After the brief shock passed, the customers began whispering among themselves.
Yuuki walked over with a smile and said to Asta,
"It's been a while, Asta. Your muscles look even more solid than before."
"I still train every single day!"
Asta flexed his arm proudly, grinning.
"Not bad," a slightly tsundere voice chimed in from the side.
"Rebecca's in the kitchen," Yuuki replied, turning to Noelle with a smile.
"And you look even more beautiful than before, Miss Noelle."
"R-Really…?"
A faint blush rose to Noelle's cheeks.
"So you're Yuuki—the one Asta and Noelle keep talking about? Didn't expect such a cute guy."
Vanessa suddenly appeared, flicking her pink hair as she leaned her voluptuous body directly against Yuuki. One slender arm wrapped around his neck.
"Asta said the drinks are unlimited, right?" she asked with a teasing smile.
With Vanessa's face so close, and the faint scent of gardenias drifting from her body, Yuuki froze for a moment, unable to react.
The witch who escaped the Witches' Forest was truly fiery—in personality and figure.
"W-What are you doing?!"
Noelle stared at Vanessa in disbelief, stammering.
"Ahem—yes, of course. Drink as much as you like."
Yuuki coughed lightly and shifted, gently freeing himself from Vanessa's arm.
"That's great!"
Vanessa laughed, releasing him on her own and winking at Noelle.
Noelle's face flushed red again as she quickly looked away.
"When can we eat? I'm starving."
A small girl—barely around 140 centimeters tall—sniffed the air, patted her stomach, and looked at Yuuki expectantly.
It was Charmy.
"My apologies—we've had everything prepared for you already. This way, please."
Yuuki smiled apologetically and gestured for Charmy and the others to follow.
As he led them inside, his gaze briefly lingered on Charmy.
His previous encounter with her had yielded considerable gains.
Despite her small stature, that was due to her dwarf bloodline—when using Food Magic, she could transform into a normal adult form.
Under Yuuki's guidance, the Black Bulls soon arrived at a spacious area with two large tables.
One was prepared for the Black Bulls.
The other—for Golden Dawn.
Yuuki knew the nobles of Golden Dawn wouldn't show up, but Yuno would—so the preparation was necessary.
Just as the Black Bulls sat down, another commotion erupted from the hall behind them.
Yuuki paused, immediately guessing who had arrived.
After asking Asta and the others to wait a moment, he headed back toward the entrance.
"This tavern's pretty nice," Magna said lazily, leaning back with his hands behind his neck.
"Might come here often on our days off, right, Luck?"
Receiving no reply, Magna frowned and turned—only to jump in shock.
Luck was staring intensely at Yuuki's retreating back.
Sparks crackled around his body, electricity flickering through his blond hair as his eyes gleamed with excitement.
(End of Chapter)
T/N: I forgot this part, Luck's intuition for these kind of things is usually very accurate
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