"Showing off and then running away, how thrilling."

I escaped from the mercenary guild and quickly changed my clothes and equipment. Luckily, there were no equipment restrictions based on occupation here, and even if there were, it wouldn't matter for someone like me without an occupation. I swapped my greatsword for a bow and put on the cloak and mask of a ranger.

"Looks like you're good at stirring up trouble~" Aliyah mocked from the side. "Aren't you afraid of getting caught or separated by those people?"

"Don't make it sound so scary," I replied with a wry smile. "I thought something more interesting would happen, but who knew they were so reckless?"

"What were you expecting, hoping for a beautiful woman to see your magic and fall in love at first sight with you?"

"If only..."

Before I could finish, I noticed Aliyah's hair color seemingly changing, and what's even scarier is that her expression remained unchanged.

"Of course not, I just wanted to show off a bit of power so they wouldn't bother us anymore."

"Hmpf!" Aliyah pursed her lips without commenting, but Oyado was giggling on the side.

"What are you laughing at? What are you usually talking about? I feel like you've completely gone bad," I scolded Oyado.

"Alright, let's forget about the mercenary guild for now. Even though their target is me, they might have remembered your faces too, so let's be careful," I suggested.

"What should we do then?" Aliyah still seemed a bit upset, speaking with a puffed-up tone. "Should we swim across?"

"Well, that's not out of the question…"

"Well then, you go for it," Aliyah nodded. "I'll cheer you on from the shore."

"You're truly a great companion," I said sarcastically.

"I'll take that as a compliment."

"Alright, alright, no more jokes."

"Jokes? Too bad, I was looking forward to witnessing your achievement of crossing the ocean."

"Sorry, it seems unlikely... okay, let's get back on topic. It's too dangerous at the mercenary guild, and the mercenaries' management on this continent seems worse than we thought. If we act with them, we might face restrictions or unnecessary trouble. So, I suggest we wait and ask Mr. Monty about their next plan when we meet him at the tavern."

"That's a good point. Mr. Monty is not bad, at least we know him better. Dealing with someone else would be troublesome, but Mr. Monty should be fine."

Seeing Aliyah agree, I looked at Oyado. "So, is that settled?"

"Yes, let's go with what big brother says."

"Okay."

Seeing that it was almost time, our group headed towards the tavern Mr. Monty had mentioned. The place wasn't too far; just two or three blocks from here. At our pace, we arrived in no time. "Is this really a tavern?"

"Well, maybe it's just a name issue," I replied. The tavern in front of us looked no different from a regular restaurant, except for the beer sign hanging above it.

However, I don't really understand this regional style; most likely it's the same everywhere here.

So, we just pushed the door open and walked in, it was almost the time we had agreed upon.

"Hello, are you here to eat or drink... oh, uh, for dining, please go this way."

A girl with braided hair carrying a tray of drinks glanced at us and immediately changed her words.

"Hey hey hey, you clearly just changed your mind! Do you think we can't handle our alcohol?"

"Kids... maybe you shouldn't drink, right?"

The other person said with a wry smile.

"I'm not a kid! And you don't look that old either."

"Well..."

The other person hesitated, blushing.

"I'm actually 35..."

We were all shocked, this person looked only slightly older than Aliyah, 35? Are you kidding me?

"Cough cough."

I intervened.

"We're meeting Mr. Monty, do you know him?"

"Oh, Mr. Monty, the time they set... seems to be a bit early."

The person looked at the time and said.

"But it's okay, we're pretty free right now, you guys can sit first, by the way, what are your names?"

"Fir, this is Aliyah and Oyado."

"Okay."

The person wrote it down.

"I'll let Mr. Monty know when he arrives, you can sit for now."

After that, the person led us to the main hall and found a spot by the window for us.

"I'll go get some drinks, wait here."

After speaking, the person left.

"Indeed it's a restaurant, but beyond that door over there should be a bar?"

I pointed to a door with a curtain on the other side of the hall.

"Most likely. But it's frustrating, what's so great about drinking? Is it a crime?"

"Well, better to drink less, you're not practicing drunken fist or anything."

I chuckled at her.

"Hmph."

While we waited, suddenly, noises came from outside.

"Hmm?"

I could faintly see Mr. Monty's name amidst the commotion.

"Let's go check it out."

Saying that, I headed straight towards the door.

"Hey, wait!"

Aliyah and the others followed.

Outside the door, the scene in front of us was quite spectacular.

Mr. Monty and his group were surrounded in the middle of the street with a circle of mercenaries holding weapons towards them.

Damn, I thought I was quite ostentatious, but turns out experience speaks volumes.