HTWBB Chapter 19

The sticky sea breeze tangled wildly into her disheveled hair. Melian rubbed his fingers together as if he could grasp the heavy ocean air. It was sticky and hot. The intense saltiness and the prematurely ripened sun made his skin sting.

But setting all such concerns aside, he gazed with admiration at the scenery captured in his view.

"So this is the sea!"

They stood atop a hill overlooking all of Clémora below their feet. From this position, heading straight down would lead them to the eastern part of the city.

Melian looked around at the tightly clustered houses and the buildings that grew larger and taller near the coastline, then shifted his gaze a bit farther.

The large merchant ships and fishing boats of various sizes, the people filling the spacious dock, and the endless horizon stretching beyond them were impressive enough to elicit spontaneous admiration.

Clémora was incomparably larger than any of the small villages he had visited so far. He could roughly grasp what it meant to be called the continent's third-largest port.

"Where did you say that old man's tavern was?"

"Ah, 'Under the Maple Tree.' It's near the second dock."

Melian came to his senses belatedly and answered. He felt embarrassed, thinking he had gotten excited without thinking, but it was an unavoidable reaction.

Having lived for well over twenty years without ever thinking about seeing the sea, he had only heard and read about it—this was the first time he had taken it in with his own eyes. For him, whose priority had been surviving by any means, the luxurious thought of sightseeing had been something he couldn't dare entertain.

"Under the Maple Tree."

Rietta nodded and closed her mouth again. Even though they had reached their destination, her emotionless eyes lost their direction and wandered somewhere in the empty air. Or perhaps her gaze possessed an intensity, as if attempting to encompass the entirety of the sea within her sight.

Melian was concerned about the lonely appearance she occasionally showed. At first, he thought Rietta might be a nymph similar to himself. Or perhaps a race close to spirits.

Even if one was born with the blood of nymphs renowned for insight, unless detecting danger, one could only vaguely sense things, so he had made that assumption based on the warm feeling and inexplicable goodwill from their first meeting.

'She smells like the sea.'

After Abel said that when they met in Luemmasa, the hypothesis extended to the possibility that she might be a sea nymph.

And right now, her actions were lending even more weight to that hypothesis. A heavy but not uncomfortable silence lingered between them for quite a while.

A wind that blew more strongly rustled the leaves with a pronounced susurrus. Several light leaves gently descended onto Rietta's head. Her tightly closed mouth finally opened slowly.

"We won't need to ask around."

"Pardon?"

Her finger pointed in one direction. Melian, who had unconsciously followed her gaze, let out a small exclamation.

In summer, when everywhere was filled with blue and green, a single maple tree that had forgotten the season stood prominently in vivid red near the sea. Below it, he could see an old, worn shop nestled as if hiding.

Once the destination was set, she delayed no longer. The eyes that had been rippling with both emptiness and longing also returned to that usual indifferent light.

Walking the path into Clémora, Melian thought about the woman ahead of him who always walked about three steps in front. The scent of the sea brushing his nose had long since been pushed aside.

"Miss Rietta."

At his call, Rietta, who had been showing only her back the entire time, turned her head slightly. Her gaze still faced forward, but the distance narrowed to two steps immediately. As always in front of Rietta, Melian couldn't help but break into a smile.

Though they hadn't known each other long, he liked Rietta. Whatever reason she had for hiding that brilliant exterior, why her voice had become that way, why she searched for all kinds of treasures difficult to obtain even through achievement—none of it mattered.

He simply liked the small tenderness she showed to those she let inside her circle, worn down by stories he would never know until even the thorns she might raise had crumbled away.

"What."

Like now, for instance, when she slowed down one more step for him who had no answer.

"Will we have time to see the sea up close?"

Rietta nodded without hesitation.

"Yes."

"Then let's go together!"

This time she didn't answer but resumed her stopped steps. But Melian knew that silence in situations like this generally meant yes.

The narrowed distance widened again to three steps. He smiled, looking at the consistent footsteps placed before him.

By Rietta's side, perhaps...

It really seemed possible that he might become an adult.

Rietta lifted her head, which had been tilted back considerably, a bit more. A maple leaf that had touched her exposed forehead fell downward. The maple tree large enough to easily surpass the tavern's roof appeared to be at least several decades old judging by its circumference.

From what she had heard in bits and pieces on the way here, it had been turning red and guarding that spot for roughly fifty years, becoming a local landmark.

They said it was undoubtedly blessed by Tetiana, the sea goddess. Rietta, who looked at the spot where the fallen maple leaf had been attached, immediately denied that claim.

'A normal tree doesn't bloom again as soon as it drops its leaves.'

Moreover, if it was red autumn foliage rather than green leaves, even more so. Rietta, who had glanced at the tavern's sign reading "Under the Maple Tree," stepped inside without hesitation.

Well-maintained as it was, the door opened wide without any particular sound. A small hanging bell rang noisily.

"Hm? We're not open for business yet."

A face slowly rose from beyond the rows of large and small glass cups.

The man with drooping eyes had a solid upper body that, if viewed generously, made him look around his late thirties. His skin was somewhat dark from strong sunlight, but it actually contributed to making him look younger than his age.

He alternated glances between Rietta and Melian, then scrunched up his face and gestured dismissively as if driving them out.

"I don't serve kids. Where are you bringing someone still wet behind the ears to a place like this?"

"I'm not a kid, you know?"

At the irritated response, the man laughed heartily as if finding it cute and shook his head.

"Every kid who answers like that has never not been a kid, little one."

Melian's round eyes sank coldly. Rietta, who had been watching quietly, stepped forward.

"We didn't come to drink."

"Then what business do you have at a place that hasn't even opened yet?"

"Are you Nick of 'Under the Maple Tree'?"

He nodded as if it were obvious. She could see subtle strength entering his drooping shoulders.

"That's right."

"They said this was liquor learned from you."

Rietta took out "Mermaid's Heart" from Melian's backpack, removed several of the lined-up glass cups, and placed the bottle in their spot.

The man, startled by the careless handling, snatched the cups away in one motion and carefully set them down nearby. Then he casually tapped the bottle Rietta had given him to spin it. The man who touched the pearl-holding shell drawn on one side nodded repeatedly in affirmation.

"That's certain. It's from someone who learned under me. Who made it?"

"I don't know the name. He runs an inn and tavern in Mabia."

"Ah, that bastard Kevin."

He laughed heartily and began rattling off unsolicited information. Ninety percent was useless talk—criticism of Kevin mixed with slight praise. It was completely different from his initially guarded look.

Whether Melian had a fed-up expression or not, he moved the cups he'd been polishing to an inconspicuous spot as if they were babies, then with an incredibly natural motion, opened the liquor Rietta had set down without permission.

"Sit down for a bit. Where was I? Right, that bastard Kevin was the best among them. At least he knew how to get the taste somewhat similar to mine."

"So that wasn't an empty boast."

"Of course. The guys who learned from me don't make empty boasts. Ah, do you drink?"

"I've already tasted this."

Nick paid no attention to Rietta's refusal and pushed a cup filled about halfway toward her.

"Just try it again, will you? Then I'll let you taste the original I made."

"The original?"

"Right. I'll show you clearly what the difference is."

Rietta pulled Melian, who was sitting somewhat far from the table, to sit beside her and ordered milk with honey for his portion.

The reason she accepted the offer wasn't because she was curious about the liquor. There was definitely information she needed to obtain from this eerily young-looking old man.

Melian alternated aggrieved glances between the milk now placed before him and Rietta, then, glaring at the giggling Nick, eventually began drinking obediently.

Nick glanced sideways at Rietta's quickly emptied cup and pulled out a forearm-sized bottle from under the counter. It was liquor with the same picture drawn as Kevin's.

"There couldn't be a son this capable... is it a younger brother?"

"No."

"No? Ah, never mind. Don't tell me. Well, there are plenty of stories people can't tell here and there, so I understand."

Nick shrugged lightly and filled the empty cup with a clean motion. It was the skilled customer service befitting an old tavern.

The hot sunlight of the sea streamed in, mingling with the flowing liquor. Rietta, who had been momentarily captivated by the light sparkling like moonlight on water along the grain, slowly lifted her head.

Nick, who had skillfully capped the bottle's spout, grinned broadly.

"Now, this is that famous 'Mermaid's Heart.'"

Rietta saw in his confident appearance a glimpse of youth not yet faded. However, he was undoubtedly maintaining his youth through methods that defied natural law. What was visible was never everything.

Pushing aside stray thoughts, she lifted the transparent liquor. As much as it had absorbed the sunlight, it was terribly as strong. The liquid that hotly heated from her throat down to around her heart quickly turned to vapor and disappeared with a single breath. A faint fragrance like flowers cleanly filled the aftertaste.

Nick, who had watched even her lightly exhaling breath, whistled.

"I misjudged a master. You're the third person who didn't cough on the first sip."

"I'm honored."

She wasn't curious about who the previous two were. Rietta was just slightly surprised. Though she didn't get drunk easily, liquor for her was merely amusement without much impression. Except when necessary, she could count on her fingers the times she'd put it to her lips until now.

However, the "Mermaid's Heart" she'd just drunk seemed quite enjoyable. She uttered her impression with some sincerity.

"With liquor this good, you must have had many students."

"Of course! Many indeed!"

"You must have made quite a bit of money too."

"Naturally!"

Rietta's cup was filled again. This time, without giving the liquor even a glance, she looked around the shop's interior.

The exterior with its impressive maple tree was so worn it wouldn't be strange if it collapsed immediately. However, the interior was generally clean and luxurious except for a few well-worn items like the cups Nick had cherished and the counter. Even just the table was a high-quality item you couldn't find in just any inn or tavern.

Taking this much care meant either special affection for a place where one had lived one's entire life, or for whatever reason, no intention of leaving.

"You could have moved to a bigger place."

"I've eaten and lived here my whole life—where would I go? Moving around carelessly at this age, I'd collapse and die."

Rietta caught the liquor bottle tilting toward her and turned the spout toward Nick. He showed signs of brief deliberation, then soon pulled out another cup from below. Rietta, who had casually poured the liquor, spoke in passing.

"Right. I heard you're around eighty, but you don't look it at all."

"Kuhaha! Isn't this all because I've lived drinking good liquor!"

Nick, overflowing with confidence, couldn't restrain himself and instead led her to take a seat at a customer table. He even brought out a basket of well-aged cheese, saying there was just the right snack food.

He asked belatedly about Kevin's well-being with a pleased face. That too was ultimately an extension of a self-loving question about whether Kevin had heard any talk about Nick himself.

"It's been over ten years since that guy left my tutelage. Even living not far away, he never sends word."

"I think I know why, old man."

"What? What would a brat know? Don't butt into adult conversations."

Melian, whose lips curled crookedly, poured the remaining milk into Nick's cup. The milk-mixed liquor overflowed onto the table before he could stop it.

Light shouting went back and forth about how the brat had a nasty temperament and it was obvious why his disciples didn't come looking for him.

Rietta asked Nick, who was grumbling and wiping the table, casually.

"I heard how the liquor was made—is it true?"

"What did they say?"

"That you reproduced something salvaged from a shipwreck that sank hundreds of years ago. Sounds like a legend."

Nick's raised shoulders grew even larger. While it was certain that his disposition itself was one that loved showing off, the intoxication beginning to rise from the several cups they'd already exchanged probably also played a part.

He threw down the rag soaked in a subtle color and raised his voice again.

"Ah, of course it's true! It's a legendary story but definitely not a legend!"

"I'd like to hear in detail about what happened then."