Chapter 222

Heading farther north from Ardeno finally brought me to Lake Tsia. The area around the lake was ruled by the Republic of Tsia, a nation whose economy revolved around water freight...and now that I thought about it, it was the place in the Alliance I had visited most. Every time I used a boat to go anywhere in the Alliance, I virtually always ended up passing through.

That said, I only ever visited the place on my way to somewhere else, so I didn’t have any strong memories of it. Lake Tsia itself was large and beautiful, but the republic didn’t leave such a strong impression. There was one thing I remembered, though: the cities of Folka and Luronte, twins on each side of the lake, like they were reflections in the water. They were so alike that when passing through the area, if my ship stopped in one of them, it was quite difficult to tell which one I was in.

This time, the unfortunate timing of my overland route took me into the city of Folka just at the beginning of a torrential downpour. The ships plying the waters of the lake and its rivers wouldn’t be out for a while. The large increase in the volume of water would make the rivers run faster and so they would become more dangerous, and the monsters living within the water would be more active.

If it were only fish living there, I could happily enjoy the activity, but monsters were an entirely different matter. The ships used here were equipped to deal with attacks from monsters, but there was no point in taking unnecessary risks, especially if the heavy rain was whipping them into a frenzy. Even merchants in their eternal haste were hesitant to feed themselves to the monsters, so while they cursed at the sky, they patiently waited for the waters to calm before returning to their journeys.

As such, the inns and bars of Folka were overflowing. A little bit of rain didn’t really bother me, so normally I would have continued on my way, but if the conditions were bad enough that ships weren’t crossing the lake, I wasn’t interested in trying my luck at it either. I could walk on the surface of the water, but doing so for such long distances was quite tiring. When you added rough conditions from the storm and attacks from monsters, the prospect became even less appealing.

It was possible to divert around the lake, but it was a long route that still ran across numerous rivers. I wasn’t in that much of a rush, so even if the rain continued for a few days, and it took another few days for the waters to calm down, that was still only a week to spend in town.

“Sorry, but as you can see, we’re full.”

I was turned away from yet another bar. Folka had many visitors, and needed to accommodate ships being suddenly trapped in port for extended periods of time, so its inns were well equipped to handle large numbers of people. However, securing workers to man the restaurants was significantly harder. Now, many merchants and sailors were filling the bars, looking for a place to vent their frustration with the weather. Every place was packed, making it difficult for me to find a place to go myself.

Unfortunately I was staying at an inn that didn’t provide meals. Dinner seemed unlikely at this point. Of course, I could handle skipping a few meals if I had to, and one of the mystic peaches in my pack could probably sustain me for a week, but the prospect of missing the chance at a hot meal despite making it into a city was depressing. Besides, I already had a plan for the mystic peaches, so I didn’t want to waste them.

Before I was able to leave, though, the owner seemed to have an idea. “Oh, but now that I think about it, we’re a bit short on hands at the moment. We could really use someone to help waiting on tables. There’s some money and food in it for you if you’re interested.”

I had to say, I had never been made such an offer before. If I had been asked to cook, naturally I would have refused instantly. While I was capable of the simple cooking needed to live outdoors, I didn’t have the confidence to make elaborate meals to be served to others.

But being a waiter? A waiter? It sounded a little...interesting.

When thinking of waiters and waitresses, the first person to come to mind was undeniably Caleina, the woman I had met in Vilestorika, though I was sure she had passed away quite some time ago by now. She was quite dexterous and agile, weaving around drunk sailors and fishermen to bring food to the tables. At the same time, she had to dodge around some impolite hands going where they shouldn’t. Back then I had found Caleina’s skills impressive, but after my training both in the Yosogi School and from the mystics in the East, I was pretty confident in my own agility as well. I had to wonder if I could live up to her example.

That’s right, my interest had been piqued.

That said, much of Caleina’s skills likely came from her training as a spy, as other waitresses I had met—for example, Suu in White River Province—had been entirely ordinary.

There was no uniform for the waiters here, so after putting on one of the owner’s spare aprons, I started carrying plates to and from tables. Understanding what the drunk customers were saying was rather challenging, so the veteran waiters focused on taking orders, as mixing up the food they requested caused more trouble than anything else. As such, I focused on taking food and drinks to the tables. The kind of teamwork required was surprisingly fun.

What’s more, the reward I was given after my shift was done was a meal far more extravagant than I could have expected from the owner’s offer, leaving me fully satisfied both in taste and volume. As I sat with my belly freshly swollen with good food, I was asked if I could stay on until the ships started moving in about a week, and I was only too happy to accept.

So for the next week, I spent my days in the bar, from morning until night. The owner was quite skilled at making use of people under him, so despite my misgivings it didn’t take him long to sweet-talk me into helping prepare the food. That said, I wasn’t doing anything as complex as the actual cooking. I was mostly just cutting and preparing ingredients.

To be honest, for all the kitchen knives I’d made, I didn’t have much experience using them. I had a much more versatile knife for use in outdoor life, one that was much easier to carry around. I had developed a habit of using that even when I did try my hand at cooking in cities and towns. But while that might have been good enough for myself or my traveling companions, I couldn’t use a knife like that while cooking for customers at a restaurant.

With a little bit of instruction from the owner, I was able to cut up potatoes, vegetables, and meats. Of the three, meat turned out to be a surprising challenge. Maybe the knife I usually used was too sharp, as using the kitchen knife was quite a struggle.

My time serving as a waiter went much smoother. I was able to bring food and drink out to the tables smoothly and elegantly, just as I imagined. With permission from the owner, I even got to kick out a number of patrons who drunkenly harassed the other staff. Once the bar closed for the night, I’d then sit and drink with the owner. His name was Radal, and apparently he had been born in Janpemon. I wondered if we had maybe crossed paths once before.