Novel Bin Chapter 292 - Defusing The Tension
The Willow\'s Secret, a name that has been making the rounds in the Elven Tribe of Elvaraden, was a newly established bar in recent days.
Although situated in the tribe\'s outer district, home of the elvish commoners, it quickly became popular and successful—that words of its fame even reached the nobles and high elves living in the central district.
There was only one reason why something like this would happen—The quality of the establishment\'s food and beverage was top-notch.
Being within the vicinity of the establishment, Albion and Fenriri were quickly drawn to the bar after overhearing sings of praises for it from passing elves.
"So this is the Willow\'s Secret?"
Albion and Fenriri cast their gaze on the giant willow tree ahead of them.
With neatly arranged plants and flowers on the side of the road, the giant willow tree with a fancy entrance at its foot stood tall at the other end.
Although the willow tree\'s interior is hollow with multiple levels of balcony along its trunk, the willow tree was very much still alive and thriving with lifeforce.
.Albion and Fenriri had seen many building-shaped trees on their way to the bar.
Evidently, such unnatural tree forms resulted from the elves, who were said to have an intimate affinity with nature, manipulating their innate abilities to shape nature according to their needs.
*Sniff* *Sniff*
Fenriri\'s nose twitched after picking up an enticing aroma drifting out from the willow tree. Then, her eyes lit up in an instance.
"Master, my wolf sense is telling me that there\'s something incredibly delicious in that place!" Fenriri pointed directly at the willow tree bar ahead.
A single glance at Fenriri\'s uncontrollable wagging tail was enough for Albion to understand the little glutton\'s excitement.
"Wolf sense, huh?"
Albion chuckled softly and shook his head before his expression suddenly regained its original tranquility.
"From what we have seen, this elf tribe operates under a feudal system, and the discrimination between commoner and nobles that usually exist along with it is about the same as anywhere else."
"There must be something special about this place if even nobles enjoy coming here. Let us check it out," Albion stated.
"Yes, Master!" Fenriri complied.
Bars and taverns are key locations in information gathering.
Considering the establishment receives noble patrons, there was a possibility that they could learn about important news in the inner circle along with news about the general happenings of the tribe.
As Albion and Fenriri drew close to the willow tree bar, Willow\'s Secret, the sound of shattering glass was suddenly heard from within.
Not long after, it became rowdy inside.
…
Inside the willow tree bar, an elvish nobleman with a chubby build had smashed a ceramic plate on the ground and drew the crowd\'s attention.
Looking at the scattered vegetables and salad with hints of medicinal aroma and traces of spiritual energy on the floor, the food was determined to be a healthy type of elven delicacy.
"What kind of food are you serving here?!" the chubby nobleman glared at a female waiter and barked furiously, "I came all this way because I heard some impressive food was served out here!"
"We apologize for being unable to live up to your expectation, Sir. If there\'s anything you find unsatisfactory about the dish, please don\'t hesitate to point it out. We will do our best to fix it and bring out a new fish for you."
Although the female waiter disliked the chubby nobleman, she responded professionally as her job required.
However, such a response was not what the chubby nobleman was looking for.
"No need! Everything about the food was unsatisfactory! I heard the food here was befitting even for nobles, but this sort of food isn\'t even worth feeding the dogs!" the chubby nobleman thundered.
Shortly after, the chubby nobleman snorted, "Hmph, what an incredible disappointment! This place has nothing much an inflated reputation! Your boss should sell this place to me! Only nobles would know how to run a business properly, unlike lowly commoners like your boss!"
In that instance, the female waiter\'s gaze flickered with icy coldness.
Evidently, the nobleman knew nothing about their food nor their boss, yet still came to run his mouth and cause trouble.
Although it has not been announced, the owner of Willow\'s Secret was a member of the royal family.
As such, the female waiter was not afraid of the nobleman, someone she also suspected to be a baron.
"Impossible… I\'ve tried various places—the inner district\'s places, even. However, no food came close to what is served here at the Willow\'s Secret."
"Right? Whether it is the price, the taste, or benefits, Willow\'s Secret trumps all other places in the food business. How can this noble say the food was bad? Is there something wrong with his tastebuds?"
"This nobleman… I think I recognize him. If I recall correctly, he should be Sir Rathal, a baron, and also the owner of Earthly Spring Inn in the inner district."
"Is Lord Rathal purposely causing trouble and slinging mud on the Willow\'s Secret because he is jealous of the Willow\'s Secret\'s success? How unsightly…"
The crowd quietly discussed in low whispers.
Although they were not the brightest bunch among the commoners, none of them were stupid enough to have no self-awareness of the situation, especially when it was a common occurrence practiced by some nobles.
At some point, Albion and Fenriri had joined the crowd in observing the commotion at the center of the willow tree bar.
At the same time, the confrontation between the female waiter and Baron Rathal grew heated as the female waiter struggle to contain her anger.
"Sir, can you be more specific on what you find unsatisfactory about the dish you ordered?" the female asked gravely.
"Watch your tone when you speak to me, commoner!" Lord Rathal pointed his finger at the female waiter and barked, "Your attitude… is this what your boss teaches you when serving your customers?!"
"If you really want to know, it was the taste! The food served by lowly customers like you taste like shit! It was so disgusting that I wanted to throw everything back up!" Lord Rathal mocked the dish.
The female waiter\'s anger immediately surged.
However, before she could lash out at the noble, a burst of laughter broke out in the crowd behind her.
"Hahaha, did you hear that, Fenriri? He said that pleasant-smelling food on the ground tastes like shit! He must be an expert in eating shit or something!" Albion laughed under his hood.
It did not take before his laughter died down as he realized the silence in the area. He noticed everyone\'s gazes were on him, including Baron Rathal\'s glare, full of hate and humiliation.
"Hm? Hm… Ahem, sorry." Albion coughed and said with a straight face, "I was just trying to defuse the tension…"
"Such… insolence…!" Lord Rathal gnashed his teeth with veins protruding on his forehead as he roared at Albion, "I should have you beheaded for showing such great disrespect to me, a noble!"
It went without saying that rather than trying defusing a tension, Albion had lit a fuse instead. Pandemonium was about to break loose.
Or not…?