I walked up to the back door of the tavern with the ingredients the merchant had brought in. I dropped them off at the place designated by the tavern master.

Good. That's everything.

　Huffing and puffing, he turned his head.

"Oh, no. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. You're very helpful.

　I turned to see the tavern master smiling at me.
　His name was Giselle.
　A middle-aged man with a dandy beard.

"Never mind. I let you run the house while I was gone. You owe me a favor.
You're a very loyal man, aren't you? Always was.

　The master smokes his cigar and looks into the distant past.
　I've known him since I was a boy.

He still helps out in the village. Especially as a bodyguard. Ever since you came back to the village, the menace of evil has been less of a threat. Thanks to you, this year's crop is on track to be the best ever.
That's good to hear.
Kaiser, I hear you're teaching the kids how to use a sword.
Yeah. To train the next generation of bodyguards is a bit of an exaggeration. There's nothing better than having swordsmanship on hand. And the kids love it. Lately, they've been coming over to my house before noon. They want me to teach them swords.
They love you. The first time you took part in the village fencing competition, you won it without taking a single shot. I had an image of you in my mind. --You were banned from future tournaments for being too strong.
Ha ha ......

　I gave a dry laugh.
　That was a bit of a trauma. .......
　The master looked at the luggage I had brought in.

But the horsepower is way different. I have a knuckle-dragging arm too, but if I tried to carry this amount of food all at once, I'd have a slipped back. And it's easy to do that: ....... So you're indeed a former A-ranked adventurer.
You can't do that. It was a long time ago.

　I chuckled.

"I'm a retired adventurer now.
Retirement. There's no such thing as an adventurer's retirement. You can go back to King's Landing and be an adventurer again if you want to.
I'm not going back. I've got kids.

　I'm no longer an adventurer.
　...... No, I have a longing to be more precise.
　We still haven't slayed the ancient dragon that wiped out our children's homeland. Sooner or later, he may raid another village or city.
　I'll take the blame for waking him up, and I have to bring him down.
　--And so I returned halfway from King's Landing to the village. With the girls to raise them, of course.

"Kaiser. Did you tell your children the truth?
Is it true ......?
That means you're not their real father. They don't have a mother, you know, because they look around.
...... No . . not yet.

　I turned my head down and said.

"My children think I'm their father. --Of course I try to tell them the truth from time to time.
You have the option to hide it from me.
What?
"They'd be surprised, more or less, to find out you're not their real father. Then you shouldn't have told them in the first place. That's a kindness in hiding the truth. --Well, it's up to you to decide for yourself what to do.
...... Yes.

　I gave a small nod.
　I will take the opportunity to tell you the truth--but I'm not sure I'm ready to do so. The older I get, the harder it gets to tell you.

...... Hey, you know what? Did you change the decor of the bar?


"Whoa. There he is. I took Anna's advice and changed it. It's not just the interior, it's the front door.

　I looked toward the entrance of the tavern.
　That's right.
　It was a bayonet door and now it's a swinging door.
　I could see into the bar from outside.

"Say what you want about the wrong seat location. And I heard that customers would feel more comfortable if they could see inside the store from outside. So I did what they said. The bar is now full of people that I've never seen before. Lady Anna.
Yeah.

　I screamed in admiration.

"And then you told me your purchase price was higher than fair. He worked out a deal with the suppliers. That's how I got a discount on the stuff. That was great. Anna did a great job negotiating with these business professionals. You talked your way in and kept your nose to the grindstone. It was quite a sight to behold.
Ha, ha. That's very impressive.

　I knew you had a talent for making people work for you.
　The mine master raved about it.
　He told me that since Anna had taken over as foreman and shift supervisor, her efficiency had improved dramatically.
　And to think that she has business acumen as well.
　Anna must have a lot of guts.

"Kaizel, Anna's a great guy. He's going to be a great asset one day. I owe him a debt of gratitude while it lasts.

　The Master smiled and said with a smile.

"Then maybe... Maybe they'll put me in touch with someone. It's also a talent to have connections with people of talent.
Ha ha ....... The master is still cash.
"Of course. I love money. --But the money guy never looked back at me.

　The master blew his cigar and smiled.
　I laughed along with him.