"Ha–?"
The round guy was dumbfounded. A peasant… stood up to him? Not only that, he insulted his physical appearance and weight.
"Unforgivable–!"
"What's unforgivable is your fatass calling us dirty swine when you yourself are one!" Cliff chuckled, his words struck deep into the man's heart. Like an arrow piercing through the armor that had no durability.
"Hrigh–!"
The round man swung his arm, attempting to hit the red-haired archer's jaw. But he dodged it gracefully by just ducking down, the archer could've done something there but he didn't. He stood straight after being swung on and looked at the pig's face.
"Woah! What's with the sluggish movement? Do you need any urgent care? You might lose your balance if you swing too hard~~"
[ Taunt has leveled up into Taunt Lvl.2! ]
You can level up taunt? The hell?
Cliff sighed before dodging another swing from the big guy's arm, he yawned as he just stepped backward.
"Yo, you look like you're tired already– Must not be getting enough exercise! I feel ya!" He smiled before jumping up and tapping the round man's shoulder, expressing his relatability.
But the blonde guy didn't feel the same, it only made him more annoyed. He tried to grab him in mid-air with the intent to crush his body into dust. However, his palm only grabbed nothing but the air, and a sharp pain from his pinky went through his entire body and it processed the pain to the brain.
"AGHH…!!!" The blonde guy held his hand and found his pinky finger broken and twisted. Then, a hand came through his sight and pulled his pinky downwards, making him go under and kneel on the ground.
He looked at the hand that grabbed him and looked upward to see who dared make him kneel.
It was the red-haired adventurer, looking at him with a deadly glare from his crimson eyes. Then, a memory popped up inside of his brain. A memory he engraved on his brain because his father told him about it.
"Remember, there are royal families that we do not mess with. The ones with the white hair and blue eyes are dangerous, they are the highest of royalty, but there's also a family of mages you do not involve yourself with…"
The blonde man's pupils widened and continued staring at the lad's crimson eyes, recognizing the certain characteristics that only a lineage of mages have.
"C-crimson pupils…! you are–!"
Not even finishing his sentence, the red-haired lad kicked him so hard he flew back to somebody's chair. But due to his weight, the chair broke and got completely flattened.
"Mind your own business. I don't want to see your face ever again, it ruins my mood and it makes me want to embarrass you."
Cliff scoffed, fixing up his shirt and armor as he sat down and looked at the waiter with an innocent smile.
Looking at the menu, he found a dish that he wanted to eat the most because he hadn't tried it yet.
"May I get mushroom gratin? That would be all for me, what will you be guys' order?" Cliff turned his head towards his friends' direction and found them just staring at him, dumbfounded.
"Uh… guys?"
What's wrong with them?
"W-wha– Wouldn't we get in trouble?! We have to leave immediately!" Esther grabbed her staff and stood up immediately, her hand shaking making her staff tremble with her.
"L-lad– I didn't know you were proficient in vulgarity, I think you just surpassed me!" Impressed, the warrior clapped his hand silently out of amazement.
"Urgh-! That's not the point, you bobblehead!" The woman punched the warrior's bald head, creating a lump on his head as he dropped his head down to the table due to the powerful hit.
"Igh-?! What was that hit for?! So unnecessary, if you weren't wielding that staff, I would've assumed that you're a monk due to how hard you hit despite being a mage!"
"Did– Did you just call me a gorilla?!" The woman burst into anger, grabbing his bald head and shaking it with intensity.
"I DIDN'T EVEN SAY THAT!" The warrior shows resistance by grabbing her arm, he is no longer tolerating her violent nature. Fighting back defensively is the only way to survive the woman's wrath.
The waiter looked at them, with disappointment. He turned his gaze to the red-haired teenager and found him laughing. Then, he sighed happily.
"Waiter, I would like to order 2 dishes. That Pancake souffle and that caveman roast please." Without any hesitation, the teenager gave back the menu to the old man who had been waiting for them to place an order earlier.
After calculating inside of his head, the waiter spoke.
"10 Gold in total. It will be placed on your family's tab, so don't worry about paying directly." After that, he went towards a room where the kitchen can be found.
The atmosphere became lighter around his table, and the people who were staring at him earlier were no longer looking at him with a judgmental gaze. It has been replaced with fear instead.
However, that doesn't matter. Enrid and Esther are no longer feeling the sharp gaze of the others, that's what matters the most to him is for his friends to feel comfortable and not feel out of place.
After waiting for a few minutes, the food arrived and they ate well without worrying about the time. The food was so delicious, they forgot that this was supposed to be a quick dinner, but all's well that ends well.
<•••••••••••••••••••••••>
The doors opened and the adventurers left the restaurant with a well-fed stomach. The sky had turned into night, but they didn't care. The breeze of the night sky cools their body, refreshing their mood while they walk back to their carriage.
But, there was some unknown distance between the three together. They didn't speak at all while walking, only when they arrived at the carriage the silence break.
"Cliff– Me and Enrid want to apologize." Esther grabbed the warrior's hand, gesturing that they were in it together whatever they wanted to say.
"Huh? What are you two apologizing for–?" Confused, the lad asked. For him, there wasn't anything that they should apologize for, unless it's something they haven't told him yet.
"For… tarnishing your family's name…" Enrid spoke, he sounded so guilty.
"Tarnishing? Is it because I stood up for y'all?"
"Y-yes…" The two of them synced together.
Cliff sighed deeply. He sat down at the back of the carriage while the two kept standing still in front of him, holding hands together.
"That was my choice. If you don't like it, then complain. Then again, I wouldn't care." What a nonchalant answer.
"What-?"
"I couldn't care any less about my family's reputation. They disowned me, remember?" He lightly chuckled, that is part of the backstory of Cliff.
"T-that's true but we wouldn't want you to get in trouble, we went there because you looked tired and… I wanted to get you relaxed but I… only made things worse…"
Enrid faces the ground, trying to hide his shameful expression from the kid. He only wanted to make the kid relax, but instead… gave him more stress.
"..."
Silence.
Until Cliff spoke again, with a soft tone.
"Mr.Enrid, it wasn't that big of a deal. That released all of my pent-up stress and anger, so I should be thanking you."
The bald warrior looked up "W-wha?"
"I had fun, insulting that pig bastard made my heart feel lighter!" With a bright expression, the red-haired lad laughed as he lay down on the carriage's surface.
The two veterans climbed the carriage and sat down with him, still uneasy but their expression wasn't looking so painful as earlier.
"Y-you sure, Cliff?" The mage wanted confirmation, she wasn't satisfied with just simple reassurance.
"Yes, madam. Even though your lessons are what made me stressed, I'm no longer stressed. Hehe." Suddenly, the woman slammed her hand on his chest.
"OOF–!" His heart almost stopped beating. He forgot that teasing her is a death sentence, he looked at Enrid but he was looking away, as if he was purposely ignoring the murder that was about to happen near him.
HELP ME!
Within a few minutes, Cliff received a bunch of injuries that had no negative lasting effect other than that it felt like his skin was burning due to how strong her pinches were. She's like a crab, strong enough to pinch his skin out of his flesh.
The horse began moving and they were back to traveling once more. In this village, it is considered safe to travel at night thanks to the magical crystals that repel beasts away from the village.
"Laddie, you really looked cool back there." Suddenly, the warrior complimented the kid. It isn't that unusual but Enrid isn't the type of person to give serious compliments.
"Really? That's just me being me." Cliff didn't mind at all. However, he worries that he might've overstepped a little. He slightly frowned, looking so worried.
"Cliff, just like back when we revealed who we are, you also acted like that," Esther said while cleaning her staff by plucking strands of wood that were sticking out of her staff.
"I think you should be more like that. Casual, assertive, mischievous… tone that down for a bit, calculative, and still kind."
Cliff looked at Esther and those words made him reflect on his personality.
In these past few days, I've been behaving inconsistently. They haven't figured that I am not the real Cliff.
But what if… what if I just behave that way? Assertive, calculative, casual and kind… would the Original Cliff be satisfied with that? It's worth a try.
Pft.
Why are you laughing?
Nothing. Just happy.
"What a weirdo…" Cliff said out loud, making Esther shockingly look at him.
"Y-you… you insulted me?!"
"WAIT, I WASN'T TALKING ABOUT YO–"
"THEN WHY THE HELL DID YOU LOOK AT ME AND CALL ME A WEIRDO, YOU BRAT!!"
I need to endure nine.. or eight more days of abuse… then… I'll be free…!