"This is the place. Emerald Hotel. This is the dwarves’ favourite bar, although we do not considered it to be a nice place."
We arrived at a very strange place. The tavern looked quite shabby. In essence, it was a cube. To add, it was small and covered in filth. Achilles and I entered. One look at the door, and you could tell the door wasn't designed for us. We had to bend over to get in. The tavern's main area appeared to be the underground area. Fire torches and candles acted as light for the underground area. Opposite the counter were rows of huge wine barrels. Behind the counter was a furry female anthropoid with impressive cleavage. The fur on the female anthropoid's triangular ears resembling a cat's shook. Her knockers sat on the counter.
The dwarves left the counter one after another. There were a fair number of female anthropoids carrying food and wine through the crowds to serve the dwarves.
The dwarves were roughly only as tall as Leah. Some mature men were chubby, thereby giving them an appearance resembling bears. Dwarves thought having an abundance of hair on them was best. They sported beards and body hair. They looked quite adorable.
I scanned the surroundings. The dwarves quickly noticed Achilles and I. One of them stood up. With his cup of wine in his hand, he grumpily made a hush sound that you'd commonly hear when trying to drive animals off. He then raised his voice: "Leave, leave, tall blokes. Get lost. You tall people aren't welcome here. This is our bar. You don't even drink when you come here. Get lost."
"Yeah, exactly! Tall and incompetent drinkers, get lost! You're not our friends. Get out! Get out!"
I was surprised the dwarf managed to garner resounding support. Besides the sound of chairs sliding out, I could smell the alcohol in the air. Lots of dwarves jumped to their feet. They waved their cups around as they shouted. I truly didn't know what to say. I had yet to utter a word, yet they already started to try and kick me out. There was nothing worse than the fact they were intoxicated. Who knows what those under the influence would do?!
At the same time that the dwarves were pushing me out, Achilles took a stand and shouted, "Everyone, everyone, please calm down. Please calm down, everyone. This man is with Lord Veirya. She's the man Lord Veirya trusts and loves, so please calm down!"
Upon hearing Veirya's name, the dwarves instantly stopped. The leader, who was a dwarf covered in red hair, walked up to me. He folded his arms and looked at my face; or rather, he scanned my body. Following accordingly with his gaze, lots of others also leaned over toward me, thereby surrounding me. I felt as if I was a teacher being surrounded by children in a kindergarten, they were dwarves… No, they weren't naïve and cute kids, no!
"That woman, Veirya, likes this sort of man? He doesn't look as if he can fight. Does Veirya really like him?" questioned the dwarf, doubtful. He stood with his arms folded: "Are you really Veirya's lover? How long is her hair?"
"About this long. She had her hair burnt not long ago, though, so she has short hair now."
I watched the dwarf try to measure the length of Veirya's hair. Initially, she had long hair. After having it burnt last time, she cut it short. While we weren't in a romantic relationship, we had bathed together. Her hair would cling to her back after she bathed every time, which was why I knew the length of her hair.
The dwarf was stunned. He then jumped up and thumped me on my chest. I felt as though my ribs cracked. He wore an incredibly proud and brash smile. He laughed: "It appears that he really is that woman's lover. Nice, nice, tall fella. Since you're that woman's lover, you have the right to be here. Come, come, come, sit and have a drink with us. My name is Francis. I was her ram. I attacked the Demon King's city with her. Here, here, here, let's have a drink!!"
The dwarves burst into cheers. Countless dwarves dragged me into the bar. The anthropoid woman rested her face in her hand and curiously scrutinised me. The dwarves forced me down to the table. They handed me a cup of wine that resembled a flame. I could accept it if it was a small wine cup, but… but… it was a monstrous cup of beer!! It held a lethal amount of liquor.
The dwarves cheered. They began to recount Francis' story with Veirya when they were exploring. Unfortunately, because Veirya never considered her stories as an adventurer something to be proud of, she never shared them with me. As such, I couldn't comment on the topic…
I wanted to ask what I was curious about; however, as soon as I opened my mouth, I had a strong alcoholic drink go down my throat. Seriously, it was akin to drinking a flame. My head spun after I drank it. I soon started feeling dizzy. Forget asking questions, thinking was practically impossible. The ignorant might think I was a chicken pecking at something, because I was genuinely dizzy.
"Serious, you could never imagine how frightening that woman, Veirya, is. She just chopped the gigantic demon straight down the middle. Do you know what I mean by that?! It was one swing and slash! That gigantic demon's body was severed. Also, she poured oil into a goblin den and set the entire thing alight. She's extremely skilled as a combatant. She rarely speaks, too, so she's a great companion. Mister, how do we address you?"
I heard the dwarf's voice in my daze. At the same time, he gave me hard pats on my shoulder that nearly whacked my head down onto the table. I looked at him in a panic-stricken state. He anticipated an answer. I lingered for a moment before replying, "Lin… Lin Dongqing."
"What? What qing?" Lin what qing? Whatever, whatever. Human's names are too difficult to pronounce. I need to give you a new name. You look quite smart. How about, mm… Tarak? In our language, Tarak means Earth dragon. Earth dragons are a deft creature that can go back and forth in the ground."
"Please, for crying out loud, I don't mind you giving me a name, but can you give me a normal one? One means owl, and the other means earth dragon, while the Queen calls me Little Doggy. Am I an animal to you people?! And can we stick to one animal?!!" I raged in my mind.
"So, Tarak, did you come here to see us for something?"
The dwarf's question helped me sober up to a degree. I grabbed a block of ice and shoved it into my mouth. The cold sting was a wake-up call. I took in a deep breath. The dwarves had done business with the chapel before, so they could've held more information for me.