I'm a Immortal Tavernkeeper, But My S-Rank Daughter Doesn't Know That!

The Dragonbanes were taken aback by Victor’s audacity, and two of them exchanged uncertain glances about what to do even as their expressions of superiority gave way to a mixture of anger.

The leader of the Dragonbanes, a stout man with battle scars marking his face, slowly stopped pointing his great sword at the lizardman and pointed it at Victor.

"You’re just a foolish boy meddling in matters that don’t concern you. You don’t know who you’re dealing with."

Victor wasn’t intimidated. "I know very well who I’m dealing with. A bunch of cowards who take advantage of the weakness of others to feel powerful. Honestly, it’s disgraceful."

"Hmm! So you’re protecting this non-human? No wonder this next generation of warriors is losing so many wars," said the leader and stepped forward.

"And no wonder the Dragonbanes are no longer a fraction of what they once were. What? They’re too weak to hunt real dragons and now they intend to hunt every reptile they see? I know a swamp full of alligators for you to play with."

Victor’s words were like a spark in a pool of oil.

"Kid, if dying is what you want, it’s a very slow death you’re going to get. Kill him, Klaus..."

At that moment, one of the Dragonbanes gave a simple smile with the corner of his mouth and started walking towards Victor. Halfway there, he accelerated his steps until he finally began to run.

The battle erupted with the unbridled fury of Dragonbane Klaus, and his and Victor’s swords clashed with a loud metallic clang. However, Victor quickly proved to be dozens of times more skilled with the sword than the dragon hunters had imagined and, as the enemy was underestimating him, easily found an opportunity. Less than five seconds after the swords clashed, Victor brandished his sword for the first time in an attack and decapitated Klaus.

The Dragonbane’s blood stained the snow on the ground red and then his sword and head fell off as his body fell to his knees.

"NO! KLAUS!"

The other Dragonbane who had just been laughing rushed forward and attempted a swift blow. However, the young Victor was alert. The young man’s sword spun and found a gap in his opponent’s stance in a split second, piercing the second Dragonbane’s chest before he could complete his attack.

The leader of the trio, after seeing his group quickly decimated by the young warrior with one blow each, roared with rage and charged at Victor with ferocity.

At that moment, the terrified lizardman saw an opportunity to escape and ran with all his might towards the forest. His legs were still shaking with fear and his head was full of questions, but he didn’t have time to think, he had to keep running.

However, his guilty conscience prevented him from running away completely. He knew he couldn’t just abandon those who had defended him, so he decided to sneak back to check on the outcome of the fight.

Hiding behind a tree, the lizardman saw that silence had already fallen over the place where the battle had taken place, and surprisingly the boy who had saved him was the only one standing, drenched in blood and with his chest rising and falling with the heavy breathing of the battle. The bodies of the three Dragonbanes lay on the ground, each dead in a different way, and the mysterious young warrior took a deep breath to let the adrenaline of the battle slowly dissipate.

It was then that Victor heard a faint, almost imperceptible noise. The sound of cautious footsteps approaching. Turning around, he saw the lizardman emerge from the forest, his eyes expressing gratitude and something else, something that Victor recognized with a mixture of respect and awe.

"I would never have expected a human to stand up and fight Dragonbanes in my defense." The older Franky said, placing another mug of beer on the counter and this one was for himself. "So the first thing I said to you was..."

"Thanks," murmured the young lizardman.

The older Victor nodded, offering the carpenter a tired smile. "How nice that we were in that forest on the same day and at the same time."

After the nostalgic reminiscences, the conversation flowed more naturally between the two old friends.

Victor knew that Franky was no longer the fearful young lizardman he used to be. Franky had become a man marked by experience and the difficult choices he had had to make over the years, just like all grown men. He knew that as much as Franky still laughed about the same subjects as before, his friend had changed a lot.

"So, Victor," said Franky after a moment of contemplative silence, "what brought you back? And why do you need my help as a ship’s carpenter?"

Victor pondered how to explain his situation to his friend. "I’ll summarize... I needed to get a Moon Squid brain, so I hunted down the Devourer of Ships and killed it, but the battle badly damaged the ship that brought me and by chance its captain referred me to you. Finally, here I am."

Franky placed a hand on his elongated reptilian chin. "I see. You hunted down and killed the Devourer of Ships and now you need my help to... Wait a second... You killed the Devourer of Ships?!"

Victor raised his eyebrows in surprise. Of all people, he thought Franky would be the least surprised by what he had done.

"Yes, I needed his brain." Victor replied good-naturedly.

The lizardman crossed his arms, closed his eyes and began to process the information. "I’m really not used to this anymore... On this island, pirates fill their mouths with pride even when they’ve killed some sea monster." He said, then opened his eyes, picked up the mug of beer and poured the golden liquid completely into his big mouth.

"You can help me, can’t you?" asked Victor.

"Of course I can!" Franky said and slammed the mug down on the counter.

The empty mug literally turned into pieces of wood with his force.

"Oops... I guess it’s because I spend so much on mugs like this that my tavern goes from bad to worse. By the way, Victor, do you remember our idea of opening a tavern together? If you like, we can share this one. By the way, it’s ten bronze coins for the broken mug." Franky held out his right hand to receive the money.

"Nah, I already have a tavern, I’m not interested in opening a franchise just yet."

"What? You’ve opened a tavern too?"

"Of course I did, and is there any other kind of business that anyone, even a semi-retired hunter, can sustain? However, I’m sure mine must be full by now." Victor lifted his chin proudly.

"I can’t be left behind..." squeaked Franky.

In fact, thanks to the arrival of winter in Serenity Village too, the Manticore Eyes tavern was completely empty. It was low season, few hunters went that far north at this time of year.

Joan Milner, the cook, leaned on the old counter of Victor’s tavern, sighed and said:

"I wonder what that old man will say when he comes back and finds his tavern bankrupt and with no customers..."