IRFVA 09

Chapter : 09

“…Let’s stop. The young lady’s frozen.”

They quietly and quickly began stuffing food into their mouths.

Among them, I was the only one standing there completely dumbfounded.

Mrs. Bell, why didn’t you explain this to me?

Well… knowing her personality, maybe she just didn’t care.

I stood there, unable to even blink, mouth hanging open in shock. One of them glanced at me and laughed awkwardly.

“Looks like she really didn’t know anything…”

“But I really didn’t see anything until now!”

“Maybe you just didn’t notice? Like rustling sounds or something…”

That was Snake Stone, though?!

I quickly stroked the snake stone hanging around my neck.

There’s no way there’s a ghost. Right?

“You’ll probably have a rough night tonight. Especially be careful in bed—they say a ghost appears there.”

“……”

These guys… acting like extras who die at the beginning of a horror movie…

As I considered punching them, they looked a bit embarrassed and handed me a few silver coins as a tip for the meal.

Hmph. They scare me with ghost stories like “go to hell,” but if they liked my cooking, do they think I’ll forgive them? Surprisingly… yes. Thank you, customers. Please come again often.

“Well, she’s a strange young lady, so maybe it’s fine.”

“She’s even wearing a snake-shaped necklace.”

“It’s a snake.”

“Huh?”

At the mention of a “snake-shaped necklace,” Snake Stone raised its head slightly to look at the men, then hissed threateningly.

Hiss!

“Uwaaaah!”

The man screamed as Snake Stone on my neck hissed at them like a threat and nearly fell backward in shock.

His face turned pale blue as he screamed as if his throat would tear.

“You’re hiding a snake like some witch! That’s why you weren’t scared—you’re a witch!”

For the record, I hate the word “witch.”

Everyone laughed and called me that when I was driven out.

It wasn’t even that long ago.

Frowning, I almost reached out to grab that man’s hair and give him a bald spot, but stopped when I saw his companions ripping out his crown hair for me instead.

Well, that guy’s definitely an extra.

In a romance fantasy world, baldness is unforgivable.

“Sorry, this idiot is just scared.”

“This is really good.”

“Don’t eat mine too, you pig! Anyway… the ghost rumor wasn’t a lie, so be careful.”

The armored woman who was with them apologized sincerely while hitting the man who was stealing food and taking it back from him.

After bickering and finishing their meal, they kept glancing around the shop before finally leaving.

At least they didn’t destroy the place for once…

“A tavern that talks about ghost rumors… it really feels like a fantasy inn.”

…Wait a second.

“Did they just set a flag?”

Isn’t this a ghost-appearing flag?

…Damn it.

I muttered a curse and quickly began stroking Snake Stone around my neck.

It seemed displeased as its head grew slightly warm from my frantic petting, so I finally stopped.

But this was serious! This is a romance fantasy world—when extras set flags like that…

“…It feels like something’s really going to show up.”

Thinking that, I shook my head violently.

The more you think about ghosts, the more they come.

Still uneasy, I glanced back—but the kitchen and stairs were empty as always.

I forced myself to hum while cleaning the tables.

* * *

“Maybe it’s just because the building is old that these rumors started.”

After thinking for a long time, I finally muttered to myself.

Snake Stone on my neck shook its head side to side.

Was it comforting me? My baby really is the cutest.

Genius snake. Good snake, good snake.

Still, I absolutely refuse to have this place become a “haunted spot.”

There’s no YouTube in this world, so no tourists would come to see that kind of thing—but it could still reduce customers.

On top of that, I was still being treated like an outsider, and I couldn’t just leave…

I didn’t think someone like me, unfamiliar with this world, could even find another job.

“Maybe cleaning would help, right Snake?”

The stone-and-wood building was colorless, one wall half-collapsed and patched with boards, and shields were stacked in a corner—honestly a rough-looking place…

But maybe if I cleaned it and hung some nice fabric, it would look better.

Or maybe I should just destroy it and call it a “vintage aesthetic café”… no, that probably wouldn’t work in a medieval fantasy world.

I paced anxiously in circles, looked around the inn, and sighed.

“…Mrs. Bell.”

You could’ve told me before leaving…

I cried.

* * *

Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud.

In the middle of the night, loud pounding echoed—something like running footsteps.

A chilling sound, but in reality, it was me hammering nails.

Regardless of ghost rumors, things that were broken had to be fixed.

“Ugh! I don’t even have money to buy new tables!”

I hammered nails into the table, grumbling as I slammed the hammer down.

Damn romance fantasy, damn innkeeper role!

Why does everyone bring their plot here? If there’s an assassin, go next door.

“That place is literally an information guild too, so why come here?”

If you want to fight, go to an empty field. Why does everyone meet their parents’ enemies in my inn?!

Today’s table was destroyed by a man swinging his sword after meeting his parents’ enemy.

That enemy was actually a poor man with his own circumstances, who trembled, pulled the sword from the table, cried, and left…

It was basically a whole story in itself.

“If you’re going to use this place as a meeting spot, at least don’t destroy it!”

Clang!

I drove in the final nail and stood the table up, then grabbed a tablecloth.

At first I thought, “Why are all the inn tables covered in plain white cloth?” but now I understood.

They were all covering battle scars of glory.

At this point, shouldn’t we just let them rest? Wouldn’t the tables scream, “kill me already…”?

Whatever. Work harder, table.

I’m growing strong too. You should join me.

Hiss hiss—

“Yeah, yeah. You were lonely, Snake Stone?”

After finishing covering all the tables, I walked toward the kitchen’s small worktable.

At the sound from my pet snake calling me, I smiled warmly—completely different from before—and reached out.

Carefully, I lifted Snake Stone from the little basket where I had placed it so it wouldn’t get hurt by flying nails, and stroked it.

As soon as it touched me, it calmed down and stopped hissing, looking at me instead.

My baby is smart, affectionate, and obedient. Truly the most beautiful snake in the world.

Since the broken table was fixed, maybe I should go upstairs and rest.

“Oh, wait a second.”

I took Snake Stone and went out to the backyard to look at the sky.

Because I met Snake Stone, I had become more attached to this backyard.

I thought it might like crawling through grass, so I tried to put it down, but it refused to leave me.

So I ended up holding it wrapped around my arm while supporting it with the other hand.

I tilted my head while stroking it.

“You don’t like grass?”

Hiss hiss.

“You like me more?”

Snake Stone nodded.

It really understands me.

My baby is a genius, isn’t it? This is a romance fantasy world—having a genius snake isn’t strange at all! It understands human speech!

If this were my previous world, I could’ve become a million-subscriber YouTuber. What a shame.

I smiled in satisfaction, playing around with Snake Stone, then composed myself and looked up at the starry night sky. It was time for my final task of the day.

“Please give the Crown Prince M-shaped baldness.”

That was my most sincere wish in this world.

I want him to lose his hairline and be disqualified as a romance male lead.

May he be expelled from this glittering romance fantasy world.

“Let’s go inside, Snake.”

“…Hiss.”

Snake Stone looked at me with what seemed like disgust and stared for a long moment.

Haha. That must’ve just been my imagination—love, right?

Right…? Snake Stone?

Why are you avoiding my eyes?