A few more days passed quietly inside Astravia.
Like usual, the inn remained crowded from morning until late at night. Customers constantly entered and left through the doors, filling the entire place with loud conversations, laughter, and the constant clattering of dishes and mugs striking against wooden tables.
The atmosphere inside the inn rarely became quiet.
Workers continuously moved back and forth carrying food, alcohol, and empty plates while customers drank loudly and spoke over one another without restraint.
I moved between the tables carrying food and drinks alongside the other workers while serving customers one after another without much rest.
Over the past weeks, I had already become completely familiar with the work inside the inn. At first, handling so many customers and memorizing orders had felt somewhat uncomfortable, but now my movements had become quick and efficient enough that even the old owner seemed noticeably more satisfied with me compared to when I first started working there.
Several times throughout the evening, I noticed him quietly glancing toward me while I worked before giving small approving nods to himself. Compared to the other workers who occasionally made mistakes or moved slowly during busy hours, I rarely caused problems for him anymore.
Then sometime later, the door of the inn opened once again.
Five young people entered together, three men and two women.
The moment they stepped inside, several people within the inn instinctively turned their attention toward them. Even in a place as noisy and crowded as this, the group stood out immediately.
Their elegant clothes alone clearly revealed that they came from wealthy backgrounds. The fabrics looked expensive and carefully tailored, their accessories refined, and even the way they carried themselves reflected the confidence of people who had grown up without lacking anything.
Compared to the ordinary workers, travelers, and drunk customers filling the inn, the difference between them and everyone else felt obvious at a glance.
The group calmly looked around the inn for a moment before walking toward one of the larger tables near the center of the room and sitting down together as if they were completely used to receiving attention from others.
As the group settled into their seats, one of the young men casually looked around the inn before raising his hand slightly toward me.
I immediately walked over to their table.
"What would you like to have, sir?" I asked politely.
One of the young men leaned back comfortably in his chair before speaking in a relaxed tone.
"Bring us three jugs of the best alcohol this place has," he said. "And meat for everyone."
"Right away, sir," I replied respectfully.
Without wasting time, I turned around and headed toward the kitchen area to prepare their order.
Inside the kitchen, I began arranging the cooked meat onto large wooden plates while preparing the alcohol the group had requested.
The kitchen itself was just as busy as the dining area outside. Workers moved constantly around the room carrying ingredients, cleaning dishes, and preparing orders while the heat from the cooking fires filled the air.
At that moment, another worker stepped beside me and quietly lowered his voice.
"Arthur," he whispered while glancing toward the dining area, "those customers who ordered from you look very rich."
I simply nodded while continuing to arrange the food carefully onto the plates. Even without him saying it, it was already obvious.
Then the boy leaned slightly closer before speaking again in a lower voice.
"Try to please them properly," he said. "You might get a really good tip."
A faint smile appeared on my face after hearing that.
"I will try my best, Miguel."
Miguel immediately grinned after hearing my response.
Miguel was a slightly… no, very fat young boy around the same age as me who worked alongside me at the inn. Compared to most people living in this part of the city, he looked unusually innocent and straightforward.
Ever since I started working there, he had been one of the few people who treated me kindly without expecting anything in return. Whenever I made mistakes during my first few days at the inn, Miguel quietly helped me understand how things worked around the place and occasionally looked out for me whenever problems happened with customers or the owner.
In a city filled with cautious and opportunistic people, someone as simple as Miguel felt strangely rare.
After finishing the preparations, I picked up the large wooden plates filled with meat along with the alcohol the group requested before carrying everything back toward their table.
The five of them appeared to be celebrating something important.
As I placed the food and alcohol onto the table one by one, I quietly listened to fragments of their conversation without drawing attention to myself.
One of the young men suddenly raised his mug excitedly toward the man sitting at the center of the group.
"Congratulations, Brother Bryn!"
One of the women beside him immediately smiled brightly and added, "You are seriously talented, Bryn."
Another woman quickly joined in with her own praise afterward.
"Becoming a moderate level controller at your age is incredible. Most people would never achieve that so early."
The others at the table nodded in agreement while continuing to praise him enthusiastically.
The young man named Bryn simply smiled calmly while listening to the endless compliments from his friends as if he was already used to such attention.
He looked handsome and confident, and the expensive clothes he wore only made his noble appearance stand out even more. Everything about him gave the impression of someone who had grown up receiving admiration and respect from the people around him.
Watching the others praise him so excessively felt strangely familiar to me.
It almost looked as though they were trying too hard to impress him, carefully choosing their words while laughing at everything he said and constantly feeding his pride with more compliments.
My friends also used to speak like this in the past...
The sudden thought crossed my mind unexpectedly.
Back then, when I was still living as the young master of a noble family, people around me constantly praised me as well. At the time, I never thought too deeply about it because it felt natural.
But now, seeing this scene from the perspective of an ordinary worker standing beside their table, the feeling became strangely different.
Were they also simply trying to stay close to me because I was rich?
The thought lingered quietly in my mind.
Back then, I never seriously questioned things like that. I simply accepted the admiration and compliments around me without thinking much about the reasons behind them.
But now, standing inside an inn serving food while watching people flatter someone wealthy and talented, the entire scene suddenly felt far more obvious than before.
Quietly pushing those thoughts aside, I finished placing everything onto the table before preparing to leave.
Just as I turned around to walk away, a voice suddenly stopped me.
"You. Stop there."
I paused and calmly turned back toward the table. Bryn was staring directly at me.
"Is there anything else you want, sir?" I asked politely.
Instead of answering immediately, Bryn slowly shook his head before standing up from his seat.
The conversations around the table gradually quieted as the others watched him walk toward me.
He stopped directly in front of me, his eyes carefully observing me from close range as if trying to confirm something.
I looked back at him quietly, slightly confused by his actions.
Then Bryn suddenly asked, "Are you a controller?"
For a brief moment, surprise flashed through my mind. But outwardly, I maintained a calm and neutral expression.
"Controller?" I repeated as if confused by the question.
The others sitting at the table immediately looked surprised as well.
"Controller?" one of them repeated while staring at me more carefully than before.
I acted as though I was slightly surprised by the question before answering calmly.
"I have heard about controllers before and the unique abilities they possess, and I have even seen a few controllers use their abilities before. It was simply my lucky day to witness something like that, but I am not one, sir. I cannot even be compared to people like them. I am just an ordinary person working here at the inn."
But Bryn continued staring directly into my eyes without moving.
"Then why do I sense energy from you?" he asked quietly.
The moment he said that, the atmosphere around the table subtly changed. For a brief second, I did not immediately know how to answer.