Chapter 29: The Otaku Walks Into a Tavern (And Accidentally Gets Engaged)
The Lost Foal was louder at night.
Not "riot" loud—more like the town had collectively decided to forget the concept of outside danger for a few hours. Lanternlight warmed the beams. Laughter ricocheted off walls. Dice clicked. Mugs clacked. Someone was losing money and pretending it was a hobby.
Meliodas stepped in and immediately regretted having functioning senses.
Because {Adorable} didn't care about his plans.
He felt it before he heard it—the subtle shift in attention, the way eyes stuck an extra heartbeat longer than they should, the way people's expressions softened like their brains had decided he was a harmless problem.
"…We're not staying long," he muttered.
Kaelen, hood up, nodded like a prince trying to cosplay as a normal person. "We get rooms and information. Then we disappear."
The mage stayed a step behind, quiet and guarded, watching the room like it owed him money.
Bud stayed palm-sized on Meliodas's shoulder, dim glow steady, claws lightly hooked into the coat fabric. He was tired, but his awareness was sharp in that dragon way—half-asleep, still dangerous.
Meliodas chose a table near the wall. Good sightlines. Easy exit. Habit.
They sat.
A server came by. "Food?"
"Stew. Bread. Water," Meliodas said.
Kaelen mirrored him.
The mage ordered ale like he was trying to remember what comfort tasted like.
Meliodas exhaled once.
So far, so normal.
Then—ears.
Meliodas saw them across the room, and his brain immediately betrayed him.
Cat ears. Real. Flicking. Not an illusion. Not a headband. Attached to an actual person who also had a tail.
His heart did an embarrassing little jump.
'…No way.'
He stared.
Kaelen noticed the stare.
"Master…?"
Meliodas snapped his eyes forward so fast it almost looked guilty. "Nothing."
Bud sent a pulse through the bond that felt like amusement.
Meliodas ignored it like a professional.
The cat-eared girl walked through the tavern with the kind of confidence that made drunk men scoot their chairs back without realizing they were doing it. She wore traveler gear—light armor, sturdy boots—hands covered in ornate metal gauntlets shaped like scaled claws.
Not costume.
Weapon.
She stopped at their table like she owned it.
Her eyes—bright, sharp—locked onto Meliodas.
"You're new," she said.
Not a question. A verdict.
Meliodas kept his voice calm. "We arrived today."
Her gaze flicked to Kaelen's hood. Then the mage. Then back to Meliodas.
"And you're trying very hard to look ordinary."
Meliodas didn't react.
Kaelen's posture tightened slightly.
The mage's attention sharpened.
The cat-girl smiled like she enjoyed tension.
"I'm Rem," she said lightly. "Just Rem."
Kaelen's eyes narrowed a fraction at the phrasing.
Meliodas nodded once. "Meliodas."
Rem's ears twitched. "That name's weird."
"It suits me," Meliodas said.
Rem laughed, delighted. "Fine. Then, Meliodas-who-suits-himself—"
Her gaze dropped to Bud.
Her face softened instantly.
"Your tiny companion is adorable."
Bud's claws flexed.
Rem leaned in with shameless interest. "Can I hold him?"
Meliodas said flatly, "No."
Rem pouted like a professional.
"Then can I kiss him for luck?"
Meliodas froze.
Bud went stiff.
Kaelen made a sound like he bit his own tongue.
The mage's eyes narrowed like he had just seen a trap set in real time.
Rem leaned closer toward Bud, lips pursed—
Then her eyes flicked up to Meliodas's face at the last second.
Mischief.
She wasn't aiming for Bud.
She was aiming for Meliodas through Bud.
Meliodas leaned back on instinct.
Rem halted half an inch short, then sighed dramatically like he was being unreasonable.
"Tragic. He's guarded."
Bud sent a pulse of smug satisfaction.
Rem straightened, then tilted her head. "Anyway. Party tonight. Upstairs room. Private. People who know things."
Meliodas blinked. "Party."
Rem nodded like that was normal behavior. "Yes. Party. You want information. Information wants alcohol."
Kaelen spoke carefully. "Why invite us?"
Rem smiled brightly.
"Because you're cute."
Meliodas felt {Adorable} punch him in the soul again.
Rem continued, very casually, "And because you feel strong."
The words were light.
But her eyes weren't.
Meliodas's {Observation Haki} brushed her presence and met something dense—controlled power, the kind that didn't leak unless it wanted to.
She was young.
But she wasn't weak.
The mage finally spoke, voice low. "What do you want in return?"
Rem's ears flicked. "Nothing. Yet."
That was worse.
Meliodas held Rem's gaze. "We're not here for games."
Rem grinned. "Then don't play. Just show up. Listen. Leave."
She paused.
Then leaned forward again, eyes sparkling.
"And maybe let me kiss the tiny companion."
Bud's light pulsed faintly in offended refusal.
Rem laughed.
Then her gaze drifted to their weapons. To Moonsing. To the way Meliodas's hand rested near it.
"Nice sword," she said casually. "Yours or borrowed?"
"Mine."
"Good answer. Borrowed weapons mean borrowed confidence."
She said it like she was filing the information away for later.
And that's when Meliodas—because he was an otaku, because he was tired, because his brain had short-circuited on the existence of cat ears—made the mistake.
He stared at her tail.
Just for a second.
It flicked lazily behind her, soft and silver-gray, catching the lanternlight.
Then, without thinking—
He reached out.
Touched it.
Soft.
Warm.
Fluffy.
Meliodas's soul left his body in peace for a full second.
"…Incredible," he whispered.
The world stopped.
Rem went rigid.
Her ears snapped straight up.
Kaelen's eyes went huge.
The mage inhaled sharply like someone witnessing political suicide.
Bud sent a pulse that felt like hysterical laughter.
Rem's tail curled around Meliodas's wrist slowly, as if confirming the crime.
Her voice dropped into something very serious.
"That's not casual."
Meliodas blinked, brain rebooting.
"…Oh."
Rem's face turned red.
Not embarrassed red.
Possessive red.
"That's a marriage request where I'm from."
Behind them, someone at another table shouted, "HE TOUCHED THE TAIL!"
The tavern reacted instantly.
Laughter. Whistles. Jealous stares.
A chair scraped as someone stood up too fast.
Kaelen looked like he was about to faint out of sheer secondhand panic.
Meliodas withdrew his hand gently, like his fingers were suddenly illegal.
He forced his voice steady.
"Okay. That was—"
Rem leaned in, smiling sweetly.
"Congratulations."
Meliodas stared at her.
Kaelen whispered, strained, "Master…"
The mage buried his face in his hand for half a second.
Meliodas rubbed his temples.
'…I talked without thinking.'
Rem's smile brightened like she had just adopted a hobby.
"So. Party tonight. You're coming. Fiancé."
Meliodas slowly looked at Kaelen.
Kaelen looked back like he was asking permission to scream.
Meliodas chose violence against the conversation instead.
"Information," Meliodas said flatly to Rem. "You said the party has people who know things."
Rem nodded enthusiastically. "Yes! And also snacks."
Meliodas exhaled. "Fine. We'll consider it."
Rem leaned closer again—too close—and whispered, like this was a secret only she deserved.
"Good. I'll reserve you a seat."
Then, like she couldn't resist, she leaned toward Bud and pressed a quick kiss to his head.
Bud froze, offended. His light flickered once in protest.
Rem's lips curved.
And she pulled back just enough that her breath brushed Meliodas's cheek.
Not a kiss.
But close enough.
The room erupted again.
Rem stood, tail swaying like victory, and walked away.
Bud turned his head deliberately away from her retreating form, radiating tiny dragon indignation.
Meliodas sat there in silence.
Kaelen stared at him like the world had become a comedy he didn't sign up for.
The mage muttered, "We are going to die in a social incident."
Bud sent a pulse that felt like: Deserved.
Meliodas stared at the table.
"…We need information," he said again, like repeating it made it less humiliating.
Kaelen nodded quickly. "Yes. Information."
The mage leaned in slightly. "This place has brokers. Ask carefully."
Meliodas nodded once.
He reached for his water, took a slow sip.
'…I need a drink.'
Then the air shifted.
Meliodas set the cup down.
His {Hyperawareness} caught it before his eyes did—a flicker. Not loud. Not obvious. Like a candle flame hesitating for a heartbeat.
The tavern's noise continued.
Laughter. Dice. Mugs.
But the warmth thinned.
Just slightly.
Just enough.
Meliodas didn't move fast. He didn't look around like prey. He let {Observation Haki} stretch thin and careful.
There.
A corner table.
A man sitting too still.
Smile too fixed.
Eyes too empty.
Kaelen didn't notice yet.
The mage did—and went pale.
Bud's claws tightened lightly into Meliodas's coat.
Meliodas kept his voice even, barely moving his lips.
"Stay calm."
Kaelen's breath hitched. "Master?"
"Not yet," Meliodas murmured.
Then—quietly, internally—he pulled the one tool he'd been avoiding using in public.
{Knowledge Mage}.
Blue text unfolded at the edge of his vision like a knife sliding out.
[ENTITY SCAN — IN PROGRESS]
[CLASSIFICATION: INFERNAL — ANCHOR TYPE]
[HOST STATUS: CONSUMED — 94%]
[NOTE: Subject is no longer self-aware. Vessel only.]
His stomach tightened.
Not because of fear.
Because now it had a name.
And names meant certainty.
He didn't speak it out loud.
Not here.
Not in a crowded tavern.
Not when people were already watching him for completely different reasons.
The thing in the corner shifted.
Its attention snapped to him.
It realized.
Meliodas felt Kaelen tense beside him.
The mage went rigid.
Bud's light pulsed faintly—angry, offended, protective.
The candle flames flickered again.
And the room's warmth thinned further, just enough to feel like something cold had leaned close.
Meliodas exhaled once, slow.
'…Okay,' he thought. 'So the quest wasn't lying.'
The tavern laughed.
Dice rolled.
Someone yelled for another round.
And in the corner—
the wrong thing smiled wider.
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
[QUEST UPDATE: SHADOWS IN SOUTHVAL — ACTIVE]
{The first shadow does not hide when it believes itself safe.}
Primary Objectives:
· Identify the infernal anchor within Southval
· Neutralize without civilian casualties
· Avoid revealing full capabilities
Reward: 6 Hero Shards | 2 Destiny Shards
Warning: This will escalate conflict.
Meliodas's expression didn't change.
But his hand lowered slowly toward Moonsing.
Kaelen swallowed.
The mage's eyes trembled with fear and greed at the same time.
Bud pressed closer against Meliodas's neck like a tiny, exhausted promise.
Meliodas stared at the corner table.
And thought, very calmly—
'…Of course it's here. In the clean place.'
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[END OF CHAPTER 29]