A dirty, filthy, greasy ce. This is how the Lemon Barrel Tavern can be easily described. The facade of the ce is shabby, and if it were not for the huge sign there, people could easily mistake it for any old morgue, both by smell and appearance.


    The Lemon Barrel Tavern is, besides being a great meeting ce for the many young people who attend the Oukiwa Academy, the old ce that used to gather the half-wolf gang.


    When Luke entered the Tavern, he could almost hear the loudughter of the gigantic Zack, whose sound was as striking as a Globorc''s scream. The ce was empty because it was still daylight.


    "Arrggh! What''s that smell?" As soon as he stepped inside the establishment, Alexis immediately plugged his nostrils because of the intense odor.


    There was arge man in a small room behind the counter. Seeing the two half-beasts enter, he stepped out and quickly closed the door. "Oh, I''m sorry about that. The scrap''s collector hasn''te to remove it yet."


    ''And that should be so close to where the customers are served?'' However, the half-dragon noticed that the counter with seating was right next to it.


    The tavern owner looked embarrassed. Despite his long gray hair, this man does not have a beard on his face, and his hair is neatly pinned up. He also has onepletely white eye and a scar over this apparently blind eye.


    As soon as the man with huge muscles saw the ck hood and the worn clothing, he recognized Luke without seeing his face. There was no way to forget a man who had worn the same clothes daily for years.


    "Luke? It''s you, isn''t it?"


    The half-wolf removed his hood and revealed his fuzzy ears. Smiling, he stepped closer and joked:


    "It''s been a while since we''ve seen each other. You''re not going to collect that debt from me, are you?"


    "Hahaha! I would never do that!" As he went around the counter to give Luke a tight hug, the man said. They hugged each other tightly and pped each other on the back a few hard times. "You''re gone, man!"


    "I''ve been working."


    "You? Working? Don''t joke to me..." The Tavern owner was about to mock the half-wolf but saw that behind him was a beautiful woman, who was even better dressed than some Upper City nobles. "Wait, is it serious?"


    "Yes, except that''s a subject for another time. I want to know if you saw Meredith or any of my other friends."


    "Naah! I''d see Matthew around the street a few times, but even his girlfriend, who usually works here at night, said he hasn''t been over to her house in over two weeks.


    Initially, I reassured her by saying that you really do disappear for a while and usually reappear afterward.


    "No, I''m afraid to say that''s not it this time... Did you hear about the fire in a shed in the harbor? Do you know anything about it?"


    "Of course, I know... They say that about a fortnight ago a bunch of crazies set fire to it. The City Guards had to run around to try to contain the fire from spreading to other houses. What does that have to do with it?"


    "Our group used to live there, it''s been a few years now."


    "Ah... that sucks, man. It must have been hard..."


    "It wasn''t hard. I just got into town, I was out of town. I just want to find my friends, and then we can start over and find another ce."


    The big man was quiet for a few seconds, thinking of something that might help his old customer. "Man, the city''s been pretty weirdtely...busier than usual in the center and quieter in the alleys, so I don''t know if I can help you much. I know a guy who might know something about the robbery, he has more contacts than I do."


    "Who? I can go after him right now, I can''t think of any ce or person they can trust."


    "You know Rubiao''s Commercial Alley? Follow it to the end and turn at the corner of ''Locks and Pigeons''. After that, you will see some clothing stores. You will have to enter the store with blue details and ask for a man named ''Jonak''. That is your man."


    Then, just as Luke was about to say thank you and leave, he heard loud footstepsing toward the Tavern, and the feeling of déjà vu ran through his head. Someone knocked hard on door three and then shouted:


    "Open the door, Dwarven! We''vee to collect our taxes!" A thick-voiced man shouted; that voice was familiar to Luke.


    "Shit... not them again." The Tavern ownerined and walked to the establishment''s door to answer it.


    The moment he opened the door, a pudgy face revealed itself. Luke had never seen its face, but he recognized that this voice was the same one that had made the announcement about the Strogueher Family employee vacancy that night in this very Tavern.


    "What do you want? I paid your monthly taxesst week."


    The fat man smiled unpleasantly and replied, "The taxes have increased... It is now 300 pieces of silver." He was not afraid to act like this because next to him were three strong men, rated as at least ss-E Adventurers. "Either you pay, or we close this ce down..."


    "But tonight is Friday...it''s the busiest night."


    "That''s great, so you''ll make a lot of profit. It''ll be too bad if you can''t open it, right?"


    "Jonathan, I''m afraid 300 silver is a lot. I won''t evene close to a figure like that, even on a Friday or Saturday."


    p! The fat man gave the huge Tavern owner a scorching p across the face and suffered internally from the pain caused by it. "Those are the Strogueher''s orders. Don''t you dare question it? Just pay it."


    The moment Luke saw his acquaintance get pped, he almost interfered with the situation; however, he looked at Alexis, and the redhead herself was already clenching her fists in indignation.


    ''Of course... if even I felt the urge for justice, it would be impossible for her not to feel it too.'' The half-wolf had already understood that Alexis was the exact opposite of the kind of person he was.


    "Come on boys, go in and break some things. If you have to, break even the customers, so no one elsees to this joint," said Jonathan, seeing there were two people in the Tavern.


    However, when he saw the enormous horns of the half-dragon, he didn''t even have time to warn his three henchmen to stop. Alexis faded away in a second and appeared at the side of one of the men in the next second. She gave the man a shove, causing him to m his own head into another of the henchmen.


    Annoyed, the third evoked a Panspermia knife he had saved so much money to buy.