The adventurer at the bottom is fantasizing again.

Early the next morning.

The tavern downstairs was no longer as noisy as it had been the night before. Occasionally, the rustling of a broom sweeping the floor and the clattering of dishes could be heard.

Lorraine sat up with a haggard look on her face. The wooden bed creaked under the weight of the weight, while Piper slept soundly like a log, his snores unchanged.

He put on his clothes, took a few silver coins, and tiptoed out of the room.

Lorraine was getting ready to get a good scrub.

From the Misty Forest to now, I've been either fighting or rushing along the way, and even with a weak cleansing spell, I still have a stench.

Of course, the main reason was that he was still thinking about those 200 exploration experience points, so he could take a good bath before trying his luck at the lottery, and also buy some breakfast for Eileen.

Who knows, Eileen might be in such a good mood after seeing the delicious breakfast that she might forget about having to memorize the Flame Arrow spell?

I went downstairs and arrived at the tavern lobby.

The lobby was a mess. The revelry of the previous night left empty glasses and leftover bones on the table, and several puddles of wine on the floor, which were sticky to the touch.

Gustav was bending over sweeping the floor when he looked up and saw Lorraine, and paused in surprise:

Good morning, do you get up this early every day?

"I don't want to either."

Lorraine pointed to the ceiling; there was more than just Piper's snoring upstairs now.

It was inhabited by many drunken adventurers; the scene could only be described as a chaotic mess.

"Is the bathhouse open in the morning?" Lorraine asked.

Gustav nodded and gestured with his chin toward the door: "Turn right after you go out the door, and you'll see it after two blocks. That bathhouse is open all day."

"Okay, thank you."

Lorraine thanked him, pushed open the door, and left the tavern.

Although midwinter has passed, the temperature has not only failed to rise, but has actually gotten colder.

The cold wind, with no shelter, hit him in the face, making him shiver a few times since he hadn't eaten breakfast.

He thought to himself, "I should have eaten breakfast before coming out."

Fortunately, the public bathhouse wasn't far away, and Lorraine quickly found it.

After paying a copper coin, he received a coarse bath towel, quickly rinsed himself off, and then went into the bath.

The hot water quickly soaked his entire body, and he breathed a comfortable sigh of relief, allowing himself to completely relax.

Lorraine lay there for a long time, until her bones felt numb and tingly from being soaked, before slowly opening her eyes and climbing out of the pool.

Dry yourself off and put on your clothes.

He felt like he had lost at least five pounds, and his whole body felt refreshed.

After leaving the bathhouse, Lorraine leaned comfortably against a bench in front of the bakery, waiting for the first batch of bread to come out of the oven in the morning while checking the system panel.

Come on, system, let me see your limits!

......

[Using 100 exploration experience points, you rolled 1 die]

[Points: five]

[Reward: Charisma +1]

【Charm: 13→14】

......

It's charm again!

What's the point of this thing?!

Lorraine rubbed her face vigorously, feeling like her bath had been a waste.

No... He suddenly narrowed his eyes.

He remembered Lily, the waitress at the Hearthfire Tavern. He had previously thought that her inexplicable initiative towards him was because of his handsome face.

Perhaps not?

Perhaps it's because I'm too charming? Or perhaps the two are mutually reinforcing.

But he doesn't want to become a male succubus!

Well, maybe having a higher charm level will make bargaining easier when buying things?

Lorraine took a deep breath, brought up the control panel again, and fired another shot.

.....

[Using 100 exploration experience points, you rolled 1 die]

Current balance: 64 exploration experience points

[Points: five]

[Reward: Charisma +1]

【Charm: 14→15】

.....

Lorraine closed the panel expressionlessly.

He sat silently in the chair, his hands clasped together, his thumbs pressed against his forehead.

After a long while, until he heard the proprietress announce that the bread was ready, he finally uttered a sentence through gritted teeth:

"Damn it..."

Taking the three sweet breads handed to him by the plump proprietress, Lorraine looked at her bright smile and felt that perhaps her charm had worked.

Instead of handing over the money directly, he tentatively asked, "Could you give me a discount?"

The plump proprietress's smile vanished instantly. Without hesitation, she snatched the bread back from Lorraine's hand and stared at him expressionlessly.

"It won't go down in price, do you still want it?"

"Yes, yes, yes..."

Lorraine sighed, counted out fifteen copper coins from his pouch, and finally saved the bread.

Perhaps his charm did play a role; at least the proprietress was willing to give him bread first and then take the money... which reassured him.

He took one out and ate it as he walked back.

This palm-sized loaf of bread costs a full five copper coins. He wouldn't have even considered it before, but now he buys it without a second thought.

Okay, I still feel a little sorry for her.

However, he wouldn't skimp on the cost in order to learn how to make spell scrolls from Eileen.

"Hmm...it tastes pretty good."

Lorraine took a bite; it was sweet and soft, with a hint of honey, and he even tasted a nut. No wonder it was so expensive.

To be honest, although he felt the proprietress's business attitude wasn't great, the bread was still very fragrant.

Back at the tavern, Lorraine saw Lily, who had just started her shift, but didn't see Gustav. Puzzled, she asked:

"Good morning, Lily. Where's Gustav?"

Lily was wiping the bar when she saw Lorraine enter, and her eyes lit up instantly.

"Good morning! The guests drank a lot of wine last night, so he went to restock the stock."

She glanced quickly at the empty lobby, and a wicked thought immediately popped into her head.

Jealousy and rivalry? That's a game only little girls play.

Lily walked around from behind the bar to stand in front of Lorraine, twirled the hem of her skirt with her fingertips, and said with a troubled expression:

"Mr. Lorraine... could you do me a favor? The old man asked me to prepare breakfast for today's guests, but he didn't even chop the bones for the soup!"

After saying that, Lily stuck out her tongue and looked at Lorraine with anticipation.

"Uh... okay."

Lorraine glanced at the time; they had all gone to bed very late yesterday, and Eileen was probably still in bed.

He followed Lily into the kitchen, looking around without any suspicion, but didn't see any bones at all.

"The bones aren't there yet... huh?"

Just as Lorraine was about to ask if the bone hadn't been removed yet, Lily suddenly pounced on him, her soft body pressed tightly against his, and said with a mischievous grin, "Just kidding, you idiot!"

"......ah?"

He swallowed hard, feeling the warmth in his arms, his heart pounding faster than ever.

"I know Mr. Lorraine hasn't confirmed a relationship with that young mage. If that's all..."

Lily lay on his chest, inhaling his scent deeply, and slowly reached down with her right hand.

"You probably don't mind, do you?"

"Huh? Huh! Huh..." Lorraine's eyes widened.

So... this is how charm is used?

Why that older woman?

Lily completely ignored his surprise. She fumbled around for a while, then squatted down on her own, looked up at him, and mumbled:

"Mr. Lorraine... is getting more and more... handsome..."

"hiss......"

Lorraine was too surprised to notice; his hands unconsciously grabbed Lily's hair.

"Um..."

Lily groaned softly in pain, but didn't stop. After a long while, she licked her lips, leaned on the table, turned to look at Lorraine, and smiled softly:

"Mr. Lorraine...you wouldn't want that young mage to know about what happened today, would you?"