Tavern Story
This is an irreverent tale set in a proper magical world.
"Send me 50 gold coins, and when I return to Heaven, I'll make you my number-one holy apostle! Demons and devils aren't allowed in, though. I'll still take your money~"
Whenever Seraphina, the tavern's proprietress, gets drunk, this terrible joke makes its timely appearance.
But aside from a handful of people, who would know that in her previous life she was an unlucky college guy, then became the chief seraph under a deity, and is now, through a twist of fate, the unscrupulous owner of a tavern?
Holy light? That'll cost you!
Praise? Sure, but you're still paying for your drinks!
Even Oliver, the silver dragon accountant, can't help but admire her:
"Boss, you're so greedy, even Hell ought to give you a medal."
Then, on a snowy night, a descendant of heroes, so broke he couldn't scrape together a coin, collapsed outside her door
"You're awake! Congratulations, congratulations. Just remember to pay me back~"
"What? No money?! Then you'll work off your debt for me!"
And so the tavern gained a hapless handyman, while a new item quietly appeared on Seraphina's ledger: "unexpected expenses"
When he clumsily smashed a plate, she yelled at him for the deduction while secretly catching the shards with divine power.
When he was mocked as a "useless descendant of heroes," she snapped her rag and sneered:
"A sword is just a sword. Wielding one doesn't make you a hero. A sword in a hero's hand is what earns the name Hero's Sword."
But when the shadow of the abyss once more enveloped the world, the miserly proprietress finally realized
Her most precious treasure was actually the silly boy who was always "helping" her waste money!
