Turning the cornor, Te-Ho stepped foot into the first bar he had seen when he arrived in Axel. The "Dragon's Den"
The inside of the bar was rather lively for a casual afternoon. There was a bar counter at the end, with various bottles of alcohol on display. Next to the bar was a single room that had attached window, that could be opened only from the inside.
'Probably used for special meetings.' Te-Ho casually guessed. By now he had a rough idea that whatever this place was, it was around the time period of seventeen to nineteen hundreds, simoly based on the architecture and the technological advancements.
In the center of the bar, surrounded by countless tables and chairs was a single boxing ring and people looking at it were betting on the boxer of their choice—the peculiar part about this ring though, was that the boxers were solely female. Not that The-Ho wasn't a believer of woman empowerment but this setup simply didn't match the era he had originally guessed.
Te-Ho casually walked over as he watched a few fights to pass the time before moving out to the back and sitting down on the counter next to a hooded figure. The guy looked like he had a small frame but for some reason, Te-Ho's intuition told him to not meddle with him.
After a second, the bar tender—a hearty, fat fellow, came over passing on the menu with a gentle smile.
Taking a quick peek, Te-Ho soon picked out the 'ginger ale' with a side of 'chicken breast tossed in sweet and spicy sauce' costing a total of three ruble. This was one of the few dishes available that somewhat resembled the things in his previous world.
After placing the order, Te-Ho calmly passed a silvery note to the bartender. On top of which was the symbol of the four guilds. The merchant, the royal house, the entertainment and the adventurer. On the left hand corner was the number '1' printed in a dark—metallic silver.
The bartender looked at the note, and just as he was about to fetch some change, Te-Ho quickly caught his hand and whispered to him.
"Keep the rest, but in exchange tell me about the red haired woman fighting in the ring this morning."
The bartender looked at The-Ho with sharp eyes, and then for a mere second he glanced at the hooded person next to Te-Ho. Exhaling, the man took the note and placed four bronze coins on the desk before shifting to catering another customer.
'Hmm… guess the one next to me has a certain connection—Hehe! Guess I found my hint without even paying a dime.' TeHo's thoughts churned as he chugged about half of the ginger ale in one go.
[Why are you suddenly looking for a street boxer?] the system's angelic voice entered Te-Ho's head.
'Hmm?' Te-Ho leaned back into his chair relishing the taste of the chicken in him mouth. 'It's simple really, I need someone to fight for me. No wait—someone to be developed into the person who'll fight for me.'
[Eh? What even are you planning? Heck! Why are you using her? Didn't she lose the fight? She's weaker than that ugly mutt anyways.] the system said in an expedited tone.
Te-Ho by now had finished his food but still had one third of his ginger ale left over, so he quickly picked up the glass made cup and walked over to the underground boxing ring. As he witnessed the people cheer for the fighters, Te-Ho casually turned his head back, looking at the hooded person, he was sitting there calmly, drinking beer but his hands were wrapped in white tapes, that had a hint of red.
Te-Ho smirked before turning back to the fight. 'She is stronger than her at the very least.' Ye-Ho replied to the system in his heart, taking a sip of his ale.
[Huh?]
'She lost that fight on purpose—in simple words it was a fixed match.'
[Why do you think that?]
Te-Ho casually gulped down the rest of his ale, placing the glass on a random table as he slowly left the bar. 'If she had actually been knocked out, then she would not be able to glare back at me. From inside the bar. It's easy to tell that she was simply pretending. Moreover this also means that she lacks money—something I can easily compensate right now.'
[Your resources are limited you know—]
'Not for long…' Te-Ho smiled as he headed out of the bar. Walking for a while he finally entered into a small shop. This one had several suits and formal clothing hanging out for customers to look through.
Te-Ho spent a couple minutes, browsing through the clothes and occasionally asked about their prices. Soon he had chosen an outfit. It was a black double breasted coat, a pair of black pants and a simple white shirt. The total price came down to a whole Folli, putting his remaining money to ten Folli, four Frances and four ruble.
As he was exiting the shop, suddenly he caught the glint of something shining in one of the glass display containers. On closer inspection, Te-Ho soon noticed that it was a classic, gold pocket watch with a simple leaf pattern on it.
Asking the price, Te-Ho almost clicked his tongue. After all, that single pocket watch costed equal to his suit at one Folli. Sucking in a deep breath, Te-Ho thought for almost a second before saying. "I'll take it."
"About twenty minutes past seven." Te-Ho murmured under his breath as he closed the golden pocket watch and headed outside the shop, decked in a complete gentleman's suit.
'It's almost time for her shift to get over.' Te-Ho thought as he calmly walked through the paved streets that were dyed in a golden color under the watchful gaze of the setting sun. The atmosphere ad turned cooler and one could even see a few stars in the dark dusky sky.
'Guess it's time to put my plan into action.'