Chapter 367: Mint Grass Tea. |
As Haru walked downstairs he saw Annabeth and Li Xiu sitting at one of the tables in the tavern part of the inn. They both looked confused as to where everyone was as it was strange to see no one in there especially in the morning as the workers would usually be cleaning for the day ahead.
But there was no one in sight. Not even the woman that had helped Haru with the assassin was there and it left a strange feeling that something was going on behind the scenes in Haru's mind.
As he walked into the tavern he quickly walked over to the two of them and then sat down opposite Annabeth before her cheeks began to glow red slightly.
"I didn't mean to walk it. The door was open and I didn't expect you to be the type of person that would like the thrill of having other people watching…" Annabeth said as Li Xiu looked up with a confused expression as she was too young to understand what she was talking about but Haru on the other hand knew all too well what she was insinuating.
"You didn't see what you thought you did. She was simply mad at me for leaving her alone last night. It turns out that someone tried to break into her room last night while I was gone and she was scared. Get your mind out of the gutter you pervert." Haru stated before looking around for himself.
"Hmm? Is that really the truth? I wonder…" Annabeth said in a teasing way as she stared at Haru expecting him to answer her or react but he did neither and remained silent.
It was awfully eerie seeing the place without anyone inside but just as he thought about how strange it was a noise came from the kitchen as the rear entrance was opened up which was followed by footsteps.
Haru became on edge as he turned his head to see where the sounds had come from but Annabeth didn't seem too worried and instead she raised her hand up in the air and began to wave before Haru could locate the door with his eyes to see a man and a woman had entered through the door carrying bags along with them.
"Oh? Do we have guests already? I didn't think that anyone would come in when we put up the closed sign." The man said as the woman quickly put down the bags and began to approach the table where they were sitting.
"Oh, don't worry about that we just came down for a chat really but if you taking orders then we will take a pot of mint grass tea," Annabeth said as the woman quickly nodded her head.
"Thank you for being understanding. I will make it for you right away." The woman said before walking back into the kitchen and then pulling out a black iron kettle and gathering together three cups before preparing the tea.
'So it was just a coincidence that they were out when I got back? I thought that there was something more sinister going on but if there is really nothing to worry about then I guess…' Haru thought to himself before realising that he had never seen either of those two people working in the kitchen before.
He had only been there for two nights in total but he found it strange that there were now only two people in the store along with them that he hadn't seen before.
"Have you seen those two here before?" Haru whispered as Annabeth took a moment to think.
"No, but then again I don't really come here that often. I guess they just hired some more people since they are busy. Why do you ask?" Annabeth responded as she found it strange that Haru was asking about the workers instead of asking what the reason for their visit was.
"No reason. Don't worry about it. Anyway what why did you come to see me today?" Haru asked as he found it strange that she had come to see him herself since the conversation they had the last time they saw each other didn't end on the best of terms.
"Oh, yeah. Well, it was about the pills that you gave my master." Annabeth whispered so that they couldn't be heard by the two workers who were still in the kitchen.
"Yeah? What about them? Did they turn out okay? It was my first time making that recipe so they might not be as effective as they could have been if I had a little bit more practise." Haru stated as he expected that there was something wrong with them and that was the reason that she had come to see him. But upon asking her if they were okay Annabeth smiled from ear to ear as she became excited at the thought.
"You can make them more effective!? My master said that they were already amazing quality and he didn't believe that you were the one to make them at first but he suddenly changed his mind and decided to go visit a friend.
He told us both to come down here and see you, to invite you back to the mansion later tonight. He said that his friend will be coming to visit and he wants you to meet him if it isn't too much trouble." Annabeth said excitedly as she had to struggle with herself in order to keep her voice down.
But just as Haru was about to reply the set of footsteps clacked against the wooden floor once again behind him as the woman walked back over with the tea that they had ordered and then placed it down on the table in front of them.
"I hope you enjoy it." The woman said before walking away once again, leaving Haru, Annabeth and Li Xiu alone but this time with a pot of tea to share between them.
Haru looked at the pot of tea for a few moments before pouring it into a cup for himself but making sure that he didn't allow anyone else to take the kettle back from him until he was finished.
He lifted the cup to his nose for a moment before placing it back down on the table.
'That confirms my suspicions. I doubt there are muscle relaxers in regular tea here. One sip of this and your body will become paralysed for a few hours. I don't know what they used but this is a really powerful drug. I need Annabeth to take the kid out of here so I don't have to worry about the two of them.' Haru thought as he came up with something to say that would make them leave.
"Yes, I will come to the mansion later tonight. I actually have something that I need you to do though." Haru said as he changed the course of the conversation.
"Sure, what is it?" Annabeth asked as Li Xiu remained silent as she continued to watch them talk to each other.
"Could you both go out and bring one of the guards here. I have some information about the assassin that they caught yesterday. I think they would like to know about it. Tell them to meet me here please." Haru said as he pushed the tea to the side and stood up.
Annabeth looked up at him with confusion and hesitation but did what he had asked her to do as she saw him nod his head with a look of anger in his eyes.
She found it weird that he had put the drink up to his nose and then put it back down without drinking it but she could now see that there was a reason behind that. And she knew exactly what was going on and why he was asking her to leave.
Haru then picked up the tray that the woman had brought into his hands and began to approach the counter where she was now standing and watching.
Annabeth took Li Xiu by the hand and walked outside as she knew that was the best thing she could do while she was with Li Xiu. She would only be a burden if something happened If there was a child that they could use as a hostage.
"Excuse me miss. There appears to be something wrong with the tea." Haru said as he walked towards the woman and placed the tray back down on the counter in front of her.
"Hm? What would that be? I could have sworn that I made it exactly the way that my manager taught me to. Are you sure?" The woman asked with a nervous grin as Haru picked up the cup that he had poured and lifted it up.
"Look. The colour is too dark. I think the water you used to brew was just a little bit too hot and you scorched the leaves. It's a really easy mistake to make so I understand. Would you mind making some more for me?" Haru asked with a smile as he tried his best not to be threatening but the tone of his voice was threatening enough.
The woman froze for a moment as she had the thought that he knew what she had done to the tea and then hesitantly reached one of her hands behind her back and out of sight from Haru.
"Oh? Is that so? Well in that case then it's my mistake. Just give me a moment to…" The woman began to speak as the sound of a blade sliding against something hard could be heard as she moved her hand slowly to the left before quickly slashing her hand out towards Haru's face.