Book 3: Chapter 43
Book 3: Chapter 43
「Alcohol! Let’s buy the finest alcohol! Speaking of alcohol, there is a place called “Drinkers Village” in the Irfest Kingdom, and if you’ve got a lot of money, you can buy all kinds of alcohol in the world in that place…」
「A new compounding tool, a rare spirit medicine… I can buy anything! And then, I can aim for the “God Medicine” that all herbalists aspire for!」
「W-Wait a minute, you two. I don’t mean to interrupt your excitement, but in this kind of sudden pot of gold situation, I think the most appropriate thing we should do is to donate it. The church always accepts donations… 」
「Hold your horses, everyone! Let me pitch in and help you… If you let me multiply the existing gold coins by 5 times, nahaha, then everyone’s dreams will come true!」Zerry-san said.
「「「Absolutely not!」」」
「What? Why!?」
Muge-san delightfully watched everyone talking about how to spend the money.
「I’m sorry, Muge-san. I was truly planning to find a “Heroic Gear”, but there was no such thing anywhere.」
「Eh? Ahahaha! Were you really serious about that? Man, adventurers sure are amazing. More importantly, what I want to know is, what was in the innermost part of the labyrinth?」
Muge-san asked me, and I told him the truth as it was.
Speaking of which, this is the first time I’ve talked about this… strangely, no one has asked about it.
Rather than “Detail of the labyrinth is top secret, so you can’t speak of it in public”, I feel it’s more of a Lev pride which is, “Our elites can research it without your help, so don’t plant unnecessary preconceptions.”
「Hou… a control-type magic tool, huh? That sounds to be as valuable as a “Heroic Gear” itself.」
「You think so?」
「Well, it’s not like you can’t take it out with you.」
「What will happen to the Labyrinth of Fear? We won’t have to wait forever, right?」
「The research team of the Labyrinth Management Bureau will be dispatched to investigate thoroughly. They should be able to understand the utility value fairly quickly, don’t you think? Once that’s over, the reward will be then calculated. Man, I’m sure it’s going to be a huge amount of money. I envy you…」
Muge-san was frequently saying “I envy you”, but since we were hired by him, we intend to split the reward 50-50. If I told him now, he would probably try to turn it down, so I decided to keep quiet until the day we get the reward.
**
Silver Balance decided to take a rest until the country contacts us. We didn’t know if this would take a few days, or even longer, but we can finally have some fun in a long while.
Everyone received a small pocket money from the reward received from Muge-san. We decided to discuss how to use the remaining large amount of money at a later date.
Mimino-san said that she would look around magic tool stores and herb stores to find something that can only be obtained in the Empire.
There do seem to be a few churches in the Empire, so Non-san said she would go visit those.
I don’t know where she found out about it, but it seems that Zerry-san was going to a gambling den. I guess a gambler would know where to look for those places.
Muge-san was proceeding with the appraisal of the jewels of the Juggernaut and other magic tools we brought back. He received numerous offers from companies in the Empire saying, “It doesn’t matter what it is, we’ll buy it.” And Muge-san was laughing to himself, saying, “I wonder how much I can sell it for… No no, I should auction these… Mufufufu.”
(I wonder when Lulusha-san will be released…)
The Emperor said Lulusha-san’s position will be restored, but I suppose she will not come to see us right away.
Thoughts about how to approach the subject with Lulusha-san, old man Hinga, and the missing Polina-san were running through my mind as I strolled through the city.
The fiery sunset set down the cliff, illuminating the iron town brightly.
I’m not sure if Lev people become more active when it gets cooler, but more people were walking around the city than at daytime.
As I walked down a back alley aimlessly—this country’s public order is extremely safe—I found a bar-like store. The bar was shaped like a traditional Japanese long, narrow house with only a counter. A few mechanical doll toys were placed in the small window facing the outside. As I peered through the window, I found a familiar figure inside. Dante-san.
I wanted to go inside, but my legs stopped. Dante-san, sitting on a stool, with his back slouched, looked as if reminiscing about something precious—or maybe bearing pain, holding a small shot glass and sipping the amber liquid bit by bit, was not the Dante-san I knew.
He seemed sad, pained, vexed.
(As I thought…)
When he was overjoyed to see Non-san dressed up, and when he was laughing about wanting to buy alcohol, it was just to hide the pain weighing on him.
Leon’s death
His other former companions’ deaths.
(Let’s leave him alone for now…)
I passed the store. I thought it was bad for me to bother him. That he needed some time to immerse himself in the memories before he met me.
「…………」
My legs stopped.
A Lev person walking from the other side quickly moved to the side, as if he was surprised when I suddenly stopped.
(That’s not what I should do…)
I am a fellow party member. It doesn’t matter whether I’m an old or new member.
Reaching out to a member in suffering is what it means to be a companion. And, if he wishes to be alone, then just respect his wishes.
(I still have a long way to go. I selfishly conceive a notion of my own, and selfishly reach my own conclusion. Thinking and acting like I know everything… maybe it’s because I have【World Ruler】.)
This 10-star skill orb is truly exceptional, after all. But it’s rather troublesome that you misunderstand and begin acting like a Mr. Know-it-all because of it.
I returned to the bar, and pushed open a wooden door, which is rare in this city. A bell at the top of the door rang. There were no guests other than Dante-san at this early time, and the Lev bartender seemed surprised that a child like me came in, but when he realized that I was a human, he probably presumed I accompanied Dante-san.
I silently sat next to Dante-san.
「It’s you huh, Reiji.」
「I’ll drink with you.」
As I seemed to be pushing myself to say so—because I had never even drank beer when I was a student in Japan—Dante-san looked surprised for a second, and then softened his expression.
「Today is going to be long.」Dante-san said.
「I’m off tomorrow.」
「No doubt.」
Dante-san ordered a low alcohol content, milk-diluted alcohol for me. Not just limited to this country, there is no age limit for alcohol if you drink with your own money. Though, if a greenhorn from an evident well-to-do family walks into the bar, they are chucked out.
The very first alcohol I drank in my two combined lives was mellow and sweet, and yet chokingly bitter.
「The first alcohol in my life.」
「That so? Oh, right. You always act like an adult, so sometimes I forget your age. You’re 14 this year, huh…」
「Indeed.」
「……Leon was a year older than you when I first met him.」
Dante-san then talked about various other things.
About the time when he was a novice adventurer. The number of friends that gather, the equipment that become higher-quality, and the expanding world as you continuously complete quests.
He only remembered the times when he failedーsince it was a long time ago, it had now become funny stories you tell while drinking with friends, and probably because of the alcohol, I also laughed aloud.
Lev customers had already started coming into the bar, drinking and leaving in the meanwhile. A short while later–
「See, he was indeed drinking. Dante likes bars like these which are located in the back alley.」
「Well, Reiji-kun is here too.」
Mimino-san and Non-san also joined the conversation and the stories became even more lively. The bartender had a look as if, “This guy has been hanging around for too long,” but since Dante-san ordered the more expensive alcohols, he just left us alone.
Zerry-san? Of course she didn’t come by.
However… I noticed. Every hour, Zerry-san passed by in front of the store and checked the situation inside. Well, she stopped coming after Mimino-san and Non-san joined usーprobably went to a gambling den. How very Zerry-san like.
We talked about various things until even the date changed and it was time to close the store. I realised that there are still many things I don’t know. I want to learn more moving forward.