After having a meal at Kasugal’s shop, I sit facing Kasugal in the general manager’s office.
Renatishia only exchanged greetings.
Kasugal fills a glass with a spherical ice made by magic and then pours distilled liquor into it.
“You can use ice magic too, huh?”
“Heh. I haven’t really shown my ice magic much. I’m not good with anything other than fire. But I can manage this much.”
We clink the bottoms of our glasses together and drink the contents in one go. It’s strong and good liquor. Kasugal pours more liquor into our glasses.
The spherical ice rolls and makes a sound as it hits the glass.
“Nice, right? It’s a distilled liquor from the Empire that I recently started stocking. I’ve used carefully selected water and malt.”
“So, it’s a toast to the Empire, then?”
“Yeah. I like this country. It made my dream come true. Here, try this candy.”
Kasugal brings over a dish of candy. It looks like just ordinary candy.
“It’s cheap candy, but it goes well with this.”
Kasugal grabs several pieces of candy, pops them into his mouth, and chews. Then he takes a sip of the liquor and swallows it along with the candy.
“Hmm.”
“Wow.”
I follow suit and chew the candy. The sweetness of sugar and citrusy acidity spread in my mouth.
I wash it down with the strong distilled liquor. The aroma of the liquor and the flavor of the candy complement each other well.
“Indeed, this is good.”
“Right?”
Kasugal laughs. I also smile back.
We continue drinking and reminiscing for a while. Though we slowed the pace, we finished two bottles of distilled liquor, and both Kasugal and I were pleasantly tipsy.
I wasn’t losing my composure, but I was a bit dreamy. I stopped Kasugal from pouring a third bottle and drank some cold, tangy fruit-infused water. The coldness and refreshing feel of the water penetrated my heated body.
“So, what’s the matter today?”
Kasugal asks while munching on candy. Finally, we get to the main topic. The enjoyable time had made me momentarily forget.
“Hmm, well…”
I clear my throat and take a deep breath.
I wasn’t nervous with anyone else, but I felt a bit nervous with Kasugal. Maybe because of our brotherly, friendly, and comrade-like relationship.
When Kasugal told me he was going to quit being an adventurer and start a shop, he might have had the same feelings as I do now.
I felt I understood Kasugal a little more.
“I’m thinking of taking a break from being an adventurer and becoming an apprentice mage.”
“You? The strongest warrior becoming a mage apprentice?”
Kasugal laughed heartily, holding his stomach, partly due to the alcohol. After laughing for a while, he wiped his tears and drank some water.
“Now that I think about it, you always seemed to enjoy using magic, even with simple spells. I thought it was just because it was convenient, but I guess that’s not the case.”
“Yeah. Well, it’s embarrassing to say it to you.”
“Why’s that?”
“It’s because if I’m the strongest warrior, then you’re the strongest mage. It’s embarrassing to say I’m going to be an apprentice mage to the strongest mage.”
“That’s not true. I was also an apprentice who didn’t know anything at first, and even if you were strong, you were just an average warrior at the beginning.”
“Well, true.”
“So you’re going to the Magic Academy… It’s not as black as the Imperial Palace, but it has its own issues.”
Black issues, huh? I’ve seen various glimpses of such things from dealing with the princess.
“It’s the same everywhere. Where there is power and interests, factions will form.”
“It wasn’t something I should be warning you about. Well, just enjoy yourself. Whether you succeed or not, you’ve already achieved a lot.”
“Hmph. I’ll become a better mage than you.”
“That’s something to look forward to. I’ll wait and be the best cook in the Empire for that time.”
“When that happens, cook some thick meat for me.”
“Thick meat looks good, but it’s not that tasty… Well, I’ll cook it well. So, let’s toast to our future.”
“To our future.”
We clink our glasses filled with water once more. Then we drink it all in one go.
After being invited to stay by Kasugal, I declined.
I felt like taking a walk.
With a somewhat dreamy feeling, I strolled along.
It felt good. It had been a long time since I had enjoyed drinking so much.
Unfortunately, that didn’t last long.
After moving away from Kasugal’s shop, I realized I was surrounded.
Even in my drunken state, the carelessness was obvious.
I stopped.
I wasn’t armed at the moment.
“Come out. I’m in a good mood right now. If you leave now, I’ll let it go.”
Then knights of the Empire emerged from the shadows.
Their armor, marked with the imperial crest, shone in the moonlight.
However, I didn’t recognize their faces.
They didn’t seem to be part of the princess’s faction.
From the back, two Royal Guards and a familiar man walked forward.
I see. They want to settle things before I leave the Empire.
“It’s been a while, Sky Knight.”
“Well, well. The sixth in line for the throne, who’s been avoiding me out of fear, finally shows up.”
Technically, he’s not a prince, but I can’t be bothered to remember his name, so prince will do.
“Be quiet. Did you think you could lay hands on royalty and get away with it? I’ve been waiting for this opportunity.”
“Do you know about the princess?”
“I’ll deal with that detestable vixen later. She’s useful because she’s good-looking. I can make use of her.”
“Ha. With that kind of intellect, being royalty is quite unfortunate. You must have a hard time at the Imperial Palace.”
“How much more will you mock me… I was willing to show mercy if you had just bowed your head. But now, I understand you have no weapons. Kill them. I’ll pay any amount.”
Ah, I was enjoying my drink so much.
Thanks to this idiot’s foolish face, it’s all ruined.
…This is how they always are.
They think they’re important. They think they’re strong.
That’s why they don’t understand the strength of adventurers who risk their lives fighting monsters every day.
I crush the sword of the knight who attacks first by striking it with my abdomen.
It’s fragile. Cheap. It couldn’t even cut through an ogre.
The knight who attacked me was dumbfounded and collapsed.
It’s pitiful, but I’ll let it go. His will to fight is broken.
All the knights I know have upgraded their swords to high quality.
I’ve seen this scene before.
The other knights are also unsettled, but the prince shouts and spurs them on, finally getting them to move.
Too slow. They’re just lackeys who follow this prince and enjoy the spoils.
I dodge with a hair’s breadth and deliver blows to the unguarded torso and neck.
I haven’t killed them, but they’ll be incapacitated with pain for a few days.
They probably thought I had become weak from drinking.
“Just because I’m drunk doesn’t mean you’ve become stronger. You’ve made a grave misjudgment.”
As I knock the knights away, the Royal Guards appear.
They hold positions of rank.
But since they’re associated with the prince, they must be of lower rank. I don’t recognize them.
Don’t think you can win just by hiding behind heavy armor.
