Chapter 42

Chapter 42

Drunk

“...Isn’t Divine Clear high-ranking magic? I wonder if it’s really all right to use something like that just because someone is drunk...”

Eisel, seated, raised one eyebrow as she looked at Priscilla and spoke.

Since I had the exact same question, I nodded to show my agreement.

Priscilla looked between me and Eisel, then explained the situation.

“Only once a day, and only to the extent that it does not burden my divine power. That’s the rule I set. I need at least someone to talk to when I drink, after all.”

“...Besides, I’m her lifesaver, you know?! I saved her when she almost got into danger during the war. Right, Priscilla?”

Reina went a step further and prattled on about being Priscilla’s lifesaver.

Considering Priscilla’s hidden combat ability, I doubted any situation had occurred where she would actually have been in danger, but Priscilla gave a small nod, as if to just let it pass that way.

“Now, now! That annoying Edward is gone... It’s a shame even Vanessa left, but let’s keep drinking!”

The power of Divine Clear was impressive.

It had completely restored Reina, who had spent so long blinking and flopping around, to a perfectly clean state.

“This is troublesome...”

I had intended to read the room and sip little by little.

That was until Reina specifically pointed at me.

“Student Zeto! I’ve been watching you from earlier, and I don’t like the way you’re sipping alcohol like it’s tea! Let’s drink properly! Owner! Four Bombers here!”

“Four Bombers! Just a moment!”

At Reina’s hearty order, the tavern owner grinned with one corner of his mouth raised and shouted.

“Um... I don’t know much about alcohol, so what is a Bomber?”

In the game, alcohol had been an item that provided various benefits depending on the type, but the penalty called “drunkenness” was also strong, so there had been no need to drink it.

I had only drunk alcohol to set the mood with characters appropriately, so I did not know much about the types.

“The liquor Kaliman drank before passing out in that corner.”

Priscilla answered my question.

Kaliman was now simply curled up on the floor, sleeping.

“How many glasses did Instructor Kaliman drink?”

“Two glasses? It’s on the strong side.”

“Ahaha, two glasses...”

As I had that conversation with Priscilla, I thought.

I had to drink alcohol that could make a grown man black out after only two glasses.

Judging by Priscilla’s explanation, asking her to use Divine Clear on me would probably be an unreasonable request.

She might decide she had no reason to go out of her way to do it and brush me aside.

“When did he get there? Puhahaha!”

I saw Reina giggling as she looked at Kaliman.

Because Reina was the one most aggressively pushing drinks onto people, at the very least, that woman had to get drunk before me.

“...”

At that moment, my head swayed slightly against my will.

Even though I had only been sipping weak alcohol until now, it seemed the alcohol was slowly beginning to circulate through my body.

“This is dangerous...”

When I shook my head to clear my mind, I saw Sierra staring at me from the seat where Edward had been.

[ Mm, you look troubled. Somehow... this time, it seems you desperately need my help... ]

Then Sierra approached me leisurely and opened her mouth.

[ You wish to escape this den of beasts baring their savage fangs while still sober, do you not? ]

I did not know what method Sierra would teach me, but I thought it would be better than getting drunk here, so I nodded very slightly, just enough for only her to see.

[ Good. I do not wish for my disciple to become defenseless in a place like this either....Especially with that child called Eisel here. ]

Sierra shot Eisel a sharp glare, then cleared her throat once and continued speaking.

[ Ahem. Th-this is something I happened to discover by chance, and I often used it during drinking contests... a kind of trick. Focus on the flow of mana. ]

Following Sierra’s words, I focused on the flow of mana through my body.

I could feel every movement in detail: where the mana was heading, where it flowed, where it briefly took root.

Then, like magic, the intoxication that had been circulating began to clear little by little.

[ It seems you have grasped it. However, this is only temporary. The moment your concentration breaks, the drunkenness will pour in. Keep that in mind. Absolutely, absolutely do not let your concentration break. ]

What Sierra had taught me seemed to be a “trick” she used when drinking.

It was something one could indeed discover by chance.

Who would focus on the flow of mana while drinking?

It was simple, but ingenious.

“With this, I might be able to hold out.”

I had clearly grasped the feel of it.

After several dozen seconds, I became able to move to some extent while not losing focus.

[ More importantly, Disciple, what on earth is this food? I am curious about the taste, so hurry and try it. ]

Sierra grabbed my hand, which was holding a fork, and brought it before one dish. The motion was quite natural.

I immediately speared the food with the fork and put it in my mouth.

“Fish? Seafood?”

It was seafood with a rather ordinary taste.

Since even I did not know the name of the food, I pointed at it and asked.

“What is this dish called? Judging by the smell and taste, it seems to be seafood.”

“That’s kraken eyeball.”

“...By kraken, do you mean the famous sea monster?”

“Yeah, that’s why it’s fairly expensive.”

Reina answered my question with a grin, then pushed the four Bombers that had arrived just then in front of each of us.

[ These days, people eat krakens too? Speaking of eyeballs, did you not eat one before as well? So eyeball dishes do exist... ]

At Sierra’s words, spoken with interest, I immediately put the fork down.

Remembering the taste of the lycanthrope eyeball I had eaten yesterday completely killed my appetite.

[ Yesterday, you ate it just fine... ]

Sierra clicked her tongue at me once, then left to watch the drinking contest again.

Perhaps the drinking contest was reaching its end, because not many people remained.

Now only the final two were left, having their last contest.

The tavern owner was watching the scene with a pleased expression, since sales had gone up thanks to the drinking contest.

“...Aren’t you drinking?”

Suddenly, Eisel beside me tapped my glass as if urging me on.

“Student Zeto, drink! Hurry!”

At Reina’s urging that followed, I drank the Bomber.

The Bomber that entered my mouth had a sharp, refreshing taste, and as it went down my throat, I felt burning heat.

“Focus on the flow of mana...”

If I drank moderately and continued focusing from now on, there should be no problem.

After I drank the Bomber and set the glass down, Reina rose from her seat, clapped, and made a fuss.

“Khh! Student Zeto, you may have the bracelet!”

“...Truly?”

“Of course not. I only said it. Hah! Do you know how much that thing costs...?”

At Reina’s following answer, everyone at the table let out a small laugh.

...The drinking party was moderately enjoyable.

I decided to think of it not only as reward money, but as a reward for myself, who had been running hard until now.

Like that, the atmosphere ripened as we listened to Reina’s drunken, boast-filled tales of bravery.

“You’re drinking very slowly.”

Eisel, who had her head down on the table, looked at me and said.

“You know why. I’m afraid I might lose control of my body like last time... Haha.”

Even while talking with Eisel, I tried not to lose focus.

Sierra’s “trick” was working quite well.

At most, I still had not finished even one glass, but Reina was already drunk, so she did not notice.

Eisel was already on her third Bomber.

“Should I play one more prank on you? Then you would snap awake. Heheh...”

Eisel, her face flushed deeply, stared steadily at me from where she lay on the table and whispered.

Her lips, moving slowly, gleamed.

Just like that time.

In that instant, the prank she had played on me came to mind.

The breath and touch I had felt in that moment, all those sensations, stirred chaotically through my head.

At this rate, I would lose focus.

“...”

Without answering, I quickly turned my head away from Eisel.

Then I roughly picked up the remaining kraken eyeball in front of me and ate it.

But my head tilted.

I had already lost focus.

[ Disciple! You must not lose focus. ]

Seeing my head sway, Sierra ran to me in an instant and shouted.

“Master...”

I repeated words inwardly that even Sierra would not be able to hear.

Then my head struck the table.

—Thud!

Suddenly, my consciousness began to grow faint.

[ Ze, Zeto...! ]

***

—Thud!

Zeto’s head struck the table.

“I thought he was holding out a little.”

I watched the sight and took a sip of alcohol.

Eisel, who had been beside Zeto, lay with her head on the table and stared at Zeto’s face as if admiring it.

“Puhahah...! Zeto! Done already...? Weak, so weak...”

Reina, who was already dead drunk with her tongue twisting beyond recognition, laughed at Zeto.

—Thud!

Then Reina’s head, which had been laughing at Zeto, struck the table after his.

Seeing that, I could not help but laugh.

“It feels like it’s been a while since I laughed this comfortably.”

It felt richer and more enjoyable than when I drank with Reina in our usual lonely way.

Soon, Eisel slowly rose from her seat.

Her body swayed slightly.

For some reason, Eisel had kept checking Zeto’s condition and had quietly drunk a good deal, perhaps because she was thirsty... so it made sense.

“Hic, Medical Officer Priscilla... I’ll... take Zeto back...”

“Will you~? But how will you get Zeto into the male dormitory?”

Because Eisel’s loose, drunken face was cute, I ended up speaking as if to a child.

“I’m, strong... hic, it’s fine...”

Eisel said that, then grabbed Zeto’s clothes to try raising him up, only to fall over backward.

“...You’re very drunk, Eisel.”

It seemed today would end here.

My eyes went to Zeto’s sword at his waist as his face remained buried in the table.

A faint and strange energy was flowing from his sword.

“What kind of past do you have, Zeto...?”

Whatever it was, I only hoped it was not as ugly as my own past.

He was interesting.

The fact that he wanted to learn acupuncture, his sword, his skill.

I had heard that he had taken the lycanthrope’s eyeball he caught before as a trophy.

It was not well-known information, but I knew a lycanthrope’s eyeball as a “medicinal ingredient.”

“Does he want to heal his eyes...?”

The sight stolen by the Chief God would never return, no matter what one did.

“What a mysterious guy...”

At the quiet table where everyone had collapsed, I looked at Zeto and murmured softly.

Of course, I had no intention of digging into Zeto’s secrets.

I, too, had secrets I did not wish to be dug up.

Looking back, Zeto did not ask many questions about me, unlike other things.

That may have been why I kept him a little closer and treated him comfortably.

“It is admirable that he learned acupuncture well too...”

...Though the growth of his acupuncture skill was at a level that made no sense, I did not think too deeply about it.

I poured all my various thoughts about Zeto into my glass.

—Tap.

After emptying all the remaining alcohol, I set the glass down on the table.

When I rose from my seat, I saw Eisel lying there while gripping the hem of Zeto’s clothes.

“Hic, I can’t... hic, get drunk...”

Eisel, rubbing her eyes, kept hiccupping and muttering to herself.

“I could leave Reina and Kaliman anywhere and it wouldn’t matter, but I have to take care of the students...”

I was, strictly speaking, the academy’s medical officer.

I could move two people easily enough.

While I was approaching the owner to pay, I remembered Reina telling Zeto to pay because it was his reward.

“Honestly, Reina...”

She was a good friend, but at times she was wicked beyond belief. Even with age, her prankster personality remained unchanged.

I went to the tavern owner, paid the bill, then slung Eisel over my back and dragged Zeto out.

Academy uniforms were sturdy, so being dragged along the floor should not leave any scratches.

Leaving Reina and Kaliman in the tavern, I stepped outside. My breath clouded in the chilly dawn air.

Still, thinking that it had been rather enjoyable, the corners of my mouth rose slightly.

***

[ Wake up, Disciple... ]

Those words rang out as my head spun.

[...Hurry and wake up, Disciple! ]

It was Sierra’s voice.

At her shout, I startled and raised myself.

Out of habit, I touched the bandage that should be around my eyes.

“There are no traces that anyone touched it.”

Fortunately, some of my memory remained.

“It seems I really did pass out yesterday...”

The expression of Sierra, who had awakened me and was visible before me, was not good.

With blazing eyes, she was glaring not at me, but at the corner beside me.

I awakened my slackened senses and tried to grasp the situation.

An unfamiliar ceiling.

An unfamiliar room.

An unfamiliar bed.

The problem was that I could feel a presence in the place beside me on the bed.

The moment I felt the rustling presence, my body froze.

Hurriedly, I felt around beside me.

And then I realized.

It was a person.

But it would be troublesome whether a man or a woman came out.

I lowered my head slightly and checked my own body first.

I was wearing only my uniform shirt and pants, but my shirt was completely undone.

“Oh no...”

While I could not hide my bewilderment, the rustling beside me grew louder.

Pushing aside my anxiety, I turned my head to check the identity.

Soon, platinum-blonde hair suddenly popped out from beneath the blanket.

“...Did you sleep well...?”

Perhaps she too had just awakened, because she spoke in a slightly sleepy voice.

I could not let out a sigh of relief just because it was not a man.

It was Eisel.

Her eyes were half-unfocused, and a faint blush colored both cheeks.

What did all of this mean?

“Ahaha...”

Laughing it off smoothly, I scratched my head and thought.

Yes, it had to be a prank.

She was definitely trying to tease me again.

“Yesterday...”

Eisel spoke in a shy voice, then cut herself off and lowered her head deeply, as if embarrassed.

...It had to be.