It turned out Karubene had alcoholism.
I gently placed my hand on Karubene’s slumped shoulder.
“That’s an illness, not a curse.”
“W-will I be cured? Brother, do you know where to buy medicine?”
I gently pushed back Karubene, who was getting agitated.
“Calm down. There’s basically no specific medicine for this illness. That’s because you’re addicted to alcohol. I’m not a doctor, so I don’t know everything, but I think you’ll just have to gradually reduce the amount.”
She murmured, “Ah, I see.”
“I’ll ask tomorrow if I can get some. It’s late, so let’s rest for today.”
“Haa… I’m sorry, Brother, that it’s come to this. Don’t let me trouble you.”
I supported her and returned to the hut. It was also my fault for not noticing her strange behavior until now. It will likely take time, but we’ll just have to work together.
The next morning, I was woken up by Cecilia’s voice.
“Hey, I’m telling you to wake up! That drunk Satyr is causing trouble!”
My refreshing awakening turned into a sharp pain in my chest.
“Eh, trou–?”
Pulled by Cecilia, I went outside. A Melusine man was running towards us.
“Hey, isn’t that one of your companions? Do something about it!”
The man glared at me, and I entered the hut. Inside, Karubene was lying down amidst a pungent smell of alcohol. Empty pots were scattered around.
“Oh, Brother, good morning! How have you been?”
“You… what is this? This is like theft!”
While I was angry, he was completely carefree.
“Well, I just happened to walk in and found some nice things, so I’m just borrowing them. See? I’m back to my usual self, so it’s all settled.”
Before I knew it, I had slapped her cheek. Karubene, while losing balance, looked at me with disbelief.
My breath hitched, and my body trembled.
“Enough already! You’re still going to cause trouble after everything that happened yesterday? Didn’t you just say you were going to reduce your alcohol intake!”
“Hey, hey, calm down. Ouch, ouch, no need to hit me. I’ll reduce it, but… gradually, right?”
The feeling of betrayal mixed with my past anger, and I couldn’t control myself. Sharin, who had come up behind me, grabbed my shoulder.
“Calm down, Arisugawa. I can pretty much guess what happened, but let’s step back for now. I’ll take care of him.”
Urged by Sharin, I went outside the hut. I apologized to the man whose sake it was and paid him. I returned to the hut to cool my head. While hitting him was wrong, I was deeply saddened by the betrayal.
Piyo and Pauline approached with concern. Piyo gently petted my head without saying a word.
“Haha, thank you. Karubene was a little mischievous, and I got angry. I should apologize later.”
“Is that so? Your clothes are dry, so I’ll leave them here.”
Pauline quietly placed the neatly folded clothes on the side.
