Shimon invited everyone to a get-together.
Kizaris, under Shimon’s gaze, took a small sip from his glass. He seemed uneasy, as if unsure what to do.
“Hey, don’t tease him,” I said.
“Yeah, yeah, soldier, what are you holding? That’s nice, isn’t it? You’ve got a lot of women there too, huh? Long, twenty centimeters, shove it in all at once… huh?”
“What do you mean ‘huh’? Don’t say weird things.”
Shimon clapped his hands, feigning ignorance. “Only you can get into that kind of pointless college student vibe. Look, Kizaris is really troubled now.”
“Was that a Hunter Harpy chant? Want to go, Kenta? Kiza-kun, on your mark, get set, go, go, go, go-go, go-go, what do we do after this? Drink the most for first prize!”
“Stop it! That vibe is really lame here. And don’t abbreviate Kenta like that.”
“Yo, Master, you working?”
Ah, here we go. Should I help Kizaris escape now? But what’s Karubene doing crawling out from under Kizaris’s feet! Don’t get under a horse.
“Whoa!”
“Karubene, that’s rude.”
Geez, poor guy. He’s stepping back in surprise.
“Working, working, welcome, the usual? Here you go.”
“Thanks, thanks.”
Don’t just say thanks and drink the sake. Kizaris, entangled by the two drunkards, cowered, shrinking his shoulders. Not a trace of the powerful magic he had unleashed could be seen.
“Teacher, this child won’t drink at all.”
“What?! I’ll show you how it’s done, so watch.”
“Wine flows in my blood, drink it and you’ll get a wine belly, but it’s diet for your skin, one, two, two!”
Karubene drank it all down in one go to the chant. Then he did a strange dance, moving his hands and feet all at once. Shimon burst into laughter at the sight. No, no, only those two seem to be having fun. I don’t get it at all either.
“Next, Brother, what about humans?” Ah…
…This is bad. The drunkenness suddenly faded. Did he just say “human”? He definitely did. Shimon also froze. I’m an Elf in this world.
“Human, huh? Uh, that human?”
“Hey, Karubene, what are you saying? There’s no such thing as that.”
“There is. The human chant.”
There is?! Aren’t you too well-prepared? What kind of existence does “human” represent to him?
“Can I have it, just in case?”
“Exile, exile, exile from paradise! If you don’t drink, you’ll be exiled! But if you drink forbidden alcohol, you’ll be exiled after all~”
Ugh, the worst. This isn’t fun at all. Karubene was desperately trying to hold back his laughter.
“Kizaris, let’s go. I really can’t put up with this vibe. Are you a stupid college student?”
“Huh? I am. But I’m not stupid, and I’m from a prestigious school. I studied hard.”
Is this guy a university student? Is it okay for him to be hanging around here? He’ll fail his degree.
“Hiroaki, you don’t even look like you went to college, so can you say that to me?”
“I did! I mean, I did, sort of.”
Shimon looked very surprised by my answer. What? Do I look like I have no academic background? I’m a college graduate, you know. Though, I might as well have spent all four years playing.
“Huh? Huh? That’s amazing, sorry. Where is it, by the way?”
“Uh, well… it’s in a really rural area, so I don’t think you’d know. And my major wasn’t something I particularly wanted to study.”
He doesn’t know I came from another world. Besides, I don’t know who knows what, so it’s a problem.
“Hmm, so are you rich?”
“N-no, ahaha, Kizaris, let’s go.”
“Wait, are you really a university graduate?”
I pulled Kizaris’s arm and quickly left the scene. Close call, close call, I was about to be asked so many things.
“Sorry for pulling you, here, go home and rest.”
“Ah, ah.”
Kizaris mumbled something and went home. It’s best to leave him alone for now. He must be going through various internal struggles.
Ah, I forgot about Karubene. If I leave him like that, he’ll relapse into alcohol addiction. Or maybe it’s already too late. It’ll be a hassle, but I should go back. As I turned around, that unpleasant face appeared before my eyes.
“Well, well.”
It’s a mystery why Justal is here, but he still looks down on me as if I were trash.
“Though I don’t want to admit it, I have to thank you.”
“Isn’t it fine to just say thank you? I got my arm treated, so let’s call it even.”
Justal let out a small sigh, as if he had something to say. I silently urged him to speak.
“The horn you had. It’s a mystery why the Sage entrusted it to you, but you returned what you were given.”
“I didn’t use it. We were able to solve it with our own power.”
Perhaps he recognized us after seeing that.
“I thought it was a lie when I heard you defeated Cedric and Gulf, but after seeing your fighting style up close, I think I understand now.”
“You finally trust us? That’s appreciated.”
“Honestly, you’re not that strong. No one has overwhelming power. Especially you. You’re just a human. An exile with no talent.”
Ah, there it is again. Yes, yes, an exile. I heard that enough just now.
“But, you know, you’re like migratory birds. No matter how far apart you are, or how scattered you become, you always return to the same place at the same time.”
With that, Justal disappeared somewhere. Migratory birds? What does that mean? I gave up trying to decipher his ambiguous words and returned to my room.
