Chapter 12: Three Days in the Royal Capital (Part 3) – Drinking with a Colorful Cast
After finishing my first mug of beer, Adam spoke up.
“I owe you my gratitude.”
His voice was deep, and his expression was one of bitter seriousness. Holy Knight Adam Arrogance—one of the three who govern the Sealed Labyrinth. He had the kind of looks that would fit a former CIA agent in a Hollywood movie, a classic handsome older man. I had hardly spoken to him before, yet somehow, I found myself sharing drinks with him.
“With this summons, we Holy Knights have had our past achievements recognized by the kingdom once again. This should lessen the headwinds we’ve faced, and eventually, they will disappear.”
It was hard to respond to his mention of headwinds. The reason they were looked down upon was largely due to the negative campaigns against ‘Yamada the Holy Knight.’ While the culprit was Ryuguin, it would be a lie to say I felt no guilt.
“On the contrary—”
Adam cut me off with a “Wait, wait.”
“The conversation isn’t over yet. We were saved by you. If you hadn’t eliminated the Sealed Labyrinth, we would have all perished sooner or later, just like the Holy Knights of old… But today, I don’t intend to frown and discuss those details. If you’re curious, you can ask the Noble’s daughter. Anyway, the point is, I am grateful to you. So much so that if you ever find yourself in trouble, I would risk my life to help you.”
Old men have a bad habit of feeling satisfied once they’ve said what they wanted to say. Adam was no exception, and after finishing his thoughts, he broke into a smile, laughing heartily like a Hollywood hero in the final scene.
“Now then, enough of the serious talk. Drink up!”
It was Saga who spoke. He placed a hefty glass in front of me and filled it to the brim with alcohol.
“Drink up! Nothing starts until you do!”
Saga’s encouragement would have been considered alcohol harassment back in my original world. But to him, such ethics and morals were as insignificant as a speck of dust. Still, since it was a rare opportunity to drink with the guys, I followed their lead and brought the glass to my lips.
From there, the three of us began to revel. Initially, we discussed exploration and combat styles in a relatively serious manner, but as time passed, we relaxed, and the alcohol flowed. We ended up talking about how Saga had multiple wives, how he had so many children he could count them on both hands, and Adam’s serious relationship with a woman he loved. Saga chimed in with playful banter, discussing what parts of women he liked, what gestures he found appealing, and what kind of women he preferred. The conversation quickly spiraled into topics that would be a disaster if overheard by women, and time flew by.
Then, just as my glass was emptying for the umpteenth time, a voice came from behind me.
“Hey, kid, you seem to be having a good time.”
I turned around to see Chancellor Madison, the old man himself. The two already red-faced men beside me didn’t bother to stand on ceremony, glaring at him with a “Huh?”
“That’s the Chancellor, you know! Saga, stop glaring! Adam, don’t give him that look!”
In response to my warning, the old man chuckled, “No need to worry,” and took a seat at the last spot at the rectangular table.
“Ah, server! Bring me a beer, and a platter of smoked delicacies.”
He blended in so naturally… And thus, the drinking party with me, Adam, Saga, and Madison began. It was truly a gathering of colorful characters.
Until then, I had been drinking somewhat calmly, keeping myself in check, but I decided it was okay to let loose for once and entrusted everything to my future self. From that point on, it was a wild ride. I felt nervous, forced to take refills, and it was quite the ordeal. But to say it wasn’t fun would be a lie. Drinking with familiar (or perhaps not-so-familiar) men, regardless of age or status, was indeed enjoyable.
“I’m sorry, Ichiro.”
As the alcohol began to take effect, the Chancellor repeatedly apologized to me as if he had lost his memory.
“I’m sorry, please forgive this old man.”
It wasn’t just once or twice.
“U-uh, I’m really sorry.”
At first, I responded politely, saying, “Please don’t worry about it. It was unavoidable,” but as it became tedious, I brushed him off with, “I understand,” and “It’s fine.” Watching our exchange, Adam wiped his eyes, tears streaming down his face. This was bad. The alcohol was clearly messing with his head.
As time went on, Saga suddenly remembered and began to push Shion and Kanon onto me, saying, “I’ll give you both!”
I managed to refuse repeatedly, but under Saga’s relentless assault, I eventually threw my hands up and said, “Please, just stop…”
In response, Saga unleashed his old man’s trump card, “Are you saying you don’t like my daughter?” (a form of power harassment), and for some reason, the Chancellor, who had been crying moments ago, suddenly woke up and joined the fray.
“Ichiro, I have three daughters… no, two. Why don’t you marry one of them and become part of my family?”
That was a bombshell statement. With that, a rivalry between the Chancellor and Saga over me erupted.
“Wait! Ichiro belongs to me!”
“No! He’s coming to my side!”
What the hell is this…!! This is insane! This is insane! This is like an old man’s harem!! A love triangle over me?
“`
Ichiro
Saga Chancellor
“`
What a ridiculous triangle! The scene was messy, and I was not happy at all.
Then, both the muscle-bound Saga and the old man were pulling on my arms.
Saga Ichiro Chancellor
Now it was like a dirty version of a classic tale. But this was unacceptable. The problem was that neither of them would let go of my arms. If they cared about me, they would release me. While I struggled, Adam, the Hollywood actor, laughed heartily, showing off his white teeth, clapping his hands in applause. What’s so funny about this?!
This moment could truly be described as the end of the world.
What I remember ends there. I hope I didn’t say anything too outrageous… But putting that aside, when morning came, the four of us, looking like corpses, muttered things like, “The morning sun hurts my eyes,” “I’m never drinking again,” “I really went overboard,” and “Shall we go for a hair of the dog? Someone come with me,” “No one’s going with you,” “Then Saga, I’ll go with you,” before exchanging farewells and parting ways.
As I headed home, I heard footsteps behind me.
“Wait, Ichiro.”
It was Chancellor Madison.
“We didn’t get to talk properly. Next time, let’s have a one-on-one conversation.”
“Yeah, this time… how should I put it, we really went overboard.”
“Right. By the way, what are your plans for today?”
“I’m planning to tour the Royal Capital with Anon and the others around noon.”
“That’s fine. Keep your evening open. Ragna and Siesta want to meet you.”
And that was how things turned out.