TLed by NolepGuy
Chapter 60
Alcohol intoxicates people.
It makes them say things they normally wouldn’t out of resentment, and sometimes allows them to borrow the courage of drunkenness to say difficult things.
In my previous life, I was like that too.
When a friend who normally never reached out asked me to come out for drinks, only to use the drunken atmosphere to ask me to lend money or take out insurance.
I still remember. That son of a b* Mikhail….
Anyway. Alcohol makes people honest.
Near the summit of the Hamel Mountain Range, where a warm bonfire crackled gently.
The Young Lady furrowed her brows as she looked at the liquor glass. With a gaze filled with doubt as if questioning whether this was truly a drink meant for humans, she pondered deeply, then looked at me oddly as I downed my glass in one shot.
“Bitter.”
“That’s how it is.”
“It’s incredibly bitter.”
“That’s to be expected.”
After downing half a glass of alcohol and realizing its bitterness, the Young Lady stared at the glass with an expression as if she’d never drink again. Yet, provoked by my teasing remark, ‘Still a kid, huh?’ she extended her glass.
“Give me more.”
“Didn’t you say it tasted bad?”
“No, it’s delicious.”
“Liar.”
A faint blush began to appear on the Young Lady’s ears.
I hid the liquor bottle behind me and refused, but the Young Lady puffed out her chest proudly, boasting about her healthy liver while insisting she could drink more.
The Young Lady, speaking with slightly unfocused eyes, didn’t inspire any trust.
Even in her sober state, she often bickered with Gomtangi. I was worried she might actually turn into a mad dog if she got drunk, so I refused.
“If you drink more, you’ll become a dog.”
“I’m already a dog.”
“A mad dog, then.”
“Come on! It’s a shame to stop at just one more drink. So give me another.”
“No.”
“Givveee it! If you don’t, I’m not going home tonight.”
The Young Lady stubbornly pouted with a ‘Hmph.’
As her Butler for 13 years, knowing that the Young Lady always kept her word, I sighed deeply to prevent her from camping outdoors and said,
“Haah…. Just one more glass.”
“Hehe, okay.”
The Young Lady shyly accepted the drink and drank it.
The drunkenness began to rise.
For both the Young Lady and me.
Maybe it was because it had been a while since I had alcohol, but the tipsy buzz of alcohol slowly broke down the filter in my speech.
-That son of a b* Mikhail.
-Why are you cursing Mikhail?
-Isn’t he annoying? Looking like a gigolo Older Brother.
-That’s true. Then I’ll curse Ricardo too: that son of a b*!
-Why are you cursing me?
-You stole my chocolate.
-No snacks for you tomorrow.
-Ack… Ricardo Angel!
-Too late.
Meaningless conversations passed between us.
We just blurted out whatever came to mind, laughed foolishly, and seriously debated silly topics like whether Orcs or bears were stronger.
We had an ordinary conversation. Not heavy topics like politics or the Academy, but light, amusing chatter that let us find joy in trivial things, all thanks to the drunkenness.
“You know, back in the day, I was called the Flower of Society!”
“Was the flower perhaps from the infernal flytrap?”
“No, I was called a rose!”
“Quite the vicious thorns you must have had.”
“Ugh! Don’t tease me!”
“Puhaha!”
In my previous life, I could drink three bottles of soju and still be fine….
Maybe it was because this alcohol was expensive. Or perhaps it was because I was drinking with someone beautiful that the alcohol tasted sweeter than usual.
Sip.
“Ack…”
Sip.
“Oh…?”
Sip.
“Hehe!”
The Young Lady was slowly learning to appreciate the taste of alcohol.
Crackle. Near the dancing flames of the bonfire, the Young Lady hesitated with her liquor glass in hand.
Thinking about what to say.
As she tilted the glass, lost in thought, the Young Lady, with a serious expression, cautiously opened her mouth.
“Ricardo.”
“Yes?”
“You know….”
Her eyes were deep in thought.
Perhaps due to the drunkenness, her thoughtful eyes seemed oddly alluring.
The Young Lady let out a long sigh and posed a question to me.
“Ricardo, will you get married?”
At the sudden question, I let out an empty laugh. Marriage? I’d never even thought about it.
I’d been too busy with life.
And I didn’t have any women around me.
The only women I ever contacted were Hanna, Yuria, and the Young Lady. None of them would ever like me enough to consider marriage.
Each of them was exceptional in their own way.
For a commoner like me, there were plenty of better men around them to choose from. I smiled bitterly as I answered the Young Lady.
“Why are you asking about marriage?”
“Just… Ricardo, you’re at the age for it now.”
“Hmm… You’re right. I’ve never thought about it, though, so I don’t know.”
“You’re not going to?”
“I’m not sure….”
The Young Lady fixed her gaze on the swirling liquor in her glass as she asked. Since she wasn’t looking up, I couldn’t see her expression, but I could guess what kind of thoughts prompted her question.
‘I don’t want us to part.’ That’s probably the kind of sentiment behind her words.
She must be worried that I wouldn’t always stay by her side. Despite her usual selfishness and stubbornness, the Young Lady could envision the future and often kept her worries to herself. I could understand what kind of feelings might have driven her to ask such a question.
Drunkenness makes people voice their hidden feelings.
As I approached my early twenties without even a fiancée, let alone a girlfriend, it probably worried her. And on the other hand, she might’ve been afraid that one day, the person who always stood by her would leave. Borrowing the courage of drunkenness, she must have shared her innermost thoughts.
Looking at the Young Lady, I replied firmly. I even added a small smile to erase her worries.
“Marriage… I probably won’t be able to.”
“Huh…?”
At my words, the Young Lady’s expression turned cold.
Her face clearly showed she was wondering if she was the one holding me back. I thought to myself how fortunate it was that the Young Lady never aspired to become an actress.
Her expression was far too obvious.
I playfully added a joke to my response.
“A man like me not getting married is undoubtedly a great sin to the world, though.”
“…It could be a blessing.”
The Young Lady, honest in the strangest moments, muttered. I flicked her forehead lightly and continued speaking.
“Seeing the world’s most beautiful woman every day has raised my standards too high.”
“Beautiful woman?”
“Yes, a beauty with a blank paper-like mind who loves chocolate. Moderately pretty women don’t even catch my eye.”
The Young Lady blushed and mumbled, “That’s true…,” shyly smiling.
Looking at the Young Lady, I joked playfully.
“I was talking about myself while looking in the mirror.”
“…Not me?”
“No.”
Seeing the Young Lady pout and toss a fork with a bright smile, I finally felt relieved of my worried heart.
In my mind, I thought to myself.
‘How could I ever leave the Young Lady behind?’
I was too worried to ever leave her.
With a small smile, I asked the Young Lady.
“Then, are you not going to get married, Young Lady?”
“Me…?”
The Young Lady’s expression turned sullen.
Oops, I thought, but it was too late to take back what I had already said. Forcing a bright smile, I spoke to the Young Lady.
“If your legs were to heal….”
“True.”
The Young Lady smiled faintly and looked at me.
“Maybe I should just marry you, Ricardo.”
“What kind of husband is chosen so easily? You should consider my feelings too.”
The Young Lady pouted her lips and glared at me.
“You don’t want to?”
What kind of The Man could possibly refuse those words? In my mind, I had already envisioned children, grandchildren, and even great-grandchildren as I confidently replied.
“How many children would you like?”
“…Pervert.”
Once again, I was rejected by the Young Lady.
Alcohol allowed us to laugh off serious conversations. If spoken soberly, it might have left her feeling down for a while, but we could brush it off lightly.
The Young Lady and I exchanged light laughter and shared each other’s worries.
Fights. Politics. Friends. Accidents. There are various appetizers for alcohol, but perhaps the best pairing is romance.
When the conversation about envisioning the future shifted to romance.
I cautiously asked the Young Lady the question I had asked earlier.
“Young Lady.”
“Hmm?”
“What is your ideal type?”
“Me?”
“Yes.”
“Hmm…”
With her brows furrowed in deep thought, the Young Lady displayed remarkable focus whenever discussing romance.
The Young Lady held up three fingers, folding them down one by one as she spoke.
“First, he must be handsome.”
“Oh my, you might as well just say it’s me.”
“Ricardo is ugly.”
“But I’m more handsome than Ruin.”
“That’s a lizard, not a person.”
Unintentionally scoring a point against Ruin, I clenched my fist in triumph. I wondered if I should thank the Young Lady for acknowledging me as a person.
The Young Lady folded down her second finger.
“Second, he must be good-hearted.”
“That’s definitely me. Where can you find someone as good-hearted as I am?”
The Young Lady glared at me with a doubtful look.
“You stole money from a homeless person and ran off last time….”
“You saw that?”
“Yes.”
Chuckling, I said to the Young Lady.
“Didn’t I use that money to buy chicken skewers for you?”
“Oh… then you’re good-hearted. Approved.”
I had earned the Young Lady’s stamp of approval.
When it came to folding down the third finger, the Young Lady spoke firmly.
“This one, Ricardo probably can’t do.”
“I am The Man who can do anything.”
“Liar.”
The Young Lady was unnecessarily perceptive.
“The third is that the third leg must….”
I quickly covered the Young Lady’s mouth.
My face flushed hotly. I couldn’t believe what I had just heard—it made my ears question themselves.
The Young Lady looked at me with dull eyes, as if wondering what was wrong, not understanding what was inappropriate about her words.
I asked the Young Lady.
“W-where did you learn that?”
“From the philosophy book you gave me, ‘Father, This Is Not Okay!'”
“No… haah…”
I felt as if I had suddenly sobered up.
The tipsy feeling from the alcohol cleared up entirely. While I was relieved that I could avoid drunkenly pushing a cart, looking at the Young Lady’s dull eyes made me think I should recheck and censor the books I had given her from the beginning.
The Young Lady asked with an innocent expression.
“Why? The book said the bigger, the better. Is yours small, Ricardo?”
“What?”
The Young Lady struck at The Man’s pride.
Flushing red, I let out a deep sigh.
“No… that’s… that’s not it.”
In the ironic situation where the person answering felt more embarrassed than the one asking, my face burned furiously.
The Young Lady nodded, looking satisfied.
“That’s what the book said. The Man’s third leg must be strong and large.”
The Young Lady unintentionally made a dirty joke.
Then, the Young Lady threw another question my way.
“Then, what’s your ideal type, Ricardo?”
“I… w-well… b-breasts…”
Just as I was about to answer.
“Eugh… I’m drunk…”
The Young Lady collapsed.
***
“Hehe! Hehehehe!”
The Young Lady had gotten drunk.
Holding her liquor glass, the Young Lady spun around in circles, swaying left and right like a pendulum.
“Hehe? Ricardo. The world is spinning… I’m flying!”
She seemed like a lunatic.
“Ricardo… why aren’t you drinking? Drink more.”
The Young Lady was in high spirits.
She clung to Gomtangi, calling it by my name, sniffing it, and nibbling on Gomtangi’s head, saying it smelled delicious.
The Young Lady struggled to stand and shouted into her empty glass.
“Ricardo’s glass is empty.”
“I’ll stop drinking here.”
“Oh no!”
The Young Lady brought the liquor bottle to my glass, wearing a silly smile, scolding the empty liquor glass like a Manager.
I cautiously reached out to the liquor bottle the Young Lady was holding and spoke.
“Young Lady, you’ve had too much to drink.”
“No… I’m totally fine!”
The drunken ramblings of a Drunk Person denying their state carried no credibility whatsoever. Looking at the Young Lady’s slightly unfocused eyes, that thought felt even more certain.
“Ugh… Let go of my hand.”
A nagging phrase often heard at a Company Gathering Place. If the Young Lady ever entered the workforce, she might turn into a nagging superior.
Reluctantly, I accepted the drink the Young Lady offered me.
The liquor poured into the glass began to overflow without any restraint. The liquor filled the glass to the brim and spilled over. The Young Lady, seemingly unaware of this, swayed her shoulders with a smile and said, “Drink. Drink.” If I drank more, I might end up like A Dog Worse off than Gomtangi lying beside me.
When I cautiously took the liquor glass from the Young Lady’s hand, her eyes widened as she stared at her now-empty hand.
“Huh?”
The Young Lady looked startled.
“What’s the matter?”
“Someone stole my liquor glass.”
Tears welled up in her eyes.
“Sigh…”
I thought to myself that I shouldn’t let her drink too much.
*
On the way back to the estate.
The Young Lady lay in bed, sound asleep.
She was sleeping deeply, drooling onto the pillow.
I stroked the Young Lady’s hair and spoke softly.
“You know, my ideal type is…”
In that moment, accompanied by a Subtle Light from my hand.
A faint Blue Window appeared.
[Rehabilitation’s Touch is activated.]
“Cough…”
Blood trickled from my mouth, but a smile never left my lips.
“It’s the Young Lady.”