We waited with our backs to the wall near the entrance of the first floor. After a while, a young man came down the stairs with Felz. He seemed calm enough, but Felz’s cheek looked a little red.
“Hey, Felz. How was it?”
“Mister Asagi… I was scolded, but I feel better now!”
“Hmm. Don’t let the experience go to waste.”
I said a little teasingly. The man looked a little surprised at first, and then realization settled in.
“Are you the person who saved Felz…?”
“Yeah. Sorry for not introducing myself. I’m an Adventurer. The name’s Asagi. I found Felz when he was being attacked by a goblin. It was a close call, but he came out unhurt. Well, that is until now…”
I said as I created a block of ice for him to cool off his cheek.
“Then I owe you my thanks. Both for Namila village and for helping Felz. I’m currently the acting chief. My name is Aifis. Uh, and you…”
“Daniela. A pleasure.”
Daniela said curtly as she tousled Felz’s hair.
Her unsocial side was as healthy as ever.
After that short introduction, we decided to sit down together and talk. That’s when Daniela declared that this could be accomplished while we ate. And so we somehow found ourselves at ‘Meat, Meat, Meat, Meat.’
“Now, should we begin?”
“Damn it! What part of having a relaxed conversation involves cooking so much meat?”
“You can talk and relax as it cooks, can you not?”
“That depends on the heat!”
“I tend to use a low flame.”
“That’s news to me!”
Daniela was not one to budge when it came to meat. And we hadn’t been in the city for a while. It should have been no surprise that Daniela would want to come here. It was my fault for not seeing it in advance…no, it actually wasn’t.
“Ah, please calm down. We are also very fond of meat.”
“That’s not the problem… Oh, whatever. I get it. We might as well all eat as much as we can then!”
“Yes!”
Felz’s cheek looked better, thanks to the ice, and he now thrust his hands into the air cheerfully. Aifis also looked like he couldn’t wait to dig in. I guess they really were brothers.
“See?”
Daniela looked so smug that had it been Rex sitting their instead, I would have punched him.
□ □ □ □
The meat sizzled as the fumes rose into the air. I just knew my clothes would smell of meat for a while. In the meantime, Aifis, Daniela, and I all reached for our wine, while Felz held his fruit water. And we had a good time.
“Bah, that quest name was really something!”
“What? I thought it was pretty good! The Namila Village Liberation Frontline! But nothing is more impressive than you all, who made it actually happen!”
“Ahaha!”
We clinked our cups together for no reason at all once again. The wine spilled from our wooden mugs and fell on the grill where it evaporated.
“Hey, Asagi! Do not spill that on top of the meat!”
“I’m flambéing! It adds flavor!”
“Do not use words that I cannot understand!”
Even when she was drunk, Daniela’s fixation over the meat did not weaken. As for Felz, he was eating the meat greedily next to me.
“Is it good?”
“Mmg…mgg…”
“Yes, yes. Just shut up and eat if you’re a man! Here, have some more!”
I patted him on the head as he nodded and stuffed more meat into his mouth. Everyone seemed to have forgotten our purpose for coming here. Or how this even happened. It was all just about eating and drinking now. This unexpected celebration of the end of the stampede was a good way of averting my eyes from reality.
I wasn’t quite sure what I was looking at. I wasn’t even sure where I was as my eyes drifted around. Then someone suddenly shook my body and my vision shifted.
“Mmm…”
“Mister Asagi. Wake up. This place is going to close.”
“Ahh…I must have fallen asleep…”
When I looked around, I saw what might have been two dead bodies.
Felz had escaped this fate as he had only drunk fruit water.
“Get up, Daniela. We gotta go.”
Daniela was hunched over the table with her arms spread out. I shook her violently and she twitched before slowly raising her head.
“Aifis, you too…”
“Mm…ggg…”
Aifis was leaning back heavily into his chair and showed no signs waking up no matter how much I shook him. Even his head was bobbing back and forth. What the hell?
“Damn it…I suppose I’ll have to carry him. Felz and Daniela. I hope you can walk normally.”
“My head hurts…”
Daniela muttered. She sounded like a ghost with a grudge. Alcohol never really stayed in my body for long, so I was fine. But Daniela never failed to get a hangover.
As it was us who brought them here, I paid for the meal. I even added an extra tip, since we inconvenienced them by staying right up until closing time. But then again, Daniela was their loyal customer, so they hardly sneered at us when we left them.
“It’s all dark outside…”
“Asagi…water…”
“Here you go.”
I poured some water into a cup made of ice. It was all the fruits of my magic. Daniela drained the cup in a single gulp and then started to nibble on the ice. She probably wanted to cool down after all that drinking.
“You sure can do anything, Mister Asagi.”
“That’s not true. I can only do what I can do.”
“Hmm…”
Felz muttered as if he had no idea what I meant. And so I took his hand and we walked towards the north district.
We arrived at the lodging facility and I continued to carry Aifis to his room.
“Well, in spite of everything, my mission is complete. I heard you’ll be returning to the village tomorrow. So you should get some rest.”
“Yes. So, is this goodbye, Mister Asagi and Miss Daniela?”
“I guess it is…”
This was rather abrupt. Felz looked disappointed.
“I’m sure you’ll do well. Listen to your brother and grow strong. You will have to help protect the village from now on.”
“Yes…I know.”
“But do not get too stressed out over it either. Just do what you can.”
“Thank you, Miss Daniela. I’ll do my best!”
Felz hugged Daniela tightly. Daniela patted him on the head with a tender expression. I watched them fondly. In no way was I irked by his nerve!
“Alright, I better go to bed. See you later, Mister Asagi. Miss Daniela. Thank you for saving our village!”
“Yeah, I’m glad we were able to help. Good night.”
“Goodnight, goodbye!”
He waved at us and then shut the door. Well, that was likely the last time we’d see him. Aifis as well. There was probably something important that we could have talked about, but who wanted to be bothered by serious talk when there was meat on the table? Eating meat had brought us all closer together. That was just the way it was.
We had survived. Wasn’t that enough? Maybe there were some injured on the way, but the results were good enough to celebrate. It’s not like it was possible to live without getting hurt once in a while.
A lot had happened, and it had been tough. But it wasn’t all bad, and even the bad stuff added to my experience. If something similar ever happened again, I would be better equipped to deal with it.
“Let’s go.”
“Aye.”
Daniela had been standing straight when Felz was around, but she now slouched and looked tired.
“Hey, Daniela.”
“What, Asagi?”
“I’ll carry you to the inn.”
“Oh… What kind of trick do we have here? Well, if you insist.”
“You don’t have to be so snooty.”
“I like to tease you.”
I squatted down in front of her and felt her warm body against my back. She was the perfect weight. Which was something I could not say in regards to Aifis. Daniela had a softness to her, and she also smelled better. Well, she mostly smelled of drink now, but there was also a sweetness there, which I liked to think was something shared by light elves.
“Asagi.”
“Eh?”
“I suppose we will also be leaving soon. We received directions to the Nova, after all.”
“Yeah…”
I was expecting her to bring that up. But we had stayed here for so long, that it made me sad to have to leave.
Of course, staying wasn’t an option either. We would prepare, say goodbye and then go on our next journey. That was the way we did things.
The night in the imperial capital was still lively. And it was among all the cheerful noise and drinking, that we made our way back to our room.
We waited with our backs to the wall near the entrance of the first floor. After a while, a young man came down the stairs with Felz. He seemed calm enough, but Felz’s cheek looked a little red.
“Hey, Felz. How was it?”
“Mister Asagi… I was scolded, but I feel better now!”
“Hmm. Don’t let the experience go to waste.”
I said a little teasingly. The man looked a little surprised at first, and then realization settled in.
“Are you the person who saved Felz…?”
“Yeah. Sorry for not introducing myself. I’m an Adventurer. The name’s Asagi. I found Felz when he was being attacked by a goblin. It was a close call, but he came out unhurt. Well, that is until now…”
I said as I created a block of ice for him to cool off his cheek.
“Then I owe you my thanks. Both for Namila village and for helping Felz. I’m currently the acting chief. My name is Aifis. Uh, and you…”
“Daniela. A pleasure.”
Daniela said curtly as she tousled Felz’s hair.
Her unsocial side was as healthy as ever.
After that short introduction, we decided to sit down together and talk. That’s when Daniela declared that this could be accomplished while we ate. And so we somehow found ourselves at ‘Meat, Meat, Meat, Meat.’
“Now, should we begin?”
“Damn it! What part of having a relaxed conversation involves cooking so much meat?”
“You can talk and relax as it cooks, can you not?”
“That depends on the heat!”
“I tend to use a low flame.”
“That’s news to me!”
Daniela was not one to budge when it came to meat. And we hadn’t been in the city for a while. It should have been no surprise that Daniela would want to come here. It was my fault for not seeing it in advance…no, it actually wasn’t.
“Ah, please calm down. We are also very fond of meat.”
“That’s not the problem… Oh, whatever. I get it. We might as well all eat as much as we can then!”
“Yes!”
Felz’s cheek looked better, thanks to the ice, and he now thrust his hands into the air cheerfully. Aifis also looked like he couldn’t wait to dig in. I guess they really were brothers.
“See?”
Daniela looked so smug that had it been Rex sitting their instead, I would have punched him.
□ □ □ □
The meat sizzled as the fumes rose into the air. I just knew my clothes would smell of meat for a while. In the meantime, Aifis, Daniela, and I all reached for our wine, while Felz held his fruit water. And we had a good time.
“Bah, that quest name was really something!”
“What? I thought it was pretty good! The Namila Village Liberation Frontline! But nothing is more impressive than you all, who made it actually happen!”
“Ahaha!”
We clinked our cups together for no reason at all once again. The wine spilled from our wooden mugs and fell on the grill where it evaporated.
“Hey, Asagi! Do not spill that on top of the meat!”
“I’m flambéing! It adds flavor!”
“Do not use words that I cannot understand!”
Even when she was drunk, Daniela’s fixation over the meat did not weaken. As for Felz, he was eating the meat greedily next to me.
“Is it good?”
“Mmg…mgg…”
“Yes, yes. Just shut up and eat if you’re a man! Here, have some more!”
I patted him on the head as he nodded and stuffed more meat into his mouth. Everyone seemed to have forgotten our purpose for coming here. Or how this even happened. It was all just about eating and drinking now. This unexpected celebration of the end of the stampede was a good way of averting my eyes from reality.
I wasn’t quite sure what I was looking at. I wasn’t even sure where I was as my eyes drifted around. Then someone suddenly shook my body and my vision shifted.
“Mmm…”
“Mister Asagi. Wake up. This place is going to close.”
“Ahh…I must have fallen asleep…”
When I looked around, I saw what might have been two dead bodies.
Felz had escaped this fate as he had only drunk fruit water.
“Get up, Daniela. We gotta go.”
Daniela was hunched over the table with her arms spread out. I shook her violently and she twitched before slowly raising her head.
“Aifis, you too…”
“Mm…ggg…”
Aifis was leaning back heavily into his chair and showed no signs waking up no matter how much I shook him. Even his head was bobbing back and forth. What the hell?
“Damn it…I suppose I’ll have to carry him. Felz and Daniela. I hope you can walk normally.”
“My head hurts…”
Daniela muttered. She sounded like a ghost with a grudge. Alcohol never really stayed in my body for long, so I was fine. But Daniela never failed to get a hangover.
As it was us who brought them here, I paid for the meal. I even added an extra tip, since we inconvenienced them by staying right up until closing time. But then again, Daniela was their loyal customer, so they hardly sneered at us when we left them.
“It’s all dark outside…”
“Asagi…water…”
“Here you go.”
I poured some water into a cup made of ice. It was all the fruits of my magic. Daniela drained the cup in a single gulp and then started to nibble on the ice. She probably wanted to cool down after all that drinking.
“You sure can do anything, Mister Asagi.”
“That’s not true. I can only do what I can do.”
“Hmm…”
Felz muttered as if he had no idea what I meant. And so I took his hand and we walked towards the north district.
We arrived at the lodging facility and I continued to carry Aifis to his room.
“Well, in spite of everything, my mission is complete. I heard you’ll be returning to the village tomorrow. So you should get some rest.”
“Yes. So, is this goodbye, Mister Asagi and Miss Daniela?”
“I guess it is…”
This was rather abrupt. Felz looked disappointed.
“I’m sure you’ll do well. Listen to your brother and grow strong. You will have to help protect the village from now on.”
“Yes…I know.”
“But do not get too stressed out over it either. Just do what you can.”
“Thank you, Miss Daniela. I’ll do my best!”
Felz hugged Daniela tightly. Daniela patted him on the head with a tender expression. I watched them fondly. In no way was I irked by his nerve!
“Alright, I better go to bed. See you later, Mister Asagi. Miss Daniela. Thank you for saving our village!”
“Yeah, I’m glad we were able to help. Good night.”
“Goodnight, goodbye!”
He waved at us and then shut the door. Well, that was likely the last time we’d see him. Aifis as well. There was probably something important that we could have talked about, but who wanted to be bothered by serious talk when there was meat on the table? Eating meat had brought us all closer together. That was just the way it was.
We had survived. Wasn’t that enough? Maybe there were some injured on the way, but the results were good enough to celebrate. It’s not like it was possible to live without getting hurt once in a while.
A lot had happened, and it had been tough. But it wasn’t all bad, and even the bad stuff added to my experience. If something similar ever happened again, I would be better equipped to deal with it.
“Let’s go.”
“Aye.”
Daniela had been standing straight when Felz was around, but she now slouched and looked tired.
“Hey, Daniela.”
“What, Asagi?”
“I’ll carry you to the inn.”
“Oh… What kind of trick do we have here? Well, if you insist.”
“You don’t have to be so snooty.”
“I like to tease you.”
I squatted down in front of her and felt her warm body against my back. She was the perfect weight. Which was something I could not say in regards to Aifis. Daniela had a softness to her, and she also smelled better. Well, she mostly smelled of drink now, but there was also a sweetness there, which I liked to think was something shared by light elves.
“Asagi.”
“Eh?”
“I suppose we will also be leaving soon. We received directions to the Nova, after all.”
“Yeah…”
I was expecting her to bring that up. But we had stayed here for so long, that it made me sad to have to leave.
Of course, staying wasn’t an option either. We would prepare, say goodbye and then go on our next journey. That was the way we did things.
The night in the imperial capital was still lively. And it was among all the cheerful noise and drinking, that we made our way back to our room.
