Alcohol Is the Problem (1)

After chatting about this and that with Edin and the others, the main event finally began. Though calling it the main event was a bit much—the host simply climbed onto the platform, gave a short speech, and, after telling everyone to relax and enjoy themselves, the band came out and began to play music.

Even so, the atmosphere inside the grand auditorium grew considerably livelier after the event. Beforehand, everyone had merely been murmuring, giving the place a somewhat disorderly feel, but things changed once the band began playing.

However, my interest in the music and the instruments the band was using lasted only a moment. Before long, I was too busy chatting excitedly with Edin.

"You've read quite a lot of books too, Mr. Isaac. That's truly impressive."

"Not at all. You're more impressive, Mr. Edin. I work in literature, so I have plenty of free time, but you don't."

"Thank you for the compliment. Have you also read the autobiography of the explorer Alexis?"

"Of course. I especially enjoyed the part where he ate a caterpillar and said it tasted like vomit."

"Oh. You remember that part. In that case..."

As I talked with Edin, I learned several things about him. Like me, he was a bookworm who loved reading. On top of that, his favorite genre was autobiographies—in other words, explorers' tales—so we were able to keep the conversation going without a hitch.

Because of that, we chatted without noticing the passage of time, and I naturally ended up drinking several glasses of wine. While Edin finished one glass, I think I drank about five.

"Edin, have you ever fought a monster?"

"I went hunting with my father a long time ago. An orc suddenly appeared then, so I was a little surprised. Still, it wasn't a particularly difficult opponent."

"Oh... What about an ogre? I heard ogres are really strong."

"I'm not sure. I've only encountered one once, and we defeated it by working together with the other knights."

That was how time passed, and before I knew it, we had started speaking informally to each other. Unlike Jackson, Edin had good sense, and his straightforward personality made him easy for me to be around.

Perhaps Edin liked that I had approached him without hesitation, because despite his cold appearance, he occasionally burst into hearty laughter.

"Hahaha! That's quite something... Ah, right. Isaac? There's something I'm curious about. Can I ask you?"

"Go ahead. What do you want to ask?"

Perhaps it was because I had drunk rather a lot of wine. Normally, I would have been somewhat wary, but the tipsy feeling dominating my head kept me from thinking that way. The wine wasn't bitter and had a stronger sweetness, so I had ended up drinking far too much.

Meanwhile, Edin glanced around for a moment. After realizing that there was no one nearby, he leaned toward me and asked in a whisper.

"The young lady of House Rechillis and Princess Cecily were fighting over you earlier."

"Uh..."

"Can you tell me why they were fighting?"

It felt as though my slightly hazy mind suddenly cleared. After hearing the question, I vigorously shook my head, then looked at his face.

His expression held nothing malicious, only pure curiosity. His features were so cold that it was difficult to read his expressions, but even I could tell that much.

I pressed the bridge of my nose with my finger again and again before opening my mouth. Perhaps because I had drunk too much wine, my head was definitely not working properly.

"It was just... Noona Cecily was playing a prank. Marie saw it and told her to take her arm away. As you know, linking arms is something only lovers do, right? But demonfolk are a little different. Marie told her to let go because she was worried about that."

"Noona Cecily? Don't tell me you call Princess Cecily 'Noona' so familiarly?"

"Ah..."

I had made another slip of the tongue. When Edin asked with a surprised expression, I vigorously shook my head once more.

But once words were spoken, they could not be taken back. With my mind still hazy, I somehow managed to answer.

"Yeah. We talked a few times and became close. Maybe that's why she likes to play pranks on me."

"Hmm... Really? By the way, how many glasses of wine have you had? Your face is the same color as your hair now."

"I don't know. Maybe..."

I thought hard after hearing Edin's question.

I remembered drinking once at the very beginning, and once before the event started. After that... I only remembered drinking whenever my wineglass became empty.

"I don't know."

"You don't know?"

"Yeah. It tasted good, so I drank whenever my glass was empty."

"... ..."

Edin stared at me silently after hearing my answer. His gaze seemed to be examining just how drunk I was.

But contrary to what he thought, I was fine. My mind was a little hazy and my tongue was slightly tangled, but I could still think normally.

At least, that was my opinion.

"Stop there for today. You'll make a mistake later if you keep going."

"You want me to stop drinking something this delicious? No chance."

"Isaac. You don't drink wine because it's delicious. It's meant to cleanse your palate."

"Then I'll drink just one more glass."

"One glass should be all right..."

Edin reluctantly accepted my final proposal. Even so, his expression clearly said he didn't trust me at all.

Regardless, I downed all the wine remaining in my glass—about a quarter of it—in one go. At first, I tasted bitterness, but then a mysterious flavor combining sweetness and sourness took over my mouth.

It was perfect for someone like me, who had rarely even drunk beer in my previous life because I found it bitter. At this rate, I felt like I could easily drink several bottles.

"Whew! It's delicious after all. What did you say this wine was called?"

"Alcyone. It's one of the world's most famous wines. Its flavor varies tremendously depending on how many years it has been aged. As far as I know, the wine provided at this gathering was aged for about ten years."

"It must be incredibly expensive."

"It isn't that expensive. It's easy to produce despite being famous, which is why even commoners can easily obtain it."

Edin explained everything kindly, but his words barely reached my ears. Perhaps the wine I had just drunk had been the turning point, because my head was even more woozy than before.

No matter how sweet it was, alcohol was still alcohol. I tried desperately to clear my head somehow, but the haze remained.

Edin must have noticed that I wasn't doing well, because he advised me in a concerned voice.

"...You really are drunk. Stop drinking now."

"I'll have just one more glass."

"When you're drunk, one glass becomes two, then three. You need to stop now..."

It was while Edin was trying to stop me—

"Isaac?"

A familiar voice cut through my drunken haze. I blinked at the sweet feminine voice, then turned my head.

Cecily was looking this way with her eyes opened wide, a wineglass in one hand. Why was she here when she was supposed to be with Rina? Apparently, whatever she had been doing had more or less wrapped up.

Meanwhile, Edin's eyes widened slightly when Cecily appeared, and he quietly asked,

...Princess Cecily?"

"Ah."

Only then did Cecily notice Edin's presence and begin formally introducing herself.

"Hello. I'm Cecily Drat Aisilia Bin, the princess of Helium. Please feel free to call me Cecily."

"I-I'm Edin Mabi Signer, the eldest son of House Signer. It's an honor to meet Helium's heir."

Edin briefly lowered his gaze at her polite greeting before bowing according to etiquette. He had obviously looked toward her chest. The fact that he was even stammering made that certain.

So you are a man after all. Honestly, anyone—man or woman—would have been drawn to Cecily's appearance right now.

"It's nice to meet you too. In any case..."

After they exchanged introductions, Cecily turned her gaze toward me and asked Edin,

"May I ask what happened to Isaac?"

"Ah, well... He drank a little too much wine."

"I didn't drink that much, I tell you..."

My pronunciation was slightly slurred. Still, don't worry. I was fine, except for feeling a little dizzy.

Probably.

"Hmm."

Cecily examined my condition, then let out a faint nasal hum and curled up the corners of her lips. My vision was blurry, but I could clearly recognize the smile that appeared whenever her mischievous side came out. The fact that it made me a little anxious was merely a bonus.

The moment I saw that smile, I reflexively took a step backward. Before I could retreat any farther, Cecily swiftly grabbed my wrist and asked Edin,

"If you don't mind, may I take Isaac with me for a while?"

"Pardon?"

"Is that all right?"

Tell her no, you idiot. But Edin betrayed my expectations.

He looked back and forth between Cecily and me, then accepted with an awkward expression.

"I don't mind... But please make sure he doesn't drink any more wine. I have a feeling this is going to end badly."

"Of course. Come on, Isaac."

"Uoouo..."

In the end, I had no choice but to move my feet, led along by Cecily's hand. I focused whatever nerves I had left on making sure I didn't accidentally drop my wineglass.

Of course, I didn't forget to say goodbye to Edin before leaving. My words were a little slurred, but he seemed to understand me and worriedly told me not to drink too much. I told you I wasn't drunk.

Cecily led me to a table with all sorts of food laid out on it. As soon as we arrived, she politely asked the waiter standing nearby with wine,

"Could you give us some more wine?"

"Of course, beautiful lady."

"Then give Isaac some first."

"Okaaay..."

At Cecily's request, I held out my wineglass, and the waiter poured the wine with neat, practiced movements. It was closer to a deep red than purple.

I noticed that it was different from the wine I had been drinking and asked the waiter. My pronunciation was so badly mangled that my words came out limp as a mollusk.

"Wh-what kind of wine is thiiis?"

"It's Redcali. Unlike Alcyone, it has a much stronger sourness."

"Try it once. It's good. But before that..."

Cecily drank the wine remaining in her glass in one gulp, then held it out to the waiter. Without saying a word, he filled the empty glass with wine.

Now that I looked at it, the wine's color was similar to Cecily's dress. A dazzlingly beautiful woman holding wine that matched the color of her dress—it really did look like a scene from a painting.

While I gazed blankly at her, Cecily smiled faintly and spoke to me. Her alluring voice slipped into my ears.

"I heard that in the human world, people have a custom of clinking their glasses before drinking. Is it called a toast?"

"The dwarves did it first..."

In my previous life, it had been a culture that had come about somehow, but here, it was a custom that humans had adopted from the dwarves. I had learned that by chance while reading various history books.

Even so, most people mistakenly thought toasting was a human custom. Humans simply outnumbered the dwarves by a huge margin, and the dwarves themselves didn't care enough to correct them.

"Really? I had no idea."

"Do demonfolk... have a toast culture?"

"We have something similar. You raise your glass slightly. It's like a toast honoring our kin who have met a tragic fate. That's why we don't usually do it on happy days like this."

"I seeee..."

I lowered my head slightly and nodded.

Whenever I talked with Cecily like this, I learned things about demonfolk that I could never have learned from books.

I had already learned what it meant to stroke a demon's horns, as well as the fact that the evil within them grew stronger at certain intervals.

So even these minute details...

"...It'd be nice to write it dooown..."

Perhaps it was because I was drunk, but the thought in my head slipped out through my mouth.

Fortunately, I had lowered my head and was mumbling quietly, so Cecily had no chance of hearing me...

"Write it down, huh... Isaac?"

No such luck. I lifted my head in surprise and met her gaze.

"...Yeees?"

"Can we have a toast?"

Cecily smiled brightly, held out her wineglass, and gestured for me to join her. The red liquid inside the glass caught my eye as it gently sloshed.

I thought to myself that I shouldn't drink any more, but my body was already moving. Perhaps because I hadn't drunk in a long time, I wanted to drink more despite Edin's warning.

Clink-

When our glasses met, they made a clear, crisp sound. Cecily smiled sweetly as soon as we toasted, then brought her glass to her lips.

I also raised the wine to my mouth. The reddish liquid gradually flowed into my mouth.

"Ugh..."

I shuddered all over. Just as the waiter had explained, it was much more sour than sweet, unlike Alcyone.

It tasted like lemon, only less sour. That was the impression it gave me.

"Isaac."

While I was still reeling from the sourness filling my mouth, Cecily called my name.

Despite feeling as though I were on the verge of blacking out, I somehow opened my mouth.

"Yees... Noonaaa..."

"There's something I'm curious about. May I ask you?"

"What is ittt...?"

It wasn't merely hazy anymore; my vision had turned cloudy. The murmuring voices of the people and the band's music no longer reached my ears, instead echoing indistinctly.

Strangely, though, Cecily's question alone came through clearly.

"Do you happen to like writing?"